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If you like court dramas at all, this is the manwha for you. Based on real life people and an extremely tragic time in the Korean monarchy, this club has everything. Stoic, hot, intellectual (tragic) hero? Check. Clever, headstrong, independent heroine? Check. Plots and reversals the like of which have never happened outside a k-drama? Check. You can see the story beats coming from a mile away, but you are rooting for the lovers so hard you don't care. The art is beautiful and frequently references (with footnotes) classical Korean art. If you enjoy sumptuous hanbok, you will love the outfit details. Get in on ... the groundfloor and start reading this today.

I am about half-way through this manwha, so I think I can leave a review at this point. First let me acknowledge what might make people dislike it: the translators struggle quite a bit with English technical terms as it is set in the Korean military, the art can be a bit stiff and suffer from same face syndrome, and if you don't like game-ification or "system" this is not for you.

With that out of the way, let me say why I have been reading updates of this for years: I think it gives an interesting glimpse into mandatory army service and standard cooking. ... All Korean males have to serve in some military capacity and so there is a level of realism that is necessary for the Korean readers to accept the setting. We see things like worrying about breaking up with your girlfriend while you are serving, the worries of the soldiers who don't have a good academic background or certificates to back up their skills, and the culture around hazing or bullying.

As someone with a strong interest in gourmet and cooking topics, I can't say that the cooking is particularly detailed here, but you get to see a lot of dishes in Korean cuisine that won't be shown in your usual Korean romances - humble things like jeon (pancakes) and various stewed dishes, that while not romantic are an important part of a Korean chef's repetoire. You also get glimpses of what is trendy like juices and cube steak as the MC develops things for his father's food truck, etc. Overall I enjoy this manwha, but it may not be for everyone, why not take a taste and see if it suits you?

Pros:

- For once the high school girl falls through time to meet someone not Nobunaga.
- Okinawa is very different than other parts of Japan due to originally being the Ryukyu Kingdom and this could have explored this.

Cons:

- She really just fell over on flat grass. They could have at least had her fall off a cliff or down some stairs. Whole thing stinks of a committee writing the script.
- They didn't even lampshade the fact King Satto spoke modern Japanese by having her be like, somehow I understand this foreign language.
- Overall bland plot, designed by committee.
...
I would probably skip this if I wasn't a meibutsu freak.

This is a gentle story about an office worker who lives alone and rescues a kitten. She is on a tight budget, but cooks for the kitten and herself. She seems to have a bit of sad backstory herself and the abandoned kitten also has had a bit of a rough life. The places this manga shines are in the kitten's expressions (mashing it's face into food) and the relatable meals. The main character often stops at the store on the way home and chooses her ingredients based on what is cheap or what she has been gifted. Although the cooking is firmly in the ... home cooking category, its not just a retread of the same common dishes you usually find in these type of manga (curry, etc). The idea of kumquat miso in the first chapter is new to me. If you like slice of life cooking stories, I can recommend this one.

I really enjoyed this series of interconnected stories about artisans living in one Kyoto alleyway of old machiya (shop houses). The feelings were often fresh or bittersweet as the characters pursued love and their art. Like Kyoto-ben, some of the love stories were indirect and took several chapters interspersed across the four volumes to come to satisfactory stopping points. Some of the distinct charm of this manga had to do with learning more about various crafts like bookbinding, silversmithing, shoe-making, yuzen dyeing, doll making, etc. I know this work is listed as seinen, but I feel like if you like gentle josei style love stories, ... this would also appeal to you. Why not give it a try?

A solid set of short stories themed around having a cup of coffee. Some of the stories are quite realistic and others are surreal or fantasy like. A few of characters show up in more than one story and it's nice to follow their thread through the anthology. This is an overlooked gem that has me looking up the mangaka's other works. I rarely drink coffee, but I enjoyed one, sipping slowly to match the pace of this manga which I read over several afternoons. In a way, a lot of the stories could be summed up as having a spirit of "ichi-go, ichi-e" - ... since life is fleeting and we may only meet once, might as well share a cup of coffee.

If you are at all into isekais, you are aware of the huge phenomenon of "reborn villainesses" or isekai'ed people realizing they are the villainess on the way to a bad ending. If you can't enjoy this trope, just click the back button right now.

Good, now that only the people who need some silliness to unwind from the pressures of the week are still in the room, I can sing the joys of Akuyaku Reijou Tensei Ojisan. This manga is pure fun. A middle aged man's perspective translated through a oujo-sama filter is my exact brand of humor. Plus, there is zero chance of him ... falling for any of the teen protags- he sees them as kids.

This manga is genre savvy and I can't wait for his otaku wife and daughter to rescue him from the isekai world after many hilarious happenings.

Overall rating: 9/10 for enjoyment, "Not today, Truck-kun!"

This is a truly enjoyable story about a young woman overcoming obstacles to grow an older variety of rice and brew sake in her brother's memory. The art style is nostalgic and was very popular in the early 90s and the subject matter is well suited by the style. You will see many beautifully drawn scenes of Japanese interiors and fields, complete with strong seasonal associations like the strong light of summer or the deep snow of winter.

Although few things go smoothly, you root for our heroine, Natsuko, and you truly believe her hard work and passion is paying off. There are many typical ... storylines for this type of work: the difficulty of farming economics, the aging older generation without heirs to pass their skills on to, young people leaving the rural town for Tokyo, unscrupulous large corporations, etc. but they are all handled with true heart and will have you deeply invested in the characters' lives.

As is typical, there are romantic subplots, but they are not the focus. In fact where this manga really shines compared to others in the genre are the delicate way the conflicts and friendships between women are shown.

If you enjoy sake, cooking, or gardening at all, please give this manga a chance to move and heal your heart.

If you've read any of Tsuchiyama's other gourmet manga, you know what you are getting. This is probably his most successful merging of some shounen tropes like a novice with potential being instructed in a new sport by a sempai with food. Even though it should be disgusting (Meshinuma, I'm looking at you), there is an exuberance in freely connecting competitive eating with Shinto rituals and post-war celebration of not starving.

The art makes the food look good and the exuberance of the character's reactions carries the plot along. For once the villains are not the Restaurant Association, but the Kansai league's devolution into winning by ... any means necessary, scoffing food without tasting it.

The MC is your classic gourmet salaryman, although not as feckless as Yamaoka from Oishinbo, he shares some of the "haha, he's broke until payday" gags. I am not sure if he can sustain this high for more than 200 chapters, but I've just scarfed down two volumes worth in a hour and I'm willing to go along for the ride.

I was blown away by the first chapter, I was surprised there was a rakugo manga this good I hadn't heard of. And then I realized the truth- this manga is new. I devoured the available chapters in one sitting and now I've come to preach the gospel of Akane-banashi.

If you like shonen manga at all, many of the story beats will be familiar. A young person enters a profession aiming to be the best and avenge their father. However, the protagonist, Akane, is utterly charming and what could be cliche tropes are used with such lightness and freshness that you can't help to be ... drawn in- just like you are watching a top level rakugo performance.