is a Japanese

manga Manga (Japanese: 漫画 ) are comics or graphic novels originating from Japan. Most manga conform to a style developed in Japan in the late 19th century, and the form has a long prehistory in earlier Japanese art. The term ''manga'' is u ...

written and illustrated by Shinji Saijyo. The manga was licensed in

English English usually refers to: * English language * English people English may also refer to: Peoples, culture, and language * ''English'', an adjective for something of, from, or related to England ** English national ide ...

ComicsOne ComicsOne Corp. was an American distributor of Asian Comics (manga, manhwa, and manhua), established in 1999. ComicsOne was based in Fremont, California, in the San Francisco Bay Area. ComicsOne also served as the distributor for videos and merc ...

before the license was transferred to

DrMaster DrMaster Publications Inc. was an American distributor of manga and manhua with offices in the United States, Republic of China and Japan. It was headquartered in Fremont, California. It began strictly as a printer of manga, and entered the pu ...

. A sequel, ''Iron Wok Jan! R: The Summit Operations'', was also released in Japan by Akita Shoten and in France by

Soleil Manga SOLEIL ("Sun" in French) is a synchrotron facility near Paris, France. It performed its first acceleration of electrons on May 14, 2006. The name ''SOLEIL'' is a backronym for ''Source optimisée de lumière d’énergie intermédiaire du LURE'' ...

. A spin-off, ''Tetsupai no Jan!'', by Bingo Morihashi, started to be published by

Takeshobo is a major publisher in Japan. Takeshobo was founded in 1972 by Kyōichirō Noguchi, starting Japan's first Mahjong magazine . Other magazines, such as a magazine dedicated to mahjong-themed manga, as well as a magazine dedicated to yonkoma ma ...

in 2015.

Characters

Akiyama family

* is a 16-year-old talented young chef and the male protagonist of the manga. His grandfather is Kaiichiro Akiyama, the “master of Chinese cuisine”. * is known as the “master of Chinese cuisine”. Kaiichiro raised Jan until his tastebuds began to fail, at which point he sent Jan to Gobancho and committed suicide by self-immolation. * is Jan's grandmother and Kaiichiro's wife. * is Jan's father and Kaiichiro's son.

Gobanchou family

* is one of the best cooks in Gobanchou, her family's Chinese restaurant in

Ginza, Tokyo Ginza ( ; ja, 銀座 ) is a district of Chūō, Tokyo, located south of Yaesu and Kyōbashi, west of Tsukiji, east of Yūrakuchō and Uchisaiwaichō, and north of Shinbashi. It is a popular upscale shopping area of Tokyo, with numerous intern ...

. She is the same age as Jan. * *

Publication

Akita Shoten is a Japanese publishing company headquartered in Chiyoda, Tokyo. It was founded by Teio Akita on 10 August 1948. As of 2020, the company's president is Shigeru Higuchi. Magazines Male-oriented manga magazines ''Shōnen'' magazines * – Bimo ...

released the 27 ''

tankōbon is the Japanese Japanese may refer to: * Something from or related to Japan, an island country in East Asia * Japanese language, spoken mainly in Japan * Japanese people, the ethnic group that identifies with Japan through ancestry or cultur ...

'' manga between June 1995 and March 2000. The manga was re-released into 16 '' kanzenban'' volumes between December 2004 and September 2007.

published the manga's 27 ''

'' between December 15, 2002, and December 28, 2007. Akita Shoten started releasing the sequel, , on November 9, 2006, and concluded on December 9, 2010, in the ''Weekly Shōnen Champion'' magazine. From March 8, 2007, to January 8, 2009, the publisher released ten bound volumes. A spin-off series, , written and illustrated by Bingo Morihashi started its serialization on

's ''

Kindai Mahjong is a mahjong-focused magazine line created by Takeshobo. The first title published under the line was the text magazine ''Monthly Kindai Mahjong'' (1972–1987). It has since then spawned four manga magazines: ''Kindai Mahjong Original'' (1980–2 ...

'' magazine on August 12, 2015. The successor of manga, titled Iron Work Jan 2nd, which was released in January 2017 in the February 2017 issue of Kadokawa's Monthly Dragon Age.

Reception

Comics Worth Reading's Johanna Draper Carlson comments on the illustrator's use of

caricatures A caricature is a rendered image showing the features of its subject in a simplified or exaggerated way through sketching, pencil strokes, or other artistic drawings (compare to: cartoon). Caricatures can be either insulting or complimentary, a ...

to dramatise the manga. Manga Life's Michael Aronson commends the manga for its art and its ability to appeal to audiences. Animefringe.com's Ridwan Khan comments on the "love-hate relationship" between Jan and Kiriko.

IGN ''IGN'' (formerly ''Imagine Games Network'') is an American video game and entertainment media website operated by IGN Entertainment Inc., a subsidiary of Ziff Davis, Inc. The company's headquarters is located in San Francisco's SoMa distri ...

's A.E. Sparrow comments on the artist's ability to make a cooking competition as compelling to watch "as watching two feudal clans go to war".

References

External links

* {{Weekly Shōnen Champion Akita Shoten manga ComicsOne titles Cooking in anime and manga Fictional chefs Martial arts anime and manga Shōnen manga Takeshobo manga