Reira Ushio -- Misoshiru to Butter（味噌汁とバター）

 

The above is a Baconburger with French Fries that I had at a fairly hidden burger joint on a side street in Ueno, Tokyo called Crane. Hopefully, after several years, it's still there. The turnover of restaurants in Tokyo is especially high.

It seems as if the main character in the above anime was so overwhelmed by the burger that she ate that she was in tears. On the other hand, I've been eating burgers since I was virtually one year old, but I still greatly enjoy them.

Anyways, as I mentioned a couple of days ago, my buddy showed me some of the Spring 2025 anime that are about to end their run if they haven't already done so. I got to see the zany kill-or-be-killed comedy "Ninja to Koroshiya no Futari Gurashi"（忍者と殺し屋のふたりぐらし...A Ninja and an Assassin Under One Roof）. And then I got to see "Hibi wa Sugiredo Meshi Umashi" (日々は過ぎれど飯うまし...Days Go By But Food Is Delicious) although it's been practically translated with the far less unwieldy "Food for the Soul".

It's another mix of the gastronomical anime and the usual anime about some a motley crew of plucky kids in academia getting together for a common purpose. The above clip was right from Episode 1 in which the shy Mako finally gets the gumption to order some sauced katsudon. And yep, the animators have gotten their food right (no solid green cabbage here). This all reminds me of the classic "Koufuku Graffiti" (幸腹グラフィティ...Gourmet Graffiti) from about a decade that I used to watch at my anime buddy's house. "Food for the Soul" is a bit more frantic with the humour but I still consider it a relaxing slice-of-life food-based show.

Since I got to see only Episode 1, the show didn't supply the proper ending credits that time around but luckily they're all up on YouTube. The ending theme is "Misoshiru to Butter" (Miso Soup and Butter) which is one heck of a foodie combination but the song by Tokyo-born busker-turned-professional singer-songwriter Reira Usui（汐れいら）is a nice slice of guitar pop that reflects the Food Culture Research Club's members' growing enjoyment of food and each other's company.