Chūka Ichiban!

Chūka Ichiban! (中華一番!, The best in Chinese (food)) is a Japanese manga series written and illustrated by Etsushi Ogawa. It was serialized in Kodansha's Weekly Shōnen Magazine and Magazine Special from October 1995 to November 1996; a follow-up sequel, Shin Chūka Ichiban! (真・中華一番!, True ver. - The best in Chinese (food)!), was serialized in Weekly Shōnen Magazine from January 1997 to May 1999. Both series' overall chapters were collected in seventeen tankōbon volumes. The story is centered on Liu Mao Xing, a boy whose aim is to become the best chef he could be. In November 2017, Ogawa started a sequel entitled Chūka Ichiban! Kiwami, published in Kodansha's Magazine Pocket app.
A 52-episode anime television series adaptation by Nippon Animation aired on Fuji TV from April 1997 to September 1998. In some other countries, the anime adaptation was also called Cooking Master Boy. A second 24-episode anime television series adaptation of Shin Chūka Ichiban!, or True Cooking Master Boy, produced by NAS and Production I.G, aired for two seasons from October to December 2019 and January to March 2021, respectively.
The story takes place in 19th-century China during the Qing dynasty, where the Emperor was weakened, and the country was close to chaos. It is also during a fictitious era called "The Era of the Cooking Wars". It was an era in which top chefs with different cooking styles tried their best to improve their skills and to become the best chef in China. It is a country where insulting a high-grade chef or fooling around with cooking could land a person in a jail, and impersonating a top-chef is as bad as usurpation of authority. Chefs compete with each other in order to gain respect and even power, but also with the risks of losing everything.
After the death of Mao's mother, Pai, who was called the "Goddess of Cuisine", Mao becomes a Super Chef in order to take the title as Master Chef of his mother's restaurant. However, before he takes his mother's place as Master Chef, he continues to travel China in order to learn more of the many ways of cooking, in the hopes of becoming a legendary chef, just like his mother. During his journey, he meets great friends and fierce rivals who wish to challenge him in the field of cooking.
Chūka Ichiban!, written and illustrated by Etsushi Ogawa, was first serialized in Kodansha's Weekly Shōnen Magazine from October 11, 1995, to May 29, 1996. It was later moved to the publisher's Magazine Special, where it ran from July 5 to November 5, 1996. Kodansha collected its chapters in five tankōbon volumes, released from February 14, 1996, and December 11, 1996.
A follow-up sequel, Shin Chūka Ichiban! (真・中華一番!, True ver. - The best in Chinese (food)!), was serialized in Weekly Shōnen Magazine from January 1, 1997, to May 19, 1999. Its chapters were collected in twelve tankōbon volumes, published between May 14, 1997, and June 15, 1999.
Ogawa started a sequel, titled Chūka Ichiban! Kiwami (中華一番！極), published in Kodansha's Magazine Pocket app since November 10, 2017. Kodansha has compiled its chapters into individual tankōbon volumes. The first volume was published on April 9, 2018. As of December 9, 2024, eighteen volumes have been published.
An anime television series adaptation by Nippon Animation aired on Fuji TV from April 27, 1997, to September 13, 1998.
In 2019, it was announced that Shin Chūka Ichiban!, or True Cooking Master Boy manga would receive an anime television series adaptation produced by NAS, with animation by Production I.G. It is directed and written by Itsuro Kawasaki, with characters designs by Saki Hasegawa and music composed by Jun Ichikawa. The series aired from October 12 to December 28, 2019, on MBS's Animeism programming block.
After the final episode, it was announced that the series will be receiving a second season, with the staff and cast are reprising their roles. The second season aired from January 12 to March 30, 2021, on Tokyo MX, MBS, and BS-NTV.
Crunchyroll streamed the series outside of Asia. China Film Animation licensed the series in Mainland China and Southeast Asia, and is streaming it on iQIYI.