I’ve got my first post up at the Vistas Asiascape blog, where my fellow PhD’s and I will be posting our thoughts on various things related to the fields of East Asia and media and fiction and such. Take a look, feel free to comment, and if English isn’t your main language, you are actually welcome to post in whatever language you feel comfortable.
Category Archives: adventures in oranda
Ogi 3, Gooooooo!!!
Today marks the 3-year anniversary of Ogiue Maniax. Looking back at all that’s happened to me and this blog since last November, it almost doesn’t feel real.
These days, I generally update Ogiue Maniax twice a week, but for over two years I posted daily. It was a signature of sorts for this blog, and I was dedicated to constantly thinking of new areas to explore, questions to ask, and bad jokes to tell. I was fairly proud of keeping up this pace, and swore to myself that only the most drastic circumstances could possibly derail me from my schedule. Even when I was working seven days a week, I still maintained it. But as I sit here in the Netherlands, a country I’ve never visited previously on a continent I had never set foot on, knowing that my purpose here is to focus my passion for anime and manga and penchant for analysis into a doctoral thesis, I know that life answered my challenge. Or perhaps it might be better to say that I challenged life. I hope you’re still enjoying this newer, slimmer Ogiue Maniax.
So if it weren’t for that big change, the most significant blog-related event would have definitely been the revival of Genshiken. It was December when I found out about the one-shot sequel known as Genshiken Chapter 56. Wanting to share it, I spent my Christmas Eve translating it so that all could enjoy one last Genshiken hurrah, not realizing that there would be another follow-up months later. With Genshiken 56 appearing last December and Genshiken II having started in October, the series almost acts as a bookend for year 3 of Ogiue Maniax. It’s more Genshiken than I could have possibly asked for. Not that I’m complaining, of course.
Then there were the panels at Otakon, my trips to play real mahjong with real people, and so many other things. It’s been exciting times, to say the least.
Really though, I am grateful for everyone who’s read Ogiue Maniax, whether you’ve commented or not. I simply can’t take that for granted, and if I do then something must be terribly wrong. Although I’m far away from my friends, my family, and those I cherish most, I still take great joy in being able encourage others to take a closer look at the anime they love and to deepen that passion a little bit more.
From the moment I found out I was moving to when I arrived here, I had this constant feeling that my life was entering a new stage. But when I think about it, my life’s been moving forward for a while now, and I have you to thank.
Potato Complex
It’s been about two months since I started my life in the Netherlands, and in that time I’ve been exploring the country as best as I know how: through its cuisine. Since arriving I’ve had numerous opportunities to try out various foods, in restaurants, at home, and out on the street. It’s a delightful mix of the new and familiar, where even the more mundane things take on an element of excitement. Did you know that chocolate sprinkles are a common bread topping here?
Having once been a colonial power, Dutch food consists both of dishes native to Dutch culture and those incorporated from other parts of the world, especially Asia. I noticed, however, that when I asked the people living here about Dutch food, they pointed me more towards the latter than the former. Some even went as far as telling me that “there’s no such thing as Dutch cuisine.”
Huh?
The dish above is called “Hutspot,” a mix of mashed potatoes, carrots and onions, often served with a piece of meat such as a chuck roast or shoulder. It is widely associated with a holiday called “Leidens Onzet,” which celebrates the end of the siege on the city of Leiden back in the late 1500s. Like many foods, it is a product of circumstance where the ingredients consist of whatever was available. Hutspot itself is a variation on “Stamppot,” which I believe is a more general term for mashed potatoes mixed with vegetables. Of course, when I asked people about Stamppot and Hutspot, they talked about how it isn’t very exciting and how it doesn’t really compare with Indonesian or Thai or French or Italian. A similar response is given for the enormous Dutch pancake, as well as the Croquette, a deep-fried stick usually with some kind of ragout or potato inside.
Allow me to put on my AMERICAN hat for just a second to say that, where I come from (America in case you forgot), mashed potatoes and fried finger foods are widely considered to be “awesome.” They are the things kids and adults alike look forward to eating. When I go to a restaurant and order steak, the side I get most often is potatoes, mashed. What is there to be ashamed about? I know that France and Italy and Germany are right there, and that their cuisines have found popularity all over the world, including in the Netherlands itself, but it just gives me the impression that Dutch food is something that produces shame, and I don’t think that should be the case. I’d love to have a Dutch restaurant in New York City. Why isn’t there one?
When I think about it, the embarrassment I see over “Dutch” food is not that different from the kind I see from anime fans. There’s a complex that surrounds the anime fandom, one that manifests itself in various ways, whether it’s otaku being embarrassed about the anime they like, fearing being associated with “those” anime fans, or speaking of some great divide, be it genre-based, gender-based, or generational. I want Dutch people to be proud of Dutch food. I want anime fans to be proud of anime (and anime fans). It got us this far, didn’t it?
Of course, on the other side, there’s the anime fan who goes so far as to boast anime or their favorite types of shows are the best things out there and that everything else pales in comparison. At this point, they become like the guy who boasts about his trip to France and how ever since then all over foods have tasted like dish soap.
Or perhaps a more apt example would have been the guy who goes to Japan.
Better Go Get Some 3G Coverage
Konya wa Hurricane
Yesterday, soon after I made my post announcing my return to Ogiue Maniax, I decided to get in a game of online mahjong. I figured, it would be a good way to settle in, to get comfortable with my new surroundings in a way walking around taking in the environment doesn’t (though I did that as well so no hikikomori antics here).
While I did not do so well for the first game I played, the second game brought a very pleasant surprise.
What you see here is my second ever Yakuman against human opponents. Unlike my previous one however, it fortunately doesn’t require a whole lot of explaining.
For those of you who haven’t read my previpus mahjong posts, “Yakuman” are the highest-scoring hands in mahjong, and by extension also the most difficult to achieve. The one I achieved here is called “Sousuushi,” or the “Lesser Four Joys.” It’s also known as the “Lesser Four Winds,” as all of the tiles necessary to achieve this Yakuman are designated as the “Wind” tiles.
Now I have only been in the Netherlands for a few days now, but one thing I’ve noticed is that it is always windy. At first I figured it was just the time of the year, but according to the locals this is the norm. There’s a reason the Nether Gundam is a windmill, after all. Having scored a wind-based Yakuman while I’m in a country that’s known for being windy, I can’t help but feel that’s a sign of good things to come. Call me silly or perhaps even “occult,” but it gave me some joy after all. Not an overwhelming amount mind you, but it’s still there.
So what I’m saying is, if you’re in Ireland and you manage to get an “All Green,” you’re good to go.
Onegai Dutch Dutch Koko ni Dutch
So I’ve spent my first two days in Europe, getting slowly accustomed to the lifestyle here. While the schedule is fairly loose around here, I do not know how much time I really have to update Ogiue Maniax, nor do I know if I should. Is it a sign of slacking off? I guess that’s only the case if I’m using too much time that should be spent doing important manga research. In any case, as was made obvious by my lack of a post yesterday, the streak has been broken and it is a very likely chance that no longer will I be posting daily.
Part of what I was interested in was how cultures outside of the US and Japan perceive anime. Fortunately, I spoke with a Japanese (that is, ethnically) philosophy PhD today, who informed me that the Netherlands does indeed have one or two small anime conventions. Maybe I’ll check one of them out. It’d be an exciting experience, I think.
Anyway, this is the start of my path to changing the face of anime and manga academia. Wish me luck!
OGIUE MANIAX 