Tororo turns into Totoro.

Every summer, a number of Studio Ghibli anime movies air on free broadcast TV in Japan. If your favorite happens to be playing, it’s a great excuse to skip going out and stay in and relax, though that means you’ll have to figure out what to do for dinner at home.

That wasn’t a problem for Japanese Twitter user @BOC_METAL during the recent airing of the Hayao Miyazaki-directed classic My Neighbor Totoro, however. @BOC_METALknew just what to make: soba (buckwheat noodles). That choice might surprise some people, since while Ghibli anime are known for their delicious depictions of food, there’s no “soba scene” in Totoro. But @BOC_METAL’s idea wasn’t to recreate soba Totoro, but to recreate Totoro from soba, and as this photo shows, the plan was an amazing, adorable success.

Not only is that instantly recognizable as Ghibli’s biggest star, @BOC_METAL has even managed to create a sensation of motion, with the way the strands of soba are arranged creating the effects of Totoro’s fur being blown by the wind as he flies across the sky.

As an added bonus, this particular dish, with the soba topped with grated yam, is called “tororo soba,” which is just one letter off from “Totoro soba.”

As for the exact ingredients, the gray sections are made of buckwheat noodles and the white are grated nagaimo yam. Totoro’s chest markings are sliced green onion semicircles, with more onions serving as a backdrop. His umbrella, top, and a few lines of facial feature detail are made with nori (dried seaweed), and on the side is a cup of broth to dip the noodles into, assuming @BOC_METAL was able to find the determination to actually devour something so artistic and cute.

▼ Here’s what ordinary non-Totoro tororo soba looks like, for comparison.

This isn’t @BOC_METAL’s only cool crossover of pop culture knowledge and culinary skill. Here, for example, are Samus Aran, heroine of Nintendo’s Metroid franchise, rendered in sliced bell peppers…

https://twitter.com/BOC_METAL/status/1262337962445991936

…and for more Ghibli goodness, an enraged soba Ohm from Nausicaa of the Valley of the Wind.

@BOC_METAL is also extremely talented in working in the medium of daikon oroshi, a.k.a. grated white radish, using a dash of soy sauce to create cats and dogs who’re very possessive of their favorite foodstuffs.

▼ Note the inclusion of the Shiba Inu’s butthole, a must when depicting the breed in Japan.

It’s the Totoro soba that’s really captured our hearts, though, and now when we think about the character we’re filled with a desire not just to give him a big hug, but maybe to take a bite out of him too.

Source: Twitter/@BOC_METAL via IT Media
Top image: SoraNews24
Insert images: Twitter/@BOC_METAL, SoraNews24
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