Visual gastronomics: Japanese cuisine in anime

Anime is as distinctive a cultural facet of modern Japan as its cuisine has been in the course of human history. Interestingly, Japan has a knack for fusing cultural elements into their modern advances; that is why somehow, Japanese cooking has found its way into the fairly recent anime craze.

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The following enumerates some Japanese delicacies that have become commonplace in some eminent anime shows:

• Omurice, Hanasuka Iroha. Omurice, the universal Japanese comfort food, is a contemporary fusion cuisine consisting of fried rice wrapped in omelette topped with an abundant amount of ketchup. In an episode of the series Hanasuka Iroha, the dish became a matter of dispute among the characters when it was nowhere to be found in their menu. It just goes to show how popular this dish is not just in real life, but also in the animated world.

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• Ramen, Naruto. The ever-ubiquitous ramen is the favorite food of the immensely popular ninja, Naruto Uzumaki. In the series, Naruto is portrayed to have an insatiable appetite for the dish. The association became so widespread that in real life, a New York noodle shop was eventually named “Naruto Ramen.”

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• Dorayaki, Doraemon. The confection, which the iconic character seemingly worships, has been frequently used as a plot device throughout the series. The robotic cat usually falls for anything that baits him with dorayaki—sometimes leading to catastrophic (albeit hilarious) results.

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• Onigiri, Just about any anime. This might as well be a staple food in Japan’s animated world. Apart from being the typical meal, these rice balls are the characters’ go-to food in times of distress. They also lend themselves well to romantic scenes—sometimes providing a central segue in the development of the love story.

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JC Uni-tec has been the leading provider of Japanese kitchen and culinary materials to the American market since its establishment in 1990. Learn more about the company by visiting JCUnitec.com.