Kitchen Princess

(Volume 6)

Manga by
Natsumi Ando

Story by
Miyuki Kobayashi

Del Rey, May 2008, 202 pp.
ISBN: 978-0-345-50194-3

Genre: Comics
Subgenre: Manga
Reviewed: 6/18/2008

Reviewed by: Conan Tigard

Book Cover

Manga Page

Kitchen Princess manga page

 

Synopsis

Najika Kazami's attends the Seika Academy in Tokyo. Her two friends Daichi and Sora, who are brothers, support her in all she does because they realize what a great cook she is.

During the National Western Confectionary Competition, Sora volunteers to get an item for Najika's recipe and while running back to the contest gets hit by a car. When Nijika learns of this she quickly ends up at his side.

On his deathbed, Sora tells Najika that he is not her Flan Prince, and dies. Najika goes into a blue funk and loses her ability to taste anything. She goes back and finishes the competition, but does not win. Returning to school, the director kicks her out because she didn't win and blames her for his son dying. Other classmates also blame her. So, not being wanted, she packs up and leaves the school.

Daichi goes to his father and convinces him to let Najika stay. He promises to take over the duties that Sora had and prepare himself for running the school someday if Najika is allowed to stay. His father agrees to the terms.

Daichi goes looking for Nijika in her hometown and finds her after she had fallen into a ditch. He takes her to the house she lived in when her parents were alive and she meets the woman and her daughter that live there now. The woman reminds her of her mother and Najika ends up making them some bread and gets her taste back. With her scholarship gone, when Najika returns to the campus with Daichi, she ends up living above the Fujita Diner. She is happy there. Daichi's father tells Daichi that the new spokesman for the school will be arriving soon. He is said to have great potential.

Kitchen Princess: Volume 6 is a manga book drawn by Natsumi Ando and written by Miyuki Kobayashi. This book was translated by Satsuki Yamashito, adapted by Nunzio DeFilippis & Christina Weir, and Lettered by North Market Street Graphics. This book contains the following Recipes (chapters):

  • Recipe 24: Najika and the Bruschetta

  • Recipe 25: Najika and the Flan Cake

  • Recipe 26: Najika and the Curry Roll

  • Recipe 27: Najika and the Yogurt Bread

  • Recipe 27: Najika and the Baked Sweet Potato Mash

  • Kitchen Princess Special

  • Kitchen Palace

There is also some special extras in the following sections: A) Honorifics Explained, B) Recipes, C) Recipes, D) About the Creator, E) Translation Notes, and a F) Preview of Volume 7, although the preview is in Japanese. The book reads from right to left and back to front, just like a book from Japan. This manga book is intended for readers ages 13 and up.

 

Review

Kitchen Princess: Volume 6 is a very sad book. I'm sorry if I ruin this for some readers, but since Sora dies at the beginning of the book, there is no way I can avoid talking about it because the entire story revolves around it.

My daughter, who is 13 years old, started reading this book and put it down right after Sora passed away. She hasn't picked it up since. The funny thing, I never knew if I could trust Sora throughout the series. At first I liked his a lot, then found I couldn't trust him anymore. I ended up liking Daichi a lot more, so I am not too bummed about this turn of events. I am sure things are going to change dramatically for Najika, but that is life.

Bad things happen all the time. For instance, my wife is having a major operation as I write this. I am in the Family Waiting Room anxious to know how the operation went. I am very worried and life is about to change for us because she won't be able to walk for a month or so.

Anyway, back to the book . . . the translation and adaption into English from Japanese isn't great. In fact, sometimes the dialog is quite awkward.

Even with this, I really enjoyed Kitchen Princess: Volume 6, although it deals with a very sad subject: grief. Najika has a hard time with what has happened to Sora, but finally comes to accept it. Things for her will be quite different at the school from now on. Overall, Kitchen Princess: Volume 6 is a great story that deals with a very heartbreaking subject. I am looking forward to seeing what those changes will be in Kitchen Princess: Volume 7

I rated this book an 8 out of 10.

This site was created and is maintained by Conan Tigard
2008