4 out of 5
Shokugeki no Soma (otherwise known as Food Wars)
The plot is relatively simple enough: a young man, Yukihira Soma, has a dream to take over his father’s restaurant.
Shokugeki no Soma (otherwise known as Food Wars)Shokugeki no Soma (otherwise known as Food Wars) was an anime that premiered for the summer season and was an extremely unlikely hero. The plot is relatively simple enough: a young man, Yukihira Soma, has a dream to take over his father’s restaurant. Then, seemingly on a whim, his father decides to hit the road and cook internationally and sends his son to one of the most elite culinary academies in the world. While hesitant at first, the rules of the academy that are governed by survival of the fittest spark something inside Yukihira that pushes his skills to the limit as he takes up the challenges the school provides.
To give a little background on myself before I go any farther, I used to be a chef. I used to cook in a restaurant that was once on TV and I’ve been enrolled in a Culinary Arts school. While I don’t cook professionally anymore, all the skills and things that I’ve learned in the places I’ve gone have stuck with me. So when I’ve watched various cooking shows (anime or otherwise) it can sometimes be hard to suspend one’s disbelief; much in the same way that us denizens on the internet know that hacking isn’t the glorious, edgy lifestyle that Hollywood makes it out to be. Basic techniques are lacking, cooking times are inaccurate or wouldn’t otherwise be plausible in the way they’re presented, and accuracy is usually loosened up in order to best demonstrate drama. It’s all understandable, but it can still be a bit frustrating.
Let’s go back to Shokugeki no Soma. It was recommended to me on the basis of it being a ‘cooking anime’. I was a bit skeptical at first, but I decided to give a chance. The first five minutes of the first episode does give a large taste of the ecchi cutaways that this show seemed like it was going to have throughout (peanut butter covered tentacles is all I will say here) and I was soon finding myself already thinking about dropping this anime. My opinion changed as soon as it hit the theme song. It did one thing I haven’t seen clearly demonstrated in a cooking show that was not on any kind of Food Network; proper cutting technique. It’s a detail that’s easily overlooked to most viewers I’m sure, but it was something that made me take it seriously. It’s a show that, from what it had demonstrated in its opening theme, was going to at least attempt to bring accuracy to the anime kitchen.
I was not disappointed.
If I may gush for a few moments about the cooking aspects of the show before anything else, I will say that, for anyone who knows how to cook or even newcomers to the kitchen, everyone has something to learn. I have recreated the recipes demonstrated in the show and only altered what I had to out of personal preference. The show goes through a breakdown of each dish that is detailed enough so that nothing is a mystery (no, ‘love is the secret ingredient’ or ‘I added mystery spice from the ‘nth dimension of the lost stars’ here) but does so without breaking the pacing of the show. As each dish is explained, I was always enthralled by the run down never once hoping for it to move to the next scene.
That accuracy between the preparations to execution of each breathtaking meal is inspiring. They go beyond simplistic dishes that one would expect and aren’t afraid to experiment. It does away with niche dishes that you often see on the internet or on many cooking shows where you can only make what they show if you have ever specific ingredient and every piece of cookware that they have that many of us unfortunately don’t. It keeps the audience from becoming alienated and fosters the imagination. It opens the door to new worlds of aromas and flavors that just about anyone can reproduce and makes one eager to do so. For any self-proclaimed foodie or any cooks out there, the food alone is worth watching this.
What about everyone else though? For the people who don’t care about cooking or eating and just want something filling in their anime? Shokugeki no Soma has you covered too.
Looking at the outside and glancing very shallowly inside this anime will reveal all the standard tropes one would expect from the typical Shounen (it’s serialized in the Shounen Jump after all). Between the over the top fanservice, bright colors, exaggerated expressions, it has everything that any Shounen does. A lot of the typical tropes are there, from the cocksure main protagonist, disappearing parents, the almost obligatory harem forms. It doesn’t revolutionize the art of storytelling in anyway.
Only upon closer inspection do you see that the story’s pacing and characters quickly deviate from the roots that shounen characters are cursed with. The cast is diverse and breathes a fresh look into the cast without having to delude characters to basic stereotypes. There are some kids that come from the most elite families of the world and there are characters that come from the slums of India and Europe. From humble beginnings to a small town in Japan to the busy village in France, the one thing all of these characters have in common is not that they were given their talents by the sacred mcguffin from the royal kingdom of Whatsitcalledtonsburg. They all clearly demonstrate their hard work and their skill.
This allows the story have a much more organic feel to it. Nobody is going to succeed through the power of friendship. There’s no super flashy, final, secret technique. Each episode every character involved puts everything they have on the line. The greatest thing to come of this is that it allows the main protagonist to lose. Soma loses and loses quite often. But he doesn’t get mopey. His life isn’t over. He doesn’t leave on some introspective trip to ‘train’. He becomes most relatable in that he has a passionate drive that doesn’t get dominated even when he loses. He accepts his defeat humbly and moves on. However, those moments are very quickly undermined when the moment comes along where Soma ‘must’ win, lest the story become crippled.
Like most shows where a main character ‘puts their life on the line’ (in this case it is more figurative than literal) it’s hard to be truly afraid for the protagonist because you know they will pull it out in the end. As I stated before, there are times when Soma fails to win a challenge set in front of him, but there are many easily predictable times where you know for sure that something will prevent him from losing. It’s in those battles where the moments of Soma’s victories don’t shine as bright as they could.
This show is extremely over the top and tries to hook you with its fanservice but keeps you there with it’s fantastic cast of characters. The art style and animation is extremely high quality and lends itself very well to the depiction of the food. It makes you hunger not just for the dish but for more of the show. Like a delicately prepared dish, it is balanced quite well with its strengths being able to make up for its weaknesses. Regardless, the weaknesses are glaringly present and can sometimes leave a bad taste in the mouth.
Pros:
-Cooking is rooted firmly in reality and each dish is possible to reproduce
-A diverse and fantastic cast of characters that grow over time
-The animation and art style perfectly convey everything they intend to
Cons:
-Unnecessarily over the top fanservice
-Things can be rather predictable at moments
-Even though character growth is evident, many of them are still caught within cookie cutter cliché character types
I give Shokugeki no Soma 4/5 Stars. I highly recommend it.
The North remembers.
In the universe of Game of Thrones, scenes’ before the opening theme are constant for the first episode of every season. For example, two great scenes that come to mind are the three Night’s Watchmen hunted down by White Walkers in season one or Tywin Lannister melting down house Stark’s sword Ice for Jamie and Geoffrey, season four. On the other hand, the opening scene of season is just plain horrific but awesome at the same time. Nothing is more satisfying then watching all the men of House Frey choke on their own blood after being reminded of the Red Wedding. It was an absolute grand-slam and took off perfectly from where we last saw Aryain season 6.
The North remembers.
Right after the credits we get a quick reminder of the army of the dead, and with more bad news; Giant white walkers. But thankfully we are intercepted by Bran warding into one of them which seems like a very useful ability (what’s next dragon’s or an ice dragon?). He is now with
the Watchers on the Wall and back in the mix, hopefully heading for Winterfell where he can inform Jon he is a Targaryan (This will be hype! I wonder if he can be burnt by fire!). Bran’s story has taken a back seat to other prevalent Starks but it’s nice to see him in the mix, demonstrating his power.
Next, we have psycho Cersei and her sane, lover brother Jaime. I still can’t forgive him for pushing Bran from the tower but I am starting to come around. The disapproving way he has been looking at Cersei dating back to last season says it all. From confronting her about
Tommen’s suicide, to questioning her about the enemies created (Targaryans, Tyrells, Starks, Dornish, and Half the Iron Borne) and the lifeless dynasty they will continue. He keeps his position with Cersei discussing what allies they have left but Jaime is clearly becoming distant and realizing the extent of his lover/sister’s delusion. I forecast a remake of the tale of “The King Slayer” retitled “The Queen Slayer”. In the mean time, the diabolical Yuron Greyjoy, the new king of the Iron Islands rekindles the bond between the Lannisters to move him into a prime position to become King of The Seven (three at this point) Kingdoms. He is presented as a lot more cunning and rounded character kissing up to the Queen and promising her a gift, whether that be Tyrion, and/or a thousand ship armada. What will be interested is how Jaime responds to a marriage between them, because Cersei and Yuron have a demonistic chemistry. She even abides by him making hand jokes and death threats (killing his brother, telling her to do the same). This was a fantastic scene all the while, and it really shows if Cersei get’s close to Yuron and isolates Jamie she will create yet another enemy.
We then get to a short snippet of Samwell Tally’s horrific, grotesque life as a server at the Citadel preparing to become the maester of Castle Black. There is a massive scene which shows him preparing food, cleaning and handling old people plumbing. What’s intriguing is the un-thrones like comedic cut between him doing his daily work; It’s funny and it’s not a bad idea to lighten the tone up because Tyrion used to be the comedy for us in the earlier seasons. Samwell helps the archmaester with the dissection of a corpse where he confirms his thoughts of the White Walkers. What was kind of cheap for me was his simple way of finding dragon glass through a book in the restricted section. It seemed too easy for Game of Thrones, like something you would see Hermione Granger find in the “restricted section”. Hopefully there is more too this but it was kind of stale and forced
Oh wait, Ed Sheeran? I didn’t see it coming, and I thought it was weird but acceptable. It was obviously him having an in with the producers and wanting a cameo role, but he has pure, angelic voice and creates a sympathetic feeling for the Lannister troops that brings out the non-assassin in Arya. She tells them she’s on her way to kings landing to “kill the queen” and it’s not taking seriously which shows how dangerous she has become. But what I see from this is season two when Mellisandre said there is a darkness in her. This darkness has come to fruition and it will be interesting to see how this is received by the remaining Starks. Besides the randomness of Ed Sheeran, I thought this really grounded Arya.
Sandor Clegane and the brotherhood without banners are now at a place he would rather not be; an old victim’s house where Clegane took their silver and resources. They find the father and daughter dead, holding each other. This almost creates an epiphany for the character, asking why the child dies, and fellow brother Beric Dondarion should be brought back. Then the flames get him, showing him the army of the dead and the reality of the larger issue at hand. I think we will see a more compliant hound the rest of this season. I’ve loved this character from the beginning and his arch is getting much broader for the better. I predict a positive change in attitude for the hound.
Finally, the Queen of Dragons, Breaker of Chains, Denarys Stormborn is finally home. From season one this is the only thing she has wanted. But now, she has an army of unsullied, the Dothraki and there gigantic Dragons. The final scene of her tearing down the Baratheon banner and taking her spot among her ancestors war table was breathtaking. It was a long, drawn out scene but the character deserves this and it has been a long time waiting. Fire and blood seem to be the strongest motto of any house right now, and it will for sure be enforced upon the Lannisters. My prediction although is that she won’t penetrate King’s Landing because of Cersei’s ruthlessness and George R.R Martin curveball tendency. Whit I think everyone is looking forward to is the meeting with Jon Snow that will eventually happen. It will be interesting if she commands him to bend the knee (he better not, he’s the rightful heir of the Taragaryan house and not a usurper like Daenarys)! This episode was a great starting block for the season while still providing notable and exciting action.
Rest in peace, watermelon.
The latest episodes in ‘Miss Kobayashi’s Dragon Maid’ were very interesting to watch.
One was definitely a fanservice episode, and heck, even the producers know that! Episode 7’s title contains the phrase ‘The Fanservice Episode, Obviously’, so that cracked me up.
Episode 7 focuses on the elements of anime that will appeal to any nerd out there. By that, of course I mean bathing suits and comic conventions! Cue the beach episode!
Tohru and company decide to go swimming for the day. Kanna’s adorable as always, while Lucoa doesn’t realize just how sexual she is toward a small boy.
Like, really? You think wearing a very sexy swimsuit in front of a lot of kids on a beach is okay? And why do you insist on torturing Shouta with your breasts? It’s obvious that he’s tempted, but stop trying to seduce small children.
Of course, they’re dragons, so hilarious antics ensue. Tohru and Kanna get carried away in a swimming race, making water splash up everywhere. Also, a crab and watermelon are murdered. RIP.
However, one aspect that I thought was a nice touch was the backstory we got for Tohru. It wasn’t much, but Tohru and Kobayashi have a deep and meaningful conversation about their family’s lives, as well as how humans and dragons are different from one another. Fanservice episodes usually focus on that alone, but fortunately that’s not the case here.
The second half of Episode 7 focuses on Comiket. Tohru and Kobayashi help Takiya run a booth, and we learn that Fafnir is also participating by attempting to sell powerful curses. Wow, didn’t see thaaaaat coming at all.
Tohru notices otherworldly creatures in their true forms at Comiket, as they reveal that this is a great way to show their true forms. With Kobayashi’s permission, Tohru exposes her wings and tail, appearing to others as if she’s cosplaying as, well, a dragon maid.
Episode 7 was very nice because there were many heartfelt and adorable moments.
Meanwhile, Episode 8 FINALLY introduced the dragon that I keep on mentioning in my reviews. Her name’s Elma, a dragon who is a rival of Tohru’s. Elma accuses Tohru of disrupting the human’s ways and tries to force her to return to the dragon world. This doesn’t succeed, however, as Tohru sends her to an open field and leaves her there.
Unable to get back home, Elma stays in the human world and begins working at Kobayashi’s company. Kobayashi teaches Elma how to use computers and technology so that she can keep her job. Of course, this prompts Tohru to become jealous, smelling the scent of another dragon off Kobayashi like a dog does with a human. I won’t reveal how the episode ends, but it ends in a positive manner for Tohru.
Overall, I really loved these two episodes because they made me feel warm and fuzzy. They appealed to the emotional senses through a heartfelt conversation between Kobayashi and Tohru. Elma is also an innocent sweetheart who only wants to bring harmony to the human and dragon worlds. And I can’t wait to see more of her in the upcoming episodes.
I feel like in these two episodes alone, we learned so much about Tohru and her feelings for Kobayashi. She really wants to understand the human world and will do anything to stay with Kobayashi.
I’ll up my rating to a 4.7. These episodes were both fun, and we finally got the new dragon! Bless.
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