Mixed Vegetables - AbsoluteAstronomy.com

, also known as Mix Vegetable, is a romance

Romance (novel)

Romance is a novel co-authored by Joseph Conrad and Ford Madox Ford. It was the second of their three collaborations. Romance was eventually published by George Bell and Sons in London and by McClure, Phillips in New York, in March 1904....

manga

Manga

Manga is the Japanese word for "comics" and consists of comics and print cartoons . In the West, the term "manga" has been appropriated to refer specifically to comics created in Japan, or by Japanese authors, in the Japanese language and conforming to the style developed in Japan in the late 19th...

by Ayumi Komura

Ayumi Komura

is a Japanese manga artist who writes mainly shōjo manga. Her works are primarily serialized in Margaret magazine, with series published in collected volumes by Shueisha under their Margaret Comics imprint...

. It was serialized in Japan by Shueisha

Shueisha

is a major publisher in Japan. The company was founded in 1925 as the entertainment-related publishing division of Japanese publisher Shogakukan. The following year, Shueisha became a separate, independent company. Magazines published by Shueisha include Weekly Shōnen Jump, Weekly Young Jump,...

in the shōjo manga magazine Margaret
Margaret (magazine)
is a biweekly Japanese shōjo manga magazine published by Shueisha, primarily for girls from 11 to 15 years old, although some stories are read by adult women. It was first released as a weekly magazine in 1963. In 2009, the circulation was 154,584...

from October 25, 2005 to November 22, 2007, and collected in eight bound volumes

Tankobon

, with a literal meaning close to "independently appearing book", is the Japanese term for a book that is complete in itself and is not part of a series , though the manga industry uses it for volumes which may be in a series...

. It is licensed in English in North America by Viz Media

VIZ Media

VIZ Media, LLC, headquartered in San Francisco, is an anime, manga, and Japanese entertainment company. It was founded in 1986 as VIZ LLC. In 2005, VIZ LLC and ShoPro Entertainment merged to form the current VIZ Media LLC, which is jointly owned by Japanese publishers Shogakukan and Shueisha, and...

.

Mixed Vegetables is about the relationship between the daughter of a pastry chef

Pastry chef

A pastry chef or pâtissier is a station chef in a professional kitchen, skilled in the making of pastries, desserts, breads and other baked goods...

who wants to become a sushi

Sushi

is a Japanese food consisting of cooked vinegared rice combined with other ingredients . Neta and forms of sushi presentation vary, but the ingredient which all sushi have in common is shari...

chef and the son of sushi chef who wants to become a pâtissier

Pastry chef

A pastry chef or pâtissier is a station chef in a professional kitchen, skilled in the making of pastries, desserts, breads and other baked goods...

Plot

The plot revolves around Hanayu Ashitaba, a chef in training. Hanayu is the daughter of the celebrated pastry shop, Patisserie Ashitaba, but all she wants to do is become a sushi chef. Hayato Hyuga is the son of the prestigious Sushi Hyuga, but he wants to be a pastry chef. They go to Oiwaka High School together. Hanayu knows she will break her parent's heart if she does not continue the bakery and become a pastry chef, but thinks if she marries Hayato, they will understand her decision.

Main characters

Hanayu Ashitaba is a 15 year old pastry chef attending Oiwaka High and training to be a sushi chef. Although her family owns Patisserie Ashitaba, one of the most prestigious patisseries in Japan, she wants to become a sushi chef. She has a best friend named Ichii and a little brother named Natsume. Natsume takes after his father in the fact that he doesn't want any boys to come near his sister. She doesn't think that her parents will let her be a sushi chef because they want her to take over the shop (Natsume's dream is to be a baseball player, so she doesn't want to put the burden of being the owner of the shop on him), so she tries to get Hayato to fall in love with her by displaying her cooking skills.

Hayato Hyuga is in the same class as Hanayu Ashitaba and Ichii at Oiwaka High, and even though his father owns the prestigious Sushidokoro Hyuga, his dream is to become a pastry chef. He appears to be very kind and very skilled with making sushi. He usually helps out at his family shop. When he was younger, he made cakes for his grandfather; It's stated that he doesn't have anyone else to taste his cakes anymore. Hanayu Ashitaba is very important to him, since he has told Hanayu about his dreams, reasons why he wanted to be a pastry chef, and about his grandfather. Hayato said he will give up his dream of being a pastry chef and take over Sushidokoro Hyugo.

Maezawa is an assistant at Patisserie Ashitaba. Maezawa is nine years older than Hanayu. Ichii stated that Hanayu doesn't like anything but sushi and that it was unusual for her to express her dislike for Maezawa. Maezawa also has very sharp taste, as shown when he is testing Hayato's sushi and tells him to keep his emotions out of his food. Hayato tends to get jealous over Maezawa, assuming he wants to be in a relationship with Hanayu, however they later find out that Maezawa is already married.

Manga

Mixed Vegetables is written and illustrated by Ayumi Komura. It was serialized in Japan by Shueisha

Shueisha

in the biweekly shōjo (aimed at teenage girls) manga magazine Margaret
Margaret (magazine)
is a biweekly Japanese shōjo manga magazine published by Shueisha, primarily for girls from 11 to 15 years old, although some stories are read by adult women. It was first released as a weekly magazine in 1963. In 2009, the circulation was 154,584...

starting with issue 10 of 2005 on October 25, and running until issue 18 of 2007 on November 22. The 54 untitled chapters, called "menus", were collected into eight tankōbon
Tankobon
, with a literal meaning close to "independently appearing book", is the Japanese term for a book that is complete in itself and is not part of a series , though the manga industry uses it for volumes which may be in a series...

volumes. The series is licensed in English in North America by Viz Media

VIZ Media

, who has published all eight volumes.

Reception

Deb Aoki of About.com calls the series a "textbook (or rather, cookbook) example of the standard recipe for shojo manga romantic comedy." She dislikes Hanayu's character as well, calling her "selfish and dense." Carlos Santos of Anime News Network

Anime News Network

Anime News Network is an anime industry news website that reports on the status of anime, manga, Japanese popular music and other otaku-related culture within North America, Australia and Japan. Additionally, it sometimes features similar happenings throughout the Anglosphere and elsewhere in the...

gives the first volume a B- for what he calls a dragging plot, but with a "A different sort of couple in a different sort of setting, with a lively sense of humor". Leroy Douresseaux of Comic Book Bin says that while the first volume isn't "standout material," the art and setting are "a recipe for a happy, romantic dish." Douresseaux gives volume 3 of the series an A for being "Beautifully drawn and heartfelt in its storytelling." He gives the following volume an A-. Holly Ellingwood of Active Anime says the characters are "likeable" and calls it an enjoyable read. Ellingwood calls the second volume a "tossed salad of emotions."

External links

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