Main Dishes and More! - The Manga Cookbook - Japanese Bento Boxes

This is probably a better book for those younger cooks out there interested in making bento or highly popularized Japanese cooking. It's simple and the manga style cartoon instructions are easy to follow. I would have preferred more realistic pictures or photos of the food to better guage proportions but it was a cute read nevertheless.

Got this as a gift for a Anime fanatic that is fairly picky! This was cute and fun; lots of pictures,easy step by step creative instructions, and entertaining for host and/or guests. Also makes a great accessory to a gift basket or birthday bag! Loved it!!

I love this book! I've been trying out these recipes and it's just great for me! :) I can't wait for school to start so I can load my bento up with these foods. Btw I'm a sophomore. This book even came in early.

Lots of good manga pictures and interesting recipes. While this is a recipe book on one hand, on the other hand, it can also serve as something that can be read and enjoyed for its pictural content. I would imagine it would be really good if you had youngsters in the house. Kind of wish it had some color content. Recipes are easy to follow. And enjoyable to just sit down and flip through to relax.

I am a huge fan of Japanese culture and food (not to mention I'm a cookbook addict). I was really looking for some simpler recipes to kind of break myself in on. I've been making basics like Miso soup, sticky rice and Teriyaki sauce for a while now but wanted more. Both my husband and myself thought the format was really cute and clever too. Another reviewer had complained that it was all in black and white with no photos. I guess they've never read a Manga before, because that's the point. It's laid out just like one.

The recipes are pretty simple but some seem incomplete. I know this book is aimed mostly toward children but the chicken karaage recipe omits the sake and/or mirin from the marinade. Which to me makes karaage so tasty. All in all though I'd say if you are completely new to Japanese cooking this is a good starter book.

This book had many introductory level recipes, they were displayed in fun easy-to-read ways. However, at times I found the illustrations to be confusing and I would've liked to have a bit more recipes that I can put in a bento. Overall it was a good cookbook, I do recommend it to people who are looking to learn Japanese cooking.

I purchased this book for my daughter, a huge manga fan. She loved reading about how each of the recipes were made and the index of ingredients was really helpful. We're going to try some of these recipes as soon as we can!

my daughter in law is 12 and absolutely loves manga and anime! i thought it would be a great idea to get this book for her to expand her interest in Japanese culture and food. we are gleefully planning our manga menus :p it's especially good because it has

I got this for my wife to go along with a bento box and she absolutely loves it. It's a nice change from your every day meals and I enjoyed eating the dishes that we would see in some of our favorite Anime shows. If you like anime, asian food or simply want to try something new then I suggest picking this up. It's also great hands on fun for your children making cute meals but definite supervision is advised for some of the recipes.

Unfortunately I got this cookbook during the new year period so my local Asian grocery stores have been closed so this review is based on general appearance and content than taste (from my limited knowledge I do recognize similarities to other Japanese recipes). The recipes appear to be somewhat authentic; they might be a little skewed to western tastes, but with some of the ingredients it is clear that they are not traditional western recipes. There are quite a few that I want to try (based on what I had while I was in Japan). Because of the general design (like a Manga) there are not as many recipes as a traditional cookbook of this size, but most people who would get this book would do so because it is styled like a Manga rather than for the number of recipes.

This book is a great gift for those who really enjoy Japanese cartoons! Not only does it have meals that one might find in one of these cartoons, but they are fairly easy to make, the cookbook has fun illustrations and is enjoyable to read. Though it seems a bit childish at times with the illustrations and reads more like a comic in its self! Over all I would say this is a okay cookbook.

Bought this book to help me learn to make Bento Boxes and my son enjoyed the book so much he got involved too! It is definitely written with kids in mind but easy enough for an adult to learn the "basics" of bento items to make.

This book is fantastic. I just received my copy a few days ago and have already made several of the recipes with no problem at all. The instructions are very clear and easy to follow. The book is full of pictures (color and b&w), extended notes on the customs and history surrounding the recipes and has lots of suggestions for switching up your recipes. I think this book is perfect for anyone just getting into Japanese cooking or bento and would be great for beginners as well as seasoned chefs. I was surprised at how much useful information they stuffed into this book! A great value for your money!

I got this when I got my bento box.

There isn't much to say about this. It is worth getting. For one thing the foods are really Japanese dishes. And instructions are easy to follow as well. Most food in here is really tasty

I bought this cook book for a friend that is really into manga and has always wondered what some of the food was that the characters where consuming. He simply loved this book. The recipes are easy to follow and quite delicious. This product arrived in great condition.

This book is filled with some of the cutest & yummiest recipes ever!

It's a must for any anime fan who's interested in Asian cuisine!

I haven't found a better one or anything like it.

i was so exited when this came! and it certainly diddnt dissappoint me! it has actual pictures (not drawn. taken from a camera) in color of what a lot of the dishes are suppossed to look like! the boy only has one recipe that he does himself, but i dont mind~ i read all of it and its easy to understand. there was one or two times where i was like "ummm.....more detail, please!" (one instance i remember was when they were explaining how to do the octopus sausage...please go into deeper description on how to cut it, please?) but overall its my most prized japanese cook book! i cant wait to try out the recepes!

Shipping was fast, and book was in great condition. I have made a few recipes and am very excited about learning more. The recipes are easy to follow, and the section for making your own notes is very helpful.

Very cute, with easy-to-follow instructions. Be aware, however, that the results may not be quite to your liking. We've tried Anko Paste (beans must soak a day ahead, contrary to instructions), dango (handle dough gently, and they should be eaten fresh), okonomiyaki (too much mayo, and too much dashi), jagatama (pretty good), and yakitori (hold the miso, use less egg, & broil or steam).

The recipes and art are great. Very cute and the recipes are straight forward and simple.

There is no table of contents feature on the reader for this book, so you can only "go to" the beginning or end. Also, the page numbers and the "location" numbers are not the same. So you can't tell it to go to page 28, you can only go 28% into the book and who knows what page that will be. I recommend getting the hard copy version of this book instead of the digital version.

This was a fantastic purchase. I had been making bento kits for a few years prior to getting this book- and the recipes it contains are so perfect!
They didn't fill the book with traditional Japanese foods that require an "aquired taste", they only included recipes of foods that can be used between cultures effortlessly.

This is an adorable book with its animations. I like that they explain everything in detail and give a brief history of the different kinds of foods. There is also animations of each step that are easy to understand. This book gives recipes on the basic Japanese cuisine you see in animes, hence why it's called the manga cookbook. I am happy I bought it and would recommend to beginners and anyone interested in cooking Japanese dishes really.

I wish this had more to it, the book was small in size and page wise but otherwise completely awesome. It is set up like a magna book and has actual recipes and meals that a teenager can do, the person I got this for loves this!

The recipes are simple and I am ok with that but there aren't many recipes to make the $10 price worth it. It is beatifully illustrated and I do wish they make another with more recipes in the future. Overall, you might find better bento books out there.

This is a decent beginner's cookbook. It would be great for children or teenagers who want to learn how to cook. The photos in the beginning are fine, but it's a bit disorganized because of the lack of photos throughout the book especially for different recipes.

I like the book. I'm glad I bought it. But I was very disappointed to see that the boy on the front of the book never, ever cooks inside. What gives?

I was so happy to see a boy on the front of the book. That and it was paired with Manga and I thought, "Gee, my boy who likes to cook will love this book." For some strange reason, the boy in the book just stands in the background watching the girl cook.

Fortunately my boy has overlooked this weirdness and when I went to work this morning he was in the kitchen putting poppy seeds on hard boiled eggs (eyes, folks, eyes) to make them cute for his sister.

This is a book for manga fans, not for professional cooks.
Because mostly this manga cookbook is a book for manga-fan cooks, as well as for beginner, I recommend this book for those who like manga and cook at the same time.
If you are a professional cook or want to become a professional cook already, you should only buy this book for entertainment.
If you have no interest in manga, then this book is not for you.
HTH - Hope this Help :|

What the hell is that they're eating? Yeah, me too. So this book promises to tell you and show you how to make some of the most popular lunch items for you to take to school or just snack on while you pretend you're Japanese, all in an accessible manga format. Sadly it reads American style, not Japanese.

I really thought that it would be worth the $13. I mean, who hasn't wished to know what manga characters are eating and try it ourselves? The book was too basic. If you've ever read manga, you will probably know at least half of what the book says. It's an OK book, but not for that price.

THis book is too short. It offers some things that are all right, but It does not offer any new Ideas. I have seen most of these things on youtube and more beter ideas on youtube. I think this book is also geared to children not adult manga fans.

This book as an incredible amount of good info for beginners! Love it!! So glad my daughter chose it, because I never would have guessed a "Manga" cookbook would refer to awesome Bento!

I bought several Bento items for my daughter for Christmas, including Totoro-themed Bento Boxes, sauce containers, bento bags, recipe books,etc.. She's having a lot of fun creating lunches for her Bento box. And her dad is also reaping the benefit. :) I'll share all the items we bought as we launched wholesale into the Bento adventure. We've cooked many interesting meals - no misses yet! And everyone's had fun with their Bento boxes. Even my husband is enjoying his, which was a surprise.

Since we were starting Bento from scratch, we bought some Bento cookbooks, even though we have some Japanese cookbooks already:

The Just Bento Cookbook: Everyday Lunches To Go
http://smile.the store.com/gp/product/1568363931?psc=1&redirect=true&ref_=oh_aui_search_detailpage

Yummy Kawaii Bento: Preparing Adorable Meals for Adorable Kids
http://smile.the store.com/gp/product/1634504240?psc=1&redirect=true&ref_=oh_aui_search_detailpage

Effortless Bento: 300 Japanese Box Lunch Recipes
http://smile.the store.com/gp/product/1939130379?psc=1&redirect=true&ref_=oh_aui_search_detailpage

The Manga Cookbook
http://smile.the store.com/gp/product/4921205078?redirect=true&ref_=cm_cr_ryp_prd_ttl_sol_0

and several Bento items to accommodate lunches with and without soup, etc.

Her main bento box (she never microwaves it, and she washes it by hand). It came with chopsticks, but she also wanted the Totoro utensil set listed below which fits in her bag nicely with this box.
Bento: Studio Ghibli Totoro Design 2-tier Microwavable Bento Lunch Box (Volume: 380ml + 250ml)
http://smile.the store.com/gp/product/B006YG0BU8?psc=1&redirect=true&ref_=oh_aui_search_detailpage

My Neighbor Totoro Stainless Steel Lunch Box LJF3 - great for soups and other items with liquids. Has a folding spoon in the lid, so you can carry just it if you want.
http://smile.the store.com/gp/product/B009N6E5TE?psc=1&redirect=true&ref_=oh_aui_search_detailpage

Chopsticks Spoon Fork Trio Set My Neighbor Totoro Garden - cute! What else is there to say?
http://smile.the store.com/gp/product/B00S0E7V4G?psc=1&redirect=true&ref_=oh_aui_search_detailpage

My Neighbor Totoro Skater Insulated Lunch Cooler Bag, Clover (UBC1) Fits everything nicely, except the extra soup container.
http://smile.the store.com/gp/product/B00AYQQ8Y2?psc=1&redirect=true&ref_=oh_aui_search_detailpage

My Neighbor Totoro Skater Insulated Lunch Cooler Bag, Clover (UBC1) (A bit taller than the bag above, so accommodates differently shaped items. Accepts her Totoro Bento box and the Totoro stainless steel soup container at the same time.)
http://smile.the store.com/gp/product/B00AYQQ8Y2?psc=1&redirect=true&ref_=oh_aui_search_detailpage

KOUZINA 36 Baking Cups - Freshware Silicone Molds - to keep items separate in the boxes when needed. Glad we got these! A nice touch!
http://smile.the store.com/gp/product/B016APXXJ8?psc=1&redirect=true&ref_=oh_aui_search_detailpage

Tupperware Smidget Container 1oz Set of 5 Blue - we bought a couple of sets of these tiny containers for dipping sauces, etc., since the reviews on some of the more eco-freindly choices of sauce containers had a lot of complaints about leakage. These are SO water-tight, it's awesome. They're tiny and perfect for a little terriyaki sauce, egg roll dip, etc. We got one color for my daughter (green ones off of eBay to match her Totoro bento box) and another color for her dad here on the store (blue for the win!). Helps keep things sorted.
http://smile.the store.com/gp/product/710105482X?psc=1&redirect=true&ref_=oh_aui_search_detailpage

We also had mercy on my husband and bought him a non-anime Bento Box. It's probably one of the best Bento boxes ever. Very nice design; nice size. Keeps liquids in, etc. If I get a bento box of my own, I'll probably get another one of these. Yes, stainless steel is more eco-friendly, but I'm gonna have to err on the side of leak-free products.
Bento Box Lunch Box by GRUB2GO - Premium Lunch Boxes for Adults and Kids + FREE Utensils -
http://smile.the store.com/gp/product/B014EX3672?psc=1&redirect=true&ref_=oh_aui_search_detailpage

For the Kawaii factor, we had to have cutouts for lunch meats and cheese (we have yet to see how they work with home-made lunch meat, but I expect they'll work well):

Yunko Bento Accessories Bears Seals Bunny Chick Bear Shape DIY Rice Ball Mould Korean Laver Take Boarder Sushi Mold Sandwich Mold Mould Cutter Stamp
http://smile.the store.com/gp/product/B017JMUU88?psc=1&redirect=true&ref_=oh_aui_search_detailpage

CuteZCute Robo Bread Bento Sandwich Stamping Cutter, Red/Black - geeks have to have robots! Ego saving for the man in your Bento Life also!
http://smile.the store.com/gp/product/B00QOJGYGK?psc=1&redirect=true&ref_=oh_aui_search_detailpage

Well, that's about it. I think we'll be using all these things for quite a while. It was great to find them on the store. Some items come from Japan, but it was worth the wait. :)

I was very disappointed in this book. It is written as a comic book in black and white.The printing is about a size 11 font so you have to squint to be able to read the words,I really want to learn how to cook Bento lunches for my kids and this book just didn't cut it. Plus being in black and white, a lot of the illustrations I can't even tell what they are. Go to a book store first and see what this book is like before buying it on the store and having to pay shipping and handling. That'll easily make your decision to skip the Manga Cookbook.

I got this one for a present a few years ago, and my then-toddler son was immediately interested in it. Fast forward a few years, and my now-toddler daughter wants to have it read to her as a bedtime book. That's a tribute to the adorable manga-style illustrations. It is, as other reviewers have said, super-cute.

But it's more than cute. I've cooked only a handful of recipes from the book, but some of them have been real winners. The teriyaki sauce recipe has become my go-to if I want to make my own sauce, for example, while the red bean paste tasted much better than I imagined. I'm not a terribly adventurous cook so these simple recipes are a good introduction to Japanese cooking. Probably what I've enjoyed most about this book is reading it just to learn more about Japanese cuisine and culture.

I think as my kids get older, we may try using it to cook together.

I bought this book on a whim at Anime Expo. I've read recipes before on making Japanese food, and generally thought, well, that's nice, but it's a lot of effort. After getting halfway through this book in one day, I went shopping and tonight I have umeboshi onigiri made with sushi rice in my fridge, a bento for my lunch tomorrow and have finished a dinner of karaage. This book is PERFECT for the beginner, especially those introduced to the delights of Japanese food through manga or anime. It makes everything simple enough to dive right in and enjoy the delights of Japanese food in your home. The authors have made a real effort to adjust things to American kitchens and measurements. It's even an entertaining read. I can't wait to get through the second half of the book and see what I'm making later this week!

The Manga Cookbook is a lovely little collection of Japanese recipes, illustrated with manga-style drawings and accompanied by notes about Japanese culture. The dishes run the gamut from simple steamed rice to complicated multistep affairs, and following the Japanese tradition, the authors pay attention to appearance as well as taste.

The book begins with a few simple decorative tricks, converting an apple to a rabbit, a hardboiled egg to a bird, and a hot dog to an octopus. Next up is steamed rice and onigiri (rice balls), with the obligatory shout-out to Fruits Basket, in which onigiri are a small but important plot element. Other common manga foods include chicken yakitori (kebabs), okonomiyaki (vegetable pancakes), and three-color dango (pastel dumplings on a stick). Several pages are devoted to the construction and decoration of bento box lunches. And no manga book would be complete without Naruto--specifically, Naruto rolls, spirals of ham, cheese, and nori (seaweed) that recall the decorations on the famed boy ninja's jacket.

The recipes are presented by three supercute manga characters: perky Miyuki; her boyfriend, Hiroshi; and their cat mascot, Coo. Each section begins with a full-page cartoon followed by a list of ingredients and step-by-step illustrations of the dish being prepared. Many are followed by cultural notes. Unfortunately, the last 26 pages are just blank notebook pages with the heading "Cook's Notes," which is a lot of empty space in a book that is just 160 pages long.

The Young Adult Library Services Association (YALSA) chose The Manga Cookbook as one of their Quick Picks for Reluctant Young Readers, and it's easy to see why. The subject matter is naturally interesting to manga fans, and the text is accompanied by pictures that help get the information across. Hattori's illustrations and a clean, simple design make for an attractive package.

The recipes themselves present a few problems, however. Many rely on ingredients that are not readily available, and the ingredient lists are often vague. The Gyudon recipe, for instance, simply calls for "beef," without specifying which cut. Sometimes ingredients on the list aren't in the instructions that follow, or vice versa. In addition, some of the recipes simply aren't suitable for young children to prepare on their own, especially ones that involve sharp knives and deep-fat frying.

On the other hand, a child who is assisted by an adult with a little cooking experience can do pretty well with this book. I field-tested the recipes for Steamed Rice, Gyudon, and Okonomiyaki. All were delicious, and I knew to use sirloin steak in the Gyudon and to put one teaspoon of baking powder in the Okonomiyaki (baking powder was left off the ingredient list).

With its cartoon characters, intriguing cultural notes, and attractive food arrangements, The Manga Cookbook is an enticing little volume. It's too bad the recipes weren't edited better, but with a bit of help from an adult, most children over 10 will be able to prepare these real-life manga goodies.

-- Brigid Alverson

If you love Manga and food (Japanese dishes) then this book is perfect. It has wonderful designs and character while teaching you how to put together delicious meals and even how to put together an adorable bento box. This book has so much personality and is great for all cooks, whether beginner or experienced. Love it.

I bought this book for my 6 1/2yr old who(like me) loves manga & anime!! Figured this would be the perfect coolbook for her! Alot of the recipes need help from an adult,if you got this for a kid..but for the most she really enjoys looking at the book and loves it when we make the food!
I do wish they had simpler recipes but this isnt aimed for young kids so thats ok

The easy recipes and cute illustrations make this just a wonderful cookbook for people who really enjoy manga. Most of the ingredients are easy to find and instructions are well written.

You'll find recipes for noodles, teriyaki sauce, rice balls, rice burgers (buns made with leftover rice filled with various things) and great bento packing ideas in here.

It's also a good cookbook for a young person who is learning to cook with supervision.

My friend saw that i made bentos to work and got me this book. It's soooo CUTE. This book is really meant for BEGINNERS and can work as a reminder/quick reference to a pro. It has some main bento staple, the tamagoyaki and onigiri but also how to make your own UDON! and tips and trick to creating a visually pleasing delicious bento. The recipes are easy to follow and the ingredient aren't too hard to find now a days.

This cookbook is super a adorable and a fun read. I got it today for Christmas and it was my favorite gift. I read it from cover to cover and actually made a few simple recipes for lunch :) If you love manga, I would definitely recommend buying this book! It's not a complex, over detailed mainstream cookbook but an amazing mix between cooking and manga that left me wishing for a second book in the series!

The book is in black and white and printed on what looks like newspaper type paper. Recipes are great but the book is so drab and boring due to the lack of color! The preview one sees on the website here is extremely misleading as every page in the book is devoid of color. As I said, the recipes are great but it would have been nice to see color pics like we are shown on the website instead of these depressingly gray pages. Boo.

Very easy to read and fun to make recipes, but they are some simple sometimes they are missing the details. Like Tonkatsu: No mention of what sauce to use, or what side dishes to eat with it or how. Just how to make and fry the steak.

I purchased this book after not wanting it... but when I finally decided to go for it and buy it...it was well worth it. I really enjoy the Okonomiyaki section and so far, I've made everything from this book. It's easy to understand and has awesome manga/story on explaining certain foods. You have to get this if you're starting out on cooking Japanese food from the Anime/Manga. The only downside... there's isn't a lot but its enough.

If you're looking for a basic introduction to Japanese food, this works. If you're looking for something that gives you some Japanese recipes that don't require a lot of obscure or strange ingredients, this also works. In general, this makes a great kid's cookbook, but not much more. The recipes are all very simple, and while the art is cute, it just doesn't have enough content to be considered a true cookbook in my opinion.

a very simple, cute book. If you are looking for something with more classic japanese recipes, this is not the book for you. I think this book was meant for children and very beginner cooks. This book mostly covers how to make a japanese Bento (lunch). When I got it, I was hoping there would be more recipes. Don't let the number of pages fool you. About 1/3 of the book are blank "Chef's Notes" pages. Huge dissapointment. If you want more japanese recipes, I would just look online.

this book is awesome if you're interested in cooking Japanese cuisine. And if you're a beginner then all the better! Each recipe in this book is simply explained with pictures and words to make the cooking experience as easy as pie. I would defiantly recommend this cooking book to anyone interested in learning some basic Japanese recipes.

I got this book for Christmas last year from a family member. I do a lot of Japanese cooking because i love the healthy aspects of it. Unfortunately this cookbook while it does give some okay recipes; the servings, ingredients, and instructions nearly all fail to be authentically Japanese, perhaps with an exception on how to shape hot dogs and how to cook rice (though this depends on what type and the actual brands of rice, so even this isn't all that great)

The recipes that I tried all came out in completely Americanized ways. The recipes, while traditional at heart and inspired by actual Japanese recipes, lack actual authentic taste. All of the recipes that I tried, I used products from my local Japanese store, so it was not the ingredients fault.

The only reason I give this two stars is because a majority of the recipes are edible, they just aren't what one should make if trying to make authentic Japanese food.

For the really simple things, obviously you can't go wrong and though I have not used this book extensively, it seems some of the recipes are off.
For example the 3 colored dango gave me measurements that were pretty different than other recipes I found online. Also on how to cook the rice I was told that recipe was off too, therefore the results I got were far less than desired.
I've lost faith in this book and though it was fun at first, I most likely will not use it again.
There are some great sites online of bloggers with great recipes like justhungry.com and others.
I know there are much better books out there on cooking simple Japanese foods..
For fun and very simple things, this is a cute book, but nothing more, for me anyway.