Restaurant to Another World, Vol. 1

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By Junpei Inuzuka and Katsumi Enami. Released in Japan as “Isekai Shokudou” by Shufunotomosha. Released in North America by Seven Seas. Translated by Elliot Ryouga. Adapted by Nino Cipri.

By now we have had enough of these “foodie” titles out here in the West that it’s not a surprise anymore. Indeed, the light novel was the last one to get a license here, as we’ve already seen Restaurant in Another World’s manga (on the Crunchyroll site) and anime over here. And there are any number of other titles doing very similar things, including Othewrworldly Izakaya Nobu, Cooking with Wild Game, Campfire Cooking in Another World, etc. That said, Restaurant in Another World seems the purest of the titles we’ve seen here. If you’re not fond of descriptions of people eating delicious food, this is absolutely not the book for you, because that’s all it is. Well, OK, that’s not ALL it is. There’s actually a very interesting and varied fantasy world being slowly laid out here. But there’s no plot beyond “fantasy people eat delicious food” until the very, very end.

If you’ve read the manga, or seen the anime, or hell, even looked at the cover art, you may be surprised at who isn’t in this book. Aletta does not show up until the very last chapter, and I believe the other adaptations wrote her into the earlier chapters specially. Instead we get a very simple premise, repeated over and over. Someone comes across a door with a cat picture on it, in the middle of a cave,. or a forest, or a basement, etc, goes through it, and finds themselves in a modern Japanese restaurant that specializes in “Western” cuisine, although how much that specialty is enforced is something of a running gag. There they discover that the food served there is much, MUCH more delicious than the food they get back in their world. The gimmick is that their world is a standard fantasy one, with elves, dwarves, magic users, and adventurers. Once every seven days… they can eat good food.

The chapters are self-contained to a degree. New person, new favorite food, new descriptions of how that food is the absolute best. But they stack on top of each other, so you see the regulars coming back and eating and arguing with each other about food, not necessarily in that order. Another running gag is that they’re known to each other only by their standard meal, so the adventurer girl is “minced meat cutlet”, and the knight is “fried shrimp”, etc. The cast, as I said, run the gamut. There’s dragons who arrive at the very end of the day for beef stew (don’t worry, she can assume human form). There’s vampires in a Romeo and Juliet-style runaway, only they get away with it. There’s Lilliputians who go as an entire village to eat pancakes. And there’s human kids living there too, who get what most human kids in a restaurant want… burgers and fries. And there’s the unnamed chef throughout, smiling and making their food, and occasionally enforcing the peace.

This light novel series is 5+ in Japan, and I’m not sure how long it can sustain its basic premise without adding SOME plot. That may be why Alette was added in the last chapter, so there’s some more regular regulars. But if you enjoyed the manga and anime, or just like food, you should enjoy this. Also, terrific illustrations by Enami, who also illustrates Baccano!.

Go With The Clouds, North-by-Northwest, Vol. 1

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By Aki Irie. Released in Japan as “Hokuhokusei ni Kumo to Ike” by Enterbrain, serialization ongoing in the magazine Harta. Released in North America by Vertical Comics. Translated by David Musto.

If you enjoyed Ran and the Gray World but wish it had 100% less of that one creepy guy, then this may be the title for you. It’s the author’s followup to that series, after she took a vacation around the world, including driving around Iceland. That informs this new work, which does star a tall, handsome and difficult to like fellow, but this one is the protagonist, and far easier to get along with. In fact, over the first half of this volume I was wondering if this was going to be an episodic title, with each chapter having Kei solving a different problem using his detective skills and ability to talk to machines (which might be the same as his grandfather’s ability to talk to birds). But it does pick up a plot in the second half, and it’s darker than I expected. His aunt and uncle are both dead, and his younger brother is in Iceland and says he’s innocent… but Kei is the only one who believes him.

There’s a sort of odd supernatural-ish tinge to this title, but unlike Ran and the Gray World it never quite dips its toe into the genre full speed. Kei, as I noted, seems to be able to speak to the soul of machines, particularly the car he’s driving around Iceland. There’s also Lilja, a young Icelandic girl Kei’s age, who’s introduced to us in a way that makes the reader wonder if she really exists or is some sort of spirit. Later on, she seems far more real – she’s the niece of a woman who’s dating Kei’s grandfather, and her introduction after the initial chapter is very much meant to be a “romantic interest ahoy” sort of thing, though I was very amused that after he interrupted her without clothing – twice – she insisted on ripping off his boxers to get her own back. Is she a normal girl? Probably as normal as Kei, and she seems to be good at hearing the truth behind sounds – which sets up the cliffhanger, which may put her at odds with Kei.

As you’d expect with this author, the art here is gorgeous. Lots of stunning Icelandic landscapes, striking men and women, and even an action scene or two – there are some lovely poses here. I suspect this may be the lightest volume of the series, which likely will get deeper into the behavior of Kei’s brother next time. But it’s a terrific read, never feeling boring even as you realize that not a lot has happened for the first hundred pages or so. Kei acts like an ass a lot of the time, but as his grandfather notes, that’s very much a front – and, I suspect, a contrast to his brother, who is seen in Kei’s flashbacks to be young, weak and somewhat hapless, but I’m fairly sure isn’t. That said, I’m not sure I’m ready to think him evil either.

This series does what most really good manga want to achieve – makes me really want to read more. Definitely worth a read. Also, what a title.

Invaders of the Rokujouma!?, Vol. 20

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By Takehaya and Poco. Released in Japan as “Rokujouma no Shinryakusha!?” by Hobby Japan. Released in North America digitally by J-Novel Club. Translated by Warnis.

As was possibly easy to predict, after the excitement of the last two books, we’re getting a short story collection here. In fact, the author notes that the plot will basically alternate with these sorts of books from now on, so as not to alienate those who enjoy the lighthearted comedy bits. As such, we get three short stories that were first published online, and one original novella. They all pretty much fulfill the lighthearted part, but as with a lot of Rokujouma, comedy has slowly been replaced by heartwarming as the go-to thing. This is a sweet group of girls, all best friends, all in love with the same guy, and things are great. For a lot of people, this might be annoying, showing off a lack of conflict that helps to drive most series. I find it refreshing. The conflict comes from the enemies in the main plotline. As such, this is basically just pure cuteness.

To no one’s surprise by now, let me focus on my favorite character first. Yurika gets the first story as a focus, and it shows that even though she’s seriously matured and leveled up in the past few books, she is still the same old somewhat whiny, lazy girl who has to be prodded. The difference now is that she CAN be prodded… as well as now Koutarou realizes how he feels about her. The first story deals with the cosplay club hearing (by mistake) that Yurika is going to stop wearing magical girl “costumes”. They know the main reason why girls stop cosplaying – they get a boyfriend. The rest of the story is them hilariously finding they’re right – sort of. To the outside observer, Yurika has become a “reajuu” – she has a great boyfriend, a nice best friend, and a fulfilling life. To the outside observer only, of course. The other two short stories deal with a) Sanae and Ruth peering into Koutarou’s dreams, and realizing he has a ways to go to be healed, and b) Maki and Theia finding that though they may be opposites in many ways, they can still bond as good friends.

The story that takes up the second half of the book is a cooking competition for the school festival, with all the girls competing and Koutarou the judge. This ranges from the obvious (Kiriha and Ruth are great cooks) to the good character building (Yurika is forcibly taught by Shizuka, and her efforts pay off for Koutarou if not anyone else – she didn’t burn or otherwise ruin it) to amusing fun (everything about Clan’s SCIENCE! dish). Moreover, it helps to hammer home one of the main themes of this “harem” series – Koutarou likes them all equally. He gives everyone the same score – even Clan’s “meal” – as to him, they’re all great as the girls all put their heart into them. For a lot of other series, this would make Koutarou into a bland milquetoast protagonist, and to be fair he had elements of this at the start. But he’s developed too, to the point where the reader can smile and nod when this occurs.

So overall a really nice volume, and a good break before we no doubt go off into SPAAAAAAAACE! next time.