For some of you, especially if you're new to the anime community you're probably glaring at this post title thinking "WHAT IN THE WORLD OTAKU-KUN?!" Give me a moment to explain... Konpeito is a candy which primarily consists of sugar, and has a hard texture while looking sort of like colored stars. These sugary delights were introduced to Japan from the Portuguese in the 16th century. During this time sugar was very scarce in Japan, and was well known to be an extremely valuable delicacy (Think of that ice cream with gold flakes that's currently being strewn across the internet). The man whom we have to thank for this delicacy is a Christian missionary named Luis Frois, he gave these to Oda Nobunaga in exchange for the ability to preach the gospel. This candy is no longer so hard to come by. However, it is still considered a delicacy and delight to the Emperors, so much so that if you go to visit them you may be leaving with a beautiful box full of konpeito. (Gosh, I feel like royalty now). Now to dive into the process of making these irresistible treats. All konpeito starts off as a tiny ball of sugar. Each piece then undergoes a process in a "gong-shaped" machine called a "Dora." In this machine, they are rotated and heated, along with having syrup added. This process gives them their bumpy-like texture and the hard-grainy texture. Konpeito can come in various colors and flavors. (If you're visitng Japan, check out the Konpeito Story in Kyoto I've heard that it's worth looking into [They even have a sakura flavor! ]). Surprisingly enough, this process can take from seven to thirteen days. Now for those of you who are kind of confused because you've seen the candy but don't know the word (or the other way around) I'm going to list a few animes which I, or others, have seen them in: Spirited Away, My Neighbor Totoro, Kobato, & Bleach. If you're curious about their flavor, they taste very similar to that of "Rock Candy." A treat which I adored growing up. Although, I feel like the Konpeito is significantly softer to that of Rock Candy. However, don't be fooled by my wording of things it is still hard, but it has a consistency similar to that of a sugar cube if it was coated in a bit harder sugar.
Well, I hope this was informative and I hope you're able to find and enjoy some konpeito yourself! :) - Otaku-kun
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I'm sure by now a good handful of you have heard of Boku Dake ga Inai Machi, which translates to The Town Where Only I Went Missing, but it is better known as Erased. I actually heard about it from a handful of Youtubers I watch, and I was like "Hey, I'm in the mood for a new anime." Thus began my rollercoaster of feels. Alright, so before I dive to far into this anime, I just want to take a moment to reflect on the Opening. It's one of the best Openings since I watched Death Parade: P.s. The song above isn't true to the anime.. it is in fact a cover, however the big point I wanted to look at was the animation, and how it changed throughout the season. :3(However, I highly suggest looking for the song Re:Re as it fits much better).
The first episode legitimately slammed me with a train of feels. You meet a 29-year old man named Satoru Fujinuma, as shown in the gif above, who works at Oasi Pizza and is a struggling manga artist. He's seemingly normal until you find out he experiences an occurrence called "Revivals." (Think of Raven from That So Raven [If you watch/ed Disney] ). These "revivals" allow him to sense if someone is in need of saving. Using this, he is able to save a little boy from being run over, however in return he crashes head first into another vehicle. However, he luckily sustained little injuries. It is soon revealed that he's had similar revivals when he was younger, however he never truly acted upon them and this caused a young girl who was his friend to end up dead. Upon *spoilers* he is given the ability to go back in time using his "revivals" to try and save his friends, classmates, and other victims who died a few days after his first "revival" which he didn't originally react upon. The only negative, is he's stuck in his 11 year-old body and has to be cautious of how he acts. Honestly, this is an anime I'd highly suggest to any of my friends. The animation for it is simply spectacular (per most animes) and it's plot line had me on the edge of my seat terrified of what may happen. Ships? In this anime I ship Satoru and Airi (Both of them are in the gif above). Most Favorite Character: Satoru as a 29 year old. Least Favorite Character: Yashiro... may you rot in a jail cell. Character which I related to: Airi Katagiri Favorite Quotes: "I don't have the courage to take that first step. That's why I don't have any good buddies. It's fun playing with casual friends, "Good buddies" and "Casual Friends" are different. I saw the final episode of my favorite anime, "Fight, Wonder Guy!" yesterday. In the first part, Wonder Guy was fighting alone. He'd go down again and again but had the courage to keep fighting and never give up. "If you don't take the first step, the path won't open for you." That's what he said and kept on fighting. Then other people felt his courage, and little by little, became buddies with him. That's why in the end, even when it looked like he was going to lose to the bad guy, he never stopped believing that his pals would come to the rescue. But I don't have Wonder Guy's courage or friends like that. So I felt really envious. It made me wish to have true friends, friends who trust each other when I get bigger." - Satoru, Ep. 12 "I want to believe you for my own sake. It's the flip side to someone saying, "Please believe me." " - Airi "The thing about words... Say them out loud, and I think they start to come true." - Airi Rating: I rate this 9 out of 10 memory film strips. Is there a manga, and do I plan on reading it? There is a manga, and I do plan on reading it when I get the time.... I'll probably write a comparison update when I do. Thanks for reading! I hope you enjoyed the anime as much as I did, and I'll see you next time. - Otaku-kun, the Otaku in Converse |
AuthorA fancy otaku who is kind of too lazy to legitimately finish this little box about myself. Just click on the "about" page. Archives
January 2017
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