Ipponbouchou Mantarou

Stop me if you've heard this one before. The son of a local grub shop is goaded by his father into seeking his fortune as a chef. He attracts the attention of powerful culinary forces as well as rivalry (and potential love interest) from the female descendant of a legendary cooking family. He engages in competitions to prove his prowess and improve his skills, finding unique and novel solutions to the problems that face him. And the manga goes on (and on), for more than thirty volumes.

No, I'm not talking about Shokugeki no Souma, but the much earlier Ipponbouchou Mantarou (One Knife Mantarou) by Big Joe, which ran in "Business Jump Comics" from 1986 to 1996, eventually accumulating 33 volumes. In 1991, at the halfway point, it got a two episode OVA, which never made it across the Digital Divide. Orphan is happy to present the first English version of the anime. The manga has never been translated.

The OVAs tell the story of Kazami Mantarou, the son of a local eatery that only serves katsudon (pork cutlet rice bowl). Disgusted by his father's stick-in-the-mud attitude, Mantarou storms out and rides around the country on his motorbike, taking temporary jobs as a substitute cook when he needs money. Eventually, he returns home to find that his father's business has been ruined by the opening of a glitzy family restaurant, Bongo, run by the Seishou Group. Mantarou ends up challenging the head chef at Bongo to a taste competition. The chairman of the Seishou Group sets them the task of making 50 hamburg steaks in just 30 minutes. Later, the chairman makes Mantarou compete with Shijou Mimi, surviving daughter and heir of the prestigious Shijou culinary clan, over bonito. Mantarou wins the popular vote, but the only vote that counts is the chairman's, and he prefers Mimi's.

Disappointed and angry, Mantarou sets out to tour the country and improve his cooking skills. Equipped with only his father's favorite kitchen knife (hence, "One Knife Mantarou"), he goes to Osaka to sample its diverse culinary traditions. He meets Matsunosuke, a rakugo performer whose father runs a traditional soumen (wheat noodle) restaurant. That shop, Shiraito Soumen, is about to fold, because of competition from more up-to-date restaurants and mass-produced soumen. Mantarou, perhaps thinking of his own father, is determined to prevent Shiraito from going out of business. Once again, he must bring his ingenuity and drive to solving a culinary and a business problem. And there the OVAs stop. They're just an appetizer, not the main course.

Incomplete OVAs of long-running manga are a perpetual problem. Sanctuary got one OVA for ten volumes. Meisou ou Border got one OVA for 14 volumes. And Ipponbouchou Mantarou got two OVAs for 33 volumes. Sanctuary is completely available in English, but neither Meisou nor Ipponboucho have been translated. So the viewer is left hanging. How does it all turn out? Wikipedia Japan provides a few clues. Mantarou and Mimi become sweethearts as well as rivals. Another male chef appears to challenge Mantarou at cooking and romance. The rest sort of writes itself.

The voice cast includes many familiar names to fans of 80s and 90s anime:

• Matsumoto Yasuno (Mantarou) starred as Johnny in Starship Troopers, Kaname in Singles, Muto in Oz, and Tooru in Every Day Is Sunday, all Orphan releases. He was in numerous OVAs in the 1990s, including Hi-Speed Jecy, Seikimatsu II: Humane Society, Fukuyama Gekijou: Natsu no Himitsu, Al Caral no Isan, Joker: Marginal City, Jikuu Bouken Nuumamonjaa, Yamato 2520, Kakyuusei (1995), and Sei Michaela Gakuen Hyouryuuki, also Orphan releases. Among his notable roles were Wataru Akiyama in Initial D, Jean Havoc in Fullmetal Alchemist, Gourry Gabriev in Slayers, Ryou in Sonic Soldier Borgman, and a personal favorite, Dick Saucer in Dragon Half.
• Nagai Ichirou (Chairman Gouhara) starred in numerous shows, playing grandfather Jigoro in Yawara!, the off-the-wall narrator in Gosenzosama Banbanzai!, Professor Hajime in Queen Millennia, and Happosai in the Ranma 1/2 franchise. He appeared in Manxmouse, Nora, Hidamari no Ki, Yuukan Club, Amon Saga, Botchan, and Yamato 2520, all Orphan releases.
• Ginga Banjou (head chef at Bongo) is a veteran voice actor. He played the title role in 80 Days Around the World with Willy Fog, Baloo in The Jungle Book, and Tohtsuki chairman Nakiri Senzaemon in the Shokugeki no Souma franchise. He played the title role in Oruorane the Cat Player and Ekuna in Amon Saga, and he appeared in the two What's Michael? OVAs, all Orphan releases.
• Orikasa Ai (Shijou Mimi) made her debut in Shoukoushi Cedie. She played the title role in Romeo no Aoi Sora, Fee in Planetes, Seguchi Touma (the record company president) in Gravitation, Quatre in Gundam Wing, and Ryouko in the Tenchi Muyo franchise. She also played Carrie in Ziggy Sore Yuke! R&R Band, Sara in Eien no Filena, Toryune in Al Caral no Isan, young Mars in Fire Emblem, and Katchan's mother in Tako ni Natta Okaasan, all Orphan releases.
• Yokoo Mari (Mantarou's mother, Kayo) played Battia in Outlanders, Fumio (the dorm mother) in the Shokugeki no Souma franchise, and Yuriko in Yuukan Club, an Orphan release.
• Imanishi Masao (Mantarou's father, Kinpara) had featured roles in The Sensualist, Teppei, Senbon Matsubara, Marco Polo no Bouken, and other shows.
• Kawachiya Kikusuimaru (Matsunosuke) only appeared in Ipponbouchou Mantarou.
• Ogata Kenichi (Matsunosuke's father) played Chitchi's father in Chiisana Koi no Monogatari, the put-upon father in Maroko, Suzuki in Kigyou Senshi Yamazaki: Long Distance call, the crooked casino boss in Okane ga Nai!, the Hong Kong chef in Yuukan Club, and the Narrator/Lord of Kaga in Oedo wa Nemurenai!, all Orphan releases. He also played Smee in Peter Pan no Bouken and Gran Torino in Boku no Hero Academia. However, he's best known to me as the voice of Ranma 1/2's Sataome Gemna, whose alter ego - the grumpy panda - is my avatar on most anime forums.
  
• Ono Kenichi (Shimomura, former chef at Shiraito Soumen) appeared in Akuemon, Bavi Stock, Botchan, Elf 17, Wolf Guy, Ziggy Sore Yuke! R&R Band, and Sei Michaela Gakuen Hyouryuuki, all Orphan releases.
  

The director, Takeuchi Yoshio, also helmed the Oishinbo TV series and specials, as well as Botchan, Gorillaman, Harlock Saga, Shin Megami Tensai: Devil Children,  Night Head Genesis, and several of the Sensou Douwa specials. His distinctive style - and the use of more detailed still frames to end scene, a la Dezaki Osamu - permeates the show.

Iri translated and did initial timing; Yogicat did the fine timing. I edited and typeset; there were an absurd number of signs in both episodes. Rezo and Nemesis QCed. Intrepid ripped the source VHS tapes on his uncompressed All-in-Wonder setup and then encoded. The results are excellent, considering the source.

Ipponbouchou Mantarou is recognizably in the line of shounen cooking anime, but it is closer to the straightforward cuisine of Oishinbo than the foodgasms of Shokugeki no Souma. Still, it will probably make you hungry, particularly if you're fond of Japanese food. Between snacks, you can download the show from the usual torrent site or from IRC bot Orphan|Arutha in channels #nibl or #news on irc.rizon.net.