Iron Wok Jan

Akiyama family

Jan Akiyama (秋山 醤, Akiyama Jan)

Voiced by: Kikunosuke Toya^[3]

Jan Akiyama is a 16-year-old talented young chef and the male protagonist of the manga. His grandfather is Kaiichiro Akiyama, the "master of Chinese cuisine". He believes cooking is a competition and even goes out of his way to choose the most strange and difficult ingredients in order to thoroughly crush his opponents in culinary contests.

Kaiichiro Akiyama (秋山 階一郎, Akiyanma Kaiichirō)

Kaiichiro Akiyama is known as the "master of Chinese cuisine". Kaiichiro raised Jan until his tastebuds began to fail, at which point he sent Jan to Gobancho and committed suicide by self-immolation.

Minki Tou (桃 明輝, Tō Minki)

Minki Tou is Jan's grandmother and Kaiichiro's wife.

Baku Akiyama (秋山 爆, Akiyama Baku)

Baku Akiyama is Jan's father and Kaiichiro's son.

Gobanchou family

Kiriko Gobanchou (五番町 霧子, Gobanchō Kiriko)

Voiced by: Ikumi Hasegawa^[3]

Kiriko Gobanchou is one of the best cooks in Gobanchou, her family's Chinese restaurant in Ginza. She is the same age as Jan. She believes cooking is about heart and despises Jan for his arrogant attitude and often cruel methods.

Takao Okonogi (小此木 タカオ, Okonogi Takao)

Voiced by: Kōhei Amasaki^[3]

Mutsuju Gobanchou (五番町 睦十, Gobanchō Mutsuju)

Other characters

Nichido Otani (大谷 日堂, Otani Nichido)

Voiced by: Masuo Amada^[4]

Celene Yang (セレーヌ楊, Serēnu Yō)

Voiced by: M.A.O^[4]

Kei Sawada (沢田 圭, Sawada Kei)

Voiced by: Takahiro Sakurai^[4]

Tomohide Jun (荀 智秀, Jun Tomohide)

Voiced by: Taishi Murata^[4]

Yuji Kawahara (河原裕司, Kawahara Yuji)

Voiced by: Yūsuke Kobayashi^[4]

Ryūji Bitō (尾藤リュウジ, Bitō Ryūji)

Voiced by: Tomokazu Sugita^[5]

Manga

Written and illustrated by Shinji Saijyo, Iron Wok Jan was serialized in Akita Shoten's shōnen manga magazine Weekly Shōnen Champion from 1995 to 2000,^[6] with its individual chapters were collected into 27 tankōbon volumes,^[7] and subsequently re-released into 16 kanzenban volumes between December 2004 and September 2007.^[8][9] The manga was licensed in English by ComicsOne before the license was transferred to DrMaster.^[10][11] Collectively, they published the manga's 27 tankōbon volumes in English between December 15, 2002, and December 28, 2007.^[12][13]

A sequel, titled Iron Wok Jan! R: The Summit Operations (鉄鍋のジャン!R 頂上作戦, Tetsunabe no Jan! R: Chōjō Sakusen), was serialized in Weekly Shōnen Champion from November 9, 2006, to December 9, 2010.^[14][15] Its individual chapters were collected into ten tankōbon volumes.^[16]

A spin-off series, titled Tetsupai no Jan! [ja] (鉄牌のジャン!) and written and illustrated by Bingo Morihashi, was serialized on Takeshobo's Kindai Mahjong magazine from August 12, 2015, to December 28, 2017.^[17][18] Its individual chapters were collected into seven tankōbon volumes.^[19] Another sequel manga, titled Iron Work Jan 2nd [ja], was serialized in Fujimi Shobo's magazine Monthly Dragon Age from January 7, 2017, to 2019.^[1][20] Its individual chapters were collected into seven tankōbon volumes.^[21]

Anime

An anime television series adaptation was announced on December 15, 2025. It is produced by Troyca and directed by Ei Aoki, with series composition handled by Makoto Uezu, characters designed by Masako Matsumoto who is also serving as chief animation director, and music composed by Tomoki Kikuya.^[11][22][3] The series premiered on July 5, 2026, on TV Tokyo and its affiliates. The opening theme song is "Kaen" (火宴; Fire Banquet), performed by Genin wa Jibun ni Aru,^[4] while the ending theme song is "Naita Akuma" (泣いた悪魔; 'The Devil Who Cried'), performed by Emunimini.^[5] Remow is licensing the series for streaming on Crunchyroll.