Cafe Manga

From Comics to Live Action!

So this week I decided to get back on the mic and do a podcast episode. To be fair it has been 3 months since I did an episode announcing I would bring the podcast back. I did warn people it would be a sporadic release.This week I’m doing the audio version of a story I posted last June. You can just listen to the episode (if you’re reading this) or you can just read it here.In other news, I have officially made a new website that I named Gillfull Thinking, It’s basically a funny, cutesy name for my personal website. It’s a hub website where I link all the various projects and activities I do online in one spot so people can get to know my efforts on the internet. That includes this Substack publication. At some point I’ll eventually add Cafemanga.com along, but I haven’t quite gotten there yet.If I can be candid with you readers, I’ve been debating for a long while now whether to keep this publication on Substack or move it. I’m leaning towards WordPress since my plan for CafeManga.com is to be a WP site. However I still get some interaction on Substack so I’m sticking around. There is a variety of reasons why I’m debating about the future of my being on Substack. If you have actual opinions feel free to share in the comments! This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit cafemanga.substack.com

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The 3 Titles I Was Obsessed With in 2025

Dec 2100:11:09Tap to summarize

Before I get started, I want to apologize if the audio quality might be off. I’m not sure what the cause is but when I listen to the playback during the editing, I sound off. Not sure if it’s because it’s late at night when I recorded and my voice sounds funny or Descript is being weird.I wanted to explain how it’s been a year since I did the last episode of the podcast. I thought I was burnt out and done. To a degree I still am. However my analytics tell me that people are apparently listening to old episodes of the podcast. I’ve decide to bring the show back. Sort of.What do I mean sort of? Well I’ll be doing episodes. However they won’t be weekly. I will do them sporadically as weekly is just not doable. I’m already struggling slightly to continue writing every week. Podcasting is even more work than writing. I’ve decide that there are just occasions where I have an idea for a post, but in reality it’s just easier to talk about it verbally rather than writing it out.At most, I’ll do one episode a month. More realistically it’s probably every other month. It’s also an opportunity to cross post and see if I can convince listeners to check out the Substack.I will still write out a post. It’s part show notes for the episodes. It’s also a way for people who can’t or don’t want to listen to the episode to at least read about what the episode is about.I am cheating a bit with this episode. I’m basically repeating part of the past reviews I did in this episode. You can read the full versions of said reviews below.* Campfire Cooking in Another World with My Absurd Skill* Debut of Die!* Cinderella ChefBefore I close out, I’ll wish all of you a Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year! See you in 2026! This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit cafemanga.substack.com

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What Am I Currently Reading?

Dec 8, 202400:08:19Tap to summarize

So as the title says I’m going to be discussing some of my current reads. And an important announcement about the podcast. First here’s a bit about what I’m reading now. This is a mix of the manhwa and some of the light novels I’ve been reading.Lately I’ve been reading the following:* The Top Dungeon Farmer - manhwa - Webtoon* The Gardener in a Hunter World - manhwa - Webtoon* My Comeback as the Youngest Member - manhwa - Webtoon* Kitchen Goddess and the Assassin - manhwa - Tapas* The Perks of Being an S-Class Heroine - light novel/manhwa - Tapas* Campfire Cooking in Another World with my Absurd Skill - light novel/manga - J-Novel Club* Parallel World Pharmacy - manga - One Peace BooksSo the big announcement has to do with my podcast. It was a hard decision but basically I’ve decided that despite the effort to make things work out, I have to end Cafe Manga, the podcast. I’ll probably do a longer version of this story at some point in the near future, but I’m going to do the short version here.The short version is that I’m starting to experience some degree of burn out. Basically since September/October I was starting to experience minor burn out, but I was thinking I could have a stop-gap measure if I took a short break and then change up the content on the podcast.However the past month made it clear to me the results weren’t completely appealing to listeners. Or it could be a coincidence because it’s holiday season and people tend to not listen to podcasts much.On top of that I’ve been bogged down with the process of producing my ASOIAF podcast, which is a LOT of work if I’m being honest. Even though Cafe Manga takes relatively less work, it still feels like the time could be used elsewhere.On top of that, except for writing scripts for the other podcast and the little bit of writing on Substack for Cafe Manga, I haven’t done much writing at all. I really do miss it.It took a lot of soul searching for the past couple of weeks. It’s become clear that something has to give and it’s this podcast on Substack. It’s always possible I might revisit this in the future, but for the near future at least? It’s going to have to be the end.I will say that I’m planning to continue this Substack publication. Also I’m going to be working on a website in the near future! I’ll get into more specifics about it once I start working on it, but there’s going to be a website related to Japanese/Korean comics I’m working on. It’s going to be something I will release by Spring 2025. Here’s a hint! https://www.cafemanga.com/What have you guys been reading lately? Leave a comment below! This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit cafemanga.substack.com

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The Top Dungeon Farmer (Part 4)

Dec 1, 202400:20:59Tap to summarize

This episode was supposed to have been released last Sunday (November 24, 2024). However due to an oversight on my part, I didn’t realize the episode didn’t got out when it was supposed to. Sorry for any confusion!Well new developments are happening in the tower in this episode! More crops are being grown. More relationships are being developed.Check out my discussion of chapters 16-20 of the manhwa!Anyways, feel free to leave some feedback what you think of this series. Maybe even suggestions of what kind of content you’d be interested in me doing. I honestly feel bad that I’ve neglected interacting more on this platform. This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit cafemanga.substack.com

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11 Titles For Food And Drink Lovers

Dec 1, 202400:21:52Tap to summarize

Well like a lot of Americans, I had spent this past Thursday eating way too much. It’s the start of the “eat way too much” season. And then New Year’s Day I restart the resolution to lose weight. In the meanwhile there are some titles that just involve a lot of tasty food and drinks that make you want to toss away the diet. So here are a few of the ones I’ve checked out and enjoyed.See the links for how I was able to read/watch these titles. While you can read many of the titles on Amazon, I will be using links to other sites I recommend as alternatives where available. Also I don’t use fan translation sites and other “illegal” websites. I’m paranoid and suspicious of malware, viruses, and other potential hazards those sites might have. Also are brief blurbs about why I enjoy these titles.Campfire Cooking In Another World With My Absurd SkillYou get summoned to another world. Cool. You get a ridiculous skill called “online supermarket.” Lame! Or so you think. You never have to worry about food. You technically could sell unique, high quality food and ingredients that don’t exist in this world you’re stuck in. Plus consuming “other world” food means you get some buffs to your stats! What could have been a lame ass skill isn’t as bad as it appears!Anime - https://www.crunchyroll.com/series/GG5H5X3EE/campfire-cooking-in-another-world-with-my-absurd-skillManga - https://j-novel.club/series/campfire-cooking-in-another-world-with-my-absurd-skill-mangaLight Novel - https://j-novel.club/series/campfire-cooking-in-another-world-with-my-absurd-skillRestaurant to Another WorldEnjoy a relax Saturday where you can eat tasty dishes and drinks unlike any you’ve see before! Meeting fascinating customers from a variety of kingdoms. From humans to fairies to demons, you just never know who will come through Nekoya’s doors. It’s a wonderful, relaxing culinary tale with plenty of world building. You also get the building of relationships and bridges across races in another world.Anime - https://www.crunchyroll.com/series/GR49493P6/restaurant-to-another-worldManga - https://yenpress.com/series/restaurant-to-another-worldLight Novel - https://sevenseasentertainment.com/series/restaurant-to-another-world-light-novel/50 Tea Recipes from the DuchessFellow tea lovers rejoice! There is a story for us! When an underappreciated office worker loses her job, she suddenly finds her consciousness teleported into the body of an outcast duchess! She takes the opportunity to reinvent herself and the life of this downtrodden duchess. And she does it with the power of tea! You can actually learn a surprising amount about tea you might not know before!Webcomic/manhwa - https://tapas.io/series/50-tea-recipes-from-the-duchess/Isekai Izakaya NobuWhen their business wasn’t doing too well, the staff of Nobu wished they’d get more customers to try out the food! Their prayers are answered when their front door becomes a portal that leads customers from another world to their humble izakaya!This is an enjoyable serious that’s not only a manga and anime series, but it’s also a live action drama as well!Anime - https://www.crunchyroll.com/series/G6J0WJ05R/isekai-izakaya-japanese-food-from-another-worldLive Action Season 1 - https://www.viki.com/tv/38713c-isekai-izakaya-nobu-season-1Live Action Season 2 - https://www.viki.com/tv/38714c-isekai-izakaya-nobu-season-2Manga - https://store.udonentertainment.com/products/otherworldly-izakaya-nobu-volume-1The Gourmet GamerThe lead character is a talented chef who was a rising star in the culinary world. An accident leaves him unable to taste or smell. What a disaster for a chef! However he discovers there’s a new VR world that claims to recreate all the sense in their game world! He takes a chance and much to his shock, he really can taste and smell things again! His journey through “Real” helps him rediscover his passion and confidence in cooking again.It really is a wonderful exploration of one’s dreams and self-esteem. Along the way he forms new bonds and relationships after he thought he lost all hope and purpose.Tappytoon version - https://www.tappytoon.com/en/book/the-gourmet-gamerLezhin version - https://www.lezhinus.com/en/comic/gourmetgamerOpening A Cafe In Another WorldIt’s another food related isekai sure. However you can’t help but root for Risa as she singlehandedly revolutionizes cuisine in the new world she is summoned to. She is able to make a new life and a new home among strangers. Risa doesn’t mope and complain about her circumstances and actually makes the best of it. It’s another relaxing series that I personally enjoy. I can’t wait for the rest to come out. It would also be cool if this is turned into an anime series!Ramen AkanekoIf you love ramen and you love cats, this is the series for you! This is an enjoyable series of vignettes that take place in a unique ramen shop where most of the staff are cats! Slide into a booth or hop up to bar and enjoy tasty ramen made by clever cats. I particularly love the character development and the bonds formed among the characters.Anime - https://www.crunchyroll.com/series/GVDHX85ZN/ramen-akanekoCooking SorcererOnce again the protagonist winds up teleported to another world and she takes over the life of a modest sorceress. With some ingenuity, she’s able to use magic to help her recreate food she misses. Along the way she helps people in need of a tasty meal and hope. This was a fun story with a blossoming romance. From my research it looks like this manhwa had an abrupt ending because of the artist’s personal health. Though at least you do get some sort of ending, though there are some hanging plot points and definitely potential for more to the story.Manhwa - https://www.tappytoon.com/en/book/cooking-sorcererKakuriyo - Bed & Breakfast for SpiritsWhat do you do when you find out your dead grandfather offered your hand in marriage as collateral to an ogre? You try to negotiate your way out of it buy using the one unique ability you have: cooking. Aoi finds herself dealing with the denizens of an alternate dimension where spirits and demons live.This is a really entertaining series where we learn more about how the beings in this dimension live. We find out about the different types of beings and the way their society is organized. Aoi learns more about what her grandfather was like before he became the old man who took her in. There’s apparently a second season scheduled for late 2025. Which is a major surprise since Season 1 aired in 2018!Anime - https://www.crunchyroll.com/series/G6MEK1ZGR/kakuriyo--bed--breakfast-for-spirits-The Cook’s Hidden BlessingThe lead character wishes he could do a better job cooking food that can help people. His prayers are answered by the goddess of Agriculture herself, Ceres! This is a pretty heart warming story where Jungdong becomes a talented chef who does bring joy to people he feeds. Meanwhile there’s more to Ceres’s help than just doing it out of the goodness of her divine heart. I just look forward to seeing what new antics happen with every chapter.Sweet ReincarnationWhat a tragedy that a talent sugar artist dies! He is reincarnated as the son of a low ranking noble new to his title. Young lord Pastry decides to use his culinary skills to help change the fortunes of his nouveau riche family. It’s honestly just plain fun to see the lead character try to revolution food in his new life and help the people of his fief become better and stronger. I’m a sucker for these types of scenarios.Anime - https://www.crunchyroll.com/series/GJ0H7QG2G/sweet-reincarnationHave you checked out any of these? Any of them you’re interested in checking out? Leave a comment below. And please share with other food lovers you know! This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit <a href="https://cafemanga.substack.com?utm_medium=podcast...

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The Top Dungeon Farmer (Part 3)

Nov 17, 202400:20:29Tap to summarize

Hi everyone to another installment of React With Me - The Top Dungeon Farmer! As always if you’re interested in reading this series for yourself, you can use this link or just copy/paste the URL: https://www.webtoons.com/en/fantasy/the-top-dungeon-farmer/list?title_no=5656This episode we get introduced to Teo, the cat merchant. We also get a lot of developments at Sejun’s farm. I really do enjoy this manhwa series. I wish someone would license the light novel series. What can I say, I enjoy light novels and I’m genuinely curious to see what else happens in the series. I especially am curious to see what might have been cut out or shortened in the adaptation process.The art continues to be really excellent and the animal characters are delightful to look at. They also have very distinct personalities even though all of them, except Teo, can’t really speak.Leave a comment below with what you think of this episode and this series as a whole. Let me know if you have stories you’d like me to look into for future episodes of this podcast! This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit cafemanga.substack.com

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The Top Dungeon Farmer (Part 2)

Nov 10, 202400:30:06Tap to summarize

This is a really brief written portion. If you didn’t read the previous episode, you can read this serious on Webtoon. You can check out the story here - https://www.webtoons.com/en/fantasy/the-top-dungeon-farmer/list?title_no=5656I’m curious if anyone else is read this series. How do you like it? Would you read it if you aren’t already? This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit cafemanga.substack.com

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The Top Dungeon Farmer (Part 1)

Nov 3, 202400:25:02Tap to summarize

If you’re interested in reading this Korean webcomic series, you can read it on here. Or if you prefer you can follow this URL too: https://www.webtoons.com/en/fantasy/the-top-dungeon-farmer/list?title_no=5656&page=1This is going to be the start of a pretty long series I’m doing on the podcast and this newsletter. Because I don’t want to spoil readers who actually want to read this series, I’m not going to delve too deeply into what happens in this series. I will however give you a short synopsis from Webtoons.Sejun, your average Seoul underdog, didn’t expect to grow tomatoes full-time when he stumbled into the mysterious dungeon full of monster quests and extravagant rewards. Yet, there he was, as a farmer growing and selling cash crops while clearing numerous quests that came his way. Will Sejun make it out of the dungeon with the plush rewards he hoped for? At least he has what it takes: optimism, resourcefulness, and a group of loyal furry friends.This was originally a web novel/light novel series written by an author known as “sdcknight.” The webcomic was adapted by Lim Hyeong and art by Lee Ha-kyoung.In this episode (and the others following it), I’ll just share some of my thoughts about each chapter covering 5 per episode. While I do discuss what I thought about events that happen per chapter, I don’t do full recaps. Why?For the people who are reading or read the chapters, you don’t really need me to recap everything that happens. Also ultimately recaps aren’t the point of listening to my podcast. I’m just sharing my thoughts about the stories and I’m hoping that people join in the conversation.I also acknowledge that some of you may choose to listen anyway without bothering to read the webcomic. I personally could care less about spoilers. There’s a chance some of you are like that as well. So if my episodes convince you to give this series a try, I’m happy you did.This is a really delightful series and I hope we get a proper ending and not just an abrupt one that unfortunately happens quite a bit with Korean webcomics. I’d honestly be even happier if someone got the rights to the webnovel. I’d buy it in a heart beat!What do you think of this comic series? Leave a comment below! Let me know what you think of this “react with me” series I’m doin on this podcast! This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit cafemanga.substack.com

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Introducing React With Me

Oct 27, 202400:09:56Tap to summarize

This week’s episode is just to introduce to all of you of a “new” type of episode I’ll be doing in the podcast. It’s not truly new. It’s pretty similar to the episodes I did about Dr. Stone. Later today, I’ll be posting a list of the first few stories I’ll be doing a read/watch and react in the next couple of months.Basically I’ll talking about different stories per episode until I either cover the entire series or talk about all the volumes available to me. You have the option to follow along with me per episode or read/watch ahead. Check out the “hero” post I have on my publication to see which stories I’m covering next.I’ll alternating between doing episodes about different stories and talking about other related topics. So stay tuned! And feel free to leave a comment below with some suggestions of topics to cover. This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit cafemanga.substack.com

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The Anime Conventions Episode

Oct 20, 202400:40:37Tap to summarize

Rather than the typical review like I’ve been doing in the past couple of months, I’m just telling some stories about my experiences with anime conventions. In this episode, I’ll be talking about the following things:* The basics of anime conventions* Big Apple Anime Fest* Interning at Big Apple Anime Fest* AnimeNext* I-Con* NY Comic Con* NY Anime Fest* AnimeNYCHave you guys been to one? Are you planning to go to any? Leave a comment and let me know what your own experiences have been! Please share this episode with any friends or other interested people! This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit cafemanga.substack.com

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All episodes

From Comics to Live Action!

The 3 Titles I Was Obsessed With in 2025

What Am I Currently Reading?

The Top Dungeon Farmer (Part 4)

11 Titles For Food And Drink Lovers

The Top Dungeon Farmer (Part 3)

The Top Dungeon Farmer (Part 2)

The Top Dungeon Farmer (Part 1)

Introducing React With Me

The Anime Conventions Episode