(CR) Isekai Shokudou (Restaurant to Another World)

[SeaDoor]

Oh yes! I like this a lot. Just need to remember to eat first before watching.

Hope the dragon lady shows up more. I like her and think she's kind of hot.

Sorry... that slipped out. I'll try to be more careful.

[Wandering Soul]

Yeah, I definitely found my feel good anime for this season. The only problem is that I'll probably end up feeling hungry after each episode.

[LoweGear]

Originally Posted by Marcus H.

Shripe? Is this the isekai version of shrimp?
Also, this episode reveals some interesting thing about shrimps and ice, as well as the absence of lemons in the otherworld. Come to think of it, shrimps and ice often show up in opposing climates; shrimps taste best in some tropical regions, while ice can only last long in very cold climates. Without modern technology, ice and fresh seafood cannot co-exist.

Damn, I could use some tonkatsu right now. :Q

Note how the other world residents have different terms for food than this world, for example "oranie" is onion, while "schripe" is shrimp, "Baron's fruit" is potato, etc.

Also one of the nice things about the story is how the food and drink in the restaurant is utterly normal for those of us who live in the modern world and take such things for granted, and yet for people in a fantasy world in a medieval tech base, the stuff in the restaurant is utterly.... well, otherworldly. It's one of the reasons I love the show.

[Proto]

I don't know. As cute as the show is the show feels like a jarring glorification of Japanese food. Maybe I was expecting something akin to to Bartender with the episodic nature of the series where the food/spirits were used as an avenue for giving us an interesting window into someone's life and use that as means for introspection. But as it is this is just mental masturbation on Japanese food, which has been used as a crutch by just about every Isekai web novel in the last 5 years, it's just that in here the crutch became the series. I still have high hopes for this, but to be truthful the second episode was a big dip from the first.

[Wandering_Youth]

I love good food related animes. You know they're good when they make you hungry. *stomach growls* Yeah, I need some food right about now.

[Pen3]

Originally Posted by Proto

I don't know. As cute as the show is the show feels like a jarring glorification of Japanese food. Maybe I was expecting something akin to to Bartender with the episodic nature of the series where the food/spirits were used as an avenue for giving us an interesting window into someone's life and use that as means for introspection. But as it is this is just mental masturbation on Japanese food, which has been used as a crutch by just about every Isekai web novel in the last 5 years, it's just that in here the crutch became the series. I still have high hopes for this, but to be truthful the second episode was a big dip from the first.

Are you jealous that Japanese food is better than American food? Would you be happy if he served hotdogs and mcdonalds?

[Tranhieu]

Well this anime is made by Japanese for Japanese viewers in the first place, I see no problem with its 'glorifying' Japanese food. In fact I more enjoy it this way.

[Vallen Chaos Valiant]

Originally Posted by Proto

I don't know. As cute as the show is the show feels like a jarring glorification of Japanese food.

The fact that you say this despite the reality that the story deliberately avoid Japanese style foods, is strange. So your problem is that the show has a Japanese chef? So the story is fine exactly as it is if you just change the chef into a French man?

[Proto]

Are you jealous that Japanese food is better than American food? Would you be happy if he served hotdogs and mcdonalds?

My point is that the series is lacking soul, it is all show and no substance so far. It is a show entirely devoted around food but even then it does not go into anything regarding what constitutes the preparation, or anything beyond the reaction/shock factor towards delicious food or the anticipation leading to eating the food itself. It's like a comedy show where the punchline is the same even if the setup changes. Japanese shows, people and culture have a disturbing fetish with food reactiosn. It's in their TV shows, their books, their web novels and now it is starting to invade anime as well. It is frankly getting boring. This is regardless of the fact that is is centered around Japanese food, but it certainly doesn't help.

Yes, I do find the food presented in the show to be delicious. No, I do not care about the show if you don't have something for me to bite. In Yakitake Japan you had comedy. In Shokugeki no Souma you have a classical shounen formula. In Bartender (the series I'm thinking this is trying to emulate) you had an episodic formula with people with problems you actually cared about all in the space of 20 minutes. Yes, this formula can work if the narration gets it right, which I'm not seeing here.

Now addressing your point because I found it amusing
- Full disclosure: I'm from Mexico myself, living, studying and working in the US since 10 years ago.
- American food is much more than hotdogs and mcdonalds regardless of what the media wants you to believe. Starting with soul food (deep fried stuff, bbq etc) , Louisina
style cajun food (gumbo, Jambalaya), deep dish pizza, etc. That said, hot dogs can be delicious if you know where to buy them.
- Even if you discount American cuisine what you find here is all about multiculturalism. You will be hard pressed to find anywhere else in the world where you can find ethnic restaurants from all over the world at affordable prices within the same block.
- I love Japanese cuisine, thank you very much.



Frustratingly enough, the first episode showed promise, it had me hook line and sinker. Enough that I'm more than willing to give this series another try. But this is a preoccupying pattern.

edit: So to address this point that peole have picked up on. (mostly my fault, I focused on the wrong thing in my last post).

Well this anime is made by Japanese for Japanese viewers in the first place, I see no problem with its 'glorifying' Japanese food. In fact I more enjoy it this way.

The fact that you say this despite the reality that the story deliberately avoid Japanese style foods, is strange. So your problem is that the show has a Japanese chef? So the story is fine exactly as it is if you just change the chef into a French man?

The fact that the food is Japanese is incidental. It is the stupid pattern of food reaction you see in every japanese TV show (like those" let's have celebrities eat weird food" shows) that is worrying me when I see it in anime.

[Marcus H.]

That's like complaining that mystery always had people stuck (and killed) in locked rooms, and most, if not all, cases involve murders... or complaining that romantic comedies often have a bias against the main girl. As much as this is isekai, Isekai Shokudou is also a "shokudou" story, where compassionate cooks open their doors and wow his customers with delicious food.

You're just averse with certain conventions connected to a shokudou story. We can't really do anything about that.

[LoweGear]

Focusing on just the food itself seems kinda missing the point of the show's premise: the show isn't a cooking show with recipes and essays into what makes a food what it is, this show is about the lives of fantasy world inhabitants and how they react to modern food, and how exactly the restaurant affects them. The reactions are there because it's expected - if they don't have a reaction to eating such food for the first time it'd be unrealistic afterall. And yet how exactly those reactions are earned is different - in this episode alone, Sarah's reaction to the food is because of how good it is, while Heinrich's reaction is more about the fact that he can eat a taste he's been missing for years.

This show is really styled more as a slice-of-life show using food as a medium, rather than the food itself being the centerpiece - or more precisely, they do have a focus on the food, but only as the medium to get the reaction. The next episode should show more of what the series is all about beyond just food reactions, even if it does have that as well.

[Proto]

That's like complaining that mystery always had people stuck (and killed) in locked rooms, and most, if not all, cases involve murders... or complaining that romantic comedies often have a bias against the main girl. As much as this is isekai, Isekai Shokudou is also a "shokudou" story, where compassionate cooks open their doors and wow his customers with delicious food.

That is fair. If I have a fundamental problem with the genre then maybe I was just averting my dislike when it was mixed with other subgenres. In this case I was expecting something GATE-like with the Isekai aspect where we got to see how the introduction of a foreign culture can cause a mini cultural revolution, and we get to explore those aspects. Or if not that maybe something Bartender like like I mentioned. If it's going to be pure, unadulterated Shokudou, then I just have to come to terms that the story is not going to be for me, and it was my issue for having the wrong expectations.

Not being sarcastic here, just factual.

However if it is this

This show is really styled more as a slice-of-life show using food as a medium, rather than the food itself being the centerpiece - or more precisely, they do have a focus on the food, but only as the medium to get the reaction. The next episode should show more of what the series is all about beyond just food reactions, even if it does have that as well.

Then in principle this is normally my cup of tea. I love this kind of shows. I love Kino no Tabi. Bartender, Seraphim Call. Just showcasing the lives of random people. And the first episode worked, even if a little clumsy I liked it. Aletta 's plight was real, it evoked themes of discrimination, trying to make it out in the world despite the odds, hope. You felt for her. However the second episode fell flat for me. It's characters were just not interesting. Heinrich was ok, but I can't even remember the name of the character in the first half. But maybe my complaint is just premature adn I'm just making a mount-hill out of a momentary (and perceived) dip, so I'll drop it here and just let the show speak for itself.

[mickbis]

Rather than Japanese food, this show is more toward "Modern everyday food"

You will see a lot of food that scream "Not Japanese" here

while there another one called "Isekai Izakaya" that purely deal with Japanese food

other difference is Shokudou other world is true Fantasy world while Izakaya is more toward western old period

[Tenzen12]

Well, yeah owner doesn't really makes japanese food. I think it should be pretty obvious considered restaurant name Western style Nekoya

[SeijiSensei]

My opinion leans toward Proto's. I liked the first episode well enough, but this one was much less compelling. Neither story had any drama. Two people found their way to the restaurant, had enjoyable meals, and talked forever about the wondrous food they ate. It was cute that Tomb Raider girl discovered that the treasure she sought was the door, but so what? Did it change her life in any serious way? If so, I missed it. I was largely uninterested in Heinrich's story from start to finish and found the trek across the wasteland tedious. Like Proto, I want the characters to have some personal issue or drama that gets resolved through the experience of coming to the restaurant. If the point of the show is to look at food and listen to this week's cast of newcomers ramble on about how good it is, I'm not long for this story.

[MeoTwister5]

I suppose that the flow and concept of time is very different within the restaurant and to the places it... technically visits and the otherworldly patrons it serves.

Incidentally when I watch shows with an emphasis on food, I usually pair it with a meal of my own. I watched this episode eating a Croque Madame. As someone who has similar rections to eating new food for the first time, well, I relate a lot to the patrons.

[Marcus H.]

This is not the "masterpiece" you're looking for, SeijiSensei.
Much better to not expect or compare this to other anime, because that's where disappointment starts.

[Tenzen12]

Originally Posted by SeijiSensei

My opinion leans toward Proto's. I liked the first episode well enough, but this one was much less compelling. Neither story had any drama. Two people found their way to the restaurant, had enjoyable meals, and talked forever about the wondrous food they ate. It was cute that Tomb Raider girl discovered that the treasure she sought was the door, but so what? Did it change her life in any serious way? If so, I missed it. I was largely uninterested in Heinrich's story from start to finish and found the trek across the wasteland tedious. Like Proto, I want the characters to have some personal issue or drama that gets resolved through the experience of coming to the restaurant. If the point of the show is to look at food and listen to this week's cast of newcomers ramble on about how good it is, I'm not long for this story.

I don't know about you, but if I go into restaurant I expect tasty food, not life changing experience. Why would you even expect that there in first place?

[Dop]

I'm wondering if we're going to get a few two-parters coming up as I get the impression they're just introducing the restaurant's regulars.
The woman got a pleasant memory of her father, and the man got to save the day, and while those stories are as thin as last week's "beef stew", Whether we get something more (ahem) 'meaty' or not remains to be seen, and I think in the end that's where the show will stand or fall.
Hopefully we'll get to see just how the transdimensional door came about.

[ScrewySquirrel]

This strikes me as being very similar to a live action Netflix Japanese restaurant show, "Midnight Diner" . The good restaurant has a Chef who is in it for the art - the money is just a bonus - whose food brings disparate people together. He solves their problems either by talking with them or by the food he serves. This just adds a fantasy world to it.