Let's Talk Fighting Foodons

[RacattackForce]

[Daikun]

[Dr. Insomniac]

I really felt bad for the villagers' plight when facing Beefsteak. While the show tried to hide the allegory by making him a dragon with a basket for a head, I could see him for the Communist allegory he really was.

The Meal Tickets, to me, were a symbol of the one-percenter movement in Japan, where only the richest were allowed to have food-chimera monsters. Oslo giving Chase his super Meal Ticket was like a rage against the elite culture going on in early-2000s China. It only adds to the critique when his servant is called Fried Ricer, letting the first agent against aristocracy be a simple dish of rice. I could totally see Fried Ricer being influential not only to other anime, but to other shows across the world. He probably influenced Chen Jianbin's role the Legend of Zhen Huan, which I haven't seen but is probably something similar to this.

Maybe kids in 2002 saw the plight King Gorge brought upon China and became the eventual political anarchists we see today. Some will never admit it, but they're fight against government oppression and police brutality was more likely than not inspired by watching a bowl of rice fight a beef dragon.

[Lord Dalek]

Clearly Fighting Foodons (dir: Tetsuo Yasumi, 2000) is one of the finest of the so-called "shounen action anime" of the early part of the 21st Century. Serving as an epic metaphor for post-Nanjing oppresion, this story of multicolor haired heroes struggling against evil waiters is something that deeply resonates to this day. As a culinary enthusiast I could easily approach the story much more than say that of an angry youth that plays childrens card games which control the fate of the world and perhaps the universe itself. How did such a overlooked masterpiece fail to make much of an impression on beloved programming block the "Fox in a Box" in 2003?

In this series, an actor named Daniel "Dan" Green portrays a character named "Beefsteak", a giant dinosaur that constantly says "Beefsteak!" repeatedly suggesting a personal crisis of identity not unlike the ones expressed by the characters of Proust. Furthermore, the role of Sir Fureyed Rye was such a tour de force that it catapulted its actor Andrew Rannels to a long running career in Broadway Drama such as "Hairspray", "Hedwig and the Angry Inch", and "Jersey Boys". No such feat has been preformed by contemporary actors such as the rather obscure Steven J. Blum and Crispin Freeman.

What is the allure of Fighting Foodons?  This is something I have considered but have not yet found the answer to. Perhaps future works such as Heartland Hubby will provide a similar level of quality as Fighting Foodons. Clearly modern animation has utterly failed to live up to its magnificent example. Hats off gentlemen, a genius.

[The Shadow Gentleman]

Man, this is bringing back memories. I'm so glad you guys are talking about this again. I feel rewatching this series will help me dig into the layered plot.

Fighting Foodons was one of my first exposures to anime, and to this day I feel it really does hold up. Yeah, the dub is a little rusty in places and it takes the actors a while to get into character, but the way the dub script adds nuggets of personality where the original was rather bland. Daniel "Dicky" Green's performance as the introductory antagonist "Beefsteak" is arguably one of his best. I'm looking forward to seeing what changes the dub writers make, but I hope they're for the better.

[The Shadow Gentleman]

Have you guys watched the next episode yet? I've had to hold off because of school, but I got around to it today and it was great. I really like Pie Tin as a character, he makes a great contrast to Chase. And the Fried Ricer/Sir Dumpling fight was the first of many great team-ups to come.

[Dr. Insomniac]

I really liked Boulderbroth's design. Reminded me of a cross between Charizard and Blastoise.