Cooking Master Boy

Cooking Master Boy, known in Japan as, is a Japanese manga series written and illustrated by Etsushi Ogawa. It was serialized in Kodansha's Weekly Shōnen Magazine and Magazine Special from October 1995 to November 1996; a follow-up sequel, Shin Chūka Ichiban!, was serialized in Weekly Shōnen Magazine from January 1997 to May 1999. Both series' overall chapters were collected in seventeen volumes. The story is centered on Liu Mao Xing, a boy whose aim is to become the best chef he could be. In November 2017, Ogawa started a sequel entitled Chūka Ichiban! Kiwami, published on Kodansha's Magazine Pocket app.
A 52-episode anime television series adaptation by Nippon Animation aired on Fuji TV from April 1997 to September 1998. A 24-episode anime television series adaptation of Shin Chūka Ichiban!, titled True Cooking Master Boy, produced by NAS and Production I.G, aired for two seasons from October to December 2019 and January to March 2021, respectively.

Plot

The story takes place in 19th-century China during the Qing dynasty, where the Emperor was weakened, and the country was close to chaos. It is also during a fictitious era called "The Era of the Cooking Wars". It was an era in which top chefs with different cooking styles tried their best to improve their skills and to become the best chef in China. It is a country where insulting a high-grade chef or fooling around with cooking could land a person in a jail, and impersonating a top-chef is as bad as usurpation of authority. Chefs compete with each other in order to gain respect and even power, but also with the risks of losing everything.
After the death of Mao's mother, Pai, who was called the "Goddess of Cuisine", Mao becomes a Super Chef in order to take the title as Master Chef of his mother's restaurant. However, before he takes his mother's place as Master Chef, he continues to travel China in order to learn more of the many ways of cooking, in the hopes of becoming a legendary chef, just like his mother. During his journey, he meets great friends and fierce rivals who wish to challenge him in the field of cooking.

Characters

Main characters

;Liu Mao Xing
;Mei Li
;Si Lang/Shirou
;Xie Lu
;Lei En/Leon
;Tang San Jie
;Lan Fei Hong
;Pai

Minor characters

;Zhou Yu
;Ruoh
;Shao An
;Admiral Lee Hong Yue
;Liu Ke Lin
;Shan
;Mira
;Juchi
;Ensei
;Alkan
;Kaiyu

Media

Manga

Written and illustrated by Etsushi Ogawa, Chūka Ichiban! was first serialized in Kodansha's Weekly Shōnen Magazine from October 11, 1995, to May 29, 1996. It was later moved to the publisher's Magazine Special, where it ran from July 5 to November 5, 1996. Kodansha collected its chapters in five volumes, released from February 14, 1996, and December 11, 1996.
A follow-up sequel,, was serialized in Weekly Shōnen Magazine from January 1, 1997, to May 19, 1999. Its chapters were collected in twelve volumes, published between May 14, 1997, and June 15, 1999.
Ogawa started a sequel, titled Chūka Ichiban! Kiwami, published on Kodansha's Magazine Pocket app since November 10, 2017. Kodansha has compiled its chapters into individual volumes. The first volume was published on April 9, 2018. As of October 9, 2025, twenty volumes have been published.

Anime

1997 series

An anime television series adaptation by Nippon Animation aired on Fuji TV from April 27, 1997, to September 13, 1998.

Episodes

2019 series

In 2019, it was announced that Shin Chūka Ichiban!, or True Cooking Master Boy manga would receive an anime television series adaptation produced by NAS, with animation by Production I.G. It is directed and written by Itsuro Kawasaki, with characters designs by Saki Hasegawa and music composed by Jun Ichikawa. The series aired from October 12 to December 28, 2019, on MBS's Animeism programming block.
After the final episode, it was announced that the series will be receiving a second season, with the staff and cast are reprising their roles. The second season aired from January 12 to March 30, 2021, on Tokyo MX, MBS, and BS-NTV.
Crunchyroll streamed the series outside of Asia. China Film Animation licensed the series in mainland China and Southeast Asia, and is streaming it on iQIYI.
Remow licensed the series in English and started streaming it on its It's Anime YouTube channel.

Season 1

Season 2

Theme songs

''Chūka Ichiban!''

;Opening themes

"Sky" by Maki Ohguro
"Iki mo Dekinai by Zard
"If Only You Were Here" by Deen

;Ending themes

"Met in the Blue Sky" by Arisa Tsujio
"Mineral" by Kaori Nanao
"Free as the Wind" by Keiko Utoku
''Shin Chūka Ichiban!''