Gente: The People of Ristorante Paradiso, Vol. 1

Gente #1

by Natsume Ono

Go Home with a Handsome Italian Waiter

Buona sera! Welcome to Casetta dell’Orso, a quaint little restaurant in the heart of Rome. The food’s delicious, but the handsome staff of bespectacled gentlemen is the real draw. Follow these dashing men home and witness their romances, heartaches, hopes and dreams in this delightfully whimsical continuation of Natsume Ono’s beloved Ristorante Paradiso .

Go back to the beginning, when the owner Lorenzo was just opening Casetta dell’Orso. His wife Olga’s particular preference for a certain bartender inspires Lorenzo to hire an entire staff of gentlemen in glasses. Watch the cranky-but-kind Luciano juggle babysitting duty and the advances of an amorous customer. Witness handsome playboy Vito meet a healthy young college student who will eventually become his wife. All this and more awaits you, just beyond that discreet restaurant door…

Genres: Manga, Comics, Slice Of Life, Graphic Novels, Seinen, Romance, Fiction

176 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 2007

About the author

Natsume Ono (Japanese name: オノ・ナツメ) made her professional debut in 2003 with the webcomic La Quinta Camera. Her subsequent works not simple, Ristorante Paradiso, and Gente (a continuation of Ristorante Paradiso) met with both critical and popular acclaim. In 2009 Ristorante Paradiso was adapted into a TV anime series. Her current series House of Five Leaves (Saraiya Goyou), also adapted into a TV anime series in 2010, is running in IKKI magazine.

(http://www.sigikki.com/creators/natsu...)

She also writes BL under the pen name of basso.

Reviews

[marcia · Rating 3 out of 5]

I like this more than Ristorante Paradiso. It's clearly what Natsume Ono had wanted to do all along and it's way more successful. Each story either focuses on the restaurant or one of the staff. My favorite part of this volume is actually Franc, who's just so cute. I feel like mangakas have a tendency of making children way too precocious, but she's actually able to capture a little kid's mannerisms very well.

[Estara · Rating 4 out of 5]

I loved the anime and Ristorante Paradiso when I read it in scanlation, so I was happy to see it published and bought it forthwith.

The stories in Gente were intercut in the anime with the storyline of Nicoletta and her mother Olga from Ristorante Paradiso - if that was a book for younger yosei-lovers, this book also speaks to mature women who have lived with some bumps in their life's road.

The focus is on the early years of the Casetta Dell'Orso and how the team got together, why everyone wears glasses, with special focus chapters on Luciano and Vito.

It's relationship slice-of-life in a ristorante in Rome. Lovely ^^.

[Beth · Rating 3 out of 5]

As charming as Ristorante Paradiso. As with that series, I sometimes find the plot a little hard to follow (some characters are easy to confuse with each other) but it's almost always enjoyable, and I lilke the manga-ka's loose style with strong use of lines. I also like little Franc, who is cute in a realistic, not cloying way.

For Natusme Ono fans, and graphic-novel fans who enjoy stories set in contemporary Italy with food and drink nearly always in the background or foreground, literally and figuratively, with plots primarily about people and relationships of varying kinds--family, friends, coworkers, and romantic.

[Forthright . · Rating 5 out of 5]

A series of short stories. Each arc offers insight on the cast of Ristorante Paradiso—the waiters, the chefs, the owner, his family, their regulars, etc. Family life. Love life. Days off. Evenings out. For fans like me, this is a most welcome, heartwarming addition. Much of the material in the three volumes of Gente was borrowed from to create the anime, but not all. This takes more time, adds depth, complexity, nuance, and flavor. Very satisfying set!

[Social_Sloth · Rating 4 out of 5]

A calm, almost slice of life like manga that lets us follow the owner of a newly opened restaurant and the waiters that work their. It follows their lives in a slow paced manga that doesn't seem to have a clear goal in mind, and that's the beauty of it. Gente doesn't need a goal to be good, we're happy just finding out who these people are, what relationships they have and what they are trying to do with their lives.

[Nameh dah · Rating 5 out of 5]

Me encontré con la posibilidad de comprar los tres volúmenes a muy buen precio y no me arrepiento de nada. Natsume Ono tiene una forma de contar sus historias que me recuerda por qué debo seguir leyendo manga.

[PurplePixie · Rating 4 out of 5]

I like having the background details about the characters from Ristorante Paradiso. This is not a fast paced story. Very chill and relaxed as we get to know each character and the people surrounding them. It's nice to have a story like this every now and then.

[P. · Rating 2 out of 5]

I like Natsume Ono's style of drawing, and I get that the people who work at the ristorante (Ristorante Cassette del Orso, not Ristorante Paradiso) are all older distinguished gentlemen, but that doesn't mean that she had to draw them indistinguishably. The plot is going for charming slice-of-life, but it was too general to be convincing as slice of life, lacking the little details, whether in action or dialogue, that would make it seem real to me. For the same reason, charm eluded me as a reader. The distinguished gentlemen thing was good, but then nothing more came of the owners other than that one fact, and it got overplayed.

[Rachel Biello · Rating 2 out of 5]

Read my review of Ristorante Paradiso. I hate the stories but I can't seem to stop buying the series. I love the artwork so I keep hoping the next book is better, but it never is. With that being said, I bought Vol. 2.

[Linda · Rating 5 out of 5]

I love the art

[Eric · Rating 3 out of 5]

No doubt about it, Natsume Ono is a talented creator. Her artwork in particular is terrific. Recommended for anyone suffering from shonen/shojo fatigue.

[Andrés Santiago · Rating 1 out of 5]

couldn't be bothered to finish it... nice art, but the stories are clichéd and totally uninteresting. couldn´t get into it...

[Abigail · Rating 4 out of 5]

~Review based on the first three volumes~

[Mandyhello · Rating 2 out of 5]

I don't know what this book was about.. i read it.. but i do not know..