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Yakumo-san wa Edzuke ga Shitai. #4
Beauty and the Feast, Vol. 4
A boy with a bottomless stomach and a lonely widow with room at her dinner table serve up a heaping helping of secret happiness in this delightful foodie rom-com!
As spring turns to summer, the most anticipated high school baseball championship—Koshien—awaits! With their eyes on the prize, Yamato and his team prepare for the qualifiers. And since an army marches on its stomach, Yamato's lucky to have Shuko and her cooking on his side!
As spring turns to summer, the most anticipated high school baseball championship—Koshien—awaits! With their eyes on the prize, Yamato and his team prepare for the qualifiers. And since an army marches on its stomach, Yamato's lucky to have Shuko and her cooking on his side!
176 pages, Paperback
First published October 25, 2017
11 people are currently reading
40 people want to read
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Displaying 1 - 13 of 13 reviews
February 10, 2023
Minus one full star for that extra with the stalker childhood friend. Sexual misconduct isn't funny.
October 16, 2022
It’s the lead up to the big tournament, which means that Yamato is working harder than ever. Which also means Shuko is going to do what she always does, and is that really a bad thing?
Short answer - no. This continues along its traditional path of youthful hormones and the young widow who caters to them, at least as far as food is concerned. As always, it’s more slice of life than anything else, with the occasional nonsense.
The story gets a little more ribald when Yamato accidentally grabs a boob… or does he? That one ends up being cuter than it might otherwise be, plus has some ridiculous Rui nonsense, but that’s this series, really, lots of charm and heart where the more physical desires burst through on occasion (the most ribald we actually get is a little bit of rain).
Mostly it’s some very gorgeous illustrations of food and some other light storytelling. There’s a lot of focus on Yamato’s preparation for his tournament, which is a nice touch and shows his dedication. It’s welcome because Shuko definitely “stars” in this story in comparison, so having him get a smidgen more nuanced isn’t a bad thing.
There’s also a glorious picnic between Shuko and Yamato’s sister that is just the cutest and also features the best food in the entire book. If you like sandwiches at all, the spread in this one may inspire the desperate need for a snack.
Everything else centres around the big game, from a brutal pun-filled feast (great translation work on this one) to a celebratory ‘octopus dumpling’ reward where I cannot figure out why they translated it to that without simply calling it yakitori and just adding a translation note. The story proper is pretty funny, as teenage appetites run up against the stamina of an older cook.
The ending of this volume is especially good, as it actually injects a little drama into the mix. Yamato has the drive and determination and he does really well… but what happens when that slams into reality? Well, we’ll find out.
Uh, right, then that omake happens. Forget what I said about being ribald, although this is all Rui’s fault and she gets roundly shamed for her behaviour, as is completely and utterly appropriate. Not my favorite part of the story, but comeuppance is always welcome.
4 stars - eh, it’s really good. There’s a knack to writing a quiet story like this and having it not become dull and boring; so far each volume has pulled it off quite well. A real gem of a series.
Short answer - no. This continues along its traditional path of youthful hormones and the young widow who caters to them, at least as far as food is concerned. As always, it’s more slice of life than anything else, with the occasional nonsense.
The story gets a little more ribald when Yamato accidentally grabs a boob… or does he? That one ends up being cuter than it might otherwise be, plus has some ridiculous Rui nonsense, but that’s this series, really, lots of charm and heart where the more physical desires burst through on occasion (the most ribald we actually get is a little bit of rain).
Mostly it’s some very gorgeous illustrations of food and some other light storytelling. There’s a lot of focus on Yamato’s preparation for his tournament, which is a nice touch and shows his dedication. It’s welcome because Shuko definitely “stars” in this story in comparison, so having him get a smidgen more nuanced isn’t a bad thing.
There’s also a glorious picnic between Shuko and Yamato’s sister that is just the cutest and also features the best food in the entire book. If you like sandwiches at all, the spread in this one may inspire the desperate need for a snack.
Everything else centres around the big game, from a brutal pun-filled feast (great translation work on this one) to a celebratory ‘octopus dumpling’ reward where I cannot figure out why they translated it to that without simply calling it yakitori and just adding a translation note. The story proper is pretty funny, as teenage appetites run up against the stamina of an older cook.
The ending of this volume is especially good, as it actually injects a little drama into the mix. Yamato has the drive and determination and he does really well… but what happens when that slams into reality? Well, we’ll find out.
Uh, right, then that omake happens. Forget what I said about being ribald, although this is all Rui’s fault and she gets roundly shamed for her behaviour, as is completely and utterly appropriate. Not my favorite part of the story, but comeuppance is always welcome.
4 stars - eh, it’s really good. There’s a knack to writing a quiet story like this and having it not become dull and boring; so far each volume has pulled it off quite well. A real gem of a series.
April 28, 2018
Finished reading volumes one through four last night, plus a little of volume five (all that is available in English as of today).
I like the clean, open feel of the art--it's uncluttered and even quite dramatic at times--either dramatically pretty, adorable, or tense. Sometimes body parts are rendered awkwardly, but it's minimal.
The story is interesting (older woman/younger man), but I am getting a little impatient for forward momentum and would like more tension to develop regarding their relationship. It's starting to feel repetitive.
I like the clean, open feel of the art--it's uncluttered and even quite dramatic at times--either dramatically pretty, adorable, or tense. Sometimes body parts are rendered awkwardly, but it's minimal.
The story is interesting (older woman/younger man), but I am getting a little impatient for forward momentum and would like more tension to develop regarding their relationship. It's starting to feel repetitive.
March 18, 2024
Beauty and the Feast 4
5/5 stars
Okay I just adore this series. Shuko is an absolute babe and I want to marry her. The whole embarrassing misunderstanding with him thinking he grabbed her boob and obsessing over it was hilarious, once again the food looked incredible and they’re just so soft and sweet. Her sewing him a good luck patch and making bad puns for all the meals. She’s just so cute, I love their dynamic and I’m excited to see how everything progresses.
5/5 stars
Okay I just adore this series. Shuko is an absolute babe and I want to marry her. The whole embarrassing misunderstanding with him thinking he grabbed her boob and obsessing over it was hilarious, once again the food looked incredible and they’re just so soft and sweet. Her sewing him a good luck patch and making bad puns for all the meals. She’s just so cute, I love their dynamic and I’m excited to see how everything progresses.
April 29, 2023
*sigh*
This would have been so much higher is Satomi U hadn't added that FUCKING BONUS CHAPTER with Rui. Seriously, every single FUCKING TIME a volume gets really close to being stellar, the mangaka just HAS to add something uncomfortable disguised as "humor" to drag the rest of the volume down. For fuck's sake Satomi U, please just FUCKING STOP THIS SHIT!
And it really is a shame because the rest of the volume was so good! Especially the final panel, damn that hit so fucking hard! If the volume had ended on that panel, it would have been great. But nope, gotta add trespassing, sexual harassment, and sexual misconduct to put a damper on everything that was good. *sigh*
Anyway, aside from that, this was a great volume. I can only hope and pray that the next volume is better.
This would have been so much higher is Satomi U hadn't added that FUCKING BONUS CHAPTER with Rui. Seriously, every single FUCKING TIME a volume gets really close to being stellar, the mangaka just HAS to add something uncomfortable disguised as "humor" to drag the rest of the volume down. For fuck's sake Satomi U, please just FUCKING STOP THIS SHIT!
And it really is a shame because the rest of the volume was so good! Especially the final panel, damn that hit so fucking hard! If the volume had ended on that panel, it would have been great. But nope, gotta add trespassing, sexual harassment, and sexual misconduct to put a damper on everything that was good. *sigh*
Anyway, aside from that, this was a great volume. I can only hope and pray that the next volume is better.
January 10, 2024
Another solid volume but not quite as good as the previous. This one focuses more on the baseball progression of Yamato and Yakumo is there to give him all of her support. Rui has a funny moment in this one that involves some salad oil. I am enjoying the slower pacing of this series and how the characters are being handled.
October 31, 2022
I really enjoy food manga; I continue to be trepidatious about the possibility of romance between the two main characters.
December 21, 2022
3.5/5 Stars
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March 1, 2023Rui…that’s gross. Don’t waste oil like that, and don’t sexually harass your sleeping friend.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
April 22, 2023
Just as delightful, warm and cozy as the other volumes in this series. I can't wait to read the next volume! And to try to make the recipes featured in the series too!
May 1, 2025
Full review on Storygraph: https://app.thestorygraph.com/reviews...
Displaying 1 - 13 of 13 reviews