- Episodes : 12
- Genre : Comedy, Seinen, Slice of Life
- Airing Date : July 2016 - September 2016
- Studios : TMS Entertainment
Contains Spoilers
Amaama to Inazuma Introduction and Story (Spoilers)
Amaama to Inazuma begins with the introduction of Inuzuka Kouhei and his daughter, Tsumugi, both of which are still recovering from the death of Kouhei’s wife six months prior. Kouhei hasn’t quite gotten the hang of cooking and has been feeding Tsumugi pre-packaged meals. One day, Kouhei and Tsumugi end up at a restaurant owned by Kouhei’s student, Kotori. Kotori doesn’t know much about cooking and her mother is away, but she attempts to boil rice for them. Through this mishap, the three of them start learning how to cook together.
What You Liked About Amaama to Inazuma
Amaama to Inazuma is one of the cutest anime from the summer 2016 anime season with its themes centered around family, friendship, and community, all around the dinner table! While it isn’t like the cooking anime Shokugeki no Soma, it has its own fair share of cooking fun for many cooking anime fans. Who doesn’t love a good food anime?
Discussion Time: Should You Watch Amaama to Inazuma
Amaama to Inazuma is a wholesome anime that taps into the theme of family, even in the face of loss. Amaama to Inazuma starts off after the loss of the mother of the household and Kouhei’s wife. Kouhei and Tsumugi get along as your ideal father and daughter, but Kouhei has had trouble feeding his daughter good meals. In fact, he feeds her foods you can get at the konbini! Somehow, he ends up at the restaurant owned by Kotori’s mother who isn’t even in the restaurant, yet Kouhei and Tsumugi bond with Kotori and this is the start of their budding friendship.
It’s very strange to somehow end up at a restaurant that may or may not be open depending on the mood of the owner, but what is stranger is how these three begin their friendship. Kotori has very limited skills in the kitchen yet all three of them resolve to learn to cook and eat together from time to time. However, what brings on this sudden desire? Well, it appears that Kotori has a crush on Kouhei, but there’s no lead into such a crush nor any references to if it had existed prior. Where did it begin?
In between cooking scenes, the anime attempts to put a plot in that usually, involves Tsumugi and her daily life. Being a child is tough and they try to portray as much of the difficulty a child will go through in his or her life through Tsumugi. Interesting, right?
Each episode seems independent of the last meaning you don’t even have to watch the episodes in direct order (except maybe the first one first) to understand what is happening. You are not at a complete loss if, say, you missed the introduction of a character because they don’t have a huge contribution to the plot. No, instead, the main focus is on Kouhei, Tsumugi, and Kotori. It’s simple and easy going. Perfect for watching in the evening when you just want to kick back and relax.
For fans of anime like Aishiteruze Baby or Usagi Drop, you may find Amaama to Inazuma to be your cup of tea. However, let’s make this clear, Amaama to Inazuma has fewer complexities than either of these two anime. Consider Amaama to Inazuma to be a slice of life anime with small amounts of childhood dilemmas thrown in, and no, we’re not talking Kodocha level dilemmas. No, this is much easier going like watching New Game this season. If you are looking for something that’s relaxing yet heartwarming, Amaama to Inazuma is what you want! If not, then move on!
1. Family Dynamic
One of the best parts of Amaama to Inazuma is how it dives into the family dynamic. There are only a handful of anime out there that actually tackles how important family is. We have Kouhei and Tsumugi who are just starting to figure out life after the loss of the lady of the household. Then there’s Kotori who has her own troubles with her mother. We have two broken families who come together and bond, showing how families don’t have to be whole to be loving. It’s actually very heart warming.
And it is refreshing to see that for once, an anime does mention the absence of a parent! Both for Tsumugi and Kotori whose mothers are both gone (although Kotori’s mother is gone for work most of the time). This is a rare occurrence where the characters acknowledge the absence of a parent. And it actually has an influence on the characters themselves.
2. Not Another Student Anime
Another exciting thing about Amaama to Inazuma is the fact that the main character is not a student. How often does that happen?! Yes, Kouhei teaches at a high school and yes, Kotori is a high school student, but that hardly counts. Especially due to the fact that the main focus is on Kouhei and how tackles life’s challenges after the loss of his wife.
While many anime fans out there will most likely not be in high school forever (you never know), anime tend to focus primarily on student life. Well, not here. No, our main character is an adult and no, we don’t mean an 18-year-old pretending to be an adult. Kouhei is a bonafide adult with a child and real responsibilities.
3. Let’s Eat!
And lastly, the main aspect of Amaama to Inazuma that we all love is its focus on food. No, you can’t copy the recipes exactly, but the anime gives you a good idea of how each dish is made. You can learn how to do things like making rice (it’s a real issue, guys!) or hamburger steak. How fun is that?
No, this is not Shokugeki no Soma, but you will get to learn the basics of some Japanese foods that most anime don’t tackle, so don’t expect an onigiri tutorial here. It’s not happening, but you can find other foods like mochi and potato crepes. That’s unusual, right? It’s different but it’s fun, too!
1. Where’s the Depth?
The biggest thing that bothers me about Amaama to Inazuma is the complete lack of character depth in the anime. We see that Tsumugi sometimes misses her mother, but with the loss at such a young age, shouldn’t it affect her more? Shouldn’t we explore why she is repressing her sadness or are we just to assume Tsumugi is extremely resilient?
Kouhei, too, lost his wife, yet his main focus is making Tsumugi happy. We never once get to see him really let loose and explore what is making him sad. Why? He lost the love of his wife; shouldn’t he have moments where he just wants to wallow in sadness? Doesn’t it ever get to him? Also, what about his relationship with Kotori? Is he just oblivious or does he just not think about anything other than Tsumugi, because I’m pretty sure adults have thoughts that don’t just revolve around their children?
2. What Happened to Kotori?
One irksome thing about Amaama to Inazuma is how they attempted to give Kotori some sort of complexity only to completely forget about it in the anime. She’s scared of knives, yet that’s never addressed although there is a moment in the anime where she expresses envy for Kouhei’s ability to use the knife. We don’t even know why she’s scared of knives, but it’s easy to guess (it’s a knife!). Still, shouldn’t they have tried to cure her of her fear if she is going to teach them how to cook?
Also, Kotori has some sort of random crush on Kouhei that has no explanation and does not build at all. You see she is willing to do things on Kouhei’s behalf, but overall, the crush is not explored, explained, or has any resolution. Why is it even in the anime? Couldn’t Kotori just want to cook with Kouhei because she is looking for a father figure since her own mother is not around?
Speaking about her mother, clearly Kotori has mommy issues since her mother is always bailing on her, yet we don’t really explore those issues either. The only acknowledgement of it is towards the end when her mom bails on her and then rushes right home to help out. The inclusion of the mother is flimsy at best since we don’t explore that problem or discuss it at all. Kotori had a lot of promise but we didn’t get to see any of it.
Honey’s Closing Statement
Amaama to Inazuma is a simple anime, but it’s pretty fun and heartwarming. You will get to explore the basics of cooking Japanese foods and see what a father will do to make his daughter happy. It’s very pleasing and great for a night of relaxation if that’s just what you’re looking for. There’s little drama or conflict, but that doesn’t mean it’s not worth checking out if slice of life is your kind of thing.
Hopefully, you enjoyed this review. Tell us what you think about Amaama to Inazuma once you’ve watched it or let us know what your initial thoughts of it are based on our review!
Author: Jenangelx3