This is a slice of life show that revolves around single parent Inuzuka Kouhei trying to provide better cooked meals for his pre-school daughter Tsumugi, who is bristling with energy. The doting parent is capable of cooking basic meals for her but his day job of being a high school teacher prevents him from making actual progression on his culinary skills. In an act of last resort, he stumbles across a restaurant that is owned by the family of Iida Kotori who luckily attends the same school where he works at.
As an act of consideration, she agrees to offering her knowledge to the inexperience Kouhei, allowing him to make meals with her guidance. There is a major catch though, funnily enough she can’t handle sharp knives which limits her involvement in the preparation process. Despite this handicap she is still very resourceful mainly due to the fact that her mother is a cooking celebrity.
The concept of just making delicious meals may sound boring initially but after going from cooking plain white rice to exotic meals that require expert precision, it has left a very good impression on me. This gives me encouragement to be a better cook myself as it’s fairly common not knowing how to cook, when we have instant takeaways and such to contribute to our overall laziness. The enjoyment that Kouhei and Kotori gets being able to feed his daughter with nourishing meals fills him with delight and gives him a sense of pride. The whole premise is based on the fact that Kouhei’s wife who was well-equipped a cook, sadly passes away for some unexplained reason.
The tragic loss of his wife who meant everything to him has made him realise the importance of having a family to care for. He acknowledges that Tsumugi would be orphaned if he were to meet the same fate as his spouse. This has affected his mental state to the point that he is a former shell of himself where he was brimming with passion in the household. The same can be said for his daughter, who is constantly reminded of her mother through the cooking made by the duo which reflects the sort of meals she once previously had. I cannot begin to imagine the torment she has to endure after he mother’s death, as one so young can’t fully understand the complex process until they’ve matured to a certain point in their life.
The characters are the best part of the show as they are all relatable in some way or another. The single father is the one we can empathise with as death being a natural process is inevitable. The fact that he has to put up a front towards his daughter suggests that he really hasn’t gotten over it and is hurting deep down. Tsumugi as the innocent kid is the one where I can project my past self into, partly due to being in similar situations that she has encountered. She doesn’t have the privilege of two parents but that isn’t stopping her from enjoying her everyday life.
Kotori is a strange one for me personally, the fact she developed some weird phobia of not using knives is bizarre. I don’t care if she got a horrific cut on her hand, she needs to bite the bullet and move on. Apart from that, I have no problems with her as she is a gentle and affable individual. Yagi Yuusuke who is a close friend of Kouhei, make several appearances where he is primarily known to be taking care of Tsumugi in his stead due to work commitments. The man comes off as being devoid of personality but is actually known to be very fond for Tsumugi which sees him being affectionate the majority of time. Kojika Shinobu is the best friend of Kotori and for me is just your ordinary and regular girl who isn’t outstanding in any way and also seems to enjoy being in the presence of the cute Tsumugi.
The art in this show is not the best out there but the designs for each character are solid to say the least, giving an emphasis to the simplicity which is the most important factor. The design for Tsumugi might be a little over exaggerated but to be fair she is the focal point of the show, no need to make her look like the other generic kids in the pre-school. The show does not need excessive pretty visuals but effectively uses what is has to convey its message. The animation is nothing extraordinary with is being passable, I certainly wouldn’t be too concerned about this aspect if I were you.
The sound is far better than what the art had to offer. The voice actors in this show have some real pedigree except for Tsumugi who is actually voiced by a kid! The shark song was something I played endlessly as it was done perfectly. That would be too strange for an adult portraying as a kid, so good move there by the production committee. The soundtrack is composed by Toda Nobuko who has only worked for another show called One Week friends. The tracks can change from a pleasant to a somewhat melancholy mood immediately. The one track played during the actual cooking always gets to me with its upbeat atmosphere.
This show is well worth watching for as a basic SOL with its good characters that are very much relatable. The interactions between them is well handled with nothing being too forced or unnecessary. The comedy is great but can be easily forgotten once the depressing stuff comes along which is very impactful. You really won’t be disappointed with this as long as your expectations aren’t astronomical. Keep it realistic and you’ll find some value out of this.
