The face of the “kanpyō roll enemy” character who appeared in a new Chiikawa episode has been pointed out on 5channel as resembling the president of the conveyor-belt sushi chain Kura Sushi. There was previously a Chiikawa x Kura Sushi collaboration that got cancelled after trouble over how a store handled things, and speculation is spreading that this episode might be a dig at that incident. Thread opinion is split between it being mere coincidence and it being the creator’s intentional jab, and creator Nagano has made no specific comment on the matter.
What people said
1AnonymousSep 6, 2026 13:44
A sushi episode that came out of nowhere
Everyone figured it was just Nagano goofing around
But sharp-eyed fans pointed out that the kanpyō roll enemy's face is a dead ringer for Kura Sushi's president
4AnonymousSep 6, 2026 13:44
It's scary how many people out there act like they're Nagano themselves (i.e., claim to know exactly what the creator was thinking)
7AnonymousSep 6, 2026 13:45
Honestly don't want to touch this content with a ten-foot pole
9AnonymousSep 6, 2026 13:45
Man, otaku really do love it when someone's "furious" or "blows a gasket," huh
11AnonymousSep 6, 2026 13:46
Meanwhile, it looks like Nagano hasn't made any comment on this at all
28AnonymousSep 6, 2026 13:49
Re: #11
That's the answer right there
12AnonymousSep 6, 2026 13:46
The president's side is the one who'd actually have a right to be mad about being compared to this
16AnonymousSep 6, 2026 13:46
And here he was looking all excited too…
74AnonymousSep 6, 2026 14:06
Re: #16
lol they straight up broke up on bad terms
17AnonymousSep 6, 2026 13:47
Saw a theory that Kura Sushi is basically the only major chain that even serves kanpyō (dried gourd) rolls — is that actually true?
40AnonymousSep 6, 2026 13:52
Re: #17
Yeah now that you mention it, Kappa Sushi doesn't have it
64AnonymousSep 6, 2026 14:00
Re: #17
Seriously? Tokyu Store always has kanpyō rolls on the menu — is that not common elsewhere?
79AnonymousSep 6, 2026 14:13
Re: #17
Nah, plenty of places have it
18AnonymousSep 6, 2026 13:47
Is Chiikawa by the same creator as that "Tompochamu" thing or whatever it's called?
33AnonymousSep 6, 2026 13:50
Re: #18
Poor thing, having Itochu (major trading conglomerate) backing it…
Chiikawa doesn't have that kind of backing
20AnonymousSep 6, 2026 13:47
This is starting to feel like the Nintendo-fanboy crowd all over again
22AnonymousSep 6, 2026 13:48
Chiikawa rarely gets angry like that at the end, so maybe the theory does check out
24AnonymousSep 6, 2026 13:48
It's rare to see Chiichan (Chiikawa) mad from start to finish like this
25AnonymousSep 6, 2026 13:48
Bonus points for using the "batsu!" sound effect instead of "bari!" (a subtle onomatopoeia choice)
29AnonymousSep 6, 2026 13:49
Sounds like the type who'd love "Sukatto Japan" (a TV show about satisfying comeuppance stories) — don't even know if it's still on air though
30AnonymousSep 6, 2026 13:49
Wait, doesn't this mean the die-hard fans are now saying the Chiikawa creator uses their manga to attack a possibly-innocent individual? Is everyone actually okay with that?
34AnonymousSep 6, 2026 13:50
Re: #30
That's a failure of oversight right there
32AnonymousSep 6, 2026 13:49
It's Fuji TV's content, so it's Fuji TV that's actually furious
35AnonymousSep 6, 2026 13:51
So now you're on the hook for the conduct of some part-time staffer at the collab store too? Being a manga artist is rough
37AnonymousSep 6, 2026 13:51
Re: #35
Stuff like that is all handled by Fuji TV
38AnonymousSep 6, 2026 13:51
Re: #33
What's so bad about having Itochu backing you? It's a trading company, it's not going under
44AnonymousSep 6, 2026 13:53
This is turning into a Krauser-san situation (infamous 2ch meme about a manga artist who lost his cool)
59AnonymousSep 6, 2026 13:58
Re: #44
O-oh really~! So Sensei Nagano had already expressed their anger over this through the manga~!
81AnonymousSep 6, 2026 14:15
Re: #44
Well, the cast for the live-action movie adaptation is settled now
53AnonymousSep 6, 2026 13:56
Nice try, hater
Sensei Nagano is legit competent — ordered the collab cancelled and got every collab product pulled overnight
68AnonymousSep 6, 2026 14:01
But Kura Sushi never doubted anyone — they just believed in people's good faith, and that's how it ended up like this, so you really can't blame them 🥺
69AnonymousSep 6, 2026 14:02
Anyone doing serious deep-dive theorycrafting on a manga like this has gotta be out of their mind
102AnonymousSep 6, 2026 14:31
Re: #69
It's still more worth theorizing about than One Piece, honestly
72AnonymousSep 6, 2026 14:05
Nintendo's legal department
Racehorse owners
Nagano
What's the fourth one?
75AnonymousSep 6, 2026 14:06
Re: #72
Wait, did something happen with racehorse owners?
84AnonymousSep 6, 2026 14:19
I don't think Sensei Nagano is thinking that deeply about it
96AnonymousSep 6, 2026 14:26
Re: #84
But that doesn't explain why a kanpyō-roll monster suddenly showed up out of nowhere
90AnonymousSep 6, 2026 14:21
Background and Key Points of This Debate
The backdrop to this thread is a Chiikawa x Kura Sushi collaboration reportedly in the works, which ended up cancelled after trouble over how a store handled things (see replies 35, 53). Thread opinion split between seeing this episode as a pointed jab referencing that incident and dismissing it as pure coincidence. That said, the claim that the “kanpyō roll enemy” character’s face resembles a real person is ultimately just fans’ subjective impression, and neither creator Nagano nor the production side has issued any official statement or explanation of intent (see reply 11). It’s also worth noting that fictional character designs happening to resemble real people is not unusual in itself, and there is currently no basis for concluding this was a deliberate dig.
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