Review: TODAY'S MENU FOR THE EMIYA FAMILY

With Thanksgiving and its many bountiful meals on the horizon, now's as good as time as any to take a look at some food manga.   After all, a lot of food manga are all about getting together with others and being thankful for good food like this series.

TODAY'S MENU FOR THE EMIYA FAMILY (Emiya-sanchi no Kyo no Gohan), based on the original story by TYPE-MOON with art by TAa and food direction by Makoto Tadano.  First published in 2016 and first published in North America in 2019.

PLOT:

In a world where masters can summon magical servants from history and legend, even something as momentous as a Holy Grail War can be put aside so that the cast of Fate/Stay Night can get together and enjoy some good food thanks to Shiro Emiya and his cooking skills.

STORY:

This manga is to the Fate universe what the coffeeshop AU is to fanfiction: a pleasant alternate universe where the characters can just be friends, hang out, and enjoy good food.  There's a certain cozy appeal in such a concept and that coziness can be found all throughout this volume.  In some ways it reminds me a little of What Did You Eat Yesterday?, in that it often goes step-by-step through the process of making these dishes often for the sake of making another person happy or to enjoy some sort of group get-together.

That being said, it also requires you to already be familiar with these characters and their canonical relationships.  There are little in-jokes and references scattered through the dialogue.  Some chapters revolve around them, where a servant wishes to make a meal for their master.  Unfortunately, my experience with the Fate franchise extends to 2 episodes of Fate/Zero, 5 episodes of the 2006 version of Fate/Stay Night, and whatever odds and ends I can glean from my Twitter feed.  As such, I didn't get much out of those moments.  This manga certainly isn't going to take time to explain anything for anyone who wasn't already into this franchise, which is going to limit its appeal in a major way.

ART:

TAa's is pleasant, if unremarkable.  The characters are perfectly recognizable, if simplified with softer features and bigger eyes.  The cooking sequences and food itself are also competently drawn.  I can't say that they made me particularly hungry to behold, but it was easy to follow the steps as they happened. There's not a lot of fanservice outside of a trip to a water park, and even then it's rather tame.  Of course, you could easily argue that this entire series is just a less tawdry form of fanservice for Fate fans.

 PRESENTATION:

Like any good food manga, there are recipes for the dishes featured after each chapter.  In the author's notes, TAa not only discusses the seasonal inspirations for much of the food featured, but also its ties to some of the spinoff games for the franchise.  The volume itself is also quite handsome with its French flaps, which conceal some additional art.

RATING:

Today's Menu for the Emiya Family is a gentle, relaxing reprieve for Fate fans in the know, but those outside of the fandom won't be able to pick up on half its appeal and find it kind of dull.

This series is published by Denpa Books.  This series is ongoing in Japan with 7 volumes available.  3 volumes have been published and are currently in print.