Simple, but Tasty- Shokugeki no Soma

An old favorite from my early days in anime was the very humorous “Yakitate Japan,” a show about bread.  Full of puns and over-the-top expressions towards one of the world’s most universal food staples, the show stayed across the Pacific, away from American shores until early this year, when the first of 3 DVD boxsets was released.  At 69 episodes, the show was very entertaining at first, but became repetitive and duller as the aforementioned puns and expressions instead of substance and story became the primary drivers of the show.   11 years after Yakitate’s premiere in Japan, a derivative and successor show has come onto the scene, and while differences can be seen, the influence of Yakitate is baked into “Shokugeki no Soma” all the way through.

“Shokugeki no Soma,” or “Food Wars,” at first differs from “Yakitate Japan” in its subject matter and layout, instead following protagonist Soma Yukihira and his adventures of going to the elite Tootsuki Culinary Academy, a school with a low 10 percent graduation rate.  The redhead Soma soon draws the ire of his classmates, boasting about how he will be the top student in the class, with a large amount of hatred coming from Erina Nakiri, the headmaster’s granddaughter.  From this point on, the series is structured with a typical shounen bent, as challenges for Soma become more difficult and varied, along with his portrayal as a typical passionate and aspirational lead male protagonist, though the typical hotheadedness is tempered by moments of complete cluelessness.  His also typical counterpart is the shy yet caring Megumi Tadokoro, a girl whose previously poor performances put her on the verge of expulsion from the academy.  They are joined by a host of minor characters, some of whose appearances are touched upon enough to create an impression, while others are merely haphazardly plopped in for a few episodes in the name of accuracy to the show’s predecessor manga and then discarded.  Examples of the former include dorm leader Satoshi Isshiki, the two rival Aldini brothers, and ex-student and Elite Ten member Koujirou Shinomiya, who perhaps has the most well-developed backstory of the secondary characters.  Examples of the latter are mostly classmates of the two main characters but oftentimes have little to no interaction with them, such as Nao Sadatsuka and Miyoko Hojou.  The major issue here is an oversaturation of characters- along with Soma and Megumi, individuals touched upon include members of their dormitory, many other current and former students, current and former members of the school’s Elite Ten organization, along with judges for the many “Shokugekis,” or high-stakes cooking contests, the school holds.  To add insult to injury, many of the characters are given chintzy and forgettable nicknames, and the tactic is used too often to try and deepen the characters.  Instead, the show should have just stuck with its tactic of good backstory, flashbacks, and creativity, all of which are used to good effect with multiple characters.  Now, the characters who manage to leave an impression are done well enough given the time constraints, but there is nothing new or groundbreaking for how the two main characters are portrayed.  Ditto with the side character Doujima Gin, whose parallels with “Yakitate Japan’s” Ryou Kuroyanagi are uncanny, right down to the voice actor.

The shokugekis are obviously used as a way to make the series appeal to a broader audience, and the focus centers on the items prepared by the contestants and techniques used instead of getting into the contestants’ heads, though motivation can clearly be seen.  The contests are not long and drawn out affairs, which is thankful in this 24-episode series.  It is apparent that the series would not be conclusive due to its short length, and while the pacing is well-done, side stories are added in, which can be seen as a distraction from the main plotline at times.  Other tactics used which parallel “Yakitate Japan” include ridiculous overreactions to food, though the difference here is that reactions in “Shokugeki no Soma” are firmly in the realm of fanservice, as moans of pleasure emit from the tasters’ mouths and tasters’ clothes come off as they are shown hostage to the food’s flavor.  This again is done to pander the show to more individuals, and while some fanservice would be acceptable, repeatedly using the same style of reaction shows lack of creativity and capitulating to the demands of the fans, leading me to yearn for “Yakitate Japan’s” approach of puns and creatively styled portrayals.  What “Shokugeki no Soma” does better than its counterpart, however, is the portrayal of the characters’ techniques and styles.  Doing this gives the characters a stronger impression of themselves as they are characterized by the dishes they create, much like a signature dish challenge.

As for the show’s appearance itself, “cheap” would be too harsh a word, but “budget” would be a more appropriate analogy.  The character designs are simply drawn, with little in the sense of texture, simplistic outfits, and ordinary designs.  The budget was used in the portrayal of the food, and texture and layering here are above average, but mix the cooking techniques in and one gets a much larger sense of enjoyment.  Colorwise, saturation and brightness are again used most prominently in the food, tasting and reaction scenes.  Shading, meanwhile, is minimal, ditto with animation.  What I mean by minimal animation is that fast, repetitive motions like mincing or chopping of ingredients which would require a smaller budget outlay, are used often.  Other action scenes of cooking are instead portrayed as portraits or show small amounts of movement instead of characters’ interaction with the ingredients.  There is some action used when portraying the reaction scenes, but if this is how the animation budget was spent, it just reeks of cheapness and shows the crew was focused on audience ROI versus ingenuity.

Now, with all these flaws present in the show, one would assume that it’s not worth watching.  Well, not exactly.  The show does know how to end on a cliffhanger after each episode, and it plays to its strengths, especially with the creativity aspect along with the ingenuity of the characters.  What keeps one engaged is that the show’s strengths manage to keep it adequately watchable on a technical aspect, but enjoyable on a creativity aspect, which is an absolute must when it comes to cooking.  There are flaws, yes, and one can see the budgetish quality of the show, but it holds mass appeal and makes a good beginner anime that incorporates shounen structure and thankfully, battles of intelligence and creativity instead of physical strength and special moves.  “Shokugeki no Soma” has the same inherent structural problems as “Ao no Exorcist,” but the former manages to address them more effectively and ends the show on a good note and at a good point in the story instead of deviating and starting its own plotline like the latter.   The somewhat conclusive and climactic end of the series screams “Second Season” and it would be a massive disservice if this were not the case, as there is canon material out there along with a large group of fans.  Should one watch it?  Of course, but know the shortcomings and consume for enjoyment instead of for a technical masterpiece.  Bon appetite.

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