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| Tuesday, 13 September 2011 00:03 |
 By Josh Powell Oishinbo, as the title implies, is a manga clearly devoted to food. Oishinbo combines two Japanese words: oishii, meaning delicious, and kuishinbo, which refers to people obsessed with food. This Japanese manga was first published more than 25 years ago. With over 100 volumes in the native Japanese, it’s a formidable series to take on. Luckily for American readers, Viz Media has been compiling highlights from the series, arranged according to specific categories and in more digestible a la carte English editions. There are volumes devoted to ramen, sake, sushi and, in this case, the izakaya. The premise of the series is the creation of an all-encompassing “ultimate menu” commissioned by a newspaper publisher on the event of its 100th anniversary. The responsibility of creating a menu that embodies the best of what Japanese cuisine has to offer has fallen squarely on the shoulders of journalist Yamaoka Shiro, a cynical antihero with an encyclopedic knowledge of food. This izakaya volume, to the disappointment of fans, is rumored to be the last in the Viz series and, like the others, is not comprised of a single storyline, but rather highlights from the entire span of the original Japanese series. The book includes nine different stories, with the addition of a recipe (“fried sardine fish cakes”), a nostalgic commentary by the author explaining his love of izakayas and a final notes section which serves to explain the nuances of Japanese food and culture as well as to clue readers in on the characters and over-arching themes of the series. The artwork, by Akira Hanasaki, is a visually stimulating combination of cartoonish characters, realistic scenery and highly detailed, intricate renderings of the food itself. Oishinbo — Izakaya: Pub Food is the perfect manga for foodies and Japanophiles alike, providing a unique view into one of the most interesting facets of Japanese food culture — the izakaya. |