Koufuku Graffiti (Gourmet Girl Graffiti)

The path to becoming a fine wife begins with being an accomplished cook—at least, that is what Ryou Machiko's late grandmother had led her to believe. For a middle schooler, Ryou's cooking skills are incomparable; but recently, though Ryou's food looks appetizing and smells inviting, the taste has not been delicious. Just when the dejected art student comes to terms with the possibility that she might continue living alone for the rest of her life, her aunt tells her that Kirin Morino—Ryou's second cousin—will begin staying with her every weekend since the younger girl has joined a cram school in Tokyo and aims to attend the same school as Ryou.

Surprisingly, with her cousin's arrival, Ryou finds that her cooking has vastly improved—apparently, it is not her prowess in the kitchen, but the sharing of the experience with those closest to her that seems to make the flavors shine.

[Written by MAL Rewrite]

Edit

Background

No background information has been added to this title. Help improve our database by adding background information here.

Edit

Related Anime

Adaptation:

Koufuku Graffiti

More characters

Characters & Voice Actors

Machiko, Ryou

Main

Satou, Rina
Japanese

Shiina

Main

Komatsu, Mikako
Japanese

Morino, Kirin

Main

Oogame, Asuka
Japanese

Uchiki, Yuki

Supporting

Iguchi, Yuka
Japanese

Tsuyuko

Supporting

Kobayashi, Yuu
Japanese

Shiina, Mother

Supporting

Matsuki, Miyu
Japanese

Yonetani, Misaki

Supporting

Nishi, Asuka
Japanese

Morino, Rin

Supporting

Hirohashi, Ryou
Japanese

Machiko, Akira

Supporting

Nonaka, Ai
Japanese

Itsuki

Supporting

Nishi, Asuka
Japanese

More staff

Staff

Itou, Shousei

Producer

Kawamoto, Sachi

Producer

Shinbou, Akiyuki

Director

Tatsuwa, Naoyuki

Director, Episode Director, Storyboard

Edit

Opening Theme

"Shiawase ni Tsuite Watashi ga Shitteiru Itsutsu no Houhou (幸せについて私が知っている５つの方法)" by Maaya Sakamoto

Edit

Ending Theme

"Egao ni Naru (笑顔になる)" by Ryou Machiko (Rina Satou) & Kirin Morino (Asuka Oogame)

More reviews

Reviews

Mar 28, 2015

ZephSilver

Not Recommended

Thank you Shaft for sharting out this forgettable pile of "meh."

You know you've stepped waist deep in low-tier storytelling territory when the only highlight of a show is girls eating food. This review will be relatively short, not because I don't want to write more about the title, but because the show itself lacks any kind of content to warrant any form of discussion or analysis.

It should go without saying that the "cute girls doing cute things" trend has become something of its own entity in the past decade. Due to the overwhelming success of titles like K-On, Hidamari Sketch, Lucky☆Star, Azumanga Daioh and ... much more, this trend has spawned a quasi-subgenre within the quarters it would usually reside in, regardless of the material being covered. The popularity of the "moe" craze only grows each year, with no sign of slowing down in the foreseeable future, thanks in large part to the increasing demand for more self-indulgent works. With so many infatuated with this niche appeal, it was only a matter of time before opposing viewpoints fought against it. With some even going as far as labeling it as "the cancer of the community." And while I think that proclamation is a bit overstated, I think my score speaks for itself regarding what side of this feud I stand on.

Now, this isn't to say "cute girls" anime can't work, I myself have seen a few that I personally enjoyed. It's just that the problem with Koufuku Graffiti, and by extension, any other show guilty of this, is that it has nothing outside of one gimmick to support it. Being genre specific or serving a niche audience isn't an excuse to lack subject matter. Case in point, the Gundam franchise. Had it only been about displaying mecha, the franchise wouldn't have lasted for so many decades. It serves its niche market with mecha porn to fawn over but still provide content with its themes of political warfare and human ethics to keep it anchored. Even genres with divisive reception, such as ecchi, abide by this common unspoken rule. With titles such as Queen's Blade and High school DxD understanding that serving "plot" with a plot would allow it a longer shelf-life in the competitive viewer market. Hell, we don't even have to travel out that far, within this very moe playing field, one of the patriarchs responsible for creating the trend, K-On, even understands this; a show that balances school activities, the girls' hobbies, and friendships simultaneously to maintain viewer interest.

And where other genres and niche appeals flourish, Koufuku Graffiti falls short of the mark. With nothing else to offer content-wise besides its hyper-sexualized foodgasm shtick, the novelty of this show wanes considerably after just one episode.

The setup for bottom-rung content like this usually follows a cast of girls centered around a particular subject or activity and does nothing else. And when I say nothing else, I mean that quite literally, as nothing of significance ever happens throughout Koufuku Graffiti's run-time. Each episode follows the same monotonous setup:
Cute girls converse--> some tension-less conflict arises (mostly involving a moeblob being lonely)--> girls make food and have a foodgasm--> rinse and repeat.

With such a simplistic and predictable setup, you can basically just watch the 1st episode and get the same general picture as someone who bothered to sit through all 12. That's the epitome of lazy writing. This show takes pandering to a whole new level; it doesn't even try to mask it. It's mundanity that aims to do nothing. Watching paint dry would be a far more productive activity.

Seeing that everything revolves around girls eating and having foodgasms, you'd at least expect high-quality animation for those scenes, but what we got instead was poorly rendered CGI food that looks plastic, slow motion with above average frame-rate and sparkles... again, THIS is supposed to be the show's highlight. Everything else fell below normal standards with stiff, often inconsistent animation and very bare-bones presentation. If animated foodgasms are all you want, just watch Food Wars instead. It's a show that far exceeds Graffiti regarding quality and general entertainment value. Everything about Graffiti just feels flat by comparison to everything else in its playing field. From the cookie cutter characters to the nonexistent storyline, Graffiti is just a lifeless husk masquerading as a show that cares.

Koufuku Graffiti was not made with the general populace in mind. This was an anime made for those still fascinated with the "moe" craze. And you know what? That's fine. If there's an audience out there for this, despite what little value I could find in it, so be it. But if after watching the 1st episode you're not impressed, then skip this one because that's about as good as the show gets.

Open

Gift

Feb 6, 2015

Genesisis

Recommended

Well, Koufuku Graffiti is one of those anime with Cute girls doing cute things under the "moe" genre, one of those refreshing anime where you can sit back relax and enjoy. Koufuku Graffiti is your Slice of Life Anime about food, nothing too out of the ordinary, but you will either really enjoy it or think watching it will be a chore. Just watch the first episode whatever you experienced that how it will be throughout the rest of the anime. The quality of the backgrounds and food are gorgeous and the way the trio bound is very heartwarming its what really brings the anime ...

Open

Gift

Feb 1, 2015

Haiju

Recommended

Well, I like to see the anime tags to make a review/critic. Koufuku Graffiti (who difficult and kawaii name, don't you think ?) has the following tags: "Comedy, Slice of Life and Seinen".
Right away, I see one problem. Where is the "Food" in the tags ?
Every anime have one thing that is the base of the history, character development, the base of the conflicts and the light of the solutions. On Kokufu this "thing" is the food. Yeah, you will see a anime talking about a life of a student, but on this life the food will create the friendship, will reveal memories and the ...

Open

Gift

More stacks

Interest Stacks

Slice of Life Anime that break MAL's definition

by fluffycow17

50 Entries · 6 Restacks

4-koma manga adaptation

by bowljunk

37 Entries · 26 Restacks

Food / Cooking

by echoxerk

22 Entries · 28 Restacks

More recommendations

Recommendations

View All

More news

Recent News

North American Anime & Manga Releases for February

Here are the North American anime & manga releases for February Week 1: February 2 - 8 Anime Releases Black Clover Season 3 Part 2 Blu-ray & DVD [incl. episo...read more

Feb 2, 2021 8:26 AM by ImperfectBlue | Discuss (4 comments)

North American Anime & Manga Releases for August

Here are the North American anime & manga releases for August Week 1: August 2 - 8 Anime Releases Abenobashi Mahou☆Shoutengai Complete Collection Gundam Build Fi...read more

Aug 1, 2016 9:00 AM by Sakana-san | Discuss (14 comments)

More discussions

Recent Forum Discussion

Poll: Vastly Underrated OppaiSugoi - Sep 21, 2015	11 replies	by MeguSae38 »» May 31, 12:19 AM
Poll: Koufuku Graffiti Episode 12 Discussion ( 1 2 ) Stark700 - Mar 26, 2015	96 replies	by jasutin_hoshi »» Jan 15, 4:05 PM
Poll: Koufuku Graffiti Episode 3 Discussion ( 1 2 3 ) Stark700 - Jan 22, 2015	109 replies	by Cabbage_Cat »» Sep 19, 2022 8:55 AM
Poll: Koufuku Graffiti Episode 2 Discussion ( 1 2 3 ) Stark700 - Jan 15, 2015	125 replies	by Cabbage_Cat »» Sep 13, 2022 9:02 AM
Poll: Koufuku Graffiti Episode 11 Discussion ( 1 2 ) Stark700 - Mar 19, 2015	50 replies	by GreatAide »» Sep 6, 2021 1:25 AM

Recent Featured Articles

Top 15 Best Cooking/Food Anime of All Time

There’s just something about anime food that makes us drool with desire, and food has been the main theme of various anime series. If you’re looking to satisfy your food and anime cravings all in one go, get a taste of these fun and interesting cooking anime series.

by Camelot3

1,667,253 views

Recommendation Collection Food

The Beauty of Sakura in Real Life and in Anime

In Japan, with Spring comes the hanami (flower-watching) season, in which the nation's most famous flowers, cherry blossoms (aka sakura), begin their short but breathtaking cycle of life, from when they first bloom to the day they float to the ground. Let's join the celebration!

by MAL_editing_team

37,956 views

Collection History and Culture Music Video

Koufuku Graffiti

Alternative Titles

Information

Statistics

Available At

Resources

Streaming Platforms

Synopsis

Background

Visit MALxJapan
MALxJapan -More than just anime-

Related Anime

Characters & Voice Actors

Machiko, Ryou

Shiina

Morino, Kirin

Uchiki, Yuki

Tsuyuko

Shiina, Mother

Yonetani, Misaki

Morino, Rin

Machiko, Akira

Itsuki

Staff

Opening Theme

Ending Theme

Reviews

Interest Stacks

Recommendations

Recent News

Recent Forum Discussion

Recent Featured Articles

MoreTop Anime

MoreTop Airing Anime

MoreMost Popular Characters

Koufuku Graffiti

Alternative Titles

Information

Statistics

Available At

Resources

Streaming Platforms

Synopsis

Background

Visit MALxJapan MALxJapan -More than just anime-

Related Anime

Characters & Voice Actors

Staff

Opening Theme

Ending Theme

Reviews

Interest Stacks

Recommendations

Recent News

Recent Forum Discussion

Recent Featured Articles

MoreTop Anime

MoreTop Airing Anime

MoreMost Popular Characters

Visit MALxJapan
MALxJapan -More than just anime-