Food Wars Review (Patreon)

The point of the show: you have not had good food unless you have been compelled to take off your clothes after eating. Shounen tournament arcs, hilarious food analogies, (borderline) hentai art, and the Power of Friendship™ make for a consistently fun viewing experience.

Food Wars is the perfectly honest anime: it never pretends to be something it isn't. The fact that the opening episode has a "tentacle" scene made me think "oh, this is the kind of show you do NOT watch in public or recommend to family." After that though, the author establishes the pattern of the show. Soma aims for a new goal. Characters and rivals are introduced. They enter a tournament. They educate us on the technical aspects of cooking. The judges describe their culinary experience with a creative analogy. Clothes are removed. The heroes make a comeback victory or suffer a close loss. The power balance between the heroes and villains shifts and they all head into the next tournament.

The fact that this pattern is "predictable" doesn't make the show bad; on the contrary, it shows that we love routines and rituals. I think I said "Oagariyo" and "Osomatsu" a billion times and I will be saying this in real life to annoy the hell out of people. Soma's personality is just that infectious.

Things got interesting after Azami and his goons at Central entered the show. Brandon and I love poking fun at DADDY ISSUES™, so when Erina has her whole Stockholm Syndrome thing going on with Azami, Brandon and I had a lot of fun with those scenes. Then both Azami and Erina simp after Joichiro... again, I don't think the show is trying to take itself too seriously here. Joichiro and his son just have so much sexual chad energy that they can save both girls and guys before they start despairmaxxing. "I can save her!!!"

That plot line should have been a satisfying conclusion, but obviously the show overstayed its welcome in season 5. The biggest criticism I have is that season 5's plot is a repeat of Azami and Central. Now it's just Saiba and the KKK, and this time Saiba and Mana are doomers who need to be saved with Soma's overflowing sexual chad cooking energy. I can forgive Mana because if I had to take IVs instead of food for the rest of my life I'd be moping too. But Saiba's motivations are still just DADDY ISSUES™ but in this instance he tried to claim his half-sister's tongue for himself (pause). Seriously guys, do not underestimate daddy issues. Maybe watch some Jordan Peterson on this topic if you're not convinced.

Ultimately season 5 is a small stain on a quality show. I came away from the show with more positive emotions then ever before. And now I've got some new recipes to try out.

The verdict: Osomatsu!! 8/10

-Nathan