Ristorante Paradiso

I love this book. This was the first Natsume Ono book I ever read and purchased and it has lead me to buying everything that has been translated into English ever since. It's a wonderful slice of life story about a girl who is trying to reconnect with her mother and also the daily life stories of a charming restaurant in Rome. The animation series based on this book is also a great watch if you enjoyed this book.

I like the simplicity of the story without loosing its content. It is nice to read something so light and upbeat once in a while. Those zombies stories were getting on my nerves. :-)

i love it

Well plotted paired with a unique art style, Natsume Ono's Ristorante Paradiso was wonderful! I wish there were more than just one.

Having first discovered Natsume Ono’s manga Ristorante Paradiso thanks to the Anime Adaptation which David Production produced, I was very interested in reading the original manga. To see the differences between the two productions, but also to enjoy the original story that the mangaka published in the magazines. And what I read really pleased me.The story of a ristorante set in the center of Rome, at a street corner so small that none of the tourist masses will bombard the employees there. Though the food and service there — such as gorgeous waiters in their fifties/sixties all wearing spectacles — makes it quite a coveted place to enjoy a night meal. Giving its owners —Lorenzo Giorno and his wife Olga — a joyful business alongside their winery. Though everything might crumble down for the woman as her daughter Nicoletta, now 21 years old, has come back into her life and is ready to reveal to her husband the truth. That his wife is a divorcee and has, from that former marriage, a child which she has abandoned — something that Olga wouldn’t want him to know as back when they were dating; he told her that he refused to marry a divorcee with children. Before this ominous revelation that she had been married before which could destroy her marriage, Olga confronts her daughter to make sure no such thing happens; succeeding in a way, but not enough as Nicoletta settles down in Rome and slowly succumbs to the charm of this Ristorante; working alongside its waiters as an apprentice cook and falling in love with Claudio, the Head Stewart.Now unlike the anime, the series stands in one volume and much of the episodes narrative stand in either a couple of pages or half a chapter as Ristorante Paradiso is written through 6 chapters. In sum, this is a good read to do either in a one hour sitting; though for those who’d want to discover the story more slowly, they can take the time to read everything one chapter each day.As of the story, I really enjoyed the characters and their back stories, though let’s take note that not all of them get the chance to be further studied as in the manga. This is why Natsume Ono also published the Series Gente. As an attempt to explore the characters, their personalities and the life climate in the Ristorante. For in this volume, the focus is more on Nicoletta, Olga, Lorenzo, his brother whose name I will not reveal to not break spoilers, and Claudio’s relationship with his ex-wife. So for those who enjoyed in the anime series other characters than those 6 individuals, they should also consider the Gente series as they will get a wider painting of the Casetta dell’Orso culture. A beautiful painting rendered through neo-realistic portrayal of life, like in Luchino Visconti and Ettore Da Scolla’s movies.As for the artwork, the pencil work delighted me. Through the very detailed panels that presented the story as if we were seeing a film to the very good use of Screen tones, Natsume Ono presents herself as a skilled artist.In sum, this series, just like the movie Cinema Paradiso did with small/local cinemas, is a beautiful love letter to the small restaurants set around cities such as Rome. And for those who want to prove to others that mangas are more than action/fantasy/sports driven stories, Ristorante Paradiso is a great way to encourage older audiences in discovering the Japanese medium of mangas.

It's a very well done one-shot. In the span of less than 200 pages, Ono gives a solid story with a plot, character change, and emotion, much more than can be said with some other manga I've read that have over 20 volumes. However, it ends so suddenly, I do wish there were more volumes!The art is very unique; it's not bad per say but it's not absolutely beautiful. I believe it is drawn this way to make the story flow better. I haven't really decided if I like the art or not (haha).Overall it's a nice short one-shot that makes an excellent read for a rainy day.

Content: no fanservice to worry about, Can't really remember coarse language and expletives (NO SPOILERS):By now, you are probably familiar with the basic plot and premise of this manga from the synopsis and the rest of the reviews. So no need to really go into that. This is a standalone manga (no other volumes) which also did give rise to the "Gente" sidestory series. For me, the story was definitely touching and packed with tons of life lessons to learn. Tons of amusing characters as well. But my main issue with this particular manga was that it felt like it was cramming in too much for the amount of pages used. except for a very few, we really didn't get to delve too deeply into some of the other characters, the pacing sometimes felt rushed, and the resolution didn't really satisfy (it's a complete one tho and doesn't leave you hanging...it was just lackluster in my opinion). Now, I do love standalone mangas, too...and actually have an anthology of them...this one just didn't feel as developed and well executed. That said, the story is a very real and relatable story for many, and with tons of good lessons to glean from it.The artwork is also not the standard commercial manga style, which ironically helps this manga considering it takes place in Italy, not Japan. The cover is a good representation of it...so you can decide if it's your style or not. It does make character age much easier to guess tho haha...and that is somewhat important to the happenings in it.ALL IN ALL:It's a good and solid manga...but I feel I will forget it soon enough. Didn't really have any themes, ideas, story plot, ect. that I felt will stay with me in the future. Nor did I really end up sympathizing or "investing" into any of the characters. For me, I'd say it's a decent filler while waiting on the next volume of your favorite series.

Ristorante Paradiso is a Slice of life story set in Rome (Italy) where a daughter of a Woman who left her only child to Marry a man finds her in a percular Restraunt where the staff are all older men wearing glasses and starts to fall in love and embrace her new surroundings.The characters themselves are well done and have their own stories and personalities much of which is expanded upon in Gente which is set before this Manga, the drawings in Ristorante Paradiso are different from other Manga as they have much more expression in the pages.This title is under the VIZ Signature range which is aimed at more mature viewers and has better packaging such as fold out sides with character and author info. If you enjoyed this then you should check out the other prequel titles of Gente. Gente, Volume 1: The People of Ristorante ParadisoGente, Volume 1: The People of Ristorante Paradiso

Gigi!!!!