This is the kind of school camp Satsuki would plan. What They Say:
The Concerto of Inspiration and Imagination
Shokugeki no Soma centers on Yukihira Soma, a middle school student who is determined to surpass his father’s culinary skills. One day, his father decides to close down their family restaurant and hone his skills in Europe. Before leaving he enrolls Soma in an elite culinary school that is extremely difficult to enter with a graduation rate of only 10 percent. Will Souma be able to improve his skills, or will the kitchen prove to be too hot?
The Review:
Content: (please note that content portions of a review may contain spoilers)
Soma has just conquered his first Shokugeki, so in typical shounen battle manga fashion (since that’s really what this series is), it’s good to mix it up with something a little different while also continuing to one-up the scale of that which has come before it. Food Wars! has exactly that formula in mind, and introduces a training camp for the students – one with the most extreme (cooking) tasks and the constant risk of expulsion for all students who fail to deliver optimally on any task or even just happen to have some other characteristic that upsets one of the alumni.
As always, Soma is thoroughly unperturbed by the situation, while Megumi literally passes out just from thinking about its eventuality. With the prestige and demanding curriculum that Totsuki is built on as well as the enormity and extravagance of its facilities, it’s no surprise that the select few who manage to actually complete their schooling there go on to be the most highly regarded gourmet chefs in the professional world. This training camp brings them to our fresh-faced students, who take the opportunity to shout about how important and amazing they all are. After the first episode, which was something of a prologue, the series has been exclusively focused on dealing with the challenges and students of the school itself, so the fact that these alumni will obviously be playing significant roles going forward presents an interesting connection to the next level that the current students aspire to exist in.
We haven’t really had arcs yet, so it seems safe to say that this will be the first arc of the series. After the premiere Shokugeki established a precedent for multi-episode stories, this one leaves off in the middle of Soma’s first exam, and there are many more to come. If the first exam is any indication, these will serve to formally introduce the rest of the top tier of freshmen who aren’t okay with Soma’s bold claims at opening ceremony. The first is Takumi Aldini, who ends up being a more interesting and complex character than it might’ve seemed at first. He clearly spends his life atop a high horse, makes Soma’s acquaintance by grinding into his foot, and is embarrassingly dramatic, which invariably leads to him being hilariously shut down and ridiculed. Unlike some, though, he actually comes from a family diner that he’s put a great deal of real, hard work into, just like Soma. With the way he’s shown to use the available resources to concoct something unique and inventive, he’s actually the closest to Soma as a chef, painting him as a different kind of rival than the likes of Erina and her fundamentally opposing philosophy.
In Summary:
We appear to be in our first real arc now, meaning we won’t be seeing any Shokugeki for a while, but offering a great deal of potential in other areas. The introduction of the alumni will likely prove critical later on, but in the early stages it appears that meeting some of Soma’s sworn enemies is to be the focus. Takumi is the first, and is more dynamic than he seems, a worthy rival to Soma.
Grade: B+
Streamed By: Crunchyroll
Review Equipment:
Custom-Built PC, Sceptre X425BV-FHD 42″ Class LCD HDTV.
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