UlasanAnime.com – The author expresses a peculiar fondness for imagawayaki, a Japanese sweet pancake often filled with red bean paste. This affection stems partly from childhood memories, recalling how the local Chinese community in Taiwan adopted this snack from their former occupiers, promoting it through its enticing aroma, much like the roasted chestnuts sold on Manhattan street corners.
While anime like Kanon has familiarized audiences with taiyaki, a fish-shaped pancake, the author posits that taiyaki is essentially a more elaborate relative of imagawayaki. The Japanese version of imagawayaki is generally described as more cake-like, with a generous filling and a larger size compared to the thinner Taiwanese iteration. However, both are considered a step down in scale from the typically substantial taiyaki.
The author admits to not knowing much about taiyaki itself, viewing it from a frugal parental standpoint as a potentially wasteful gimmick to entice children with its cute fish shape. They humorously critique such “silly shape gimmicks” and even draw a parallel to the perceived obsolescence of the Macbook Air.
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Despite the jest, the author reflects on the imagawayaki, deeming it an otherwise unremarkable snack. In Western contexts, flour-based snacks are commonplace, making rice-based treats like mochi and daifuku more attention-grabbing due to their distinctiveness and taste. The imagawayaki, in contrast, is characterized as the more accessible, everyday confectionery choice, perhaps for those who don’t exclusively indulge in tea and wagashi.
The author draws a parallel to the US, suggesting that establishments like Waffle Houses and IHOPs might fill a similar niche for readily available, comforting food. They ponder if a pancake place offering red bean paste would essentially be serving dorayaki, which they humorously label as “the granddaddy of all anime foods.”
Shifting focus, the author explicitly states that the anime True Tears is definitely not a discussion about imagawayaki. Nevertheless, they find the anime to be an intriguing exhibition of peculiar characters and their relatable interactions, with the quirky dynamics so far successfully capturing their attention. The author also expresses a secondary, nostalgic pleasure in the prospect of “reliving the taste of imagawayaki” through their viewing experience.
