Small Bites Of Joy - Wakakozake

 

After a long day of work, the best feeling is enjoying some free time to yourself. To some, that means binging a new TV show, reading, or playing video games. Others find relaxation in cooking or going out to eat—a quiet moment to take in the aromas and appreciate the flavors. Eating a good meal can rejuvenate anyone. Delicious in Dungeon was the anime on everyone’s tongue, offering a creatively fun take on dungeons and dragons and fantasy food! It left a satisfying taste on everyone’s palate and may have left some people hungry for more. Luckily, I have a bite-sized dish for you.

Wakakozake is a slice-of-life show about a young salarywoman named Wakako who spends her evenings trying local restaurants to enjoy a good meal with the perfect alcoholic pairing. Depending on the day Wakako had at work, she sometimes goes more for the drink. Wakako gets excited about every meal she has, talking about its smell, texture, and taste. She also takes other factors into consideration, like price, when it comes to her habit of eating out. The food made my mouth water, even simple appetizers like asparagus tempura. I don’t even like asparagus, but the breading looked so good, and I am a bread girly. Every dish served is well-animated and has that magical, delicious anime food look, which is perfect for the star of the show.

I thought it was fun to see Wakako’s reactions to food and the different ways to eat and enjoy a meal. I like that Wakako tries unconventional foods—at least in my picky opinion—like liver and thoroughly enjoys it. That’s why Wakakozake reminds me so much of Delicious in Dungeon: both shows are full of appreciation for food in a warm and inviting atmosphere—arguably a more inviting atmosphere, with fewer monsters around to put Wakako in danger.

Wakako is also a fun character with an excitable personality. Most of Wakakozake consists of internal dialogue as she enjoys her food alone. She thinks about things like work and interactions we don’t know anything about. As viewers, we never see Wakako's life outside of the restaurants she visits, which allows us to picture her life outside the restaurants for ourselves. She feels like someone you could walk past and then see in a restaurant by chance one day. One of my favorite interactions is in the first episode, where she judges the way someone eats a piece of salmon. She judges harshly and not so subtly, much like Senshi would a picky eater. Wakakozake has a cute, comedic tone.

To me, the weirdest thing about Wakakozake is the timing. Each episode is 3 minutes long—just long enough for Wakako to order, eat, have a drink, and head home. There isn’t an overarching story, as she doesn’t interact with anyone besides possibly a server or a random patron. She’s not going to the same bar with the same people; every episode is a new location. This may be why the 3-minute format works for the show—the anime isn’t trying to drag anything out.

I am interested in the choice to make each episode that short instead of having several segments in a standard episode length of about 30 minutes, as seen in Lucky Star and Way of the Househusband. Lucky Star was written in manga form as small comic strips, which were then turned into 23-minute episodes with several short scenarios and only a small overarching story to tie some episodes back to each other. The Wakakozake manga is still ongoing, so I feel like they have lots of content to pull from. Wakakozake was super easy to binge, too. I also like the way the intro song is part of the story, as we watch Wakako walk to her restaurant of the night while it plays.

Seeing a 3-minute anime for the first time sent me searching for more titles like it, as I’d never encountered such a format before. To my surprise, there are a few more series that clock in at 3 minutes, such as I Can’t Understand What My Husband Is Saying, Ojisan and Marshmallow, and Pan de Peace. I don’t know anything about these stories, but it’s nice to know there are options for this type of anime—something you can binge in one night or even in an hour. A lot of them look like feel-good stories, too.

There’s a live-action adaptation of Wakakozake, and I’m interested to see how they expanded the story to fit into a 22-minute episode. I wonder if it will revolve as much around food or if it will explore the relationships that can develop around food. It would be nice to see Wakako make friends while enjoying her time at a restaurant, maybe going back and encountering regular customers who can share dinner recommendations with her. I might just have to watch it and find out.

Watching Wakakozake is like observing a food critic who enjoys everything. Wakako praises simple comfort food and finds joy in every bite. I’m telling you, she and Senshi would be best friends. Every meal or snack has something good to offer and receives praise, even the liver she refers to as “stinky.” I was excited to see what Wakako would be tasting next. It might entice you to keep an eye out for small restaurants near you. Be adventurous and try something you’ve never had before. Either way, I recommend adding Wakakozake to your watch list and be sure to bring your own snacks so you don’t feel left out. Bring something savory to really immerse yourself.