⧗ 3 min read By Published on

Campfire Cooking in Another World with My Absurd Skill - LN 1-2

Campfire Cooking in Another World with My Absurd Skill Volume 1 and 2 by Ren Eguchi, Illustrations by Masa. Translated by Kevin Chen. Published by J-Novel Club. 

Official Synopsis

Mukouda Tsuyoshi was nothing special in modern Japan, so when he was summoned to a world of swordplay and sorcery, he thought he was ready for the adventure of a lifetime. Too bad the kingdom that summoned him only got him by mistake! Not only was he not one of the three summoned heroes, but his stats were laughable compared to theirs. On top of that, there's something really sketchy about this kingdom... "Ah, these people are the kind to try and use the Hero," he realized, and immediately left to make his own way in this other world. The only thing Mukouda can rely on is his unique skill: the "Online Supermarket," a skill that allows him to buy modern goods in a fantasy world. It's useless for combat, but if he plays his cards right, he could lead a comfortable life, maybe? At least, that's what Mukouda thinks, but it turns out modern food bought with this skill has some absurd effects! What happens when Mukouda introduces ridiculously tasty modern cooking to a fantasy world like this? He gets some ridiculous repeat customers begging for more...!

This is another light novel series that I basically "cheated" on by watching the anime first. (Is it cheating if this is what the anime is intended to do, drive sales for the novels?)

Anyways, I watched the first season when it aired in early 2023. I had a great time watching, as the show was a comfy iyashikei series about a guy whose isekai adventure consists of being a functional adult with cooking skills AND really cute pets. It's sort of in the same vein as Dungeon Meshi, without the underlying deeper plot (from what I can tell). When the second season was announced, I held off on starting the light novel, since I prefer watching shows first before diving into their source material.

I assumed that the anime would cover a good portion of the novels, but turns out I was incorrect. The first two books cover up until the 1st episode of season 2! For reference, there are already 16 books out for this series, so it's fairly long running. Does that mean there's some epic plot in the works? Probably not. The anime took the chance to shove tons of product placement into the show, and that's probably why it got a second season. I wouldn't be surprised if there was a third season in the future.

The fact that there's not some epic story is one of the series' core strengths. When you're weary from the absurdities of life, you want nothing more than to relax with some entertainment that heals your soul (hence the "iyashikei" sub-genre in Japan). It's interesting to see what the main character cooks using both ingredients from his world and the monsters native to this fantasy world. The world-building isn't too thorough, but it has a couple touches here and there to keep it engaging.

Mukouda, being an adult, instantly realizes after getting isekai'd that he probably shouldn't stay in the country that summoned him, since the officials were acting really suspicious. He leaves the country immediately, and we're introduced vaguely to the state of things. It's mostly a generic isekai-western fantasy world, with adventurer's guilds, dungeons, elves, and dwarves. So far, we haven't seen any crazy powerful abilities or technologies among the other non-monster characters, so it's relatively low-fantasy and low-stakes. 

There is a mild progression, as Mukouda does gain some stats and abilities over time. However, the focus is firmly on the cooking and light-hearted adventures. In two books, he's already gained a Legendary Fenrir (Fel), Slime (Sui), and rare Pixie Dragon (Dora-chan) as familiars. He's already got quite the party, so I'm curious to see who might be added next. 

This series is recommended, but not on an empty stomach!