A few days ago I was watching that old mainstay from my college days, the Food Network when something caught my eye. I don’t remember what show it was exactly, maybe Iron Chef America, but I took notice when the chef mentioned one ingredient in particular: margarine.

Now this was not one of those shows that was looking out for the well-being of your waist line, and so there was no way that the chef’s decision to use margarine in the dish was out of some desire to cut down on fat calories, but instead to use it because it has properties that butter simply does not. Looking at it, it was as if margarine had broken free of its shackles and stepped out of the shadow of butter. Margarine was no longer merely a substitute, but could be treated as a unique ingredient all its own.

Thinking about the identity of margarine, it reminded me somewhat of limited animation, particularly in regards to anime. While limited animation was born out of necessary budget constraints, over time as the children who watched early anime grew into adults, they embraced the “limited” style and created a sort of style and grammar all their own.

As for the unique properties of margarine, I’m not really sure what they are. I suspect it has to do with flavor and the way it transforms under heat. I’m no cooking expert, I just like food and anime (like most otaku).