Food as a Romantic Multi-Cultural Mirror: A Look at est em’s Quietly Sensual Comics

It is undeniable that there has been a renewed interest in portraying food in comics, notably as a poignant metaphor or plot device (Stein, 2015; Kasabyan, 2024). Tokyo-born Maki Satoh (known professionally as est em) is one of many manga authors that takes advantage of this, using food in her works as an avenue to explore relationships and cultural notions. Publishing within a variety of popular genres (e.g. Boys’ Love, Girls’ Love) whilst avoiding their stereotypical traits, est em uses food as a driving plot point: one of her most popular titles, Oroka-mono wa Aka wo Kirau (2008) [Eng: Red Blinds the Foolish], depicts the romantic relationship between a matador and a butcher, while Udon no Onna (2011) [Eng: The Lady of Udon] follows a university student’s infatuation with a cafeteria lady who serves udon. As such, the following paper will focus on how food is depicted in est em’s selected works, pointing out that food functions as a poignant symbol, acting as a mirror for characters and their complex and sensual relationships, which are further emphasized by the author’s restrained artistic style. The paper concludes that est em’s comics are a unique example of how food can function as an elaborate cultural and romantic metaphor within the manga tradition.