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This show was a phenomenal watch. Its overall tone with a bit of a "monster of the week" format fits very well into the story without making the viewer sick of it. It has relatively consistent pacing, with only maybe on or two slow episodes. The characters are varied and often dynamic. The greatest appeal of the show personally is the historical-based period setting (sometime around 15th century Japan). It allows the epic sword-fighting and war to have a unique impact that other modern or even fantasy themes otherwise can't achieve. The music and sounds fit seamlessly into the series and drive in the intended ... emotion at every corner, and the development of characters and plot alike allow for a very enjoyable watch for any fan of a show of this type.

It's rare I feel strongly enough to actually write out a review, but since my opinion of this show is so fresh and the series as a whole means a lot to me, I felt it important to leave my opinion.

The story was certainly the least fulfilling of the series, and it shows. A ton of the more important aspects of the show have shifted from the cooking to outside of it. Suspension of disbelief is very important in shows like these, but that can't make you ignore a villain that was not only shoehorned in, but also provided no real payoff after building up ... his character in a very short span, albeit not fully enough to satisfy a conclusion to his personal story. An underworld gang of chefs cooking for crime seems silly outside of this show, but the thought is never considered. The only shortcoming of the antagonists is the lack of true build-up beyond "they are bad but we are good, so we must win." The cooking itself still delivered, though in a much faster pace that rushed through the better parts that made earlier seasons truly shine. Many events take place off screen, including the fundamental part of the show; the actual process of cooking. The final product still provided a fulfilling description of the finished dish, but the cooking that led up to it was scarce at best. This wasn't the only thing glossed over during this show. The results and events of many IMPORTANT cooking battles were completely skipped over and mentioned in passing later on. The story drags the season down significantly compared to the earlier seasons, especially considering this is meant to end the series. The ending in particular left a lot to be desired, but my full opinion is full of spoilers and thus will only be posted at the very end of this review (you've been warned). 4/10

The art (excluding the extremely mediocre opening), while some argue dropped in quality, was overall the same. The backdrops may have lost some quality, many accurately comparing them to a PowerPoint presentation (I'm looking at you, opening), but the bread and butter of the show, the animation of the food and characters, didn't noticeably diminish much if at all. It's still the same detailed, satisfying and attractive style I've come to expect from the show. 9/10

The sound doesn't require much discussion. Most is somewhat recycled, which isn't terrible, since it was good to begin with. The OP and ED are forgettable, and the rest of the music remains at the same quality that is near and dear to me and the hearts of many other fans. 7/10

The characters are a mixed bag. Much of the main cast takes quite a backseat for the majority of the season, leaving only Souma, Erina, Megumi, and Takumi being the only ones to receive their share of growth. This growth was unevenly distributed and seemed to vary between situations. This, however, is not very noticeable, as the cast is as endearing as ever, and most if not all fan favorites received their deserved time in the spotlight. before the show wraps up. 6/10

Despite my harsh opinion of the story, I enjoyed the ride up until the end (friendly spoiler reminder that the paragraph following will discuss it with spoilers). The battles were still climactic and I was always eager to load up the next episode. I enjoyed following the characters, laughed and guffawed at the boisterous, quirky, and oddball chefs and styles. Not once until the final episode of the show did I even consider disliking what I was watching. I still highly recommend this show to any fan of Food Wars! despite any shortcomings and will forever consider the series as a whole a personal favorite. 7/10









WARNING: SPOILERS AHEAD :WARNING


My initial reaction personal opinion of the final episode is as follows:

So is that it? I mean up until halfway through I was hyped for the epic finale, but man, I should've just quit when she tasted Souma's dish. I mean, Erina wins OFFSCREEN, which is some sort of recurring theme in this season, but I'm getting ahead of myself. Everything after Asahi losing feels extremely rushed, like I'm skimming the pages of a book or reading the Sparknotes synopsis right before a test. Nothing really feels resolved. Souma lost to Erina after making a big deal of the fact that his dish actually made history, and they didn't have the decency to say why. Then another time skip for what I can only assume was the epilogue in the manga, but just ended up being a half-hearted wrap-up for a 5 season anime. It's like ending a multi-page essay with "and that's the end." it felt about as abrupt as the end of my little rant.

This was most certainly a difficult and frustrating season to get through, with many disappointments not by the story, but by your own standards of what you expect and want to happen. It never fully answers your questions, and all in all I believe this season didn't quite live up to its predecessor. It answered only enough to keep you interested, but still left you frustrated with a feeling of confusion and emptiness, much unlike the first season, which, although it left questions unanswered, gave a sort of satisfaction that this one did not provide. Character-wise, I'd say it was sub-par at best. Unlike the ... first season, which provided adequate development of every one of its characters, this season really only focused on a select few while the rest had to watch from the sidelines. Even the characters it did develop were not done very well. Akane Tsunemori and Kirito Kamui were the only two that really developed at all. The other two (Tougane and Shimotsuki) were really only sloppily thrown together last second. Now obviously this is not the kind of show that was meant to leave you happy and smiling, but overall I feel the story is what really pulled it together. It really kept you guessing as to what would happen next, and never giving you the satisfaction of being correct. The only thing that dragged it down is the ending, which left you feeling unresolved with no way to fix it. All in all I'd say this was a good show that did very well considering its episode count was half that of the first season, but it didn't quite make it to the same level.