From the day I read the first chapter of Ramen Daisuki Koizumi-san, I knew that it would be doomed to obscurity. It's a culinary/slice-of-life manga with no running story, coupled with a cheaply animated adaptation from a studio that created grimace-worthy wonders such as World's End Harem. Seeing as how Koizumi-san has been capped at three English-translated volumes, the last of which was released in 2021, this assumption has been proven rather true for the English-speaking manga community. However, despite only having read the first three volumes of Koizumi-san, it is likely the most-read manga on my shelf. I have brought Koizumi-san to school, tovacation, to bed, on planes, trains, road-trips; Koizumi-san is the manga I read when my brain doesn't really feel like doing anything at all. There has been a lot of attention on big, bold, vibrant, and complex publications in manga lately, from action-packed titles such as Jujutsu Kaisen to more thought-provoking manga like Fire Punch. However, manga like Koizumi-san exist for the times when you don't feel like something super exciting or thoughtful, and as my life continues to get busier, I've found myself turning to Koizumi-san more and more. It's a dumb fun manga about a girl who really likes ramen, begrudgingly befriending a bunch of girls who are starting to like ramen. Incredible!
The manga doesn't include complex cooking scenes or dramatic exchanges between the characters; it's a manga about eating, and very little else. Truthfully, the sole reason why Koizumi-san has kept me interested for so long is that the only person who loves ramen more than Koizumi-san is the writer herself, author Narumi Naru. Each chapter's rather simplistic illustrations are sharply contrasted by detailed and lovely full-page spreads of every variety of ramen, many of which are aptly explained by Koizumi herself, who often explodes into dialogue about regional ramen variants and the pros of ordering extra char-siu. At the end of each volume, Narumi dedicates pages to divulging which types of ramen she prefers, whether it's a seasonal "sea urchin" release or a Fukoka-favorite Hataka tonkotsu. When I first picked up this manga and began following Narumi on Twitter, my feed became blessed with regular, real-life shots of Japan's best ramen alongside dutifully illustrated portraits of her favorites. In the first volume, Narumi reveals that Koizumi-san's hair is supposed to look like ramen noodles. It doesn't get much better than that.
Essentially, the author's passion and devotion for ramen seeps into every page of Ramen Daisuki Koizumi-san, and this dedication to eating and very little else makes the manga an easy yet delightful read appropriate for almost every occasion. Please show Koizumi-san the love it deserves— you might find a new favorite food alongside a new favorite manga <3.