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Iron Chef Game Listed, Then Pulled
Joystiq notes that a game based on the excellent Iron Chef television show on the Food Network is apparently in the works. Apparently, because the game was listed and then pulled within the last few weeks. "The game appears to be on the brink of an announcement, with a listing appearing and disappearing on Gamestop's website for DS and Wii versions of the game, and Siliconera's Spencer Yip indicating that an IC game was being created at Destineer. (Yes, that Destineer). We're already sharpening our knives in anticipation, but we have to ask: [how do we get] Alton Brown in the game?" Their post includes a great animated spot for the show.
Screw you and your "Iron Chef America" weaksauce. Give me Chairman Kaga, Ota, Fukui, and the real show over that cheap retarded ripoff.
Why? I've seen both, and not a huge amount has changed in bringing it across the ocean (if we ignore the William Shatner episodes).
Are you kidding?
The entire *point* of the Japanese show has been lost on Iron Chef America. It was always intended as a cheesy drama with serious cooking. The idea was basically to combine haute cuisine with professional wrestling.
Iron Chef America has kept the cooking but removed the cheesy drama, which is what made it so unique in the first place. There are dozens of competition cooking shows on these days (including the whole "Cooking Competition" series on Food Network itself); why would you watch Iron Chef America over any of the others?
At the same time, the show doesn't take itself seriously *enough*. In Japan, Fuji TV treated it as a huge honor to be named an Iron Chef. It meant nothing in the real culinary world, but the Iron Chefs were never referred to as anything *but* "Iron Chef", and the show created "rivals" for them to spar with; they took the show beyond the show, with the point being to use that both for humor and to increase the perceived drama on the show. Food Network doesn't do that; it's just a bunch of random chefs competing against each other for no real reason. Even Morimoto, who's an Iron Chef in both versions, says the US version is a lot more casual.
The original Iron Chef straddled that line perfectly between complete absurdity and real cooking chops. It was unique, and maybe uniquely Japanese. You could watch it and laugh, but at the same time you knew you were really watching some amazing skills. Iron Chef America doesn't even attempt to do that; it's like they realized they'd never get it right (the "Iron Chef USA" specials tried that tack and it didn't work), so they just watered the whole thing down to a generic competition show.
Somehow it is really hard for Americans to get the "absurd but serious" thing down. Japan does it, Europe does it, we just can't get it.
http://www.cookingmamacookoff.com/
Our house (ages 1 to 39) loves this game.
I love Alton too, but I wish his recipes didn't include "put this in your fridge for 4 hours" quite so often.
Unfortunately that's what cooking is all about. There are exceptions, but generally speaking, good food takes time. There's a reason that "fast food" (as found in a diner, as opposed to McD's which I don't think even qualifies as food) is a negative term.
If you want "full meals in 10 minutes" there are plenty of cookbooks and shows that cater to that form of cooking. But if they seem lackluster (which they do) it's not due to lack of skill, it's just that there's only so much that can be done in that amount of time. Complex foods need time to let themself cook through, for temperatures to stabilize, for water to evaporate, for flavours to be absorbed, for chemical reactions to take place.
It sucks, I know.
Random and weird software I've written.
Though I understand your complaints, just consider how fucking retarded iron chef america would be if they started upping the drama and instigating rivalries and shit like that.
Drumroll... some sweaty italian dude is sharpening knives in slo-mo, grimacing and looking at a picture of mario batalli... The chairman's voiceover starts... "If memory serves, Iron Chef Batalli has only one true rival..." followed by 5 minutes of completely fucking useless b-roll giving sweaty italian dude's back-story, and the origins of this non-existent rivalry, all leading up to the challenger triumphantly entering kitchen stadium and throwing the gauntlet at batalli, who, instead of being his regular goofy, sarcastic, chill yet bitterly competitive self will have to be somber and treat the entire affair as an affront to his honor.
Alton Brown will have to stop knowing anything about food, and will instead serve as an affable but douchey host constantly asking the real food expert/partial sponsor of the show, Doc Hattori (who was only on the fucking show because his culinary school provided the sous chefs) Kevin Brauch will have to stop being able to complete coherent sentences, like Otah, and a strict All Oral-Sex Double-Entendre ruled will have to be placed on on the judging commentary (If Lower-House member what's his face ever encountered a food that didnt feel good sliding down his throat, he never mentioned it) Then, once the judgment has been handed down, and the victor declared, instead of being able rest easy that his or her best efforts were put forth but the victor was better, the loser must hang his or her head in defeat, ashamed of the dishonor suffered, and apologize to his/her fans and family.
In short, it would all seem kinda dumb in the american cultural context. Yes, the drama and cheese and the overblown rivalries were great in the original, but only insofar as they were quintessentially japanese. The american remake is its own thing and working w/in a different cultural context and does a pretty good job of it. Good chefs get together and make some really good looking food, its judged, fun is generally had by all. That's the point, not "LOL, japanese culture is hilarious to my western sensibilities."
As a side-note, I am prejudiced, justifiably in my opinion, against the 'the drama and whatnot is the whole point of the show' proposition after almost coming to blows with a friend who took it all so seriously that he cursed me out as being 'naive and closed-minded' for pointing out that not only was there no such thing as the Gourmet Academy, but that Chairman Kaga was in fact an actor, not an eccentric foodie putting on a show for his own amusement. If you want absurdist drama, watch daytime television. If you want to watch a show where chefs compete, watch iron chef.
Come read my stupid blagablog. Rants and Giggles
So mainly the reason you liked the Japanese version is because you're a raging racist and you like to laugh at other cultures? ok