Akio Ōtsuka Inherits a Role From His Own Father
Yūzan Kaibara sits at the center of Oishinbo. He is Shirō Yamaoka's estranged father, a gourmet without peer, and the man who presides over the Gourmet Club, a strictly members-only high-end restaurant. Chikao Ōtsuka voiced him in the 1988 anime. In Shin Oishinbo the part goes to Chikao's son, Akio Ōtsuka, who international fans know as Yujiro Hanma in Baki and Marshall D. Teach in One Piece.
Ōtsuka did not play the announcement straight. “Hello, this is Akio Ōtsuka. I'm doing Yūzan Kaibara,” his official comment opens. “Yes, again. I'm taking over.” He added that at this rate he might as well change his name to Chikao Ōtsuka.
He was equally blunt about the character. Yūzan was already a stubborn old man when the show first aired, he said, and watching it now, the character comes across as such an arrogant king that it makes you flinch. Ōtsuka also noted that the role means going up against present-day compliance standards, and framed the job as keeping the flavor of the original while making something that tastes good today.
Yamaoka and Kurita Get New Voices, Plus a New Rival
Yōhei Azakami (Guel Jeturk in Mobile Suit Gundam: The Witch from Mercury, Gyro Zeppeli in JoJo's Bizarre Adventure: Steel Ball Run) voices Shirō Yamaoka, a culture-desk reporter at the Tōzai News newspaper who is lazy about everything except food and gets handed the paper's “Ultimate Menu” project. Azakami watched the original TV series himself. In comments published by Anime Anime, he said he is still chewing over how much weight comes with playing Yamaoka, and that he performs the character the way you wander out to find somewhere to eat tonight, never quite sure which side of him is the real one.
Hitomi Sasaki, who plays Admire Vega in Uma Musume Pretty Derby, voices Yūko Kurita, Yamaoka's colleague on the Ultimate Menu team. Sasaki said her first read on Kurita was “likable and dependable,” right up until she hit lines so casually cutting she wanted to stop and point them out. She also described a recording booth full of Oishinbo fans who spent sessions swapping favorite scenes and lines.
The sequel adds a face the old anime never had: 団一郎 (likely Ichirō Dan), the young president of 大研社 (likely Daikensha), who shows up as the referee for the cooking showdowns and falls for Kurita at first sight. That puts him squarely in the middle of the slow-burning romance between Kurita and Yamaoka.
A Full Sequel, Not a Remake
Shin Oishinbo continues the story of the previous anime, in which the Tōzai News's “Ultimate Menu” goes head to head with Yūzan's “Supreme Menu,” and keeps the busy, energetic 1990s atmosphere rather than moving the setting forward.
Tetsu Kariya and Akira Hanasaki launched the manga in Shogakukan's Weekly Big Comic Spirits in 1983. It has passed 135 million copies in print, reached 111 volumes, and has been on hiatus since 2014. The 1988 anime ran 136 episodes through 1992, also at Shin-Ei Animation.
Ken'ichi Nishida directs the new series, with Takahiro Nagano on series composition and Nozomi Kawashige on character design. Synergism and Vega Entertainment handle animation production, and Shin-Ei Animation (Doraemon, Crayon Shin-chan) produces. The studio first teased the revival on September 19, 2026 at the ABEMA Anime Festival as part of its 50th-anniversary slate, alongside new episodes of Atashin'chi, according to its PR TIMES release.
The teaser visual keeps Yamaoka's face hidden. He is drawn from behind, suit jacket slung over one shoulder, waving without turning around.
Looking Ahead
The announcement lists only “2027,” with no month, network, or timeslot attached. Nothing has been announced about international distribution, so it remains unclear whether Crunchyroll, Netflix or another service will carry the series.
English-language readers can still reach the source material. Viz Media publishes the manga as Oishinbo: A la Carte, a run of themed compilation volumes covering Japanese cuisine, sake and izakaya pub food, available in print and through viz.com.
There is also something to watch tonight. The official Oishinbo YouTube channel premieres a digitally remastered compilation called “Oishinbo Introduction: Best Episodes” on September 25 at 8 p.m. JST, pitched as a crash course for viewers new to the series before the new adaptation arrives.