Art/Characters: The art style in this show can really only be described in one word: Cute. There is just something about this show’s style that makes it blur the line between cute and serious. There are a few things that I am not a fan of in principle, such as the exaggerated hair on Tsumugi, but those things are pretty minuscule when it comes to the overall art of the show. One of the things that are really well done would be the way that the food is portrayed. Because this is a show about food it just goes to say that the food should look good enough to eat, and that is exactly what happened throughout this show, every episode ended with me hungry. As for the characters themselves, I felt that they had a healthy depth to them that made them easy to watch. There are a few things that don’t really makes sense, like how a grown man has trouble with a knife and what exactly is the backstory, but more on that later. Tsumugi is a cute and fun protagonist that showcases what it really means to discover and experience things for the first time. Her father, Kouhei, is a perfect portrayal of the loving father who just wants the best for his daughter. Kotori, the high school student of Kouhei’s, really is something out of left field for me. But her love of food is something that I can easily relate to.
Sound/Music: SO CATCHY. I love listening to these tracks time and time again because of how much fun I have just grooving to them. A good show knows when to be bubbly and happy, and in a show like this one, things can often get a little to over-bubbly and there is a loss of meaning in that joy. But not here, the sound director knew exactly what they were doing, and were able to create an atmosphere of joy, and importance in my heart. The music played in the background was even interesting and fun. The use of wind instruments along with a piano is a small change that gives a huge reaction. The sounds of the food as well! When there is meat going on the stove, we HEAR the sizzle. It looks great and it sounds great. And I am sure if I made it myself, it would be just as amazing. I was really brought into the restaurant as a welcomed guest with these sounds.
Story: Kouhei Inuzuka is in a pretty rough patch of his life. With his wife recently passing away and his young daughter, Tsumugi, is solely his responsibility. The main struggle so far has been food. He isn’t much of a cook and makes mostly TV dinners for Tsumugi. She eats them every night and doesn’t complain, but he can see it on her face that she wants something more. On the whim of a coworker, he takes Tsumugi to a restaurant that is a little off of the beaten path that is run by one of his student’s mother. Unfortunately the mother isn’t there, but Kotori does her best to feed them what they would like. Kouhei learns that Kotori’s mother isn’t there often and because of this she often eats alone. After some quick thinking, Kouhei and Kotori begin to learn to cook fun and delicious food for all three of them. As the show progresses the food gets more and more interesting and friends of both Kotori and Kouhei join the cooking party!
Personal Reflection: Call me crazy, but I am a sucker for stories about Dad’s beating the odds for their kids. That is the kind of dad that I want to be whenever I have kids. The Story of a father doing his absolute best that he knows how to make his daughter happy, and then choosing to cook with one of his students because he knows that it will make her happy just warms my heart. They cook a variety of meals that all look and sound delicious. I often want to make the meals that they make in the show, but often the recipes are missing something and I can’t. The characters are cute and fun to watch and it’s fun to experience things with them. There is an episode where Tsumugi runs into some trouble with her friend, but her dad is right there ready to help in any way possible, and the solution that he comes up with is just priceless. All that being said; there was a lack of true story. While episode by episode had a common theme, there was nothing overarching the entirety of the show to pull it all together. There was a main problem, food, and they solved it in each episode. While I love shows that are able to have this kind of “you-can-miss-an-episode” type of vibe, I really think they could have developed it better. If the source material provides it, I would love to see a second season. Maybe it is just me wanting to be a dad and seeing someone succeed so well makes me so happy, but the show left me wanting to watch these characters grow more. Amaama to Inazuma is a fun, lighthearted show about a dad just wanting his daughter to be happy.
Overall Rating: 8.5/10
