The OQ Weekly (10 June 2021) - The 'Natto' Edition
The best curated newsletter in the Japanese pop-culture world.
Have you ever heard of natto? My grandma loved these… beans back in my home town, but I would much prefer run down to the konbini and get something REAL to eat. You can’t compare beans to bread, now, can you?
Now, it seems that many people consider natto a superfood and it’s slowly gaining more supporters. Why, you ask? Keep reading this week’s digest to find out.
Please, if you have the chance, try natto and let me know what you think of it in our Discord channel.
I am Ura, your Foodie Expert in this amazing journey into Japanese pop, geek, and sub culture.
Thank you for joining us.
1
Goodbye, Kaichou.
In a move that seemingly came out of nowhere, popular hololive VTuber Kiryu Coco announced yesterday that she would be graduating from the company.
For those of you who don’t know, ‘graduation’ in the idol industry means ‘retiring.’ In Coco’s case, this will see her character suspend activities on 1 July following her final stream. Her videos will remain public, but members-only content will be deleted as monetization will be turned off on her channel.
The livestream in which she announces her retirement is hard to watch. Voice raspy and seemingly on the verge of tears, she said that there were ‘many reasons’ why she was graduating, but wasn’t able to go into them. An official press release from her agency, COVER, said that they were ‘saddened by her decision to leave,’ but decided to ‘honor her wishes’ after much deliberation.
Why did Coco make the decision to leave hololive? Well, it could be anything: perhaps it’s something to do with her private life, which is hidden from our view. At the very least, we know that she’ll be missed, as well as the fact that her contribution to the company and the subculture will live on forever.
2
A curious case.
Natto. Love it or hate it, there’s no denying that it has quite a reputation. One of our latest features dives into the story behind this controversial side dish.
No one knows where exactly natto came from, although one story has Heian samurai Minamoto no Yoshiie’s soldiers wrapping their rice and soybeans hurriedly in bundles of rice straw face with a surprise enemy attack. Days later, they discovered that the beans had fermented because of the warm temperature and damp conditions: once the soldiers ate it, they liked it, also giving Yoshiie a taste.
Recently, natto has come into vogue somewhat as a potential superfood in North America, although the Japanese have been eating it for years. Usually, it’s eaten for breakfast on rice like the English eat their beans on toast, although that sounds even weirder if you ask me.
In any case, there’s no denying its health benefits: alongside being a good source of plant-based protein, natto is said to be rich in probiotic nutrients and other minerals that improve gut health.
When asked by William Moo what they thought of the dish, OTAQUEST writers were split: Carley Garcia remarked that you get ‘bonus gaijin points if you eat it around Japanese people,’ while James Fujita said ‘I’ve never really understood the appeal and I don’t like the smell.’
Indeed, this is largely representative of the rift in Japanese society as a whole.
3
More Mario?
Fans have done the impossible and created an extended cut of the already infamous 1993 Super Mario Bros. movie using never before seen footage.
This new material comes courtesy of filmmaker and restorationist Garrett Gilchrist, who managed to unearth a VHS that originally belonged to producer Roland Joffé. Dubbed the Morton-Jankel Cut, this edit contains lots of scenes that were cut during the production process, such as a subplot about the Mario brothers being at odds with a rival plumbing company with Mafia connections.
A lot of work was needed to bring the new scenes up to par with the final cut, including some frame-by-frame corrections, but it helps to shine a light on what the Super Mario Bros. movie could have been. The Internet Archive page remarks that the film was originally targeted at teenagers, with many of the cut scenes appealing to a more mature audience. That changed partway through production, however, resulting in a bit of an identity crisis.
‘With a strong cast featuring the likes of Bob Hoskins and John Leguizamo but bizarre adaptation choices, the legacy of the Super Mario Bros. movie is mixed with both derision and cult delight,’ Alicia Haddick explains. ‘Some have a soft spot for the movie’s out-there approach to bringing Mario into live-action even if it didn’t always work (including me).’
4
Alternative in earnest.
Although Coco’s graduation has many fans down in the dumps, at least the Hololive Alternative project has started in earnest after some initial roadblocks.
First of all, the first chapter of the first Hololive Alternative manga has finally hit the scene. Titled Holoearth Chronicles Side:E ~Yamato Phantasia~, it’s penned by Kousuke Kurose, who is currently adapting Kumo Kagyuu’s original Goblin Slayer novels into manga form. It’ll be released via the official Twitter account on an irregular basis.
Many questions were posed by the first chapter of that manga, however, so it’s a good thing that HOLONOMETRIA came along when it did. Touted as a ‘world appearance’ archive, it’s essentially a wiki containing all of the information necessary to understand the ‘world creation’ project underpinning Hololive Alternative. That includes why Fubuki, Mio, and Ayame are fighting, by the way.
Returning to the manga for a second, perceptive fans will notice that this isn’t Mizuryu Kei’s rumored story about Marine, but that’s okay. Jacob Parker-Dalton muses that ‘It’s encouraging to finally see something concrete from the Hololive Alternative project… Holoearth Chronicles gives us hope yet.’
5
Returning to the roots.
One of the best things about SSSS.GRIDMAN and its extended ‘universe’ is how unashamed its love is for everything tokusatsu. That sentiment is only strengthened further by the recent Gridknight Fight shorts attached to SSSS.DYNAZENON.
Directed by Yuichi Abe over at Tsuburaya Productions in cooperation with Studio TRIGGER, these shorts see the Gridman universe pay tribute to its roots by jumping into live-action. While the characters of Gridman and Gridknight existed years prior to the series, these are definitely the anime ‘versions’ by virtue of their voice actors: Kenichi Suzumura reprises his role as Gridknight, alongside Karin Takahashi as Anosillus the Second and Tetsu Inada as Alexis Kerib.
The title Gridknight Fight also has a special meaning. Back in 1970, Tsuburaya created the Ultra Fight series after several high-profile flops: consisting entirely of fight scenes from the first Ultraman and Ultraseven series, it was designed to cost nothing to produce and save face.
As a result, this tokusatsu series featured next to no special effects at all (tokusatsu means special effects in Japanese) and instead relied heavily on practical effects such as pyrotechnics. The Gridknight Fight shorts pay tribute to this, although the tiny snippet offered as part of the PV makes it clear that there will be at least some visual effects.
‘For those with an interest in tokusatsu history and the Gridman universe, the Gridknight Fight shorts are sure to fascinate.’ (Jacob)
6
Dreamland in a bottle.
Figures? Nope. Character goods? Nope. Terrariums? Now we’re talking: a number of iconic moments and power-ups from the Kirby series have been turned into tiny bottle scenes.
Available to collectors from next week, these Kirby terrariums are actually relatively inexpensive: while you’ll have to try your luck at blind boxes, one set costs only 880 yen. What’s more, with six different designs to collect, it wouldn’t cost too much to get each and every one to complete the set. If you were so inclined.
Terrariums, for those unfamiliar, are dioramas housed within bottles or transparent spheres that can be easily displayed for others to admire. Inside are scenes reminiscent of moments and costumes from classic Kirby games that capture their likeness well: there’s a Kirby Air Ride-inspired scene featuring Kirby zooming by on a bike, while another features the iconic warp star.
‘I’ve always kept some Kirby items on my desk because they’re too cute not to display, and I may have to add some of these new terrariums in the near future.’ (Alicia)
7
Recognizing a rival.
Could a relatively innocuous gag series provide some serious competition for Haikyu!!? Haruichi Furudate certainly thinks so.
In his comment for the latest, second volume of High School Family, Furudate remarks that ‘I’m so glad that we weren’t serialized at the same time… I could’ve been eaten…’ A sensational tagline on the wraparound obi also reads ‘Rival Recognition?!,’ while one of High School Family’s main characters and best dad Ichirou Ietani is depicted alongside Karasuno star spiker, Asahi Azumane.
All of this comes down to High School Family’s strong grasp of sports drama, and volleyball in particular. Ichirou struggles with feelings of nostalgia and wanting to make up for lost time in the volleyball team, while his son Kotaro plays tennis: although it’d be inaccurate to call High School Family a ‘straight’ sports manga like Haikyu!!, there certainly are similarities.
‘With any luck, recognition from the Haikyu!! author might bring High School Family a bit more respect. Ryo Nakama already showed his respect for Haruichi Furudate with this slightly unnerving Hinata illustration back when the series ended, so the appreciation goes both ways.’ (Jacob)
8
Molcar in 4D.
Pui Pui Molcar continues to shock and delight audiences months after its initial run. Now, it’s coming to 4DMX theatres across Japan.
Yes, that’s right: you can experience all twelve episodes of winter 2021’s most popular anime in 4D, complete with moving seats and water being sprayed at your face. I’m not entirely sure why Molcar needs that kind of treatment, but it certainly sounds interesting.
If you haven’t seen Molcar yet, what are you doing with your life? Each episode comes in at around three minutes, meaning that watching all twelve literally takes half an hour out of your time. You have that much to experience the anime of the century, surely?
Don’t just take it from me: heed the words of Corey Prasek, too. ‘I can’t stress how adorable Pui Pui Molcar is, so if you happen to be in Japan, you owe it to yourself to go watch this in the theaters... If you have already seen the series, go watch it again; it’s worth it.’
9
Straw Hats in Shinjuku.
If you’re a fan of One Piece, then you need to see this awesome YouTube video depicting a massive pirate battle in the middle of central Shinjuku.
This clever and creative promo is meant to celebrate the 99th volume of the series, which was released in Japan last Friday. In it, Luffy and his friends fight against (and sometimes run away from) Kaido and the Beast Pirates.
All the characters are drawn in black and white, almost like they’ve been pulled out of the original manga, while they are superimposed over drone shots of the very real neighborhood surrounding Shinjuku Station. Somehow, they all look like they belong there: props have to go to whoever did the compositing for this one.
Of course, the fight against Kaido actually takes place in Wano Kuni in the manga, which is heavily influenced as a setting by medieval Japan. ‘So it sort of makes sense to transport the Straw Hat pirates to modern Tokyo. Or not. It’s still all in good fun.’ (James)
10
Manga for boys?
Although the manga serialized in Weekly Shonen Jump are ostensibly made for young boys, new research from LINE shows that the magazine and many of its most popular series enjoy an audience far more diverse than that.
In a survey conducted from 23 to 26 April, the popular instant messaging app gathered responses from 1004 Japanese high school students both male and female. What they found was that while most of the respondents did not read manga magazines, when they did, it was overwhelmingly Weekly Shonen Jump: 30.3% of the boys gave the publication as their answer, while 19.4% of the girls did the same.
Other revelations followed, such as the fact that both male and female high school students gave Jujutsu Kaisen as their top answer when asked ‘Which manga have you been hooked on lately?’ There’s also the fact that Demon Slayer: Kimetsu no Yaiba doesn’t appear in the top 10 at all for male respondents.
Yet, the main point is outlined by Jacob as follows: ‘it confirms what has been true for several decades… [that] shonen manga is no longer produced for and enjoyed exclusively by young boys.’
Video Corner
‘It wouldn’t be a surprise to call anime a corporate medium. Of course, most mainstream art is very corporate these days. But one of the unique parts of anime is in how its production committee system can sometimes limit what it’s able to express and the soundtrack is a part of this. Do you want to get this unique band to be a part of your show? Well, Sony’s funding it, so they’d rather you picked someone under a Sony Music label instead.’
Video by Callum May
See you next week!
Ura and the OTAQUEST team.
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