Ristorante Paradiso (Manga)
Publisher: VIZ Media
Release Date: March 2010
Price: $12.99
Creator: Natsume Ono
Format: 176 pgs.; B&W
ISBN: 978-1-4215-3250-9
Age Rating: OT/Older Teen
ICv2 Rating: 4 Stars out of 5
Nicoletta moves to Rome to find her mother who abandoned her as a toddler. Olga is now married to a restaurant owner who does not know she has children. Begging her daughter to keep her secret, Olga gives Nicoletta a job in the restaurant. Soon, though, Nicoletta’s feelings for the older, divorced headwaiter Claudio draw the two women together despite their rough past.
“There are so many different shapes to love.” Nicoletta’s realization is the main point of this slice-of-life tale. There aren’t a lot of overly dramatic proclamations or battles of wits. All of the characters have distinct personalities--though the restaurant uniform, which includes glasses, makes them too similar at first--and all of those personalities blend just as the ingredients in fine food. Ono’s rough, thin-lined art is more realistic than in her work not simple, though no less effective. Readers who loved Fumi Yoshinaga’s Antique Bakery series will feel a similar kinship in this kitchen-based manga, though it is a quieter tale in many ways. For those who want to know more about the world Ono has created, VIZ will be releasing the companion series Gente: The People of Ristorante Paradiso beginning in July.
--Snow Wildsmith: Librarian for the Mountain Island Branch of the Public Library of Charlotte and Mecklenberg County in North Carolina.
ICv2 Stars: 4 (out of 5)
Posted by ICv2 on March 11, 2010 @ 11:00 pm CT
MORE PREVIEWS
From Marvel Comics
April 24, 2024
On sale May 29, Wolverine #50 celebrates both 50 years of Wolverine and 50 issues of Benjamin Percy's acclaimed run.
From Marvel Comics
April 17, 2024
Jean Grey fulfills her cosmic destiny in Phoenix #1 variant covers, coming in July.
MORE COMICS
On Market Conditions, BOOM! and Diamond, Direct-to-Consumer Sales, More
April 25, 2024
In Part 1, we talked about market conditions, why BOOM! Studios is with Diamond Comic Distributors, direct-to-consumer sales, and channel mix.
BOOM!'s Plans for 2024, the New Jeff Lemire Series, Ongoings, Variants, More
April 25, 2024
In Part 2, we talked about BOOM! Studios' publishing profile and plans for the year, BOOM! Box, their new Jeff Lemire ongoing, ongoing series in general, variants, and top 2024 releases.