Food Wars!

Tweekums

Protagonist Soma Yukihira works in his father's restaurant and hopes one day to surpass his father's culinary skills. He also believes that one day he will take over running the restaurant but when his father takes a job overseas and closes the restaurant he finds himself at the prestigious Totsuki Culinary Academy; a chefs' school where only the very best graduate and failing even one test will lead to instant expulsion! On his first day there he proclaims that not only does he expect to graduate he expects to be the top student! This doesn't make him too popular with many of the other students but as the series progresses he passes test after test as well as challenges with rivals; during this time he also helps others and even risks his place at the school to support those he believes are being treated badly. By the end of the final episode he is popular but still far from graduating.

This series was rather fun; Soma was an enjoyable if somewhat arrogant protagonist and the supporting cast were entertaining too. The food is almost as much a star of the show as the characters and we are left in no doubt when the judges enjoy a particular dish… their reactions are almost literally 'food porn' as they are shown in a state that borders on sexual ecstasy! This doesn't do too far though; it is just an excuse for some moderate fan service. The various competitions are surprisingly exciting and it is always interesting to see what exotic dish each of the protagonists will come up with as they combine cooking styles from many sources. Strangely we never see the students actually being taught anything and they seem to do well in their challenges because of knowledge they brought with them rather than anything taught to them… this doesn't really matter though as it serves the drama to have each person have their own special ideas. Given that the series ends before his graduation it is quite possible that there will be further series; I certainly hope there are as it was rather fun.

These comments are based on watching the series in Japanese with English subtitles.

score 8/10

Tweekums 4 October 2015

Reprint: https://www.imdb.com/review/rw3328837/