I admit that I am a johnny come lately to Food Wars. I know that it has been out for awhile and it's popular. I only checked it out because my nephew recommended it to me. On top of that, I had no other anime series to watch at the time. I thought to myself okay I will check out Food Wars. Let me just say that I was not disappointed.
Anime Details
Genre: Adventure, Comedy
Age Rating: Teen+
Studio: J.C. Staff
Music: Tatsuya Kato
Author: Yūto Tsukuda
Dub/Sub: Subtitles
Ecchi Level: Otaku (Almost, but no show. Also a man running around in nothing but an apron)
Story
Food Wars a.k.a Shokugeki no Soma is about a teenage boy named Sōma Yukihira who works in his father's restaurant. His father's restaurant is called Yukihira's. It is more of a Japanese diner type of a restaurant. Sōma and his father are constantly challenging each other to food battles. But Sōma always loses.Sōma wants to take over his father's place someday. It is at the time of the first episode of the first season that Sōma is graduating from junior high. He wants to focus more on cooking from this point on. His dad overhears this and decides to enroll him in the most prestigious cooking school in Japan Totsuki Teahouse Culinary Academy.Of course, Soma is blindsided by this. On top of that, his dad wants to close down the restaurant for three years while he is in school. Now in order to take over his dad's restaurant, he must graduate from Totsuki. Once he starts his first day there he realizes that this school is no joke. Only less than 1% of students manage to graduate. Students are allowed to challenge each other to Shokugeki or Food Wars. Students who participate in Shokugeki and fail are expelled from the school.
Soma learns of the school's hierarchy. At the very top is the elite ten. It is the student council made up of ten students with such amazing cooking abilities that no one has been able to defeat them in a food war. The elite ten pretty much runs the school. What they say goes. Even teachers have to listen to their orders.
I can see why Food Wars became so popular. The story is truly unique. It's different than most anime out there nowadays. It drew me in right away. I also liked that it wasn't predictable. The main character has his ups and downs just like anyone else does. He doesn't always win. But when he does win his food battles it is done in such a creative way. I really liked that Soma wasn't a food snob either. Food Wars has such a wide and unique array of characters that it keeps you from getting bored. Each one has their own battles to fight.
I will not tell you what every season is about. There are three seasons so far. Each season has its own story. What I described above was the basic gist of the overall story. I was glued to the anime throughout every season. Each season had a really good plot. I couldn't stop watching. I like that there was a good mix of comedic moments and serious ones.
Soma learns of the school's hierarchy. At the very top is the elite ten. It is the student council made up of ten students with such amazing cooking abilities that no one has been able to defeat them in a food war. The elite ten pretty much runs the school. What they say goes. Even teachers have to listen to their orders.
I can see why Food Wars became so popular. The story is truly unique. It's different than most anime out there nowadays. It drew me in right away. I also liked that it wasn't predictable. The main character has his ups and downs just like anyone else does. He doesn't always win. But when he does win his food battles it is done in such a creative way. I really liked that Soma wasn't a food snob either. Food Wars has such a wide and unique array of characters that it keeps you from getting bored. Each one has their own battles to fight.
I will not tell you what every season is about. There are three seasons so far. Each season has its own story. What I described above was the basic gist of the overall story. I was glued to the anime throughout every season. Each season had a really good plot. I couldn't stop watching. I like that there was a good mix of comedic moments and serious ones.
Characters
I am not going to list every single character because it would just take too long. Every student who comes to Totsuki has their own story. Soma isn't the only student who has a family that owns a restaurant. There are students who come from wealthy families but there are students like Soma who come from average ones too. Like Megumi Tadokoro for example.
She came to the school a year before Soma. Tadokoro was struggling when she met Soma. If she failed one more assignment she would get kicked out of the school. Her family owns a seaside restaurant far from Tokyo. Everyone at home is rooting for her to become a world-class chef. Naturally, she doesn't want to let them down.
It is thanks to Soma that she goes from failing, having no faith in herself to being confident. I like that Soma inspires her. He makes her see that she can overcome various trials that the school throws at them. That's what I like about Soma. He is able to inspire those around him. Of course, it seems like every anime has to have their tsundere character for some reason. In Food Wars it's Erina Nakiri.
She is the granddaughter of the director of the school. She has been blessed with the God tongue. Her food palette is so accurate that chef's come to her for advice on their cuisine. Her taste is never wrong. She is basically introduced as Soma's rival. She loathes commoners like Soma. She is also a member of the elite ten. I am not a fan of this character because she is the typical tsundere character. She doesn't get along with others especially Soma. Then she learns to get along with others. More than likely she will fall for Soma. Which is also so typical of tsundere characters.
What I like about Soma is that he doesn't stay the same. As the series goes on he starts to see his own shortcomings. As a result, he grows as a chef. I love that nothing gets to him. He can get along with pretty much anyone. He also is oblivious when it comes to romance. Like he isn't the typical high school teenage boy anime character that falls for a girl right away. From what I have seen he doesn't have a crush.
But overall the anime has a good mix of characters and there are tons of them. I am not a fan of the elite ten at all. They are your typical food snobs. Anything less than gourmet is trash in their eyes. I love everyone at the Polar Star dorm.
She came to the school a year before Soma. Tadokoro was struggling when she met Soma. If she failed one more assignment she would get kicked out of the school. Her family owns a seaside restaurant far from Tokyo. Everyone at home is rooting for her to become a world-class chef. Naturally, she doesn't want to let them down.
It is thanks to Soma that she goes from failing, having no faith in herself to being confident. I like that Soma inspires her. He makes her see that she can overcome various trials that the school throws at them. That's what I like about Soma. He is able to inspire those around him. Of course, it seems like every anime has to have their tsundere character for some reason. In Food Wars it's Erina Nakiri.
She is the granddaughter of the director of the school. She has been blessed with the God tongue. Her food palette is so accurate that chef's come to her for advice on their cuisine. Her taste is never wrong. She is basically introduced as Soma's rival. She loathes commoners like Soma. She is also a member of the elite ten. I am not a fan of this character because she is the typical tsundere character. She doesn't get along with others especially Soma. Then she learns to get along with others. More than likely she will fall for Soma. Which is also so typical of tsundere characters.
What I like about Soma is that he doesn't stay the same. As the series goes on he starts to see his own shortcomings. As a result, he grows as a chef. I love that nothing gets to him. He can get along with pretty much anyone. He also is oblivious when it comes to romance. Like he isn't the typical high school teenage boy anime character that falls for a girl right away. From what I have seen he doesn't have a crush.
But overall the anime has a good mix of characters and there are tons of them. I am not a fan of the elite ten at all. They are your typical food snobs. Anything less than gourmet is trash in their eyes. I love everyone at the Polar Star dorm.
Other Details
Yes, Food Wars does have fan service. Not just a little either. It has a ton of it. Whenever a character tastes a dish that is truly amazing they have a foodgasm. The viewers get a visualization of what is going on in their minds while they have their foodgasm. It usually shows them shedding some article of clothing. But their important body parts are covered up. So they don't get full on naked.
I like the animation and music. The characters are drawn normal. For example, not every girl has big boobs. Not every character has bright colorful hair. They look like normal high schoolers. We don't see the same backgrounds all the time. I also like that even the background scenes look like they would in real life.
The more you watch the series and read the manga it is obvious who the writers and creators of the show ship. They obviously ship Soma and Erina. I don't at all. It is too typical and cliche. Anyone who has seen a lot of anime knows how cliche it is for the tsundere girl to fall in love with the main male character.
That is the only thing about this anime that I don't like. I hope they don't end up together because it would be too predictable. It is just lazy writing. Personally, I ship Soma with Tadokoro. But more than likely he will end up with Erina. At the moment Soma hasn't shown personal romantic feelings for anyone. My rating for this anime: 4/5. I deducted a point because I don't like that they put in such an obvious tsundere character. I don't like that they are trying to put Erina and Soma together. Still, this anime is definitely worth watching.
I like the animation and music. The characters are drawn normal. For example, not every girl has big boobs. Not every character has bright colorful hair. They look like normal high schoolers. We don't see the same backgrounds all the time. I also like that even the background scenes look like they would in real life.
Verdict
Overall I really enjoyed Food Wars! Once I started watching it I couldn't stop until I watched all 3 seasons. I have not binged watched an anime series like that in a long time. Another aspect of this series that I found truly refreshing was the fact that it wasn't about what character was going to end up with whom.
Most anime series that have teens as the main characters tend to focus more on love. They are all about whom will end up with whom. Food Wars is not like that. The focus is on the food, and their aspirations to become famous chefs. I like that Soma is oblivious when it comes to girls. Now that doesn't mean that the writers and creators of the show aren't trying to ship a particular couple.
That is the only thing about this anime that I don't like. I hope they don't end up together because it would be too predictable. It is just lazy writing. Personally, I ship Soma with Tadokoro. But more than likely he will end up with Erina. At the moment Soma hasn't shown personal romantic feelings for anyone. My rating for this anime: 4/5. I deducted a point because I don't like that they put in such an obvious tsundere character. I don't like that they are trying to put Erina and Soma together. Still, this anime is definitely worth watching.
