Japanese artist Hikaru Cho is already well-known for her bizarre and realistic body paintings, but now the Tokyo-based artist has applied her talent to everyday food items as well. In her playful “It’s Not What It Seems” series, she turns common foods into other kinds of food using only acrylic paint and her extraordinary talent.

The name Danbo is a pun on the Japanese word for corrugated cardboard “danboru” (ダンボー). There’s also a company in Japan which makes cardboard boxes which has Danbooru in its name.

A performer wearing a lion mask performs the Ise Daikagura lion dance at the remote village of Yamanawa on February 08, 2021 in Ryuo, Japan. Ise Daikagura is a group of traditional Lion Dance performers who pray in front of farmers houses and businesses for good grain harvests and disease-free lives. (Photo by Buddhika Weerasinghe/Getty Images)

“Itasha (痛車), literally “painmobile”, is a Japanese term for an otaku fad of individuals decorating the bodies of their cars with fictional characters of anime, manga, or video games (especially bishōjo game or eroge). These characters are predominately “cute” female. The decorations usually involve paint schemes and stickers. Automobiles are called Itasha, while similar motorcycles and bicycles are called itansha (痛単車) and itachari (痛チャリ), respectively”. – Wikipedia


Photo: A visitor takes pictures of an anime-decorated «Itasha» car displayed during the “Moe Fes in Washimiya” at Washimiya Town Hall on July 18, 2009 in Washimiya, Saitama, Japan. Itasha, a word derived from “itai” (painful) and “sha” (car), are vehicles decorated with mostly female characters from Japanese manga, anime and video games. (Photo by Kiyoshi Ota/Getty Images)

A heavily tattooed Japanese woman poses for photographs near Asakusa Temple during the third and final day of Sanja Festival, on May 20, 2018 in Tokyo, Japan. Sanja Festival is one of Japan's major festivals and is held annually in the Asakusa area of Tokyo. (Photo by Carl Court/Getty Images)

An Okinawan woman in a kimono checks her phone before attending a ceremony on Coming of Age Day on January 13, 2019 in Okinawa City, Japan. Coming of Age Day is a Japanese holiday held every January to celebrate people who have reached 20 – the official age of adulthood in Japan. Despite being a solemn affair in some parts of Japan, Okinawans have become known for their flamboyant and occasionally boisterous celebrations. (Photo by Carl Court/Getty Images)

In this Tuesday, June 4, 2019, photo, a Yamanote Line train travels above commuters walking across the crossing during evening rush hours in the Shinjuku district of Tokyo. Operated by the East Japan Railway Co., the Yamanote Line in Tokyo makes a loop around the center of the city, connecting 29 stations that include key stops such as Shinjuku, Shibuya and Ikebukuro. A complete loop of about an hour offers scenes of Japanese daily lives. (Photo by Jae C. Hong/AP Photo)

Japanese sumo wrestler Kisenosato (C) holds a red sea bream next to his stablemaster Tagonoura's wife Kotomi as he celebtares after receiving messengers from the Japan Sumo Association bringing official notice of his promotion to Yokozuna, or grand champion, during a ceremony in Tokyo, Japan, January 25, 2017. (Photo by Toru Hanai/Reuters)