[Image from Gintama. Source]
Jellyfish Princess
“Kuragehime”, also known as “Jellyfish Princess” focuses on the inhabitants of an apartment building in Tokyo, where the only tenants are otaku (Japanese term used to refer to people with obsessive interests) women, and where absolutely no men are allowed. Each of them are terrified of social interaction and attractive or “stylish people”, preferring to call themselves “Amars” or nuns.
The main character Tsukimi, meets the beautiful and stylish Kuranosuke Koibuchi, who is actually a cross-dresser and the illegitimate son of a politician. Tsukimi keeps this secret from her man-hating housemates who are not aware of his identity when he unexpectedly stops by in convincing drag on a day that they are having a sukiyaki party and invites himself in to join them.
The character Mayaya pulls Tsukimi aside to confront her about kicking out this “unfamiliar stylish person” telling her that “we wont pick at the same cooking pot with that stylish woman!” and that everyone will become too petrified to be able to even grasp their chopsticks, making for an un-enjoyable dinner. Tsukimi refuses to send Koibuchi away as she in indebted to him for saving her jellyfish in an earlier scene in which they met, and the dinner proceeds uncomfortably as the characters are shown sweating and appearing as if they are about to faint due to her overly-friendly behavior with them.
Gin Tama
In the comic novel “Gin Tama” by Hideaki Sorachi, the combative personalities of the characters are reflected in their interactions around the nabe pot while eating beef sukiyaki. The plot follows the life of a samurai named Gintoki Sakata, whom in order to pay rent works as a freelancer alongside his friends Shinpachi Shimura and his sister, Kagura. Since the price of beef is expensive the characters rarely get to consume it and the communications between them become aggressive as they fight over who gets the best selection of beef.
This scene in chapter 100 titled: “Nabemono is a reflection of life” starts off with Gintoki and Kagura bickering over the meat in an exaggeratedly serious manner, with Kagura accusing him of using psychological warfare tactics. Shinpachi exclaims to himself “my priority is to protect the meat from the wild animals rather than trying to eat more than them. However these two are so aggressive right now that a clumsy way of stopping them will bring a backlash” and instead he decides to sacrifice eating any meat at all, claiming that he already had roast meat yesterday anyways, which is reflective of his calm, pacifistic and conflict-avoiding personality. This is heavily contrasted by his sister Kagura, who displays a more assertive and abrasive character while she is seen fighting with Gintoki and slamming objects onto the table.
Gintoki convinces Shinpachi to stay instead when he exclaims that he didn't just buy the meat because he wanted to eat it, but that “from the start it was all about the gathering.” The scene continues in an action packed and comedic fashion as they have a “Sukiyaki Showdown” and battle over who becomes the “Nabe-Shogun”.
[Images from Chapter 3 of Kuragehime. Source]
This scene around the nabe pot effectively demonstrates the author's portrayal of the characters as being socially awkward otaku woman, and while in this scene they outnumber the "stylish" person that has invaded their space, they are too intimidated and stressed by the situation that they appear almost paralyzed.
When Koibuchi asks the main character her name, she initially gives him her family name, which he responds to with asking for her informal given name instead. Koibuchi then addresses her as "Tsukimi-chan", which the characters are shown to react with in complete shock as the addition of the diminutive title "chan" is considered a more intimate title used to address close friends, lovers and children in Japan.
Koibuchi's overly-familiar behavior and gregarious personality is further expressed through the interactions around the hot pot where she is shown to be the first one to start eating, exclaiming "Okay, lets eat, lets eat" as if hosting the sukiyaki gathering herself, you forget that she is even a stranger who simply invited themselves in. The contrast between the personalities of the characters here are thus amplified through both the non verbal and verbal interactions throughout the course of the meal as they sit together around the nabe.
References:
-Sorachi, H. (2003). Gin tama. Tokyo, Japan: Shueisha.
-Higashimura, A. (2008). Kuragehime. Tokyo, Japan: Kodansha.