Hanayu had a hidden motive for entering into a relationship with Hayato — but Hayato had one, too!
Creative Staff
Writer/Artist: Ayumi Komura
Translation: Stephanie Lucianovic
Adaptation: JN Productions
What They Say
Hanayu thinks her plan to marry into Hayato’s sushi family is off to a good start–they’re already going on a date! But when it turns out that Hayato has similar plans to marry Hanayu for her family patisserie, the date ends abruptly. Can Hanayu figure out what went wrong before her chance at romance, her sushi dreams, and a good grade on the cake project go out the window?
Content: (please note that content portions of a review may contain spoilers):
Hanayu’s original reason for pursuing Hayato was his family’s sushi shop, but as it turns out, he was only interested in her because of her family’s bakery! Hayato’s dream is not to take over his family’s sushi shop but to become a pastry chef! When Hayato learns that Hanayu is not interested in her family’s business, their relationship ends abruptly, and Hanayu is left with unexpected feelings of regret. Soon thereafter, Hanayu’s faced with another dilemma. She has to submit a questionnaire outlining her future goals for her teacher to discuss with her parents. But Hanayu is reluctant to reveal her dream to her family as doing so may destroy the dream of someone she loves.
Mixed Vegetables continues with Hanayu and Hayato learning the truth about one another’s dreams, Hanayu showing her skills at sponge cake, and a whole lot of tamago (egg roll omelet). While the antics of Hanayu’s family and the cooking scenes are fun, the overall story doesn’t flow very well. Hayato has an abrupt personality turnaround after learning about Hanayu’s sushi aspirations. It’s not just his behavior towards Hanayu that changes; his attitude towards everyone at school changes. It’s a bit jarring, and by the time they supposedly resolve their differences at the end of Menu 10, it’s still not clear how much of his feelings for Hanayu were an act and how much were real. Also, at the end of Menu 13, the way Hayato egging Hanayu about her future suddenly turns into a quest to re-create her very first egg roll omelet seems rather abrupt. While it ultimately leads to an astonishing revelation for Hanayu, I think the mangaka could have set it up better.
Extras are comprised of a story thus far summary, six Side Dishes (one-page mangaka remarks in manga form embedded in the story), a one-page bonus manga, two pages of endnotes explaining the foods mentioned in the story, and ads for other Viz releases.
Content Grade: B
Art Grade: B
Packaging Grade: B+
Text/Translation Grade: B
Age Rating: 13+
Released By: Viz Media
Release Date: December 2nd, 2008
MSRP: $8.99
