Frankly I seldom make manga characters, as they seem so tedious as there are so many details to take care of to complete one character.

Lately, I found an awesome way to add such detailed work into bento making – by the use of seaweed cutting!

Today’s Naruto bento is packed into one of my favorite bento boxes, the Take Bako! The side dishes were garlic stir-fry broccoli, grilled pork slices, Japanese style lotus root and carrot strips with sesame soy dressing, naruto fish cake and lettuce.

All you need is a nice outline print out of the characters (you can easily google and print them out).

Place the selected image it over the seaweed sheet. Over here, I used clippers on both sides to keep the sheets together and reduce movement as I do the cuttings.

Tip! To cut the seaweed, always start from the inside and work outwards and cut the tiny parts and small details first.

The knife I use here are the ones used for paper cuttings in craft work. Instead of a chopping board, I would recommend using the craft board meant for cuttings (I had misplaced mine).

It is rather therapeutic cutting the seaweed… so maybe I will make more manga/animation character bentos!

Cheers!

Shirley - Bento specialist, Singapore

Hello :) I am Shirley, a bento artist/chef and blogger. I started making bento back in 2011 as getting lunch was very inconvenient at work, and in 2012 my blog, Little Miss Bento was born. Bento making is a passion that I am fond of, and excited about. My head is often bursting with ideas on what to make. Even when I visit the supermarkets, I often imagine what I can make out of an ingredient or food product. Character bentos are my forte, but I also enjoy making usual bento lunches, bread, sweets and other decorative food items. If you like kawaii and and fun creations, I am sure you will enjoy my blog postings. I will continue to do my best and thanks for staying with me.