So, is anyone else surprised that characters in manga seem to be predominantly eating with western cutlery (i.e. fork and knife) instead of chopsticks? This has been bugging me for a while 😛

it depends on which manga you were reading and what era it was set in.and i usually don't pick up on things like that.

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LOL never noticed it. Maybe it's because Western food has become really popular overseas. But when you see manga characters eat traditional food, it's still chopsticks. XD

♪MONSTARR~ will eat all your cookies and steal your bishies~♪ Φ_Φ

Really? The ones i've seen all use chopsticks.
Well, the ones where I've noticed what they use to eat anyway. Most of the time I don't even notice.

It all depends on the situation. When people eat dinner at home with their family, they will use chopsticks, because they will be eating Japanese food. That is, unless they're some sort of "classy" family that only eats western food. Also, I guess if they were eating "hamburg steak" then they will have to use knives and forks. You can't exactly eat a slab of meat with chopsticks.

For breakfast, I guess most people would eat "western style." I mean, it's a lot easier to toast some bread and fry some eggs than to actually cook a meal.

If people go out to eat, then it will depend on what sort of restaurant they went to. If it was a French, Italian, etc. restaurant, then obviously the utensils will be forks and knives. If it was a Japanese, Chinese, Thai, etc. restaurant, then obviously the utensils will be chopsticks. If it was fast food, then they wouldn't really be using utensils at all.

EDIT:

From looking at your reading/complete list, it seems like you mostly read shoujo manga. It might be a generalization, but most shoujo manga has a middle/high school setting, and school life is a large part of the manga. In many of these series, the family life of the heroine seems completely left out. The most you'll see is probably the heroine wolfing down breakfast with her family before heading off to school.

So chances are, you'll see a western breakfast and you don't get to see what sort of dinner she has. And at school, it would be either school lunches or bento boxes. School lunches will be western style, and bento boxes could be either. If they eat out, it's invariably at some fast food place. So yes, you won't see many chopsticks in shoujo.

I totally see what you are saying and understand why you would come to this conclusion, but actually when I made the post I kept this into mind. For example, I know that let's say in Hana Yori Dango all of Tsukushi's classmates eat with western cutlery because they come from rich home which supposedly serve only that type of food. This is pervasive in shojo manga: rich homes are depicted as only eating with western cutlery. In Candy Life the heroine even has to take classes to learn how to eat properly with them when she starts living in a rich home.

The thing is, I was not talking about this sort of thing, nor about cafeteria food at school, nor about breakfast (although japanese breakfast is actually meant to include fish and rice, and this applies to modern times as well. I don't think the average japanese eats toast in the morning). I am talking about home situations and often restaurants as well.

I DO think you're onto something though with the shojo manga distinction: I've never noticed this in a shonen/seinen manga, even when its modern-slice-of-life. Maybe shojo mangaka try to imbue their characters with "sophistication" by showing them eating with forks and knives 😕

If you're talking about in real-life Japan.
Of course they use utensils. O_O That's one stereotype people have about Asian countries, they think they don't know how to use a fork and knife! xD
(Seriously, I've had a girl ask me if I had problems using forks when I was little. I wanted to slap her for being so ignorant and asking such a stupid question. >_>)
Everywhere where there's Western influence, there are forks, knives, and spoons.
Try eating soup with chopsticks, it won't work. 🤣
But that doesn't mean no one uses chopsticks anymore lol.

♪MONSTARR~ will eat all your cookies and steal your bishies~♪ Φ_Φ

Quote from StarlightDreams

(Seriously, I've had a girl ask me if I had problems using forks when I was little. I wanted to slap her for being so ignorant and asking such a stupid question. >_>)

It probably doesn't help that forks are idiot proof. How could you have trouble with a utensil which is only used to stab?

This signature was recovered from Hades to serve in my rotting armies.

Quote from x0mbiec0rp

Quote from StarlightDreams

(Seriously, I've had a girl ask me if I had problems using forks when I was little. I wanted to slap her for being so ignorant and asking such a stupid question. >_>)

It probably doesn't help that forks are idiot proof. How could you have trouble with a utensil which is only used to stab?

🤣
She didn't seem like she could use a fork too well though, always making a HUGE mess in our food kitchen. -_-

♪MONSTARR~ will eat all your cookies and steal your bishies~♪ Φ_Φ

If it is a stereotype (and I am not saying that it is not) then it is a stereotype perpetuated by the culture itself. Meaning that in manga characters often look perplexed when faced with forks and knives and/or have to learn how to use them. I am sorry if the stereotype offends you but it is hardly something someone can be called stupid for, especially considering the culture itself perpetuates it. Let's not mention that Asians themselves have more than enough stereotypes about Europe and Europeans. Ever heard of Paris Syndrome?

By the way, I am aware of traditional spoons used in Thailand and China for soup, but I am still under the very strong impression that soup is actually meant to be eaten with chopsticks in Japan. You use your chopsticks to eat the chunks and you sip from the bowl (politely holding the chopsticks still in the soup) with your mouth. Also, I've never been given a spoon at a Japanese restaurant when served soup. Just chopsticks.

Quote from Divina=^.^=

If it is a stereotype (and I am not saying that it is not) then it is a stereotype perpetuated by the culture itself. Meaning that in manga characters often look perplexed when faced with forks and knives and/or have to learn how to use them. I am sorry if the stereotype offends you but it is hardly something someone can be called stupid for, especially considering the culture itself perpetuates it. Let's not mention that Asians themselves have more than enough stereotypes about Europe and Europeans. Ever heard of Paris Syndrome?

By the way, I am aware of traditional spoons used in Thailand and China for soup, but I am still under the very strong impression that soup is actually meant to be eaten with chopsticks in Japan. You use your chopsticks to eat the chunks and you sip from the bowl (politely holding the chopsticks still in the soup) with your mouth. Also, I've never been given a spoon at a Japanese restaurant when served soup. Just chopsticks.

I've never read or seen a manga where a manga character looks perplexed while using a fork or knife. And I'm sure the girl I mentioned has never read a manga in her life.
It doesn't offend me. But I still think it's ignorant of a person to think that someone who's asian but born in the U.S (or somewhere else). had trouble knowing how to use a fork, when all you do is stab with it...
And no I haven't heard of Paris Syndrome. Did I ever say that there weren't any stereotypes about Europeans? I don't see how this relates...nevermind.
In Japan, I'm sure you can use whatever utensil you prefer to eat it with. For Western food in Japan, they probably use spoons, and then for traditional soups they use chopsticks, I guess.

But oh well, I just answered your question the best I could. Sorry if I didn't answer it clearly.

♪MONSTARR~ will eat all your cookies and steal your bishies~♪ Φ_Φ

How about...
because it's easier to draw the hands with fork and spoon than the hands with chopsticks?
😛