Side Dish Which Matches Rice Well

I honestly cannot believe there are no reviews on the manga already. The story is formatted as a series of short chapters about individual characters that all interact with each other through food. It features kids, elders, young adults, families, single folks, etc. but every story centers, in some way, on food. There is also a running story in the end cards for each chapter that has a cute turn at the end. Each chapter also features a recipe, with full instructions on how to produce it as well as various other ideas for reusing the "side dish" of the chapter (as well as plentyof great food illustrations). The manga is also in full color, which definitely adds to the imagery of the foods. The stories cover a variety of topics and themes across the different "sub-stories" of the chapters. Regardless of where you are in life, you will likely find at least one to connect to in some way. While there is loss and loneliness and all sorts of other negative stuff (more than one story had me in tears), food continuously serves as a positive element in these characters' lives. If you're someone with an uncomfortable relationship with food, seeing these characters find joy and comfort in food time and time again might be something you need. Overall, I would absolutely recommend this manga to just about anyone considering it. It was an absolute pleasure to watch the characters come together over good food in this manga, and I cannot wait to read it again.