MAL Synopsis:
Ever since he was a child, fifteen-year-old Souma Yukihira has helped his father by working as the sous chef in the restaurant his father runs and owns. Throughout the years, Souma developed a passion for entertaining his customers with his creative, skilled, and daring culinary creations. His dream is to someday own his family's restaurant as its head chef.
Yet when his father suddenly decides to close
the restaurant to test his cooking abilities in restaurants around the world,
he sends Souma to Tootsuki Culinary Academy, an elite cooking school where only
10 percent of the students graduate. The institution is famous for its
"Shokugeki" or "food wars," where students face off in
intense, high-stakes cooking showdowns.
As Souma and his new schoolmates struggle to
survive the extreme lifestyle of Tootsuki, more and greater challenges await
him, putting his years of learning under his father to the test.
My Review:
Shokugeki No Soma is a shounen anime that brings to you
some delicious battles/tournaments, a host of well-written characters, and of
course, loads of ecchi content. The anime starts off with a disgusting plate of
food and ends with the same, but everything in between is just pure beauty.
Story:
Let’s talk about the story first. Shokugeki No Soma
presents to you your typical shounen character who has some amazing skills and
is suddenly thrown into the fray where he is surrounded by loads of other
people whose skills are at par or above our MC. So there is nothing really
unique on this front. The story is good enough to engage the audience along
with its tasty food wars but doesn’t really seem anything out of the ordinary.
Art:
The one thing in the whole anime that you can’t really find any flaw
in, is the animation. You would expect an anime based on food to serve you a
large number of delicacies to feast your eyes, and Shokugeki No Soma does
exactly that. The prep work done by the various characters (such as cutting
vegetables, meat, etc.) might seem over the top, but the final dish served is
always a treat for the eyes. Things ranging from a particular sauce soaking
into the meat to the heat rising from the dish have been shown in great detail.
Hats off to the animators for that. It’s consistent from start to finish and
does well to portray the various emotions.
Sound:
In the first half of the season, the OP and ED were really
good. The OP specially set the tone for the anime perfectly and the ED was apt
enough to provide a sense of completeness. But the background score in the
first half wasn’t that impactful.
On the other hand, the OP in the 2nd half was a tad bit too
much for an anime based on food. It seemed to be more about action than the
characters. Yes, there are going to be “food wars” but at the end of the
day, the anime doesn’t have physical combat. The ED was also decent but not
something you would pay special attention to. The background score, on the
contrary, shone in full glory in the 2nd half. The slower and more somber
version of “Spice” by Tokyo Karankoron in the last episode was especially
pretty impactful and provided a rare emotional moment as the season wound down.
Characters:
The characters to be pretty amazing because of the
fact that each one of them, even the minor ones had some sort of story attached
to them. Of course, the characters of Yukihira Souma and Tadokoro Megumi shine
above the rest (considering the fact that they are on the center stage most of
the time) but the ones like Isami Aldini and Hisako (which can easily be
overshadowed) don’t go unnoticed.
That being said, the actual character development can only
be found in three of four characters which include Souma, Megumi, Erina, and
Mito. The conversations of Souma with almost everyone are fun to watch and are
the major source of comedy in the anime. The character of Megumi helps to give
the show a more serious tone at times and works well to give it an all-around
feel.
Enjoyment:
Even though Shokugeki No Soma is a great anime, it does become a
bit monotonous by the end. Yes, it remains engaging throughout, compelling you
to binge-watch, but then after some time (especially during the Autumn
Elections), you know what’s coming. You mostly stay for the comedy, for the
ecchi content (if that’s your thing), and of course for the delicious platters.
The anime doesn’t really throw curveballs at you.
Still, even though it can get
monotonous, the anime never goes into the “average” category. It has an ample
number of characters who keep on bringing something new to the table. But in the end, you just wish that it did something more.
Overall:
Shogukegi No Soma is an amazing anime to watch as it
provides you with a nice story having a high visual appeal. The anime does a
great job in portraying various cuisines, has a number of well-written
characters, and most importantly is consistently entertaining. Of course, it’s
not the best shounen/ecchi anime out there, but it definitely ranks high on the
list.
Watch this even if you are just a fan of anime, are a sucker
for visuals, or just a fan of ecchi stuff (coz boy there’s quite a handful of
it).
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