This summer, there's been a lot of great series coming out. Stranger Things (which I reviewed recently!) is a standout, and there was a new season of Game of Thrones which my friends won't stop raving about. On the anime side of things, there's Sweetness & Lightning, a surprise gem which deserves a watch, whether you like anime or not.
Sweetness & Lightning (甘々と稲妻), which is currently-airing in Japan this summer (no English dub at themoment) and based on the manga (comic) by Gido Amagakure, is the misadventures of a crew of people drawn together by coincidence and cooking--and, ultimately, love. The series follows Kouhei Inuzuka, a high school math teacher and single father who recently lost his wife, as he tries his best to raise his energetic and adorable daughter, Tsumugi. Kouhei, bless his soul, is trying his best, but as most people know, being a single father is hard. Especially when, if you're like him, unable to cook at all.
So, Mark Kouhei's surprise when he and Tsumugi, while out to watch cherry blossoms one day, bump into a young lady getting emotional about food, who they later find out is named Kotori. (I, too, get emotional about food, so I felt this on a spiritual level.) Upon comforting her, she gives the father-daughter duo a card to her family's restaurant as thanks, and offers them a meal if they ever want to drop by.
A few days later, Kouhei comes home from a long day at work to find his daughter literally salivating over food on TV. (See above.) Heartbroken, he rushes to the restaurant the mysterious girl invited them to, Kotori, who turns out to be one of his students. Kouhei then begs her to teach him how to cook so that his daughter--who hasn't had a homemade meal since her mom died--can finally have good food.
From there, a makeshift family forms between the hardworking Kouhei, the shy yet caring Kotori, and the ball of sunshine Tsumugi. As the weeks go on, they soon learn that cooking really does heal the soul--as does friendship.
Kouhei, Tsumugi, and Kotori eat a meal they've prepared together. Yummy!
This show is sweet--after all, it's in the title!--but, it's never obnoxiously saccharine. It's a subtle sweetness, like a drop of honey in a cup of freshly-brewed tea. It moves at a gentle pace, the visual equivalent of a walk on a sunny spring day with the birds chirping around you. Tsumugi herself is the sweetness and lightning of the title--she's a bundle of energy, a handful, but she's loving, and so precious.
There is a surprising amount of meat too, if you look beneath the surface. It's never explicitly stated, but it's clear to me as an adult viewer that Kouhei is mourning. It's in the little things; remembering his wife's food when talking with Kotori, or in Tsumugi asking when her mother is returning, because she doesn't understand that her mom is dead since she's six or so years old. It's small, but those moments are incredibly poignant. Still, that mourning isn't the focus of the series: It's the relationship between the father and daughter, and how they influence the people around them as they try their best to make due, and in the process, the series does a great job at showing both a child's mind--in a genuine manner, too!--and the parent's, all at once.
Kouhei frantically rushing Tsumugi to a restaurant to get her some real food.
One thing I like about the series is how Kouhei subverts many traditional masculine gender roles. He's emotional. He cries--a lot. And, most notably, he, in a society that commonly views men as the breadwinners and women as the home-runners, fulfills the roles of both at the same time. The series has him fulfilling a lot of traditionally "feminine" roles, and doesn't mock him for it. As a viewer who is all for men being able to show their emotions and not be confined to toxic masculinity and its standards, I really appreciate that.
The art is adorable. Tsumugi has large, expressive eyes and blonde hair sticking out everywhere like shots of lightning, Kohei has a charm to him that doesn't hide his exhaustion, and Kotori's awkwardness is wonderfully portrayed in her movements. Meanwhile, when the series follows Tsumugi's fantasies, as it did in the newest (as of this writing) episode, the art becomes bright and imaginative. For example, in episode 7, the art changes to a more simplistic style as Tsumugi sings a song about sharks, playing a kind of "the floor is lava" game while out and about. It's precious.
Tsumugi's imagination knows no bounds.
To that effect, the voice acting is stellar. Tsumugi (Rina Endou) is played by an actual child, and that lends an authenticity to the series that makes it for me. Kouhei (Yuuichi Nakamura) nails it in every scene he's in, to the point where some scenes had me in goosebumps. Kotori (Saori Hayami) also deserves a mention for being sweet as all get out, her emotions bared through her voice with ease. Bless.
Story-wise, every episode follows the format of "stuff happens, characters meet up, characters cook, cuteness ensues", but the formula doesn't feel tired; it's modified a bit each episode, to the point where it shows some character development. Kotori comes out of her shell, Kouhei learns to relax, and Tsumugi starts to think of Kotori as an older sister figure, all of which are unbelievably sweet. Along with that, there are more dramatic moments, and their contrast to the general happiness of the series--without becoming cynical--leads to an effective shift in tone that really effects me as a viewer. Parenthood isn't all sunshine and games; sometimes, you argue with your kids. Sometimes, parents don't understand their children and may hurt their feelings. Still, no matter what, Kouhei and Tsumugi love each other, and it's obvious. It's a delicate balance between showing the harder parts of parenting and the happy parts, and the series exceeds in examining both with ease.
I could gush more about the show, but I'll be concise: The best way to describe Sweetness & Lightning is "comfort food for the heart". And, to be honest, I need that in my life. You can see what I mean if you watch the ending theme. It's in moments with friends and family where life really shines, and you can find true happiness.
Because, after all, nothing's better than creating delicious food--and friendship, all at once.
You can find the show on Crunchyroll here.
Rating: 4.5/5
