Awwwwwww, isn’t that the cutest thing you’ve ever seen?
It is rare, it is very rare that I get the opportunity to watch an anime when I have
previously read the manga for it. Mostly this is because I don’t read much manga. My moral
boundaries, as far as purchasing anime and manga legally is concerned, makes the act
of reading lots of manga quite expensive, so I’ve just kept myself from getting into
it most times. But with Sweetness and Lightning, or a-ma-a-ma to e-na-zu-ma, I ended up reading
it quite a while back and I don’t even really remember why. I think perhaps I found it while
looking up possible recommendations for those who enjoyed reading Yotsuba&! But either way,
I read the manga and enjoyed the crap out of it.
So, what is it? Well, it’s this heart – and stomach – warming tale about a young teacher
Kouhei Inuzuka, who 6 months previously lost his wife to circumstances that he understandably
never mentions to anyone. This, however, has left him attempting to care for their daughter
Tsumugi on his own. While he does do his best to care for her as a father, due to time constraints
with his work, the one area that he has never been able to properly care for her is with
food. Instead, he is forced to rely heavily on pre-made or instant meals.
This changes after they meet a young girl named Kotori whose mother runs a restaurant
in town. She gives them a business card after Tsumugi seems to salivate over her mother’s
cooking and later that night the father-daughter pair show up to the restaurant with the hopes
that Tsumugi can get a proper meal. Unfortunately, they are not the only family
with problems and Kotori’s mother spends much of her time away from home, leaving the
restaurant closed. But in the first episode, Kotori’s determination leads her to cook
some perfect pot rice for Tsumugi, who heartily gulps it down.
So what this series is, is a combination of two family stories that both come together
to fill some gaps in each of their lives. Kouhei and Tsumugi need food and a place to
make it properly, and Kotori needs people to fill the gap in family that her mother
unfortunately leaves while absent for work. In that regard, it’s a wonderfully light
tale about how they interact and also what they cook. Most of the stories are made of
two parts, the first being a plotline about how these characters attempt to deal with
their lives, and a second plotline at the restaurant about how to make a new kind of
dish. The manga added to this by having the recipes available after every chapter, but
the anime still makes up for it by having the food look amazing.
It’s not Food Wars or anything, and the focus on the food isn’t anywhere near as
heavy as it is in that series, but it’s still there and the food looks amazing, so
do yourself a favour and eat before watching any of this show. Also, don’t eat during
unless you want your mind to inadvertently compare their awesomely cooked meals to your
sad plate of Kraft Dinner. Or maybe that’s just me.
Either way, this series fills in that gap for me that other shows left behind, like
last season’s Flying Witch. This too is a calmer series that allows you to slow down
and chill out before jumping back into to the more intense shows, if you happen to be
watching multiple of them. As far as what I expect from the rest of the
series, well, more food and more cute Tsumugi moments. I am slightly worried as to how the
series plans to end though. The manga is still ongoing and I’m not entirely sure how they
plan to wrap anything up by the end of 13 episodes, which I think is how many it’s
getting, but I’ll be interested to see! Might be good, might not, we’ll find out!
And then I’ll get to tell you all with a review or something unless I’m in so much
withdrawal that I won’t want to look at it. That happens sometimes.
So is Sweetness and Lightning worth watching? I am biased and I know that many people do
not have the same taste for this sort of thing as I do, but my answer is still yes. It’s
a nice, light, and cheerful show that can shine through the darkness, and even if the
ending becomes less than stellar, I feel like the rest of it should hopefully make up for
that possibility. Hopefully. Despite being unlicensed at present, you can
watch the series on Crunchyroll if you happen to have access to it. There’s a link in
the description for the premium service free trial, as per usual, should you require it.
So what did you guys think of Sweetness and Lightning? Let me know down in the whatchamajig,
and for those of you who are further along in the show or have read the manga, no spoilers
please. Thank you for joining me on this First Reaction.
If you like this sort of thing, hit the like button to let me know and if you have a suggestion
for what you think I should talk about next, let me know down in the comments, though chances
are I’m doing it anyway. And until next time, ladies, gentlemen, and others, Stay
Frosty.