Cooking Master Boy aka Chūka Ichiban! Returns With New Anime

Kuya Mao of Cooking Master Boy is returning with a new anime series based on the anime Chūka Ichiban!

The sequel manga which was also done by Etsushi Ogawa will be getting a new anime series. The good news is that we’ll get to see more of Mao, Shirou and Meili. To celebrate, Ogawa also shared a new artwork to celebrate the event:

The new anime series will be written by Itsuro Kawasaki and Saki Hasegawa is doing the character design. NAS is producing the anime with animation cooperation by Production I.G.

Both the new Cooking Master Boy anime and manga series is set in 19th Century China where there’s a nationwide look for the best cooks and chef. It is here that Liu Mao Xing or Mao joins the competition after learning how to cook from his mom. After saving his mother’s restaurant, Mao goes out and battles other chefs around the country.

The Chūka Ichiban! manga ran in Kodansha’s Weekly Shōnen Magazine for five volumes from 1995 to 1997, and the Shin Chūka Ichiban! sequel manga ran for 12 volumes from 1997 to 1999. The manga inspired a 52-episode television anime in 1997-1998. A Chinese live-action drama adaptation aired in 2005.

Ogawa launched the Chūka Ichiban! Kiwami manga on Kodansha’s Magazine Pocket app in November 2017. Kodansha published the manga’s third volume on December 7.