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Sesame Salt and Pudding
Haruhi, a 22-year-old machine operator, woke up one day to find that she drunkenly married an older man the night before. They make a deal and end up living together!
627 pages, Paperback
First published January 1, 2020
14 people are currently reading
216 people want to read
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 75 reviews
September 19, 2021
Bye this manga was so cute
December 29, 2022
This has to be one of the least problematic romantic portrayals in manga history. And that's an even greater achievement considering the 20-year gap between the main leads.
Haruhi's personality was amazingly refreshing, and I loved how she was on the right side of the "independent woman" trope. Even though she was meant to be coming across as a loud, messy, and slightly dumb blonde (because loud people have to be dumb - it's an anime rule), she still ended up being super relatable and funny and passionate. Plus how cool is it to work as a heavy machine operator?
If there's one thing though that the manga does reaaally right, it's drawing the characters from these angles that are rarely seen in mainstream manga. It provides a kind of 3D effect that really draws you into the story. Speaking of the story, the pacing is lightning fast, almost as if the mangaka knew that no one really cares about long-drawn conflicts and everyone is here just for the butterfly feels. And yes, they were absolutely correct. This book was 100% fluff and perfect as is, down to its title. And thank heavens, the relationship between adult people was portrayed realistically, with no manipulation or force. Another rarity in josei manga.
The age gap was also explored just as much as it should be, with the focus on the right concepts surrounding love and marriage. And, obviously, it helped that the 40-year "old" man was a total ikeoji (another deliciously apt term stored away for future use)
All in all, it's pretty short and fast-paced. There are a lot of beautifully romantic panels and the most wholesome ending ever. What's not to like?
Haruhi's personality was amazingly refreshing, and I loved how she was on the right side of the "independent woman" trope. Even though she was meant to be coming across as a loud, messy, and slightly dumb blonde (because loud people have to be dumb - it's an anime rule), she still ended up being super relatable and funny and passionate. Plus how cool is it to work as a heavy machine operator?
If there's one thing though that the manga does reaaally right, it's drawing the characters from these angles that are rarely seen in mainstream manga. It provides a kind of 3D effect that really draws you into the story. Speaking of the story, the pacing is lightning fast, almost as if the mangaka knew that no one really cares about long-drawn conflicts and everyone is here just for the butterfly feels. And yes, they were absolutely correct. This book was 100% fluff and perfect as is, down to its title. And thank heavens, the relationship between adult people was portrayed realistically, with no manipulation or force. Another rarity in josei manga.
The age gap was also explored just as much as it should be, with the focus on the right concepts surrounding love and marriage. And, obviously, it helped that the 40-year "old" man was a total ikeoji (another deliciously apt term stored away for future use)
All in all, it's pretty short and fast-paced. There are a lot of beautifully romantic panels and the most wholesome ending ever. What's not to like?
February 3, 2022
I want to have what these btches are having *jealous seething*
August 4, 2021
they're so freaking adorable and the age gap was executed wonderfully so it didn't seem creepy as hell. the epilogues tho.... my heart.
October 30, 2022
Instead of reading badly executed borderline gross age gap romance books I want you all to read this. It had no unnecessary miscommunication and perfectly played the age gap. Please god, when is it my turn now? 🥺
August 12, 2021
my favorite age gap shoujo ever
so soft so sweet
so soft so sweet
March 24, 2022
couldn't sleep and this offered a very cute distraction
April 1, 2022
I want what these btches have
May 9, 2023
took me a while to figure out that i was supposed to be reading from right to left
June 13, 2024
they are the cutest couple! the effort they put in for each other is just the sweetest, and the way their humour bounces off each other is perfect. such a simple but beautiful story
May 4, 2025
Combatting Shelby’s four star fake news review
September 14, 2025
The FEEEEEEEEEEELS. T_T ❤️
This was SUCH a cute manga. The heroine was refrshingly charming and just so much cuteness like omg YES.
This was SUCH a cute manga. The heroine was refrshingly charming and just so much cuteness like omg YES.
July 7, 2023
Beautiful , healthy relationship with an age gap that didn't make me pull my hair.
May 3, 2025
Is my Goodreads community a safe enough space for this 🤨⁉️
December 19, 2022
I first read this last year and since then, I've re-read it several times.
I just loved how Haruhi (FL) and Nagato's (ML) relationship progressed. They married each other while drunk - well, to be clear Haruhi "proposed" to Nagato first - and the way they reacted the morning after was rather unconventional compared to other romcom stories. And despite their 20-year age gap with Haruhi being 22 and Nagato being 42 at the time of marriage, they were a good match for each other. They mutually understood, respected and supported each other, and it was actually refreshing to see Haruhi being the sole breadwinner for their family of two while Nagato was in between jobs. It was different from so many other typical stories with an age gap where the man was usually older and in a position of power. Also, Nagato was the one responsible for the cooking and cleaning and he was an amazing malewife. (Oh, how I wish I had a husband like Nagato!)
At first they did agree that they were going to divorce each other once Haruhi tricked her father into letting her stay in Tokyo but as she and her husband spent more time with each other, she grew to have real affection for him. And luckily, Nagato felt the same way. I loved how they communicated with each other and as a result, there wasn't any major misunderstanding between them. But there were some obstacles they had to overcome, the main one being that they had to get the approval of their marriage from Haruhi's father. And it took some work but eventually everyone including the side characters had a happy ending.
This is a very sweet, fluffy and funny slice-of-life story, and even though it was about 20 chapters, the story flowed nicely and the development of their relationship felt very as a matter of course. Like they were meant for each other and as long as they had each other, everything would be fine. It's one of my favourite age gap and romance stories and I find myself coming back to this whenever I want something to lift my spirits.
I just loved how Haruhi (FL) and Nagato's (ML) relationship progressed. They married each other while drunk - well, to be clear Haruhi "proposed" to Nagato first - and the way they reacted the morning after was rather unconventional compared to other romcom stories. And despite their 20-year age gap with Haruhi being 22 and Nagato being 42 at the time of marriage, they were a good match for each other. They mutually understood, respected and supported each other, and it was actually refreshing to see Haruhi being the sole breadwinner for their family of two while Nagato was in between jobs. It was different from so many other typical stories with an age gap where the man was usually older and in a position of power. Also, Nagato was the one responsible for the cooking and cleaning and he was an amazing malewife. (Oh, how I wish I had a husband like Nagato!)
At first they did agree that they were going to divorce each other once Haruhi tricked her father into letting her stay in Tokyo but as she and her husband spent more time with each other, she grew to have real affection for him. And luckily, Nagato felt the same way. I loved how they communicated with each other and as a result, there wasn't any major misunderstanding between them. But there were some obstacles they had to overcome, the main one being that they had to get the approval of their marriage from Haruhi's father. And it took some work but eventually everyone including the side characters had a happy ending.
This is a very sweet, fluffy and funny slice-of-life story, and even though it was about 20 chapters, the story flowed nicely and the development of their relationship felt very as a matter of course. Like they were meant for each other and as long as they had each other, everything would be fine. It's one of my favourite age gap and romance stories and I find myself coming back to this whenever I want something to lift my spirits.
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April 6, 2022good for her!!!!! (what about me!!!!)🧘🏻♀️🌀
December 30, 2022
Haruhi, a 22 y/o heavy machine operator, drunkenly marries random guy at the bar in an attempt to find a reason to stay in the city working the job that she loves rather than head back home to work with her father.
The random guy turns out to be Nagato, a calligrapher 20 years her senior who is currently down in the dumps after having to leave his hometown to get away from his psycho ex (who's already married btw).
We get acquainted with a couple of other characters such as Haruhi's work crush and her two childhood friends (Aya & Hibiki).
I'm not sure at which point either of them realised that they loved the other person and wanted to turn this situationship into a relationship but things just fell into place.
This was a quick and fun read but I must admit that I literally fell asleep reading some of the chapters, hence, the 3 star rating.
The random guy turns out to be Nagato, a calligrapher 20 years her senior who is currently down in the dumps after having to leave his hometown to get away from his psycho ex (who's already married btw).
We get acquainted with a couple of other characters such as Haruhi's work crush and her two childhood friends (Aya & Hibiki).
I'm not sure at which point either of them realised that they loved the other person and wanted to turn this situationship into a relationship but things just fell into place.
This was a quick and fun read but I must admit that I literally fell asleep reading some of the chapters, hence, the 3 star rating.
May 31, 2024
funny story, I found this shoujo while looking for age gap cutesy anime romances the night I was crying over my impossible big age gap crush (he is 20 years my senior) and it made me go through that almost break up experience unscathed (mildly).
I was happy while reading it, even if the plot wasn’t that interesting and the relationship between the main couple was rushed to say the least. The cast of other characters was nice and the SA the heroine almost went through was not that bad written, it was alright I guess, but I don’t think it was a good idea for them to start kissing after that happen.
I was happy while reading it, even if the plot wasn’t that interesting and the relationship between the main couple was rushed to say the least. The cast of other characters was nice and the SA the heroine almost went through was not that bad written, it was alright I guess, but I don’t think it was a good idea for them to start kissing after that happen.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
August 30, 2024
Ahh, this was such a cute story. I really fell in love with the characters, especially Nagato is such a breath of fresh air when it come's to a lot of shoujo/josei love interests.
While it's an easy read I felt so attached to the characters at the end, nearly she'd a tear when they found out Haruhi is pregnant hahah
On that note I felt like the story felt well rounded at the end and I liked the bonus chapters where we got more glimpses in how their life in Sendai is going and I felt like the author did a good job at taking us along on their whole journey, something I don't like in a lot of other shoujo works where the endings often feel very forced/sudden.
While it's an easy read I felt so attached to the characters at the end, nearly she'd a tear when they found out Haruhi is pregnant hahah
On that note I felt like the story felt well rounded at the end and I liked the bonus chapters where we got more glimpses in how their life in Sendai is going and I felt like the author did a good job at taking us along on their whole journey, something I don't like in a lot of other shoujo works where the endings often feel very forced/sudden.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
March 28, 2022
Gah, this was actually so great. Really liked both characters, and their relationship was so mature and healthy. They're both thoughtful, communicative, and so caring towards each other. This is some of the best humor I've seen in manga too. 10/10 asides. Also really liked Ryuji's actual reason for being against the marriage. It was actually so touching, and they addressed it well too.
uwu eyes all the way
Review for the whole series.
uwu eyes all the way
Review for the whole series.
January 31, 2023
okay this manga is cute as hell. it's a grumpy/sunshine age gap romance that's surprisingly wholesome and unproblematic.
unfortunately there are also several cringy manga tropes (not cringy because they're overdone, but because they're BAD). mysterious attacker victimizing a female character as a device to bring her closer to her male love interest? gross.
i also expected more pining and building sexual tension, considering the premise (our protagonists drunkenly marry after meeting at a bar, and must get to know another and cohabitate while trying to make the marriage work). but there's not much simmering under the surface. their sexual relationship goes from zero to 100. i wonder if this has to do with japanese culture, or if it's due to the manga format? or maybe i'm just spoiled on slowburn romcoms!
but the story is super cute regardless. i like the redemption for haruhi's dad, who seems misogynistically protective, but ends up being sweet and thoughtful. he only wants to protect his daughter from ever feeling the pain of losing a partner. wholesome. sweet. fluffy.
unfortunately there are also several cringy manga tropes (not cringy because they're overdone, but because they're BAD). mysterious attacker victimizing a female character as a device to bring her closer to her male love interest? gross.
i also expected more pining and building sexual tension, considering the premise (our protagonists drunkenly marry after meeting at a bar, and must get to know another and cohabitate while trying to make the marriage work). but there's not much simmering under the surface. their sexual relationship goes from zero to 100. i wonder if this has to do with japanese culture, or if it's due to the manga format? or maybe i'm just spoiled on slowburn romcoms!
but the story is super cute regardless. i like the redemption for haruhi's dad, who seems misogynistically protective, but ends up being sweet and thoughtful. he only wants to protect his daughter from ever feeling the pain of losing a partner. wholesome. sweet. fluffy.
December 27, 2022
UGHHHGGGGGGGG!!!!! Midway reading this manga I was so close to just dropping it but then I kept reading on and it got my heartstrings real good. This manga unexpectedly took my heart away! like it’s just too cute. I just love seeing their healthy marriage and how they communicate so well with each other about their feelings. 100% recommend
September 13, 2023
3.5*
Cute age gap romance. Thankfully this is Josei so there’s no weird problematic age gap like in Shoujo where 27 years old men will get together with a 14 years old school girl and the fans will just accepted it because the art is pretty.
This is a nice romance to read when you’re in the mood of something easy with no drama.
Cute age gap romance. Thankfully this is Josei so there’s no weird problematic age gap like in Shoujo where 27 years old men will get together with a 14 years old school girl and the fans will just accepted it because the art is pretty.
This is a nice romance to read when you’re in the mood of something easy with no drama.
November 14, 2025
SO SO CUTE
Beware there is a significant age gap but the characters are both so cute and work so well together with actual development of their relationship with all the conflict in the story feeling warranted.
I LOVE THIS BOOK
I JUST WANTED IT TO BE LONGER.
like i read it in 2.5 hours and was seething for more
Beware there is a significant age gap but the characters are both so cute and work so well together with actual development of their relationship with all the conflict in the story feeling warranted.
I LOVE THIS BOOK
I JUST WANTED IT TO BE LONGER.
like i read it in 2.5 hours and was seething for more
September 21, 2021
I LOVE a good josei book! This was a sweet, funny, love story between a young 22 year old, straightforward female construction worker and a kindhearted, sweet but chic, 42 year old calligrapher.
In manga, age gap stories are a hit or a miss. Happy to say that this one was done well!
In manga, age gap stories are a hit or a miss. Happy to say that this one was done well!
February 24, 2023
I grinned through the whole 22 chapters. It has the most adorable independent fl and a handsome (doesn’t look his age) Ossan ml. They are soo positive and the romance is both cute and yummy at the same time. The best part is their chemistry and they mature way of dealing with each other’s issues. Literally this manga ticks all the boxes of a great romance story with the most wholesome ending.
December 11, 2023
my GOD i will never know happiness greater than when i was reading this. absolutely the cutest thing i've ever read, the humor was great and the romance!! GOD THE ROMANCE!!! even though i don't usually like age gap romances, this was just perfect and i'll be screaming about them from the rooftops
March 2, 2024
Side stories and side characters were ridiculous and over the top. But the main couple was so cute and fun that I couldn’t deduct more stars. I just wish the surrounding story was as good as the couple’s story. Still, I ate this up, so…
August 28, 2025
I wanted to rate this 5 stars but the story telling was disjointed and at points just *head scratch*
I wish the author delved deeper into each character’s story and actually flushed them out. Especially the side characters.
Otherwise, loved it!
I wish the author delved deeper into each character’s story and actually flushed them out. Especially the side characters.
Otherwise, loved it!
August 17, 2021
4.5 stars. age gap romance!! so soft, so sweet, so wholesome.
Displaying 1 - 30 of 75 reviews