First Impressions – Koufuku Graffiti

May your hearts be healed and your stomachs filled.

I may not know five ways about happiness, but I know a waifu when I see one. And Ryou is the waifu of the year.

————————————————–

Who else but SHAFT and the Monogatari director Akiyuki Shinbo should be entrusted with turning the simple act of eating into something incredibly sexual? It’s a match made in heaven!

————————————————–

Well, they keep calling it Food Porn, but honestly, as of the first episode, that feels like a misnomer. If anything I’ll call it Food Fuwa Fuwa… it’s so darn cozy and warm.

————————————————–

Deliciousness

Ryou’s worst nightmare.

Sumairii// I’ve made a resolution to write at most 500 words in any post, so expect my writing to be more succinct moving ahead. I’ve been much anticipating Koufuku Graffiti ever since I learned of it, and I must say that its premiere was everything I thought it would be. Cute girls, delicious food, and sensual eating; it’s all there. And the reason why I’ve been looking forward to it so much is because I figured it’d be a show that makes you feel good. Which it does handily. Unlike certain other shows airing right now that seem determined to instead remind you of the “ugly truth” that deep down everyone is an asshole *cough* Death Parade *cough*. I jest; there’s a place for shows like that. I just prefer to watch something more optimistic when I’m unwinding after a long, hard day.

Fond memories.

So anyway, Koufuku Graffiti is shaping up to be a tale of friendship and companionship just as much as it is food pornography. From the very beginning, the seeds are sown with Ryou lamenting of her self-perceived decline in cooking prowess, which we know is an artifact of too many meals spent alone since the passing of her beloved grandmother. And then the show builds upon the theme by introducing the diminutive but feisty Kirin, who can’t seem to enjoy the bland meals her mother creates because the two are slightly out of touch. I honestly wasn’t expecting much more beyond just the pretty girls eating the mouthwatering food. So this facet of the show came as a pleasant surprise, lending more meat to the already heart-filling experience that is Koufuku Graffiti.

Killer Food

Mother and child.

Overcooled// I wasn’t quite sure how an entire anime could be based on erotic eating, but now it all makes sense. Cooking and eating is only half of the story! The other half boasts an adorable slice of life concept with Ryou getting close to her second cousin Kirin once she unceremoniously moves in. I was expecting Yuri Kuma Arashi levels of eroticism, but I’m relieved it actually ended up being more tame. I don’t think I would be as touched with the budding friendship between Kirin and Ryou if they were shoving phallic-shaped foods into their mouths while moaning all the time… But just a little bit is fine! It’s all about balancing the skeevy parts with the cute parts. There should still be enough food porn and erotic eating to keep people happy though. I made the mistake of watching this while hungry and man, 2D food has never looked so appealing to me. They really deliver on pouring time (and money) into animating any and all scenes resembling food. It looks like an entirely different anime whenever someone starts eating.

The roles have reversed?

I came for the cooking, but now I’m pretty darn hooked on the characters and their drama. As Sumairii said, Ryou is the perfect wife. Not just because she can cook like it’s nobody’s business, but because she’s incredibly caring. She looks after Kirin when she catches a cold and is downright motherly towards her. It’s a good balance to have someone capricious and outgoing such as Kirin alongside her. They’re a great combo because Ryou can teach Kirin how to not be a goddamned 6 year old idiot desperate for sugar and Kirin teaches Ryou to not be a lonely teenager already having a midlife crisis. It’s perfect! I’ll be curious to see how the two continue to get along and what other characters join them. The more people she cooks for… the more powerful she will become! Soon she will destroy Tokyo in a flood of perfect ramen broth and devour civilians with her sentient tonkatsu. Or maybe it’ll just continue to be an incredibly cute show with a bit of a sexy edge. I’m still betting on Tonkatsu-zilla.

(un)Shafted

Just your typical Shaft home.

skylion// Well, what struck me off the bat was how much this show both was and wasn’t SHAFT. All the trademarks are there, from how they arrange the mise en scene (or in this case perhaps mise en place), and overall color choice and character design. But gone are the head tilts and quirky architecture we’ve become so accustomed to. It’s not even comparable to the studio’s other slice of life comfy zone Hidamari Sketch; which had tons of quirky art direction, suiting its background and characters. Koufuku Graffiti looks like the place they are stamping out the territory to match just that, background and characters.

Oh, Kirin…

I love how everything is so spacious and clean. Japanese apartments should not look that big, but making the space feel so large makes us focus on the characters more. And when they are this cute, that’s priceless. I’m very taken by Ryou. She has all the spirit, but none of the company, the thing that makes food taste good. Sharing it. So, we just have to give her her very own ahoge owner, and that is a trait that Morino lives right down to her shoes. Oh, bless her little tempestuous heart. Acting before thinking, excitable, rash, and prone to colds. Everything the motherly instincts that Ryou’s grandmother passed on to her is needed right there. They even play with the relationship between the cousins.

Just The Food

Show ▼

Just the Porn

Show ▼

Moving ahead, we know from promotional art that a third girl, Shiina, will join the regular cast to complete the holy trinity of the show. But I don’t expect this to happen too soon, as at least the next episode should be spent on fleshing out Kirin’s relationship with her mother and on the cousin potentially settling in with Ryou permanently to play family some more. Whatever may be, I do hope that the show is able to keep up the tone and atmosphere it has created. Because I think it might have a winning formula on its hands by making us all feel warm and fuzzy inside as if we’ve just been fed lovingly prepared kitsune udon.

I really liked this! Koufuku Graffiti manages to combine girls eating food as if they’re doing various sexual acts with heart-warming friendships developing between young girls. It’s weird, but it somehow works together to give you the overall feel of a slice of life show (with a bit of bite). It’s relaxing, sweet, and charming. That also means not much else happens aside from girls talking and eating, so anyone not into the whole slice of life thing might not get their money’s worth here – foodie or not. I love both the painstakingly rendered meals and the “cute girls doing cute things” aspect so I’m obviously easily sold on this one. Wonder what will be cooking next week?

I was really looking forward to this one. I think SHAFT has something special on thier hands that isn’t totally reliant on some of the flashy elements they’ve indulged in for seasons past. This is a straight up comfy sort of story, and doesn’t need that sort of thing. Just indulge in the food, the company and the comfort, SHAFT, you’ll get a winner.

About Tag Team

We live, laugh, enjoy and strictly believe on "more the merrier". When together, we usually come up with very chatty, conversation-based episodics and interesting posts.