A nice novel about a cook, not really about the cooking, but it has that too.

Give it a try, it'll make you smile, laugh and maybe even cry.

The plot is just too convenient. The MC goes to a fantasy world and he meets a mercenary band eating bad food. He cooks for them and decides to be their cook for eternity. Then he amazes everyone he meets with his god like cooking. It is not realistic to suddenly hired by foreigners as a cook, especially if one is a new arrival to a alien world. Then he amazes everyone one with his food, and kings and queens trip over each other to praise the op-cooking main character.... more>> The story is too easy, there is no conflict whatsoever. The MC is perfect and the author bends the story to make it convenient for him. <<less

This is a story about a MC who appears in an unknown world and decides to use his cooking skills to better the people he meets.

You can feel the high potential of that setup. I want to see the group fight fiercely, I want to see the different places they visit and how his cooking will help them (besides magics plot armor cooking) and so on.

I had high hopes for this story, and some of my hopes is in there, however but it falls shorts for a few reasons.

1. First, is the format the author chose.

All chapters come in pairs (or more).

• • The first chapter of the pair is always the MC doing his thing: cooking, requesting tools, helping built them and misunderstanding his interactions with the other party.

• • The second chapter (and sometimes third ore more) is from that other party's point of view. Meaning the author always re-hash the same thing at least twice. And that re hash is always the other party swooning over the MCs awesomeness in a very cheesy way.

This is an interesting story telling mechanic when it is used sparsely. But when it is constantly used, I find that it makes the story telling very rigid and predictable.

There are things you can't do if the story has to be contained in one chapter, since the next chapter will rehash what just happened. It also makes reading tedious. You also always know, if the MC speaks to one character, the next chapter will be that character's POV.

2. Everything is too easy and cheesy.

There is no tension, no suspens, any small conflict is resolved very fast.

As another reviewer said, the author makes an extra effort to bend the world around the MC so that everything goes well for him.

You will see girls basically fall in love in their n=first notable interaction in the novel, the MC will of course misunderstand that girl's reaction as coldness, indifference and so on, just for good measure.

This is purely a slice of life novel, but this in itself isn't a bad thing, I actually love those LNs and probably more than half my reading list is made up of those. But the tediousness of the format chosen by the author, the cheesiness of the interactions and the overall low enjoyability of the story of the novel spoils all of that.

Many people give this novel 5 stars. I frankly do not understand and can only deduce that it is probably just a light novel that can't be enjoyed by everyone.

Another hidden gem.

The writing style is almost like a slice of life but the duality of the storytelling style that's rare makes the story meaningful. Pretty easy to be touched by the story if you're emotional.

It's nothing grand and straightforward, but it's painting something mundane as significant. The author also expanded his writing style from volume to volume. The story could've ended with the first volume, and it was written that way. The subsequent volumes are written well too but the first volume still has the most impact.

Reviewed at 37, rated 5.

Ryouriban takes on a very distinctive plot. Transported to another world, the MC doesn’t automatically got cheat skill and has to actually uses his skills and knowledges to survive; furthermore, his main skill is cooking. It got the taste of those shounen cooking manga, but served in another world platter. The other world build was pretty good too.

Additionally, the protagonist is a bit unusual. His strong dedication and lack of ambition may be cliche among Japanese protags, but the author cleverly handed him the placement as... more>> heroes’ sidekick with no extraordinary power except for the culinary knowledges he brought from his original world. He’s also assertive at times and no pushover, although he isn’t hot-headed either; a surprisingly normal adult is what comes to mind, but because his surrounding is... well, commonly abnormal, he couldn’t help but stood out at times.

TL; DR, if you’re looking for unusual plot, non-MC MC, hard-working protagonist, or... food, this one will probably suit your need.

Of course, there are downside to every novel. In Ryouriban, IMO, there are two. First is the excessive foreshadowing (a pretty major flaw, I think). The plot was interesting, but excessive foreshadowing makes readers feel less involved emotionally at times of dangers; after all, we know that everything will end well. The second was a bit minor: there were repetitive rounds at earlier chapters. It could push someone to get bored soon after started reading, and so there may be people leaving the novel before it enters the good parts. <<less

Oy! Multiple point of views seems to be the gimmick here. It started with a chapter for the MC, then a chapter for each of the leaders of the mercenary troop about their meeting. I thought, OK, everyone is getting their introductions. Then the first small story arc starts with the MC's chapter, followed by a chapter for one of the mercenary leaders and another chapter by the person they interacted with. This 3 chapter set (MC, leader-#, other person-#) was repeated for each leader's scene. When it came to... more>> the larger story arc with more people involved, I gave up when I hit 4 pov chapters rehashing the same scene. Like, WTF? I got the feeling the story was going to take forever to progress, so I put it aside. <<less

Good read and clever way of using multiple perspectives but sadly as of august 2017 the translator dropped it. So if there are those who are interested in translating it, that would be much appreciated.

This novel may seem really generic, but it's --- I'm gonna say it -- enjoyable. I wouldn't read this if you want something exciting and blood-thirsty. It has a very slice of life feeling.

The MC isn't exactly the bomb-diggity. His personality is typical for this genre, but it fits because he isn't supposed to be the main builder of the mercenaries. Despite this, he is an interesting person who continues to amaze people around him.

Read. You may enjoy it. You may not. *Shrugs*?

I love this so much. Shuri is a really lovely man and such a cutie in the harsh world of mercenary and politic lol. His denseness is just so cute for me.

There are a romance tag but tbh there's no development of the romance (y know, one sided love from one of the girl in mercenary corp).

The lack of romance development is one of my most favorite thing from this novel because I just hate romance with male MC 👍 so, perfect score!

One of the few cooking-ccentric translated JP novels around, and it's very much a slice-of-life with action and politics peppered in (see what I did there?). A good novel if you're looking for an easy-to-read story during lunch breaks.

Also, the translators (konobuta) doesn't just translate each chapter, they also add images of the featured dish for a bit of context and flair. Small touches like these should really be appreciated more, especially since they are doing this more for fun and are not paid.

Overall, it's a good recommendation to... more>> those that like slice-of-life and cooking. 10/10 IGN... j/k ;) <<less

"It’s understood that without his presence the united empire would not have been established. His name forever known, as 'King of Meals' Shuri Azuma.

This is him. Influencing various people without realising it. Seizing glory without noticing it at all. This is the story of such a person."

Hello, it's Snow.

... more>> I write to you today to tell you about a cool new novel I found, called "Cook of the mercenary corp". It's a relaxing story about a cook from earth, who suddenly gets transported into a fantasy world.

But don't expect a lot of action. No, the main character Shuri Azuma, is and remains nothing but a cook. But that's exactly why I like him so much! With his revolutionary cooking skills, he ends up influencing many large figures around him, and unknowingly becomes a source of both disasters and miracles.

The first volume is dedicated to the five up-and-coming heroes of the mercenary corp, and how Shuri influences each of them, and sets them up on a path to glory.

The chapters are divided into two parts, where the first part is written through the eyes of our clueless and kind cook. Here he usually extends a helping hand to one of the side-characters, and solves their problems with his cooking skills. The second part is then told through the character at the receiving end of Shuri's kindness. Here, we see the true magnitude of the effects that Shuri's seemingly small actions have on those around him. It's also the part I always look forward to the most! The format changes slightly in the subsequent volumes, but he idea stays the same.

Shuri isn't an all-powerful being. His cooking skills just happen to be in extremely high demand by both the heroes famished by war, and nobles in search of greater delicacies. It doesn't come across the same as the disingenuous worship of the main character in some other isekai. Here, the other characters understand both Shuri's strengths and weaknesses. They know he is a little clueless and innocent, so they do their best to shield him from violence and cruelty; all the while appreciating him for his hard-working attitude, and valuable knowledge of cooking.

One other thing I like a lot about this story is the sense of progression. Unlike in many other slice-of-life novels, this one has a lot of momentum. While Shuri himself is unambitious and simply enjoys cooking, the mercenary corp he travels with has characters with clear goals, and these goals are what ends up driving the story forward.

Speaking of characters: they're great! Each one has a distinct and imperfect personality, with their own motivations and quirks. Especially the people of the mercenary corp have really good chemistry with eachother, even when the star of the show isn't around.

In short, if you'd like to read about the adventures of a humble cook, travelling the world with a mercenary corp full of heroes; saving not lives, but stomachs — then you should give this novel a try!

---

This was the first letter I've sent in a while, right? My mom still isn't letting me enter the forest alone, so I'm stuck here reading about the exciting adventures of others. When will I be old enough to go on an adventure myself, I wonder?

But, telling you all about what I've read has recently become the highlight of my day! So, please continue reading my letters from now on as well!

Sincerely,

your best friend Snow <<less

I like reading about transmigration. I like reading about cooking. I like reading about capable protagonists. This story has all of the ingredients above, but I feel like it's a little lack luster.

Skip to last paragraph for TLDR. As an example, the first chapter's dish theme is Cream Stew. Well, the ambience of the story is basically that. Very light, not much action or problems going on. The MC, Shuri, just knows how to cook, and solves the corp's problems by consoling them through his dishes. I guess I'm a little disappointed since I came into this hoping that the flavors would be deeper and more savory, with a protagonist that wasn't just a cookie cutter Japanese. Something that I didn't care for is the author's writing style. It's not bad, just doesn't suit my taste. The first half is Shuri's POV, then another person's on the same event for the second half of the chapter (the translator splits each half into 2 chapters). I actually kinda like that, but it get's tedious after a while just like having stew everyday. And the author serves up the same dish, everyday. At the end of a chapter, the author let's us know of what happens to the character's future thanks to the dish Shuri served him.

Example: the corps leader (spoiler alert, but you find out in the first "chapter") will become the king of his own country. Now we know that there won't be any issue with success in the future, no uncertainty in the forecast, smooth sailing ahead. This creates a future problem of not leading the reader to be expectant or suspenseful on what will happen next. Now rinse, wash, and repeat. Unrealistic points of the first chapter:

I do appreciate how the translator posts pictures and gives a link to the dish of the chapter. Despite my harsh remarks, the novel isn't too bad. If you're looking for a break on intricate political plots and stories filled to the brim with sword and magic fights, go ahead and take a breather by diving into this lighthearted story where minor problems are solved by the dish perfect for that moment. As of right now, I've no interest in reading more so I'm dropping it pretty early on, thus I will not rate it for that reason. (3/5)

This story is very beautiful, Its about how a cook in a mercenary team, can change the and influence not only the decision but also the fate of the entire mercenary team. Its a light story and easy to read, no need to much thinking to enjoy the story and you can just digest the story as it is, as its not focus much on the fighting, killing, wars or politics.

For you that just want to enjoy a good read and hoping a story that will brighten your mood. I... more>> really recommend this story. <<less

A simple story about a cook's daily life at first glance, but I really like the way that the author writes from other point of views how something small that the MC did would actually influence others people and generations to come.

It is a story makes you smile the whole story, it barely has any annoying aspects like other stories with too much drama. The simplicity of the MC makes this story the best, you might find it slow for the first 3-4 ch but once you get going, it is very hard to stop

The story is good. It chronicles how a great empire was united because of one man who used his cooking prowess to support his comrades. It can get confusing at times because some parts of the story are told from the different characters' perspectives on that event. It's an enjoyable read.

This is such an enjoyable novel. It doesn't try to be funny, but still ends up coming across as funny in a very natural way. The comedy doesn't happen until later in, as if the author is testing on including comedy in subtle ways.

A nice read for people into cooking. It's a nice way to get motivated when cooking lol

I liked this one. Each story (roughly 2-4 chapters) has 2 PoVs: the cook (Shuri) and the person he is cooking for. The difference in their thoughts on what's going on is quite interesting.

Give it a try, it's a slice-of-life-like story.

Its fun story, but it seems so slow because of many POV. The power of japanese foods change the other world... Well the translator already dropped the series because the author was so busy with his primary job as public contruction worker.. There will be no updates for WN version untill the end of year. Another good series dropped...