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Post by okonomiyagi on Feb 27, 2024 17:09:53 GMT -5
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Post by okonomiyagi on Aug 14, 2023 10:18:56 GMT -5
Japanese Wikipedia states that Ishinabe voiced Nadar Lessard, the health inspector in the Japanese dub of the film "Ratatouille." I've been looking for a clip but haven't managed to find one...but found it a rather interesting occurrence, in any event.
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Post by okonomiyagi on Apr 20, 2023 19:55:53 GMT -5
This time, Michiba visits Sakai's YouTube channel...doing a cooking demo at Sakai's house!
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Post by okonomiyagi on Mar 26, 2023 16:00:14 GMT -5
Michiba visits Sakai at home! Apparently they're going to do a cooking demo of sorts for Sakai's own channel, which he operates out of his home kitchen.
What's interesting is the bit in the thumbnail: Sakai has a collection of chef figurines from around the world, including a set of plush dolls someone made during the Iron Chef days. There's one of Sakai, Chen, and Michiba (although the color appears to have faded somewhat from Michiba's uniform, making his doll look more like Morimoto's costume).
There are some photos on the wall of Sakai's home office from the Iron Chef days, specifically from the Hong Kong battle and from Sakai and Chen's last battle during the King of Iron Chefs final.
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Post by okonomiyagi on Mar 23, 2023 10:25:07 GMT -5
One more. This time, with an acknowledgement of Chen's passing.
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Post by okonomiyagi on Mar 19, 2023 11:09:08 GMT -5
Round two!
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Post by okonomiyagi on Mar 15, 2023 11:12:13 GMT -5
Here's a Japanese morning show clip with the news of Chen's passing, with some clips from Iron Chef thrown in. There's a statement from Chairman Kaga about the news.
Iron Chef Sakai did an interview with another news outlet, offering remembrances of his friend. Poor Sakai--he looks like he's fighting tears through some of it.
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Post by okonomiyagi on Mar 7, 2023 23:47:47 GMT -5
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Post by okonomiyagi on Mar 7, 2023 22:39:45 GMT -5
As Iron Chef Brazil is also available on Netflix, I thought I'd post my thoughts about it here.
The format of the show is virtually identical to that of the other Netflix series, with a couple of key differences: there is no Chairman character, instead two co-presenters: Fernanda Souza and Andressa Cabral. They also serve as the commentators for the battles, although calling them true commentators would be generous--more on that later.
The challengers are all present for all the episodes, watching from a "locker room" that was heavily inspired by a soccer team's locker room. Sometimes, they are seen watching the battle and injecting comments throughout.
The two regular judges are Rosa Moraes and Laurent Suaudeau.
I don't have any problems with the selection of the chefs involved, although it's interesting that they decided to employ a different Iron Chef for each episode until the finale. It's a little overkill, and kind of dilutes the title of Iron Chef in my opinion. The biggest problem I have with the whole show? There is no sense of how the dishes came together, what ingredients were used, or any semblance of construction of the dish. One moment there's a bunch of gratuitous shots of people cooking, the commentators talk about how the sous chefs know the main chefs, they perhaps react to things going on in the kitchen, the countdown and urgency to finish everything on time takes precedence over any commentary in the final seconds...and then, as if by magic, the finished products appear. The actual cooking battle commentary consists of actually hearing the chefs, but virtually nothing about their creative process from them or the commentators. And there's no Ohta character to keep the viewer updated about how the dishes are coming together.
Funnily enough, I actually find myself watching this version more than Mexico's version...although to say one is vastly better than the other is not really saying much. Both are a pretty resounding "meh."
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Post by okonomiyagi on Feb 27, 2023 21:06:02 GMT -5
Iron Chef Mexico and Iron Chef Brazil are both available on Netflix. Here, I'll review Iron Chef Mexico as I'm watching it. The show borrows heavily from the style of "Quest for an Iron Legend," and even has much of the same format; only there are three Iron Chefs instead of five: - Francisco "Paco" Ruano, owner-chef of Alcalde in Guadalajara
- Gabriela Ruiz, owner-chef of Carmela & Sal in Mexico City
- Roberto Solis, founder of Nectar in Merida
Chairman Mark even makes a surprise appearance in the beginning, speaking Spanish to pass the torch to his (in-kayfabe) nephew ("El Presidente de Iron Chef"), Salvador Lam Chang. His role is, as was Chairman Mark's before him, largely ceremonial. He doesn't really add very much, his mannerisms are rather cringeworthy at times, and he doesn't seem to have the same gravitas that Chairman Mark does...but then, I suppose Chairman Mark (never mind Chairman Kaga) would always be a tough act to follow. However, he does participate in the tasting, which is a touch that I think actually makes sense. While I don't like his stiffly scripted interjections ("It's time to taste the next dish from the challenger"), it's a bit necessary for what happens during the tasting, as we'll see below.
The show brings back the secret ingredient altar, but is otherwise very similar (if not outright identical) to Quest for an Iron Legend in format and in presentation. The grand prize (for beating all three Iron Chefs at once) is an actual katana.
Poncho Cadena and Paty Cantu are the Alton and Kristin of this rendition, with Xanic Zondowicz as a sort of Ohta figure. I get the feeling the commentary is not done live to tape. We do get to hear a bit more interaction amongst the chefs and their assistants, though, which is interesting, but the consequence of this feeling is that the commentary sounds stilted, scripted, and forced. A lot of the rhythm of an Iron Chef battle lives and dies with the commentary, and in this version...it unfortunately dies, even in the midst of all the soccer references.
There's also a part of me that doesn't like the interviews with the chefs while on the floor; it seems like it's costing the team valuable time...but then, even the original show did that at first.
I like the balance of the judging panel, however; two professionals (one of whom is a chef himself) and a non-culinary figure (which, in true Mexico fashion, is a lucha libre wrestler--which provides a bit of a funny moment in the first episode when they realize he has to take off his mask to taste the dishes, something a luchador is never allowed to do).
In a break from the usual format, each chef alternates presenting dishes. I don't know that I like this approach, although in the case of the first episode, the dishes were so similar that it served as a point of comparison for each dish.
Overall...if it's your first outing with Iron Chef, it's probably not a bad way to spend an hour. But for those of us who knew the original and even Iron Chef America, it's a bit of a letdown.
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Post by okonomiyagi on Feb 26, 2023 23:01:25 GMT -5
Part 2. They do a little Iron Chef reminiscing in the beginning.
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Post by okonomiyagi on Feb 23, 2023 1:10:38 GMT -5
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Post by okonomiyagi on Feb 19, 2023 17:57:25 GMT -5
This tweet contains another snippet: Ohta interviewing Jackie Chan during Michiba's battle.
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Post by okonomiyagi on Feb 19, 2023 12:28:56 GMT -5
They appear to be doing a "battle" of sorts involving sawara (yellowtail), judged by Michiba's granddaughter, Natsuki Sameshima. This is the first half, showing Sakai's dish. I suspect Michiba's half will come later.
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Post by okonomiyagi on Sept 11, 2022 20:00:38 GMT -5
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