Wakako Murasaki is a 26-year-old woman in a relationship, works a normal job, and…eats and drinks. As in, she eats and drinks well to where she stops by a number of joints to sate her habits. And that’s all Wakako Zake is about: a story where we simply watch her indulge in a number of delicacies across Japan and her happiness in consuming them.
Yes, that is entertaining!
Wakako Zake is a bunch of short stories (volume 1 has 26 chapters and two specials) where we see Chie Shinkyu, er, Wakako eat and drink various cuisines. Ok, context: when creating this series Chie explains that her editor suggested she draw a drinking manga since she likes it so much and came up with the idea to center it around a woman drinking alone. But she struggled to figure out how the main character should be. That is, until her editor suggested she use her own likeness. And thus, Wakako was born, with the author’s likeness.
Welp, thanks to that decision we get chapters of Wakako going to her local bar or restaurant, drinking up different types of alcohol (sake is king for most of this). We see her chowing down on either usual things you’ve heard about (yakitori, yakisoba, karaage a.k.a Japanese fried chicken) or maybe not (roasted garlic? Even with some drinks I dunno…). Maybe 10% of the volume focuses on her job or her boyfriend. There’s commentary in the background, ranging from blowtorching mackerel to Wakako’s friends noting her seemingly insatiable appetite. She may also internally chide someone eating a food improperly or deeply respect a veteran foodie eating like a champ.
This is literally all mundane stuff…but sometimes, mundane is good. Mundane with a good premise can be fun to read. What helps this manga is the chapters are short — with maybe 4-7 pages on average — the dialogue is on point, and the art style is humorous. Combine that with Wakako’s enthusiasm for eating and drinking, the manga also becomes a relaxing read. That’s about what it comes down to here. You won’t get anything super special aside from watching a woman live her life as normally as possible. That’s totally fine.
So if you are in need of something with drama, action, etc, this ain’t the manga to read. If you are looking to check out something cozy though, Wakako Zake’s got you covered. Thanks to the pace of each story, Wakako’s personality, and the food, this is a manga that’s pleasant to read. Would totally be down to read more of this.