Today’s Menu for the Emiya Family
Media: Manga by TAa; Anime by Ufotable; Based on Visual Novel by Type-Moon
A spin-off of Fate/Stay Night series, Today’s Menu for the Emiya Family (Emiya-san Chi no Kyou no Gohan) tells a story about Emiya Shirou, who becomes the family cook and cooks delicious meals every day for dinner for the Emiya Family, Saber, and Holy Grail War friends.
In my terms, a family anime can be classified as a family anime when it has heartwarming scenes, even though the family in the story is not blood-related. This Fate/Stay Night spin-off may be close to being a family anime. Today’s Menu for the Emiya Family brings a light and heartwarming story. With the “ending” of the Holy Grail War, Fuyuki city back into its peaceful life. Even in peaceful conditions, of course, there are interesting stories to explore.
Rather than being classified as a family anime, Today’s Menu for the Emiya Family is more fitting to be classified as iyashikei anime. The main focus of this anime is the meal cooked by Shirou and his friends. Each cooking progress appeals be appetizing to the audience. The warmth of the food visuals that the Emiya family serves spread to the scene of enjoying the meal. Every dinner scene gives a heartwarming sensation similar to watching a family anime. As a certain Family-man from the famous “street racing” film franchise said, “The most important thing in life will always be Family”. The Emiya family and friends from the city of Fuyuki will provide family warmth through this warm series. (Naufal B.P., KAORI Newsline).
Wolf Children
Media: Anime by Studio Chizu
Hana, a hard-working college student, falls in love with a mysterious man who attends one of her classes even though he is not an actual student. As it turns out, he is not truly human either. On a full moon night, he transforms, revealing that he is the last werewolf alive. Despite this, Hana’s love remains strong, and the two ultimately decide to start a family.
My first thought for a “family” theme recommendation is a story of an emotional bond between parents and children. So that’s why I chose Wolf Children, this film anime consists of everything you’d think of when it comes to family. There are times when a family can have a good time with lots of laughter, but at other times, that moment can also be shattered in an instant. Regardless of what happens, a family will always support each other. This anime is worth watching if you wish to enjoy the plot and emotional value it gives you. (Halimun Muhammad, The Indonesian Anime Times).
Mirai
Media: Anime by Studio Chizu
The film follows the everyday life of Kun, a four-year-old boy who just have a baby sister named Mirai. Seeing the new baby taking up much of their parents’ attention makes Kun frequently feels jealous; but little-by-little, he learns to get accustomed to having a younger sibling and be a more responsible older sibling with the help of some fantastic situations he experiences, including meeting an older version of his sister from the future.
Ostensibly, Mirai is a film that focuses on relationship between siblings, but as director Mamoru Hosoda himself said in one interview, the film ends up being about the whole family across several generations. Magical realism is used to enable small Kun to “…learn their family history and through learning that history, he would learn how to love his sister.” The film also shows an interesting dynamic with the parent, as the mother is an executive working away from home while the father is an architect who tries to be a work-at-home parent. The struggles of the father in handling household chores makes me think that while having the husband willing to share more part of domestic work is admirable, you can’t expect it’s going to go easy straight away if he lacks experience in doing such chores. It may take much learning, effort, and time to learn those domestic work, so appropriate support could be necessary to make sure sharing domestic work between spouses can work. (Cakra Bhirawa, Social Media Team).
Listen to Me, Girls. I Am Your Father!
Media: Novel by Tomohiro Matsu (Story) and Yuka Nakajima (Illustration); Manga by Tomohiro matsu (Story) and Yohei Takemura (Illustration); Anime by Feel
Yuuta Segawa has just started his freshman year at the university. One day, his sister, Yuri, who raised him after their parents died, asks him to take care of her daughters Hina, Sora, and Miu while she and her husband go overseas on a business trip. Yuuta grudgingly accepts, but tragedy strikes when their plane goes missing and all passengers are presumed dead. In an effort to prevent the three girls from being split up, Yuuta goes against their family and takes them in, just as his sister took him in when he had no one else.
If I was to pick an anime that falls in the family category and is rarely discussed in my community, I would recommend Listen to Me, Girls. I Am Your Father! (Papa no Iukoto wo Kikinasai). I like the way this anime tells a story. It suddenly dropped heavy plot point in episode 1, so it became more of a tear-jerking and deep emotional show for me. This story deals with Yuuta’s efforts to support her sister’s three daughters. He is just an ordinary university student, but then suddenly he carries the burden of a grown-up, but this time for three children. It is now necessary for him to think about food, school supplies, and even household supplies for all of them.
I enjoy the way Yuuta forces himself to become a parent and how he learns about it because making a family takes time and effort. Therefore, I recommend this anime to anyone, but if you’re someone who does not like ecchi, then this anime is not for you. (P.S. I’m not a lolicon). (Cakra Bhirawa, Social Media Team).
Chichi ga Loli na Mono de
Media: Manga by Shibesaba
Tanaka is a high-school student with an odd interest in girls. One day, his father, who is always busy with work, returns. But there’s something different about him.
Just for the fun of this family-themed recommendation, I would like to recommend Chichi ga Loli na Mono de. This is a short manga, but it packs a lot of funny things, as the story tells about a father who turns into a loli. You will see a lot of wacky things and bonding time between a former male father and his boy. Plus if you love a gender-bender story or even age regression this manga would be a great manga! (Cakra Bhirawa, Social Media Team).
School Babysitters
Media: Manga by Tokeino Hari; Anime by Brain’s Base
After losing both parents in a crash, Kashima Ryuuichi becomes the guardian of his younger brother Koutarou. But at their parent’s funeral, they were adopted by Morinomiya Youko, the headmaster of Morinomiya Academy. In exchange for her taking care of Kashima’s sibling, he must become the school babysitter in the daycare facility at the school. The daycare facility was made to support the female teachers of the academy.
Looking at the discourse this article brought, listing School Babysitters might feel like a given since it’s a story about orphan siblings being taken care of by strangers and makes an impression like “being a family doesn’t have to be blood-related”. Here I want to emphasize the role of a daycare facility in a school institution. Childcare facility exists to help working adults, especially working mothers, to look after their children in a safe environment (including quality caregivers) and support children’s development. By having a daycare at the school, Morinomiya Academy helps their teachers to take care of their children without risking losing employees or losing employment and cutting the cost of childcare outside the home. In School Babysitters, having the daycare as a unit of an institution, the parents can see their children’s development and what kind of experience they have had in a day. Each parent and child bond by having a lot of internal events inside the institution as they’re experiencing various events together. The environment aspect in School Babysitters takes an important role in depicting how the family is doing despite their conditions, such as with the Kashima siblings and the female teachers, Morinomiya Academy itself became a safe place for learning, working, and child caring. (Vina Nurziani, The Indonesian Anime Times).
Those are our favorite family-themed anime and manga (and novels). Are your favorites also included in our list? Or maybe you have your own favorite that isn’t include here? Let us know in the comments!
The Indonesian Anime Times
