Link from The Legend of Zelda by mymealbox at mymealbox.com.

No, it’s not international food week on Geek Crafts. Around here, the sun is trying its best to keep the ponds from freezing, but it’s not working out too well. Bikini season seems years away. Plus, this weekend’s Easter. Eggs! Chocolate! Meat! It’s the perfect time of the year for food!

This Friday round-up I’d like to focus on kyaraben, short for character bento. Let’s see what Wikipedia can tell us about it…

Bento (…) is a single-portion takeout or home-packed meal common in Japanese cuisine. Kyaraben (…) is a style of elaborately arranged bento which features food decorated to look like people, characters from popular media, animals, and plants.

AnnaTheRed modeled this Axis Powers Hetalia bento after a lunch shown in the anime. Check out her blog post for all the details.

An easter-themed bento, posted on Adventures in Bentomaking. Pikko made this kid-friendly hey-I-should-try-this-too! design last year.

A very elegant storm trooper bento by vingt_deux.

Another Easter-themed lunch. This bunny bento is made by Shirley Wong from Little Miss Onigiri. Her blog is in both English and Japanese, which is pretty neat.

Hello Kitty is a classic in the world of bento. If you’ve always wanted to try bento making yourself, Nagomi Station will show you how in this post at Cooksnaps.

This Winnie the Pooh kyaraben is made by MUKU, a mother of 2, and is featured on Face Food. You can find an interview with her on the site in which she shares her experiences of making kyaraben for her children.

Maki Ogawa‘s son woke up on the wrong side of the bed, so she made him this Pikachu kyaraben to cheer him up. I have to admit, I’m slightly jealous of her boy.

Making bento can be as challenging as you want. Bringing your own lunch to school or work is a great way to focus on a diet and save some cash. It may even give you some oh’s and ah’s from your classmates or colleagues. Of course, I don’t always make kyaraben, but I try to incorporate something cute, geeky or funny in my lunch every day.