Back to Nagatake_'s Profile Nagatake_'s Profile

I hate being harsh with manga that seems to have effort poured into it, but this manga is really bad.

Initially I was interested in it, but eventually it became more of an attempt at Gunslinger Girl (note: Kazumi looks like a character from there). But, it soon became just a dull attempt at pulling your heartstrings by sympathizing with a main character who is dense and clearly an excuse to build a harem.

The story continues to drone on with incomplete and shards of character development, but in the end it barely closes the doors on the characters - leaving questions open, while making the ... reader frustrated.

It seems that the author loves to add in facts and dilute it with fiction while using more annoyingly difficult words. The world is just a shitshow where miracles happen, while they attempt to salvage it with cruel deaths.

Beyond that, this manga is merely a slimefest.
I cannot for the life of me absolve this manga. The characters are forgettable and irritating - the artwork seems to ooze ecchi but scream editorial restraint or age restriction. The pacing of the plot begins slowly but then spikes in speed as it faces important nuggets/arcs.

Even trying to remember this manga about people forgetting each other while trying to remember each other makes me feel disappointed and frustrated with the bland story.

At first glance, it sounds like your standard shounen manga formula, doesn't it? A few chapters in, it certainly does affirm that sentiment.

What formula do you speak of, you ask ? Overpowered main character ; fights someone better -- loses initially or is faced with a seemingly insurmountable challenge --> actual battle, wins through a trump card or sheer will or something naive.

Shokugeki no Soma - however, thoroughly shocked and impressed me.
First things first, the art is amazing. Nuff' said. No complaints from me. I'm not a fan of ecchi - but the way it combines with food and writing - it does it ... in a way that doesn't aim to 'turn one On'. However from what I've read so far, it's more to describe a feeling - and also for Comedic effect. If you view it that way, the Ecchi in this manga doesn't really disturb me. Further, the fact that practically Black lines and white spaces can 'color' and 'flavor' food to this extent is impressive ! The detail put in is amazing, the art really does complement the lengthy and difficult explanations - making it 'palatable'.

Moving on, in the Story aspect of this manga. Truly the progression is amazing, with each new phase (i.e from the small entrance exam to the Autumn Elections) appearing grander and even more challenging. WAIT ! Now, you might be saying, this is the same with many other shounen manga, be it the Action genre such as Bleach OR the Cooking genre such as Bartender or Yakitate Japan! or even Nobunaga no Chef or Dungeon Meshi etc. Now now, hear me out! What made this manga stand out - is the fact that each new phase while fulfilling the standard progression of the mangas within it's genre, it does it smoothly while balancing each other with new unique characters, or interesting quirks and settings. At times the scenes are absolutely crazy (ie. the Finals of the Autumn Election) to simpler settings (i.e. the No Contest in the Classroom). However, at each Shokugeki - the attention to detail, in dialogue, explanations and characters are incredibly captivating and amusing. Also, I haven't found any fillers (or at least nothing seemed like something trashy like a Filler to me).

This leads me to the crux of my Perfect score. Honestly in the words of Chapelle-sensei early on in this manga, "I would give this a higher score if I could". The crux is the Characters. Each of them are Unique. There's no such thing as a cookie cutter characters in this manga, save the extras in the background. From the teachers, to the judges to obviously the chefs. Each and everyone of them not only are provided with clothing that set them apart from each other, they are given backstories and histories, from brief to complex. Speaking about the Chefs, it continues to impress me 170+ chapters in- that the mangaka and team are able to continuously innovate and enhance them. Giving them proper 'Development' - through each phase of the manga, we can see of course Souma's growth. But we also see Ibusaki, Takuni, Aldini, Nakiri(s), Hayama etc's immense growth. Borne from their interactions with Souma but also spurred on by their losses with other chefs through the Shokugekis. The reader is able to see them mature at a reasonable pace - making them believable. What's more - what sets this manga apart is it's Subjectivity.

The main element of the Shokugeki is - food. There is certainly no Objective way of evaluating a person's cooking skills. Compared to other mangas where the hero has a observable and measureable way of seeing the fighting prowess or overpowered strength or immeasurable intelligence etc. In this manga, the characters ARE ALL CRAZY STRONG. But it's so hard to measure their skill. Plus, the story really doesn't give in to Predictability. The MC can Lose! Geniuses can triumph and lose too. That means, every phase will keep you on the edge of your seat.
What's more - these characters are Equally as Important as the main character. Not only can they hold their own as Stars - but they also make the main character better. Each with their own skills and ability to impress and entice the reader to rooting for them.

All in all, there is a good balance of comedy and seriousness. The main character is 'human'. He's not someone gifted or especially talented. It's interesting to see a MC that not only Struggles and Fails. But also one that COMBINES the past failures, trials and errors and struggles to improves himself.

This manga is a work of art that does not cut corners and is worthy of reading. Thoroughly enjoyable from start to finish.

I made this review out of disappointment and mostly - to warn potential viewers.
One of the most hyped animes this season. Does it live up to expectations? tl;dr NO.

Thanks to your overly-generous budget - you seem to have please the eyes and ears of the viewer (myself at least).

EGOIST and Aimer are great - considering the setting and theme of the anime - their OP and ED sets a good scene, and lends supposed credibility that this will be an epic. The BGM throughout is generally on point and really bring the scenes to life.

The MC's Voice Actor really bring the character to life - ... in fact at times it made the animation and idealized character feel inconsistent to the voice. Also, what's the point of Suzuki (?) a gaijin-ed speaker. Was it to mock ? Or comedic relief? It felt unnecessary. However, the rest of the characters were also so-so at best, with linear personalities - and really missed opportunities to utilize the good visuals.

The story - started good. Ended like shit. Actually it ended like bad rice. It had good pacing initially - but it soon 'derailed'.

Ah right, <SPOILER> the Rice. It's the fucking center of another MC. Jeez, are you kidding me? Is this Sasha the Potato Lover from AoT? Gosh, give me a break - you spent more than half the anime trying to set up a sad and pitiable character then you tell me it's for rice. <SPOILER END>

Concluding my rant, this anime seems to be a well-started, badly completed attempt at contending the Attack on Titan fame. I'm sorely disappointed. You can watch it for yourself and find small bits to save this. I'll give you that hope.