[Favorite Bookshelf #0030] Manga that makes you want to sit at a ramen shop counter and read at your leisure

The book I am introducing this time is
Naru Narumi's 'Ms. Koizumi Loves Ramen Noodles'.

A manga about a high school girl eating ramen.

To explain it very simply, that is really all there is to it.

But that 'all there is to it' is what makes it good.

There are no major incidents,
no need to follow complex plot twists,
just a girl who loves ramen eating ramen somewhere again today.

This casualness really matched my mood right now.

Recently, I have been having a ramen boom.

The trigger was the chicken-broth ramen I ate at Haneda Airport.

Ramen eaten at the airport feels a bit special.
Is it before a trip, or after a trip?
It is the feeling of drinking warm soup between the ordinary and the extraordinary.

Ever since I ate that bowl,
'Ramen is definitely more fun to eat at a restaurant'
is what I have come to think.

Sitting at the counter,
silently eating the bowl placed in front of me.

Drinking the soup, slurping the noodles, sweating a little, and leaving the shop satisfied.

That sequence of events feels just right for me right now.

Table of Contents

・Reason for choosing this book today
・Timing of the encounter
・Synopsis
・Favorite points
・When to read this
・E-book notes
・Summary in one word

Reason for choosing this book today

The reason I chose this book is that reading it makes me want to sit at a ramen shop counter.

'Ms. Koizumi Loves Ramen Noodles' is a manga centered on Ms. Koizumi, a high school girl who loves ramen.
Since it has also been adapted into an anime, many people may have seen the title.

The content is very simple.

Ms. Koizumi goes to eat ramen.
The high school girls around her get swept up by Ms. Koizumi or influenced by her, and they start to experience the world of ramen.

Basically, each chapter is self-contained.

So, you can read it very casually.

I like works like 'Laid-Back Camp,' where rather than having a strong plot structure, you are just watching people enjoy the things they love.

Going camping.
Eating a meal.
Traveling a little.
Savoring that time itself.

'Ms. Koizumi Loves Ramen Noodles' has a similar kind of comfort.

Eating ramen.
Just that.

But, precisely because it is just that, you can read it even when you are tired.

Days when you don't want to use your brain.
Days when you don't have the energy to follow a heavy story.
But days when you still want to read some manga.

It is a perfect work for days like that.

And strangely enough, as you read it, you gradually start to crave ramen.

You start wanting to look up nearby ramen shops.
You start wanting to go to the shop in front of the station.
You start wanting to step through the noren curtains of a shop you have never entered before.

I think this manga is one that doesn't just end with reading, but leads a little bit to real-life action.

When I first encountered it

I had known about this work for a while.

'A manga about a high school girl who eats ramen'

When you hear that, it really is just that.
In fact, it really is just that.

But once you start reading, that 'just that' feeling becomes addictive.

When it comes to gourmet manga, some have detailed explanations of the food or focus on introducing specific shops.

Of course, those works are interesting too.

But 'Ms. Koizumi Loves Ramen Noodles' feels less like a gourmet guide and more like a 'manga about enjoying the time spent eating ramen'.

There are scenes where specific shop names are not clearly mentioned.
But while reading, you get the feeling,

“Oh, is this roughly that shop?”
“I feel like I could eat this type of ramen somewhere.”

There is a joy in thinking that.

Rather than reading it like a guidebook, it's fun to enjoy it casually as a manga, and if something catches your interest, you can look for real shops.

This distance feels just right.

I myself am not extremely knowledgeable about ramen.

But recently, after eating chicken-broth ramen at Haneda Airport, I am starting to wake up to the joy of going to shops to eat ramen.

“Where should I eat ramen today?”
“Should I go for chicken-based next time?”
“Tsukemen sounds good too.”
“Are there any good shops near the station?”

Including the time spent searching like that, it's quite fun.

This manga was perfect for my current ramen mood.

Synopsis

“Ms. Koizumi Loves Ramen Noodles” is a self-contained episodic manga centered on a high school girl named Ms. Koizumi who loves ramen.

Ms. Koizumi is a girl with a cool and mysterious atmosphere.

She doesn't usually show much emotion, but when it comes to ramen, her drive is incredible.

Going to a ramen shop after school.
Traveling to distant shops.
Going to eat a bowl that's the talk of the town.
And then, facing the ramen in front of her with seriousness.

The girls around her are surprised by Ms. Koizumi, follow her, or are a little put off, but they gradually get drawn into the world of ramen.

The interesting thing about this manga is that Ms. Koizumi is very serious when she eats ramen.

Even though she is just eating, there is a real aesthetic to it.

Her concentration when facing the ramen.
Her lack of hesitation when eating a bowl.
The way she shows through her attitude that she likes what she likes.

It is satisfying to watch.

This is not the type of work that will keep you awake at night wondering what happens next.

Rather, it is the type of work where you intend to read just one chapter before bed, only to realize you are hungry.

Favorite Points

1. A relaxed reading experience without overly intense plot structures

What I love about this manga is that you can read it without needing to put in much effort.

Of course, there is a narrative flow and relationships between the characters. But it doesn't involve a major incident or a heavy theme in every chapter.

Basically, it's just a high school girl eating ramen.

This sense of comfort is something I am very grateful for.

When I am tired from daily life, there are days when I don't have the energy to read complex manga.

Messy human relationships, heavy foreshadowing, and developments that stir up strong emotions are a bit exhausting right now.

But I still want to read something. If possible, I want to feel a little better.

At times like that, this manga is just right.

When you open the page, there is ramen. There is steaming soup. There is Koizumi-san slurping noodles.

Just that alone makes me feel a little more relaxed.

The feeling you get when reading 'Laid-Back Camp', that 'a story can be made just by enjoying what you love, even if no major events happen right now'.

There is something similar to that in 'Ms. Koizumi Loves Ramen Noodles'.

Just as there are manga that make you want to go camping, it's perfectly fine to have a manga that makes you want to go to a ramen shop.

This manga is exactly that kind of book.

2. Even for a woman alone, a ramen shop counter is more comfortable than you might think

What I like about eating ramen at a restaurant is the speed from ordering to when it is served.

Buy a meal ticket at the vending machine, sit at the counter, and wait a little while.
Then, before you know it, a bowl of ramen is placed right in front of you.

I think this good tempo is just right for dining alone.

In Tokyo, it's common to see women eating alone at ramen shops.

Since many shops are centered around counter seating, you don't stand out even if you aren't with anyone.

In fact, you go in alone, eat alone, and leave quickly.
That casualness might be the best part of a ramen shop.

Until recently, ramen shops had the image of being a place where there are mostly men.

But when you actually go in, the barrier to entry is much lower than you'd think.

You don't have to stay long.
You don't have to talk to anyone.
You can focus on the bowl in front of you.

This feeling is very compatible with dining out alone.

When reading "Ms. Koizumi Loves Ramen Noodles,"
the idea of a girl going out to eat ramen by herself starts to seem very natural.

Go eat what you like, when you want to eat it.

That freedom feels like it fits my current ramen boom as well.

Taking care of your own mood yourself.
If the means to do that is a bowl of ramen, that's perfectly fine.

In fact, people who have such small pleasures might be strong.

3. It's fun to learn about ramen little by little while eating it

The world of ramen and tsukemen can sometimes look like something only experts can enjoy.

Etiquette for eating.
How to order.
Types of soup.
Thickness of noodles.
How to choose toppings.

When there's a lot you don't know, you get a little guarded.

But recently, when I ate tsukemen at a famous shop,
I had an experience where I thought,
"Even if I'm not an expert, I can just learn little by little at the shop."

After I finished eating the tsukemen at that shop, I didn't see any information about soup-wari (diluting the dipping sauce), so I was about to leave as is.

Then, the staff member asked me,

"Would you like some soup stock?"

That is what they said to me.

Without thinking, I reflexively answered, "Yes."

Just as I was told, I placed my container on the counter. They added the soup to it. Then, I tried drinking it.

This was incredibly delicious.

The rich dipping sauce became easier to drink, yet the umami was still perfectly intact.

It felt like there was another delicious moment waiting for me after I finished eating the tsukemen.

"Oh, so this is a way to enjoy tsukemen at the end."

I thought that, and I was a little moved.

At that moment, I remembered the Tenkaippin episode of "Ame Talk!" that I had watched a long time ago.

I remember them talking about how if you drink the Tenkaippin soup and then drink some water at the end, you want to drink the soup again.

I think I watched it back then thinking, "Does that really happen?"

But when I drank the soup stock at the tsukemen shop, I somehow understood that feeling.

After tasting the thick soup and resetting your palate a bit with water, you want to go back to the soup again.

Eat the noodles. Drink the soup. Drink the water. And then, you want the soup again.

This back-and-forth is somehow fun.

Ramen might be a food that doesn't just fill your stomach, but also offers little discoveries right up to the very last bite.

"Ms. Koizumi Loves Ramen Noodles" is also a manga that reminds me of that feeling of "the world expanding a little while you eat."

You don't have to be an expert on ramen. You don't have to know all the etiquette. You don't have to act like a connoisseur from the start.

Eat at the shop, get a word from the staff, and
"Oh, so there's this way to enjoy it too"
—you can just learn these things little by little.

When you think of it that way, sitting at a ramen shop counter becomes a little more fun than before.

When I want to read this

I want to read this manga on nights when I'm tired.

Days when I don't want to think about difficult things.
Days when I don't have the energy to follow a big story.
But also days when it feels a bit lonely to just stare at my phone until the end.

At times like that, I read just one chapter.

Then, I gradually start to crave ramen.

It also seems like a good idea to read it before noon on a day off.

After finishing it, you can search for a nearby ramen shop and just head out to eat.

It's a manga you can use in that way.

When you want to eat out alone.
When you're in the middle of a ramen craze.
When you want to read a work with an atmosphere of enjoying what you like, like "Laid-Back Camp".
When you like gourmet manga but get tired if there's too much information.

I think this work is a great match for those times.

Koizumi-san doesn't go to eat ramen to accommodate anyone else; she goes to eat the ramen she wants.

Seeing that,
"Maybe I'll try going to that shop I've been curious about by myself next time"
is what I start to think.

Go eat what you like.
Think it's delicious.
Think you want to go again.

Just by doing that, daily life becomes a little more fun.

"Ms. Koizumi Loves Ramen Noodles" is a manga that gently reminds you of that.

E-book Note

"Ms. Koizumi Loves Ramen Noodles" is a series of self-contained chapters, so it's easy to read as an e-book.

You can read it little by little while commuting, before bed, or during a short break.

However, be warned that reading it in the middle of the night will make you crave ramen.

If you prefer reading the digital version, it might be a good idea to look for it on Rakuten Kobo or similar platforms.

Reading a physical book at your own pace is fun, but I think this type of episodic manga is also a great fit for e-books.

You can open it when you only have a little time to read. You can reread just the stories that interest you. And after reading, you'll want to search for a nearby ramen shop.

Reading manga and getting excited about your next real meal. That might be one of the benefits of e-books.

*Participating in the Rakuten Affiliate Program.

In a nutshell

A high school girl eats ramen.

It's just that, yet by the time you finish reading, you'll want to be sitting at a ramen shop counter.

"Ms. Koizumi Loves Ramen Noodles" is that kind of manga.

Even on a tiring day, you can read it without having to think about anything complicated. But after reading it, you'll want to take a little action.

Maybe I'll just have ramen on my way home today.

If you find yourself thinking that, this manga has won.