Kinou Nani Tabeta?
What Did You Eat Yesterday?

Edit

What would you like to edit?

SynopsisBackgroundAlternative TitlesPictureChapters/VolumesPublishing DatesRelationsTypeExternal Links  

There's Boys' Love, which is manga focusing on gay male relationships written by women, for women.

There's Bara, which is manga focusing on gay male relationships written by gay men, for gay men.

And then there's Kinō Nani Tabeta?, which a slice of life manga focusing on something else entirely written by a female author and currently being published in a seinen magazine featuring two people who merely happen to also be a gay couple.

Lampshaded by the fact the title translates to "What did you eat yesterday?", Kinō Nani Tabeta? is essentially Food Porn: The Manga. This is achieved by the story being mostly centered on and ... around the protagonist's proudly cherished specialty and hobby: cooking fancy meals for himself and his longtime live-in lover. The overwhelming majority of pages is dedicated to grocery shopping, comparing food store prices, philosophizing on how to match ingredients, preparing dinner, eating dinner, discussing dinner, pondering on what to do with leftovers, and other cooking-related activities. With its attention to detail and personal cooking tips by the mangaka placed at the end of every chapter, Kinō Nani Tabeta? has the potential to act as a substitute for a cookbook.

In comparison to the author's apparent enthusiasm, however, my interest in the art of cookery is rather limited. That, in addition to being a vegetarian with little knowledge of the Japanese cuisine, impacts my enjoyment of the manga to such a degree as parts of it downright bore me, which is why I can't give it the credit it probably deserves.

That is, as long as the cooking aspect is concerned. While Kinō Nani Tabeta? is being published in a conventional seinen magazine and therefore by definition not a Boys' Love manga, the thematic overlap is difficult to disregard. It is perhaps a bit of an unfair comparison, but having read my fair share of BL, the realistic fashion in which Yoshinaga Fumi chooses to portray gay male relationships needs to be praised. Likely out of consideration of the magazine's target audience, no physical affection is shown, which is, however, more than compensated for by the fact that the social issues which are so strangely non-existent in far too many manga are always present in the background, and on top of that dealt with in an oftentimes light-hearted and humorous rather than depressing way.

Other than both being in their forties and identifying as gay, Kakei Shirō and Yabuki Kenji may share a roof but few similarities. Kakei, the cooking enthusiast, lacks a sense of humor, but that doesn't mean he doesn't make the readers laugh. While his seriousness and economic sense are undeniably utile in his job as a lawyer, they become funny when he's in a pinch because he's torn between bulk purchasing food items that are on sale in order to save money and fearing the food might go bad before they manage to consume it. Unlike Yabuki, who's a flamboyantly gay hairdresser, Kakei goes to great lengths to avoid giving away any clues that he believes might cause people to notice he's gay, to the point where he contemplates on whether or not it is manly to eat a slice of water melon with a spoon. Of course, Yabuki has a difficult time keeping mum about their relationship, and Kakei is still forced to come out of the closet at a few occasions. As a couple, Kakei and Yabuki are just as unlikely as the niche this manga is trying to fill.

What surprised me and won me over was the brutal honesty Kakei displays when musing about their relationship. Upon being told he seems to act a little cold towards his lover, he downright admits that Yabuki likely loves him more than the other way round, and the reason he doesn't break up with Yabuki is that it would be troublesome having to start looking for a partner again at his age.

Maybe rather than the focus lying on food, and rather than the target demographic of the magazine it is published in, the most important difference between Kinō Nani Tabeta? and a bad Boys' Love title really is just the lack of any element of idealization.

I was pretty excited to read the first volume of this because I love manga about cooking and stories with gay characters. To sum it up: although the cooking scenes are decent, I don't feel the need to continue because I didn't connect with any characters or their relationships.

This is a cooking slice of life that revolves around a middle-aged gay couple. The first volume is mainly focused on Shiro as he works as a lawyer, shops for groceries, and prepares elaborate meals for his live-in partner, Kenji. There are also scenes of Kenji working as a hairstylist. Chapters usually end with the couple eating ... together.

The shopping/cooking scenes are by far the best parts, and there are some interesting meals and cooking tips. This reads like a healthy, practical Japanese cooking blog at times. It could be fun to try out some of the recipes, but to be honest there weren't many in the chapters I read that blew me away or inspired me (especially when compared to other, more creative cooking manga...but I realize this is also a matter of taste). To get an idea of the types of foods cooked, recipes include: strawberry jam, sardines simmered in pickled plums, stewed eggplant and tomatoes, oven-roasted chicken, chestnut rice, etc. etc.

The art style is clean and simple with a pleasant softness. The cooking scenes look impressive sometimes. The characters look fine, but there's not much about their designs, facial expressions, wardrobes, posing/positioning etc. that really stands out. Backgrounds are sometimes detailed (e.g. in shopping and cooking scenes), but more often they're lackluster or blank. The physical copy is cute enough with good-sized pages and a comfortably flexible spine that made reading this volume easy and speedy.

So, for a cooking slice of life with serviceable-but-uninspired cooking scenes, pleasing-but-plain art, and little-to-no world-building, the characters and dialogue should be high quality to make up for it - but, here's where I was really disappointed.

The characters were a huge letdown. I didn't gravitate towards any of them. There were no exciting, funny, or alluring characters to keep the pages turning. I wasn't super enthusiastic about spending time with them. None of the secondary characters were memorable. There was hardly anything fun, compelling, charming, or intriguing about the conversations, interactions, and dynamics between the characters.

Apart from Shiro's cooking talents, he is so unlikeable. He's arrogant, cold, rude...and not much else. He's mean to Kenji and sometimes seems to loathe him.

Kenji is...? He's...more "flamboyant"? He's...into Shiro more than Shiro's into him? He's...a little jealous and possessive? He's...not a particularly well-rounded or developed character (not that Shiro is all that well-rounded but at least he's more developed since more time is spent with him).

There are a lot of homophobic assumptions and stereotypes woven into the storyline and dialogue, and they spill over into the ways the two leads interact with their friends/co-workers and with each other.

There is no love or affection shown *at all* between Shiro and Kenji. Other than living together and stating that they are in a relationship, there is no other indication that these two characters have any sort of chemistry or special bond. No hugs or hand-holding. No sweet words or phrases. No thoughtful or romantic gestures (other than Shiro cooking for Kenji and Kenji being grateful that he has a hot partner that cooks for him). No vulnerable moments together, no intimate conversations, no "weight" from their supposed shared history...

This is apparently a long-term romantic couple living together and there's just...nothing! They don't even seem like friends. They are more like bickering roommates who eat together but otherwise barely tolerate one another. Shiro shows more affection and kindness towards a married woman he met at the supermarket that he occasionally cooks with than his own partner.

I dunno, it kinda depressed me. I felt sad for them both. They seem unhappy, maybe even a little bitter. At the very least, they're in a rut. I think media can explore relationships like that in fascinating ways, but that kind of thing is really not the focus for this story...so, for a simple cooking slice of life manga to center a couple that acts like this towards one another? It was just odd and unpleasant. There were moments I felt like stopping but I wanted to finish the volume I purchased. In the end, I didn't care to learn more about these characters or the world they live in.

There's a lot of appeal for a slice of life about a middle-aged gay couple (bonus points for the culinary angle), so I understand why plenty of people seem to enjoy this. Stories like that are few and far between. Perhaps later chapters are better than the ones I read, so if it still piques someone's interest I say give it a shot. Maybe certain things about this will resonate with others in ways that simply didn't with me. But anyway, this was my underwhelming experience.

Story: Average (5/10)
Art: Fine (6/10)
Character: Very Bad (3/10)
Enjoyment: Bad (4/10)
Overall: Average (4.5/10 rounded up to 5/10)
Status: Dropped after one volume