Crystal na Yōsuke, the manga creator behind Osake wa Fūfu ni Natte kara — better known internationally through its anime title Love is Like a Cocktail — is lining up a new romantic comedy manga.
According to the September issue of Shogakukan’s Monthly Sunday Gene-X, Yōsuke’s next series is titled Tokoro de Machi Chūka wa Date ni Irimasu ka? The English sense of that title is roughly: By the Way, Is the Local Chinese Restaurant a Date Spot? Very specific title, very food-romance energy.
The manga is scheduled to begin in the magazine’s next issue, which goes on sale September 18.
What is the new manga about?
The setup sounds like a love triangle built around food and modern online culture. The three key players are:
- a girl who loves binge-eating,
- a salaryman working at a food company,
- and a live-streamer who blogs about food.
That is a pretty neat combo because it gives the series multiple angles to play with: actual food obsession, workplace food industry knowledge, and the content-creator side of makan culture. The source material does not reveal more plot details yet, so for now, this is mainly a premise announcement.
Why this name may be familiar
Yōsuke’s most recognised work is Osake wa Fūfu ni Natte kara, which launched on Shogakukan’s free manga site Yawaraka Spirits in 2015. The manga finished with its 12th volume, released in Japan in September 2019.
That series later became a short-form anime in 2017. Crunchyroll streamed it under the title Love is Like a Cocktail, and the anime ran for 13 episodes. A Blu-ray release in Japan also included an unaired 14th episode in November 2018.
More recently, Yōsuke wrapped up Bonnō☆Saiyūki. That manga launched in Shogakukan’s Sunday GX magazine in February 2020 and ended with its 13th volume on January 19.
Why Malaysia and SEA fans should keep an eye on it
Analysis: There is no Malaysia or SEA release information in the source, so don’t take this as a local launch confirmation. But the premise is worth watching because it sits in a very accessible lane: rom-com, food, and live-streaming. Those are easy hooks even if you are not deep into niche manga circles.
Food-focused romance stories also tend to travel well because the emotions are simple to understand — dates, cravings, awkward attraction, and people bonding over meals. Add a food-blogging live-streamer into the triangle, and the manga has room to comment on how people turn eating into content, personality, and maybe even status.
For fans who enjoyed the warm, adult-life charm of Love is Like a Cocktail, this new series sounds like it could carry a similar everyday-romance flavour, just with a messier triangle and more public-facing food culture. Not necessarily a guaranteed banger yet, but the ingredients are there.
For now, the key date is September 18, when Tokoro de Machi Chūka wa Date ni Irimasu ka? begins in Monthly Sunday Gene-X.