Shokugeki no Souma: Ni no Sara

Grab a seat, sit back, and relax. Shokugek no Souma (Food Wars) is back and that means, fans are in for more treat and foodgasms. From the series that bought you excitement of cooking and extravagant culinary arts, the second season has a lot to offer as well and it’s no understatement.

First things first, the sequel is a direct continuation from the first and thus, the story connects from established characters and storytelling. Therefore, there’s no reason to watch the second plate without tasting the first. Do note that there’s also no recap so the second season really gets straight to the meat of the story. That’s a good thing anyway. Who wants to listen to boring narrative of recapping? Rather, the second season dives into the main course as the tournament (Fall Elections) gets underway. If you remember, main male protagonist Souma is an inspiring cook chef who wants to follow his father’s footsteps into the culinary world. As a guy who is never afraid of challenges, it’s interesting to see how he fares against his competition. The first of those is Alice Nakiri (Erina’s cousin) and we see how both sides demonstrate their talent.

What’s often interesting about Shokugeki no Souma is often the clash of ideals because characters come from so many different backgrounds. For instance, Erina and Alice were both raised in a high class society so they lack understanding about people from below their class. This also adapts the way how Souma responds. If fans took notice, Souma often uses his own creative ideas to craft food rather than using fancy or stylish ingredients from the start. The point is that with so many ways characters can use to build on their talent, the second season capitalizes on them to make them memorable. Souma’s talents aren’t the only one being highlighted as characters returning from season one such as Megumi, Ryou, Akira, Hisako, and others get their own moments. Every one of these characters has their own cooking style so seeing them demonstrate what they’ve learned shows their strengths and weaknesses. The season does a decent job at that through colorful explanation of the food making process while injecting humorous moments and details. Don’t worry, if you’re starving for some fan service because of the foodgasm, there’s also that too.

As the titular character, Souma is still the face that gets the most highlight. In particular, his personal rivalry against one competitor named Subaru is something to remember. It’s not because of what’s at stake but because of Souma’s willingness to take on the challenge. As I mentioned before, Souma is a daredevil. He likes challenges and often takes them for reasons beyond personal interest. Also do note that Souma isn’t unbeatable and he does take a major loss. However, it’s important that Souma is the type of guy that also learns from his mistakes.

Speaking of mistakes, I guess a season condensed into a single just one cour will result in what people call “rushing”. Yes, the first season ran for 2-cour length of 24 episodes while the second season is only about half the length. What does that mean? It basically means material will be skipped to get straight to the main meat of the show. The first few episodes had me worried me a bit especially in the early stages. However, it doesn’t destroy the storytelling altogether if you look carefully. In essence, the condensing is probably done to get the story flowing more or capture the more important elements of the manga. In particular, the second half of the season really gets intense with high level competition. Of course, there are still lots of room for humor and breathers in between. Just know that season 2 is much more about competition. Some of the final few episodes affirms Souma’s motivation to improve himself and we get more background storytelling about his character.

Once again, J.C. Staff is responsible for the anime production. The visual quality remains more or less the same as fans may remember. There are occasionally awkward camera angles but in most parts works well. It’s noticeable that with the variety of themes offered during the tournament (bento, seafood, ramen, etc), the staff is able to capture the thrill of that. Fan service seems to be tamer compared to the first season especially in the early episodes but they are still there to make the fans droll. Meanwhile, the soundtrack remains somewhat less noticeable. While the theme songs are quite catchy, it just feels like the OST is overshadowed by other factors of the season. Voice mannerism still works quite well though in terms of delivery. One of the more noticeable character is a woman who speaks in broken Japanese which can be quite amusing to listen to.

The gimmick of Shokugeki no Souma has been a clever one. Taking the idea of making food and transforming it into something so colorful is what makes the show special. It’s essentially a satire with characters using their talent to make food better than appear. I’d say, it’s a clever joke and emphasizes more on how characters deliver their talent. The second season offers plenty of moments with these rivalries and moments you’ll have hard time forgetting. We might not appreciate every humorous joke or foodgasm they throw at us. However, it’s still enough to show that Food Wars remains a must-watch on the bucket list.

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Order up!...AGAIN!

Shokugeki no Souma 2nd Plate left off where the first season did with the Autumn Election and it really ramps up the tension for Souma to be in the Elite Ten if winning the tournament.

LA's views on the Shokugeki no Souma of the previous season was nothing but awe as to how cool and awesome the anime franchise which is essentially Iron Chef: The Anime with food porn and gasms which makes it weirdly unique to it and 2nd Plate may still have the same flavor (huhu) as the original season, but it both makes it great and falls under the same problems of the shounen genre and the original season did.

For what a food shounen anime comes in, this season still brings out some form of meaning this tournament and Shokugeki's this Election as well as the Stagaire has as well as make some of the more main cast members with the little screentime they had and ramps them up to be both badass and develop them further. Easy examples are Megumi Todokoro, the shy chef and Akira Hayama, the spice master and surprisingly enough Souma's development as a chef.

Before moving onto what's wrong with this season...the technical features.

For the animation, the animation is overall decent to the vibrantly flashy character designs as well as the tournament aesthetics, where the animation shines once again goes to the food, making you just drool at looking the gorgeously delicious food (by the way...HAVE FOOD WHILE WATCHING SHOKUGEKI...you'll be hungry if you don't) and is where most of the detail of the animation comes from. The animation overall is decent on par with the original season.

The voice acting at best can get overly hammy typical from the first season what with the more heated battles and wacky crazy contestants going against one another and really the voice cast were utterly great and added to the atmosphere be it a heated battle or the characters explaining about the food or how good it tasted due to how it was made, LA just can't put a favourite voice actor as the ENTIRE cast was great!.

Now what's really wrong with this season?...well just by looking at the episode count in comparison to the original really says it all, 24 to 12...some of the Shokugeki battles gets rather rushed...to be precise, the tournament battles that are not important to the characters are like this, examples as Takumi Aldini vs. Subaru Mimasaka or Souma vs. Alice Nakiri, sure the "meaning or theme" is still shown, but the rushed portion comes in when these battles' food prep and "how to make" are skimmed over just to finish the battle before the episode ends. Now this comes off as both good and bad as with the season's episode count, they kinda DO want to hurry it along, but bad as feels rushed. Nonetheless, 2nd Plate even with it's rushed zigzag pacing isn't enough for LA to hate this season. The last problem and LA's own personal opinion is that LA knows that Souma gets the most screentime in this season, but LA wanted more of ERINA NAKIRI!!!, small flaw but LA knows why the focus is on Souma.

Even the character development's zigzagged pacing gets a pass as even with this huge of a cast and the rushed Shokugeki battles, the combatants are still presented and developed even to the point even Souma's win record turns his character development even better as even he evolves as a character and not your typical "always win main protagonist" type. In terms of character development like Souma's screentime compared to the rest, Souma has the majority of the focus especially when it comes to Souma's battles in the Autumn Election, but he really has the majority of the focus come Stagaire. But for Souma's opponents as well as other contestants going against on another during the Election, they to during their battles brought up their development as a chef or personal developments again easy examples are Megumi.

The ending which brought to a finish the Stagaire mini arc, and really LA MUST point out that the Stagaire arc was one of thee best arc in Shokugeki no Souma, as it went more into the realistic look at restaurant and trying to be the better chef using new methods they learned. Ni no Sara by all means with it's strengths and flaws, it was on form, not all the way through but it still had the flavour and intensity of the original season and LA LOVED Ni no Sara for that...what else is there to say but...

LA wanted more...LA wants a 3rd Plate for all LA cares...

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Shokugeki no Souma returns after an extremely successful 1st season... and it is just as entertaining as the previous edition.

Shokugeki no Souma has been one of my favorite series for some time. Why? It's because it so damn entertaining. Where it might lack in the story, it makes it up for its consistent entertainment found in every single episode. That's not to say the story is bad however, as I find it quite fun and solid. Don't like ecchi? Well, as much as others like to say it, the show isn't ALL about those ridiculous 'foodgasms'. It also involves a good amount of emotions, fun 'battle'(cooking) scenes, and decent amount of development. In fact, I'd honestly like it just as much without the foodgasm scenes. The amount of effort and detail they put into the food and cooking is enough to make even the viewers craving for the food. And all things considered, this is how you do a proper cooking anime, making viewers hungry for more and more.

The animation in the 2nd season is just as amazing as the first. Although having a slightly rushed first episode, it manages to pick back up the original pace without too much dragging and rushing. he fast-paced cooking scenes are animated so fluidly and the whole show is just an eye-catcher in terms of the characters and the food.
Unfortunately, it does get rushed a bit in the later episodes again, but not too much. This kind of problem could have been fixed if the anime was 2 cour but unfortunately it isn't.

Like the first season, the music is one of my favorite aspect of the anime adaptation. Along with the animation, it just adds so much more to the scenes, especially the cooking scenes. Also really liked the fact that they still kept a couple of great osts from the first season as well. OP/ED are worth checking out as well, although I still prefer the 1st season ones.
The voice acting is great, but nothing too amazing i'd say. Each VA's fit their roles well, and big props to the VA's who had to do the foodgasms, because they sell it hilariously well.

Moving on, the characters look like your typical shounen stereotypes. However, the thing that makes me actually like these characters are that every single character are just entertaining to watch, as in no annoying characters whatsoever imo. The character interactions are great, and it does have a good amount of developments throughout the story. They have a bit of depth in them, and all of them are just really likable. For me, the best part of the series is the protagonist, Yukihira Souma. He is such a smooth MC: not annoying, boring or anything of that matter. He's the one that brings all the comedy, entertainment and the intensity of the show together. At times he's just straight up ridiculous and silly, but he also has this serious/badass side, and that's when you know shit is about to go down. Overall, the characters might seem like shounen cliches, but the cast makes it up for being very entertaining.

Both seasons of Shokugeki no Souma are a great, entertaining watch for anyone. Unfortunately, since it's only 13 episodes, some contents from the manga are indeed skipped, and the pacing is a bit inconsistent at times. But even without the skipped parts, the story is still tied well together. Some of you might not like it if you aren't that into the concept of foodgasms but it's still worth the watch purely for the entertainment it effortlessly brings on the table.

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Shokugeki no Souma was a big surprise for many for 2015. What initially seemed like a weird mix of shounen, cooking and ecchi turned out to be one of the most interesting and suspenseful anime of the year. It ended up being one of the most popular anime of the year. With the first season ending incomplete, the second season’s role was to finish up what was started. Although the second season never reaches the heights of the first season due to its really fast pacing and lack of buildup, but even with a flawed adaptation, Shokugeki no Souma is some of the best fun you’ll have this year.

~{Story}~
The story continues off right from where the first season ended. After the Autumn Election preliminaries in the first season, the series starts off with the quarterfinals, focusing on the characters that managed to get to this point. So basically, this season starts off straight into the action. The thing is that the writing in general is fairly unpredictable, unlike the first season of the anime. Maybe the one who you’ve expected to win may not. The previous series focused more on Souma and his journey in learning more about cooking. This season focuses more on all of the finalist and what cooking and victory means too them. But the series still doesn’t forget about Souma as he’s on a journey to find his own style of cooking. The season is comprised of two different arcs. The first nine episodes are the rest of the Autumn Elections arc that was left incomplete in the first season. The last four episodes is the entirety of the Stagiaire arc. Now, the series would have been a lot better if they had time to build situations up, but the rushed adaptation prevents to do so.
Story: 7/10

~{Presentation}~
Those who are familiar with the first season will feel home with the second season. Back to some more shounen-style cooking with over-the-top reactions and, of course, foodgasms. The style remains the same as the previous season, but unfortunately the same can’t be said about the pacing of this season. When the episode count of 13 episodes was announced and the PVs teased the Stagiaire arc, red flags were being raised. I knew that the adaptation won’t be as good as I was hoping it to be, but I wished that I would be proven wrong. Sadly, that wasn’t the case here. What should’ve been done in 19 or so episodes ends up being done in 13. The rest of the Autumn Elections arc should’ve been done in 15 episodes, but it was pushed into 9. That means that roughly each episode adapted 4-5 chapters, which is not ideal for a manga series that has a fair amount of dialogue. A manga adaptation of JoJo can get away with that, but not Shokugeki no Souma. Due to the fast pacing, many moments that should’ve felt tense don’t end up feeling so, and the lack of buildup makes you feel less interested in the matches. The most ideal adaptation would’ve been the rest of the Autumn Elections arc, the Stagiaire arc, and the arc after that, all being adapted in a two-cour series. But unfortunately that didn’t happen.
Presentation: 5/10

~{Character}~
With the second season, you’ll be seeing the old characters back in action, but you’ll be seeing some new characters too, particularly a finalist you probably haven’t seen yet. Shokugeki no Souma had a fairly huge cast, and most of the characters ended up being either memorable, interesting and hilarious. The series revolves around Yukihira Souma and how he uses his skills to succeed in the world of cooking. But it’s not just about him doing, but also about him learning. And we also have many returning characters like Tadokoro Megumi, Nakiri Erina, and many more. But a good chunk of the series mainly focuses on the finalists of the Autumn Elections, which are Souma, Megumi, Alice, Kurokiba, Hayama, Takumi, Mimasaka, and Hisako. And this season develops on those characters more than they did in the last season. You’ll be seeing backstories for characters like Kurokiba, Hayama, and Alice, and they add more of a meaning to these matches. These characters end up feeling more complex than just a simple rival. And knowing what these characters value the most makes you not just cheer for one person.
Character: 8/10

~{Art}~,
The art quality is basically the same as the previous season, and just like the previous season, there aren’t any noticeable quality drops. Shokugeki no Souma’s art style is quite simplistic and is the one you would typically see in a typical school comedy. But more detailing is put for things of greater value, like the dishes in the series. Just like the previous season, comedic moments would be shown using chibi-looking characters and that helps add to the humor of the show. The foodgasms fanservice look just as good as the previous season. The backgrounds look quite nice, though most of the backgrounds in the series is more in buildings rather than outside. When compared to the manga’s art, it is a little lacking as some facial reactions can look more badass in the manga. But that’s a situation evert anime has since a still panel from a manga enables the mangaka to put more details than an animated scene where each frame needs detailing.
Art: 9/10

~{Animation}~
The animations quality is also the same as the first season, and just like its art quality, it’s quite consistend throughout and there’s barely any quality drops. Never once did it seem like they were saving budget and cutting it short, and the same went for the first season too. The animations for the cooking moments look pretty good. The animation quality is pretty much what you would expect from J.C. Staff at this point. It’s nothing mind-blowing, but it’s not like as if an anime like these needs animations like that. My only concern is that outdoor backgrounds can look a little static, but most of the anime is taken place within buildings anyways.
Animation: 8/10

~{Voice Acting}~
The seiyuu cast remains the same in the second season. The voice acting in the first season was excellent, however most of the seiyuu are pretty unknown. Souma is voiced by Matsuoka Yoshitsugu and he does a great job as the confident, yet curious protagonist. His effort here is of course nowhere near the level of his role as Petelgeuse in Re:Zero, but it’s not like as if that’s necessary. Megumi is voiced by Takahashi Minami again and she does a very good job, even if her role wasn’t as important as it was in the first season. Taneda Risa returns to do Erina, but just like Megumi, there’s not much of her to begin with. However, characters like Hayama and Kurokiba play a bigger role in this season and their seiyuu do a very good job. Okamoto Nobuhiko knows how to do raging characters well, so he did a great job as Kurokiba. And Suwabe Junichi did a great job as the composed, yet focused Hayama. Overall, the returning cast does a great job again with their characters. The
Voice Acting: 8/10

~{Music}~
The music was mostly excellent in the first season and the same can go for this season too. The OP, “ROUGH DIAMONDS”, is a very good song made by SCREEN mode. The music for the OP sounds like something you would hear from a battle shounen anime, but it’s not like Shokugeki isn’t as intense as a battle shounen. The ED, “Snow Drop”, was done the really loved and popular band, nano.RIPE. Though it might not be their best, but the song is pretty good. I’m not a big fan of the band’s vocalist though. The soundtrack for this anime is the same as the soundtrack used in the first season. Though I haven’t noticed if there’s any track that is new in the series. My favorite one (just like the last season), “Food Battle Start!”, is used very well in the anime to create suspense. Some of the over-dramatic music used when the dishes are being judged adds to the absurdness of the series too.
Music: 7.5/10

~{Enjoyment}~
Even with the lackluster adaptation, I found it very hard not to enjoy the second season of Shokugeki no Souma. With more shounen-style cooking, mouth-watering dishes, over-the-top foodgasmic reactions, epic one-liners and references to other series, it’s got everything I expect from a sequel to Shokugeki no Souma. Although what should’ve been Shokugeki’s best arc ended up being one of its weakest do to a rushed adaptation and lack of buildup. But the characters are developed just as effectively as they were in the manga. I still enjoyed this season, and it’s one of my favorite of the year, but what could’ve been amazing only manages to be great and nothing more.
Enjoyment: 7/10

If you’re a fan of Shokugeki no Souma, chances are that you have already watched this season. But if you haven’t then you should do so. The supporting character are more developed than before and are now much more complex as characters. Even Souma got more development as his goal from reaching the top got turned into finding his own style of cooking. And you get what you know and love from the first season too. However, the really rushed adaptation makes this season lack the intensity and buildup the last season. It’s quite disappointing that the manga’s best arc got a not so good adaptation. But even with the lackluster adaptation, there a lot of find in the second season of Shokugeki no Souma.

+ The shounen-style, over-the-top cooking, and foodgasms are back.
+ Supporting characters are well-developed and some receive proper backstories.
+ The great background music used in the first season is back and new OP and ED are very good.
+ Souma is developed more as a protagonist who needs to find his own style of cooking.
- Very rushed as an adaptation and makes the series lack any proper buildup or intensity.
- Never reaches the heights of its first season, despite adapting the best moments from the manga.

Overall: 7.4/10

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