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Battles of a Wandering Chef follows in a long tradition of wandering chef cooking manga. The tropes were well established by The Chef (1985) and we've all seen almost all the elements of Battles of a Wandering Chef before.

First off, I enjoyed Battles of a Wandering Chef in the same way you would enjoy turning on the TV on a Sunday afternoon and catching a spaghetti western. You know what you are getting, a wandering stranger is about to blow into town and solve all the townsfolk's problems, then blow out again.

Unfortunately the pacing of Battles of a Wandering Chef is quite glacial. Instead of the more usual 1 or 2 chapters per struggling restaurant, BoaWC spends 10 or more chapters on each. The hero's "tragic" backstory which is usually only implied or shown in flashbacks in this kind of manga takes the first volume and a half. And it's not that compelling. Yes, we learn why he's wandering and why he hates the New Japan Culinary Association, but it could have been done with far more impact if we had just started with the second arc.

I spent much of the second arc wondering if we were ever going to get a flashback about the original wandering chef that owned Musashi's blade. And wishing I didn't have to watch quite so many suppon (soft shelled turtles) get butchered. The third arc about blowfish seems rushed and then the manga just ends, so I guess the publisher got tired of the pace as well.

Does Battles of a Wandering Chef live up to its potential or even have an overarching theme that could elevate it beyond Sunday afternoon entertainment? Not really, but I enjoyed it for what it was.

"In the shadow of Japan's opening and cultural change, there are many women and children who are suffering. How long must this continue?"

Japan is one of the first countries in Asia to do open trading with the West, and a lot of cultural influences had gone both way. This is the story from Japan's point of view. Two girls growing up together, one being a daughter of a rich family, the other is the maid who was took in to be the daughter's companion. Mariko, the young lady, and Uno, the maid, had different personalities, but held the same dream. They both wanted to spread their wings, travel to foreign lands, and stand equal with men. Throughout their journey, the readers can't help but rooting for both of them, even when their self-interest became conflicting.

What I love about Uno and Mariko was that they both yearned for knowledge, and were both ambitious women. If you are looking for a manga with strong female character, this is it.

The story carried on with a quick pace, going over the two girl's childhood and adolescence in about two volumes. This is a story that went beyond the domestic life of woman in the new Japan. In this story, we will see how brilliant women fend for themselves, and defense their place in the society.

ART

If you are like me, and love the classic shoujo style in Glass Mask, Versailles no Bara, Ouke no Monshou, etc., you would ADORE this manga. This is one of the classic style at its finest. I really enjoyed seeing kimono and Western dresses portrayed by Yamato Waki. The composition is clear, and character design very pleasing.



SPOILER
Mariko is brought up to be a refined lady, while Uno is through and through a strong-willed girl. They spent their childhood happily going to school together. Later, they felt in love with the same guy (Shintaro). It was difficult to guess who each girl will end up with, as well as which girl was in Shintaro's heart.

As the story unfold, Mariko, being burdened with her responsibility with the family, had to marry Baron Kai (Ryuusuke). Yet, I wasn't disappointed because Ryuusuke had a brief history with Mariko, and I believed they would eventually be happy. Besides, Mariko -Ryuusuke reminded me a lot of Scarlett O'Hara and Rhett Butler. They were always fighting, and had misunderstandings. Mariko never really understood her feelings for Ryuusuke. However, I've only read half of the story, so I am hoping for the best.

There is manga that you recall by just looking at the cover, you look at the cover and you remember the whole story, or the general outlines, at least. You can remember a manga when you find it very good, or when you find it very bad. But there are times when you cannot even begin to recall what it was about. Most of the times, it’s because the plot and the characters were just insignificant. Of course, there is -as always- a great amount of subjectivity in this appreciation, but most probably we all have come across a manga that gave us this impression. These works fall into what I´ve come to call a "great cloud of nothingness".

Unfortunately, "Anata no Mune ni Kaeru Hi made" falls into this category.

When I made up my mind to write something about this manga, I just couldn´t remember a thing about it. I had to go through the first chapters again, to refresh my memory in order to write something.

Plot:
This is a love story between a girl and a wealthy man, whose girlfriends always see themselves involved in dangerous situations. They love each other, but he doesn´t want her to suffer any harm, of course... and here they start with the usual "I want to be with you, but I can´t" and "family getting in the way of their love" process. The typical soap opera plot.

Characters:
Kazuya, the main male character, is the typical reach, handsome and mysterious guy... but he doesn´t stand out enough to make you remember him. Nor does the female character, who is the usual martyr and devoted girlfriend.

Art:
The art doesn’t help. It isn’t bad, but it doesn´t stand out either. It is just too "ordinary". There are artist who have a very distinctive style. You can even perceive it by reading one manga alone. It's not the case with this manga. The characters, for example, look just like many others in other mangas.

Enjoyment:
I´m not saying you will not enjoy reading "Anata no Mune ni Kaeru Hi made". If you are looking for romance, you may enjoy reading this one, just to pass time. But it is most probably not going to remain engraved in your memory.

Very interesting manga that's if you love yuri and horror, and the draftsmanship and the story line is is very captivating The ONLY problem i have with this manga is that, its been 5 years since volume one came out and they STILL havent either published or created volume two, I gave up on waiting on volume two, four years ago and i dont think there is gonna be one. Dont read if you like having closer in mangas because volume one isnt gonna give you it at all. Maybe one day somebody going pick up where they left off....

LET ME TELL YOU, about this manga.
It all started when my roomate who loves ducks got the first volume in english as a birthday gift. It was alright, but forgotten. Now skip to 2016 in college.
It was a night when she decided to read manga on the television in the front room that was right next to my desk. I tried to do my homework but the call of manga was too strong.
It started off alright enough, but at some point I knew, I just knew that absolutely no one in his manga deserves happiness.
I'd suggest things that could have improved the story while we were reading since I'm good at guessing tropes as they're set up. And every single time, I was wrong and it was literally the worst possible outcome.
Reading this story I was just wondering if they'd pull a neat little tale about how you're ok the way you are and judging by the ending that's what it'd be going for...but that ending.
OH BOY THAT ENDING.
I don't think I've ever felt more cheated by a story. Maybe I've just avoided bad stories(and technically this one found me) but I understand the rage of seeing potential in a story squandered at every turn.
The humiliation of the main character just seemed so mean-spirited it hurt. It made me want to protect this poor child from his own terrible story. Did he deserve this? I don't recall him doing anything worse then rejecting his original look the first time.
I remember yelling at the screen with my roomates for him to go for "bestgirl" that seemed to change often and ended with all possible girls being so terrible I'm sure they are examples of the worst of humanity in general.
I remember that one time with the sister that almost caused me to pick a fight with the tv just because of double standards, can't remember the chapter and don't want to scrub through it to find it.
But damn, all these characters are just horrible. The ending would have been at least 100 times better if it ended with everyone dying, but hey, that's just my opinion writing a review that I'd written a year after reading the story and am only now bothering to put on MAL.
Art wise- it's nothing special and it's not too special, it's got that shoujo feel that sort of makes one want to wash their hands if they stare at it too long but it's defiantly not the worst manga art has ever offered.
THANK YOU FOR YOUR TIME.

TL;DR? - It sucks!™

This manga was fantastic!

When I found this story I had just caught up to DEAD Tube and was looking for anything that could somewhat live up to the beauty of that masterpiece in terms of gore and art.
This manga encapsulates a horror genre. There is a good amount of gore and, but the overall story somehow manages never to get taken out. The ending, unlike many horror manga, ends on a great note with the hope that the story will never really end though it is over now.

Highly recommend this for anyone looking for a great story that is about long enough to keep you occupied for a week

Happy Reading

I found this series while looking for action/shounen Manhua that ISN'T Xianxia. Although, there are arguably some Xianxia elements there, it is, at the very least, a story that takes place in modern day and deals with the supernatural.

This is also a review based on the 16 chapters that have currently been translated to English so this may be edited later when more have been released.

Story- 7/10
At first glance, the synopsis seems very cliched. And for the most part... it is. Main character was born with special powers, gets bullied for odd appearance as a child, learns that there's a school where he could refine his powers, joins school, has adventures. Honestly, reading these first 16 chapters made me feel like I was reading the beginning of Naruto again.

Not that this is a bad thing. It gives a very refreshing and nostalgic feeling of a shounen series. Most of the twists have been fairly predictable, the author has yet to surprise me. However, this is only the beginning. The setting and world building promises a very interesting concept for the future.

Art- 7/10
The art doesn't strike me as anything special. It's not terrible, but it's nothing special either. Most of the characters have large eyes and round faces. They're also not particularly detailed, but you can definitely see a growth in the author's art. The character designs start getting more extravagant and creative in a short amount of time.

The background drawings are also interesting to look at. The scenery is always heavily detailed with a lot of reference to Chinese culture (the architecture, lanterns, etc).

Character- 6/10
While they have good character designs, a lot of the characters fall flat at the moment. They have yet to impress me, most of them fill common shounen archtypes and doesn't bring anything new to the table. The main character is your typical hothead that is motivated by money. The heroine is a model student and is acknowledged for being powerful, therefore causing the main character to make enemies for hanging around her.

However, this is the beginning of the story and they do have promise for character development in the future. In particular, the villains that have appeared seem to deviate from your typical bad guy.

Enjoyment- 8/10
Like I said earlier, if you enjoy Shounen, you will enjoy this series. It's pretty straightforward and a simple read.

Overall- 7/10
It's a story that has a lot of cliches, but cut it some slack! It's still the beginning! The story does have promise and there will definitely be more to see in the future.

One of the most terrifying things that can happen in life is being in a bad situation without the ability to do something about it. Terrible thoughts that can go through every parent and every brother and sister head-what will happen if someone will hurt my daughter? my sister? what will I do?
If you are lucky, you won't have to worry about facing situation like that in real life, it will just be in the back of your head, siding with your deepest fears.
Sadly, the main character for this manga, "Fly, Daddy, Fly" need to face it head on. After a professional boxer brutally hits his daughter, he is feeling helpless and pain, being unable to do something and protect the one he care for the most.

The story in the manga hits you hard right at the first few pages-it's something that can happen to any one, it's something that we can all connect with and well, get mad about. The hero, Hajime Suzuki, decides that he will handle this personally, and thanks for some help from youngsters who eagerly coach him and guide him he is planning his revenge against the man who ruined his life, by having a showdown between them.
Although a bit simple, the story is adrenaline pumping-it is so sympathetic that you can't help but get attached, feeling as it is something that happened to you. The reader get excited as the story progress and we get to the outcome, rooting the all time for the main character.
There is some things about the story that may seem a bit off-for first, it's a bit cliche. And secondly, it's almost non realistic at all. The amount of people who help and cheer the main character is something that probably won't happen in real life, this is very weird because the story is so easy to read and to like and yet you can see that most of the stuff that happen there-well, probably won't happen in real life.
But it's OK, why you ask? because it's not the main massage of the story. The main massage it's to fight for your loved ones, it's to stand on your ground and not giving up even in dire, scary situations. The excellent execution of this seemingly generic elements are the strong point of the story.

And of course, the characters. Suzuki Hajime is a 47 year old salary man. He is someone you can self insert to. He never got in trouble too much, never got in a fight, and the tragedy hit him straight to the face. His development from a regular, scared person to a man who will fight to protect what his love is very believable because his motivation understood perfectly-to protect his daughter.
There is a group of young high-schoolers who help him to train his body (and mind). But the one who help him the most is Shoon-Shin, a Korean boy with rough childhood whom Suzuki slowly see as a son figure. Sadly, because the manga is quite short we don't get more bonding between the two (and we could see more about that without a doubt) but there is a usage in this little time to show how they come to understand, respect and love each other.
The other High Schoolers are your typical misunderstood punks. They serve as a more comedic breather and to show that not all youth are bad.
The villain is a typical douche bag who is, seemingly, perfect. Champion boxer, son of rich powerful parents. Which makes the showdown much more exciting.

The art for the story... well, it's a bit tricky. In the beginning, the art is kinda lame, rough even. As the story progress, the art actually gets better-smoother, the characters look better, the backgrounds are still kinda lacking though. Of course you can simply say that the artist got a little bit better over the time, but it's also nice to think about it as a deliberate way-the more Suzuki trained, improved himself and his mental strength, the better the art progressed. Might also be bullshit, who knows.

I really enjoyed this manga, read it all at one sitting in like 4 in the morning. It's a great read, it's fun and not to heavy as itself, but makes you reflect and think more about "what would I do?". Of course, the manga is incredibly optimistic, and real life might be different, but still it helps you to get motivate to never lose your ground. In an ending note, I just hope that something like that will never ever happen you all of you, and you will lead a peaceful life.

Even though I think this story is very good, I have to admit to not finding it even a little bit scary. More than anything, the things that happen in this story are very gross, bizarre, and hilarious. It's a unique, interesting concept overall, but I think its scare factor really relies on whether one is afraid of fish and the ocean or not; if you aren't scared by those things, you probably won't find this story scary.

This manga differs largely from its anime adaptation. For one thing, this manga is not a mahou shoujo (magic girl) genre but centers on the bizarre and funny life of the main characters. In my opinion the manga is much more enjoyable.

The art differs from the beginning (the characters are much more deformed later which is suitable for this manga) so don't let it deter you from reading it.

This story has quite a lot of love triangles and characters with certain motives (making money, beating someone else and so on) which create hilarious situations. Much later in the story, Poppy joins the main characters. He usually is more serious and has more common sense than others but he is constantly a source of comedy as he is put in embarrassing situations. I've never laughed as hard when I read the chapter about Seravy's secret. Seravy's threat against Poppy-kun was the funniest ever (although you need to read some of the previous chapters to get it).