“Is the Lunch Curry Included?” — How One Cautious Question Created an Ape Titan, Watery Curry, Angry Cheese, and a ¥638 Pineapple Conference
1. The Ape Titan came from the curry question
There was a pot of curry beside the lunch buffet.
It was visible. It was reachable. Yet it somehow looked like it was asking, “Are you absolutely sure you are allowed to touch me?”
So the diner asked a staff member:
“Is the curry included at lunch?”
The unusually formal, cautious wording immediately felt like the Ape Titan meme: encountering an unfamiliar object and politely asking, “What is that thing called?”
The Ape Titan did not randomly enter the article.
The question itself was the Ape Titan moment.
The staff member said the curry was fine to take. Direct confirmation defeated aura-based legal analysis.
2. Permission was granted, but the curry still looked forbidden
Even after permission, the curry retained the visual authority of a separately billed facility.
That hesitation was not entirely imaginary. Bronco Billy’s 2026 basic guide describes the lunch buffet mainly as gourmet salads and house-made desserts, while curry appears on the dinner side. The company also says offerings may change with the season.
For this visit, however, the local answer was clear:
Staff: “Yes, that is fine.”
Ape Titan authorized to approach the curry.
3. Watery curry receives angry cheese and corn, despite nobody being angry
The curry was thin.
That triggered an “angry upgrade” program, although there was no actual anger:
- cheese for body and richness;
- corn for sweetness and texture;
- fried onions for aroma and crunch;
- croutons pending architectural review;
- eggplant salad and potato salad deployed as supporting units.
The buffet had become a parts shelf for curry modification.
This also started a procurement meeting: which item was strongest by cost—cheese, pineapple, orange, eggplant, corn, onion, potato salad, fried onions, or croutons?
Public food-service product examples can make cheese, fried onions, and croutons look expensive by weight, while plain onion looks cheap. But fried onions and croutons are extremely light. A high price per 100 grams does not mean a normal spoonful costs more than a heavy serving of corn or potato salad.
Those examples are also not Bronco Billy’s actual contract prices.
Procurement’s final conclusion:
We do not know the restaurant’s secret cost sheet. Eat what you like.
4. A large pineapple load caused the internal Homura narration to leak outside
Pineapple was the real target.
A retail pack of cut pineapple can be remembered at around ¥880, while adding the lunch buffet costs ¥638 including tax.
That does not mean the restaurant buys pineapple for ¥880. It is a customer-side comparison: “What would I otherwise pay to buy this for myself?”
For a pineapple fan, the value feels strong.
While stacking a large amount onto the plate, an “idiot…” slipped out aloud. Sleep deprivation had also recast Homura Akemi as a pineapple specialist, producing something like:
“No one will tell me not to take pineapple again.”
Internal narration would have been harmless.
Part of it was routed to the external speakers.
To staff, this was a customer piling up yellow fruit and muttering. Inside the customer’s head, ¥638, retail pineapple, wholesale examples, watery curry, a magical girl, and a titan were all in the same meeting.
Too many stakeholders for lunch.
5. “But Marley has civilization” is a callback, not the beginning
After cheese and corn were added, the joke drifted toward “restoring civilization.”
Continuity review objected:
Marley already has civilization.
Exactly.
The Ape Titan meme is not funny because a primitive ape knows nothing. It is funny because someone from an advanced society sees one odd local object or technology and asks, with excessive politeness, what it is.
That is why the first curry question matters. It plants the joke.
Later, “Marley already has civilization” brings the same joke back.
Without the opening question, it is not a callback. It is a surprise lecture on fictional geopolitics.
6. Getting value does not mean bankrupting the restaurant
At a buffet, “getting your money’s worth” can turn into a hunt for the ingredient with the highest presumed food cost.
Customers do not know the actual purchase prices, and forcing down a supposedly expensive food they do not enjoy is a bad optimization target.
The winning strategy here was simpler:
The pineapple tastes good. Eat the pineapple.
Repair the curry with cheese and corn. Take eggplant, potato salad, orange, fried onions, and croutons only if you want them.
If ¥638 produced more than ¥638 worth of enjoyment, the customer won.
The only clear loss is taking food and leaving it. Bronco Billy asks customers to avoid food waste.
Take it. Eat it. Enjoy it. Return only if you still want more.
Advance completed through proper procedure.
Fact check
- As of September 1, 2026, adding the lunch Bronco Buffet to an eligible lunch menu costs ¥580 before tax, ¥638 including tax.
- The standalone lunch buffet costs ¥1,188 including tax.
- The official basic guide describes gourmet salads and house-made desserts for lunch; curry is shown with dinner.
- Offerings may change by season.
- On this visit, a staff member directly confirmed that the curry could be taken. This is not a guarantee for every location.
- Wholesale examples do not represent Bronco Billy’s actual food cost.
