You are currently browsing the category archive for the 'holiday' category.
I found out from kransom recently that 2ch has its own curry board, and by extension its very own threads about Go Go Curry. A 2ch poster decided to do his own spin on the infamous “2ch Yoshinoya Rant,” so I’ve gone and translated this variation, seeing as how it differs here and there, especially towards the end.
I’ve used the original translation that’s been around for a while as the base, to make it more recognizable to those familiar with the original rant.
Anyways, >>1, please listen to me. That it’s really related to this thread.
I went to Go Go Curry today; you know, Go Go Curry?
Well anyways there was an insane number of people there, and I couldn’t get in.
Then, I looked at the banner hanging from the ceiling, and it had “All dishes 500 yen” written on it.
Oh, the stupidity. Those idiots.
You, don’t come to Go Go Curry just because it’s 500 yen, fool.
It’s only 500 yen, 5-0-0 YEN for crying out loud.
There’re even entire families here. Family of 4, all out for some Go Go Curry, huh? How fucking nice.
“Alright, daddy’s gonna order the Business (Double in America) Roast Katsu.” God I can’t bear to watch.
You people, I’ll give you 200 yen if you get out of those seats.
Go Go Curry should be a bloody place.
That tense atmosphere, where two guys on opposite sides of the U-shaped table can start a fight at any time, the stab-or-be-stabbed
mentality, that’s what’s great about this place.
Women and children should screw off and stay home.
Anyways, I was about to start eating, and then the bastard beside me goes, “Extra cabbage.”
Who in the world orders extra cabbage nowadays, you moron?
I want to ask him, “Do you REALLY want to eat it with extra cabbage?”
I want to interrogate him. I want to interrogate him for roughly an hour.
Are you sure you don’t just want to try saying, “Extra cabbage?”
Coming from a Go Go Curry veteran such as myself, the latest trend among us vets is this, nattou double topping.
And then, extra roux. This is the vet’s way of eating.
The nattou has a raw egg in it. With this substitution there are no fried foods. This is the key.
Then you add cheese, a hard-boiled egg, and some pickled shallots. This is unbeatable.
However, if you order this then there is danger that you’ll be marked by the employees from next time on; it’s a double-edged sword.
I can’t recommend it to amateurs.
What this all really means, though, is that you, >>1, should just stick with the Economy Roast Katsu during Go Go Time.
Today, May 5th 2009, is the second anniversary of Go Go Curry’s American debut. Located at 38th street and 8th Ave in Manhattan, it was one of my favorite places to eat while living in Japan, and it’s one of my favorite places to eat living in New York.
To celebrate their anniversary, Go Go Curry is doing a one-day $5 special on almost any curry dish. I myself will be going, of course, and hoping to wish them another successful 2 years at the very least. I really wanted to see them do well, and so I’m glad they have.
Thank you, Go Go Curry and your American expansion. You’ve given me the ability to not only say your food is some of the best I had in Japan, but also the ability to actually let my friends try it.
Gundam is now a whopping 30 years old. From its humble beginnings as an almost-failed giant robot show that was just a little different from its predecessors to its current status as one of the most significant and influential franchises of all time, Gundam is synonymous with anime around the world. For me personally, Gundam carries many important memories, ones I cherish to this day. Allow me to tell you the story up until now of my own journey through Gundam.
I don’t remember when exactly in high school it was, but one day my brother (who had gotten me into anime in the first place) brought home a couple of series on VHS he had borrowed from a friend: Gundam W and Gundam. This was a year or two before Wing appeared on Cartoon Network. Watching these series, especially Wing, I was taken in by the combination of gorgeous giant robots and politics and dynamic characters.
Really though, the content of Wing and 0083 isn’t important so much as where it took me, as soon I would meet some fellow mech-heads who would bring me further into the world of mecha, even introducing me to Evangelion. You know who you guys are. Practically every day after school we would go into the high school’s computer lab and watch anime clips (with a good portion of that devoted to Gundam), discussing mobile suit specs and which ones were our favorites, and getting our first taste of shows such as Gaogaigar via video clips from that old site Best Anime. I remember thinking that the RX-78-2 design was so dated, and thought the more modern Gundam designs were far superior, falling victim to the shine and polish of the “new.” The computer lab attendant tolerated us as best as he could, and for that I thank him (rest in peace Mr. Clancy).
At this point I was hooked on Gundam in a big way. I went to Chinatown, where they sold bootleg anime on VHS, and purchased the original gundam movie trilogy as I wanted to see how it all started. I also bought Char’s Counterattack, as it was the source of the Sazabi and the Nu Gundam, two designs I had fallen in love with. Char’s Counterattack became my favorite Gundam anime, and I still hold it in quite high regard today, though the original trilogy has risen in rank quite a bit. After that, I watched X, F-91, G, 08th MS Team, a few episodes of Turn A (whatever was available in Chinatown at the time), Zeta, and even G-Saviour of all things.
I remember getting free model kit catalogs from one of the anime sellers in Chinatown, and looking at the pages over and over. I remember buying model kits and cherishing my Gundam X, my Virsago, my RX-78-2, my Qubeley, my Sazabi, my V Gundam, and especially my Nu Gundam. And I remember finding the Mecha Domain, a site which listed specs of Gundams and robots from other anime (known today as the Mecha Anime HQ) and Mark Simmons’ extremely informative site the Gundam Project (Mark Simmons would go on to actually run the official Gundam website). Naturally, my friends and I would use this information to debate who would win in fights and what our favorite designs were. We’d laugh at the ridiculous design of the Devil Gundam (“It has a head for a body!”). We’d go over to each other’s houses and play Gundam: the Battle Master 2 (I loved using Char’s Red Zaku, as it was (obviously) very very fast). When I think of being a mecha fan, hell, an anime fan, these are the times I think about first.
At the end of high school, after having spent a year as the anime club’s president and having my yearbook photo appear with a Char Aznable quote (“One chooses not to acknowledge the mistakes of one’s youth”), I went off to college. With the magic of bittorrent began to watch SEED. At this point I was separated from my Gundam-loving friends, but we still managed to talk about it. I was quite fond of SEED, and my stance to this day is that it starts off seeming like a clone of First Gundam but gradually becomes its own beast, with a unique, more romantic feel compared to other Gundam series. What really brought out this feeling towards SEED though was the introduction of Cagalli Yula Athha. Never before had I seen such an incredible female character in a Gundam series! I had previously considered Emma Sheen to be the most attractive Gundam heroine, but that was no longer the case. Cagalli’s aggressiveness and kind heart won me over in a way only Maetel, Daidouji Tomoyo, and Ogiue have been able to surpass.
This of course is why SEED Destiny was that much more painful.
I began watching SEED Destiny the semester before I went to study abroad in Japan. Watching it in America originally, it was an incredibly worthy successor to SEED. By the time I got to Japan, I was fearing for its safety and continually waiting for the episode where the crying, moping Cagalli would be herself again. That episode came, but by then it was too late. I learned a valuable lesson with Destiny, as I had originally claimed that there was no way Destiny could become worse than SEED: don’t assume things you dumbass!
It wasn’t all bad times, though. Through college, though I did not have nearly the number of mecha-loving friends that I used to, I still met a few through happenstance. I remember having an argument about Coordinators and whether or not they were a good concept. Again, if you’re reading this, you know who you are.
Now we’re pretty close to the present, and you can track my shifting views on Gundam 00 right here on Ogiue Maniax. One big thing is that early on, I still felt burned by the failure that was SEED Destiny, and I was hesitant to move onto a new Gundam series for fear that it would happen again. I’m happy to have been proven wrong, and to know that one bad show cannot take down the juggernaut that was birthed from Tomino Yoshiyuki’s head.
If you were to ask me why I was so into Gundam 10 years ago, I’m not entirely sure I would remember. Nowadays, I can see Gundam as an ambitious franchise which changed the way people looked at a genre of Japanese animation, that continually transforms itself for every new generation of fans, but I did not think about it like that back then. There were the awesome characters, and the legendary robot designs, and the fact that the villains were never stock villains, but I think what was most important for my Gundam fandom was being able to share it with friends.
I am ashamed.
Just as I did last year, I failed to mention in time that last Saturday was the birthday for the great and wonderful Ogiue Chika, who if we go by the dates set in the Genshiken manga is already a productive(?) member of society.
If you recall, Ogiue at the end of Genshiken started to work as a manga artist for Monthly Afternoon. This was in 2005, and so by now she’s had about 4 years to make something of herself. I’d like to believe that in the world of Genshiken, she has worked hard with Sasahara at her side, a wonderful professional manga romance. Sasahara meanwhile is still probably working hard as an editor, possibly losing lots of sleep and wrangling manga artists to get their jobs finished on time. Such a splendid concept, being in a relationship with a person in your field who approaches it just a bit differently from you.
Let us give our goodwill to Ogiue in her future endeavors, and hope for happiness for her in the years to come.
It’s an interesting time in anime, and there’s plenty of stuff to be grateful for.
Thanks, Anime, for providing affordable DVDS of series loved by all types of otaku, from Gurren-Lagann to Ouran High School Host Club to Aria and beyond.
Thanks, Anime, for making strides to becoming more accessible. Strike Witches isn’t what I’d call a show I’d recommend to others, but I commend GONZO for putting itself out there. And while some of you may have made a few missteps, like Sony with your super-expensive PS3 episodes of Xam’d, I’ll still be there to buy the DVDs.
Thanks, Anime, for having an incredible season this year with something for everyone, with fine work in practically every genre and sub-genre. With this, I have no regrets.
Thanks, Anime, for your plans to give us an Ultimate Crossover Pretty Cure Movie that we’ve been waiting for since Max Heart ended. I look forward to the 11-girl Ultimate Crossover Pretty Cure Finisher. It’s also thanks to this image that I realize that the more athletic Precure girls have tanner skin. You learn something everyday.
Thanks, Anime, for slating a Professor Layton Animated Movie scheduled for 2010. I’m not even kidding.
And finally, Thank You for an incredible year of Ogiue, JAM Project, good friends, good opportunities, and so much more.
Tomorrow I’m going to a one-day-early Halloween party where costumes are mandatory, and so I’ve decided to go as an anime character. I won’t say which one, but don’t worry, I’m not going dressed as Ogiue. While I’m going to a Halloween party as an anime character, in my mind I don’t consider it cosplay. There’s a distinction I’ve created in my mind, and I don’t know how valid it is, but I think it has to do with the amount of effort exerted in making the costume.
Aside from a few minor purchases, the costume I’ve assembled is base primarily on clothing I own already, and none of it required any sort of modifications. I am not sacrificing my existing clothing and transforming any of it into permanent costume status, nor have I done any handiwork to make it more than it already is. This is why I believe myself to be “dressing up” for Halloween and not “cosplaying” for Halloween.
Nothing wrong with cosplay, though I try not to get involved with the cosplay community to any great extent. It’s more of a personal mental thing, this situation of mine.
