International Animation Day: Life lessons hidden in anime dishes
This International Animation Day, anime lovers celebrate their favourite on-screen meals and the heartwarming life lessons they serve
Not too long ago, Japanese food in India meant a plate of sushi in a five-star restaurant. Today, Japanese cuisine has carved out a place in India’s major metros, moving beyond sushi platters to everyday dining experiences.
Japanese anime has also gained a wide audience in India, introducing audiences to larger-than-life characters; making them crave what they eat. Food in anime is often used as a powerful storytelling tool to drive forward the themes of the plot. Whether it’s Naruto’s ramen or the feasts in One Piece, meals often tell a story of kindness, courage and the comfort of shared food.
We talk to anime fans and chefs who share how these dishes go beyond flavour and feed the soul.
Nothing is ordinary
In Shokugeki no Soma (Food Wars!), the show follows Soma Yukihira, a diner kid who steps into the elite halls of Totsuki Culinary Academy, where cooking is treated like warfare. But amid the theatrics and exaggerated “food battles,” what makes the show compelling is how food works as a mirror for emotion. Ananya Shashidhar, an anime fan based in Bengaluru says, “The show’s characters live, love, and recover through food. In Shokugeki no Soma, cooking is a way of expressing who you are. The show dramatises food through exaggerated battles, but beneath all that flair, I love it for its warmth and identity.” One of Soma’s most memorable dishes, the Transforming Furikake Gohan, captures that simplicity. It’s a humble bowl of rice topped with a soft egg until Soma adds savoury meat jelly to it. The jelly melts into a rich sauce, transforming the dish into a delicacy. The life lesson here is simple: creativity can turn the ordinary into the extraordinary; it’s all about finding new possibilities within the familiar.
Acts of kindness
Few foods in anime are as iconic as the lead character Naruto Uzumaki’s beloved bowl of ramen. At Ichiraku Ramen, his go-to spot in the Hidden Leaf Village, steaming noodles and a slice of narutomaki (fish cake) represent comfort and community. In Japan, ramen stalls are where stories unfold; students slurp noodles late at night, friends bond over miso broth, and regulars return for the familiarity of the same bowl. For most of his childhood, Naruto was ostracized by his village for containing the ‘demonic’ Nine-Tailed Fox spirit but the shop owner, Teuchi, was one of the few people who showed him kindness by offering him a bowl of ramen. "The life lesson here is that small acts of kindness can create deep connections, and true character is shown through empathy. A simple bowl of ramen can mean acceptance, belonging, and love”, says chef Vaibhav Bhargava, a food and beverage consultant with expertise in Japanese cuisine.
Gratitude heals
Few films capture the moral weight of food as well as the director Hayao Miyazaki’s Spirited Away. At the film’s start, the lead character Chihiro’s parents devour an unattended banquet with mountains of meat, dumplings, and steaming bowls, and are instantly transformed into pigs. “It’s consumption without mindfulness,” says Joel Joy, a Studio Ghibli enthusiast based in Delhi. “The food is abundant but stripped of gratitude, and the spirit world punishes them for eating without humility. The act of indulging literally dehumanises them and turns them into what they’re consuming.” Later, in a quiet moment, Chihiro eats a simple onigiri (rice ball) offered by Haku, a boy who is actually a river spirit, and breaks down crying. “That scene shows that nourishment isn’t just sustenance but also emotional healing,” Joel adds. “Onigiri is what mothers pack for their children; it stands for love and protection. At that moment, food becomes a symbol of care and memory.” The moral here is simple: food reflects intention, and greed corrupts, but gratitude heals.
Empathy is never selective
Between sea battles and island stops in One Piece, the characters often dig into the much sought-after curry rice, a dish as hearty as their adventures, made by Sanji, the cook. Unlike Indian curries, Sanji’s curry is thick and mildly sweet, made with carrots, potatoes, sweet apples and flour. As a child, Sanji nearly starved to death while stranded on a deserted rock with Zeff, the man who would later become his mentor. That ordeal taught Sanji a simple truth: no one should ever go hungry. This compassion is on display when Sanji feeds the invading pirate Don Krieg his curry rice, despite knowing the risk. "The life lesson that it teaches us is that empathy is never selective. We are also taught that true mastery over something like a perfect curry, comes from experience and compassion, not pride,” shared chef Nishant Choubey, chef consultant Organic Bistro.
