If you came in to animanga around the nineties and spent time with friends watching shows on Television it wouldn't be a surprise to say you would eat take out after or before the show. When watching or reading animanga it would be a common quick snack to eat some cup a noodle. With instant ramen being a great savior to highscool and college students in North America it was no surprise it would also be an Otaku favorite for its ease of preparation of boiling water, toss in noodles and premade spices, and done! It would be a real treat to go and eat Japanese food if you could find it from a Asian Market or even from a Japanese restaurant.
There was always food in animanga, but it wasnt till it was animated that people took a larger interest in it. Many peoples interest in animanga food had begun with Studio Ghibli in their film Howls Moving Castle with Fire Demon Calcifer lighting a fire for Sophie to cook a delicious breakfast. Anyone who has seen the animation of the thick sliced bacon and shiny fatty eggs can not deny the yummy delights that await for that meal. Other Ghibli dishes that spark the urge of hunger can be Porco Rosso (Salmon Bachamel & Carrots), Kiki's Delivery Service (fish pie), Spirited Away (meat buffet), Ponyo (ramen). At the Ghibli Museum they take Hayao Miyazaki’s studios spirit of making everything home like at their Straw Hat Cafe where many of the dishes were selected for their simplicity, homey appeal, and deliciousness. The goal was to have people think of home and a warmth of family as they enjoyed some old favorites. As the word “Taku” in Otaku stands for house... this has a strong connection to Otaku and marked as the first pioneering steps of what would lead to Otaku cuisine. This of course means Otaku cuisine was based on a trapped time period of Japanese Cuisine home favorites mixed of both Japanese, Chinese, Japanese-Western, and European variety. Many people eat at the Straw Hat Cafe and notice that it does feel like home, so it makes you comfortable and relaxed as you eat your snack or meal. Many otaku had noticed as well, and over time it was shown that this homey food could build another step of richness in both culture and hobby toward the otaku community. The main idea of Otaku cuisine was to celebrate the Otaku through the knowledge of cooking of the home with shows of animation inspiration to create a cuisine that is fully otaku and separate from Japanese Cuisine for a path of alternative food variation. This led Otaku on a path to creating their own type of style known as Otaku cuisine and some called it House Food which is “Takushoku” in Japanese. The menu items for Takushoku varied, so the common point is the sauces and cooking techniques found in Japanese cuisine. The meals prepared emphasized dietary, presentation, and storable foods that had individual servings. The cuisine is looked at a family point of view that has balance in the diet with ingredients that are not too high in dairy or high in budget. Onegai Teacher and Pocky At the beginning of Otaku urban culture there was one hint on where to start its cuisine. Otaku cuisine was inspired by one of the most predominent Japanese snacks that was labeled as an “Otaku snack” from Shizuru Hayashiya’s manga series “Onegai Sensei” this was the famous Biscuit Stick. Anime had been associated with the snack food pocky which is common on Japanese school field trips, but entered the world of Otaku fame when shown as the favorite snack of Onegai Teacher character Mizuho Kazami. However, Onegai Teacher is not the only anime manga to feature pocky in its story. Some other shows include Oh My Goddess, Lucky Star, Inu Yasha, Card Captor Sakura, Rozen Maiden, Full Metal Panic, and many others. The iconic Pocky had started the baking portion of Otaku cuisine which is found in Bisutikku Bakeries. Otaku today appreciate a variety of flavored Milks, ranging from Whole Milk to Cultured Milk which can be commonly found in convenience stores. There are also the classic favorites of Strawberry Milk and Coffee Milk that have a large amount of popularity, followed by other milks such as Watermelon Milk, Banana Milk, and Honeydew Milk. Seeing characters drink milk is seen as a symbol of their youth of school experiences or a creamy sensation of drinking milk after a bath. A few shows that have scenarios of milk drinking are: Fruits Basket, Shugo chara!! doki, Hitman Reborn, Naruto, Evangelion, Chuunibryou Demo Koi Ga Shitai, and Full Metal Alchemist. As the mixes are gaining speed the overall interest in drinking flavored milks it will improve the technique and variety selection for otaku who like milk drinks. The latest in Otaku cuisine would be all the rage of more complicated dishes that are coming out from the fans of Food Wars: Shokugeki no Soma. In the show food takes center stage and has taken otaku to new heights of interest from the perverted connection of food being so tasty that it had instances where customers would have clothes exploding off. Its making dishes like varieties of Risottos that were inspired by Soma; Kare Risotto from the “Curry Risotto Omurice”, Hollandaise Risotto from the “Eggs Benedict”, and Tomato Risotto from the “Mini Souffle Omelette”. The recipes keep coming to work its way into Otaku cuisine and is moving forward in interesting ways. As a cuisine for Otaku innovates with animanga inspirations of a multitude of animanga series's, anime studios, and maid & butler cafes pave the way with : Sandwiches, Parfaits, Curry Ramen, Fried Omurice, Stew Pies, Biscuit Sticks, and Milk Drinks. With animanga showing more thought in its food and the recipes getting into the land of chefs no one can foresee where otaku cuisine will go. There is still alot of room for Otaku cuisine to grow, because it hasnt been around for long, but it will have more variations then we could imagine. It only shows a portion of the potential that awaits the Otaku community in the development of even tastier adventures in the future. The Great Move to Takushoku Otaku stay at home and eat instant noodles and maybe a drink from a vending machine with a bag full of particular snacks, but after the animanga cooking genre came out there was a small group of people cooking comfort foods. This went to the next level of interest with the cooking arts after the release of the anime version of Shokugeki no soma, which led many otaku seeking out the recipes from the show, and trying their own hand at the lessons learned from the characters. Shokugeki no soma “Food Wars” is a manga written by Yuto Tsukuda and illustrated by Shun Saeki with working with a famous chef named Yuki Morisaki to start the silent craze of food that was soon to follow. It started with food problems that had burdened many otaku with worries were the typical diet of eating out without knowing the mystery nutrition chart, the escalating cost of spending when going out, and gaining of additional weight. There was also a lack of comfy home flavors in dishes that appealed to the otaku audience. So there was the start of looking for a cuisine that could fit the flavor profile in creating a unique and positive feeling that was more personalize, a more human bond that is can be tasted through food that is shared by either a friendship or a significant other through comfort foods. Takushoku shows respect to the comfort foods while adding more difficult techniques in the process of guiding the facination of otaku in elevating the foods as well as the otaku cuisine. Focusing on pushing the limits of the comfort food staples and making variations of flavor that are seen as non Japanese make a break from the traditional into the Otaku realm of food. This snow ball of food driven otaku is thanks from animangas like; Mister Ajiko, Chuuka Ichiban!, Yakitate Japan, Yume-iro Patissiere, Ben-to, Bartender, and Koufuku Graffiti that made home foods that feed groups to be more commonly seen at anime showing get togethers at home and clubs. The spark that set off the snow ball itself is Shokugeki No Soma and chef Yuki Morisaki. The Concerto that is Shokugeki Shokugeki no Soma is a manga written by Yuto Tsukuda with an anime adaptation. Illustrations were by Shun Saeki and Cooking by Yuki Morisaki. From the point of view of those who had worked on home dishes to perfect their inspiration of Yuto, Shun, and Yuki’s works with the inspiring animanga series they are seen as icons in the Otaku cuisine history books. Yuki Morisaki in particular is called the “Tongue of Totsuki” for being seen as the culinary authority of good Otaku food in the tastes being similar to that of Soma Yikihira who is also referred to as “The Tongue of Totsuki”. Totsuki is a referance made from the Culinary Academy that Soma Yukihira attends with the rest of the 92nd Totsuki Generation of students. Many of the students were marked for their culinary specialties by either ethnic cuisine or technique specialty: Ikumi Mito (Meat Specialist), Shun Ibusaki (Smoke Specialist), Ryoko Sakaki (Fermentation Specialist), Aldini Brothers (Italian cuisine), Yuki Yoshino (Game Meat Specialist), Megumi Tadokoro (Regional cuisine- Tohoku Style), Zenji Marui (Food Researcher), and Satoshi Isshiki (Japanese Cuisine). Shokugeki is a term that was made in Yuto Tsukuda’s show explained was the design of the Totsuki Culinary Academy method of systematic culinary dueling. It is similar to the style of Culinary Stadium Environment and judgement selection used in the live cooking show that was broadcast on Fuji Television “Iron Chef: Japan”. So in a sense Iron Chef had a sub influence on the style used in the battle system of Shokugeki in giving some sort of basis to the fighting match judges group of three. Shokugeki isn't identified simply as exclusive to Otaku cuisine, but it is respected as a proper way to duel through culinary arts, so it is implemented in the design of Otaku cuisine to some extent to accept the system that was made from the show. Otaku Cuisine hadn’t been called its name for much of its development. Most of the time people would call it Food from Animanga or Otaku Food while also trying to mimic the dishes through any means of techniques they knew and actually would post it online for other fans to make judgement. It wasnt until Shokugeki no soma appeared in 2012 that people started to question if all the otaku foods people were creating online had fallen under some sort of category... especially ones that seemed popular, unique to animanga, and was inspired by multiple cuisine styles. Shokugeki no soma had sparked an argument within the fan community that questioned if Otaku Cuisine could be identified as a possible culinary food style. Those who believed in this would take several steps of culinary distinction to further raise the ideas of “Shokugeki” battling and “Otaku Cuisine” as a way of cooking. For the sake of Otaku Ryori (Otaku Cuisine) and the Otaku Foods (Takushoku) it was important to separate the styles of existing Japan in furthering the definition of Otakus idea of foods and techniques. This carved the ideals and methods that would combine the food variations, changes in techiques, and complex tastes that would make for a truly Otaku tasting experience. To understand the styles more distinctly there was a need to separate the styles of Japan in its cooking techniques. This would have referred names that were used by culinarians and some that were seen as nick names for cooking styles. These styles would be the basis of communicating the food cooking from their regions while still having the understanding that Japan unfluence of ingredients and techniques have morphed many dishes to being exclusive to Japans selection of modern cuisine. The modern Japanese cuisine itself that merges majority of ethnic styles that are popular in modern day have been called “Nishishoku cuisine- Japan Food cuisine” It can be seen as the dishes that were brought by history to make a mark on foods that can be now seen as cultural Japanese. The other titles of cuisine that are with the modern Japanese food have names that are from their ethnic roots with Japanese taste changes. These other groups of foods were under: “Yoshoku- western japanese foods”, “Washoku- traditional japanese foods”, “Kankokushoku- korean foods”, “Chushoku- china foods”, and “Itariashoku- italian foods”. Many of these respectable systems are the most popular among recognized cuisine with the Shokugeki system. As Shokugeki system and Otaku Cuisine move with its for now rebellion of food, fight for identity through its variation and contrast, and cultural roots of animation and manga as key inspirations to making changes with culinary knowledge and talent. Soon the casual home making food of Otaku cuisine will explore into a higher dining experience will shoot forward Otaku cuisine to forcing its way on to the culinary forefront of other respected food styles. It will also open the way to thematically categorizing foods through ideas and making geological food categorizing a regional identity more than a food identity. Just like the changing foods and social acceptance go on new pioneering adventures so will the people with their foods to discover a new path of food and flavors through a food culture of their own. Otaku Cuisine: Challenged in Culinaria The establishments of Culinary is treated based on the served customer types that the shops go for. Internationally the common idea for respect is based on the michelin star system... But it causes a goal based on fame, expectation of certain dishes, and a rating system that causes people to come for the chef and less on the talents and taste of the restaurant. As a business it works perfectly, but for cooks and chefs they are left with an empty feeling for their services. The truth will be found through the tastes of palette and not from fame. In the case of Japan, Culinary is seen as one of the highest respecting job titles you can do, even if it doesn't pay the best. The show Iron Chef would call on the main Chefs and Sous chefs to do Battle on Television to show a title, history, and cuisine specialty for all to judge. This sort of identity was common already in Japan to chefs, so it was not new to them, but the rest of the world had taken notice of the celebrity like respect a Chef got from this show and made their own versions on stations that were based on Food. Otaku cuisine was judged initially from its approach as home cooking, since its fan base was from Animanga dish replicators, online otaku food spectators, and cooks that brought more defined tastes to the dishes that were reproduced from the Animanga world to the real world. The next stage was the judgement on Maid and Butler Cafes that started otaku food trends of: Curry, Omurice, Rissotto, Milk Drinks, and Parfaits. The foods were called out to be a copy of Yoshoku cuisine for its dishes being similar yet different. The first dish that was pointed out was Omurice with its Omulette wrapped Ketchuppu Rice, but the Otaku variation has a mix is fried like Chinese Fried Rice with two other variations of Curry Fried Rice & Yukihira Fried Rice. The second dish that was pointed at was Milk Drinks, but flavors that are based on snacks are for the Otaku crowd including Watermelon and Honeydew Melon flavors. The third and last to be called out was the Curry served at Butler Cafes, but the Curry is made with Chutney and additional Herbs to make two additional types of Curries including Kombu Curry & Splash Curry. At first glance the dishes do seem to be borrowed, but the flavors and tastes are different as well as the cooking technique when tasting the dish. With the main inspirations being Japanese snacks, Chinese techniques, and European sauces with a emphasis of spices it is quite clear that even though similar it is completely different in its approach of combining many elements for a final complex flavor vs the ideals of Japanese cuisine in that bringing out the beauty of the ingredient itself is the goal through masterful technique of a primary flavor. It is undeniable that many Japanese Animation shows are influenced from many common areas of Japans modern culture in making their dishes, but it is by no means the same food. The Otaku themselves also were against their own development of Otaku Cuisine, since they felt that calling Otaku cuisine an actual title would cause in pigeon holding a limited number of dishes with no furth development and variation due to no geological specialties, since the otaku world is more in separation of ideas than limited number of travel destinations. These thoughts mayhold true, but it means there would have to be further discussions and implementations of different types of cuisines on themes instead of regions and have a sort of limitation on the cooking styles that would only keep quality and contrasting dishes. The divided areas of cooking contrast would not be geological, but would be sorted and categorized by cooking divisions similar to that of the dormitory housing of Totsuki Culinary Academy in “Shokugeki no soma”. The existing styles would then be for now, only the “Polar Star”. The home based Otaku had challenges of bridging the gap of home cooking to cuisine, since the idea that Otaku had a cuisine was unheard of, and not taken seriously at all. Learning how to cook through Animanga and forming variational difference enough to contrast from Western and Japanese cooking? it was seen as practically impossible to the Culinary world to take such a cuisine seriously as a reputable food style. The Ingredients would not be regional since there was no place for Otaku cuisine to build as it home of representation due to it being a non physical place, while taking identity for region style out of the picture for representation it would not have a place to draw people to. Refusal of accepting the idea of Otaku Cuisine from both Japanese Chefs and Otaku viewers made the Otaku Cooking scene even smaller than it already was. Culturally speaking Otaku have been shunned for many years, so splitting off with private meetings was nothing new to them. Its just now with the Otaku cuisine causing a stir in discussion it pushes people to gain the courage to speak out to others judgement and defend their Otaku interest in Otaku food thats being identity and attack against the formal social system of the generations and the unique culinary system for its own actions of accepting multiple non-japanese influences into their own modern popular food culture. The Response of Otaku cooks who had been cooking dishes of multiple animanga had stated that they were first and foremost animanga fans that were looking for otaku food, there was nowhere that existed with a specialty cuisine of that sort, when they wanted to eat they would have to go to ethnic foods where there was ways of life that werent comfortable like home and it was never comfortable like a maid or butler cafe, so you would never be at ease. Making it affordable and easy to make at home would make eating Otaku food open to all and not reserved for big spenders who could use all their earnings on Maid Cafe and Butler services outside of the home. There can be Otaku food for identifying Otaku people without needing to have extravagant spending alone by yourself at a table in the City. As for the use of ingredients it would based in a mixture of Japan and North American cuisine with a few European ingredients that were possible to get in both Japan and North American suppliers with ease. This would be done to have a sort of ingredient system of limited ingredients to reproduce the Otaku cooking for Otaku to call their own. The building of Otaku cuisine had come mostly from the viewers who were disinterested in the day-to-day foods with different direct ethnic food they couldn't connect to, so by making food of their own identity it ultimately brought more Otaku together. The history is left in mystery of the people who helped build the idea of cuisine. Identities of who brought together the chefs to lead the cuisine impact for Otaku... the story goes that it came from a online community that had a North American grill cook, Japanese Sushi assistant, and a Spanish baking assistant that had met online from a Ranma 1/2 private message board topic of International Clubs, but there is nothing backing up with story to this day... It could just be hear say. But what was important is hear say or not the idea was spread to the internet and people are now taking steps towards what cuisine could do for otaku, like: gathering as a people and not by show, more reasons to get out of the house and sociallize, and understanding the shows, merchandise, and costumes dont control a cultures entirety without the necessity of culinary foods, special events, and celebrations. Akihabara maid cafes and Ikebukuro butler cafes are still being followed for what seems to Otaku as a breakthrough of cooking for Otaku identity. At Home Otakus cook to raise their skills, their craft, and their food knowledge to still challenge the Formal Culinary System. Those who eat Otaku food continue to expose themselves to the pioneering efforts of the Otaku food community in a movement of gastronomic interest.
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