“Repeating trial and error and failing many times… it’s that process which makes the dishes shine.” – Soma Yukihira
Food Wars! Shokugeki no Soma is a Japanese shounen manga series written by Yuuto Tsukuda and illustrated by Shun Saeki. Yuuki Marisaki also works as a person, providing the manga creator with the recipes. An anime adaptation by J.C. Staff aired between April 3 and September 25, 2015.
Meet Souma, he is the son of the owner of a small eatery in Japan. For his age, Souma is a very talented person able to easily come up with new dishes; sometimes these dishes are some really weirdcombinations of the ingredients no one would ever use. After some time, the owner of the Souma’s eatery, Souma’s father, leaves the family business to work with his friend. Souma’s restaurant is on the verge of closing. To improve his cooking skills and to save the restaurant, Souma begins studying in Engetsu Teahouse Culinary Academy, which is regarded as Japan’s top culinary academy. The problem is that only a few are able to graduate from it, these few are world’s best gourmet of culinary. Will Souma manage to graduate from the academy?
Well, this is difficult one to review. Food Wars is a very unusual anime that is worth watching for many reasons. It is interesting to watch, since it does a great job with tension. The main genre of the series, as I see it, is SoL. Yet, there are so many action scenes that you cannot believe that what you are watching is not an action series. In Engetsu Teahouse Culinary Academy, only the strong have the right to decide. So long story short, whenever you do not agree with something, you duel. No, they do not duel to death. Whenever a conflict might appear, the students have a culinary duel. They cook some dishes and have judges assess their creation. And this is so cool. This might sound lame and boring, however, the creator of Food Wars managed to make these duels amazingly epic to watch.
Animation wise, Food Wars has some amazing animation: from character designs, to amazing action scenes. Cooking has never been this epic. There are so many colors that you cannot close your mouth from amazement. Sound wise, Food Wars has an okay OST and some great Japanese voice acting. I highly recommend you to watch it subbed.
The main protagonist of Food Wars is Yuukihira Souma. He is only fifteen, but he is already a highly talented individual, who just wants to take over the family’s business. To achieve that goal, he fights with the business woman in the region, where he lives, who wants to buy the restaurant. Souma’s father tells his son that only if he graduates from Totsuki can he succeed both in the business and in surpassing his old man. The problem is that only 10% actually graduate the academy. Anyways, aside from Souma, there are many other interesting characters to follow. What is more, even supporting characters are quite interesting.
Enjoyment wise, this show is so enjoyable to watch that you cannot stop watching the series; you want more and more. There is an ecchi grain in it, but it is never unnecessary; it only shows how amazing the food is the foodgasms are real.
Overall, it is a real gem. Warning: never watch Food Wars, when you are hungry, or you might regret it. Never before have I seen something even close to Food Wars. Great job Yuuto Tsukuda.
10/10.