Posted by  |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
「八軒、ピザを焼く」 (Hachiken, Pizaa o Yaku)
“Hachiken Makes Pizza”
Who wants pizza?
Just for fun, I imagined what the audience reaction would have been like if there’d been an "Al and Ed make pizza" episode of Fullmetal Alchemist, say, right in the middle of the Ishbal storyline. About the closest think I can imagine would be the way the soccer episode of the original Eureka Seven (which I was the one person who liked, apparently) was received. It’s not that there weren’t a few such moments here and there in FMA, but if any series was ever packed full of story – past, present and future – that was the one. To call it and Gin no Saji apples and oranges would be the understatement of the year.
I suppose it’s a testament to Arakawa-sensei’s talent that she can do two series of such vastly divergent thematic structure and have them both be massive hits (in the world of manga, anyway). If any recent anime seems to be a pure slice of life, Silver Spoon might just be the one. In a sense this series with it’s agricultural focus – and thus a keen awareness of the passing of the seasons and the cycles of nature – makes a perfect canvas on which to paint a slice of life story. That label is applied to so many series erroneously but it really seems to fit here, and it’s all the more remarkable that it’s been so popular given it’s relative lack of moe (apart from piglet moe, complete with head-bob – certainly a new twist on the “moepig” meme. As Sempai says, “Piglets are cute.”), which is the commercial fuel for a lot of successful slice of life. That’s even more true in anime than manga, so I suppose the real acid test will be whether this series commercially bombs in TV form, or manages to sell a few Blu-rays and give NoitaminA decent ratings by its own standard.
There is a story being told here, and it’s Hachiken’s tale of personal growth and self-discovery. It’s happening at a leisurely pace, but every week a little bit of the picture gets filled in. From the start there’s been the suggestion that Hachi-kun is a highly competitive person, concerned if not obsessed with such things as class rank, and that some sort of failure in that department might have pushed him to seek to flee his home when his high school years started. So when the exam results are revealed, that should be a big moment for him – especially when his overall scores put him at the top of his class by a wide margin. But he seems strangely unsatisfied with this – there’s the fact that he was beaten on specific sections by students who specialized in them, to be sure, but it seems to run deeper than that.
Fortunately for Hachiken distraction is provided quickly (one of the benefits of an agricultural school seems to be that they run you so ragged, there’s no time to think about anything for long). During a massive school cleanup operation Hachiken finds a disused brick oven underneath a pile of garbage that includes a life-size Colonel Sanders (these are in front of pretty much every KFC in Japan, and don full Santa suits in December, as the Japanese were convinced by a brilliant marketing campaign that Americans consider KFC a Christmas tradition). The best part about what follows, for me, is how accurately it captures the way kids grab hold of an idea that seems cool and just run with it. An abstract musing about making a pizza leads to the revelation that most rural Hokkaido kids have never eaten a real one (outside the delivery area? Hell, they’re outside the cell phone area) and things snowball from there until the enterprise takes on the air of obsession and soon the entire school is drafted to help, each in their own way.
I love pizza – it may indeed be my favorite food in the world when done really well – and there’s no doubt that a wood-fired brick oven is the best way to make a thin (Italian-style) pizza. I’m not so keen on the idea of Gouda on pizza but cheese isn’t the staple of the Japanese diet as it is in the West, so you take what you can get – the school has a tiny cheese-making room, and fortunately Nakajima-sensei (fast emerging as one of the funniest in the cast) has a secret underground ageing room for his wheels of Gouda. Everything else you need is easy, because Ooezo is effectively self-sufficient – flour, veggies, firewood, and yes – bacon (again not my first choice for a pizza, but after having tried what the locals call "pepperoni" I’d take it as a substitute) are all a snap. Everyone pitches in, the oven gets cleaned and repaired, Hachi-kun and Mikage have some nice bonding, and even the teachers gets into the spirit. A really good pizza baked with wood in brick, with fresh-picked tomatoes for the sauce and veggies just swept clean of the dirt they were grown in? I almost felt like I could taste it myself and laughed right along with the students. Tasting real pizza for the first time is an experience I can never have again – it’d be like seeing Seirei no Moribito or drinking Trappist ale for the first time – so while I felt a little envious, seeing the infectious glee of the kids was a wonderful moment.
Witnesses all this – and providing a bookend for the episode – is Shiroichi-sensei, Hachiken’s perhaps unrealistically caring and devoted advisor from middle school come to check up on him (the real reason for his call last week). His words to the Principal provide yet another clue to the riddle of Hachiken’s character: "In middle school Hachiken seemed to be held hostage to the notion that he had to make something of himself. So much so that he had no idea what kind if person he wanted to be." In its way I think this series is all about providing context – putting the production of food in context for an audience blissfully unaware of how such things happen, and taking Hachiken out of his comfort zone and forcing him to think about his place in the world. There’s little conventional drama here, but one of the dramatic climaxes of this season – perhaps the biggest – will surely come when Hachiken must face the reality of Porkbowl’s fate, and the context in which piglets are raised. The topic was gently broached this week, a soft-spoken but insistent reminder that Hachiken’s personal journey is going to have some very painful moments.
Am I weird for thinking that Pizza Hut makes the best pizza?
Also, I’ve never heard of Trappist ale. I’m going to try it.
You’re not weird (well, I don’t know you) but you’re certainly wrong. I hope for your sake that means you’re living outside one of the major culinary cities where decent pizza is readily available.
As for Trappist beer, if you’re not used to it you might think it a bit strange, but it’s truly a wondrous world to explore. Chimay White might be a good choice for a first-timer.
The only major cities I’ve eaten pizza in are Miami and Jacksonville, but I’ve probably eaten pizza from around… 25-30 different places, and I’ve never liked anything as much as Pizza Hut.
I’ve seen pictures of all the Chicago pizzas that are supposed to be incredible, but they look terrible. They always have so much sauce, I like as little sauce as possible.
Proper Italian, stone-fire oven pizza is the best. It is just heaven. Also an interesting point is that pizzas don’t come with cheese as standard in Italy, this is entirely a non-italian thing. If a pizza does not specifically say it has cheese on it in Italy, it won’t have it.
Pizza Hut??Hmm.. lucky they didn’t sponsor this series, else the product will be peppered all over (remember CC?.. Can’t never think of pizza with thinking about her *sigh*)
I would imagine that authentic Italian pizza is probably the “best” (I.e. if everyone in the world had an opportunity to try it, there would likely be substantial consensus on the matter), the sort that is made from high-quality, fresh, never-frozen ingredients- very much like what Hachiken made for his friends (Minus the Gouda perhaps, too unauthentic). Except that such things come at a premium here in the city (Expect to pay at least double the price of large a Pizza Hut Supreme for a regular-to-personal sized one). Unless you happen to have the requisite culinary skill to do like Hachiken and make it yourself (Which I sure don’t)- throw a party and invite me please if you do…XP
You’ll never get a consensus on the “best” pizza, though no problem getting one that chain pizza generally stinks.
“Real” Italian pizza is just a style – and actually even there you have a lot of variety, with Naples being the most famous locale. Italian pizza is generally very thin (Sicilian can be a bit thicker) with considerably less in terms of topping than American pizza.
For me, Chicago pizza is the best – either stuffed or deep-dish, which you should never knock till you’ve tried it done properly. It’s not as easy to get really good pizza outside of Chicago or the coasts as it should be, and it’s pretty damn hard in Tokyo.
Yup, that’s my favorite. There something about the texture of those thin, crunchy crusts that to me just has everything else beat, and the carefully chosen but smaller amount of toppings ensures that the flavor is suitably diverse but at the same time not so brazenly overpowering…pure bliss…:)
What I’ve had of it was a little too heavy for my tastes, though I must confess I’ve never had Chicago-style pizza in Chicago before- which is probably much better, I guess I need to get on it one of these days. As for it being difficult to get genuinely good pizza in East Asia I can attest to that fact- wonder why that is, I guess good food tends to be a function of traditional inheritance and where there isn’t any substantial Italian heritage I suppose that would for the most part preclude good pizza…
Yes, it’s thin, and sure, you like it that way—but the pizza we had in Italy had less sauce and cheese than what we get in the US, and many have tons of fresh tomatoes that leak lots of water. That means it’s a soggy affair that isn’t meant to be eaten with hands. I’m sure you would think authentic Italian pizza is the best without having tried it, but trust me that their style may not be what you like.
As for thinking that Italian pizza made from fresh ingredients would be considered the best… that’s just a load of bullshit when fresh ingredients can be used for whatever else others like.
The best Italian pizza isn’t soggy because they squeeze some of the water out of the SanMarzanos before they bake the pizza. It should have a very firm, crisp crust with good char and just a bit of chew. If it’s soggy and you can’t eat it by hand, I’d argue it’s not a well-made Italian pizza.
Without having tried it, really? -_- Of course I’ve tried it- before I left home for college we used to get it all the time too… I don’t know where in Italy you had yours at and while I certainly didn’t go all the way there to have my authentic Italian pizza, I get it from reputable fine-dining Italian places- I’m pretty sure that what they make is quite authentic. Geographic proximity to place of origin alone does not cuisine authenticity make- although it does increase the probability of authenticity and decrease the premium that you need to pay to get it. Like Enzo said the sogginess of the stuff you had is probably a product of poor workmanship. It’s like a bad hard taco…XP
For meats that’s just my personal preference; I’m not a big fan overly-processed foods full of nitrates like sausage and whatnot- tastes kind of artificial to me, and it’s unhealthy. And it is scientifically proven that freezing degrades the texture and general quality of vegetable products because the ice crystals that form damage cellular walls. The industrial freezing of vegetables for long-term storage on the other hand involves flash freezing which mostly prevents the formation of the large ice crystals that cause most of the damage- but some damage will occur nonetheless- and it mounts over time. Never-frozen, fresh vegetables are simply superior in terms of nutrition, and many would contend have a better texture/flavor due to differing, scientifically proven properties…
Zen:
1) Please excuse me but we have no way of knowing what your travel history is besides assuming what we can from this conversation. The kind of pizza you said you liked isn’t exclusively Italian so I was curious why you specified Italian if not just to name a kind that everyone knows but hasn’t had a chance to try. I’ve only sampled a few places in each of several cities, and I only remember two or three that had crispy crusts without the sag, so again… please excuse me if my experiences aren’t the same.
2) Read closer, dude: I’m saying fresh ingredients can be used for any other cuisine too, not just Italian. And I’m definitely not saying that frozen food is better than fresh food, who do you take a resident of a foodie-centric city for? Whether fresh Italian or fresh [other] is better is totally up to what others like. I thought you were the eloquent dude yet I see that you won’t give me half the thought you put into your own post? And I see that symbolically represented since you cut half of that sentence to make your tangent. Thanks, man.
On another note, that whole second paragraph could’ve been shortened to a sentence or two. I didn’t even have to read all of it because I knew where you misinterpreted this conversation and what you were trying to say afterwards. But I see you have an interest in fresh foods; do consider applying to the Food Sciences department, will you?
Lol, of course. No offense taken whatsoever…;)
I’m sorry, didn’t mean to make it look like I was cutting you off; I just took the top half of the sentence for brevity’s sake. As words have a tendency of doing, especially in three-minute comments to which little thought is given compounding ambiguity can lead to a breakdown of communication and strange disagreements.
You seem to have thought I was saying that fresh Italian is better than all other cuisines. That wasn’t what I meant. I just wanted to say that in general food that is made from fresh, never-frozen ingredients is better both nutritionally and gustatorily.
And I misunderstood you as well- I thought you were saying that Italian pizza made from frozen ingredients can indeed be as good as stuff made from fresh produce. I see now that your intended context meant that all other types of cuisine can indeed be as good as Italian or better- which is something that I wholeheartedly agree with.
That’s the funny thing about words, isn’t it- a single syntactical arrangement can have multiple plausible contextual meanings- h*ll the meaning perceived by the reader need not even be plausible in the eyes of the author- as long as he reader thinks sentence A means X, then so shall it be to him, whether this interpretation is correct or not. Loosely speaking it’s basically the whole “Death of The Author” phenomenon in operation, creating compounding misunderstandings as context-syntax disconnection continuously exacerbates misunderstanding with every subsequent reply/comment.
I write by the aforementioned theory of syntax/context. Brief comments without any illustration of context behind the syntax tend to lead to misunderstandings so I like throw a little of that in there wherever I can. Just look at my relatively short first comment- it made you think I was saying that Italian cuisine was better than all other cuisines- not what I meant at all. My mistake for being ambiguous, of course- please excuse my carelessness in haste.
Lol, I just like science and I like to eat healthy- I believe that being intimately scientifically informed about what I eat helps me make better decisions about what to eat, and will ultimately lead to superior long-term health outcomes…;)
Enzo, I think you mean San Marzano instead of San Romano for the tomatoes. I’m also a fan of either real Chicago deep dish (grew up 2 hours away) or a wood-fired brick oven baked Neapolitan Margherita with just cheese and fresh basil.
Side note: Where I grew up we had a pizza joint in our mall that was named Enzo’s.
D’oh, you’re right of course – San Marzano. We get them in cans in America, but it’s just not the same.
There are a lot of Enzo’s Pizzas out there. Pretty common Italian name.
Only on Gin no Saji you see heated discussion on the quality of pizza.
Gotta love it. XD
My innocent little comment got like 20 replies and I started a ferocious war about pizza! :O
Anime food always make me hungry.
There’s just something much more…. appealing about how they got the cheese to be all stretchy and gooey and then they talk about how to make it, and it looks so colorful and done with such love.
The underground stash of cheese makes my heart feel glad in a way I didn’t expect it to be. Hopefully, not into cardiac arrest.
Don’t quote me on this one but I don’t actually think that Gouda cheese actually has the appropriate texture to be able to get that stringy. Even so it looks delicious all the same…XP
Spare me from real life logic; I can tell the animators want to have their cheese being gooey and stretchy. That is cheese animation that is made so simply and yet so lovingly.
It could be brie cheese for all they know, which is also a treat in and of itself, and they will still maintain that undeniably visceral image of goopy cheese on pizza.
However, I do hear that gouda is excellent when you want cheese-stuffed hamburgers, ^_^
Well, beyond all the barnyard hijinks Gin no Saji is essentially one boy’s (Hachiken’s) coming of age story, the tale of him finding his own personal identity and goals for life amidst all that family turmoil that is constantly hinted at- and coming of age stories are a dime a dozen; what makes this show special isn’t really its themes but rather the manner in which these themes are portrayed primarily as a function of its premise. By removing things to a little agricultural boarding school in the countryside where both the environmental and cultural context of social interactions are sufficiently different from what would typically be expected to occur in cities or even small towns it manages to take overused themes and present them in a genuinely refreshing manner. Because of this substantial difference in socio-cultural context, character development (leading into the same goal of “mental maturity”) is attained in interesting and novel ways, through scenarios and contexts nigh never-seen in your typical coming of age tale…
One aspect of the show is that we’re seeing a part of Japanese life (farming) that isn’t that prevalent in anime, or if it is, it’s only as a backdrop. We’ll have to wait to see if this show can keep up the quality that it has shown so far. It’s managing to do things up till now that I wish has been more prevalent or at least explicit in Hanairo related to the workings of an onsen.
Ah, Hanairo. It crossed my mind while writing the above comment. Hanairo doesn’t take it far enough to attain the effect that we’re currently getting from this show. When you think about it a large portion of the character interactions in Hanairo actually occurs outside of the onsen setting- in a rather ordinary high school and a boring little town. In other words about half of the character interactions in Hanairo actually took place in rather common settings operating through the same old mundane mechanisms- the best execution in the world isn’t going to save you from the curse of cliches. Whereas in this show, more or less everything happens at this agricultural academy…well, like you said we’ll have to see if they can keep it up I guess…
damn this anime always makes me hungry
For a while I thought that Colonel Sanders was the cursed Hanshin Tigers one.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Curse_of_the_Colonel
Besides Aki, Yoshino is another girl that gets a lot of attention, showing her skill in blackmailing Nakajima-sensei of his cheese collection. XD
https://randomc.net/image/Gin%20no%20Saji/Gin%20no%20Saji%20-%2004%20-%20Large%2020.jpg
(Oh and there’s Nakajima-sensei’s seemingly effeminate name “Miyuki”. He could easily have been lumped alongside the members of the swimming team in Free. )
Wow, interesting. I just saw on Wikipedia that TOHO may make a live-action version of this. That would be interesting, this is one of the most ‘realistic’ anime I’ve ever seen, it might work.
This episode made me feel all warm inside.
I was really happy for Hachiken.
I smiled and laughed through out the episode.
Really nice episode.
I would call this school life, not slice of life.
It seems like this is kind of what Gargantia wanted to do, but i think it didn’t do it as well. The personal growth of the main character is the story, here as it was in Gargantia.
Japanese are mostly lactose intolerant, I bet the next day everybody was in the bathroom all day. Lulz
This episode is the best so far for that outdoor pizza party scene. The fact that everybody contributed something to the pizza making process (reluctantly in Nakajima-sensei’s case) and that they made it themselves very likely gave it that extra flavor, hence the laughing fit. It was also heartwarming for me since it shows how close they are. I think what cements that fact is how the teacher and others clubs were also there. I almost shed manly tears of happiness from seeing them all happy like that, as if the atmosphere of their cookout was leaking out of the screen. As for Hachiken himself, It was nice seeing him smile while looking at everyone happily eating. Despite his minor gripes of being busy all week, it’s good that his efforts led to making a lot of people happy and he got appreciated for it. Probably inside, he felt that appreciation weighed a lot more than getting praised for being the top student. If I’d sum it all up, it would probably be that sense of camaraderie that I loved in this episode. Another highlight of this episode is that cheese girl Yoshino Mayumi. Loved how she had Nakajima-sensei at her mercy.
Damn, and I thought I was the only one who reacted that way to this episode. The kids reaction to him mentioning pizza was hilarious and cute at the same time. Reacting to something that you might not have had for awhile is one thing, but many of these guys and gals haven’t even tasted a real one at all. The other students are really beginning to grow on me as well as the teachers. Arakawa-sensei has done a masterful job so far of mixing humor with the realities of farming and has created a great cast to carry the show. This show has really exceeded my expectations.
one thought that’s readily apparent in my mind is that hachiken is amazing! he really sees things through to the end, and has the sense to come to his friends and friends of friends for help. this episode was very nice, you can’t help but feel happy for hachiken’s success in pulling this amazing event off, on top of balancing school work and club chores no less.
i was really surprised that the students at oezo do not eat pizza more than occasionally.. but at the same time, it makes sense! i’ve had more than a few of these occurrences while watching this series, there’s always a fun surprise waiting around the corner.
by the way, was wondering if anyone had a special topping/combo they put on their pizza? personally, i like pizza hut’s spicy sicilian. i’ve had better at different restaurants, but it’s always my go-to since the restaurants i went to aren’t nearby, are expensive, and i cannot remember the names. i like both pan-fried and hand-tossed pretty evenly.
looking forward to yet another fun silver spoon episode!
I’ve had genuine Italian pizza before, at a neighbour’s house. They’re 1st-generation Italian immigrants, and they enjoy cooking. 🙂
Their pizza’s more bread-lik in taste and texture compared to the usual takeout pizza base, and the toppings are just tomato sauce(homemade), mozzarella cheese, and some herbs.
Very simple, but…bellissimo! ( ^ _ ^ )
The problem is, there’s just no way to get the crust right for an Italian style pizza in a home oven – a pizza oven at the very least, and a wood oven preferably, is the way to get that char flavor and crunch. Try it in a regular oven and too often it is on the bready side. A pizza stone helps, and crank the oven as high as it’ll go (usually 550 F) but it’s not the same.
That said, yes, compared to American styles good Italian pizzas are quite simple. Margherita, Mozzarella di Buffa, Quattro Fromaggio – very simple and reliant on high-quality and fresh ingredients.
im sure they have their own pizza oven.
Do you have any idea what a real pizza oven costs? And most apartments could never accommodate one – it would pretty much have to be a house.
Well, in this Episode they explained that the Oven was “running” 2 Hours, before the Temperature was right…you need the old “Grandma” making Breed Oven, in the small Village. it is nearly the same
Wish I knew about this series early, since I loved Moyashimon. The the adaptation of Silver Spoon did it’s job in getting my interest; both the manga and anime gets the comedy and ‘road of life’ experiences really well.
Reading Animal Farm as a child has taught me that pigs simply cannot be trusted. You have to eat them before they eat you. Gin no Saji is a Cold War commentary.
…And it is a very sadistic adult that makes a child read Animal Farm.
This is the anime that I can recommend to everyone, especially those who don’t watch anime.
I think that’s part of the NoitaminA objective, honestly.
or, to know more about the stuff from inside the refrigerator 🙂
I mean the NoitaminA charter generally, not so much with GnS specifically…
it’s not much about the pizza as it is about bringing people together and fostering a healthy social community…hachiken easily trumped most of kids his age in terms of leadership…
That pizza had to be delicious all that work done to make it would make it taste even better I bet.
Okay, honestly: how many of you went and ate or had craving for pizza after watching this episode?
I sure did. XD
After I watching this, the first thing come in my mind…
Buy a pizza
That buddha-sensei really is funny. His voice reminds me so much of that coach in Slam Dunk!
Yoshino is easily my favourite female character in this show.