The Nardio Review

Is Wakako-zake Worth Your Time?

Yes!

 

What Should I Watch it On?

The only place to legally watch Wakako-zake is Crunchyroll.

 

What Did We Think Without Spoiling It?

Wakako-zake is the perfect bite-sized (pardon the pun) anime. You follow around a 26 year old woman as she ducks into different izakayas in her neighborhood and tries out different dishes. It’s short, cute and there’s just something about it that makes you smile.

 

Why it Works?

I might be biased but I love everything related to food. It’s probably why I am naturally drawn to food anime and manga. Wakako-zake doesn’t require a lot of your time. Each episode is about two minutes and there are only 12 of them, so you can easily watch everything in one night. I suggest you space it out a bit because it’s over too soon. Wakako is a 26 year old OL (office lady) who loves food. All of the episodes feature her at the end of the day looking for something tasty to eat. Most of the time you get a simple description of the food and her reaction to it. After a delicious meal she exhales, satisfied, making a pshuuu sound. You get tiny glimpses into her life while she’s eating, but really, it’s about enjoying the simple meal in front of her. And the meals are simple. There’s fried asparagus, grilled salmon, potato salad and many other very basic dishes. Despite this (or perhaps because of it) the show has inspired me to take a bit more time with my food and truly experience it. Watching her eat something so happily in turn makes me happy, and also makes me want to try whatever dish of day she’s on as well.

I know some people will disagree with me, but I actually really enjoyed the way Wakako-zake was drawn. Her design is much more simplistic than those around her, but it fits. She’s unique among the crowd and I like that. I also love the attention to detail the artist put into her outfits and even accessories. For as short as each episode is, she’s always wearing something different. And yes, I know it’s just animated, but the show definitely helps whet the appetite.

No Like?

Why is it only 12 episodes? There’s so much food in Japan by itself this could have easily kept going. Heck, she could travel abroad and try other types of food. The possibilities are endless! I really hope there’s another season. After all, this was popular enough to warrant a live action version. Come back Wakako-zake!

 

Basic Info:

• 12 episodes
• 2 minutes per episode
• Available on Crunchyroll