Nestled in a narrow, trendy side street in Tokyo’s youth fashion district of Harajuku is a bright pink building named emo café, a tiny collab café that partners with mangaka and publishers to turn manga into a culinary experience. emo café is relatively new, having started up in the last few years, and follows in the footsteps of other BL cafés like Toriko Mangaten and ComiComi Studio Machida (r.i.p.).
I first noticed emo café when they did the second B+Library collab, featuring two absolutely wonderful manga that are on our site—Jimi Fumikawa’s I Seriously Can’t Believe you… (one of my all-time favorites!) and Jyanome’s Twilight Out of Focus—as well as Ichikawa Kei’s incredibly famous Blue Sky Complex (licensed by Futekiya).
They then did a collab for SHIKKE’s spectacular series Unexpected Attraction, which I tried to get into but reservations sold out within the first five minutes. (There will be a revival café, though!) There’s also been a café for Kurahashi Tomo’s Someday I’ll Fall For You, and a café for Tsubame Koshiora’s There’s Fanfiction About Us?, as well as a handful of other series.
When I saw they would be doing a third B+Library, this time for Harada’s Happy Shitty Life, Akira Minazuki’s Smoky Nectar, and Mitsuaki Asou’s The Farthest Love in the World I knew we had to go—especially considering Happy Shitty Life is one of our localizations, and Smoky Nectar is coming soon. Unfortunately, because of the massive popularity of all three artists (each one of them being a veteran in the BL genre) I once again couldn’t get in.
…That is, until they extended the end date by a week. Sometimes it pays to sit on Twitter constantly. -w-)b
So I was able to get a reservation for August 3rd, and my lovely coworker Alice offered to come with so we could try something off both Harada’s and Akira Minazuki’s menus.
The Manga
Let’s first talk about the manga. B+Library seems to always choose three BL manga by fairly popular artists. One of the things that’s quite interesting about it is that there doesn’t seem to be an explicit theme. Usually these types of cafés highlight works by the same artists, or only works published under a specific publishing line, etc. But B+Library just kind of chooses a handful of series that are big with BL fans and goes with it.
Happy Shitty Life (also localized as “Happy Crappy Life” under KUMA if you’re looking to buy the hard copies!) is Harada’s long-running series about two men, Yoshiyuki and Kyotaro, and their bizarre antics as they become important parts of each other’s lives. Kyotaro is “transferred in disgrace” to the countryside after being caught getting pegged in the office after hours by the CEO’s daughter. There, he meets “lowlife” Yoshiyuki who’s also addicted to anal, and they create an inseparable bond. It’s an absurdist dark comedy with a talking god that gives out endless sex toys, one man sleeping with an entire family, and the main “couple” raising families of tentacle monsters before trying to fuck them in a used ramen cup. But as if the comedy isn’t enough to keep you around, it’s that constant background non-romance of Yoshiyuki and Kyotaro just baaaaaaarely coming to understand how important they are to each other.
Four Japanese volumes have been released so far, with volume five on the way in mid-September. As for the localization? Volume three should be coming soon through Renta!, having been sent out for lettering at the beginning of the year. Volume four has also finished translation and quality checks. I can assure you, we’re looking forward to volume five as much as everyone else is!
Smoky Nectar is Akira Minazuki’s new vampire series, containing two volumes of Smoky Nectar and one volume of Domestic Beast, which revolves around a side character in the initial story. The localization for the first volume is in the final check process, so should hopefully be released in the next few months! It’s an interesting world that borrows certain aspects of omegaverse (the concept of pairing for life, the animalistic and possessive nature of mating, etc.) and mixes it with the traditional vampire horror trope.
Mitsuru is a naïve and curious journalist for an online newspaper, and when a woman dies mysteriously from a vampire bite he takes it upon himself to try to track down the killer and crack the mystery. His childhood friend Anna (Kugai Annaka), an incredibly wealthy and powerful man, warns him against shoving his nose where it doesn’t belong, but since the death happened on Anna’s company’s premises, Mitsuru wants to clear Anna’s name. This leads Mitsuru head-first into the world of the “Biters”—as well as the intense, animalistic desire Anna has held toward him their entire lives.
The Farthest Love in the World, Mitsuaki Asou’s title, is one we don’t hold the license for and is yet unreleased in English, so I can only give a small summary. It’s a lovely story about a violinist named Touka who is shunned from the music community for his rough personality and obsession with perfecting his music as he sees fit. When he meets Isuzu, a deaf man who can’t hear his music but can only see the passion in his playing, through their bond the two of them are finally able to feel there’s someone in the world who truly understand them. Through Isuzu, Touka is able to learn patience, and begins to soften his barriers. Through Touka, Isuzu is able to learn passion and perseverance. It appears that futekiya announced this license late last year, so hopefully it will be released soon! (A teaser was also released late last month!)
The Cafe
As was noted previously, the emo café is sandwiched between the Harajuku and Omotesando districts of Tokyo. They’re pretty trendy districts (Harajuku for youth fashion, and Omotesando for high fashion), so admittedly not my favorite since I’m just kind of a nerd. As the BL genre has become more 一般 (ippan) over time—as in, more and more normalized—collab cafés, pop-up shops, etc. have shifted from the otaku districts of Akihabara and Ikebukuro and started taking place in Shibuya and Harajuku. It’s definitely a sign that openly liking BL is becoming increasingly common.
We were allowed to enter the café ten minutes before our reservation, and until then had to wait out on the streets watching fashionable teenagers and tourists flit from store to store. In Tokyo, the summers are incredibly humid, so having to stand outside for an extended period of time isn’t exactly my favorite thing—which I guess is more incentive to not show up super early. But we got some pictures of the exterior. The second floor, where emo café is, is pained a cute, trendy pink, and there was a little sign out front showcasing the current collab.
(As you can see, there was an unrelated Love Live collab café in the basement covered in cute anime girls.)
The doorway to the café showcased all the food and goods available. Upon entry, a staff member checked our reservation email, as well as my ID to make sure we were the right people trying to enter. Collab cafés are often quite strict about this kind of thing to prevent people from snatching up reservations and reselling them to desperate fans.
The inside of the café was small, but bright with a huge window making up the far wall. The decorations were, of course, all related to the manga in the collab—official illustrations done for the publisher or promotion, but also cute original artwork (as well as chibi designs) just for the café. We were seated at a large table right by the window, which was much appreciated.
On one side, a wall of illustrations and a line of single-person seating.
And to the other site, long scroll artworks of the original café illustrations. Mitsuaki Asou’s was signed, which was very cute. It’s always fun to see when mangaka go to their own collab cafés—SHIKKE went to hers very frequently as well.
While for the most part, Covid restrictions have died down in Japan, we were still asked to sit diagonally rather than across from each other. Though, now that I think about it, with all our getting up to take photos and then sitting again, rearranging the food, etc. we did end up just sitting across from each other… Sorry, Staff-san… I forgot…
We ordered all of our food from the QR codes on the tables. One nice thing is the menu was available in both Japanese AND English via the QR code, so if your Japanese is lacking, and you happen to either live in Japan or be vacationing here while a collab café is taking place, it’s still easy to order.
A menu for goods and for getting a closer look at the food options.
The menu doesn’t really describe all the ingredients in each dish, however, so if you have food allergies please be sure to call the staff over. I’m not sure about this specific café, but many anime collab cafés often try to have an English-speaking staff member, so I’m sure there will be someone who can help!
That brings us to…
The Food
The plan in going to the café was that both Alice and I would get one entrée, one dessert, and one drink from both Harada and Akira Minazuki’s menus. It was kind of a mash-up—I got Harada’s crepe, and then Akira Minazuki’s dessert and drink. Alice was the opposite, getting Akira Minazuki’s meal and then Harada’s dessert and drink.
The foods at these cafés are generally a reference to something that takes place or is mentioned in the manga. For instance, in volume two of Smoky Nectar, Mitsuru makes omurice for Anna, and so omurice is their signature meal.
The title of the dish is みつるが作ったオムライ, or “the omurice made by Mitsuru.” So I guess with this, we get a taste of Mitsuru’s home cooking. Rather than a curry sauce, it was a sweet hayashi rice sauce.
I, on the other hand, got Harada’s umm… interesting sausage crepe. This dish is a reference to a long scene in volume four, in which Yoshiyuki and Kyotaro cut their dicks off and place them gently on a piss altar, and then give them nametags so they don’t forget whose is whose. I know—if the dish didn’t look appetizing at first, I’m sure it does after that description. (Also, look forward to reading that scene in the future—it truly needs to be seen to be believed!)
The little flag has the Japanese for the demon Rakshasa, which Kyotaro attempted to name his dick before it was lovingly crossed out by Yoshiyuki and replaced by the name puicho or “chubbers.” You could actually get either of the nametags—Yoshiyuki’s is rakko, adoringly named by Kyotaro, which is the Japanese word for sea otter—because it was random. The chili sauce is also a reference to a specific scene with the two dicks, but I’ll leave that to your imagination until you get to read the volume.
Akira Minazuki’s honey mint lemonade drink is a reference to the “nectar” in the title of the manga, but I’ll again wait until everyone has read the manga so I don’t give away any spoilers. Needless to say, there’s a reason the drink is made up of things that smell very good.
Harada’s drink is a reference to Sakura’s umeshu on the rocks. It was supposed to come with a postcard, but by the time we went to the café they were all out. TT The pain of not getting a reservation until the last possible second.
As for dessert, I got Akira Minazuki’s anmitsu, which was a mix of both Anna and Mitsuru’s names. For those who don’t know, anmitsu is a traditional sweet using jellies, fruit, red bean, and a sweet brown sugar syrup. Mine also came with a side of red jam… presumably to look like blood because vampires, but it honestly really added to the flavor of the dish!
Harada’s shaved ice was a reference to Yoshiyuki’s grandmother, which I believe is from a scene in volume two where he discusses her after accidentally having sex in front of his family shrine and possibly enraging her and the rest of his dead relatives. A surprisingly cute reference after the chili dick pedestal, but that’s Happy Shitty Life for you! Alice also said the shaved ice was some of the best she’s ever had, with the chunks of strawberry and the condensed milk served on the side so you could pour more as needed.
Finally, there were tarts and lattes with simple art for each artist, and since it felt wrong to not get anything for Mitsuaki Asou’s manga just because it’s not on the site, we got those by her.
Alice particularly appreciated the coffee after having lots and lots of sugar. The tarts were little pie crusts filled with cake and then covered in whipped cream and fruit.
And, as always with these collab cafés, each food and drink we purchased came with a little coaster. We almost got the full set, but unfortunately we didn’t get Akira Minazuki’s regular illustration. TT So sad, but I guess that’s the reality of “random” goods.
Overall, it was a very fun experience, and it was exciting to see a collab that had two manga we have on our site. Plus, it was a great opportunity to reread both Happy Shitty Life and Smoky Nectar (and, admittedly, The Farthest Love in the World…) before this report.
I’m looking forward to both Happy Shitty Life volume three and Smoky Nectar volume one coming to our site soon, and getting to hear everyone’s thoughts. Both are really wonderful manga in completely different ways. Plus, make sure to check out Mitsuaki Asou’s book as well, once the English version is released (or in Japanese if you’re able)…!
Anyway, to check out more from emo cafe or these artists…!
emo cafe:
Official Site
Twitter
Harada:
Tumblr (Link Tree)
Twitter
rentaBLog 
I found it really funny how a sausage crepe was included in Harada’s menu as a reference to what happened in volume four of “Happy Shitty Life”. The art in all three manga looks very pleasing to the eye and I can’t wait for “The Farthest Love in the World” to be released in English too, sounds like a very heartwarming story!
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