Whether it’s the soup and eggs from a Ghibli movie or an elaborate bento from a life series, few things look more appetizing than a delicious movie meal. cartoons related to food. Given this, it’s no surprise that there are so many quality food-related anime out there. Many anime take inspiration from food to convey information to their characters, such as Tokyo Mew Mew which based its core characters on foods like strawberries, lettuce, and pudding .
Like many other things in anime, cooking is often depicted as a battle between rivals, competing to create the best dish that literally knocks down diners. However, some anime slow down and focus on the relationship between chefs and their customers, creating a warm and welcoming atmosphere in the show.
10 Food Wars: Shokugeki No Soma
A show that has become synonymous with both food and shounen anime, Food Wars follows Yukihira as he reluctantly enrolls at Totsuki Culinary Academy to become a capable chef who runs his father’s diner. Yukihira struggles to fit in with the senior chefs at the academy, who find their past at a diner below them. However, through culinary battles (known as shokugekis), Yukihira rose through the ranks to become a top chef. Food Wars has some amazing and tense episodes, as well as lovable characters that make audiences fall in love with them from the start. Yukihira’s showdowns are fun to watch as we also see the struggles of our opponents, allowing us to understand them despite wishing their defeat.
9 Bartenders (2006)
Sasakura is a bartender prodigy who can make some of the best cocktails ever seen. He opened his own bar, Eden Hall, which is super exclusive and requires an invitation to enter. The characters show up at the bar and are treated to a drink, solving their problems for Sasakura and trying to find the best way to solve their problems. problem. Sasakura helps people throughout the show through his drinks, such as saving a young woman from a scammer by guessing the scammer’s drink name. However, instead of alcohol, the show focuses more on honesty and creates a good atmosphere for conversation, helping people slow down and consider their options before doing something rash. .
8 Yakitate!Japan (2004-2006)
This innovative anime follows Kazuma Azuma as he tries to create a national bread dish for Japan, as many other countries also have it, intending to call his dish “Ja-Pan” ( pan is the Japanese word for “bread”). Kazuma’s Hand of the Sun allows him to ferment bread faster, aiding his technical skills so he makes some great breads throughout the series. The intensity of this anime helps to sell the weird premise, as we’re watching the characters literally argue over croissants. This cartoon might be perfect for fans of The Great British Bake Off, due to its lively characters and the oddly high stakes involved in a loaf of bread.
7 New Cooking Boy (1997-1998, 2019-2021)
Set in 19th century China and a fictional era called “Cooking Wars”, Mao tries to become a Super Chef to take over his late mother’s restaurant. Mao travels around China to learn different cooking techniques and ways, expand his skills and meet many lively opponents along the way. The series was originally released in 1997 and continued for 52 episodes. The new Cooking Master Boy released in 2019, continues the story of Mao completing the Special Chef Trial in Guangzhou. Mao is the youngest Super Chef in history and his cooking skills take a whole new level.
6 Isekai Izakaya (2018)
Nobuyuki and Shinobu open Izakaya Nobu on their own terms after turning their backs on their mysterious past. However, after praying to the temple in the restaurant, their door suddenly opens to a parallel fantasy world filled with medieval soldiers and giant monsters. Each episode ends with a live-action cooking lesson from Nobu Plus, showing the audience how to prepare each dish in the episode.
The great cast of characters is certainly enough to distract the audience from the advertising and the obvious product placement the show is trying to sell. Waitress Shinobu often steals the show, becomes one of Isekai’s best heroines in Nobuyuki’s absence, and sometimes saves time just by being nice to people.
5 Paradise Restaurants (2009)
Ristorante Paradiso follows Nicoletta, a young woman who travels to Rome to confront her mother for abandoning her. Knowing that her mother had opened a new restaurant, Nicoletta agreed to stay in Rome and live in an apartment near the restaurant. The film has a lot of drama in its short run, with relationship issues and likable characters that keep audiences entertained throughout.
While the movie may be slow-paced, the cast and delicious food scenes make up for it, fueling the film with a delightfully sophisticated atmosphere that sets it apart from the rest of the world. fighting style food anime commonly seen in movies like Food Wars.
4 Other World Restaurants (2017-2021)
The Nekoya Western Restaurant is open to the parallel world once a week, on a Saturday. Its patrons range from lions to demons to dragons, but everyone agrees that Nekoya has the best food in the world. The story is mainly about the demon girl Aletta who, after being rejected by human society, finds a safe place and a job at the Isekai restaurant. It’s not the funniest Isekai anime, but it does have some warm and hilarious moments. Restaurant to Another World is also one of the most laid-back and endearing anime, with sweet characters, all with weird and wonderful backstories that inform their actions.
3 Yumeiro Baker (2009-2010)
Amateur chef Ichigo transfers to St. Marie fame to become a baker. Despite his clumsiness and inability to get along with his upperclassmen, Ichigo proved himself to be a baking prodigy and regularly wowed everyone with his amazing cakes. Ichigo works hard to improve his skills, practicing all night to get some recipes right. Although she has a natural gift, her friends and the Sweet Spirits who look after the campus have been very supportive of her, giving her advice and supporting her as she passed. Many people initially looked down on her.
2 Odd Camp (2018-)
An anime where the heroine passes the Bechdel Test with ease, Laid Back Camp follows a group of Outdoor Circle girls who enjoy going camping together. Anime is healthy and cute, often featuring the girls cooking together, as good food is one way to make camping fun. The recipes that the camping girls make are very easy and use few ingredients, as it will be difficult to transport various ingredients and supplies to the camping site. One of the best dishes on the show was a mixture of steamed vegetables cooked in tin foil over a campfire, turning a group of disinterested teenagers into camping enthusiasts.
1 Sweet And Lightning (2016)
Sweetness And Lightning follows a teacher, Inuzuka, whose wife recently passed away, and he must take on the role of primary caretaker for his daughter, Tsumugi. However, Inuzuka has difficulty providing enough meals for his daughter, who prefers home cooking to fast food, and he realizes that he must learn to cook properly. This anime is a lovely time, with the focus of the story on the relationship between Inuzuka and Tsumugi. Inuzuka would do anything for her daughter, and watching their relationship grow makes this one of the sweetest anime in a very long time.
Any of these stellar food cartoons is sure to give fans a good time. Whether fans want the genre to be more battle-focused or a more laid-back casual story, there’s really something for everyone. So while cartoons related to food may not be the most popular overall, the series on this list proves that there is no shortage of great shows in this genre for fans to enjoy.