You Still Don't Know Gumma" Episode 4: Do You Know Gumma's Soul Food, Yaki Manju?

The short anime "You Still Don't Know Gunma" started this April.
Based on a comic serialized on the web comic distribution site "Kurage Bunch," it is a comedy in which "Gunma" (Gunma Prefecture/people in Gunma Prefecture), which is often disparaged on the Internet, is deformed with exaggerated action scenes with a lot of tension.


This work is so local that only the local commercial TV station, Gunma Television (Gunma Television), broadcasts it, which is a crying shame. However, it is also available on Animax and GYAO! The author, a native of Gunma, will delve into the details of such a super-local work with love.


Although there has been a bit of a gap in time due to the Golden Week holidays, the soul food of Gumma, "yaki manju," appeared in the fourth episode that aired at the end of April. In case you are not familiar with it, let me explain (although I don't think anyone is!) Yaki manju is a bread-like bun made of flour that is skewered (usually 3-4 pieces per skewer), roasted over a fire, and eaten after the surface is soaked with a miso sauce. Note that this is not the manju with red bean paste that is commonly imagined when one hears the word "manju. It tastes more like miso buns, but lightly grilled. Incidentally, miso buns are also a specialty of Gumma, so if you try them as well, you will understand how much Gumma has a weakness for miso and powdered food.


You can find yaki manju at festivals and other events, as well as at various drive-ins, service areas, souvenir shops, and the like. In fact, there are even specialty stores that are open all the time, making it the soul food of Gumma. The miso on the surface is slightly sweet, and when it is burned by the fire, it emits a mellow aroma. The crispy surface of the manju (which is actually bread!) and the miso sauce go well together. ) and the miso sauce combine to create an indescribably delicious taste, but the inside of the manju (or bread) is soft and fluffy. This contrast of "crispy and fluffy" is another characteristic of yakimanjyu. Incidentally, a manju (bun!) skewered and covered with miso (that's why it's called "bread"!) can be eaten in one hand as it is. By the time you finish eating the manju (that's why it's called "bread"!) on the skewer with just one hand, it should be sticky around your mouth. Surprisingly, it is extremely difficult to eat cleanly, even in Gumma.


Well, this fourth episode starts off with the main character, Kamizuki, who was accused of spying from another prefecture in the previous third episode, and was cornered and trapped by his classmates. Todoroki, a friend of Kamizuki's, orders Kamizuki to eat a grilled manju. The reason is that if non-Gummaites eat this baked manju, they will show a violent rejection reaction and die. In other words, it is a game of Russian roulette with life at stake: if he does not die after eating the baked manju, he will be exonerated from the suspicion of being a spy, but if not, death awaits him. Of course, this setting is fictional, but even the follow-up commentary on the message "*Almost right. The follow-up commentary was also very bad.


As a result, not only did Kozuki have no problem eating the baked manju, but he seemed to have awakened to the deliciousness of baked manju. His classmates saw this and recognized him as a friend , saying, "What, you're a Gunma man? Eating out of the same pot" is a common expression used as proof of strong friendship, but in the case of the Gummies, it is more like "eating the same baked manjuu.


This should have settled the matter, but Kyo Shinooka, the red-hot star of the film, is not satisfied with the result. In the following episodes 5 and 6, she and a group called "JKJ " will be hunting down Kozuki...


From May 14 to May 20, a recap distribution of episodes 1 to 6 of this work, "You Still Don't Know Gumma," is being held on "GYAO! If you have not seen this work yet, please check it out this week on "GYAO!


GYAO! "You still don't know Gunma" distribution page
# (Editorial Department・Kamada)


(Editorial Department, Kamata)

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