Is the Savior's Book Cafe the Coziest Manga of All Time?

The Savior's Book Café's charming setting and sweet storyline make it one of the coziest isekai manga of all time.

Every so often, the perfect iyashikei manga comes along that is equal parts cozy, dreamy, and entertaining. Book lovers and fans of comforting manga need look no further than The Savior's Book Café Story in Another World by Kyouka Izumi to find their next favorite read.

Any fan that read Ascendance of a Bookworm and wanted more book-related content will not be disappointed with The Savior's Book Café. It follows Tsukina Mizumori, an office worker in her thirties who travels to another world and opens a quiet book café in the middle of the forest. Its charming setting and sweet storyline makes The Savior's Book Café one of the coziest isekai manga ever created.

The Savior’s Book Café Is Every Book Lover’s Dream

Fans who picked up Ascendance of a Bookworm wanting to read a slow-paced manga about a girl's love of books may have been disappointed to find that the story had much more politics and conflict than they were expecting. Though Ascendance of a Bookworm is a great manga and anime, there are a lot of complications due to Myne’s illness, her family’s lack of wealth and position in society, and the fantasy world in general. Readers who enjoyed the setting and aesthetic of Ascendance of a Bookworm but wanted a little less conflict should run to their nearest bookshop and check out The Savior's Book Café.

The Savior's Book Café is unique because unlike most isekai, Tsukina doesn’t die. Rather, she is approached by a being who calls himself “God” and is asked to travel to another world and serve as its "savior." Tsukina doesn’t want to give up her normal life, so it takes a lot for God to convince her to leave her current world behind. She shrewdly negotiates with God to receive a variety of gifts and powers that will help her in the new world. Furthermore, she tells God that she has no intention of being a powerful savior, and makes it so she can reside anonymously, avoiding action and adventuring.

In the end, Tsukina receives a cozy house in the middle of the forest and a magical pendant which, when squeezed, can make virtually any item appear. Tsukina uses the pendant to furnish the house, creating a small living space for herself upstairs and turning the rest into a quaint book café. She doesn’t have any customers at first, which is just fine with her. She spends her time reading, studying magic, and dreaming up new dishes for the café's menu.

Then one day, a handsome customer appears, seeking refuge in the café. The man, Il, becomes Tsukina’s one and only customer, who she takes great pleasure in doting on. At first, the two spend most days reading together in companionable silence, speaking only when Il orders something from Tsukina’s delicious homemade menu. As they become closer, however, their relationship slowly changes from restaurateur and customer into something more.

Naturally, The Savior's Book Café has action and conflict, but neither distracts from its overall warm, fuzzy feeling. From start to finish, it is a deeply cozy series that will make any reader want to open their own book café, or at the very least, visit Tsukina's to spend a lovely afternoon. Though book cafés are rare in many parts of the world, they can be found here and there throughout Japan.

Japan’s Book Cafés

A book café is like a combination of a coffee shop, library, and cozy living room. Though few book cafés are as picturesque as Tsukina’s, good book cafés are certainly out there. While coffee shops are a dime a dozen in America, they’re not always cozy, and they rarely offer reading material for patrons. Though indie bookshops like Fable Hollow in Tennessee are a book lover's paradise, they face fierce competition from large, wealthy corporations. Rising rent and supply costs make owning a small business very difficult for most people in the West. In Japan, however, zoning laws are less strict, and it’s not uncommon for small shop owners to live above their businesses. Tiny restaurants and coffee shops on the first floor of residential homes boast some of the best food and drink in the country. Every item is lovingly homemade and incredibly affordable, and the spaces themselves are overflowing with sweet, personal touches. Though book cafés aren’t as common as small restaurants in Japan, they can be found if one knows where to look.

Like many shops in Japan, book cafés are small, cramped, and impossibly cozy. They often feature handmade goods from local artisans, ranging from handicrafts to pottery and more. Manga and books in general, as well as coffee, are revered in Japan. For the average working Japanese professional, the combination of a good book and delicious cup of coffee is an utterly irresistible treat. Some of the best book cafés are so small, they can only be discovered through word-of-mouth or stumbling upon one by chance. Commercial book cafés like Mori no Toshoshitsu and manga cafés are easier to find, and the latter offers a wide array of amenities. Many people choose to snooze or even shower at manga cafés if they’ve missed the last train for the night. Manga cafés typically offer massage chairs, computers, private napping areas for an extra fee, and shelf after shelf of manga. During a busy week, many working men and women will even avoid going home so they can get more work done. Instead, they take breaks at onsen and other bathhouses, capsule hotels, and of course, book and manga cafés.

The Connection Between Isekai and Cafés

The Savior’s Book Café isn’t the first manga to follow a hopeful café owner. There seems to be a major connection between isekai manga and protagonists who want to live a slow life, open their own café, or both. Perhaps, Japan’s harsh, hectic work culture can be to blame for why these types of isekai are so popular among readers. My Lady Just Wants to Relax follows Ronia Gavisera, a Japanese office worker who is reincarnated as the villainess of a web novel. Rather than resisting her fate, like Katarina Claes in My Next Life as a Villainess, Ronia sees her future exile as a new start. She eventually fulfills her dream of starting her own café, but once four handsome "beast-kin" become her regular customers, Ronia gets more than she bargained for.

Opening a Café in Another World is similarly themed but vastly different in terms of plot. Like Ronia, Risa Kurokawa is a busy office worker who likes to cook. In yet another unique isekai twist, Risa doesn't keep the fact that she's from another world a secret. Her new world is full of magic, floating spirits, and unfortunately, awful food. Risa quickly realizes that if she is to stay in this world, she needs to start preparing her own meals. With the help of the wealthy family who took her in, and her spirit familiar, Basil, Risa works to master the ingredients of her new world and open her own café. There are many other cozy manga and anime out there with themes of cooking and coziness. Restaurant to Another World may be one of the most popular, with obscure titles like Houkago wa, Isekai Kissa de Coffee wo rounding out the genre. Fans of cozy, iyashikei manga who enjoy a bit of fantasy and romance should read The Savior’s Book Café at their earliest convenience. The five volume series was recently completed and has been fully released in English by Seven Seas.