Tuesday, August 25, 2015

Manga Review: Food Wars, Vol 1 by Yuto Tsukuda & Shun Saeki

Food Wars!, Vol. 1: Shokugeki no Soma 
 Food Wars,Volume 1 
 
 
by Yuto Tsukuda & Shun Saeki


Genre(s) Graphic Novel, Manga
Pages: 208
Published: April 2013 (first publication)
Publisher: Viz Media (Shonen Jump Advanced)


Summary:  "Soma Yukihira's old man runs a small family restaurant in the less savory end of town.  Aiming to one day surpass his father's culinary prowess, Soma hones his skills day in and day out until one day, out of the blue, his father decides to enroll Soma in a classy culinary school!  Can Soma really cut it in a school that prides itself on a 10 percent graduation rate? And can he convince the beautiful, domineering heiress of the school that he belongs there at all?!"
 
 

Review:  When I first started this I quickly became leery. Within a few pages a girl takes a bite of food and is suddenly, magically having all her clothes ripped of and is in a state of pure pleasure. I freaked out a bit. Then I turned the page and luckily, it was all in her head, but still I couldn't help wondering what type of manga I got myself into.

I am glad I continued! Turns out this series is quite good, with interesting characters, good (and not so good) food and plenty of moments that vary from amusing to outright absurd (such as the loss of clothes). The author has a unique way of magnifying and expressing how a person feels after the first bite of a delicious dish.

Soma is the the son of a small local chef who decides to close up shop and challenges his son to go to a specialized culinary school for the elite of the elite. There he meets Erina of the divine tongue who takes an instant dislike to him. She is a top student and everyone has high expectations of her and Soma decides to try and show her up. Good luck!

I like Soma's character. Determined and a generally good guy. he seems a bit dense in some ways but when it push comes to shove he can cook! He likes to experiment a lot though and uses customers as guinea pigs to them. Some don't go over too well (hahaha).


Overall, a very enjoyable start to a new series.

 
**I received a copy of this manga in exchange for a fair/honest review. All opinions and thoughts expressed are strictly my own**
 

2 comments:

  1. So, I need help picking manga for my high school students. This one sounds like probably not a good one since the girl's clothes disappear?

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  2. This sounds like a really fun manga! The Japanese always have such a fascination with food, I always remember the movie Tampopo which is a hilarious food-related comedy/western combination which I recommend!

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