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Move over itasha, here come itachoko – anime chocolates!

Casey Baseel Feb 18, 2014
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In recent years, itasha, cars emblazoned with admirably detailed yet painfully nerdy vinyl graphics inspired by anime and manga, have been getting more and more mainstream attention. But what if you’re not old enough to drive, or you just want to express your admiration for your favorite 2-D character without spending hundreds of dollars creating a car that your friends or date will be too embarrassed to ride in?

In that case, why not turn to the world of itachoko, chocolates decorated with anime character likenesses?

Ice cream and frozen food maker Futaba Foods decided to get creative this past Valentine’s Day, and invited a number of contests to participate in creating and sharing snapshots of their itachoko.

Belcorno, an Italian restaurant in Aichi Prefecture, put their experienced chefs to work on this chocolate battleship and character from mobile game Kantai Collection, in which the player commands a combat unit made up of anthropomorphized battle ships.

▼ Of course some of them wear sailor suits. They’re ships for crying out loud!

艦これ「チョコレート」ベルコルノ出品作
【暁型 4番艦駆逐艦電】（電艦型ブラウニー付き）

「電の本気を見るのです！」#華麗なる公式 #公式バレンタイン痛チョコ対決　 #艦これ pic.twitter.com/NHt2OjlOyt

— ベルコルノ＠ラテアートと漫画飯 (@BELCORNO) February 14, 2014

Illustration website Ecrii showed up with this artistic realization of the site’s mascot.

イラスト情報サイト「ecrii」の痛チョコは、イラストレーター中村佑介さんによるデザインのエクリちゃんです～(*^▽^*)ノ
漢らしくぶっつけ本番で挑みましたよ。【Ｓ】　#公式バレンタイン痛チョコ対決　 pic.twitter.com/Cf1nSnFwmm

— 季刊エス・スモールエス・ecrii公式 (@kikan_s_ss) February 14, 2014

Non-Japanese characters weren’t barred from the fun wither, as even the Japanese branch of Warner Entertainment tossed their hat in the ring with this Gollum.

▼ Is Gollum such a sympathetic villain that you could resist eating him?

【ハッピーバレンタイン☆★☆】本日はバレンタインということで、ワーナー公式が贈る渾身の痛チョコをお届けします。どうぞ召し上がれ。 #公式バレンタイン痛チョコ対決 pic.twitter.com/CZC4jnOzpM

— ワーナーブラザースジャパン (@warnerjp) February 14, 2014

Of course, Tolkien’s work would go on to serve as the primary inspiration for hundreds of fantasy series, such as video game Dragon Quest, which was represented by these cute little chocolate slimes made out of Hershey’s kisses.

▼ Is it wrong that we’re immediately trying to figure out how many experience we’d gain by eating the whole lot?

もうどうしようもなく本日（ついさっき）誤魔化…いえ、リベンジ気味なのがこちら。
３Ｄ痛チョコなスライムさん…#公式バレンタイン痛チョコ対決 pic.twitter.com/zplFklPIUX

— 森田アルミ工業株式会社【公式】 (@moritaalumi) February 14, 2014

Oddly enough, the majority of participating companies were neither animation nor candy producers. Those slimes above, for example, were made by Imamura Aluminum, which sells interior fixtures. This Tachikoma rideable robot from Ghost in the Shell? You can thank Yanagiya, a company which sells apricot-oil derived beauty products.

#公式バレンタイン痛チョコ対決

|´-`）.｡oO（えいやっっ！いけー！タチコマ！…） pic.twitter.com/37CbWJsEKp

— 柳屋あんず油(公式)🍑もっと私らしく､うるおい､ツヤめく｡✨ (@anzu_oil) February 14, 2014

Watanabe Fabrics went all-out with three different types of itachoko showing its employees keep their fingers on the pulse of the anime community, with sweets inspired by mega-hit Attack on Titan…

最後に練習で一番最初に作った兵長。製作した痛チョコは以上です！ありがとうございました！ #公式バレンタイン痛チョコ対決 pic.twitter.com/mbgxMBQMe6

— 渡辺布帛工業株式会社【公式】 (@watanabe_info) February 14, 2014

…tongue-in-cheek superhero franchise Tiger and Bunny…

TIGER&BUNNY　鏑木・T・虎徹＆バーナビー・ブルックスJr.：バニーの髪の色…どうしてこうなったorz #公式バレンタイン痛チョコ対決 pic.twitter.com/pNZBDTtBmA

— 渡辺布帛工業株式会社【公式】 (@watanabe_info) February 14, 2014

… and even Kirikuma from recently wrapped TV series Arpeggio of Blue Steel, who we’re not sure we should hug or shoot with a hunting rifle

蒼き鋼のアルペジオ　キリクマ：可愛い外見に反してかっこよくて強いので大好きです(*´∀｀*) #公式バレンタイン痛チョコ対決 pic.twitter.com/BXVgZgDWcW

— 渡辺布帛工業株式会社【公式】 (@watanabe_info) February 14, 2014

Similarly non-anime related ejoy, an online home center which is standing by in case you need a Black & Decker cordless drill or a couple of two-by-fours, turned in this exquisitely drawn Mokkun, a familiar from supernatural period piece Shonen Onmyoji.

痛チョコ対決スタートしています。
西村ジョイの痛チョコはこちらです！#公式バレンタイン痛チョコ対決 pic.twitter.com/eYepRerGWc

— 西村ジョイ株式会社 (@ejoyec) February 14, 2014

And lastly, here’s an idol singer from Love Live!, which comes to us courtesy of Sanwa Company.

NEXT LOVELIVE2015開催決定記念に作っちゃいました。うっちーまで届けーーー！！(・8・) {ことりのおやつにしちゃうぞ★ #公式バレンタイン痛チョコ対決 pic.twitter.com/UFeuMNZ3IS

— サンワカンパニー (@sanwacompany) February 14, 2014

Valentine’s Day may have come and gone, but considering the energy that went into the exhibition, we wouldn’t be surprised to see Futaba Foods organize another next year. And for all those of you inspired by these anime goodies to get in the itachoko game yourself, but feeling like you need to upgrade your cooking equipment first, Sanwa Company’s main line of business is kitchen installations and renovations.

Source: IT Media
Top image: Twitter
Insert images: Owly (1, 2, 3), Twitter (1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9)