food with themes

dangan ronpa dark souls detco dmmd fma given gundam h*talia katamari logh mp100 mlp spy x family star wars stranger things undertale

à la carte:

curry hotdogs omurice pasta

~

宇宙(そら)に架かる虹 / A Rainbow In The Sky

Or rather, spanning space; was a dessert depicting the fatal finale of Char’s Counterattack.

That is, a white, possibly cheesy garnish (Amuro) skewering a maraschino cherry (Char) into a whipped and sour cream popover (the asteroid Axis) to meet a delicious end. Don’t forget the fruity rainbow and the side of psychoframe!

カムクライズルのイカスミパスタ/Izuru Kamukura’s Squid Ink Pasta

was, well, exactly that. How boring.

Consisting of long noodles and squid slices blackened in a squid ink sauce, the pasta would have been typical, were it not for the garnish. A baby tomato and a squid ring or two are what ultimately made it Kamukura, representing the glowing red gaze of the character’s “face” obscured by his tangled dark hair.

Izuru Kamukura’s Squid Ink Pasta was available from April 25 to May 7th 2019 at short lived Tokyo eatery Akihabara Cross Terrace as part of a Super Dangan Ronpa 2: Goodbye Despair themed menu. The dish does not appear to have been popular, despite the price tag of 900 yen. A steal of a deal, considering Kamukura himself cost both exorbitant tuition fees and a teenager’s soul.

弁当型携帯FAX(ファックス)風プレート / Mobile Phone-Fax Bento

was an entree sold in 2024 to promote the Detective Conan series' 30th anniversary. Older than much of its audience!

For such a literally timeless franchise, the mobile phone-fax bento served as an edible and very 1990s prop, representing a one-off gadget used by the franchise’s perpetual boy-detective.

Including typical lunch offerings of meat, fruit, salad and even a toast "screen", the 1,890 yen bento was reasonably faithful to it's appearance in the cartoons. Unless one watched the dub.

In "Case Closed"; the polarizing FUNimation localization, "Jimmy" Kudo tells us that the “all encompassing lunchbox-phone-fax machine” includes “cottage cheese and strawberries”. Sure.

大コスモの王様ドライカレー風ナンダケド / The King of All Cosmos: Dry Curry Style

is a multi-meat curry available to earthlings at Katamari Damacy Collaboration Café for 1,980 yen. Being “dry”, its texture is less stew-like than most Japanese curries, but as an embodiment of The King of All Cosmos it remains—of course, vibrantly saucy.

As interpreted by his peons, His Majesty exclaims:

No… It was indeed not a dream. We really are delicious. The King of All Cosmos is really delicious. A dry curry… We are one. Yes, the garnish is cooked. Perfectly cooked. But just between you and Us, the pink sauce isn't spicy. ♥

絶望 ドリンク/Despair drink

was a peach flavoured soft drink sold by chara-cre!, A subsidiary of Marion Crêpes that focused on pop-culture cross promotions and—judging from their current website—online gambling spam.

Despair, also known as “Zetsubo” drink, is named after the overarching emotional theme of Dangan Ronpa. There have been multiple despair drinks over the years, such as the fruit mocktails of King of System karaoke, but those of chara-cre! were most truly despairing.

デモゴルゴンのローストビーフパスタ/ [Demogorgon] Roast Beef Pasta

was horrifically garnished spaghetti available for 1,650 yen from July 6 2022 to the end of that year at the Shibuya Fukuras location of Pronto, a “microwaved lukewarm pasta kind of place”.

Part of a Stranger Things promotion, the themed menu largely featured archetypical United States cuisine (milkshakes, pizza, off-brand waffles) to represent the show’s midwestern setting. In a slight break of form however, the roast beef pasta looked supernatural.

Squid ink darkened the tomato-ey pasta (further obscuring the broccoli and other mix-ins) while five slices of roast beef radiated into the fleshy flappy shape of the namesakes’ menacing maw. A more realistic demogorgon prop posed nearby, mouth agape in hunger or maybe just shocked at the diners’ human-on-monster munching.

シャリア・ブルのエビフライ木星プレート/Challia Bull's Fried Shrimp Jupiter Plate

was an entrée available at 29 locations of RAKU SPA as part of a Mobile Suit Gundam GQuuuuuuX promotion held June 19 to July 15 2025. Presumably at the Cafe & Bar section of the onsen franchise, though “baths inspired by the characters” were also available.

Challia Bull’s Fried Shrimp Jupiter Plate consisted of an ebi furai prawn and omurice with an unnaturally green sauce and approximately one potato, all garnished with lettuce and (apparently) tartar sauce. The green goo, dyed to match the character’s uniform was evidently prone to congeal.

＜STAR WARS＞ はるか彼方の銀河系ブラックカレー / STAR WARS Black Curry from a galaxy far, far away….

was, in reality, available at four locations of Japanese disney merchandise eatery OH MY CAFE in early 2020 for 1590 yen.

With STAR WARS printed on the Star Wars food, this curry was metaphorically and literally the menu’s signature dish, albeit one that never returned. Further garnish of chopped peanuts appeared as “stars” atop the spicy black curry rice.

ふたりは戦友（ライバル）～トマトチキン＆ビーツ入りポテトサラダドッグ～/ The Two Are Rivals ~Tomato Chicken & Beet Potato Salad Dog~

was a dish available at the Odaiba location of Gundam Café from April 25 to June 4th 2018. Priced at 648 yen including tax, the “dog” included two different fillings in roughly equal proportion with clashing symbolic colours. The red tomato coated chicken represented Char, and the pale magenta of the beetroot potato salad evoked Garma.

Or, as the English language menu put it, “Zeon’s young ace and a son of the Zabi Family. Though their current positions have changed… will they remain as they were when they were roommates[…]?"

大和田バタークッキー / Owada Butter Cookies

were Dangan Ronpa branded treats available from March 13th- 26th 2014 at Patisserie Swallowtail. The pair of shortbread-like cookies referenced the character's infamous execution in which he was rendered into butter.

名刺で闘え！芹沢の名刺ピザ / Fight with Business Cards! Serizawa's Business Card Pizza

was an entrée sold from March 26th to April 8th 2024 at the Tokyo and Osaka locations of pop culture restaurant Amocafe to promote the 3rd season of Mob Psycho 100, which at that point had aired years ago.

Serizawa’s Business Card Pizza apparently consisted of rectangle cut pizza topped with cured meat and cherry tomatoes. Processed cheese garnished a slice with his contact information. This represented the character’s arc from shut-in terrorist to salaryman. Such a change must have been difficult, as cheese is not a popular cardstock.

貪食ドラゴンの返吐/Gaping Dragon Vomit (*translation unofficial)

was a bowl of clam chowder sold at Dark Souls Café in spring of 2014. It cost 830 souls, but yen were accepted at a 1:1 exchange rate. Gaping Dragon Vomit contained bamboo charcoal, presumably to dye the soup grey, though the additive is also known for its unique texture and ashen taste.

The restaurant’s version of the vomit—seemingly made with carrots and a new-england style broth—was likely less corrosive than the in-game attack. Spilled or not however, the soup had real potential hazards as activated charcoal nullifies the effect of many drugs. So while any who consumed Gaping Dragon Vomit may not have had their equipment degraded, their medication likely was.

Please note that while Gaping Dragon Vomit returned as a menu item at Dark Souls 3 cafe, it was the same in name only. The later “food”—served in a mug with a spoon—was reportedly milk cocoa with granola for added texture and cost 700 souls. It was available from February 1st-26th 2016 as part of a cross-promotion between software publisher From Software and Shibuya department store 109MEN’S.

松田＆萩原のパチパチ爆弾ケーキ/Matsuda ＆Hagiwara’s Crackling Bomb Cake (translation unofficial)

was a dessert available at Detective Conan Cafe from April 1st to June 26th 2022, depending on the location, for 1760 yen including tax. Themed after the deaths of the characters, the bomb shaped cake capitalized on the popularity of the (particularly) cop-centric spin off and also promoted the franchise’s 25th mainline movie.

The chocolate cake—served on a slab—included icing “wires” and a variety of textures, with what seems to have been popping candy and blood-red dried raspberries. It also included faux-sakura representing the transience of the characters' lives, if not Hagiwara’s nationalism.

DRAMAtical Murderパフェ/DRAMAtical Murder Parfait

was a parfait themed after DRAMAtical Murder.

Part of a promotional menu, the erotic visual novel branded dessert was available from August 1st to 12th 2014 at Patisserie Swallowtail, a bakery spin-off of the butler café of the same name.

帰れるところ～たっぷり野菜と特製ビーフシチューソース～/A Place to Return To: Veggie and Beef Stew

was a dish available at the Akihabara location of Gundam Café from July 10th to September 28th 2015, cross-promoting a roughly concurrent exhibit of the anime series' production art.

The special stew, costing 1058 yen, was themed to Gundam's last scene in which Amuro says a "temporary farewell to his beloved Lalah" and escapes the final explosions of war.

ダルマチアン/Dalmatian

was a dessert cocktail themed after Paul von Oberstein from Legend of the Galactic Heroes, or more accurately, his dog.

The milkshake-like drink, which could be made with or without alcohol, included coffee jelly with a scoop of cookie ice-cream topped with more dairy and an oreo, evoking the black and white appearance of the imperialist’s unnamed pet.

Available at the military sci-fi series’ dedicated restaurant “Dining Cafe Iserlohn Fortress” from March 4th to at least April 18th 2022, the drink was part of a promotion for the theatrical debut of the 3rd season of the series’ 2nd (faithful) animated adaptation.