Iron Chef

[Haibane Shadsie]

Does anyone here besides me watch it?

I don't watch it all the time, but I occasionally catch "Iron Chef" (That great thing besides anime and manga that comes from Japan!) I sometimes find myself wanting to taste the food the chefs make, but most of the time, I think it's pretty weird. I don't think it's a Japanese thing, either, because a lot of the challenges go to the French chef, the Chinese chef, the Italian chef... So not all the food made is Japanese or Japanese-fusion (though they do get that a lot)... I think it's because it's "fancy resturant" cheffy kind of food... not the kind a typical poor/middle income American is used to seeing. I just think it's fun that the whole things are battles revolving around food/ people challenging each other to things they are great at that is not sports... and it's interesting to see all the stuff they make from the theme ingredients.

When watching the "Battle Onion", which was a battle between French chefs... I got really hungry for French Onion Soup (both chefs made it as one of their courses! A rarity, both people making the same dish!)... so I made my own quickie homade version with beef bullion cubes, water, and sautee'd onions..hehe.

What I find really interesting about that show, though... I guess from being an anime fan who watches things dubbed and watches things subbed... is how the translators handle the show. You get BOTH in that show... some of the dialogue is dubbed, some is subbed. I think it's weird that it's not all either way. The Chairman always has his speaking subtitled for the English, while the commentators and tasters always have their comments dubbed (It's not synched up to the lip movements or anything, it's just done so English language speakers can know what they are saying). I just wonder why the producers for the Food Network don't just have the commentators' and tasters' words subbed like they do with the Chairman. It's weird.

[andyroo]

Yeah, I watch it. I also wish that they would sub it all the way. Although, I usually watch Friday night Sumo Wresteling on ESPN.



(not really)

[Rev. Doc]

The Chairman always has his speaking subtitled for the English, while the commentators and tasters always have their comments dubbed (It's not synched up to the lip movements or anything, it's just done so English language speakers can know what they are saying). I just wonder why the producers for the Food Network don't just have the commentators' and tasters' words subbed like they do with the Chairman. It's weird.

I watch it most of the time.

The show itself is somewhat of a parody of sports challenges/reality TV. While the cooking portion may generally be real for the most part, much of the rest of the show was done for entertainment and laughs. Chairman Kaga is in fact a stage actor in Japan. One of his big roles was playing Jesus in Jesus Christ Superstar.

In regard to the dubbing of the show, while we anime fans would accept such a thing, Americans in general are somewhat lazy in regards to accepting foreign films/shows and having to read what they are saying. If the whole show had been subtitled it most likely would have gone down the tubes. Wisely, they dubbed most of the show while keeping the Chairman (perhaps because of contractual stipulations) with the original language. I wish they would have another marathon.

[shooraijin]

Funny you should say that -- a lot of my friends can't stand subtitles. I'm accustomed to them and it hardly bothers me, but many of them won't go to subtitled movies because they can't get used to the format.

[Mithrandir]

Awwwright! More Iron Chef fans! I personally like Sub more than dubs, but that's a completely different topic - and I believe we have a thread for it, somewhere in the archives .

[Haibane Shadsie]

Actually,I have a thread about it under Anime... "I have a confession..."

Basically, me being an insecure little anime fan because I'm not a "purist" in that I don't mind dubs most of the time. However, with Iron Chef (which is a live action, "competative sport" show, not anime), I don't think the dubbing works. I think the show would work much better if they subtitled everyone's comments (Except maybe the annoucing at the beginning... "This is Iron Chef! Welcome to Kitchen Stadium!") but... just the narration... I think all the commentary, the announcers, the tasters... that it would just work better if they dropped the dubbing and just subbed the lines like they do with Chairman Kaga. It would just make more sense to me that way because I know all the people are speaking Japanese, anyway - having English voice acting that doesn't fit the lip movements is annoying, espeically when I know those people aren't speaking English.

I guess I feel diffrent about anime because dubbers these days have computer technology and stuff to make the mouths synch up with the speech, so it's not so annoying, and in some notable animes, the language of the people (despite it being an anime) IS supposed to be English (Trigun, Cowboy Bebop, and I think Big O)... but... in Iron Chef, I just find the split between the subbing and the dubbing annoying and think it should all be subbed.

It's still fun to watch, though.

[Michael]

I haven't seen it, but my mom has. She said it was hilarious.

[Ashley]

"Quizan!"
"Yes, Otto!"


I've also apparhently seen this show. ^^ My brother and dad and I got a great kick out of it (we were also amused by Food Network's Alton Brown and his show, the name of which escapes me). I found it hilarious that they always asked a fortune teller...it seemed like she was the odd one out. Politician, actress, fortune teller... She always seemed to be the crotchety one too.

I was always disgusted to see the host bite into a bell pepper, though. Yuck.

Speaking of, that show also taught me what--forgive my spelling here--"faw-graw" was.

[KarateGirl]

"Quizan!"
"Yes, Otto!"


I've also apparhently seen this show. ^^ My brother and dad and I got a great kick out of it (we were also amused by Food Network's Alton Brown and his show, the name of which escapes me). I found it hilarious that they always asked a fortune teller...it seemed like she was the odd one out. Politician, actress, fortune teller... She always seemed to be the crotchety one too.

I was always disgusted to see the host bite into a bell pepper, though. Yuck.

Speaking of, that show also taught me what--forgive my spelling here--"faw-graw" was.

Alton Brown's show is called "Good Eats", my family loves his show too...and he looks almost identical to my pastor...every sunday and wendesday i expect him to start cooking..

[Ashley]

and he looks almost identical to my pastor

Mine too! Don't believe me?

[andyroo]

O_o Freaky. I've seen that show before - well small parts of it while channel surfing. I think that I've watched one segment of his before, but that may be that Wolfgang guy. My parents love Emeril Live. They went as far as to buy the man's cookbook and a few of his spices.

[Technomancer]

"Foi gras?" French for "Liver and fat." Not as disgusting as it sounds, but like many cold foods, it doesn't stay well. And if you eat bad foi gras, you get food poisoning. So yes, it is disgusting in that sense. And spicy.

Tastes good though.

[Haibane Shadsie]

I also really like "Unwrapped". It's... pop-culturey... it's neat to see where some of my favorite heavily processed food comes from.

Anyway... there is a lot of "Iron Chef" I haven't seen... I was thinking today of battles I haven't seen that I'd like to see if they haven't already been done.

Have they done potatoes as a theme ingredient yet? It's such a common, staple food in many countries (though I don't think so in most of Japan), and it's versitile... I think it would be neat to see what the chefs comeup with for potatoes.

Also... Jalapeno peppers... it would be something that I don't think any of the Iron Chefs or those fancy-chef challengers would be accustomed to working with. I think it would be neat to see how they handle such an ingredient.

Hmm... There are Iron Chefs French, Italian, Chinese, and Japanese... How come there is no Iron Chef Mexican? Or an Iron Chef American? (Yeah, I saw part of an American version of Iron Chef in Las Vegas that had an Iron Chef American... but never on the original show. There was also an Iron Chef Swedish there on that show, but why not in the original?).

[DanekJovax]

Ah, Iron Chef... that's a good one.

I first remember seeing the show while I was helping a computer client at her house, and she had the food network on her sattelite TV. While I was waiting for stuff to download over her anemic dial-up connection, I would see a few of the shows.

One memorable show I think is my current favorite is the one they used "Hot Chili Peppers" as the magic ingredient. It was interesting to see over 50 different pepper dishes, and only about 9 of them were entrees and a couple doxen of them were DESSERTS!!

THe real funny part of the show was at the end, where Kaga got four 'volunteers' out of the audience to 'sample' the new pepper creations, and this old lady who looked at least 90 years old actually commented that "they could be hotter", while the other three 'contestants' were red-faced, fallen on the floor, or guzzling gallons of water.

Now that the local cable (Adelphia) recently acquired the Food channel, I may be lucky and see a few more Iron Chef shows, as I've only seen 4-5 shows. Ooooh yeah!

[kazekami]

I love this show!

[agasfas]

I've watched it since it first came on the food channel. I'm just sad to see that they aren't making any new seasons (so I've heard). And the American Iron Chef isn't the same... it's okay, but not as good as the original.

[Stephen]

Moved to the Entertainment board.

[R. Zion]

Good Eats and Iron Chef! Two of my favorite shows.

Alton Brown is just entirely interesting to listen to, even if he's just talking about something as mundane as, oh, Wheat germ or something! I try and catch it whenever I can, though it's not too often that I do.

I usually don't eat dinner until later in the evening so when I flip around and find Iron Chef, that perks my taste buds and it's off to fix something. Some of the food looks really quite good, while other dishes I'd have no idea where to begin. I'd probably end up eating the garnish or something.

As for the dubbing, I don't really mind it. Otta, Quizan and Doc I've grown quite fond of, but there are others that bug me. The dubber for Iron Chef Chinese Chen Kenichi make him sound like some kind of squeeky voiced clown or something.

There's also one of the judges that appears every once in a while, I call him the Japanese Colonel Sanders, that makes me smile everytime I see him. ^_^

Also, though for the most part he's subtitled, there are parts in various episodes....a prologue of sorts, I guess you could call it.... where Chairman Kaga is dubbed. It's odd (not the VA, but the fact that they did dub him), but it IS there.

All in all, I like the show and try to catch it whenever possible.

This post is OVAAAAH!

[kazekami]

My mom and I agree that the American one just isn't the same. I love the Japanese version. Its' a lot of fun. The American version isn't bad. Just not the same. Though sometimes the food produced at the end turns my stomach.

[kazekami]

I like the part where they cook. Some of the ingredients of never even heard of before. and the food looks really pretty.

[Mave]

Good Eats and Iron Chef! Two of my favorite shows.

Alton Brown is just entirely interesting to listen to, even if he's just talking about something as mundane as, oh, Wheat germ or something! I try and catch it whenever I can, though it's not too often that I do.

I usually don't eat dinner until later in the evening so when I flip around and find Iron Chef, that perks my taste buds and it's off to fix something. Some of the food looks really quite good, while other dishes I'd have no idea where to begin. I'd probably end up eating the garnish or something.

Ah I'm glad that someone else finds Alton Brown entertaining. His show is not only fun (IMO); you also learn a lot from the show. It's not just "use this and this and this and this because I said so" but "use this and here's why." Perhaps I resonate quite a bit with this fella since I'm a food science major. <.< >.>;;

Iron Chef Japan is another food show I watch since the food creations are pretty creative and while it's overly dramatized, you just don't see unnecessary emotional stress due to screaming, name-calling and playing dirty unlike some other shows *cough* Hell's Kitchen *cough*. Competitors in IC demonstrate sportmanship throughout the whole show and respect each other. I'm not too sure whether I can say the same for the American version but I still would prefer IC America over Hell's Kitchen anytime.

[Sammy Boy]

Yes Iron Chef is the only TV show I watch, since besides the weather reports I usually don't watch TV (don't have enough time, and rather spend time on CAA instead!).

My mum, my girlfriend and I often watch it together. The food makes us really hungry. LOL.

[Starfire1]

i love iron chef. me and my mom used to always watch it together. its sort of funny and just...really cool somehow. last night it was the "swallow's nest battle". and i am yet to find out if a swallow's nest is a fruit, vegetable, meat, or whatever. THE SWALLOW'S NEST BATTLE IS OH-VA!

[Yokuo]

I don't really watch it too much, but it sounds like I shouldn't watch it when I'm hungry.

[mitsuki lover]

I perfer the original Japanese version as well.Though I wish that they had
more eps. with Kobe the Italian Iron Chef.I loved the one where they had
the Thai Ambassador on.
What I love about the Japanese version is the play by play that isn't part
of the American version.That is so fun!
Especially when they ask the guests about wheter or not they've eaten at the challenger's restruant.
Then again another reason why the Japanese version is better is the fact that
when they introduce the Iron Chef's it's a lot more dramatic and fun to
watch them rising from the bottom of the stage.

[mitsuki lover]

Ok,I admit it I also do like watching the actresses they have as guests on the
Japanese version.

[That Dude]

I find I really enjoy this show. It's really neat seeing what those guys can create in just an hours time.

[KhakiBlueSocks]

The Chairman always has his speaking subtitled for the English, while the commentators and tasters always have their comments dubbed (It's not synched up to the lip movements or anything, it's just done so English language speakers can know what they are saying). I just wonder why the producers for the Food Network don't just have the commentators' and tasters' words subbed like they do with the Chairman. It's weird.

Simple; because he's the chairman! He's good like that! But as of now, the chairman is dubbed in the opening monologue "If Memory Serves Me Right..." and is subbed for the rest of the episode. It's very cool!

I really and truly hate the new "Iron Chef America"...it's a cheap ripoff! Why didn't they leave well enough alone?! That's just like when the US started making it's own anime...it's just wrong somehow!

[Yojimbo]

I used to watch Iron Chef all the time. It's a great show. I love Kaga's goofy outfits like that cow skin patterned suit and Victorian style stuff, and can't forget him biting into that yellow pepper. I like how it's so overdramitized with the smoke, the serious looks on everybody, the elevators everywhere. And the commentary is great for everybody, especially for the giggly actresses and the actors who think they know everything.

And you know none of those people on the panel know a dang thing about food they either say it's perfect or the last comment they make is about how it's just a little too salty, spicey, whatever. I mean comeon people you're eating food from world class chefs how can you have any real complaints, it doesn't make ya sound objective. I swear that Lower House member guy and that Fortune Teller have been in half the episodes ever made. That Fortune Teller really needs to stop mooching and get a real job.

[KhakiBlueSocks]

I used to watch Iron Chef all the time. It's a great show. I love Kaga's goofy outfits like that cow skin patterned suit and Victorian style stuff, and can't forget him biting into that yellow pepper. I like how it's so overdramitized with the smoke, the serious looks on everybody, the elevators everywhere. And the commentary is great for everybody, especially for the giggly actresses and the actors who think they know everything.

Hey! Don't hate on Kaga's wardrobe! I'm headed to the mall as soon as I leave the library and I'm going straight for the sparkly cow pattern department! You're right on the money with the commentators. My personal favorite is the Doc (Yukio Hattori), you know he actually did two battles in Kitchen Stadium...and lost miserably! But he still hangs in there and he stepped into the role of chairman when Kaga boycotted the battles. (The Iron Chefs lost 6 battles in a row). It's just like watching a sporting event with the reporters on the floor. Here's a "typical" exchange:

Ota:"Fukui-san!"

Fukui: "Go head, Ota."

Ota: "The Challenger just added salt to his dish, and is loading it into the steamer!"

Fukui: Allright, challenger Inuyasha loading his squid dish into the steamer for a quick steamjob."

Hattori: "You know, they used to call this type of steaming "Momentai" in the warring states era of Japan."

Female Judge: "The Challenger looks so determinded in his red kimono!" *giggles uncontrollably for thirty seconds*

Male Judge: "Yes, you know, I've been to the warring states era before and I actually saw a medicine man dressed in a robe like that made from the hairs of the firerat!"

Fukui: "Well, lets hope the challenger uses that fire towards his dishes."

*Everyone chuckles*

I swear that Lower House member guy and that Fortune Teller have been in half the episodes ever made. That Fortune Teller really needs to stop mooching and get a real job.

You're right on the button there. Kurimoto-san and Asako Kishi (I think) have tasted the most dishes in Kitchen Stadium...second only to the chairman of course, who's tasted them ALL!