Ristorante Paradiso

Ristorante Paradiso (リストランテ・パラディーゾ), also known as Rispara (リスパラ), is a Japanese manga series written and illustrated by Natsume Ono, detailing the daily lives of the staff of a restaurant in Rome. The first iteration of the series was serialized in Ohta Publishing's Manga Erotics F manga magazine between May 2005 and March 2006; it spanned one volume. A continuation, Gente: The People of Ristorante Paradiso (GENTE～リストランテの人々～), was serialized in the same magazine from September 2006 to January 2009. An anime adaptation, produced by David Production, aired on Fuji TV's late night Noise programming block from April to June 2009. The anime was also officially streamed with English subtitles by Crunchyroll. Both manga series, Ristorante Paradiso and Gente, have been licensed by Viz Media for an English-language release in North America.

Characters

 * Nicoletta (ニコレッタ)
 * The protagonist of the series. 21 years old, Nicoletta is an energetic girl whose parents divorced when she was young and was as a result raised by her grandparents. Upon graduating from cooking school, she began working as an apprentice at the Casetta dell'Orso restaurant and is its only female staff. She has a crush on Claudio.
 * The protagonist of the series. 21 years old, Nicoletta is an energetic girl whose parents divorced when she was young and was as a result raised by her grandparents. Upon graduating from cooking school, she began working as an apprentice at the Casetta dell'Orso restaurant and is its only female staff. She has a crush on Claudio.


 * Santo Claudio Paradiso (サント・クラウディオ・パラディーゾ)
 * The head waiter of Casetta dell'Orso. He and his first wife Gabriella separated a few years previous to the start of the series. He still wears his wedding ring to dissuade women from pursuing him.
 * The head waiter of Casetta dell'Orso. He and his first wife Gabriella separated a few years previous to the start of the series. He still wears his wedding ring to dissuade women from pursuing him.


 * Luciano de Luca (ルチアーノ・デ・ルーカ)
 * A waiter at Casetta dell'Orso. A very blunt but occasionally shy person. He is a widower, but still cares deeply for his departed wife, and ignores the advances of other women. He has a daughter, Rosemary, and a grandson, Francesco.
 * A waiter at Casetta dell'Orso. A very blunt but occasionally shy person. He is a widower, but still cares deeply for his departed wife, and ignores the advances of other women. He has a daughter, Rosemary, and a grandson, Francesco.


 * Vito (ヴィート)
 * A waiter at Casetta dell'Orso. A very jovial person, he is married to a young woman who is a college student, whom he met through their mutual workout routines. He is a very flirtatious man, but openly reveals that he is already married and very much in love.
 * A waiter at Casetta dell'Orso. A very jovial person, he is married to a young woman who is a college student, whom he met through their mutual workout routines. He is a very flirtatious man, but openly reveals that he is already married and very much in love.


 * Gian Luigi Orsini (Gigi) (ジジ)
 * The sommelier at Casetta dell'Orso. A taciturn person, he is Lorenzo's half brother and cousin. Gigi rarely speaks, but by observing people, is able to tell what they are thinking, including perfectly matching one's taste with a wine. He is currently single.
 * The sommelier at Casetta dell'Orso. A taciturn person, he is Lorenzo's half brother and cousin. Gigi rarely speaks, but by observing people, is able to tell what they are thinking, including perfectly matching one's taste with a wine. He is currently single.


 * Furio (フリオ)
 * A chef. A friendly person. He is a devoted husband to his wife, Angela. He and Claudio previously worked in a hotel together when they were much younger.
 * A chef. A friendly person. He is a devoted husband to his wife, Angela. He and Claudio previously worked in a hotel together when they were much younger.


 * Teo (テオ)
 * A chef. The youngest member of the restaurant staff; he is a talented pasty chef.
 * A chef. The youngest member of the restaurant staff; he is a talented pasty chef.


 * Olga (オルガ)
 * Nicoletta's mother. A sought-after divorce lawyer in Rome. She left Nicoletta with her grandmother at a young age so that she could get re-married.
 * Nicoletta's mother. A sought-after divorce lawyer in Rome. She left Nicoletta with her grandmother at a young age so that she could get re-married.


 * Gabriella (ガブリエッラ)
 * Claudio's ex-wife. A lawyer who works in the same office as Olga; they are best friends, and is the only person Olga tells that Nicoletta is her daughter.
 * Claudio's ex-wife. A lawyer who works in the same office as Olga; they are best friends, and is the only person Olga tells that Nicoletta is her daughter.


 * Lorenzo Orsini (ロレンツォ)
 * Olga's current husband and owner of Casetta dell'Orso. 51 years old.
 * Olga's current husband and owner of Casetta dell'Orso. 51 years old.


 * Vanna (ヴァンナ)
 * A former chef of Casetta dell'Orso. She left to live in America with her family a few years previous to the start of the series. Teo looks up to her as a mentor.
 * A former chef of Casetta dell'Orso. She left to live in America with her family a few years previous to the start of the series. Teo looks up to her as a mentor.

Anime television series
The Ristorante Paradiso anime adaptation aired on Fuji TV's late night Noise programming block from April 5, 2009. Produced by David Production, being the studio's first anime television series production, the series aired for 11 episodes. The anime has been licensed by Right Stuf Inc. and was released under their new label Lucky Penny on November 6, 2012.

Staff

 * Director: Mitsuko Kase
 * Art director: Yasufumi Soejima
 * Series composition: Shinichi Inotsume
 * Script: Shinichi Inotsume, Megumi Sasano
 * Character design: Itsuko Takeda
 * 3DCGI: Masato Taira, Takendo Kobayashi
 * Art settings: Junko Shimizu
 * Color designs: Keiko Kai, Hitomi Ikeda
 * Director of photography: Eiji Ueda
 * Sound director: Toshiki Kameyama
 * Music: ko-ko-ya
 * Editing: Kengo Shigemura
 * Animation production: david production
 * Production: Rispara Production Committee (Fuji Television, Shochiku, Movic, Yomiko Advertising, Sony PLC, Hakuhodo DY Media Partners)

Theme songs

 * Opening theme: "Marigold" (マリーゴールド)
 * Lyrics: Tomoko Nagashima, composition and arrangement: Kazuma Fujimoto, performance: orange pekoe


 * Ending theme: "Suteki na Kajitsu" (ステキな果実)
 * Lyrics: Yūho Iwasato, composition: Lisa Komine, arrangement: Rie Hamada, performance: Lisa Komine


 * Theme song: "Palette" (パレット) (episode 3 only)
 * Lyrics: Natsumi Kiyoura, composition: Shun Yoshida, arrangement: ko-ko-ya, performance: Natsumi Kiyoura