Everybody has heard of ramen, the comforting noodle-soup combo. “Magic Ramen” tells the story of Ando, the creator of instant ramen. After World War II limited the amount of food, Ando is inspired to create a meal available for everyone. Through years of trial and error, he is motivated by the image of the starving, cold Japanese people.
This story inspired me personally. The "trial and error" process that Ando followed for years could not have been easy for anyone impatient. The fact that the sheer thought of homeless citizens in Japan encouraged him enough to not give up is inspiring alone. One would think that creating a product called "instant ramen" would be easy, but Ando proved just the opposite. I think any reader that stumbles across this book will take this perseverance into their own lives.
Another thing about “Magic Ramen” that I enjoyed were the illustrations. The way that the illustrator used some sort of artistic parallelism as well as light imagery helped showcase different parts of the story. Another little artistic detail I noticed was that inside the front cover page there was a collage of all the ingredients and tools Ando used, and then inside the back cover page there was a collage of the finished product: the ramen. These details (as well as others), though small, really tie the story together.
All in all, “Magic Ramen” is a heart-warming tale about someone who just wanted to do good in the world. Everyone can learn a little something from Ando, and his ramen. Small disclaimer: this book will make you crave ramen.
