Gourmet Girl Graffiti

Plot

Ryō Machiko is a second-year middle school girl who has been living by herself since her grandmother died. Despite having exceptional skill in cooking, Ryō has felt her cooking hasn't been tasting good. That is, until she meets her second cousin, Kirin Morino, who comes to stay with her on the weekends to attend cram school in Tokyo and shows her the key to great tasting food; eating together with friends and family.

Characters

Ryō Machiko (町子 リョウ, Machiko Ryō)

Voiced by: Rina SatōRyō is the protagonist of the series and is a second-year middle school student of Hariyama Middle School who lives by herself in a big apartment. Her parents live abroad due to their work, and she was brought up by her grandmother, who died a year before the story begins. Her wish is to pass the entrance examination of a high school specializing in art, and therefore she goes to an art cram school, where she gets to know Shiina. As the story progresses, she enters her desired high school, where she becomes classmates with Kirin and Shiina. Ryō is a talented cook and is capable of cooking a wide range of dishes.

Kirin Morino (森野 きりん, Morino Kirin)

Voiced by: Asuka ŌgameKirin is a girl who is the same age as Ryō and is her second cousin despite her short stature and looking like a twelve-year old. She hopes to go to an art school in Tokyo, so she attends the same art cram school as Ryō every Sunday and stays at Ryō's house every Saturday the day before. She is shy and has a somewhat childish side, but is extremely polite and well-mannered. She is short, but contrary to her appearance, is a powerful child and is a big eater. She has an unrivaled athletic ability among the characters in the series. She is bad at housework, but somewhat knowledgeable about cooking. She later attends the same high school as Shiina and Ryō and moves into Ryō's apartment to attend school. Kirin joins the basketball club in high school and is called "Kii" by her friends and teammates. She expresses her thoughts on food dynamically. She does not like carrots.

Shiina (椎名)

Voiced by: Mikako KomatsuShiina is Ryō's friend from middle school. She is one of the students of the art prep school both Ryō and Kirin also attend and lives with an old family in the metropolitan area. She is physically fragile, but is a beautiful young lady who is cool and has mysterious atmosphere. She meets Ryō because they are in the same class together, and she knows Kirin from flower viewing in the park. She is accepted to the same high school as Ryō and Kirin. Thanks to her cooking skill, she builds up a circle of friends besides Kirin and Ryō.

Tsuyuko (露子)

Voiced by: Yū KobayashiA maid at Shiina's residence.

Akira Machiko (町子 明, Machiko Akira)

Voiced by: Ai NonakaRyō's aunt.

Yuki Uchiki (内木 ユキ, Uchiki Yuki)

Voiced by: Yuka IguchiA woman who lives below Ryō in her apartment complex.

Ryō's Grandmother (リョウの祖母, Ryō no Sobo)

Voiced by: Tamie KubotaRyō's grandmother who died prior to the start of the story. She is the one who taught Ryō all about cooking, although it is later revealed she was once terrible at cooking and only started taking it seriously for Ryō's sake.

Watanabe (渡辺, Watanabe)

Voiced by: Akeno WatanabeA librarian who is an old friend of Ryō and her grandmother.

Hina Yamazaki (山崎 ひな, Yamazaki Hina)

Voiced by: Haruka ChisugaA classmate of Ryo and Kirin from cram school. She has shoulder length blonde hair.

Mei Tsuchida (土田 メイ, Tsuchida Mei)

Voiced by: Juri NagatsumaA classmate of Ryo and Kirin from cram school. She has dark brown hair and wears a white headband.

Misaki Kometani (米谷 美咲, Kometani Misaki)

Voiced by: Asuka NishiAnother classmate of Ryo and Kirin from cram school. She has a spoiled and annoying personality and has sliver white hair worn in a ponytail.

Shiina's Mother (椎名さんの母親, Shiina-san no okasan)

Voiced by: Miyu MatsukiA sweet childish young woman. Because of her young appearance she strongly resembles a teenager.

Tsuyuko (津裕子, Tsuyuko)

Voiced by: Yu KobayashiShiina's maid and housekeeper who dresses like a shrine maiden, she was mistaken by Kirin as Shiina's mother after she gave her a tomato. She is the only character in the series that doesn't talk much.

Mrs. Morino (夫人 森野)

Voiced by: Ryou HirohashiKirin's strict and temperamental mother and Ryo's aunt. She is bossy to both her daughter and husband and often argue's a lot with Kirin, but does care about her as a parent.

Mr. Morino (氏 森野)

Voiced by: Kentarou ToneKirin's calm and loving father. He has an eccentric personality.

Manga

The original four-panel comic strip manga, written and illustrated by Makoto Kawai, began serialization in the March 2012 issue of Houbunsha's Manga Time Kirara Miracle! magazine and will end in the November 2016 issue to be released on September 16. Houbunsha published the first tankōbon volume on January 26, 2013, and six volumes have been released as of December 26, 2015. The seventh and final volume will be released on September 27, 2016.

Anime

An anime television series adaptation, produced by Shaft and directed by Naoyuki Tatsuwa, aired in Japan between January 9, 2015 and March 27, 2015 and was simulcast by Crunchyroll. The screenplay is by Mari Okada and character designs are by Kazuya Shiotsuki. The opening theme is "Shiawase ni Tsuite Watashi ga Shitteiru Itsutsu no Hōhō" (幸せについて私が知っている5つの方法, The Five Methods of Obtaining Happiness That I'm Aware Of) by Maaya Sakamoto, and the ending theme is "Egao ni Naru" (笑顔になる, Become a Smile) by Rina Satō and Asuka Ōgame. Sentai Filmworks licensed the anime in North America under the title Gourmet Girl Graffiti.