Crazy Food Truck vol. 1

Gordon Goliath drives a food truck for a living.  That in itself isn’t a remarkable occupation.  Except in this case where he’s driving it through a world whose setting can easily be described as “Post-Apocalyptic.”  Business in a world where a good portion of its population has been wiped out is as terrible as you’d expect.  However, Gordon feels that this work is his calling and he’s not about to give up on it anytime soon.  Not even after he encounters a naked girl sleeping in the middle of the road one day.  While Gordon is a good enough guy to take the girl in and even feed her, it’s not long before he finds out that her name is Arisa and she’s a super-strong fighting machine who’s on the run from the military.  Which is fine by Gordon because he’s on the run from them too.

“Crazy Food Truck” has a premise that makes me want to like this series.  The problem is that mangaka Rokurou Ogaki half-asses the storytelling all the way through the first volume.  Having a food truck operate in a post-apocalyptic setting is an interesting setup, but Gordon is made out to be terrible at actually selling food to those who want or need it.  Showing us how he sources the ingredients for his food is also done briefly or played for over-the-top action comedy.  Though the post-apocalyptic setting helps distinguish this title from other foodie manga I’ve read, it feels utterly generic compared to other titles that take place in a similar version of it.

The characters also don’t make much of an impression either.  Gordon is gruff but good-natured, while Arisa is a bubbly, gluttonous airhead who hits like an actual truck and likes walking around with her clothes off.  Any hint of an overarching story here beyond “they’re on the run from the military” isn’t given here, either.  I really don’t like giving up on series after reading their first volume, but “Crazy Food Truck” doesn’t offer anything to me that I haven’t seen done before and better elsewhere.