The Fall 2020 Manga Guide

Campfire Cooking in Another World with My Absurd Skill

What's It About? 

Tsuyoshi Mukōda was nothing special in modern Japan, so when he was summoned to a world of swordplay and sorcery, he thought he was ready for the adventure of a lifetime. Too bad the kingdom that summoned him only got him by mistake. Not only was he not one of the three summoned heroes, but his stats were laughable compared to theirs. On top of that, there's something really sketchy about this kingdom. He immediately left to make his own way in this other world. The only thing Mukōda can rely on is his unique skill: the "Online Supermarket," a skill that allows him to buy modern goods in a fantasy world. It's useless for combat, but if he plays his cards right, he could lead a comfortable life. At least, that's what Mukōda thinks, but it turns out modern food bought with this skill has some absurd effects. Mukouda introduces ridiculously tasty modern cooking to a fantasy world and gets some ridiculous repeat customers begging for more.

Campfire Cooking in Another World with My Absurd Skill is drawn by Akagishi K and adapts the light novel of the same name by Ren Eguchi. The digital version of the manga's first volume is currently available at J-Novel Club for $8.99. J-Novel Club is also releasing the light novel for $6.99 per volume.

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Is It Worth Reading?

Rebecca Silverman

Rating:

You don't have to be a dog person to like this manga, but it helps. That's because Fel, the enormous wolf-like monster who decides to become “victim from another world” Mukohda's familiar is basically a stomach on four legs, which is a description you'll probably recognize if you've ever had a dog. He's lured in by the smells of Mukohda's cooking and decides that he lives with Mukohda now, which is admittedly more of a cat attribute, but as far as how a character gets a familiar goes, it makes for both a fun and a believable twist on the fantasy genre.

Of course, as the title implies, this isn't just a fantasy story, it's an isekai tale, and one based on the light novels of the same name. (I've enjoyed what I've read of them, though I need to catch up.) Our hero Mukohda is actually Tsuyoshi Mukouda, a twenty-seven-year-old office worker who gets snagged in a summoning ritual with three high schoolers and ends up being dumped in another world. Since he wasn't meant to be there, his status reads “victim from another world” rather than “hero,” and because he's a bit older than the average isekai protagonist, he almost immediately realizes that there's something truly fishy about the whole thing and gets the hell out. It probably helps that he's read enough isekai web novels to be getting a little sick of the genre, too, because he's familiar with the tropes and can therefore read the writing on the wall when the summoners are highly shady and the king and queen of this supposedly endangered land are glittering with gold and jewels. That he turns out to be right when he questions some locals (the king's a bit of a warmonger, it turns out) just reaffirms his decision to strike out on his own.

But because he's a summoned anything, he of course has a few special powers. The most important one is actually the isekai superpower that I think might be the most useful: online supermarket. That means that he can access his favorite online grocery store from this other world and get all the goodies of home, and since he doesn't mind cooking, that also gives him an easy money-making venture. But really, think about it – if you were stuck in a pseudo-medieval world, wouldn't that be the best power? Not only could you get safe and familiar food, but also things like band-aids, aspirin, tampons…it's basically the shortcut to comfort and possibly not dying of food poisoning. Plus it nets him a dog! Well, more or less – Fel is a Fenrir, a giant magical wolf, but his body language is all dog, as is his insatiable appetite. He does make it difficult for Mukohda because no one has seen a Fenrir in at least three centuries, but he's great for protection and hunting. All he asks is that he gets fed ludicrous amounts regularly, which is probably a very fair trade.

Campfire Cooking with my Absurd Skill is, simply put, a lot of fun. Even if you're getting sick of isekai, this approach to it is different and silly enough that it works, and the loose art is very expressive, particularly in terms of body language. It's a pretty good reminder that even in an over-saturated genre, there's still fun to be had if you approach it from the right angle.

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Caitlin Moore

Rating:

I gotta say, as far as random isekai protagonist powers go, having access to an online grocery store is a pretty nice one. You'd be able to eat properly and make sure you're getting all the nutrients you need, and you'd have access to all sorts of ingredients you couldn't get otherwise, while still maximizing the components you can get normally in that world. Much more practical than, say, having your smartphone or access to a bathhouse.

That's the skill that 27-year-old Mukouda finds himself with once he gets isekai'd. The summoning ceremony pulled four heroes instead of three, so he decides to bow out with his pragmatic, unheroic power. At least, that's the reason he gives – he actually notices that even as the priests are begging the heroes to save their country, the throne room is filled with ostentatious signs of wealth. Not wanting to become a tool of suspected imperialism, he chooses to leave instead.

This move made me like him pretty much instantly, since I prefer my heroes to have some degree of social awareness and principles, and few fantasy manga these days clear that bar. There are rumbles of war and border closures that could be foreshadowing a greater plot to come, but for this volume at least, it's mostly the story of a guy and his dog.

Oh yes, dog. In place of the typical RPG party, Mukouda has a familiar: Fenrir, a huge, sentient, demanding wolf that has glommed onto him for his access to food far more delicious than anything else the world has to offer. He's a very good boy, and he looks so soft and fluffy and I just want to bury my face in his fur. The art is great in general, with a kind of sketchy, raw-boned quality that sets it apart from most anime-ready light novel-turned-manga art, but Fenrir's canine expressiveness is a highlight.

There's real cleverness to how Mukouda uses his power, too. The other world draws on real medieval European history for inspiration, at least in terms of its food. Salt and pepper – default seasonings for just about everything in the modern world and easily obtainable for a pittance through his online supermarket – is worth more than its weight in gold. People go crazy for his cooking, even though using premade sauces is little more than the bare minimum by our standards.

Campfire Cooking in Another World puts me in mind of a tweet that has been making the rounds recently: “We take it for granted today, but a single Dorito has more extreme nacho flavor than a peasant in the 1400s would get in his whole lifetime.” If you want a chill isekai with tasty-looking food, a nice protagonist and a very good doggo, this will be a good pick.