What Did You Eat Yesterday? vol. 8

It’s been a while since I talked about this title, so I figured I’d let everyone know that I’m still reading and enjoying it.  Granted, mangaka Fumi Yoshinaga hasn’t figured out how to deal with its main recurring problem — how the narrative in any given chapter grinds to a halt when the cooking starts — but that’s less of an issue now.  She’s developed Shiro and Kenji’s social lives and personalities to the point where it’s quite entertaining just to find out about what’s happening with them in the latest volume.  In this case, we get a story where the normally frugal Shiro gives Kenji an early birthday present in the form of a trip to Kyoto.  Though Kenji is thrilled at first, his nerves slowly start fraying at his partner’s unusual behavior.  Buying expensive souvenirs, having his picture taken with Kenji and holding his hand in public later on, reserving a room at a pricey inn, it’s all extremely out of character for Shiro.  Kenji’s unease and anxiety is perfectly conveyed to the reader because we’ve seen how stingy his boyfriend has been with their finances over the course of the previous seven volumes.  So we’re prepped to identify with his situation.  When the reason for Shiro’s actions is revealed, however, it’s a welcome relief even with the tiny bit of sadness that accompanies it.

Another thing that Yoshinaga has successfully done over the course of this series is build up a diverse and appealing supporting cast.  You’ve got Kayoko, married neighbor to our protagonists and a cooking buddy with Shiro, and her somewhat irresponsible daughter Michiru who is having her first child.  Even though Michiru doesn’t mean to, she has a habit of constantly irritating/exasperating Shiro due to her ill-informed consideration of his sexuality.  Fortunately her husband, introduced in this volume, appears to be a perfect foil to her unintentional thoughtlessness.  We also get a bit more of Mr. Kohinata and his demanding boytoy Wataru here, though I’m still at a loss as to how the former puts up with the latter.  There’s even a chapter devoted to Go, a womanizing hairdresser who works at Kenji’s salon, and how he breaks up with his latest girlfriend in a way that impresses his male co-workers.  None of this is really transcendent, but it’s consistently good and the ongoing characterization Yoshinaga adds to her cast with each volume is a joy to take in.  Even if the cooking disrupts the narrative flow of each chapter, the parts surrounding it make this series delectable.