Oishinbo
Studios
Staff
Characters
Where to watch
Tags
Episodes (136)
1 / 6- 1EP 1
Ohara announces the Ultimate Menu project, testing staff with a water and tofu challenge.
Oct 17, 1988To mark the 100th anniversary of the newspaper Touzai Shimbun, President Ohara launches the "Ultimate Menu" initiative. He selects reporters with the best culinary taste, starting with a test where staff must distinguish between three samples of water and tofu. Yamaoka arrives late due to a hangover and consumes the samples rather than analyzing them. Only Yūko Kurita and Yamaoka pass, earning them the project assignment. Ohara invites renowned gourmands to design the menu, but Yamaoka criticizes their pretentious international selections like foie gras. Instead, he spends a week with fishermen catching Monkfish. Yamaoka prepares ankimo by removing the liver, washing it in sake, and steaming it. During the final tasting, Ohara declares the fresh ankimo superior to canned foie gras, dismissing the experts.
- 2EP 2
Ohara seeks Kyogoku's approval for art section via a culinary challenge with his father.
Oct 24, 1988Ohara attempts to secure a Renoir painting from Mantaro Kyogoku by hosting him in Ginza. After an initial restaurant fails, Yamaoka and Kurita arrange a dinner at Okaboshi, recommended by Tatsu. Kyogoku praises the simple meal of rice, miso soup, and Tosan-style grilled fish. He suspects Yamaoka is the son of Yūzan Kaibara, prompting Yamaoka to offer his resignation from Touzai to avoid comparison. Kaibara arrives and challenges Yamaoka to a tempura taste test. Both select chefs, but Kaibara’s choice wins. Despite being defeated, Yamaoka withdraws his resignation, determined to prove he is his father's equal.
- 3EP 3
Yamaoka critiques Itayama's department store vegetables and helps him restore freshness.
Oct 31, 1988Yamaoka accompanies Kurita to the opening of a new department store constructed by Shuji Itayama, a renowned gourmand. Upon tasting the produce, Yamaoka notes that despite their appealing appearance, the vegetables lack flavor. Itayama presents his food court, which hosts venues operated by famous restaurants from across Japan. Yamaoka expresses disdain, accusing Itayama of selling stale goods and exploiting restaurants forced to use inferior ingredients to offset high rents. Itayama complains to Touzai and withdraws advertising from the paper. To resolve the conflict, Yamaoka visits a farm with Itayama, allowing him to recall the taste of fresh vegetables from his childhood. Consequently, Itayama reforms his supply system, leading to the store's success through the sale of fresh produce.
- 4EP 4
Dainichi President Kuroda's Fresh Fish Banquet Challenge at Karuizawa
Nov 7, 1988Dainichi Electronics President Kuroda hosts an annual banquet at his Karuizawa facility, serving sashimi from a tank-held white trevally. A guest claims the fish lacks freshness, prompting Yamaoka to agree and challenge Kuroda to a comparison using fresh stock. Yamaoka purchases a trevally, ensuring it is killed and bled immediately before packing it in ice. Both men prepare sashimi that evening. The guests unanimously prefer Yamaoka's dish, as he explains that fish caught directly from the ocean maintains superior health and condition compared to those kept alive in tanks for over a week.
- 5EP 5
Hanakawa seeks a better broth recipe after police intervention
Nov 14, 1988Kurita treats Yamaoka to a meal at Hanakawa’s unlicensed handmade soba stall. Yamaoka criticizes the broth’s flavor, prompting police to shut down the business. Inspector Nakamatsu offers a license if the taste improves. Hanakawa fails to perfect the recipe until Yamaoka tricks him into visiting a restaurant to learn the secret. He adopts the new broth, securing his license from Nakamatsu, though the inspector still demands further flavor enhancements.
- 6EP 6
Yamaoka seeks a rare phantom mackerel to impress Kaibara at Hatsuyama restaurant.
Nov 21, 1988Touzai staff attend the Hatsuyama restaurant reopening, where Kaibara insults Yamaoka before they name favorite sashimi. Yamaoka chooses mackerel, prompting a search for a rare specimen. He travels to Hayama and, with fisherman Kurita, catches a large phantom mackerel after three days. The prepared dish delights the staff and Kaibara, who then storms out over plate design. Days later, Kaibara sends beautiful handmade plates to the restaurant, resolving the conflict through this gesture.
- 7EP 7
Inspector Nakamatsu enlists Yamaoka to assist arrested chef Kinzo Ikada-ya
Nov 28, 1988Inspector Nakamatsu requests Yamaoka's assistance after Kinzo, a former chef at the renowned eel restaurant Ikada-ya, is arrested for causing a disturbance. Kinzo had protested the former owner's decision to replace charcoal with gas for grilling eel to improve efficiency. To support Kinzo, Yamaoka and Kurita help him establish a temporary restaurant within Itayama's department store food court, allowing him to compete directly against Ikada-ya. Kinzo's charcoal-grilled eel proves highly successful, leading the chastened owner of Ikada-ya to rehire him to work in the restaurant once again.
- 8EP 8
Ohara seeks donations from miserly President Narisawa who demands a free meal
Dec 5, 1988Ohara approaches Dainichi Oil President Heikichi Narisawa for African food appeal donations. Hideo Tanimura and Kurita visit his run-down headquarters. Narisawa agrees to donate only if Touzai provides a decent meal. Ohara invites him to an expensive restaurant, but Narisawa storms out, objecting to the cost. To save the situation, Yamaoka invites his friend Tatsu to take Narisawa to a department store food fair. They enjoy free delicacies and sake. Impressed that Touzai spent no money, Narisawa makes a very generous donation.
- 9EP 9
Ohara and staff visit Gingorou's sushi restaurant, leading to a culinary challenge and blind taste test.
Dec 12, 1988Touzai President Ohara brings the Culture Department to a famous sushi establishment managed by Gingorou. Yamaoka criticizes the preparation quality and challenges Gingorou to compare his skills elsewhere. The group visits a hidden restaurant where Gingorou and the owner, Tomi, prepare sushi using identical ingredients. During a blind taste test, Tomi's creation is declared superior, irritating Gingorou. Yamaoka utilizes a hospital scanner to demonstrate the difference in rice compactness between the two chefs. The narrative reveals that Tomi is actually the renowned chef Tomijirou, who abandoned his previous restaurant to find joy in cooking for regular customers he considers friends.
- 10EP 10
Kaibara Criticizes French Cuisine At Le Canard Before Praising It Later
Dec 19, 1988Le Canard, a renowned French restaurant in Ginza, hosts a dinner for invited guests including Tanimura, Tomii, Yamaoka, and Kurita. Yūzan Kaibara also attends, harshly criticizing the fish course by claiming Japanese methods are superior. He further disparages the traditional French duck sauce, favoring Japanese condiments instead. Yamaoka defends the sauce, labeling Kaibara as conservative. In response, Kaibara prepares traditional Japanese dishes, serving bonito sashimi with mayonnaise and soy sauce upon Yamaoka’s request. The group finds the unconventional combination successful, causing Kaibara to leave in disgust. Yet, days later, Kaibara publishes an article praising Le Canard’s cuisine.
- 11EP 11
Mr. Fukuman invites the Touzai team to a meal featuring a gold pot and a clay pot.
Jan 9, 1989Mr. Fukuman, president of Tsurumori Transportation, hosts the Touzai cultural news team for a special dinner. He serves blowfish on a heritage platter and turtle soup prepared in a solid gold pot. Yamaoka finds the flavor lacking and claims he could make a better version. The following day, Yamaoka serves a simple broth cooked in an old clay pot that has been used for making turtle soup for 30 years. The soup proves delicious, leading Fukuman to offer an exchange of his golden pot for the charred clay one.
- 12EP 12
Kaibara Rejects Reconciliation After Yamaoka Saves Dinner at Hanayama Restaurant
Jan 16, 1989President Ohara seeks to reconcile Yamaoka and his father to secure Kaibara’s contribution to the Ultimate Menu, but Kaibara refuses. Ohara invites the Touzai Culture Department staff and Kaibara to dine at the renowned Hanayama restaurant. Kaibara criticizes the fish soup and demands it be remade. Learning a temporary chef is working, Yamaoka offers assistance and prepares a replacement stock and fish dish that impresses Kaibara. When Kaibara visits the kitchen to praise the chef, he discovers Yamaoka prepared the meal. He insults both Ohara and Yamaoka, then storms out, destroying Ohara’s hopes for reconciliation.
- 13EP 13
Kurita and friends visit Yokohama Chinatown where Yamaoka’s culinary critique impresses Mr Shu.
Jan 23, 1989Kurita, Tabata, and Hanamura travel to Yokohama Chinatown to eat Chinese food, joined unexpectedly by Yamaoka. After a rude waitress drives them away from a popular restaurant, Yamaoka criticizes the food at a second location, provoking the chef. The owner, Mr Shu, intervenes and invites Yamaoka to his home to cook. There, Mr Shu and his wife judge Yamaoka’s Dongpo pork to be superior to their restaurant’s offerings. Yamaoka attributes the chef’s decline to Japanese customers who blindly follow mass media reviews. The chef promises to improve, and Dongpo is selected for the Ultimate menu.
- 14EP 14
Ohara hosts sumo champion at Takayama school with special yellowtail stew
Jan 30, 1989Ohara brings Kurita and Yamaoka to the Takayama sumo wrestling school to try the signature stew, where Kaibara unexpectedly shows up. Ohara organizes a pep rally for the champion, Wakayoshiba, who asks for fish stew. Ohara suggests yellowtail, but Yamaoka notices it is out of season, risking embarrassment for his boss and amusing Kaibara. To fix this, Yamaoka and Kurita travel to Hakata. There, Yamaoka persuades Otsuka, who runs a sumo tea-house, to provide a large fresh saw-edged perch. A devoted fan of Wakayoshiba, Otsuka travels to Tokyo to cook the fish himself. He prepares the meal dramatically for the impressed guests. The dinner succeeds, allowing Yamaoka to save Ohara from a potentially awkward situation.
- 15EP 15
Elderly Judo Master Rejects Substandard Sea Perch Curry at Family Restaurant
Feb 6, 1989Judo master Gentarou Torasawa intervenes to stop a purse-snatcher targeting Kurita, then invites her friends and Yamaoka to a curry shop owned by his granddaughter Asae and her husband Kitao Tochikawa. Torasawa orders a meatless dish, but Kitao serves sea perch which Torasawa deems inedible. Yamaoka agrees the low-fat fish lacks flavor. Torasawa leaves angrily, taking Asae. Kitao reveals he once qualified for Olympic judo before an injury forced him to open the restaurant. Later, Yamaoka suggests adding bone marrow to the curry, a change that succeeds and finally earns Torasawa's approval.
- 16EP 16
Kurita and Yamaoka assist Wang Xiaolong in Yokohama to prove his culinary skills
Feb 13, 1989Kurita and Yamaoka travel to Yokohama to work on the Ultimate Menu. They are invited to visit Shu, whose wife asks for their help. Her daughter, Mei-Mei, fell in love with their cook, Wang Xiaolong. They ran away and opened a small Chinese restaurant which has proved very popular. To achieve recognition from the Chinese community and be able to borrow money to establish his own restaurant, Wang will have to prove his culinary skills. He prepares a meal for the Chinese community leaders, but his fried rice fails to meet the standard they expect, and the loan is refused. Yamaoka intercedes and asks for a second chance. He shows Wang how to confidently control the flame and his second effort is successful. Shu and the other community leaders lend him the money he needs, and he is welcomed back into the family.
- 17EP 17
Tōjin Tōyama’s wedding prompts a culinary contest between his son and assistant
Feb 20, 1989National treasure potter Tōjin Tōyama marries the younger Ryouko Suzumura. During the wedding, Tōyama requests Yamaoka to instruct Ryouko in cooking. Kaibara criticizes Yamaoka’s culinary abilities, leading Tōyama to propose a cooking contest between father and son to prepare rice and miso soup. Tōyama’s assistant Motomura assists Kaibara. The judges determine that Motomura’s dishes are superior. Kaibara attributes this outcome to the attention to detail and the hospitable heart embedded in the preparation process. Devastated by the loss, Yamaoka decides to cease betting on horse races for the time being.
- 18EP 18
Yamaoka seeks premium oysters via biker gang after criticizing their riding style
Feb 27, 1989Yamaoka publishes a Touzai News article asserting that bōsōzoku members are cowardly and rely on powerful machines to compensate. In response, a group of bikers invades the Touzai offices to argue that Yamaoka misunderstands their enjoyment of high-speed riding. Meanwhile, Motomura resigns from Tōyama, prompting a farewell party. Dissatisfied with the quality of oysters at the restaurant, Yamaoka recruits the bikers to drive him to the Shima Peninsula to source superior ingredients for dinner. This journey covers a 1,100 kilometer round trip. The bikers deliver the oysters just in time for service, but they are subsequently arrested for speeding. Although the oysters prove successful, Kaibara continues to criticize Yamaoka for his grandstanding behavior.
- 19EP 19
Kurita and Yamaoka help Inspector Nakamatsu improve his love interest's ice cream business in Roppongi
Mar 6, 1989Kurita and her friends visit Yamaoka in Roppongi, where they encounter a crowded ice cream parlor. During the wait, they witness Police Inspector Nakamatsu being removed for causing a disturbance. Upon questioning, Nakamatsu reveals his affection for Utako Mizumori, an ice cream saleswoman whose business is struggling. The group tastes her product and notes that despite high-quality ingredients, the texture is dense and heavy. Yamaoka proposes a solution by comparing the aeration levels of Roppongi’s popular ice cream against Mizumori’s using a samurai sword. She demonstrates that the superior product has more air, creating a melt-in-the-mouth sensation. Mizumori adjusts her manufacturing technique based on this insight, leading to a significant increase in her shop’s success.
- 20EP 20
Nobuko Mayama visits Touzai to discuss her restrictive marriage and limited diet.
Mar 13, 1989Former employee Nobuko Mayama, formerly Hayashi, visits the Touzai offices to discuss her unsatisfactory marriage to Oboshi Realty President Mayama. She reveals that her husband survives on a restricted diet supplemented by vitamins, a habit stemming from his strict upbringing. Although Yamaoka previously ignored her romantic interest, Kurita convinces him to intervene. The group visits Nobuko’s home, where Yamaoka challenges the husband to a spinning top game, wagering that the loser must eat a meal prepared by the winner. After the husband loses, he reluctantly agrees to the terms. Yamaoka and Nobuko prepare a tonkatsu dish using high-quality ingredients. Despite initial resistance due to his rigid past, the husband honors the bet and tearfully discovers a new world of flavor through the meal.
- 21EP 21
American Chef Jeff Larson Seeks Apprenticeship Under Sushi Master Oofuji
Mar 20, 1989Jeff Larson, an American chef, visits Touzai Chief Tanimura to find work at a Japanese restaurant and improve his skills, bringing his own knife. Tanimura directs him to the West Coast restaurant, where the sushi chef prepares sashimi with showmanship. Jeff critiques the dish as below par, a view Yamaoka shares. Yamaoka challenges the chef to a chilled perch competition in a week. Yamaoka introduces Jeff to sushi bar chef Oofuji, who accepts him as an apprentice. Oofuji trains Jeff in proper knife usage by shaving daikon radish and teaches fish cutting secrets. A week later, Jeff wins the competition at West Coast but respectfully acknowledges the opposing chef's skills.
- 22EP 22
Mantaro visits Okaboshi restaurant where chef Ryouzou overcomes smoking to regain his position.
Mar 27, 1989Touzai News hosts an Impressionist exhibition, prompting Mantaro Kyogoku to loan a Renoir painting. Chief Tanimura invites Mantaro to the Okaboshi restaurant to express his gratitude. There, the talented young chef Ryouzou prepares the next course. They discover Ryouzou was previously fired from Kaibara's Gourmet Club due to criticism of his sashimi. When Mantaro requests the same dish, Ryouzou becomes anxious and steps outside. Upon his return, he cooks the meal, but Yamaoka detects cigarette smoke that has ruined the fish's flavor. Ryouzou quits smoking, and Mantaro and Yamaoka arrange for him to secretly cook at the Gourmet Club. His first dish impresses Kaibara with its subtlety, leading to Ryouzou's reinstatement.
- 23EP 23
Touzai News guests visit Ueno sukiyaki restaurant after mix-up with owner
Apr 10, 1989Touzai News brings African Poet Amal Julah and his wife to Japan for a meal at Ushimatsu in Ueno, but they mistakenly enter the wrong branch. The young owner ejects them, forcing a visit to the correct location where the beef flavor disappoints. They overhear Kaibara criticizing the food as substandard, and his reaction to shabu-shabu is equally negative. Later, a chef from the first Ushimatsu attacks the owner, alleging inheritance fraud. Yamaoka advises the young chef to create a hybrid Rosanjin-style sukiyaki with shabu-shabu elements. Nakagawa invites Kaibara to taste the dish, and despite recognizing Yamaoka’s influence, Kaibara praises the result, securing the restaurant's success.
- 24EP 24
Kurita seeks help to resolve a ramen restaurant dispute between twin sisters' husbands.
Apr 24, 1989At her high school reunion, Kurita meets Mayumi and Masumi, whose husbands ran the Ryuryu-ken ramen shop. After receiving three stars from Ramen Mania, the brothers fought, leading Hakuryu to open a rival branch across the street. Kurita enlists Yamaoka, who agrees despite missing horse race betting, to assist. They visit Ramen Mania and meet an expert research team. The group evaluates both locations but finds the ramen unsatisfactory. Yamaoka proposes that Hakuryu cook noodles prepared by Koryu, which revitalizes the dish. The editor states the restaurant keeps its three stars only if Koryu makes the noodles and Hakuryu cooks. The following day, Kurita claims a big win at the races and treats the office staff to lunch.
Similar titles
Frequently asked questions
- How many episodes does Oishinbo have?
- Oishinbo has 136 episodes.
- When did Oishinbo come out?
- Oishinbo came out in 1988.
- Which studio made Oishinbo?
- Oishinbo was produced by Shin-Ei Animation.
- Who directed Oishinbo?
- Oishinbo was directed by Yoshio Takeuchi.
- Is Oishinbo finished?
- Current status of Oishinbo: Finished.