This is a very odd food series, almost like a food review segment in a news broadcast than a real show, but it certainly has less baggage with it than “Toriko” or “Shokugeki no Soma”. “Wakakozake” (“Wakako Sake”) tells the very brief tale of Wakako, who goes around to eating establishments after work to try and find something to eat that is (a) tasty and (b) inexpensive that (c) goes well with beer or sake. Wherever it is she works, there are loads and loads of places to eat around, so she drops in to dine on one food, like deep-fried asparagus skewers or steamed clams or yakitori.
Now, she has never had a bad dish of anything, but there is a tinge of sadness as she always dines alone. She feasts well, as the food fills her physical and most emotional needs. Or perhaps I am reading too much into this. In any case, it does help explain a variety of Japanese foods and what really goes into them to make it more than a squat ‘n’ gobble kind of place. The artwork is off, as she is very cartoony, but everyone else is more or less normal.
Maybe it’s a cultural exchange thing, where non-Japanese people are introduced to the multiplicity of dining options that the Land of the Rising Sun has to offer beyond mere ramen or rice balls. It’s just that there is no real goal for the show. Yes, it’s nice to see all the gourmet opportunities, but how does all of this impact on Wakako’s life? Does she spend her work day thinking about what to eat for dinner? Is monkfish liver in ponzo better than someone to greet her at home? Where does she see herself in five years? I need something more. So does she.
On a scale of 1 to 10:
Artwork 5 (She is so out of place)
Plot 6 (Not much there)
Pacing 7 (Works for her time allotment)
Effectiveness 6 (To what end or purpose?)
Conclusion 7 (It reaches a ‘coupler’, but hasn’t ended)
Fan Service 0 (A similar show would be “Honey and Clover”)
Overall 5 (It ultimately sits there)
And remember, it’s first run until you’ve seen it. Where to eat tonight?
It’s possible that less perfect experiences do not make it into the manga. I have to observe though that the manga opened with infrequent interaction of with other patrons. The one where Wakako met the yakitori guy was masterful. There was also one with salmon skins where someone tried to hit up on her. But over time all this interaction disappeared and the current manga is running out of steam with the dish of the week.
This is also a problem with a short-pull anime, as you have five or six minutes to tell something and it comes off as superficial, so you are left with little or nothing. I have seen some short-pulls that can do it, but this feels like there should be more going on than just the food portion of it.