Manga Maniac Cafe For the Geek in all of us

Title:  Mixed Vegetables Vol 4

Author:  Ayumi Komura

Publisher: Viz

ISBN:  9781421519708

May Contain Spoilers

Now that Hanayu’s parents have accepted her dream to become a sushi chef, she wants to support Hayato as he pursues his dream to become a pastry chef.  When she wonders why he’s so determined to bake sweets instead of slicing up fish for a living, he refuses to tell her – unless she can defeat him in a radish peeling contest.  Will she be able to beat Hayato at his own game, and discover the secret behind his love of pastries?

This title is starting to grow on me.  I don’t know if it’s because I like food so much or if I’m starting to like the small cast of characters.  Hanayu has become much more sympathetic, and now I believe that she is genuinely concerned about Hayato.  Since she doesn’t have to marry into the sushi shop anymore, she doesn’t have anything to gain other than his friendship, and I am now convinced that she desperately wants to be his friend.  The selfish, desperate girl, ready to use someone else in her quest to achieve her goals, has been replaced by a caring young woman who wants to see Hayato find success as well.  I wasn’t so sure that I could get beyond the initial mercenary impression I had of her, but she has managed to become a character who I can care about.

In this volume, both Hanayu and Hayato make progress pursuing their future careers.  They also help Saki, the other apprentice at the sushi shop, reconcile with his former high school homeroom teacher.  After the androgynous Matsuzaka drops by Hayato’s for a conference with his parents, Hanayu is shocked to learn that Saki had a crush on her, and that they parted ways in very bad terms.  Now that Saki has seen her again, he has sunk into a deep depression about their falling out.  Hanayu decides that if she doesn’t do something soon, the clumsy Saki is going to permanently injure himself because he is so distracted.  Convincing Hayato to help her, they force Saki to face his old crush and resolve the differences between them.

I like Matsuzaka quite a bit, so I enjoyed this glimpse into her past.  She’s tough and very demanding of her students, but she is also empathetic as well.  Having failed with Saki, she has berated herself since their disagreement.  Her perceived failure with him pushed her to become a better teacher, one who listens to her students and doesn’t try to force her opinions on them, even when she thinks that they are making a mistake.  Since part of the learning process is occasionally meeting with defeat, I think that her learned an important lesson with Saki.  I’m still having trouble believing that she’s female, but I guess that mystery will resolve itself later.

My biggest disappoint with the series is the character design.  All of the characters look too much alike, especially the males.  Hayato and his dad often confuse me, because I can’t always tell them apart.  If the characters were more distinctive, I would really like the art.  Everyone looks too similar, though, and that gets frustrating.

Grade:  B

Review copy provided by Viz