This article is part of the campaign Nigiris vs. Uramakis in the Niudo Sushi Campaign. It takes a deep dive into the foundations behind the creation of the campaign’s two main characters: Nigiri San and Uramarocky.
1. Cute Aesthetic Foundation for Both Characters
The characters’ foundation was already somewhat clear in my mind: both fighters had to be sushi pieces that looked cute and adorable, while at the same time being ruthless killers.
To achieve the cute side, what better reference than a Pixar-style 3D aesthetic? Cute, expressive, and highly appealing. That became the visual foundation for our little 3D puppets.
2. Nigiri San
But no smiles. These had to be creatures capable of anything in combat. Okay, let’s start with Nigiri’s weaponry. “Don’t tell me you’re going to give him the Kill Bill sword?” Yep. I gave him the Kill Bill sword. 🙄
A bit of a cliché, right? But just to put your mind at ease, let me show you that we actually explored a few different options:
There was no way I was going to give him a machine gun. Besides, for the event and the performance, the fight had to be a sword fight. But not just any sword. A Hattori Hanzō katana.
Throughout Kill Bill: Vol. 1 and Vol. 2, there are three main katanas attributed to the legendary swordsmith: The Bride’s Katana, Bill’s Katana, and Budd’s Katana (Bill’s brother). And now there’s a fourth one: Nigiri’s Katana.
Could his mentor have been Pai Mei? Absolutely. But that would have made the whole thing feel a little too predictable.
So our sushi opted for a different kind of training. He started waxing cars and painting fences to build muscle memory and learn how to block incoming strikes.
The legendary Miyagiri became his sensei, helping him develop his balance and concentration. And that’s how Nigiri became Nigiri San.
2. Uramarocky
Our other fighter is an Uramaki, a type of sushi rolled inside out, with the rice on the outside and the nori wrapping the ingredients on the inside. He also had to be armed with a bladed weapon so he could face Nigiri at Sushi Night.
Could he have been Uramakorro? Hmm… kind of a weird name. It just didn’t work. Besides, how was he supposed to carve a U with his sword? Anyone can carve a Z, but try carving a U into a wooden door with all those curves. What a nightmare. Wait a minute… a sushi riding a horse? Where have you seen that before? And fighting a katana with a fencing sword? Nigiri San would have eaten him for breakfast.
Nope. He needed a more powerful weapon. So I went with another weapon of Japanese origin: the sai (釵). It’s believed to have originated as an agricultural tool that was later adapted into a weapon. Who knows.
What we do know is that the most iconic character to wield one is Raphael, the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtle. There are a few others, too—some I hadn’t even realized used sais: Elektra Natchios and Mileena from Mortal Kombat. Even Neo, the One himself, fights with sais at one point in The Matrix Reloaded.
That established Uramaki as a fighter skilled in the art of the sai. Now we had to find him a mentor.
And as you can probably guess if you’ve been following along, it wasn’t going to be Master Splinter. This time, the trainer emerged from the research into the character’s training itself. Going through some of the most iconic training sequences in cinema history, it’s impossible not to stumble upon Rocky.
I could already picture our little piece of sushi running up the stairs and punching slabs of meat. And that’s exactly what happened. The training sequence would eventually become another piece of the campaign.
This way, our second sushi went from simply being an Uramaki to becoming Uramarocky. He was now ready to begin his training through the streets of Philadelphia under the watchful eye of Avocoach. Mickey Goldmill didn’t rhyme with anything, so if anyone comes up with a better name, let me know.
