by The legendary gourmet manga Oishinbo is returning to television with a new anime in 2027. While fans are excited to see Shiro Yamaoka, Yuko Kurita, and Yuzan Kaibara again, the character designs have sparked an unexpected discussion about how the original manga’s artwork evolved.
Certainly, the early version of Kurita was charming. But could the characters’ later appearances be the reason some longtime fans are reacting with surprise to the new anime?
Oishinbo Returns With a New Anime After More Than Three Decades
The legendary gourmet manga Oishinbo, written by Tetsu Kariya and illustrated by Akira Hanasaki, is set to return as a television anime titled Shin Oishinbo in 2027. The new series will continue the story of one of Japan’s best-known food-focused manga franchises, bringing its memorable characters and culinary rivalries back to the screen. The project was officially announced in September 2026, followed by the reveal of the main cast, production staff, and teaser promotional video.
The original Oishinbo television anime aired on Nippon Television from October 1988 to March 1992, running for an impressive 136 episodes. Two television specials followed, one in 1992 and another in 1993. The franchise therefore has a long animation history, even though the main television series ended more than three decades ago.
The manga itself began serialization in Shogakukan’s Big Comic Spirits magazine in October 1983. It eventually reached 111 collected volumes and has more than 135 million copies in circulation. However, the manga has remained on indefinite hiatus since May 2014.
With Shin Oishinbo scheduled to premiere in 2027, the franchise is preparing to introduce its story to another generation while giving longtime fans a reason to revisit its familiar characters.
What Is Oishinbo About?
For readers who have never watched the original anime or read the manga, Oishinbo is much more than a series about delicious food.
The story follows Shiro Yamaoka, a journalist working for the newspaper Tōzai News. He is assigned to help create the “Ultimate Menu,” a collection of dishes intended to represent the highest level of Japanese cuisine. Yamaoka has an extraordinary knowledge of food and a refined palate, even though his casual attitude can make him seem uninterested in his work.
Yuko Kurita, his colleague, works alongside him on the project. Their culinary investigations introduce them to different ingredients, cooking methods, restaurants, regional traditions, and the people who preserve Japan’s food culture.
One of the central conflicts involves Yamaoka’s father, Yuzan Kaibara, a formidable food expert who leads the rival pursuit of the “Supreme Menu.” Their competition creates dramatic confrontations about taste, technique, tradition, and what makes a meal truly exceptional.
This combination of food journalism, personal drama, family conflict, and romance helped distinguish Oishinbo from many other manga and anime series. Its return is therefore not simply a new cooking anime announcement; it is also the continuation of a long-running story with an established cast and a distinctive approach to food.
The New Teaser Reveals the Main Characters and Voice Cast
The recently released teaser promotional video for Shin Oishinbo gives viewers an early look at the returning characters and introduces the voices that will bring them to life in the new adaptation.
The three main cast members have been announced:
- Shiro Yamaoka — Yohei Azakami
- Yuko Kurita — Hitomi Sasaki
- Yuzan Kaibara — Akio Otsuka
The production team also includes director Kenichi Nishida, series composer Takahiro Nagano, and character designer Nozomi Kawashige. SynergySP and Vega Entertainment are handling the animation, while Shin-Ei Animation is credited with production. Shin-Ei Animation also produced the original television anime, giving the revival a direct connection to the franchise’s animation history.
Another notable detail concerns Akio Otsuka, who will voice Yuzan Kaibara. His late father, Chikao Otsuka, previously played the same character in the original television anime. This connection adds another layer of significance to the casting announcement for fans familiar with the earlier series.
The new cast and teaser have naturally drawn attention, but the character designs have also become a talking point. Some viewers have reportedly been surprised by how closely the new visuals resemble the original manga’s later artwork.
Why Are Fans Surprised That the Character Designs Look Faithful to the Manga?
At first glance, the reaction seems puzzling. When an anime adaptation stays close to its source material, fans often welcome the decision. A faithful design can preserve the appearance, personality, and atmosphere that made the original work memorable.
So why would Shin Oishinbo’s character designs create confusion?
The answer may lie in the fact that Oishinbo has been running for decades, and its artwork did not remain the same throughout its publication history.
As with many long-running manga, the characters’ appearances evolved. The supplied comparison points to a noticeable difference between the earlier volumes and the artwork found in later parts of the series. In particular, the characters’ faces appear squarer in some later illustrations, while their shoulders and overall proportions can look broader.
These changes are not unusual for a manga that develops over many years. An artist’s drawing style can become more defined, character proportions can shift, and small differences in facial features can gradually become part of the series’ established visual identity.
However, readers who first encountered Oishinbo during its early years may have a strong attachment to the designs they remember most clearly. For those fans, the younger-looking or softer early appearances of certain characters—especially Kurita—may remain the definitive version in their minds.
When a new adaptation presents a later version of those same characters, the result can feel familiar and unfamiliar at the same time.
Early Kurita Versus Later Kurita: A Matter of Nostalgia
Kurita’s appearance is particularly relevant to this discussion. For longtime readers, the character’s earlier design may carry a special sense of nostalgia. Her facial features and overall appearance in the manga’s early chapters helped establish the image that many readers associate with the series.
As the manga continued, however, its artwork developed. A reader who prefers the early illustrations may therefore have a different idea of what a faithful adaptation should look like from someone whose favourite chapters appeared later in the manga’s run.
This distinction helps explain the seemingly contradictory response to the teaser: the designs can be faithful to the source material while still looking different from the version that some fans remember best.
It is important to distinguish this interpretation from an official explanation. The production team has announced the character designer and main cast, but the idea that the new designs deliberately recreate the manga’s later visual style is an analysis of the available artwork rather than a confirmed statement about the creative team’s intentions.
The original television anime also reflected the period in which it was produced. Its visual style was shaped by the manga as it existed at the time, as well as by the conventions of television animation in the late 1980s and early 1990s. Consequently, viewers comparing the old anime, early manga chapters, later manga illustrations, and the new teaser may be comparing several related but distinct visual versions of the same characters.
Where Will the New Anime Continue the Story?
The new series is expected to carry forward the culinary rivalry between Yamaoka’s “Ultimate Menu” and Kaibara’s “Supreme Menu.” However, the revival will also introduce developments involving a new character, Dan Ichiro, the young president of Daiken-sha.
According to the official introduction, Dan becomes involved as a mediator in the contest between the rival menus and falls in love with Kurita. This development adds another dimension to the relationship between Kurita and Yamaoka, whose feelings for each other are complicated by their personalities and circumstances.
For viewers unfamiliar with the manga’s later developments, this provides a useful glimpse of what the new anime has in store. The story will not rely solely on familiar characters and culinary challenges; it will also explore new personal and romantic complications.
The exact episode count, detailed broadcast schedule, and international streaming arrangements have not been confirmed in the cited announcements. Viewers should therefore treat the 2027 premiere as the established release information rather than assume a specific month or platform.
Why Shin Oishinbo Matters to Longtime Fans
The return of Oishinbo is notable because the franchise has been absent from regular television anime programming for decades. The manga’s hiatus since 2014 has also meant that fans have had limited opportunities to see the world of Yamaoka, Kurita, and Kaibara develop through new material.
The revival brings together several important elements: the return of a classic property, a new voice cast, the involvement of Shin-Ei Animation, and a story that continues the rivalry at the heart of the original series. It also offers new viewers an opportunity to discover a work that combines food culture with journalism, family relationships, and character-driven drama.
The debate surrounding the character designs may ultimately be a reminder of how differently audiences remember a long-running series. Some fans may prefer the softer look of the early manga, while others may welcome the stronger proportions and more mature appearance associated with later artwork.
Neither reaction necessarily means that one version is more authentic than another. Instead, they reflect the different stages of Oishinbo’s history and the personal memories readers have attached to its characters.
A Faithful Revival That Invites a Fresh Look
More than three decades after the original television series ended, Shin Oishinbo is preparing to bring one of Japan’s most recognizable gourmet manga franchises back to anime audiences.
The teaser has already introduced its central characters and new voice cast, while the character designs have prompted discussion about the original manga’s evolving artwork. What might initially seem like an odd reaction makes more sense when viewed through the lens of nostalgia: fans do not always remember a long-running series in the same way.
The new anime is scheduled to premiere in 2027, and further details are still awaited. For now, the combination of familiar characters, a renewed culinary rivalry, and a production team connected to the original adaptation gives longtime fans plenty to anticipate.
Perhaps the most interesting question is not simply whether Shin Oishinbo looks like the original, but which version of the original each viewer remembers. With its return approaching, the series has an opportunity to bring those different memories together—and introduce the world of Oishinbo to a new generation of food and anime fans.
