is a Japanese manga series by . It has been serialized in Comic Tanto since 2023. The manga follows Katsuo, a man whose girlfriend broke up with him because of his conservative beliefs, and his journey in learning how to cook. A television series adaptation aired from October to December 2025.

Plot Katsuo Ebihara and Ayumi Yamagishi, who started dating in college, are about to celebrate their sixth anniversary. They have grown accustomed to living together, but when Katsuo proposes, Ayumi breaks up with him. The reason is Katsuo's belief that "it's only natural for women to cook!" Following the breakup, Katsuo starts cooking and gradually changes his values.

Characters Main characters

A man stuck in Showa thought, with beliefs like "it's only natural for women to cook!". After his marriage proposal is rejected and his girlfriend breaks up with him, he decides to start cooking for himself and changes his beliefs in the process.

Ever since she was in high school, she has believed that getting popular is the best way of living. She is the girlfriend of Katsuo, and she cooks and does housework for him. After meeting Nagisa and Teihei, she changes her beliefs. She rejects Katsuo's marriage proposal and breaks up with him.

Supporting characters

Production When asked the reason why she created the series in an interview with Walkerplus, Taniguchi said that she saw complaints on social media about husbands who criticize their wives' cooking. She got frustrated and angry, and decided to created a story from the thought that "it would be interesting if the husband, who had criticized the dish, were to cook it himself from scratch." She also said that the creation of the character was based on a word from her friend.

Media Manga Written and illustrated by Natsuko Taniguchi, Then You Try Making It! began serialization in Bunkasha's Comic Tanto on April 28, 2023. The first volume was released in December 14, 2023. As of February 19, 2026, 4 volumes have been released.

Volumes

Drama In July 2025, a television drama adaptation was announced. It was produced by TBS Television and directed by Yoshihiro Ito, Ryosuke Fukuda, and Katsuhiro Omoto, with the script written by Kei Ando. The music is provided by Takahiro Kaneko. The series aired from October 7 to December 9, 2025, on TBS Television's slot. Its time slot is primarily targeted at women, so a drama with a male protagonist was considered unusual. The series' theme song is performed by . The series stars Kaho as Ayumi Yamagishi and Ryoma Takeuchi as Katsuo Ebihara. Rakuten Viki streams the series outside Japan.

Episodes

Reception The series had over 400,000 copies in circulation by October 2025, and ranked fourth in the 2025 edition of Takarajimasha's Kono Manga ga Sugoi! guidebook under "Woman's Category"

The television drama series ranked second in Video Researchs overall viewer rating for Fall 2025 Drama for real-time or time-shift viewing with 16.1% household viewership rating. The series recorded approximately 60 million views on the streaming platform TVer, the highest number of views for a TBS drama in history on the platform. It has gained praise from women and men. Walkerplus said the series is "the number one drama on terrestrial television this season [Fall 2025], which is packed with highly anticipated shows". Shueisha Online describes the television series as "2025's biggest social phenomenon drama", praising the series' handling of gender issues, especially Katsuo (Takeuchi)'s character development. Doraji of Weekly Toyo Keizai also praised Katsuo's character development, adding that the way he deepens his communication with his colleagues can be interpreted as "cooking in modern times has transformed from 'something that women take the lead in to support their families' to 'something that contributes to building relationships with those around you, regardless of gender. Fuyu Kimata said that a major factor for the show's popularity is that it was a story about the male character "reflecting on his actions and growing as a person", adding that Katsuo, "the type of person people most wish would change in the Reiwa era", changed his ways very quickly.

Accolades

+ Awards and nominations for Then You Try Making It! Ceremony Year Award/Category Recipient Result Crea Manga Award 2024 Late Night MangaThen You Try Making It! (manga) rowspan=8 Renta! Manga Award New Era Love Manga Award 2025 Best Work Then You Try Making It! (drama) Best Actress Kaho Best Director Yoshihiro Ito, Ryosuke Fukuda & Katsuhiro Omoto Best Actor Ryoma Takeuchi Modelpress Best Drama Awards Best Leading Actor TVer Award Drama Grand Prize Then You Try Making It! (drama)

Notes

References

Further readings

External links (manga) (drama)