Okashina Okashi - Strange Candy

Okashina Okashi - Strange Candy is a webcomic hosted on Comic Genesis, a free hosting provider for webcomics. It is drawn by Emily Snodgrass (Emi-chan) and written by Allison Brownlow (Tanzy), Karen Olympia (Kourin), and J. Baird (Xuanwu). It was started in 2001, with Brownlow as its first writer, with Olympia added to the team in October 2001.
Baird has presented Okashina Okashi at national conferences as one of the three most important comics — alongside Penny Arcade and Dinosaur Comics — in the fields of education and public health for facilitating the development of art-based research methods and a variety of educational projects. Baird frequently uses the comics in his volunteer teaching exercises. This involvement began when Baird used the comic as part of his classroom exercises while teaching for Hess Educational Organization, an English education provider in the Republic of China and Singapore. Similarly, he used the comic again when he volunteered to teach the Create a Comic Project, a free after-school youth literacy library activity in New Haven, CT.
Snodgrass has appeared at some conventions, speaking on fan-run and amateur artist panels. Baird has also appeared at convention panels. Snodgrass is an amateur artist who does not make a living from her online strip.
In August 2007, Snodgrass branched out with a spin-off comic set in the Beauty Man Garden, a fictional chain of restaurants in Okashina Okashi. The comic was called Mini BMG. This attempt at another comic "fizzled pretty quickly" but Snodgrass hopes to relaunch it someday, hoping "to plan better and have more comics done."
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 comic archives are split into several distinct story arcs, called "Lands," each representing the world being visited in that arc. Known lands include Amazon Land, Land, Pr0n Land, Space Drama Land, Sports Land, and RPG Land. The lands are generally unrelated to each other, though some characters do appear in different lands (ex. a group of winged men from Space Drama Land playing as a Killer Croquet team in the Sports Land).
Recurring plot points in the series involve the Beauty Man Garden, a restaurant chain where all the waiters are bishounen and wear only extremely short aprons; a pair of cat boys, Spike and V, who monitor the group's progress from afar; and the schemes of Evil Overload Kerisu, the series' main antagonist, who wants the female main characters to serve as his groupies.
Characters
The cast consists of several groups of recurring members. The primary focus are the "Adventurers," who travel from land to land. The comic features several dozen secondary cast members who reappear from time to time, but are not included below.
*Ellie James, aka Eri-chan - One of the 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: [http://www.strangecandy.net/d/20010116.html OO #1].
*Keiko Hasegawa - Keiko is one of the main characters of the comic. She first met Eri-chan when the latter came to Japan to study abroad. Unlike the others, she rarely expresses enjoyment when finding herself in a new world and considers the traveling "a bother." She also points out the silliness of some situations the cast faces. Her romance with Takeshi ended tragically and she has been verbally cold to him since. First appearance: [http://www.strangecandy.net/d/20010116.html OO #1].
*Petra - Petra is the most violent member of the group and (appropriately) has access to hammer space and its myriad weapons. 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: [http://www.strangecandy.net/d/20010118.html OO #2].
*Lycidia - Lycidia is the party's "evil genius." Her stated 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 frequently uses sarcasm and will insult others if they displease her. First appearance: [http://www.strangecandy.net/d/20010125.html 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. The cast has not reacted well to songs he writers himself, however. Eeichi has sought "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: [http://www.strangecandy.net/d/20010123.html 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. It's been revealed she sees Eeichi as her ideal mate, valuing his stamina. First appearance: [http://www.strangecandy.net/d/20010123.html OO #3]. First use of "Ho-chan": [http://www.strangecandy.net/d/20010619.html 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: [http://www.strangecandy.net/d/20010130.html 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 apparently 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. He has since returned to Nade Nade High School. First appearance: [http://www.strangecandy.net/d/20011023.html OO #89].
*Yamichi - Yamichi is the newest member of the main cast. Appearing briefly in Sports Land, 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. He finally re-appeared in the RPG Land and joined 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. First appearance: [http://www.strangecandy.net/d/20041230.html OO #510].

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