While I was making the DIY chocolate senbei last time, a thought suddenly struck me: “Could I recreate the world of anime with these DIY snacks?”
So, this time, I’m taking it to the next level! Inspired by the character chocolates I featured in “Japan’s Anime & Game Character Valentine 2026,” I’ve decided to try “DIY Japan’s Anime & Game Character Chocolate Senbei!“
Ingredients
For this challenge, I’m using three types of senbei (Same rice crackers I used in my previous DIY chocolate senbei post.) and four types of chocolate.
▼ Senbei
・Petit Usuyaki (プチうす焼): Thin and crispy salt-flavored crackers.
・Chiisana Hoshitabeyo (小さな星たべよ): Star-shaped, lightly crunchy, and lightly salted crackers
・Kaki no Tane (柿の種): Tiny, crunchy, and spicy crackers mixed with peanuts.
(I’ve already reviewed each of these in previous articles, so feel free to check out the links above! )
▼ Chocolates
・Milk Chocolate: Standard milk chocolate.
・White Chocolate: Smooth white chocolate.
・Strawberry Chocolate: Strawberry-flavored chocolate.
・Matcha Chocolate: Green tea-flavored chocolate.
All you need to do is melt these chocolates in the microwave, spread the chocolate onto the senbei, and let them chill in the fridge until they harden!
The Art Gallery
Here’s the final result!
Pokémon (ポケモン)
First, here are my chocolate senbei inspired by Pokémon. Colorful Poké Balls are ready!
I coated Petit Usuyaki with white, milk, strawberry, and matcha chocolate on each half. For the pink heart inspired by Palafin’s (イルカマン) belly, I drew it using strawberry chocolate. (I’ve shared how to draw the heart in my previous DIY chocolate senbei post!)
Kirby (カービィ)
Next, here are some inspired by Kirby.
I tried making Kirby with all sorts of different expressions! I used Petit Usuyaki for these as well. For the face, I mixed white and strawberry chocolate to create a light pink coating. The rosy cheeks are the natural color of the strawberry chocolate.
The stars are the Chiisana Hoshitabeyo chocolates I made back in my previous DIY chocolate senbei post.
Dragon Ball (ドラゴンボール)
Lastly, those inspired by Dragon Ball.
Hey, listen! Drawing stars on those tiny 3.5cm rice crackers was impossible for me! 😂 I tried so many things, but nothing worked, so I eventually decided to use dots instead.
But look—these are actually “Dragon Balls seen from 5 meters away” (where the stars should look like dots)!! 😆
And these are Senzu Beans (仙豆)!
They look so real, unlike those buttons—wait, I mean Dragon Balls!
I simply coated Kaki no Tane and its included peanuts with matcha chocolate, so it was the easiest one to make out of everything I’ve shared so far!
Summary
Did you enjoy my DIY anime chocolate senbei (including the “sewing kit”)?
I skipped the taste reviews, but they all tasted good 😋 The sweet and tart flavor of the strawberry chocolate and the aroma of the matcha chocolate matched the rice crackers well 💕
The quality might not even come close to store-bought products, but it was fun thinking, “Maybe I can recreate that with this!” and actually going through the trial and error. The ones that didn’t turn out well made me (and others!) laugh, and that’s probably the best part of DIY 😆
Extra: Trial and Error Collection
Making these myself made me realize something: working with delicate, easily melted chocolate and decorating such tiny, bite-sized canvases is incredibly difficult! Chocolatiers are truly amazing.
Stars? Impossible!
I tried drawing stars for the Dragon Balls, but it just didn’t work. I thought about using dots instead, but I couldn’t get the size consistent.
In the end, I decided to put white chocolate on the back of a bamboo skewer and “stamp” them on.
More work than it looks
I made the center parts of the Poké Balls separately like this before attaching them to the rice crackers.
It’s actually quite tricky to get the white chocolate perfectly centered on the milk chocolate…
Wait, who are these?!
▼ Check out the official character chocolates I introduced here! The packaging is so amazing you’ll want to buy them all just for the designs!
