Miho loves food. She happily eats large bowls of rice with a big smile. But, back in high school, a schoolmate told her it wasn’t really feminine to eat so much or with so much gusto. That hasn’t stopped Miho, but she does prefer to eat alone these days.
A college friend wants to meet Miho’s boyfriend before a group date and Miho is in a bind. She usually brings her brother to these things to stave off both answering questions about not having a boyfriend from the girls and advances from the guys. But her brother can’t make it, so he’s sending a substitute…who turns out to be beautiful woman, Mori-sempai. Moris one of those people who is completely comfortable with herself and jumps right in as Miho’s “lover.” But Miho is much less comfortable with the kind of skinship Mori-sempai seems to favor. When Mori-sempai shares that she’s seen Miho eating and everything seems so delicious, Miho invites Mori to make some food together.
When I heard about Sempai, Oishii desuka? Volume 1 (先輩、美味しいですか?) which combines three things I really like – Yuri, food and Mikanuji’s art and characters – I was really excited to read this volume. Now that I have read it, I can definitely recommend it with some significant reservations.
Miho is a well-conceived character. She’s awkward in a very relatable way; hyper-focused on things she finds relaxing and fun, and unsure and often uncomfortable outside those situations. I think I and nearly everyone I know fits that pattern. She really can’t read Mori and Mori isn’t really being entirely upfront…a fact that she admits to Miho. Miho’s really cute. Her reason for not going out with a girl who confessed her feelings was totally in character…and Mori agrees. ^_^
Mori’s the deep waters here. On the surface she’s perfect. However, she regularly violates Miho’s boundaries, not with malice, but she still does it. This is the reservation in my recommendation. If you are made uncomfortable by a story in which boundaries are ignored, this may very well distress you, because it did begin to distress me. I found it a little much. Perhaps read as a monthly serial it would be more tolerable than in one sitting. As the volume progresses, we see – and Mori mentions – that she has some secrets.
One wonders if this story about food and Yuri doesn’t have a third layer about…something…beneath the surface. I could conjecture, but I don’t want to make the book about something it’s not about. I just have a gut feeling.
Lastly – the food parts aren’t quite recipes, but they’ll certainly stimulate the appetite and imagination, especially if you enjoy Japanese food. And of course Mikanuji-sensei’s art is quite cute.
Ratings:
Art – 8
Characters – 8
Story – 7
Service – Mori getting too close too often is problematic rather than salacious
Yuri – Beyond the premise, let’s give it a 4
Overall – 7
I can see this story doing some good things and equally, I can see it cutting corners. I hope as it develops it goes the former route. I’m really hoping Miho and Mori grow a bit more in synch and work through their baggage together.
