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Okashina Okashi - Strange Candy
File:StrangeCandySample.jpg
Comic featuring Teneko and Minami
Author(s)Emily Snodgrass, J. Baird
Websitehttp://www.strangecandy.net/
Current status/scheduleThursday
Launch dateJanuary 16, 2001
Genre(s)Comedy, Romance, Fantasy, Sports, Science fiction

Okashina Okashi - Strange Candy is a webcomic drawn by Emily Snodgrass (Emi-chan) and currently written by J. Baird (Xuanwu), with Allison Brownlow (Tanzy) and Karen Olympia (Kourin) as former writers. It was started in 2001, with Brownlow as its first writer, with Olympia added to the team in October 2001. [citation needed] Snodgrass has appeared at some conventions, speaking on fan-run and amateur artist panels.[1][2] Snodgrass is an amateur artist who does not make a living from her online strip.[2]

Okashina Okashi is hosted on Comic Genesis, a free hosting provider for webcomics. Baird used his comics as part of his classroom exercises while teaching for Hess Educational Organization, an English education provider in the Republic of China and Singapore.[3] He has also created a "Create a Comic Project", where he used his comic in a free after-school youth literacy library activity in New Haven, CT.[4]

In August 2007, Emi-chan branched out with a spin-off comic set in the Beauty Man Garden, a chain of restaurants featured prominently throughout Okashina Okashi. The new comic is called Mini BMG.[citation needed]

Plot

A group of strangers are sucked into the alternate universe of UberTokyo. They must try to find a way home by using plotholes to teleport between dimensional realms. Each realm is a parody of a given genre of anime and manga, such as sports, sentai, and fantasy. The story arcs from beginning to recent are:

  • The Beginning - The main cast is introduced and must acquaint themselves with the world of UberTokyo.
  • Bikini Amazons - A parody of "warrior women" anime, such as Dirty Pair.
  • Shōjo High School - A parody of high school based shōjo dramas, such as Fushigi Yuugi and the works of Clamp. This is when Takeshi is introduced.
  • Pr0n Shop - The cast arrive in UberTokyo's Red Light District and get jobs at a Pr0n Shop run by Takeshi's brother. Nyarr-chan and Ecchibi are introduced.
  • Galactic Sentai Adventure - The group is split up between two warring space factions, the Hornwing Alliance and the Tokyoto Empire. One group learn to pilot Tokyoto's giant robot while the others become involved in the "Miss Wingmay" competition. This parodies space shows such as Voltron and Macross. In the end, Ho-chan and Daisuke end up separated from the others.
  • Sportsland - The cast are drawn into the world of Cutthroat Co-Ed Croquet. This parodies many sports and non-sports anime, such as Attack No. 1 and Jubei-chan: The Ninja Girl. It was during this arc that the current writer, Xuanwu, began.
  • The Convention - A parody of both anime conventions and role-playing games, such as World of Warcraft and Final Fantasy. Yamichi joins the main cast.

In addition to these formal arcs, there are numerous subplots that span more than one arc. The longest running involves Kerisu, an evil overlord, who needs new groupies and wants the main cast to replace them. Ho-chan and Daisuke, who were left behind in the sentai adventure world, have been revisited a number of times for their own subplot. A third subplot revolves around Professor Li and his assistant Terra.

The comic features extensive references to numerous anime series and video games, such as Neon Genesis Evangelion, Revolutionary Girl Utena, and Guilty Gear. It also uses male homoeroticism as fanservice. One of its main male character, Eeichi, is bisexual. Another male character, Takeshi, frequently cross dresses. Two minor female characters, Jen Puni and Zuga Ma, are implied to be lesbians.

Cast

  • Ellie James, aka Eri-chan - Arguably one of two main characters of the comic, Eri-chan is 16 years old and from a high school in America. she came to Japan for a semester to study abroad, living with Keiko. She is well versed in various anime and manga and often cites examples or metaphors from obscure shows and books. Her favorite part of anime is pretty boys (aka bishounen), making her a natural fan of the Beauty Man Garden. Her nickname, Eri-chan, was given to her by Keiko. First appearance: OO #1.
  • Keiko Hasegawa - Keiko and Eri-chan are arguably the main characters of the comic. She first met Eri-chan when the latter came to Japan to study abroad. Keiko is usually the sensible one of the group: she has rarely allowed herself flights of fancy and tends to be very controlled and disciplined. She also tends to be the one to point out how silly some situations are. However, her romance with Takeshi ended tragically, revealing a more ruthless side to her personality. First appearance: OO #1.
  • Petra - Petra is the most violent member of the group and (appropriately) has access to hammer space and its myriad weapons. While intelligent, she usually has a "wait and see" attitude, taking the adventures in stride. She seems to have formed a friendship with Lycidia and had a definite platonic relationship with Lymaran, who shared her love of destruction. She has an aversion to pretty things, though she can be somewhat romantic, as she was a lover with Hammon. First appearance: OO #2.
  • Lycidia - Lycidia is the party's "evil genius." Her goal is to rule the world, using her substantial wealth and mastery of intrigue. Daisuke became her first loyal minion, though she continues to search for more resources to acquire. She is typically the most sarcastic of the group. First appearance: OO #4.
  • Eeichi Shinohara - Eeichi is a very perverted male. A singer and songwriter before joining the group, he is proficient with the guitar and some other instruments. Eeichi's attitude over the course of the adventures has been to focus on having "relations" with whatever pretty people he encounters - with mixed results. He was most often see with Hoshiki, as they both shared similar interests. First appearance: OO #3.
  • Hoshiko Yamano, aka Ho-chan - The most perverted female in the comic. She can even contemplate situations that make Eeichi blush and is famous for compiling lists of various activities. She recently became queen of an entire galactic empire and used her power to promote skimpy clothes for pretty boys everywhere. While most of her activities have been with guys, she is perfectly willing to share some naughty experiences with women, too. First appearance: OO #3. Origin of "Ho-chan": OO #54.
  • Daisuke Dohmoto - Daisuke, 17, is the mysterious nerdy-looking who first summons the main cast to UberTokyo. He did it in an effort to create his own harem. He wound up serving as Lycidia's loyal minion for a time, and is now Ho-chan's court Jester. Of his family, only his father has been introduced and it's been implied there is something more to him than first met the eye. First appearance: OO #5.
  • Takeshi Shirokane - Takeshi was (is?) Keiko's cross-dressing boyfriend. A star of the kendo team, he also moonlighted as a female pop idol. He first met Keiko and the others in a shoujo-style high school where he was Keiko's boyfriend until he apaprently betrayed her by not refuting rumors begun by his fiance, Himeko. He is hopelessly infatuated with Keiko and pursued her through the multiverse. He even proposed marriage to her, only to be harshly declined. His current whereabouts are unknown. First appearance: OO #89.
  • Yamichi - Yamichi is the newest member of the main cast. Appearing briefly in the Sportsland arc, he works for Professor Li as his assistant, testing the professor's gadgets such as the Plothole Generator that allows for travel between dimensions. He is also the lead guitarist for the boyband Kaze. In an encounter with Eri-chan, the GURPS Rifts (Plothole) Generator was damaged, which has caused Yamichi to wander the multiverse trying to get home (a parody of Sliders). He finally re-appeared in the RPG video game the cast was trapped in and joined then Queen Lycidia and the others. Eri-chan has a strong dislike for him, which is actually a plot on her behalf to try to create a "love triangle" involving herself, Yamichi, and her true love, Ulrich. His character design and personality are based on Junichi from Tsunami Channel.
  • Kerisu - Kerisu is the evil overlord of UberTokyo and other areas. His dungeon lair has background music of "OOM OOM OOM" to reinforce his evilness. Among his minions are Tim, Dom, Ed, and his pet kitty Teneko. He also has an android named Minami, who he had built to replace his groupies (they went on strike). His goal, though he seems to have forgotten it, is to have the female cast of OO become his new groupies, as task he assigned Dom to perform. He is well versed in the "Advice for the Evil Overlord" list, so that he even has a five-year old advisor.
  • Loyal Minion Tim - Tim is the number one minion of Kerisu and is always by the overlord's side. Sporting wings, a polo shirt, and khakis, Tim is on one hand possibly the sanest member of the cast and on the other hand possibly its most beset upon. He is often forced to do the dirty tasks Kerisu deems too low for himself, be it having androids built, picking up cards, or razing villages in an online game. He gets paid, but was not aware of it until Kerisu threatened to dock said income.
  • Dom - Dom (the same Dom that appears in Megatokyo) is one of Kerisu's minions. He has been tasked with hunting down the main cast to turn them into Kerisu's new groupies, but seems to have forgotten this goal and is instead simply shadowing the group from world to world. So far, his humiliations have included being made to cross dress, forced into jello wrestling, and turned into a sports mascot. He has a rivalry with Ed (who is also the same Ed from Megatokyo).
  • Teneko - Kerisu's pet cat(girl). She can transform between a cat and a catgirl at will, though her personality is much the same in both forms. Teneko is playful and curious, and rather ecchi. She loves Kerisu very much, and gets jealous if he gives other people attention. Teneko especially hates Minami, Kerisu's Fetish Android. Teneko is also the defacto "mascot" of the comic, as her face appears on several banners.
  • Minami - The first of a line of "Combat Bondage Elf Schoolgirl Android Maid with Glasses" robots that Ty creates for Lord Kerisu. She is meant to serve as a replacement for Kerisu's groupies that are on strike. She has multiple personalities, including a "Uber-Obsequious Slave Girl mode," "Fangirl mode," and "Rei mode." She's also very good at karaoke. Teneko hates her for stealing away the affections of Lord Kerisu.
  • Professor Li - The primary mad scientist of the comic. He is responsible for a number of things in the comic. It's been stated that he may have been involved in the main cast first coming to UberTokyo, exactly how is unknown. He was also caused the destruction of a sports stadium in the Sports Arc World and created the tentacle-summoning magical powers that Teneko used in an attempt to destroy Minami. According to Yamichi, who works as his assistant, Li is currently researching magical girls. His character design is based on a character created by Xuanwu dating back to early 2001.

References on other web sites

  • According to Tang, the writer and artist of Tang's Weekly Comic among others, OO is a comic he checks occasionally.[5]
  • OO has been referenced by a number of fellow webcomics, including:
  • Two characters from OO, Professor Li and Kuro, were featured on the September 2008 cover art of ComixTalk.[15]

References

  1. ^ Tei, Andrew. (2002-07-05) Anime Expo 2002 Convention Reports. AnimeOnDVD.com.
  2. ^ a b Ushicon Panels - 2003
  3. ^ Baird, John. "Create a Comic." In Language Learning Games and Activities Volume 3 pg 14-15, edited by Gary Bosomworth and Sheryn Williams. Taipei, Taiwan ROC: Hess Educational Organization, 2005.
  4. ^ McLoughlin, Pamela. Cartoons propel creative process. New Haven Register. Published: 2007-03-19.
  5. ^ Tangs Weekly Comic
  6. ^ And Shine Heaven Now ~ Hellsing Fancomic
  7. ^ The KAMics - DrunkDuck.com!
  8. ^ The KAMics - DrunkDuck.com!
  9. ^ The KAMics - DrunkDuck.com!
  10. ^ Magiversity
  11. ^ Mindmistress
  12. ^ Sharing a Universe
  13. ^ SUBLUNARY -enterthemoonlight
  14. ^ Sunday Morning Coffee - Sunday, September 9, 2001
  15. ^ http://comixtalk.com/september_2008_cover_art

External links

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