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Reviewed by Michael Aronson “While Koh and Kiriko are sweating over their dish to add personality to the bland ostrich meat, Jan pulls out his secret weapon: the magic box. He hangs the meat inside the box and . . . does nothing! What is this box that turns the ostrich meat black, then white, and back to red? Find out the secret behind Jan’s magic!” Perhaps the editor needs another look at the age rating for this title before he lets fly dialogue like that on page 49. Oops, guys? This ostrich round of the Second Annual Chinese Cooking Competition has been going for quite a while, and though it lagged in the previous volume, it feels pretty climactic in this one. It’s been the most extensive and meticulously chronicled round in the series, and it’s truly built up to something epic (as far as cooking is concerned). Because the task for the chefs is to design a meal for the future, each chef explores a different avenue of possibility. Koh designs his food for humans with deteriorating teeth while Jan predicts that insects like worms and beetles will be one of the most prominent surviving species, and so chooses them accordingly. Speaking of hypothesizing about the future, Saijyo includes a bit of speculation about the history of food that may not necessarily be accurate but is pretty interesting. For example, one of the contestants’ dishes leads the audience to speculate that cheeseburgers may have come about from the desire to use cheese (derived from cow’s milk) to heighten the flavor of the beef, doubling up products from the same animal. I’ve often wondered if the concepts and recipes in IWJ were based in reality, as they would probably revolutionize the cooking world. Or perhaps Saijyo’s just dramatizing what already exists in the cooking field about which most manga readers don’t have much knowledge. Sadly, the repetition from chapter to chapter still persists, conveying the feeling that more could occur in these pages than does. And while I appreciate the usual well-endowed woman, even I’m getting offended by Kiriko’s impractical proportions. It looks as though if she leans over the slightest bit, the stove top’s going to set fire to her chest! Let’s see a little restraint! Interested in writing for MangaLife? We're always looking for talented reviewers and columnists, so drop us a line! Charles Webb Editor-in-Chief, MangaLife.com |
8 April 2011
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