Mister Ajikko

ミスター味っ子 (Misutā Ajikko)
Mister Ajikko
Mister Ajikko volume 6 cover
Genre	Action, Comedy, Cooking
Manga
Written by	Daisuke Terasawa
Published by	Kodansha
Demographic	Shōnen
Magazine	Weekly Shōnen Magazine
Original run	1986 – 1989
Volumes	19
Manga
Mister Ajikko II
Written by	Daisuke Terasawa
Published by	Kodansha
Demographic	Seinen
Magazine	Evening
Original run	2003 – 2012
Volumes	13
Anime television series
Directed by	Yasuhiro Imagawa
Studio	TV Tokyo and Sunrise
Original network	TV Tokyo
Original run	October 8, 1987 – September 28, 1989
Episodes	99

Mister Ajikko (Japanese: ミスター味っ子, Hepburn: Misutā Ajikko^?) is a Japanese manga series written and illustrated by Daisuke Terasawa about a young boy cook. It was later adapted into anime series, produced by TV Tokyo and Sunrise. This show was broadcast from October 8, 1987 to September 28, 1989 with a total of 99 episodes and one TV Special. One of the earliest cooking/battle related manga and anime of its kind, there are some indications that this series is the inspiration for the live action competitive cooking show, Iron Chef.

The series was unsuccessfully pitched for broadcast on the Food Network in the United States.

Ajiyoshi Youichi is a culinary prodigy who manages a restaurant with his mother. One day, Murata Genjirou appears in the restaurant and is surprised at the delicious taste and delicate culinary skills of the katsu-don prepared by Youichi. Subsequently, Youichi is invited to the Ajiou (literally meaning taste emperor) Building in which he is involved in a spaghetti match with the in-house Italian chef, Marui. Youichi's novel culinary ideas, coupled with his enthusiasm of serving the best for his guests, allow him to defeat Marui in the match. From then on, Youichi begins to compete with other rivals in the race for the best tastes and dishes.

Meaning "sunrise" the Hinode eatery is a local restaurant in an unnamed part of Tokyo where Ajiou Company is also based. It serves cheap, simple Japanese fare and is largely patronized by working-class people, but as Youichi defeats more and more opponents, the winning dishes are added to the menu periodically.

Ajiyoshi Youichi (味吉陽一)

Youichi is the young head chef of his family's restaurant, he is passionately devoted to cooking and coming up with new and interesting culinary creations. His age was 14 when he first started (revealed when he entered the Tough Steak competition for a year's supply of Sirloin beef.) Showing a great level of cooking skill at a young age, Youichi's mother lets him take over cooking at the restaurant as she admits he's better than she is at it. He first encounters Murata Genjirou (usually referred to as Ajiou-sama) in the first volume/episode of the series when the surly company head stops in on a whim. After impressing him with a super-thick katsudon (pork cutlet), Ajiou invites Youichi to the Ajiou Building where through a series of comical events he runs afoul of the head of Ajiou's Italian cooking department, Chef Marui. After winning a spaghetti battle against the chef, Youichi's reputation as a "genius boy cook" becomes more widespread. He spends the rest of the series in a succession of cooking battles brought about by circumstance, direct challenges, or tournaments. He is strongly dedicated to Hinode, as well as his friends at school. However, this dedication and pride is also his main fault. He cannot take having Hinode or his skill as a cook insulted; and finds it impossible to back down from direct challenges. Youichi's mother calls this tendency his "sickness" and it gets him into trouble several times, all of which have to be resolved through cooking competitions. In the series, he only lost twice, once in an unofficial match, the other as to recreate his late father's signature dish.

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Wikipedia