September 5, 2026
“Please, everyone, come right in. You don’t have to hesitate at all.”
Thank you for visiting How Do You Like It Cooked? ‘Rea’.
I am the “Mysterious Black Diamond” of Darkness Revolution, representing Marigold, Rea Seto.
Following my Marigold and unit-mate Misa Matsui, who previously handled the Saturday column, I’ll be taking over Saturday duties starting this September.
Moving forward, I’m hoping to let all you Weekly Pro Mobile users get to know the real Rea Seto, but…
To be honest, I don’t really understand the difference between a “column,” a “blog,” and an “essay.” So, I have no idea if what I’m going to be writing here can actually be called a column. But since I don’t think there’s really a strict right answer for these ShuPro columns, I’m just going to write whatever I feel like without worrying about it.
So, what should I write about for this memorable first installment?
Since I went and said “thank you for visiting” right at the beginning, I wondered if I should keep writing with some sort of restaurant concept in mind? But since I can’t think of anything, I think I’ll pass on that.
So (?) Even though it’s totally out of left field, it is related to food, so maybe I’ll write about how I recently started studying Chinese.
Why on earth did I, someone who can’t even speak English, start studying Chinese? The reason comes down to one simple answer…
“Because I love Chinese food.”
That’s it. Pretty simple, right?
But really, I absolutely love it. If you let me choose where we eat out, there’s a 99.99% chance I’ll pick Chinese food. I love it so much that I’d rather just leave the restaurant-choosing to someone else.
And when I say Chinese food, I mean I love what people call “Gachi Chuka.”
(For those who don’t know what Gachi Chuka is, simply put, it’s not a restaurant with menus and seasonings tailored for Japanese palates, but rather a place with authentic Chinese menus and flavors.)
I’ll be the only Japanese person in the restaurant… And the staff won’t even realize I’m Japanese in that environment, so they’ll just start talking to me in Chinese. It feels like a mini-vacation.
I often go to these Gachi Chuka places, and one time, while eating my favorite dish, Shuizhu Niurou (Sichuan Boiled Beef), a thought suddenly crossed my mind:
“(That’s it, I’m going to learn Chinese.)”
…Just like that.
Ah, how simple-minded. Even I think I’m too simple. I didn’t start learning Chinese because I’m going to study abroad or because I want to become multilingual, but simply because I love Chinese food too much. I am such a simple, single-celled human being.
But that’s fine. That’s exactly how it should be. Any reason is a good reason to start. When a person thinks they want to learn something, they should learn it. There is no such thing as a waste when it comes to “learning.”
There’s no time like the present.
Anyway, Chinese pronunciation is so difficult. Right now, the only word I can pronounce well is “coffee,” but I’m keeping at it every day. I wonder if I’ll be able to order food in Chinese by the time my run with this column ends?
I don’t even drink coffee, so I really want to get good at pronouncing things other than coffee soon…
To everyone reading this, is there anything you’ve wanted to learn recently? It’s fine if there is, and it’s not a bad thing if there isn’t, so it really doesn’t matter either way.
But still, learning is just fun, isn’t it?
This goes for anything, not just languages—it applies to pro wrestling, too. I go to see a lot of different promotions, and no matter what show I watch, I always learn something from it. Whether it’s the kind of wrestling I want to do, a wrestler I look up to, a wrestler I use as a model, or a promotion I like…
Well, I’ll save the wrestling talk for another time…
No matter how trivial something is, it’s better to know it than to not know it. Broadening your horizons is one way to enrich your life.
If there’s ever something you guys want to learn, remember: “There’s no time like the present.”
And with that, thank you for visiting the first installment of How Do You Like It Cooked? ‘Rea’.
I look forward to welcoming you back again soon.
-A horror movie I watched recently-
Obsession: Saiai “Why don’t you love me!?”
Translator’s Notes:
- “Please, everyone, come right in. You don’t have to hesitate at all.”: Seto opens her column by quoting a famous line from The Restaurant of Many Orders (注文の多い料理店 / Chūmon no Ōi Ryōriten), a beloved 1924 Japanese short story by Kenji Miyazawa about two hunters who stumble into a bizarre, seemingly welcoming restaurant in the woods that is actually preparing to eat them. This fits Seto’s heel persona perfectly.
- “How Do You Like It Cooked? ‘Rea'”: The title of her column (『焼き加減』は『レア』) is a bilingual pun playing on her ring name, Rea (レア), and the English word “Rare” (レア) used for steak doneness in Japan.
- Gachi Chuka (ガチ中華): A modern Japanese slang term translating roughly to “Hardcore Chinese” or “Authentic Chinese.” It refers specifically to restaurants run by and catering to Chinese expatriates, serving hyper-authentic regional cuisine (like Sichuan or Hunan) rather than the localized, milder “Chuka” (Japanese-Chinese) food usually found in Japan.
- Shuizhu Niurou (水煮牛肉): A famously spicy Sichuan dish consisting of sliced beef boiled in a fiery, numbing broth made with chili oil and Sichuan peppercorns.
- “There’s no time like the present.”: Seto repeatedly uses the Japanese proverb Omoitatta ga Kichijitsu (思い立ったが吉日), which literally translates to “The day you decide to do something is a lucky day.”
- Obsession: Saiai (『オブセッション災愛』): Seto references an indie horror release. “Saiai” (最愛) normally means “beloved,” but here it is stylized with the kanji for “disaster” (災) and “love” (愛) to create a pun meaning “Disastrous Love.”