She Loves to Cook, and She Loves to Eat
She Loves to Cook, and She Loves to Eat is a Japanese web manga series written and illustrated by Sakaomi Yuzaki. It has been serialized on Kadokawa Shoten's digital manga manga magazine Comic It since January 2021. A 10-episode television drama adaptation was broadcast on NHK General TV from November to December 2022. A 20-episode second season aired from January to February 2024.
Synopsis
Yuki Nomoto, a woman living alone in Tokyo, enjoys cooking, and while she posts her homemade dishes on social media, she regrets that she cannot make the large servings she longs for because she has a small appetite. After being frustrated at work, Nomoto accidentally cooks a large amount of food and is at a loss on how to eat it all. She then remembers her neighbor two houses down, Totoko Kasuga, who eats large amounts of fast food by herself. Nomoto decides to invite Kasuga to eat with her, soon forming a friendship around their love of cooking and eating. As they become closer overtime, visiting each other's houses and going on outings together, the pair begin to develop feelings for each other.Characters
;Yuki Nomoto;Totoko Kasuga
;Kaname Yako
;Sena Nagumo
Media
Manga
Written and illustrated by Sakaomi Yuzaki, She Loves to Cook, and She Loves to Eat originated on Yuzaki's Twitter and Pixiv accounts in March 2020. It then started on Kadokawa Shoten's digital manga magazine Comic It on January 8, 2021. Kadokawa Shoten has collected its chapters into individual volumes. The first volume was released on June 15, 2021. As of February 15, 2024, five volumes have been released.In March 2022, Yen Press announced that they licensed the series for English release in North America.
Drama
A television drama adaptation was announced in October 2022; it was written by Yuri Yamada, with Gorō Itō composing the music and Manami Higa and Emi Nishino performing the leads. It was broadcast for ten episodes on NHK General TV's Yorudora programming block from November 29 to December 14, 2022. A 20-episode second season was announced in June 2023, with the cast and staff reprising their roles from the first season. It aired from January 29 to February 29, 2024.Other
In November 2022, a store selling merchandise from the series was opened. All the proceeds from the store will be donated to Marriage For All Japan, an organization advocating for same-sex marriage in Japan.Reception
Manga
On Takarajimasha's Kono Manga ga Sugoi! list of best manga of 2022 for women readers, the series ranked second. The series ranked 12th and 13th in the web category of the Next Manga Awards in the 2021 and 2022 editions respectively.In Anime News Network's Fall 2022 Manga Guide, Rebecca Silverman gave volume 1 of She Loves to Cook, and She Loves to Eat 4.5 out 5, summarizing "this is yuri for the adult crowd, not because it's sexy or because it's more realistic but because it isn't about the short-term payoff – this is a story about two women who are just letting their relationship grow naturally." Similarly, Christopher Farris also gave the first volume 4.5 out 5, noting that the cooking and eating segments provide a strong framework for the narrative that allows it to explore other aspects of the characters lives, such as their everyday aggravations of sexism, though noting that "even with the societal stressors powering the background of it, She Loves to Cook, and She Loves to Eat still largely comes off as comfort food." MrAJCosplay gave the first volume 3 out of 5, praising Sakaomi's depiction of a variety of body types and feeling that "there isn't much in the way of recipes, but there's just something nice about watching other people enjoy something nice amongst good company."