Toriko Movie: Bishokushin no Special Menu

As far as movies go, Toriko Movie: Bishokushin no Special Menu is a pretty good movie to watch and enjoy if you are just in the mood of watching some action filled Shonen Battle characters go head to head with bad guys. In this review I will just summarize the experience I had watching the movie and what you can expect from it before sitting down for 1.5 Hours.

Story/Characters:
For the story, Toriko and the gang find out about this Biotope which happens to be one of Acacia's Kitchen where he had a special menu hidden aside from his Full Course meal. The team heads to ... the Biptope and encounter various obstacles and battles and meet new characters that help them defeat the evil person and obtain Acacia's Special Menu. (Them defeating the evil enemy isn't a spoiler because this is what SHONEN is mostly all about).

As seen in the trailer the whole gang is there which includes, Toriko, Komatsu, Rin, Coco, Sunny and Zebra as well as the Bishokukai and IGO members. If you have seen the anime or read the manga you pretty much know these characters and they don't need an introduction.

Art/Sound:
The animation and soundtrack were pretty good. I was especially impressed with how good and fluid the animation was as Toei's animations in general aren't all that great but when it comes to having a movie budget, they show off their skills as an animation studio and take their time into drawing and animating. That being said, I compared it to the on-going Hunter X Hunter animation and of course, Hunter X Hunter is still better but Toriko Movie's is way better than the original anime ever will be. The fight scenes are nicely done and the soundtrack for the most part is on par with what happens in the movie.

Enjoyment/Overall Thoughts:

I enjoyed this movie. It was fun watching Toriko after a while and its was great to see better animation and an OK story to boot. The anime was aimed at kids and I watched the movie with my younger brother (11 years old) and he enjoyed it as much as I did. It was full of action, more than expected and the story and the message was pretty good to teach to kids these days in the society. So if you have a son or daughter or a younger brother/sister and they want to watch TV or a good movie, this is a movie for them.

So should you rush out and Download/Buy the movie?

Well, it depends. If you enjoyed the anime for Toriko then sure, its great and enjoyable for the most part. If you are a manga reader and didn't appreciate the anime then you can pass on this movie but I would still recommend you watch it just because its something original and new.

Overall I gave this movie a 7/10 because its not really something you HAVE to watch as a Toriko fan, rather you watch it when you have free time and you are running out of good Shonen's to watch.

Hope this review gave YOU the reader some idea of what to expect from the movie. Gochisousama Deshita!

(The movie has so far only been subtitled in Spanish subs) Unlike the recent anime, animation is great especially in the fights such as the climatic battle between Toriko & Girim. Story is alright with the main appeal being the music & battles. Sadly, not much of The Bishokukai are featured; merely brief scenes of dialogue. Girim as the main villain is pretty cool but bland at the same time. Towards the end of the movie, Girim actually does go pretty beastly. Same goes for Ayame for she comes of as a "lovely" woman but don't expect much out of her. Overall the movie is ... great, definitely surpasses the 1st film. The only problem with the movie is the ending which seems the full film wasn't uploaded. The lack of credits & the inclusion of a deleted scene ends the movie with an awkward feeling. Oh & of course the Gintoki, Kagura & Shinpachi cameo...DONDAKE!!!!!

As a fan of Toriko, I was sad when I finished to watch the anime. But then, I found this movie.
The story is basic and has not a lot of originality.The characters are the same as in the anime of Toriko. There are only 2 unpublished characters but they are not original too. Nevertheless, I loved to see again Toriko and his friends in action with a great art. In the anime Toriko, the art is not always good but in this movie, the art was just perfect and it was a pleasure for my eyes. So, despite the story and the characters who ... are not very original, I enjoyed pretty much the anime and I recommend you to watch this movie if you are a fan of Toriko. I think you will have a good time. But if you don't know Toriko, I advise you to watch the anime Toriko first and this movie after to enjoy more this movie and to understand all the references.

Finally, I decided to give the mark of 7 to this movie!