Hello everyone~! This is Saori from Otaku Republic!

Well then! We’re getting close to June, which means it’s about time to start checking out the new anime airing in the Summer 2026 season starting in July! And the title we’re looking at this time is...... wait...... can this really...... actually be adapted into an anime......?

*Iron Wok Jan!* is a manga series that ran in Weekly Shonen Champion from 1995 to 2000, selling over 10 million copies in total! However, because of its protagonist — and especially his way of doing things — it gained a reputation as a series people would say, ‘There’s no way this could become an anime,’ or even, ‘It would be dangerous if this got animated!’

The reason Iron Wok Jan! never got an anime before...... or rather, couldn’t get one...... is because the protagonist is absolutely not a heroic figure. If anything, his actions are closer to those of a villain! To win cooking battles, he’ll do things like pour hydrochloric acid onto his opponent’s cooking equipment or carefully predict what dish his rival will serve next and adjust his own cooking so the flavor pairing becomes completely unbearable. Sounds terrible, right? But somehow, his rival chefs end up pulling even worse stunts! ......It’s unbelievably chaotic, yet no matter how ruthless things get, everyone involved absolutely refuses to compromise on one thing: making delicious food! It’s a cooking manga that is absurdly chaotic and brutally intense!

It’s a manga overflowing with malice, but strangely enough, watching villains constantly outsmart each other — seeing how they counter cruelty with even more cruelty — becomes oddly satisfying! I definitely can’t say it’s something everyone will find enjoyable...... but honestly, that’s exactly what makes Iron Wok Jan! special! It offers a world unlike anything you’ll experience in other manga, and after being called ‘impossible to animate’ for so many years...... it’s finally getting an anime this summer, drawing huge attention! So if you’re curious about what kind of outrageous things happen in the story, definitely check out the completed 27-volume manga series and get ready for the anime premiere in July!