Ranked #1380

Toriko

"Cooking is as masculine as judo, kickboxing or tae kwan do. Anyone can fight but it takes a special man to craft the perfect Bolognese sauce"
Quoted from a manly midget chef...

You know the first thing that crossed my mind when I read that quote was covering a cow with ketchup then proceed to pound the cow into bolognese sauce.
Im just kidding of course, that isn't call MANLY... that's called animal abuse...

So chances are if you stumble upon this anime, you're not watching it just to fill up your boring life with some boring junk. No.. You hunt for exotic food on a daily basis. And you need an anime that teaches you the RIGHT way to do it...
Well, introducing Toriko, the only anime currently airing that will not only satisfy that hunger urge but will also teach you how to be more MANLY than you were before.

What would you say if I said that World Peace could be obtain if everyone in the world combined their powers to produced the most delicious full course menu in the universe?
You would probably say "BURRRRRP!!" Cause that's how the end of World Hunger sounds like. Now all that's left is the homeless people.

(Now people, feeding the homeless to the hungry would solve those two world problems, but we wouldn't want to resort to cannibalism now do we?)

Let's see how this anime can be used to solve other problems?

Problem (Art)
So you just opened up an art gallery and you're not raking any cash because an art gallery is partially a public good. (No duh..)
Solution:
Open up a mini restaurant in your gallery. Watch Toriko (especially the one piece crossover) and get inspiration on drawing animals which apparently looks like it had sex with food and produced offspring. Make your visitors hungry and they'll pay a visit to your mini restaurant for brunch. Problem solved
Toriko has a huge variety of animal species, though not as much as Pokemon which has a total of 600++ up to date, but at least some of them are edible and each is designed with it's own unique features. The artwork for Toriko is similar to One Piece. If you like One Piece, then you definitely would love this. If you like Two Piece then go to the toilet... *crickets* Yeah, yeah lame joke... pfft...

Problem (Sound)
So you work with a bunch of unmotivated voice actors who does english dubs for an anime.
And they sound horrible (more than usual anyways)
Solution:
Get them to watch Toriko. The seiyuus for this anime are top notch. They portray their character well in the anime. It's like the directors forced the seiyuus to starve during the recording to make them sound like a bunch of hungry men. What can I say about the opening? One word... "GATSU!!" No seriously, it's like getting your guts punched with a thousand fists of manliness.

Problem (Character)
So you have a son, and he's a wimp. Nothing wrong about that, but he is due to national service soon. And you don't want the other kids to bully him.
Solution:
Get him to watch Toriko. Make him into a man. Toriko is an exampled role model.He says his prayers before and after eating his meal. How often do you see people say their grace before they eat? Not only that, Toriko only kills animals that he deems worthy to be eaten. He does not just willy nilly kill any of God's creation. Only a REAL man could do that.
For every manly character, there will have to be a less manly guy to enhance the manliness of the main character.
For Batman, there is Robin. For Sherlock Holmes, there is Dr. Watson. In this case, for Toriko, there is Komatsu. Komatsu has his own set of special culinary abilities that furthur compliments Toriko's manliness. If Toriko was the fork and spoon, Komatsu is probably the condiments.
What about the wimpy son problem?
Heck, just show the government his MAL profile that he is currently watching "Toriko" He'll be exempted for life.
In fact, "Toriko" isn't really an anime.
The German government classified "Toriko" as "Handbuch für Männlichkeit"
Translation, Handbook for masculinity. Yeah, everything sounds manlier in German.

The only problem about this anime is that it was further degraded from its masculinity compared to the manga due to a significant degree of censorship. Lower your hopes for gore and blood. On the bright side, with the absence of graphic violence, how kids who haven't hit puberty can watch the anime and start training the the path of manliness...

Overall, as proven above, watching Toriko solves a whole tons of problems. I give this anime a rating of 8. Cause that's the number of packs you'll have after watching this anime. Yes, that's right, 8 packs! One more pack and you can play tick-tack-toe on your abs. How awesome is that? Not as awesome as Toriko though. Tough luck kiddo. read more

WARNING: In my Review I go on tangents, but that's just the way I roll because I like barbeque sauce on my chicken nuggets. And don't you forget it.

There are two reasons that I watch anime:

1) I want to see something with depth that is intellectually stimulating where the characters and story weave a fascinating tale with twists and turns. One Anime that did this for me was Kaiji.

2) I just want to relax and experience an enjoyable adventure with a memorable cast of characters. In this category I mostly look for the theme and eye candy (meaning the quality of the art).

I watch Toriko for the second reason.

I actually tried watching Toriko when it first came out and didn't like it. With this season being one of the worst seasons of anime for me I decided to give Toriko another chance. And I am REALLY glad that I did.

Summary/Review:
Toriko takes place during the "Gourmet Age" where food is not merely a delicacy but also a sought after commodity. In this world rare and exquisite food exists and is often extremely hard to attain. There are two main factions, the IGO, (which are a bunch of Gourmet Hunters) and an evil group (Bishikokai or something like that) who desire to control the food supply because food is essentially power.

Characters 8/10
Not the best characters nor the most memorable. However, they do have their moments and grow on you.

Story 9/10
Hilarious. It's about food, and food is power.

Visuals 10/10
Looks awesome. Nice fight scenes.

Misc. 10/10
I love the pacing and feel that almost every episode gives me my money's worth rather than feeling cheated and held at gunpoint like with many other Anime.


Random Thoughts/Comparisons:
I thought One Piece was good. Then I later realized I liked Fairy Tail better. The reason I like Fairy Tail better is because, while very similar, it does not suffer as much from "Dragon Ball Z syndrome". One Piece just takes soooo long to get its point across and it drags on and on. It's awesome but the lengthening just dilutes what could be greatness and it's frustrating.

Then I realized I like Toriko better than Fairy Tail. While Fairy Tail's pacing is good, Toriko's pacing is phenomenal. It doesn't drag out arcs. It moves fast and leaves you wanting more rather than hanging for weeks on end (like One Piece).

Toriko is stereotypical. It's almost how Dragon Ball Z would be if it centered around food and had ridiculously enjoyable pacing. As a matter of fact, Toriko is what I always wished Dragon Ball Z had been.


Conclusion:
The art is beautiful and imaginative. Some of the monsters are huge and give off vibes of epicness. It's just such an enjoyable Anime to chill back and watch. Turn your brain off and just enjoy mindless action with its beautiful visuals. If you try and take it seriously you will definitely not enjoy it. But if you don't take it seriously you are truly in for a full course meal...

P.S.
I usually don't care to write reviews but I hope that a few people read this and give Toriko a chance because it doesn't get the credit it deserves. I was one of the many who overlooked this gem.

If Komatsu ends up getting Gourmet Cells I will say this is the best Anime ever! read more