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The story
On the September 4 broadcast of “Matsuko & Ariyoshi: Fleeting Paradise,” Matsuko Deluxe griped about modern bento boxes, saying “more and more of them just have the side dishes piled on top of the rice.” Ariyoshi Hiroyuki also chimed in, citing salted mackerel as an example: “I think it smells.” On the 5ch Geinou/Sports Breaking News+ board, the remark set off a wave of complaints about bento price hikes, shrinking containers, and smaller rice portions, while some pushed back with comments like “Complaining about a smell that mild at 53 seems off” — splitting the thread between defenders and critics.
Fri, Sep 4, 9:32 PM
Talent Matsuko Deluxe (53) appeared on TV Asahi’s “Matsuko & Ariyoshi: Fleeting Paradise” (8:00 PM), aired September 4, and lamented recent trends in bento boxes.
Matsuko opened with, “Bento boxes have changed lately too, haven’t they?” and continued, “Isn’t there less of that classic ‘bento’ feel these days? Don’t you see more of that stuff just piled on top of the rice? Like grilled fish — I don’t know about putting that right on the rice.”
Source: news.yahoo.co.jp / Original article here
What people said
And despite being cheap about it, they charge way more than they used to
Don't go spreading that around
Back in the day just having salty rice felt special
You guys are from that generation too, aren't you
A symbol of people tuning out of TV —
amazing you don't get bored watching it
Agreed
If both main hosts always agree, what's the point of having two hosts at all
Unless they're going to actually argue from opposing views
Though if the salt is visibly crusted on top, that's still okay
I want to eat that rice while tasting the salmon and its saltiness.
I'll accept objections.
Like this?
If you want a proper high-end bento, pay like 1,500 yen
Everything's gone up in price, from ingredients to containers — it's tough everywhere, I bet
Because of that I can't go for sauce katsudon or Kanazawa-style curry either
Just grilling it makes it soggy, and Matsuko's right about that
Nope
Whenever you're eating a bento you're hungry anyway
Usually you can polish off pretty much anything and enjoy it
Yeah
Like on a shoot where you're stuck on set for hours
It was old-fashioned, heavily salted mackerel, and my mom would fry it
With all that oil and salt it was a dangerously good side that made you keep shoveling in rice
That sounds delicious
That's a fresh idea
I'll give it a try sometime
I hate torching because it leaves a gassy smell
It happens the other way around a lot too
Though Matsuko tends to hedge first with 'I feel a bit differently, but…' before agreeing
I'm 53 too, but complaining that salted mackerel smells is seriously going too far
"Showa Year 100" Bento (a joking way of saying 2025, as if the Showa era — which actually ended in 1989 — were still going)
I don't know what point you're trying to make with that image, but
if 'there's something on top of the rice and it smells, so I hate it' is the standard,
then I say just eat nothing but separated dishes — rice bowls included
Are your taste buds really that refined to begin with?
That's a rice bowl or a mixed-rice combo,
which is different from what Matsuko and the others are talking about
If instead of just grilling mackerel and plopping it on rice they seasoned it properly kabayaki-style like a real rice bowl,
then bringing up that image as a comparison would make sense
You have to move it somewhere first but there's nowhere to put it
Usually I just flip the lid over and set it there
Something like this?
Background and Key Points of This Discussion
It’s worth noting that this topic originated from casual chat on a TV Asahi talk show, not a feature segment on a news program. In recent years, bento boxes have trended toward smaller containers and rising costs, driving a shift toward “one-plate” style bentos that pile side dishes on the rice to cut down on the number of separate items — and complaints about shrinking rice portions and pricier containers were prominent in the thread (comments 8, 11, 14, 26). At the same time, Matsuko’s comment itself was less about “smell” and more a matter of taste regarding appearance and texture, and one comment (33) pointed to cooking method (grilling versus torch-searing) as the actual cause of the mackerel’s odor, raising a technical point that went beyond simple likes and dislikes. Where the thread split was over whether to view this kind of criticism as “a celebrity’s pampered complaint” or as “a fair jab at the realities of the bento industry” — a divide the comments alone don’t resolve.
*This article is excerpted and summarized from the 5ch (Geinou/Sports Breaking News+) thread “Matsuko speaks out on recent bento trends: “I don’t know about putting it on top of the rice” — Ariyoshi too: “Salted mackerel… I think it smells”.”
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