Leveling Up, By Only Eating!

by Park Min Gyu

The main character is stricken by a rare condition that affects only two people in the entire world, bulimic deficiency. He organizes his daily meals to survive, but his hope of survival grows dimmer as the days go by. He consults a doctor, who suggests playing the Alternate Reality Game ‘Athens’, where he can eat as must as he wants without gaining any weight. He plays the game to save his life and grow in strength by doing nothing but eating! A Gourmet Fantasy Life!

Genres: Manga, Manhwa, Fantasy, Comics

Unknown Binding

Published January 1, 2020

Reviews

[Achim · Rating 4 out of 5]

3.5
Imagine a game that affects all senses i.e. also smell and taste. Imagine further you're suffering from a rare digesting disorder that leaves you on a bland and extremely low-calorie diet. Wouldn't you start such a game wholeheartedly but would you play such a game for the usual goals like looting or epic battles? Minhyuk obviously doesn't care much about leveling up and instead of looking for unique weapons he's searching for tasty ingredients. Is there any wonder that one of his fist boss monsters is a giant goose and even if the quest is about slaying a dragon he's surely wondering how dragon tail is tasting. Of course he nevertheless becomes a powerful player but a lot of that also comes from him being such a sunshine, a bit naive and overall friendly – as long as no one challenges his next meal and what can I say: at the end of some episodes I build an appetite for some Korean dish.

So expect a cute story with according drawings. Sometimes it gets over the top and looses a bit sight of his originally intended wholesomeness and in later seasons it becomes repetitive like so many other RPG based comics but even then it's still enjoyable.

I read this comic as “Gourmet Gaming” on Tapas.

[ReadToBreathe · Rating 5 out of 5]

5 Stars
I finished season one and now I'm currently at chapter 87. This is by far one of my favorite manhwas. I love the characters, the story and the relationships. Everyone is supportive of our Minhyuk which really warms my heart. Be warned, you wil be so hungry while reading this 😭. The art is so good and seeing all the food felt like torture.

[cobwebbing · Rating 5 out of 5]

Up to chapter 50 in what’s been translated so far—

This manhwa is SO cute, man. It feels a lot like the manga So I’m A Spider, So What? in that it takes a well-worn concept (I’m In An RPG World And Hijinks Ensue), adds a little twist, and makes it incredibly engaging. In this story, instead of grinding for experience in the traditional sense, the main character is motivated by cooking and eating a lot of food and consequently makes a ton of friends thanks to forming relationships over food and defeats his enemies due to buffs and healing and etc.

After an admittedly slow start in the game world (and, slow as it was, it was charming and befitting a tutorial section) I was really hooked. As an RPG fan I can say there are a lot of jokes/nods towards RPG game mechanics that are fun. The cast of characters are all memorable and the quirky if OP main character is really likable. Some of the best-written descriptions of food I’ve ever seen in anything ever are in this story, which is kind of shocking. There are also what amount to entire recipes back to front. The art is great. The writing is funny but sad when it wants to be. It’s so good.

The one hangup I have is that the “treatment” of the main character’s non-purging bulimia seems really maladaptive. The entire premise rests on the fact that he wants to gorge himself in the game world and not suffer (further) health problems in the real world. It feels like the game is being treated as a solution and valid weight loss plan when it kind of just enables him to have the same mentality and self-destructive habits. Like, what happens if the game’s server goes offline for a few hours? Are you going to have a massive relapse? The story doesn’t really be willing to engage with questions like that and how this doesn’t feel like a good long-term solution to his problem. If it ever does it’ll be really interesting to see.

I’m still giving it 5 stars because the pros FAR outweigh the cons.

[Dakota · Rating 4 out of 5]

latest at chapter 50

slow started but I am enjoying this series
I need this game in my life

[Uku · Rating 4 out of 5]

I'm enjoying it by so far though the thought of what's described in the manghwa was bulimia doesn't really fall into how it actually is. In story it focuses on one phase of bulimia; the uncontralble hunger and that being cause of being owerweighted. In reality though bulimia patients tend to have moments of uncontralble moments gorging the food in large portions, then trying to get rid of the food by throwing it up or fasting and thinking that they are too fat but in reality people who tend to have it are perfectly normal people. It will then lead to more severe sickness such as anorexia. Person is also afraid and worried about getting fat. Actually what the character has is in fact Binge eating disorder, the uncontrabble gorging of food but without the symptoms of bulimia. -Details and correct data matters a lot. It actually isn't no miracle for guy to maintain his weight with wrong diagnosis overall. As side note around 5% of people in Finland has it and it was something discussed in common healthcare class in 7th grade. BED is rarer.

[Davide Bug · Rating 5 out of 5]

l200

[Megan Collins · Rating 3 out of 5]

Stricken by a rare medical condition, Minhyuk is encouraged to play the Athenes alternate reality game by his doctors. This world with simulate the flavors his avatar eats for himself, so he can eat whatever he wishes without consequence. Consumed with the idea of working towards better ingredients and cooking opportunities rather power leveling, his unusual style of play leads to interesting reactions and rewards. Minhyuk makes some new allies, bumps into some old friends, and lands in the middle of a realm war.
* * * * * --------------* * * * * --------------* * * * *
Honestly, this is one of those that if you take it seriously you will probably hate it. Our ML threatens to eat the pet he is taming, ignores the pleas of crying players until they offer him food in exchange for services, calls most rewards trash, and lots of similarly disrespectful or insane things. The general premise is also a little touchy as virtual reality is being used to sublimate real world conditions… However, those do come with a lot of warnings and explanations and if you take it all as a jest it is rather enjoyable. Much like The Duchess’s 50 Tea Recipes this one dedicates space in almost every chapter for recipes, history lessons, and taste descriptions. Full of hangry Gods and magical cooking utensils, this fantasy world is literally custom built for Minhyuk. The linework is a bit simple but the colors are vibrant. The characters are quirky and likable.
The first season is slow and introduces the elements which will be built upon in the future. The plot gets much more chaotic in the second season as it ramps up the RPG humor regarding guild battles, viral videos, window distractions, party systems, and loot splits. Season three ups the drama with global events.
@Ch 112

[Skylar Yang · Rating 3 out of 5]

It's an interesting concept, but there are some parts that really annoy me. While it's nice all the characters are supportive and the RPG aspects of the game are clear, the plot is super limiting. I find it really unrealistic that in a VR game this sandbox-y and "alive" all the players except the main character only ever care about fighting things and leveling. There is 0% chance that there are players just running around messing with things, trying to craft, build, or find other fun things to do besides just grinding levels. If the food in the game is so realistic and tasty there would be plenty of players who play it just to be foodies. Yet every NPC and player acts like it's such a huge shock the MC plays the way he does. It really makes the world less interesting to me as a result.

The story also has this weird focus-not-focus on the MC's disorder. The disorder MC has is a made-up one that seems to address the issue someone might have with bulimia. Yet once he starts the RPG it's too focused on the fun parts of eating and tasty dishes to really seriously examine his issues. Moments where he acts really inappropriately is just brushed over with "wow this guy's kinda weird" and the fantastical benefits of his class for him to be a gourmet. Maybe it will expand on his issues later but currently, it just feels so unnecessary to the story and even a little insensitive/unresearched. He could just be a foodie and it wouldn't really detract from the story.

[Maia Soria · Rating 5 out of 5]

Oaaaaa yo le tenia muchas ganas a este manwha porque me llamaba en si su portada y nombre y boom gran historia Y AMO EL DIBUJO

Minhung(? Creo que así se escribía el nombre, sufre de bulimia lo cual hizo que tuviera que probar distintos tratamientos para poder controlarla. Y este último que prueba, es sobre un juego virtual llamado Athenas en el cual puede sentir el sabor de la comida sin comerla, por lo que saciaria su hambre psicológico de esta forma.

Me encanta que algo tan trivial como la comida sea algo tan profundo en esta historia, y literalmente el prota gana todos sus beneficios a base de su creencia: comer

Siento que es una muy buena historia, muy adictiva y ya quiero saber más el trasfondo del personaje, conocerlo más además de la comida.

Good, good.

[Claudio Carrasco · Rating 4 out of 5]

Tercera temporada - Capítulo 136.
Siento que aún faltan cosas de la vida real que tratar y como que se están olvidando de ello.
El papá del protagonista es lo mejor de este mundo :)
Pd: con cada capítulo de este Manhwa me daban ganas de comer. Y es que no para de relatar el sabor de la comida al comerla.

[Sana Lai · Rating 5 out of 5]

I love how funny it is that the guy's main goal is to eat. Admirable

[Sundal · Rating 5 out of 5]

It's funny...

[natalie · Rating 5 out of 5]

too wholesome. too cute. i love it.
ps. when's season three coming?? i'm dying here- 〒▽〒

[Arshey]

Season 1: 4.50
Season 2: 4.75
Season 3: TBD

[Jacqueline · Rating 5 out of 5]

Slow at the end. Feels like I am missing points of the manhwa. So planning to read the light novel as well. Overall loved it.

[Sumit · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book was so different. It was not different in a bad way though. When most books have the MC leveling by eating they actually level up by eating. This is different because of his enjoyment of food he gets provided opportunities to grow in strength. The books is about his appreciation for food. The thing is he is the most innocent MC that I have read about. His personality and his lack of thirst for strength makes this book amazing.

[Mina ☾ · Rating 4 out of 5]

~~ read till chapter 182 ~~

[SEASON 1]
(5 stars)

[SEASON 2]
(4 stars)

[SEASON 3]
(5 stars)