May Anime Challenge: Rail Wars!

Our anime challenge this month is Rail Wars! It is an action anime with harem elements. Rail Wars! is an anime adaptation of Rail Wars! Nihon Kokuyū Tetsudō Kōantai (lit. Rail Wars! Japanese National Railways Security Force) a Japanese light novel series written by Takumi…

• May Anime Challenge: Rail Wars!

Visual Kei Bento Buffet

A Celebration of Visual Kei We’re not letting the lock-down keep us down, this bento we rock with lots of Visual Kei music, rockin’ food recipes, musical Japanese lessons, free stuff, news from the motherland of anime, Japan and our…

• Visual Kei Bento Buffet

Matcha Flavour Bento Buffet

Now in Anime flavour! This bento buffet we get inspired by Japanese tea ceremonies and matcha. We also explore super sugoi ways to keep busy during the COVID-19 Lockdown situation (and there is free stuff involved). We have extra Kawaii…

• Matcha Flavour Bento Buffet

April Anime Challenge: Diabolik Lovers

Our April Anime Challenge is filled with blood and romance, a horror romance anime called Diabolik Lovers, so sharpen your stakes and ready the holy water as we step into the world of blood -loving vampires. The anime is based on…

• April Anime Challenge: Diabolik Lovers

Top 10 Spring 2020 Anime Recommendations

Super sugoi spring releases!! It is Japan’s Spring season and time for the Anime Spring releases. Lots of Super Sugoi Fantasy and Mystery anime this season and as well as history anime for the history buffs out there. Fan favourites…

• Top 10 Spring 2020 Anime Recommendations

Ink-Fusion Bento Buffet

An Ink-fusion of Anime and Japanese Culture In this bento we learn more about Japan and it’s outlook on the tattoo culture, we also share an ink-inspired recipe and AMV and more surprises, We take a look at anime popular…

• Ink-Fusion Bento Buffet

March 2020 Anime Challenge: Accel World

Our challenge anime this month is Accel World. Accel World is a light novel series by Reki Kawahara, who also penned Sword Art Online. The light novel was adapted into an anime series in 2012 as a 24-episode anime by Sunrise. It is a suspenseful…

• March 2020 Anime Challenge: Accel World

February 2020 Anime Challenge: Deadman Wonderland

Our challenge anime this month is filled with mystery, gore, horror, drama and comedy, a perfect blend for those who are horror anime fanatiks. The anime is Deadman Wonderland, a masterpiece in its own right that acquired a small devoted fandom…

• February 2020 Anime Challenge: Deadman Wonderland

Hot Pot Bento Buffet

Hot News from the world of anime!! Konnichiwa Minna, we bring you a hot serving of Bento Buffet this month. Some of the dishes we’ve prepared are a deeper look into the lore of the Japanese Hot Pot, some yummy…

• Hot Pot Bento Buffet

Bento Buffet Time Edition

The Bento of Time Happy 2020, fanatiks! It is the start of a new year, time for new beginnings. We bring you a bento of time. We learn all about telling time in Japanese, look at time as an instrument…

• Bento Buffet Time Edition

January 2020 Anime Challenge: Erased

Our anime challenge this month keeps up with the time theme. It is Erased, known in Japan as Boku dake ga Inai Machi. It is based on the manga series written and illustrated by Kei Sanbe. The manga serialized in Kadokawa Shoten’s Young Ace magazine between June…

• January 2020 Anime Challenge: Erased

Top 10 Winter 2020 Anime Recommendations

Lost in Winter If you are lucky, winter transforms your world into a wonderland to get lost in. Anime is also a wonderland in itself with many stories to tell. Adventures awaits – anthropological animals, sorcerers, Yokai, dragons that eat…

• Top 10 Winter 2020 Anime Recommendations

December Anime Challenge: Rokuhoudou Yotsuiro Biyori

Our December anime challenge is a feel-good anime, filled with life lessons, Rokuhoudou Yotsuiro Biyori. It is based on the Japanese manga series by Yū Shimizu. It was adapted into an anime series by Zexcs and aired in Japan From April 10th to June 26th 2018.…

• December Anime Challenge: Rokuhoudou Yotsuiro Biyori

Bento Buffet Gift Edition

Explore Japan’s Gift Giving Culture! It is December, to many cultures it is Gift month, a time to exchange gifts, from for spiritual reasons others just in the spirit of goodwill. Japan has it’s own etiquette in when and how…

• Bento Buffet Gift Edition

Space Race Bento Buffet

Blast off into Space with AnimeFanatika Ready your space suits and run maintenance on your rockets because it is time to blast off into space with us as we explore Japan’s space program, learn spacey Japanese words, eat something aliens…

• Space Race Bento Buffet

November Anime Challenge: Uninhabited Planet Survive

Our anime challenge this month is a fan favourite of both Ookami and Takeshi of AnimeFanatika. Getting stranded on an island is already troublesome enough, but what if you end up on an alien planet with no signs of intelligent…

• November Anime Challenge: Uninhabited Planet Survive

Kowai Yūrei Bento Buffet

Yūrei: dark entities of the night It is October, or to some, Spooktober as this is the month of everything Halloween. In this bento we’re going to explore the world of the yūrei, the spirits of the dead that haunts…

• Kowai Yūrei Bento Buffet

October Anime Challenge: Supernatural The Animation

This month we bring you a very special anime challenge. If you don’t know of the series Supernatural, which is entering their 15th and final season this year, you need a whole lot of catching up to do. The series is…

• October Anime Challenge: Supernatural The Animation

Top 10 Fall 2019 Anime Recommendations

Magickal Fall Fall season in Japan comes with a magical change of colours. Leaves turn the trees into magic bouquets of yellows, reds and browns and that starts the time honoured Japanese tradition called ‘Momoji-gari’, loosely translated as ‘hunting red…

• Top 10 Fall 2019 Anime Recommendations

September Anime Challenge: Muteki Kanban Musume

Our September Anime Challenge is Muteki Kanban Musume (Ramen Fighter Miki) based on the manga series by Jun Sadogawa, which ran from May 2002 to February 2006 in Akita Shoten’s Weekly Shonen Champion. There also was a sequel manga called Muteki Kanban Musume N. The Muteki Kanban…

• September Anime Challenge: Muteki Kanban Musume

Noodle Edition Bento Buffet

A Noodle Adventure We’re going on a Noodle-themed adventure as we explore the types of noodles in Japan, learn how to order Ramen in a Ramen Restaurant, learn about Japanese cuisine and watch a crazy AMV about anime chefs. We…

• Noodle Edition Bento Buffet

Bento Buffet Mountain Edition

Explore Japan’s Mountains! Japan is a land of islands, forests and mountains and since it will be Mountain Day in Japan soon we are going on a journey, discovering Japan’s mountain culture, learning the Japanese word for mountain and exploring…

• Bento Buffet Mountain Edition

August Anime Challenge – Full Metal Panic? Fumoffu

This month’s challenge is Full Metal Panic? Fumoffu, which is an anime from Kyoto Animation and a companion series to Full Metal Panic and Full Metal Panic The Second Raid. It is not as serious as Full Metal Panic and…

• August Anime Challenge – Full Metal Panic? Fumoffu

July Anime Challenge – Prince Of Tennis

This month we bring summer to the anime challenge with the sports anime, The Prince of Tennis. The anime is an adaptation of the manga written and illustrated by Takeshi Konomi. The manga was first published in Shueisha’s Weekly Shonen…

• July Anime Challenge – Prince Of Tennis

June Anime Challenge – Coyote Ragtime Show

Our June anime challenge is one filled with adventure, sci-fi, action, comedy and girls with guns! Coyote Ragtime Show was directed by Takuya Nonaka and produced by ufotable. The anime ran from July to September in 2006. Pirate King Bruce…

• June Anime Challenge – Coyote Ragtime Show

Sunflower Bento Buffet

Sunflower Power!! This Bento we bring you the magic of the sunflower. The sunflower had a big impact globally since it was discovered in the Americas. We use the oil to cook, the seed in our bread and it inspired…

• Sunflower Bento Buffet

Top 10 Summer 2019 Anime Recommendations

Anime Summer with a chance of thunder Summer is coming to Japan and with it summer rain, but do not forget all the new seasons and series that is also on the horizon! Old Favourites like Danmachi (Dungeon ni Deai…

• Top 10 Summer 2019 Anime Recommendations

Pirates of Anime Bento Buffet

Beware the Pirates! Pirates have evolved during the ages. We know the original pirates were seasoned sea-legged bandits sailing the seven seas but they have been re-imagined in many ways such as space pirates in science fictions, sky pirates in…

• Pirates of Anime Bento Buffet

Strawberry Bento Buffet

It is Strawberry Season!! Every season something new happens. In Spring trees blossom changing the world into a magic explosion of bright colours and in Autumn leaves fall carpeting the world in reds, yellows and browns. Even human life has…

• Strawberry Bento Buffet

May Anime Challenge – Nana

Our May anime challenge is the romance/ slice of life/ music anime Nana, based on the Manga series of the same name written and illustrated by Ai Yazawa. The manga itself ran from 2000 to 2009 in Cookie Magazine when…

• May Anime Challenge – Nana

Legends of The Sakura Bento Buffet

Explore Sakura Lore As a new season is birthed another season dies. We bring you a bento filled with darkness but also light. We look at a sakura legend, discover an interesting link between the words Sakura and Sake, share…

• Legends of The Sakura Bento Buffet

April Anime Challenge – Arakawa Under the Bridge

Our anime challenge for April is the comedy anime Arakawa Under the Bridge. It is based on the manga written by Hikaru Nakamura, which first ran in the seinen manga magazine Young GanGan starting December 3, 2004. The anime ran in two seasons,…

• April Anime Challenge – Arakawa Under the Bridge

Top 10 Spring 2019 Anime Recommendations

Spring Fever Another season ends and a new one is born from its ashes. Sakura trees sprout leaves and soon blossoms will bloom and spring fever will wake everyone from the sleepiness of winter. Soon people will dust off their…

• Top 10 Spring 2019 Anime Recommendations

Wasabi Bento Buffet

Wasabi, the war within your mouth Imagine you find this green paste, artistically placed on your very first sushi plate. At first you think it is a garnish and your friends look at you all knowingly, some with an evil…

• Wasabi Bento Buffet

March Anime Challenge – Koufuku Graffiti

Ryo Machiko is a second-year middle school girl who has been living alone since her grandmother passed away. She is an exceptional cook but feels that her own cooking does not taste good. Then she met up with her second…

• March Anime Challenge – Koufuku Graffiti

Bento Buffet Shrine Edition

Discover Japan’s Shrines and Temples Konnichiwa Minna! There are many anime that plays off at shrines and temples or has shrines and priests as a crucial part of the storyline like Kamisama Hajimemashita and Shiki. In this Bento we explore…

• Bento Buffet Shrine Edition

February Anime Challenge – Red Data Girl

Red Data Girl tells the story of 15-year old Izumiko Suzuhara, a girl who was raised at the Tamakura shrine, a shrine that is part of the Kumano Shrines World Heritage Site. Izumiko has the ability to destroy any electrical…

• February Anime Challenge – Red Data Girl

Top Ten Winter 2019 Anime Recommendations

It is Winter in Japan. In some places it will snow and the world will transform into a beautiful snowy white landscape. Winter has a certain charm and beauty to it and some countries are lucky to experience snow. Just…

• Top Ten Winter 2019 Anime Recommendations

Ski Shini Ikimasho! Bento Buffet

Ski, anime-style Happy New Year Fanatiks! We kick off this year in full velocity as we ski through a ski anime themed Bento. We learn about skiing in Japan, learn Japanese Ski words, look at the results of The South…

• Ski Shini Ikimasho! Bento Buffet

January Anime Challenge – Aggretsuko

This musical comedy tells the tale of an anthropomorphic red panda named Retsuko. She works in the accounting department of a Japanese trading firm and is 25 years old. Our single red panda heroine faces pushy superiors and annoying co-workers…

• January Anime Challenge – Aggretsuko