I’ve long been fascinated by the patience and artistry that goes into making a Japanese Bento Box; if you aren’t familiar with these, then you should start by looking at these images on Google as well as this Flicker Pool. As explained in the introduction on one of the multitudes of Bento Box sites I’ve found:

As with so much of modern Japanese culture, the aesthetic (especially for children and young women) is strongly based on a compact cuteness. If you went to a school where kids brought packed lunches, you know how much it means to a kid when Mum (or Dad, or whoever takes care of these things at home) packs his or her favourites, and what a social advantage it is to have a parent who packs lunches that are admired or envied, particularly if the food is handy for swapping and sharing. The same is true in Japanese schools, but the ‘judges’ award a lot of additional points for presentation. There is often some rivalry between housewife-mothers to produce the niftiest bento, which can be fun, but is a source of serious and unwelcome social pressure for some women, who rise early in the morning and agonise over what to make today, so their children’s friends and teachers won’t think they suck.

When you put it like that, it’s easy to see that the pressure to deliver something different, much less amazing, must be quite high. So imagine if you were the kid who showed up at school with this Bioshock bento…

I would imagine that every other student went home that night and gave the “game over” glare at their mama.

Oh, to be so talented…

Source: AnnaTheRed’s Bento Factory, via kickinthehead on Flicker, via XboxFreedom