Crazy Food Truck, Vol. 1
by
Rokurou Ogaki
My rating: 4 of 5 stars
An unexplained apocalypse.
An interesting new world to explore.
A food truck and tidbits about cooking.
Snappy, energetic violence.
Suitably manga-esque quirkiness that doesn’t take itself too seriously.
Yup, this is principally a good recipe for a highly entertaining book to read.
The art is solid, conventional manga artwork and I give slightly special mention to the action scenes. Overall the comic is nicely drawn and in parts definitely more detailed and rich (especially in certain environments like when there is foraging happening) but the action is really fun. It’s not so over-the-top that it is superhero-ish, but at the same time it is very much like a badass action movie and both flows well and feels full of flow and energy.
The above also works really well because the story is very well paced in this first volume and does a nice job of balancing out the various elements. Our main characters are Gordon and Arisa. He is the proprietor and only person operating the titular food truck and for some reason is looking at doing this particular job in a crazy post-apocalyptic desert world and she is… kooky would be the word… part eating machine, part River-Song-esque mystery girl with unclear special abilities and powerful but shady people after her. Oh and she likes to be naked and he keeps yelling at her about it.
It is definitely my kind of story in that it is not overly complicated, not trying to be too much anything and seems to just be having fun. There is a nice focus on the two main characters and their personalities for us to explore and we get to see their relationship dynamic form as their adventure moves along over the course of this volume. From sand-fishing to drunken drawling to watermelon shopping and more, it is a fun ride.
I will not say too much more because it is not exactly an overly complex narrative so far and I do not want to give away the fun bits. Personally I recommend it if you want a good time – I’ll be reading volume two soon enough and have even got #3 lined up on my to-read shelf now.
One Happy Monk 
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