Take Responsibiity For My Stomach is a comedy manga by Nikumaru
Ritsu Tsukada has a problem. She's gained a lot of weight since starting college, and she fears that she'll be the laughingstock of her old track and field team unless she loses it quickly. Her friend and roommate Ruka Kanou offers to help by cooking delicious but low-calorie foods and helping her work off the weight.
The series is completed, with 12 chapters collected into two tankobon volumes.
The series contains examples of:
- Affectionate Nickname:
- Ritsu is sometimes called "Zuka-chan," derived from her last name, Tsukada, being reduced to "Tsuka" and then pronounced "Zuka."
- Ritsu and Ruka's kohais are known as Micchan and Kocchan.
- Boring, but Practical:
- After realizing that a potato salad is too rich in calories for Ritsu, Ruka proposes just making their own salad with healthier ingredients.
- Walking to and from various places turns out to be a practical but efficient way of losing weight without having to go out of your way to make time to exercise.
- Calling Your Bathroom Breaks: While Ritsu and Ruka are going grocery shopping, Ritsu claims to be going to the bathroom in order to slip off and hide some snacks under her overalls.
- Chubby Chaser: Ruka finds Ritsu attractive even though she's overweight, but unfortunately, that doesn't make Ritsu any happier.
- Cranial Eruption: Ruka gives one to both Ritsu and Rea after they laugh at her expressions.
- The Ditz: Ruka's rather childish and impulsive, forcing the more responsible Ruka to rein her in.
- Dub Induced Plothole: The fan translation says that Ritsu's goal is to get down to 40 kg(88 pounds), resulting in many people finding that to be unrealistically light for a woman. The actual goal is between 40 and 49kg(108 pounds), meaning that 40 kg was the low end of Ritsu's desired weight range. Ritsu celebrates when she gets down to 48.9 kg
- Here We Go Again!: In the ending, Ritsu gains weight again, due in large part to drinking alcohol now that she's of drinking age.
- Lap Pillow: Ritsu rests her head in Ruka's lap after falling asleep.
- Last Episode, New Character: After being shown in a photo in the first chapter, Ritsu and Ruka's kohais debut in Chapter 12.
- Last-Name Basis: In the high school flashback, Ritsu calls Ruka "Kanou-san" to highlight that they're strangers at the time, and had never spoken prior to Ritsu eating the latter's lunch; the two are on a First-Name Basis without honorifics in the series proper. At the end of the series, Ritsu's kohais call her "Tsukada-sempai," which is significantly more respectful than "Zuka-chan-sempai," and indicates that she's become the "cool sempai" she wants to be."
- Lost in Translation: In Chapter 7, Ritsu says "Kara..." upon opening the box of ingredients for her and Ruka's camping trip, which Ruka assumes means "karaage"(fried chicken), but is actually the word for "empty." Since the words sound nothing alike in English, the wordplay loses its meaning.
- Never My Fault: Played for Laughs. As the title implies, Ritsu blames Ruka's cooking for her weight gain, when, in fact, her own bad habits are largely to blame.
- No Name Given: Ritsu and Ruka's kohais are unnamed, and are only referred to by their nicknames.
- Seppuku: Played for Laughs in a Black Comedy way when Ritsu contemplates slitting her belly open to cut away the belly fat after realizing how much weight she's gained.
- Series Goal: Ruka wants to get her weight down to between 40 and 49kg by the time she reunites with her kohais.
- Small Role, Big Impact: Ritsu and Ruka's kohais never get named, and only appear in the last chapter, but drive the plot forward by serving as the impetus for Ritsu to lose weight.
- Supreme Chef: Ruka is a very good cook. While Ritsu blames her for Ritsu getting fat, Ruka uses her talents to make good-tasting food to help Ruka lose weight.
- Surprisingly Realistic Outcome: As a manga about a realistic approach to weight loss, the story shows that unhealthy habits have consequences.
- First and most obviously, if you're a Big Eater who has little self-control and doesn't get much exercise, you're likely going to gain weight.
- Trying to lose weight too quickly can backfire. Ritsu loses 2.2 kg after a week of only eating salad, but she passes out after her part-time job.
- Losing weight is also a matter of one's metabolism. Ruka loses five kilograms in the second month of the series, but as a result, her basal metabolism drops, making it harder for her to go from 52.6 kilograms to her desired weight.
- And lastly, even if you lose the weight, you'll gain it back if you don't maintain a healthy lifestyle. Just ask Ritsu in the end, who gets fat after becoming old enough to drink.
- Through Her Stomach: Ritsu and Ruka became friends after the former shared her lunch with the latter.
- Unlimited Wardrobe: Ritsu and Ruka change outfits rather often.
- Weight Loss Salad: When Ritsu first decides to try and lose weight, she declares that she'll eat nothing but salad for the following three months. A week of eating nothing but salad does cause her to lose a couple of kilograms, but she very quickly becomes sick of the flavor (or lack thereof), her physical appearance starts to suffer, and she ends up passing out and collapsing after a shift at her part-time job due to malnutrition. Ruka steps in at that point to help Ritsu with a much more balanced dieting plan.
- Weight Woe: The manga's about Ritsu's desperate attempts to slim down in the course of three months, as she doesn't want her old kohai to see her as chubby.
