Shinohara-kun's Home Cooking! - Vol. 1 Ch. 6 - Two Cats Come Face-to-Face (Part One)

[MangaDex]

 

[casgar]

I need moreeeeee

 

[ICryWhenIFart]

Just caught up, I'm in, feed me more~

 

[Crim]

Glad to see this back, thanks for the updates

 

[shadowsito]

Thanks for the chapters!
Damn, Imouto can smell the doroboneko from miles...

 

[chiatortilla]

jealous sisters/brothers might be one of the most annoying tropes in romance manga. It is a very cheap and boring way of stalling the advancement of the actual story. Its not cute and i always wonder why they force this on the reader every time

 

[havelmom]

she says "thieving cat" here tho

 

[W-Scarecrow]

jealous sisters/brothers might be one of the most annoying tropes in romance manga. It is a very cheap and boring way of stalling the advancement of the actual story. Its not cute and i always wonder why they force this on the reader every time

Agreed. Like I get that sometimes it can be kinda cute cos the sibling turns around to like the idea of MC and Love Interest being together, but this wishy washy BS of "Oh I just cannot fight my younger sibling from pushing me around~" kills my vibe.

"I heard you're gonna be with someone else on this day! I wanna be there too! I'll be down at-"

"Stopping you there. 1) You ain't invited, so sit your ass down. 2) This unhealthy obsession is annoying, you need to focus on High School, not me. 3) Why in the fuck would I, an adult, wanna choose a high schooler over another adult, even if we weren't related?! Do I look like Diddy? Am I on the Epstein List? Get some friends, child."

 

[skeletom_]

Thanks for the TL, this one is such a joy and your translations are always so good.

I'm excited for the two to meet - sister thinks it's just some colleague but surely she's met Watanuki since she went to high school with her brother. It could go two ways - an established rivalry (the annoying way) or an immediate alliance (the way I'm hoping it goes).

 

[solchimes]

Brocon? Ugh...😩

 

[Msaid08]

Thanks for the translation

 

[allaboutTHEBEES]

I’m looking forward to the fried chicken! Thanks for translating!

 

[Noelscrap]

she says "thieving cat" here tho

One who sneaks into the house then vanishes into the night. Sounds like a burgler/thief. Or a cat. Or a secret lover. That's why people insultingly call secret lovers "dorouboneko", which is literally "thieving cat" but really means "homewrecker". Both translations are accurate, so what you use depends on the tone and context. For that anime screenshot it might not have been super clear what she meant if the translation was "thieving cat". Personally it sounds like a humorous pun or slang instead of an age-old derogatory term. Despite the cat theme of the manga, I ultimately settled on "homewrecker" because "thieving cat" in English sounds a tad too silly to fit with the serious threat that Koyuki makes

 

[MagnaDrake]

jealous sisters/brothers might be one of the most annoying tropes in romance manga. It is a very cheap and boring way of stalling the advancement of the actual story. Its not cute and i always wonder why they force this on the reader every time

Male fantasy. Those with no siblings try to imagine whats life would be to have siblings that dote and you (to the point of getting jealous) and here we are.

But specifically for this trope it kinda depends on execution. The types I would sort of let slide are siblings that hinders them by accident/oblivious to the other party, or actively teasing the other party but secretly (or openly) supporting the pair.

Unfortunately the most common ones we get are this one where its obviously bro/siscons that is really just one-two steps away from being incest. Not judging if anyone likes this trope, but personally I am tired of this too.

 

[Noelscrap]

jealous sisters/brothers might be one of the most annoying tropes in romance manga. It is a very cheap and boring way of stalling the advancement of the actual story. Its not cute and i always wonder why they force this on the reader every time

Sachi Watanuki is that you?

Jokes aside, I think it's a bit strange to call a character's purpose "stalling". Especially in a story with a synopsis that makes very clear it is about savoring the ephemeral taste (pun intended) of a haven't-confessed-yet young couple making goo-goo eyes at each other, while simultaneously having an "ideal" marriage-like relationship. The characters in the story (minus their coworkers lol) are living happily ever after from page one. There is no possible significant "advancement" nor "actual story" other than Sachi's eventual confession. Like, what happens afterwards? They hang out all day every day outside of work anyway, so the only change would be where Sachi sleeps. The purpose of this work is not to show a developing relationship with realistic and complex hurdles, but instead to "heal the soul after a long day" by featuring both delicious homemade meals and cute interactions. I think most commenters on the web novel would agree, as they all say stuff like "I'm healed..." or "So cute... dies". Nobody's on the edge of their seat wishing Sachi would get on with it already.

Despite that, every story has antagonistic forces. Opponents, internal struggles, societal expectations, what have you. Every story boils down to "I'm at point A in my life, I'd like to get to point B, but something is in the way, and this is how I'll overcome it". In this story, Sachi wishes to confess to Yukitsugu, but she lacks the courage to do so. Classic stuff. One of Koyuki's roles is to get Sachi riled up and actually make an effort to act on her feelings instead of dropping hints and hoping for the best. Classic rival role. That said, this is a cozy story about sharing time with family and eating hot meals "while they're still warm!" (I love that line), so while one of Koyuki's roles is to provoke Sachi into action (and cute reaction), her other role is to be someone Sachi needs to learn to get along with as her future sister-in-law (and perhaps she already does; they've known each other for a while now, and they're both tsunderes). Jealously can be grating if you don't really get it, but like, Koyuki's been waiting all year for Yukitsugu to come home for Christmas, but he wasn't going to because of Sachi. Considering Yukitsugu's been doing nothing outside of work except spending time with Sachi, I think a little temper tantrum from Little Miss Spoiled Rotten is fair. And cute.

Koyuki exists as a mildly antagonistic force to ruffle their feathers and deliver cute moments that the main pair couldn't already get out of each other. Many people also just enjoy clingy younger siblings acting silly and cute. Some people like that, some people don't. It's really nothing deeper than that. If you want romance without the shenanigans, tropey characters, or surface-level jealousy, avoid the romcoms.

I suppose one other thing I should point out is the tendency for stories, and consequently their characters, to improve as they go on. This is especially true for works published in many parts. Japanese light novels and manga exist in wildly oversaturated markets and are usually released as many very short chapters then volumes, so it's necessary to capture the audience's attention as quickly as possible by highlighting the more attention-grabbing aspects of the characters first and foremost. It's a lot easier and quicker to sell "clingy younger sister" than "lonely schoolgirl who wants her older brother to dote on her, but he's moved away from home for work so she needs to find some friends her own age, but she's sheltered and spoiled and won't understand what she really wants until later on" or whatever. Most authors have to throw fresh batches of spaghetti at the wall day after day, year after year until something finally sticks (gets popular enough for the author to go pro or full-time), at which point they can finally get to dedicate time to fleshing out their characters. Unfortunately by that point the first few chapters or even volumes are usually already released into the world, so no takesy-backsies on the overdone-trope introductions. Many characters I initially found completely insufferable became ones I still remember and cherish to this day. Consider romcoms like Kokoro Connect, Oregairu and Watanare. All have obnoxious characters, cute little sisters, and overdone tropes but partway through turn into masterpieces (the light novels, at least) with somewhat capable and interesting sibling characters. What I'm trying to say is, give this stuff time. Don't judge a book's story by its cover, and don't judge a LN/manga's complexity of its characters by its first volume. Anyway, Volume 2 introduces a bunch of other characters and Koyuki never hogs the spotlight, so that's good news for you.

Sorry for the ramble. I get a little frustrated when people are quick to dismiss a common trope of a subgenre in a specific medium with a long and fascinating history, clearly heavily influenced by cultural and socioeconomic factors (overwork, lack of siblings and positive family life in general, the moe boom, how manga gets published, and so on), as "stalling" a story. It exists in this story and genre for reasons worth investigating. It is popular for reasons worth investigating. It's not your job to enjoy it personally, but it is your job to at least appreciate why the author has included it and whether it may actually improve the story as a whole (just so you know, authors actually care about that a whole dang lot!) instead of just sneering at it right off the bat. I'm not saying it's "high art" or whatever. Personally I think it's a trope that needs to be done really well to justify itself. Just, if millions of people like it, and authors keep writing it, maybe it's worth thinking about

 

[Luke_chase]

I used to judge PNW people for not using an umbrella in the rain but I guess if people use umbrellas in the snow they probably would judge me the same way