She Loves to Cook, and She Loves to Eat 作りたい女と食べたい女

She Loves to Cook, and She Loves to Eat Review (Rating: 3.5/5)

Overview

“She Loves to Cook, and She Loves to Eat” is a manga series by Sakaomi Yuzaki. It follows the everyday lives of two women: one who finds joy in cooking and another who genuinely loves to eat. Blending food, daily life, and relationship themes, the story offers warm scenes centered around shared meals and emotional connection. The series began in 2021 and is officially available in English.

For more details, refer to the English Wikipedia page:
👉 https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/She_Loves_to_Cook,_and_She_Loves_to_Eat

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Story Summary

The story centers on Yuki Nomoto, a woman who loves cooking as a source of comfort and stress relief. However, she is a light eater and cannot finish the large portions she enjoys making. One day, after preparing too much food, she invites her neighbor Totoko Kasuga to share a meal. Totoko, who also lives alone, is someone who happily enjoys generous portions.

This simple dinner leads to a slow and natural shift in their relationship, as the two begin to share meals and gradually become part of each other’s daily routine.

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Main Characters

(Focused on characters whose information can be confirmed with high accuracy.)

• Yuki Nomoto — A kind, soft-spoken woman who loves cooking large meals despite being a light eater.

• Totoko Kasuga — A cheerful woman who loves to eat. She is expressive, energetic, and openly appreciative of Yuki’s cooking.

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Story Development

The manga progresses through a series of everyday meal scenes. Rather than relying on dramatic events, the story highlights how the two women naturally grow closer through shared food and comfortable daily moments.

As the series continues, the narrative expands to include interactions with new neighbors, coworkers, and other people connected to the main characters. Still, the core focus remains on how food becomes a bridge between their personalities, experiences, and emotions.

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Key Features of the Manga

1. Detailed and expressive food scenes

The cooking and eating scenes are not just visual highlights—they reflect the characters’ emotions, personal histories, and relationships. Food becomes a storytelling device, representing comfort, encouragement, or emotional distance.

2. A natural, gradual development of their relationship

The manga avoids exaggerated romance tropes. Instead, it portrays a slow, genuine connection built through shared routines and the warmth of everyday life.

3. Exploring identity through daily interactions

Although the story begins with a simple cooking-and-eating dynamic, it gradually touches on themes related to identity, including the perspectives and challenges faced by sexual minorities. These themes appear naturally within the characters’ ordinary lives, without heavy-handed dramatization.

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My Impressions

I felt that this is a manga where impressions may differ widely depending on the reader’s background and personal views. I initially approached it as a slice-of-life gourmet manga, intrigued by the unique setup of a woman who loves to cook but eats lightly, paired with a woman who loves to eat.

As the story progressed, however, the narrative shifted more strongly toward themes related to sexual minorities, while still maintaining its food-centered structure. The depiction of their daily lives, concerns, and emotional landscapes felt realistic and thoughtful.

At the same time, I couldn’t help wondering whether their happiness came not from the delicious food, but simply from being with someone they liked.

If the latter is the main reason, the manga risks drifting away from its identity as a “gourmet” story. Taken to the extreme, it could imply that even a poorly made meal becomes wonderful simply by sharing it with someone you love—which diminishes the importance of food itself.

That said, I do not mean this as criticism of the work overall. The combination of food and subtle emotional shifts creates moments that could only exist within this structure. The manga is engaging, emotionally warm, and occasionally quite moving. For those reasons, I believe it is absolutely worth reading.

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Conclusion

“She Loves to Cook, and She Loves to Eat” is a distinctive manga that uses food not only as a source of comfort but also as a lens for exploring relationships and identity. Its strength lies in the delicate interplay between everyday routines and personal feelings.

Readers—especially those new to Japanese slice-of-life manga—may find the blend of warm food scenes, emotional sincerity, and daily life both refreshing and memorable. It is a gentle story that lingers long after reading.