今日のアシュラ飯 (Kyou no Ashura Meshi)

Japanese slice of life manga cover nearly every aspect of a student's life, from their first love, to their studies, to dangerous monsters coming to turn their world upside-down. But never have they delved deep into their... eating habits. Asura's Dish of the Day written by Yagi Utsuji does exactly that, following Omori Sizuka as she navigates high school being overweight. Considering that it takes place in Japan (presumably), poor Omori stands out even more than she would in other countries like the United States. According to the World Health Organization, at least 40% of the U.S. population is categorized as overweight, compared to 4% in Japan, all having a BMI equal or greater than 30 (Riley, 2024). Overweight people are highly stigmatized in Western society, with formal media, politics, and the entertainment industry being the main contributors, having psychological, physical, and sociocultural consequences (Westbury et al., 2023). I assume this would be no different for young Japanese women, who already deal with the pressure of conformity in their society.

The first consequence mentioned above, therefore, is particularly true for Omori, who is repeatedly shown to have low self-esteem, despite being resilient when she is bullied by her classmates. When Akira eventually confesses his love for her, her first reaction is not that of excitement or happiness, but of confusion. Why would anyone fall in love with someone who looks like her? She did not even think it was possible at the time. Utsuji handles her character quite well in this regard, not portraying her as mean, unattractive, or a slob, as is common in Western media at least. In fact, Omori is exceedingly sweet, which shows in the way that she treats her new friend Akira, and even her primary bully Takamine. Omori is brave too, not cowering in the face of open hostility, taking insults and names like "fatty" and "pig" in stride.

Although Omori had a bad first impression of the intimidating Akira, she quickly realized that he is actually a thoughtful and generous guy. It becomes quite obvious that he begins to give Omori a bento not only to ensure that she doesn't spill the beans behind his cooking fanaticism, but also because he enjoys seeing the unadulterated joy that she gets when she enjoys a good meal. It is almost refreshing to see a male character subvert expectations like this and not have it be a running gag. He is fierce, compassionate, and has a strong sense of justice, ready to defend his little sister and Omori in the face of danger with his Jeet Kune Do skills, even if it means he ends up having quite the nasty reputation; everyone from his fellow classmates to his teachers don't trust him one bit, criticizing his foul mouth and "unkempt" appearance.

Knowing this, it is no surprise that this duo fell in love with each other so quickly. Not only do they understand what it feels like to be unfairly judged at first glance, but they also share their love of the culinary arts. I thoroughly enjoyed seeing their relationship develop the way it did, with Akira teaching Omori new and exciting ways to cook things from multiple levels of the food pyramid, rather than the ground meat and leftovers that Omori has grown used to, and is likely what caused her to gain so much excess weight in the first place. Now... it is typical for these kind of "ugly ducking" stories to end with a dramatic transformation. Think The Princess Diaries, Pretty Woman, and famous telenovela Yo Soy Betty, La Fea. (The last one is an absolute favorite of mine, funnily enough). Asura's Dish of the Day is no different. In the second to last chapter, during summer vacation, Omori decides to eat healthier and work out with the help and motivation of Akira, who makes low-calorie versions of her favorite meals. When she comes back for the next school semester, her classmates are shocked to see that the girl is thin. They immediately change their attitude around her. Some of the boys even express their interest in her.

This aspect of ugly duckling stories is something that I perceive gets a lot of backlash. That being, the primary way for someone to be happy with themselves and fulfilled is if they change their appearance. Innocuous things like glasses, braces, and extra weight are portrayed as inherently undesirable. So, the question remains: is Utsuji trying to communicate the same message? That being thin is the only way someone can have value? ...It is hard to say. Although I can certainly understand why someone would think that, Akira fell in love with the girl when she was still overweight. Her appearance had no weight (pun intended) on his decision to ask her out. In addition, it is not as if she lost weight due to pressure from her classmates or Akira. She did it out of her own volition, to better herself. Personally, I don't see anything wrong with her trying to adopt a healthier diet. Readers have also tried to argue that Omori's core personality traits revolve around eating. I do not understand what else they expected from a story that is about a guy showing off his cooking skills to impress a girl. The manga is fundamentally about food. Omori is going to talk about food. I'm sure if it was about any other topic like games or racing, Omori would be talking about that.

After singing Utsuji's praises for 5 paragraphs, you may be wondering why this isn't 5 stars. There are some story beats that weren't very well thought out. For example, one of the chapters revealed that Takamine and a few classmates who would torture the love birds were actually coerced into doing so by Omori's teacher who had his stomach removed, and so lived vicariously through Omori by watching her stuff her face with food. He is also a pedophile, lol. This plot twist would've been fine had he not turned himself in immediately afterwards. I'm talking about literally a couple of panels after the duo discovered his secret. It felt incredibly forced, and it was likely the only way that the author can conclude the story without making it 20 chapters. I would've liked to see the love birds try to collect evidence in order to get their teacher arrested, especially because I think it is extremely unlikely for a feeder pedophile to practically throw themselves at law enforcement because they understand accountability. It was kinda weird.

All in all, Asura's Dish of the Day is a short yet sweet manga that is great for those who are fond of the culinary arts as I am, and who enjoy a love story that crosses the thresholds of mere superficiality. Just don't read it if you're hungry!

Citations

(1) Riley, L. (2024, February 29). Obesity among adults, bmi >= 30, prevalence (crude estimate) (%). World Health Organization. https://www.who.int/data/gho/data/indicators/indicator-details/GHO/prevalence-of-obesity-among-adults-bmi--30-(crude-estimate)-(-)

(2) Westbury S, Oyebode O, van Rens T, Barber TM. Obesity Stigma: Causes, Consequences, and Potential Solutions. Curr Obes Rep. 2023 Mar;12(1):10-23. doi: 10.1007/s13679-023-00495-3. Epub 2023 Feb 14. PMID: 36781624; PMCID: PMC9985585.