Superman vs. Meshi Vol. 1

Superman Vs. Meshi #1

by Satoshi Miyagawa, Kai Kitago (Illustrator), Wes Abbott (Letterer)

Clark Kent visits Japan as Superman, traveling the country in pursuit of Meshi! What is Meshi? A new villain? A new ally? None of those! It's all about restaurants and exciting new food as Superman tours culinary delights!​

It’s hungry work being Superman! That’s why every day for lunch in Superman vs. Meshi , Superman makes a quick stop over in Japan to try a new chain restaurant. Whether it’s a hearty bowl of curry or conveyor-belt sushi, the Man of Steel loves to indulge in the delectable delicacies the country has to offer. He’ll even share a meal with the other members of the Justice League from time to time in the hopes of showing them an incredible culinary experience.

Genres: Manga, Comics, Graphic Novels, Dc Comics, Fiction, Superheroes, Food

160 pages, Paperback

First published September 5, 2023

About the author

Satoshi Miyagawa (宮川サトシ, Miyagawa Satoshi) is a japanese mangaka.

Reviews

[Mizuki · Rating 4 out of 5]

It's a fun, lightheaded, 'not serious' manga series about Superman/Clark Kent using his superpower to fly to Japan to enjoy some yummy food.

Well who wouldn't want to be in his shoes?!

The artwork is nice and I really like Superman's interaction with the Justice League and his coworkers from the Daily Planet. 😀

[Chad · Rating 1 out of 5]

Superman loves Japanese food and heads over to Japan everyday to eat lunch. That's the whole plot. How are there 3 volumes of this?

[Josh Herrema · Rating 5 out of 5]

It's Food Wars with Superman

[Peter Roy · Rating 5 out of 5]

I love how silly this book is!!!

[Eli · Rating 3 out of 5]

Not sure why I expected there to be a plot with this. But the artwork was good, and it was at least mildly entertaining.

[Robert]

This was the first Manga I’ve ever read!

It might also turn out to be the last.

[Matthew Ward · Rating 3 out of 5]

This was about as ridiculous as I thought it would be. Superman is absolutely obsessed (and probably addicted) to authentic Japanese food, so he flies to Japan for every meal to eat the local cuisine at whatever shop he stops at. My favorite part about this book is how Superman just loves the food so much here but struggles to figure out the proper way to eat things and order things, being so far from Kansas or Metropolis. This Superman is very much a bit of a weirdo and an outcast in the Justice League, partly because he just only wants to eat Japanese food. There were definitely some funny gags in here and some recurring bits that made me chuckle. The way Batman rides Superman just seems so odd and likely uncomfortable at high speeds. The art in this one is pretty good, also. I’ll give this one a second volume just to see if things change at all. I’m not used to food manga really at all, but Thanksgiving seems like a decent time to try them out.

[amelia · Rating 5 out of 5]

Uhm PEAK

[S.E. Martens · Rating 4 out of 5]

It's Superman but he's obsessed with Japanese food. That's it, that's the story. This is incredibly silly but also super cute and made me laugh.

[asiya · Rating 3 out of 5]

obsessed with this manga art style for superman MY SHAYLAAAA !!!!!!!! i need art prints of so many panels im begging 😣😣😣😣

superman flying batman to japan for lunch and batman’s manspreading on him like he’s sitting on a chair ijbol

some tiny clois crumbs too aka jimmy telling clark about lois never seeing him around but wanting to invite him to lunch (he flew to japan mind you) and clark blushing <3 the moment of superman bringing lois food on her balcony looked so similiar to when lois interviews him in superman ‘78 …. i jumped a lil yall !

i didn’t like the writing as much tbh like the art really carried here. as much as diana is the only woman ever, i didn’t like how clark struggled to connect with the all the justice league guys because of their personality or what they thought and said ….. then it’s “every time i look at wonder woman i feel like i’m ogling her” HUH???? and “the super soft and juicy” shrimp just had to remind him more of diana ………….. wrap it up #NOTMYCLARKKENT

[Adriana · Rating 3 out of 5]

I've discovered that this is best in very short increments.
I'd originally read one of the chapters in a preview and thought it was cute and silly. It remains so in small bites, but reading several chapters in a row where Superman is acting like a totally silly himbo that can only think about food got to be too much.
That said, it has some fun little jokes and can be enjoyable if read one story at a time with long breaks in between. You'll also end up with major Japanese food cravings that will make you understand Superman's obsession with it.

[DonutKnow · Rating 4 out of 5]

I love Superman’s enthusiasm to try new Japanese foods! I find it inspiring to see them wholeheartedly engage in the food culture and eating experience 🥰

[Bre’Niyah &#x1faf6;&#x1f3fe; · Rating 3 out of 5]

While there wasn’t much happening in this story except for eating, the story was cozy and the art was cute!

[Maxwell Guzman-Critch · Rating 4 out of 5]

This was so entertaining and pretty cute. It's nice seeing a different side of Superman.

[Izabella Warczak · Rating 3 out of 5]

3/5⭐️

zawiodłam się:(

[Cat · Rating 5 out of 5]

Esta muy bien la vrd es como muy d relax y la vrd lo aprecio aun k m d ambre

[Dan · Rating 1 out of 5]

https://youtu.be/eO6snInLMms

[Nicholas Palmieri]

This is definitely propaganda commissioned by the Japanese ministry of tourism, right?

[Nolan Buro · Rating 5 out of 5]

It's cute, it's weird, I'm hungry

[Julia · Rating 5 out of 5]

4,75⭐️
glodna sie zrobilam

[MJ · Rating 3 out of 5]

Superman jako foodie ze słabością do japońskiej kuchni i kontem na instagramie? Już sama koncepcja wydaje się dziwaczna, a gdy dodać do tego jeszcze Aquamana gadającego z sushi to poziom absurdu może już być ciężki do przełknięcia dla niektórych bardziej tradycyjnych fanów klasycznych opowieści o superbohaterach.
Dwie inne mangi od DC, "Batman" i "Joker" to zasadniczo elseworldy i jako takie mogły spokojnie trafić do wielbicieli amerykańskiego komiksu. Ale "Superman" to inna bajka. Nie ma fabuły, dostajemy za to krótkie historyjki osnute wokół wypadów Supka do japońskich knajpek i konbini. Te opowiastki są niegłupie, zabawne i ślicznie narysowane. Czytelnicy mang odnajdą się tu bez problemu, a komiksiarze muszą po prostu porządnie zmrużyć choćby jedno oko.

[Reader · Rating 2 out of 5]

This was an enjoyable read, but I feel like it missed the point of Superman a bit. He's silly and goofy and I love that for him, but it feels like the author read a bunch of sliver-age comics and then had to put that Superman into product placement for Japanese restaurant chains. It was an interesting experience. I also feel that the art is too thin for Superman. Even the large-muscled Superman is capable of being the goofy food food-loving farm boy they want for the story so to see him so skinny feels wrong.

[Tom Landaluce · Rating 5 out of 5]

Did not know that I needed a book about Clark Kent flying to Japan on his Daily Planet lunch breaks to satisfy his cravings for Japanese chain restaurant cuisine. I devoured this book (excuse the pun) and cannot wait for volume 2.

[London Heady · Rating 3 out of 5]

They've truly got one bit in this that they continuously roll with, but it's a bit that works. Watching Superman eat and overanalyze every part of budget Japanese cuisine is very fun. Sure it gets a bit stale by the end of it, but it's Superman being a weirdo and eating food. It's got instant classic written all over it.

[Amy Ellinger · Rating 2 out of 5]

What in the world is going on? I’m not even sure I have words for this book. I suppose if you really love some Japanese food you might love it but this book was really blah!!!

[Elle · Rating 2 out of 5]

Superhero fanatic foodies will find a perfect story here with its chapters telling of Superman’s battle vs lunch at a variety of Japanese restaurants. (DNF - Ch.3/pg57)

[Alex · Rating 2 out of 5]

The "vs" in the title is misleading. I kept waiting for something to happen, like a rice monster or something, but it's just Superman eating a bunch of lunches.

[Lucyy · Rating 2 out of 5]

it was sooo boring, i didnt expect talking only about food lol it doesnt even suit superman. drawing are nice tho, thats why im giving it 2 stars

[Trevor Williamson · Rating 4 out of 5]

Superman vs. Meshi solves the age-old problem that a lot of bad comics writers lament about Superman as a character: how do you make a character that can do anything interesting? As a long-time Superman super-fan, the answer is really simple: you don't make the conflict about whether or not Superman can beat up his foes; you make the conflict about Superman's ability to problem solve, to use his magnificent powers to do the impossible. You make it about Superman the man, not Superman the god--because that is who Superman is.

Miyagawa seems to get it, and that's what ends up showing up in this first volume of the manga. Instead of asking "Can Superman beat Parademons?" you make the question "Can Superman handle his crunchy noodles going soggy?" Sure, Superman can fly from Metropolis to Japan in less than three minutes, but can he wait 30 minutes for his rice to cook?

There's a lot about Superman vs. Meshi that might seem stupid to audiences more invested in Superman's major conflicts with super-villains, but there's something about the manga that seems to fit in squarely with exactly the kinds of conflicts that helped define the character through the late 1940s and into the 1950s and 1960s. It's almost a throwback to an earlier era of comic books, even if Miyagawa blends elements of Christopher Reeve's run as Superman in the 1978 film with elements taken out of DC's New 52 and the recent Justice League film(s) from either Zack Snyder or Joss Whedon. Miyagawa's playfulness is actually really funny, and there are a couple of hilarious character interactions between Superman and Aquaman in this volume. That it doesn't take itself seriously at all is my favorite thing in the volume.

My only major criticism is that the book still includes some trademark Japanese misogyny, which feels so totally out of character for Superman. It's lighter and more seemingly harmless in here, but Superman making remarks about being uncomfortable around Wonder Woman because he wants to ogle her or comparing her body to food is just unnecessary, and it absolutely detracts from what is otherwise a really fun book.

But I'm still a fan of what this little series is doing, and I cackled with delight at its various ideas. I really wish there were more of these kinds of superhero stories in the world, it's just such a fun thing to read.

[寿理 宮本 · Rating 4 out of 5]

So this is Restaurant to Another World but with Superman (and friends) instead of fantasy isekai. It's more or less exactly the same plot, too: non-Japanese characters do some thing in their homeland before going to the Japanese restaurant (or, in one story, convenience store) for food, then enjoy the food in great detail.

It's cute, but at the same time it feels like, is Japan really trying to sell its own food to its own citizens? Because a lot of these manga don't seem like they would necessarily sell outside of Japan, certainly not as well as... I don't know... Naruto or One Piece. It's like if an American comic series focused mostly on barbecue and burger joints... maybe a Diners, Drive-ins and Dives graphic novel?

I mean, people would buy that, I'm sure, but it'd be a little weird to most Americans. (Some of that might be that graphic novels are a little weird to most Americans, STILL.)

Recommended if you like low-stakes stories, particularly about food. Warning about a weird story with Aquaman talking to sushi, though.