Oishinbo

The unaired pilot of Oishinbo, included with the first Blu-ray Box. It tells a similar story to that of episode two of the main series.

The Oishinbo gang takes time off from the normal culinary wars to get involved with a political dispute about American rice imports. The economic conflict between a pushy US Senator from California and a nationalistic Japanese politician is further complicated by concerns about the cumulative effect of pesticide use in both American and Japanese agriculture.

Inspired by a book on Japanese cuisine written by British food writer Michael Booth, this family oriented foodie anime runs the gamut from chanko to yakisoba, and almost everything in between. Booth becomes obsessed with Japanese cuisine after reading about it, so he and his wife and their two young boys travel the length of Japan over three months, devouring everything in their way. If you're curious about okonomiyaki, or fearful of natto, you'll definitely enjoy this fun, light-hearted trans-national food voyage!

The culinary daily of an office worker named Iinuma.