In Closing

 I learned a lot about Ramen, Sushi, Yakitori and Japanese cuisine in general.  The main reason I could not try more instant Ramen was because of the carbohydrates per serving. Ramen is not the healthiest dish for someone who is diabetic and avoiding high carb meals. I had to limit myself to one restaurant visit a month, but made the most of it. My award for best ramen in New Jersey goes to Ani Ramen in Cranford and second place goes to Rayaki Ramen in Edison. 

This was also my first blog to be accepted into the Google adsense program. I learned a lot about what works and doesn't work in trying to gain page views.  Mainly the more articles the better, how to add labels and link blog posts to each other. 

While I enjoyed writing this blog and will always have a place in my heart for Japanese culture, it's time to move on. I've decided to return to writing for the Casino Cage. This is my blog about gaming and travel, in the Casino space.

I like to say regret nothing, but I end Godzilla's leftovers with 2 regrets. First was when I tried mochi, which is a Japanese dessert made from glutinous rice. I thought it was too sweet and didn't care for the texture or consistency. Secondly I never did get around to crocheting my mini sushi Bento box.  Crochet food is always cute when you add a smiling face. I can always double back and add some posts when they are complete. 

Anime - The Adventures of the Little Prince

 

The Adventures of the Little Prince is a Japanese Anime series from 1978 based on the book by French author Antoine de Saint-Exupéry. It aired in the US on Nickelodeon and in Canada on TVOntairo in 1985. The English dubbed version was only 26 of the 39 original Japanese episodes. The plot/storyline was also changed for the English version. It seems both the Japanese and English version have taken some liberties from the original story.

In the book the Little Prince leaves his small planet in search of friendship. He travels to several planets then eventually arrives on Earth. He befriends a fox then a pilot, who is really Antoine himself. The Little Prince learns "One only sees clearly with the heart. Anything essential is invisible to the eyes." The book has somewhat of a sad ending, but is still considered a masterpiece by many. 

I would say both the Japanese and English versions are geared towards children and maintain a wholesome storyline. What has always stood out to me is the illustrations. The original book from 1943 was illustrated by Antoine de Saint-Exupery. The anime series was illustrated by Knack Productions and did a superb job paying homage to Antoine's artwork. 

The full 39 episodes of the Japanese series can now be watched with English dub on Crunchyroll. There is a 3D adaptation available on YouTube and a 2D adaptation on Netflix. For a complete list of adaptations check out this Wikipedia article.

Restaurant- Poke House (poke)

 I found myself at Poke House in Crandford NJ for the second time.  I was there to try poke for the first time. Poke is a Hawaiian dish with Japanese influence.  I ordered the Special bowl which came with Ahi Tuna, Salmon, Shrimp, Edamame, Cucumber, Sesame Vinegar, and Avocado. 

There is an option to choose white, brown, or green rice. I selected brown rice. The rice was black, sticky and taste both sweet and nutty at the same time. Overall this was a great tasting, healthy dish with fresh ingredients. I will be back to try this "green" rice. 

Godzilla: King of the Monsters (2019)

 

Godzilla: King of the Monsters is the sequel to Godzilla (2014.) It's part of a series of Hollywood produced Godzilla movies and part of the Monsterverse franchise. The Monsterverse was created when Legendary Entertainment negotiated the rights to both Godzilla and King Kong. The Monsterverse incorporates movies and a TV series where Godzilla and Kong co exists.  

This was the first and only Godzilla movie I've seen to date.  While the online reviews are horrible, I really enjoyed this movie. We encounter Dr. Emma Russell who awakens monster zero and plans to awaken more kaiju. She believes we need their path of destruction in order to deal with over population, pollution and other negative human activity.  She will bring mass deaths with her plan. The Monarch organization decides to awaken a sleeping Godzilla with a nuclear bomb to attack the other kaiju before they can destroy mankind. 

I loved seeing Godzilla awaken and the fight scenes. There was a lot of useful information given as far as world-building goes.  Please give this movie a chance before you skip over it.

Tapatio Ramen

 

I tried the Tapatio instant ramen sold at the dollar tree. This is from the same brand that produces Tapato hot sauce. Just add water and place in the microwave or boil the water and add to the fill line. Either way you'll be enjoying your ramen in 3 minutes. 

The Chicken flavored is rich and flavorful. It contains small pieces of carrot, scallions, and garlic. It does pack some heat. Overall this was much better then any Maruchan ramen I've tried. 

The Original flavor had reddish colored broth. Not as flavorful, does have some heat when it hits your tongue and throat. More of a tomato flavor.

My advice is to add some extra toppings of your own.

Godzilla Kaiju Wars VR

 I was back at Tropicana's newest arcade "Game Up Lounge" located in the shopping quarter. I bought a $10 card which gave me just enough to ride/play the Godzilla Virtual Reality game.  

One swipe is 32 credits. I played 1 out of 5 levels. It does give you the option of which monster you would like to fight. Unfortunately I was still adjusting my headset when it choose for me. I played against Ghidorah, the three headed monster. 

The game feels more like an amusement park ride or Rollercoaster.  The VR transports you to a helicopter where you fly around the city of Tokyo. You use the large gun in front of you to shoot random monsters, giant insects, robots, Ghidorah and finally at the end you face off against Godzilla. I did end up killing Godzilla but that got me no where, you still need to swipe again for another 32 credits to go up against another monster. 

I would say it's worth the $10 to experience the ride once but not sure I would play again. 

Restaurant- Rayaki Ramen Edison

 We tried Rayaki Ramen in Edison NJ. It's a small restaurant but delivers great ramen. There were menu slips and pens at our table. Which is an efficient easy way to order. In addition to ramen, they have a wide selection of teas and robatayaki (meat and vegetable skewers).

I tried the spicy miso soup. It came with the boiled egg, pork cutlets, scallions, bamboo shoots, sprouts and corn. The pork was cooked really well and I appreciate that it wasn't the typically pinwheel and much easier to eat.  The table had chili paste, ramen seasoning and soy sauce but I didn't need to use any of it. I would describe my soup as a flavor explosion. It was such a great tasting bowl I rank Rayaki Ramen the number 2 ramen restaurant in New Jersey.

The restaurant also has some great murals for the anime fans. There are Pokémon cards displayed that can be purchased. Rayaking Ramen is also a chain of 6 restaurants, if Edison is far you could try a closer location.

 

Robot Circus

 

I recently watched the first episode of Astro Boy. When I first saw the Robot Circus that Astro Boy was sold to, I immediately thought of Reel Steel a movie from 2011 featuring robot fighters. Reel Steal stars Hugh Jackman as a former boxer that is now a robot fighter promoter, operator and repair man. The premise of the movie is that there is no longer any appetite for human boxing, but robot fighting is all the rage.  There are fighting leagues, organized televised fights, underground events and also traveling circus like events.

We are first introduced to Charlie (Hugh Jackman) traveling in a large Mad Max style truck where he sleeps, travels, and transports his massive robot fighter. He stops at a rodeo where he's paid to have his robot fight a bull.  This is where we can first drawn the comparison to Astro Boy. Astro's first fight is against Z.O.G. a giant robot with horns that looks like a bull. 

Later we are introduced to a junkyard robot whom Charlie's son rescues. He's an old sparring robot who needs a lot of work, but Max insists on fighting.  The ancient robot is named Atom, which is Astro boys original Japanese name. Like Astro Boy, he has been discarded by his owner but has more life left in him.

The creators of Reel Steel state it's based on the 1956 short story "Steel" by Richard Matheson. The short story features two promoters dragging an old fighting Robot B2 from Philadelphia via train to a small stadium for a fight. Their robot is falling apart but they lack the funds to fix him. They actually break the robot's arm and Kelly decides he'll climb inside the robot to fight.  He barely lasts one round, they are paid half of what they were originally promised. The story ends with them having enough money to fix up most of the robot and fight again. 

I can see how the movie is loosely based on Steel. Especially a world in which robot boxing exists.  There is a clear nod to Astro Boy and the Robot Circus. Real Steel brings a wrestling show vibe to the world of robot boxing with trash talking interviews and pre-match antics. There are famous robots from the United States and Noisy Boy from the Japanese league.  Fans can place their bets on outcomes.  The robots aren't autonomous, they still need an operator using a tablet. Although Atom can go on shadow mode and mimic what he sees in front of him.  After watching Real Steel I have been hoping for a real life robot fighting league, I will have to settle for battle bots for now.  Real Steel 2 is rumored to be in the works. 

The Twilight Zone also remade Steel in season 5 episode 2. This takes the short story and uses it as a script to act out the episode. After their robot is damaged one of the promoters decides to fight in his place. Definitely not a fair fight, man vs machine. Is this any different then trans men fighting women in the ring? Someone has a clear advantage. This turns me off from human boxing all together. For now I'll patiently wait for my Robot Circus while rewatching Real Steel.

Godzilla

 It's time to address the elephant, or in this case giant monster, in the room. How can I be writing a blog called Godzilla's left overs and not write about the Godzilla movies? If you read my first post, you will see that I had initially intended to write about Godzilla, ramen and Japanese culture. The last two turned out to be a lot easier than the first.  When I committed to reviewing the Godzilla movies I had no idea how many there were, currently 38 and counting. I also confused King Kong with somehow being a Godzilla movie, not sure how to explain but the video game Rampage from my early childhood helped with the confusion. While King Kong and Godzilla are both Kaiju, they only appear in a handful of movies together.

There is a wealth of resources online including godzilla.com, wikizilla.org and even IMDB. If you try a google search you will get pages of articles reviewing the top 10 Godzilla movies, the best watch sequence, under rated Godzilla movies, etc. After researching myself I personally found the Rotten Tomatoes guide to be my favorite. This site uses the Tomatometer to rank the movies from 1 to 38. I have generally agreed with their reviews and am willing to give their viewing order priority.

Anime - Astro Boy

 

Astro Boy was the first anime series to become a world wide success.  It was first released in Japan on New Years day 1963. It's based on the magna series "Atom Boy" written and illustrated by Osamu Tezuka. The series is typically summarized as a series about a robot boy with human emotions that fights for justice. 

I watched the first episode of the 1963 dubbed English  version. I was taken aback by some of the gloomy subject matter. First Astor Boyton III is pictured in his self driving car, it's supposed to be the safest mode of transportation, but he's involved in an accident and dies. Dr. Boynton the boys father, as head of the ministry of science orders a robot replica of his son to be built within a year.  Astro boy is complete and goes to live with Dr. Boynton. The robot proves to be exceptionally smart but after a couple years Dr. Boynton regrets building him, he is disappointed Astro isn't growing like a real boy.  In a heartbreaking scene he sells Astro to the owner of a robot circus.

Hammond Egg runs a robot circus, where robots fight each other and perform other acts for the crowd. In Astro's debut fight he defeats a much larger opponent named Z.O.G. Hammond  tries to get Astro to kill Z.O.G. but he refuses.  Astro displays the same compassion as a young child. Later Astro runs into a pile of old robots headed for sale as scrap metal. They explain that Hammond no longer charges them because they aren't crowd pleaser.  Astro realizes his 12V should be enough to charge them all and sets to it. 

Shortly after, Sparrow the robot performs a  cabonball. There is an accident and he explodes. The circus catches on fire and Astro along with the rescued roboots help save the audience members from the fire. But they are not rewarded for their actions.  Hammond is visited by the new head of the Ministry of Science who would like Astro to live at the center. Hammond out right refuses. The new Ministry of Science turns the TV on and we see The Robot Bill of Rights has just passed. Astro is now free to leave.  A lot happens in this first episode. 

The Astro Boy series is known to cover topics such as human and artificial intelligence relationships, inclusion, prejudice, pros and cons of advancement and trys to place nuclear power in a positive light. Based on the first episode I will recommend the series, but buckledown for 193 episodes. There is also a 1980's series remake in color which was 52 episodes. 

Kit Kat Tasting

⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐

Flavor: Neapolitan

Country: Australia

Comments: There are two flavors that repeat themselves throughout the bar, Strawberry and Vanilla. The strawberry tastes like nesquick strawberry milk. The vanilla tastes like Breyer vanilla bean ice cream.  Both pieces have a chocolate bottom and chocolate filling in the waffers.  Together the two bars taste like a neapolitan ice cream bowl.  Again this is an Australian bar made from 100% certified sustainable cocoa, supplied through the Nestle Cocoa Plan.