Shokugeki no Soma is the food fanservice show that everybody is talking about. It's the anime where eating a good meal prepared by a teenager induces massive amounts of orgasm, and it's freaking hilarious. I have watched many a fan service anime in my life, and out of all of them, this particular anime definitely ranks somewhere within my top 5 ecchi/fan service shows ever. It is just that fun to watch.
Story: This anime follows a boy named
Yukihira Soma, who dreams of surpassing his father as a cook and inheriting the family restaurant, which is a low-brow diner for the masses. His father decides to send Soma to a cooking school. Already being something of an expert chef with plenty of experience, Soma is at first angry with his father, however, after learning that he's been sent to
Tootsuki Culinary Academy, an elite school with a 90% fail rate, his tune quickly changes. It was this original premise that first drew me into the story. For a show about cooking, this anime is surprisingly original. Although, perhaps it is because this show is about cooking that I got so into it. Seriously, have you seen the food made in this show? It looks delicious!
This show takes what I consider standard
Shonen Tropes and combines them with a cooking competition feel similar to
Chef Ramsay's Kitchen - only ten times more intense. When I first watched this show, I wasn't sure what to expect. I mean, it was a show about cooking, so it couldn't be that exciting, right? Wrong! Somehow, despite being an anime about cooking, it is surprisingly intense. The director and animators really know how to up the ante, making activities as simple as cooking food feel like the most epic thing you'll ever see. It does an extraordinary of keeping my attention throughout, and I was always excited whenever a new episode of this would come out on Crunchyroll.
Being a shonen anime, it is not surprising that there is a lot of fanservice in it. I'll admit, I really liked the fanservice here. While some feel pervasive and annoying, this was just funny. Who ever heard of people orgasming from food? And it's not just the woman who get fanserviced in this either. Gray Fullbuster from Fairy Tail has some competition now, because there are plenty of instances where one of the male characters in this anime is shown in nothing but an apron. I'm guessing Yūto Tsukuda and Shun Saeki wanted the fanservice to be more gender equal. While I'm sure there are still plenty of people who dislike how ecchi this anime is, at the very least, no one can complain that the fanservice only features women.
Characters: One thing I loved about this anime was the caste. There are a lot of characters in here - perhaps even a few too many characters. Despite this, I did like most of them. Yukihira Soma is my favorite, being the main character and everything. I really love his determination and pride as a chef. Unlike many protagonists who come off as wimpy, Soma is determined and unfalteringly confident in his cooking, and he doesn't take any crap from others who insult his abilities as a chef, or his father's diner. There is also
Megumi Todaroko, an unconfident young woman who is on the edge of failing at Tootsuki Academy;
Erina Nakiri, the prominent and somewhat spoiled young woman who's been given the title of
God's Tongue for her enviable talent at determining the quality of food. There are plenty more characters, and each one stands out vibrantly amongst the others. No two characters act the same, and I think that says a lot about this anime's ability to handle such a wide caste.
Art: The art style here is also pretty dang good. While I've certainly seen better, I like how original the artwork is for this anime. The character designs are quite different from what I've seen in other anime. Of course, all of the woman tend to be very beautiful and the men handsome, which makes sense as this is a fan service anime. The backgrounds designs are all well-detailed and interesting, and I really like the animation, especially when the chefs are all cooking. Naturally, I am also a big fan of the fanservice moments. The attention to detail during these scenes really is impressive - and perverted, but mostly impressive.
Artwork: 8.5/10
Animation: 8/10
Sound: 8/10
Characters: 9/10
Story: 9/10
Personal Enjoyment: 10/10
Total: 8.75/10
