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centralgoldstarThe great charm of Mahoutsukai no Yakusoku lies in the vivid worldviews from the five countries with different natural conditions and cultures, as well as the delicate portrayal of the characters’ inner lives together with the relationships that are in the process of changing. An element in the story that leaves an impression is the variety of foodstuffs and dishes unique to the world of the story. From time to time, the food is the key to understanding the setting the characters are in or acts as the symbol of their closeness. Today, we have the pleasure of having a conversation with Scenario Writer Tsushimi Bunta, who breathes life into their creation with profound storytelling and exquisite portrayal of psychology.
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Q: The way the food in Mahoutsukai no Yakusoku is portrayed in vivid details leaves a deep impression on us. Is that something you set out to do as you write the story?
A: That is something I pay attention to so that the tastes and preferences of the characters come out clearly in my portrayal of them. The wizards can use magic to control their surroundings and the temperature, so I think that among “clothing, food, and home”, “food” as an element to maintain life is especially suitable to bring out the wizards’ personality.
Q: We can sense that food has been deployed effectively in portraying the characters’ relationship with each other, such as how Riquet and Nero grew close to each other with each meal or the extreme sweet tooth of the fearsome Northern wizard Owen. Is there anything you pay special attention to when you write ‘food’?
A: Northern wizards are powerful beings who give off the impression of apex predators, so I portray their table manners to be on the wild side and a bit messy. The world the characters live in is different from modern Japan. There is no lighting or smartphone, so nighttime is inconvenient and boring for them. Their entertainment would be things like alcohol, dining, and music. In this setting, I place a high importance on elements like ‘the joy of eating’ or ‘the desire for food’ within the overall worldbuilding.
Q: Over and over again, the importance of food is displayed in details like the traces of the previous Sage’s effort in recreating the flavours of his homeland Japan with the ingredients of another world, or how Bradley values Nero’s food highly, saying that ‘Food is just like medicine.’ It is said that ‘Good food is vital in humans’ adaptation to their environment’. What is your personal opinion about that?
A: I feel that a person’s morale would be down if they cannot get used to what they eat. Imagine if you have to stay for a long time in a place where you can’t handle the food. Even people who love travelling abroad often talk about the relief they feel when they tuck in a meal of Japanese food.
Q: What is your thought process when you portray the characters’ tastes in food?
A: I think of what they would consider a delicacy given the countries they were born and grew up in.
Column: About ‘delicacy’ in the world of Mahoyaku
Which food ingredients or dishes would be considered ‘delicacy’ would be largely influenced by the circumstances each country is in. For example, a country where it is hard to find food because of harsh and cold climate on top of infertile land would have a different idea of valuable food and accordingly what is a ‘delicacy’ versus a country where food is abundant thanks to fertile land. Besides that, there is a certain limit to the transportation between the countries, so it is difficult to obtain the ingredients from faraway locations.
Q: It makes sense that what the characters like would vary depending on the country they were born and grew up in. How do you bring out the differences in the culinary cultures of the five countries?
A: I think of the real life countries to use as references for each country in the story. For example, Southern Country would give off the ambience of a hypothetical Spain or Turkey without sea. Then I elaborate further from that rough image of a locality that is very different from Japan and does not have an abundance of water.
Q: Cooking methods and culinary cultures vary with the era in history too. Besides the differences between the countries, is it conceivable that there would be a generation gap when it comes to food too?
A: I think it would often happen that some food ingredients were eaten in the past but then the custom of eating them was lost or they disappeared and could no longer be found. For the wizards, they may often obtain food ingredients from the humans, but they may also want to be 100% self-sufficient or they live fully on mana stones. As such, they may be left behind as the culture changes.
Q: Is there any food ingredient or dish in the story that you would like to try in real life?
A: That would be the ‘fruit of moonlight tree’, which makes your body glow when you eat it, and the ‘Rapunzel bean’, which has the effect of making your hair grow.
Q: Besides Cain, who ‘deep fries everything’, and Nero the chef, there are some scenes that depict the cooking prowess of the characters. Are there characters you think of as ‘good at cooking’ or ‘bad at cooking’?
A: On one end, I think Mithra, Owen, and Rustica would be bad at cooking. Oz has been improving but in the beginning he didn’t know how to cook either. Shylock serves food at his bar so he should be good at cooking to an extent. However, the chef par excellence is Nero who is obsessive over flavours and has many years of cooking experience under his belt.
- Thank you for sharing your thoughts on the topic of food, through which we have gained a deeper understanding of the world of ‘Mahoutsukai no Yakusoku’. The cuisine is certainly a beautiful garnish to a great story.
