If there’s anything Nomoto enjoys, it’s making huge meals. If there’s anything Kasuga enjoys, it’s eating. You might think you know where this is going… and you’d be right.
This is good fluffy food porn yuri. It has the most literal title this side of an isekai series and that is basically what this story is about. And while it would be perfectly fun going just that far, it opts to go a smidgen further and that extra effort, much like the way Nomoto cooks, is what makes it special.
At first, it seems like these two are just filling a niche for one another. Kasuga eats a lot and that lets Nomoto fulfill her wildest dreams of giant meals and puddings made in buckets and it’s cute to see their friendship blossom.
As we move through the story, however, it becomes very clear that this relationship quickly builds itself to be an island of happiness in the sea that is the rest of the world for both women. They’ve found something in one another and the slow, natural development of that understanding is really nicely done.
Rather than posit itself as another yuri paradise story, this one is all about women trying to be happy when they’re surrounded by men who still act like they’re the reason d’être for any female. From trying to enjoy a meal in a restaurant to just cooking for pleasure, or even trying to talk to one’s parents, these two put up with a lot of crap and this manga’s got some good shade to throw.
So, watching them find their place with one another over some lovely looking food is pretty solid. I’m always a sucker for a good food manga and this one goes the distance. I loved how thorough the translation notes were at the back of the volume, so much good info there for the novice Japanese foodie so you can really get the flavour of the series (I went there).
And special shout-out to Kasuga having a different body type than we typically see and absolutely nothing being made of it. The story is far more fascinated by how tall she is than anything and that’s a very nice touch. Acceptance is the best one-word descriptor of this story and it’s all over the narrative.
I would call this good, strong even, but not excellent. For one, it’s largely pure fluff, even with its more serious asides. They do a lot of cooking and a lot of eating and the stories all revolve around that one particular fact. It’s varied enough that it doesn’t seem that overdone, but the moments where they don’t share a meal stand out much more.
And when I say eating, I hope that you like watching Kasuga eating food as much as Nomoto does, because you will see damn near every bite she takes during the course of this volume. I guess somebody’s fetish is being catered to here, but holy Moses does it ever get a little repetitive.
4 stars - good food manga is good. The slow growth of the friendship slowly morphing into something more is well done too. They’re two great tastes that go great together, if a little inelegantly at points.