Ramen, traditions and mangas | The Press

Naruto Uzumaki loves ramen.

Naruto is a ninja whose activities have been followed by a large audience for over 20 years. By “vast audience”, I mean that more than 250 million copies of the Japanese comic book featuring the character have been sold worldwide… To talk about ramen without mentioning this manga by Masashi Kishimoto would be lacking in sensitivity .

And if it gives a good place to food, several other Japanese comics put gastronomy squarely at the heart of their plots. You did not know it ? I too didn’t know it, until I chatted with Jean-Michel Berthiaume and he asked me to look Glutons & Dragons (Netflix), the adaptation of a culinary manga that he really likes.

” A what ? »

Food manga is an important subgenre of Japanese comics, he taught me. The doctor in semiology specializing in popular culture is particularly interested in works that feature characters who are hungry for information, whether their quest relates to sexuality (Sex Ed 120%), fonts (What The Font?!) or gastronomy. And in this radius, there are many of them.

We’re surprised, but when we think about it, a meal is a story in itself.

“It’s not just about eating, but also about culture, memories, emotions… And the designers take advantage of it,” believes Azusa Matsumoto. In fact, gastronomy is so closely linked to Japanese comics that the founder of Cours de manga MONTRÉAL teaches her students how to cook mochi and ramen!

The ex-mangaka shows me a video. We can see the hands of a YouTuber preparing different dishes illustrated in famous mangas. Already more than 100,000 views on the platform… Is this a trend for real? Azusa Matsumoto tells me that she herself has succumbed to it and that she uses certain recipes from the book in the kitchen. It’s a way to get closer to the protagonists she loves.

Fiction comes to his kitchen.

Traditions too.

This is because inheritance is an important theme in culinary manga, but it is associated with a certain heartbreak.

The scenario of Yakitate!! Ja-pan immediately comes to mind. In this manga by Takashi Hashiguchi, we learn to make bread at the same time as an apprentice baker shunned by his family. She finds him westernized, with his passion for loaves! When the young man is angry with his grandfather for his lack of culinary curiosity, his grandmother explains to him that after the war, the soldiers gave crackers to the Japanese. It’s difficult to then embrace bread derivatives, you understand?

In the same spirit, the first volume of the very famous series Food Wars presents us with a son who seeks to become a better chef than his father. It’s also about real estate gentrification and an impressive mock roast pork recipe made with boiled potatoes, mushrooms and bacon that I dream of recreating. Be careful, this collection can have quite an effect on its readers: a customer of the O-Taku bookstore found his vocation as a cook thanks to it. You have been warned.

If you don’t want to change careers, but you are interested in History with a capital H, opt instead for Amélie Jean-Louis’ favorite: The leader of Nobunaga, by Mitsuru Nishimura and Takuro Kajikawa. A cook passes out and wakes up to find he’s been transported to medieval Japan! He crosses paths with the important warrior Nobunaga and becomes his personal chef… A journey that reveals Japan’s past and the development of its food industry.

On the side of Jean-Michel Berthiaume, these are Drops of God (Tadashi Agi and Shū Okimoto, since adapted into a television series by Apple TV+) which made a real difference. This competition between two young adults hoping to inherit a breathtaking collection of wines allowed him to familiarize himself with the wine world and stop feeling like an impostor when entering an SAQ: “You read that, and you know enough to keep up a conversation, identify your tastes and make your choices. »

The doctor in semiology draws an interesting parallel: certain culinary mangas are in a way guides For Dummies wrapped in an exciting story. The information is even more digestible.

I would go even further. My very recent foray into Japanese comics makes me think that certain mangas can provide us with topics of discussion for dinner. The first volume of Gourmet detective (Akiko Higashimura) raises thorny questions such as: “What is more important in a relationship: sex or meals?” »

Know-how, good manners and something to think about. I thought manga was just for teenagers…