I agree with everyone who said that the cooking gets a bit old, though for me it’s because it takes up too much of the chapter each time. I like cooking manga, but I wish there was a better balance between the story and the cooking.

Nevertheless, I still really like this manga! The author talks about a lot of things that don’t get enough attention, like DV and the difficulty of how custody laws work. These issues are especially hard to talk about in Japan, so I really appreciate the way that they’re presented in a way that could help normalize talking about similar experiences.

I LOVE this series and wish to collect all physical volumes as they are translated into English. However, one volume that has eluded me is vol 9, which is usually listed in online stores costing $116.99-300.00 for a used copy. Does anyone know why this is the case? It appears the volume is out of print, but I cannot find a confirmation on that. I may be missing half the story here. Any help would be much appreciated 🙂

Kinou Nani Tabeta? （Japanese TV Drama）
Date: From 1.12 a.m., Saturdays, 5 April 2019
Station: TV Tokyo
Scriptwriter: Adachi Naoko (Toumeina Yurikago, Daibinbo, Shitsuren Chocolatier)
Genre: Food
Watch Online: forjoytv.com

Shirou Kakei, a straitlaced lawyer, cooks gourmet dinners for himself and his longtime gay lover, Kenji Yabuki, a carefree, hippie-ish hairdresser. The story is told through the lens of dinner preparation.

... Last updated on May 29th, 2019, 10:57pm

Shiro's relationship with his boyfriend Kenji does improves as they get older. In the later volumes, their relationship with other people, gays and straight friends also get expanded on. In vol. 10, Shiro is already 50 years old. You can definitely feels the time goes by.

Thank you Vertical for not giving up on this series!!

... Last updated on July 11th, 2016, 5:55am

... Last updated on June 26th, 2014, 3:53pm

Ahh this was really made for me. I love cooking, so the cooking sections I really find quite interesting. If there's a specific dish I am not interested in, it's laid out in a manner which makes it easy to skip. Aside from the food, the interpersonal relationships are great. Not just the couple, but the family, friends and coworkers I all found interesting and endearing in their own ways. This is also the absolute most realistic depiction I have seen(in manga) of not only adult gay relationships, but long term relationships in general. I love the way it shows the ways your priorities and relationships change as you get older. I have never ever read manga which had such an honest, relatable view of gay men with no pandering or fanservice, so I have a lot of respect for that. I want to force every teenage girl who's squeeed and said that they've learned a lot about gay men from yaoi to read this.

While the characters are gay, it is not the sole focus of their lives or this story.
The author has the ability to make an unfamiliar cuisine approachable. After several chapters, I have wanted to try one of the dishes presentable.
It is akin to being at a gay friend's house at dinnertime and hanging out in the kitchen.
Perhaps the best description -- food porn

The slice-of-life story in this manga is really good. It's nice to read about an established gay couple who are happy together and not in denial or hung up on yaoi character archetypes. It's really really good.

However.

This manga revolves around a gimmick, so the plots of each chapter are constructed in aid of it. The gimmick? this is a recipe/cooking manga. There are several pages devoted to showing food preparation with recipe commentary by Shiro, followed by eating and appreciation by Kenji (or, more rarely, whoever else ends up eating the meal).

I really liked the slice-of-life bits, but I have absolutely no patience for manga that revolve around food and cooking to the point of listing out ingredients and processes and going into raptures over each little bit. (I should add that I do not enjoy food myself, and only eat because I must - perhaps if you do love food, you might enjoy these recipe scenes more than I do.)

The perfect little slice-of-life manga with a dose of comedy and BL at the same time. What more could I ask for? The characters are distinct and the main couple isn't your stereotypical yaoi pairing. Now if only this was licensed...