Relating to “I’m So Worried About the Price That I Can’t Taste the Food”? The Sakura Family’s Hilarious Visit to a Fancy French Restaurant in “Chibi Maruko-chan”

The seventh episode of the first season of the anime “Chibi Maruko-chan” features a story where the Sakura family goes to a high-class French restaurant. As a child, I just found it funny, but watching it again as an adult, I find myself empathizing with the parents so much it makes my stomach hurt...!?

In Episode 7 of Season 1, “Going Out to Eat French Cuisine Together,” by a twist of fate, the Sakura family finds themselves visiting an upscale French restaurant. Maruko (voiced by TARAKO) is overjoyed at the prospect of eating the French cuisine she’s always dreamed of. She gets all dolled up, tying her signature bobbed hair into little pigtail buns and putting on a dress with a ribbon.

While Maruko is excited, things are tough for her father (voiced by Yusaku Yara) and mother (voiced by Mie Suzuki). When they look at the menu given to them at the restaurant, they realize the prices are way over their budget and panic. The grown-ups, lines of worry drawn down their faces, whisper to each other, “Let’s get out of here.” “We can’t do that, it would be so embarrassing!” “Even so, I thought 20,000 yen would be enough...”