Food, Family and Friendship: Shinmai Shimai no Futari Gohan

Synopsis

This is the story two girls becoming stepsisters and the bond they develop through cooking.

The Good

For any food lovers out there, this is the series for them. Or, if anyone is just interested in some simple cooking tips or a story involving food and cooking, then this is a must check out series. When it come to the cooking genre of manga/anime there are so many about character entering into its competitive world that it’s just nice to find a series that takes on the simple enjoyment of cooking without being overly technical about it. However, more than the cooking and food aspect of the series, it also does great work on its family and friend aspect.

Really, the way that the series manages to build up a subtle but sweet development of the relationship between the sisters while also including Sachi’s friend makes for a solid flow in the story. Not only does the series work its development in its character highly well but it also does well in panning out their stories as well. It’s also nice that time to time, while there is a section on cooking, there are chapters where they take focus on other things such as their interests and getting to know one another makes for a good balance for the series.

The Bad

Being a rather simple and slice of life work, it’s to be expected that it may not appeal to those who are looking for a cooking series with some active plot to it. For one thing, as stated, the plot goes on a rather steady flow and can be rather slow for some readers. Then there is also the fact that with the series being so focused on cooking, it might also get a little old to some readers. Basically, while the story has a solid build-up on plot and characters and rocks its theme, the series can be a little slow and one-note at times.

Conclusion

This is really a series that fully embodies the concept of the title and adds a heartfelt depth to it. As stated it does a great balance between its cooking aspects and other aspects such as the family relationship of the sisters and the friendship of the different characters. It may seem slow and somewhat one not for some readers but overall, the series is rather solid in its characters and its theme. Honestly this is a wholesome series to enjoy.

Rating: 8.5/10