I read some of Oishinbo and I wanted to discuss one of the chapters I found interesting this week, which was the chapter on tea. I didn't find it interesting because of the tea, in fact tea wasn't talked about that much. Rather, I found the concept behind the chapter more interesting. It was the reflection of a Japanese-American senator who came back to Japan to find that all his old friends became wealthy, and seemingly lost their "spirit".
I find it ironic, because the mangaka puts America in a good light in the senator reminding both the viewer and the characters of the manga to not consume too much and not to lose their Japanese spirit and heritage, yet America is one of the biggest countries that pushes capitalism and consumerism. So, to me, it's ironic that the Japanese-American senator is sick of the wealthy lavish displays of food from his old Japanese friends. Though, it makes sense given his background that maybe he's also tired of American displays of wealth and extravagance.
Overall, Oishinbo is a lot different from the cooking manga I tend to read, where there's more of a competitive aspect to the cuisine and culinary arts. From what I read of it, at the very least, it's much more relaxing and almost like slice of life. I do think that slice of life genre manga does teach you a lot about culture in Japan just due to how they work as well.
I find it ironic, because the mangaka puts America in a good light in the senator reminding both the viewer and the characters of the manga to not consume too much and not to lose their Japanese spirit and heritage, yet America is one of the biggest countries that pushes capitalism and consumerism. So, to me, it's ironic that the Japanese-American senator is sick of the wealthy lavish displays of food from his old Japanese friends. Though, it makes sense given his background that maybe he's also tired of American displays of wealth and extravagance.
Overall, Oishinbo is a lot different from the cooking manga I tend to read, where there's more of a competitive aspect to the cuisine and culinary arts. From what I read of it, at the very least, it's much more relaxing and almost like slice of life. I do think that slice of life genre manga does teach you a lot about culture in Japan just due to how they work as well.
I really enjoyed reading the manga too. I love how they show the step by step process in making Japanese dishes and how to make them right. Also I love when they get competitive because it's funny to hear them argue over who's dish is better and then one of them gets outsmarted by the person who got trained for only days and has the best cooking skills.
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