Oishinbo

Oishinbo is a drama featuring journalist Shirō Yamaoka who works for the Tōzai Shimbun. He is a cynical food critic who is tasked by the newspaper's owner, along with the young Yūko Kurita, to provide recipes for the "ultimate menu". During their search, they encounter Yamaoka's fastidious and demanding father, Yūzan Kaibara, a famous gourmand who tries to sabotage Yamaoka's project.

In the 1980s, Japan had an upsurge in popularity in the gurume movement, called the "gourmet boom." Iorie Brau, author of Oishinbo's Adventures in Eating: Food, Communication, and Culture in Japanese Comics, said that this was the largest factor of the increase in popularity of gurume comics. The series's first volume sold around one million copies. The popularity of Oishinbo the comic lead to the development of the anime, the live action film, and many fansites. The fan-sites chronicle recipes that appeared in the manga.

Tetsu Kariya, the writer of Oishinbo, said in a 1986 interview that he was not a food connoisseur, and that he felt embarrassed whenever food experts read the comic.