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ballisticbaylor 's review for:
Otherworldly Izakaya Nobu Volume 1
by Natsuya Semikawa
“This is…life. The universe. The answer to everything!”
This manga adaptation of a Japanese novel series which started online in 2014 could be summed up as a bunch of Germans learning to love Japanese food. But it’s more than that.
A small Japanese pub has popped up in the back alleys of Eiteriach, a medieval-style city in what appears to be some planet other than Earth (the giveaway is a second moon). A pair of soldiers, their commander, a young princess, a tax collector, and a pair of new brothers discover the pub across 6 delightful chapters. I think I smiled and giggled through this whole book. You just get to watch all these people discover amazingly illustrated food they’ve never heard of and go bananas for it. Perhaps the pub is magically too perfect, but it is a charming reminder about the difference that seemingly small things like food, warmth, and kindness can make.
There’s a bit of intrigue and mystery as well. Where is this pub sourcing its ingredients from? At some point a character notices Shinobu, the titular waitress, walk out the door into what appears to be a modern or futuristic city (that is decidedly not Eiteriach). It seems the owners have managed to beam their pub from the future into the past to deliver wonders to the people of old.
I’ll note that the tax collector strongly resembles Anton Ego, the food critic from Ratatouille. It felt a little derivative, but still enjoyable, almost like someone wrote some Anton Ego fan fic that expands on the character. Also while I’m noting inspirations, there is a character who looks uncannily like Link from the Legend of Zelda. But hey, it’s Japan!
Anyway, I’m so in on this. I’m glad its cover caught my eye at the library. You never know with some kitschy manga. I’m excited to see more characters discover Nobu, each-other, and eventually the origins of the pub itself.
This manga adaptation of a Japanese novel series which started online in 2014 could be summed up as a bunch of Germans learning to love Japanese food. But it’s more than that.
A small Japanese pub has popped up in the back alleys of Eiteriach, a medieval-style city in what appears to be some planet other than Earth (the giveaway is a second moon). A pair of soldiers, their commander, a young princess, a tax collector, and a pair of new brothers discover the pub across 6 delightful chapters. I think I smiled and giggled through this whole book. You just get to watch all these people discover amazingly illustrated food they’ve never heard of and go bananas for it. Perhaps the pub is magically too perfect, but it is a charming reminder about the difference that seemingly small things like food, warmth, and kindness can make.
There’s a bit of intrigue and mystery as well. Where is this pub sourcing its ingredients from? At some point a character notices Shinobu, the titular waitress, walk out the door into what appears to be a modern or futuristic city (that is decidedly not Eiteriach). It seems the owners have managed to beam their pub from the future into the past to deliver wonders to the people of old.
I’ll note that the tax collector strongly resembles Anton Ego, the food critic from Ratatouille. It felt a little derivative, but still enjoyable, almost like someone wrote some Anton Ego fan fic that expands on the character. Also while I’m noting inspirations, there is a character who looks uncannily like Link from the Legend of Zelda. But hey, it’s Japan!
Anyway, I’m so in on this. I’m glad its cover caught my eye at the library. You never know with some kitschy manga. I’m excited to see more characters discover Nobu, each-other, and eventually the origins of the pub itself.