is a manga

Manga

Manga is the Japanese word for "comics" and consists of comics and print cartoons . In the West, the term "manga" has been appropriated to refer specifically to comics created in Japan, or by Japanese authors, in the Japanese language and conforming to the style developed in Japan in the late 19th...

 drawn by artist . The original story was created by . It was serialized in 35 parts in the monthly shōjo

Shojo

The term refers to manga marketed to a female audience roughly between the ages of 10-18. The name romanizes the Japanese 少女 , literally: "little female". Shōjo manga covers many subjects in a variety of narrative and graphic styles, from historical drama to science fiction — often with a strong...

 publication Nakayoshi

Nakayoshi

is a shōjo manga magazine published by Kodansha in Japan. First published in December 1954, it is a long-running magazine with over 50 years worth of manga publication history. The target demographic for Nakayoshi is aimed at young girls between...

from April 1996 through May 1999. It was then collected into seven books, each containing five parts. Each part was published with a recipe for the reader to prepare.

Story

Ringo Nonohara's dream is to become a star. Although she can't cook, she tries out for the lead in a cooking show called "Delicious Time," which will also be starring the star she idolizes, Mahito Ishizaka. When she discovers that the final stage of the competition will mean she has to prepare a dish, however, Ringo calls on her good friend, chef, and next-door-neighbor, Tsutsui Kazuomi. Thanks to Kazuomi's help and her own cute persona, she is chosen for "Delicious Time." Thus begin trials as Ringo tries to become a star.

Characters

Ringo is the main female protagonist of Delicious! She is a huge fan of Mahito Ishizaka and is thrilled to be working with him. In the beginning she is clueless about Kazuomi's love for her, but over time she becomes more aware of it. Ringo is cute, energetic, and emotional. Her birthday is the October 10/10, and she likes manga, dance, and karaoke.

Kazuomi is the next-door neighbor and longtime friend to Ringo, whom he has a weak spot for. Because he is a good cook, he is often teaching her the recipes she uses on "Delicious Time!" His birthday is the April 4. He also plays basketball, which he remembers playing with his father.

Mahito is a pop star who is host of "Delicious Time" with Ringo. He is influential in the choice of Ringo as host, since he will be co-starring. He grows affectionate of Ringo, and is depressed when he must quit "Delicious Time" and partner with Ayana.

Ayana is Ringo's rival. She is constantly trying to get attention, particularly from boys that have interest in Ringo. Eventually she has her own cooking show called "Sweet Cooking," which Mahito hosts with her.

Michiyo is a school friend of Ringo's.

Kaede is the mother of Kazuomi and a widow, so she lives alone with her son. She is a screenplay writer and often struggles with her line of work. She eventually marries the director of "Delicious Time."

Although the kanji

Kanji

Kanji are the adopted logographic Chinese characters hanzi that are used in the modern Japanese writing system along with hiragana , katakana , Indo Arabic numerals, and the occasional use of the Latin alphabet...

 for Ringo's father's name is given in the manga, because he makes only occasional appearances and is only referred to as "Papa," the reading of his first name is uncertain. As a word in the Japanese language

Japanese language

is a language spoken by over 130 million people in Japan and in Japanese emigrant communities. It is a member of the Japonic language family, which has a number of proposed relationships with other languages, none of which has gained wide acceptance among historical linguists .Japanese is an...

, however, the kanji is read "ho" and is a word for the ear or head of a plant. He is a static character who is supportive and caring for Ringo.

Ayame is Ringo's mother. She is also a static character who is always energetic. She is sometimes found talking with Kaede, since Kaede is her next-door neighbor.