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.

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...

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.

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

Having enjoyed the first season I was glad to hear we were getting more, but what we got wasn't more. In the 2nd season of Shokugeki no Souma they've chosen to abandon anything resembling story or character development and given us a cooking competition. The first 10 episodes are a series of duels with different characters we have no reason to care about and the final 3 episodes are "restaurant rescue" episodes.

Now abandoning a story isn't necessarily bad. I like cooking shows, I watch Beat Bobby Flay, Cuthroat Kitchen and many others, none of which have story or character development either. ... However much of what is said on Shokugeki no Souma is factually wrong and it's clear the writers of Shokugeki no Souma have never even seen a Michelin starred kitchen let alone been in one. With food that are "scent bombs" that can instantly fill a stadium with aroma and where every bite causes an orgasmic clothing-destroying explosions in the judges, this show has as much to do with cooking as a bullet dodging anime has to do with fighting.

So what are we left with given there is no story and what they're doing is reality ignoring make believe? We have a kid who is the best in the world kicking butt and saving adult run restaurants better than Gordan Ramsay could dream of. In other words it's a chunibyou power trip with the magic being kitchen knife wielding skill rather than a sword or a spell. But don't fret, huge breasted high school girls all admiring the main character are there too for people that want a touch of harem flavor in their otherwise flavorless show.

So in summary, there is really nothing here to watch. Give the second season of Chef's Table a watch if you want to see some of the best chef's in the world at work, or Beat Bobby Flay, Knife Fight, Cuthroat Kitchen etc. a watch if you want to see a cooking competition. Not only are they better, they're also real, not magical nonsense.

Shokugeki comes back with this second season! As someone that picked up the manga, I expected that now that I know everything that will happen, I wouldn't be as much interested as before, back when I fell in love with this anime, but I was totally wrong! the pure epicness of Shokugeki no Souma is more than enough to make me as scream like a fanboy just like before.

Shokugeki Season 2 started really strong and full of action and character development since the first second due to the place the first one ended, that doesn't usually happen so the pacing might feel wrong at the ... start, but one gets used to it quickly.

This season repeats with the awesome formula of comedy, hype, and the already iconic foodgasms, to continue entertaining the viewers, J.C. Staff delivered once again in the art department, with quality animation and food that looks so good and tasty that you better not be eating in that moment or you will feel disappointed.

If you liked Shokugeki, get ready for 13 more episodes of pure awesomeness, if you haven't watched the first season yet... What are you doing here? Go watch it, it's amazing!

Shokugeki no Souma's characters all have one goal: be the best chef. They all have different reasons for wanting to be the best, as the show will often remind you, but in the end their goals are one and the same. Perhaps that's what makes this second season of Shokugeki fall a bit flat. They're simply not progressing towards that goal for the majority of the show. It starts to make everything feel a bit pointless.

The majority of my complaints for this season come from the tournament arc:

-It barely matters who wins.

Winning the tournament simply shows that you are the best in the class. While ... that definitely aligns with the characters' goals, it also has no significance in the grand scheme of things. The series often reminds the viewer that these are just students we're following by showcasing the alumni of the school who are successful chefs. These constant reminders doom the arc's conclusion into the winner believing they still have a way to go. Of course, the losing characters all have the same thought. If the characters aren't satisfied with the conclusion and there are no tangible results win or lose, it's tough to find purpose in the events. Contrast this with the first season when expulsion was the result for failure and you can see how the intensity was dialed down a notch.

-The fights themselves are tough to follow.

This might be a personal thing, but I'm not extremely well versed in cooking. When Hayama is describing all these spices that I last used to cure status conditions in Star Ocean, I'm stuck just trying to imagine how these things would taste. When you're watching an action show you can tell who's winning by how much damage each side has taken. In a sports show you look at the points. Winning conditions are easy to follow. In Shokugeki it's much more difficult to gauge who is winning the battle. In the tournament in particular, you're often relying on the judges' and crowd's reactions to tell you who's winning. The results of the fights could be switched and I would be none the wiser.

-There's little forward impact on the characters (yet).

The arc gives a little motivation to Souma in the end, but by and large the cast is static. There's nothing inherently wrong with static characters. However, Shokugeki wants its characters to progress and get better at cooking. In that sense, it needs the characters to constantly improve. The best the arc does towards that is getting the characters to be more creative. In the short arc afterward we see some brief glimpses of the cast but no one besides Souma has seemed to change at all... and Souma is pretty much the same anyway. The tournament ends and it feels like the show is just like "Welp, on to the next arc."

Take my criticisms with a grain of salt. Obviously this season isn't a full adaptation of the manga. The results of the tournament might become more important later. It's the fact that there are little immediate results that makes the arc feel unsatisfying.

Thankfully, the following short arc brings the show back to its strength: high-pressure situations that aren't cooking battles. It puts the characters (but focusing on Souma) in a high-pressure situation in which they are quickly forced to improve or else face negative consequences. It's far more interesting and intense. I wish it had been longer.

Art/animation/sound... it's all basically the same as the first season. It's not so bad that you're going to complain. It's not so good that you're going to be awed. It's good enough to get the job done. Frankly, that's good enough for me.

Despite my complaints about the tournament arc, it still had its moments of fun. Shokugeki's cast is fun to watch. So even if what the characters are doing isn't interesting, the cast's exaggerated personalities and silly reactions can make it enjoyable all the same. If you enjoyed the first season because of the cast interactions, then this season will not disappoint.

So much hype for such an overrated series that can't get proper development. I see how it is nowadays with people's liking (Not that my liking is any good, it's just a saying). Such mediocre and predictable storyline with many "serious" encounters that won't ever happen in real life.

Story. 5
- As for the story, i don't understand what's the point. From a realistic point of view, none of this could ever happen, from the fanservice that makes no sense to those serious glances.
There's no real story, it's just the main character trying to be a thug and one of the best chefs, by being ... slow. Everything is the same as previous seasons with the fact that first season had a more creative storytelling. At this point everything is about food battles with no real meaning and a bunch of almost if not nude scenes, resulting in 0 progress done, like what happened with that first half? Nothing?. Even those TV cooking shows have a better growth.

Art. 3
The art was horrible from a certain distance (Season 2 was worse, trust me). The animation was poorly done but at least you could get the idea of what was going on, i'll give props on that. Only on close shots you could see a certain progress compared to bigger shots with a lot of people or just a few.
Faces were the worst on trying to mimic feelings, i fully understand they wanted to give a proper sensation of them, but they are too exagerated that they were not funny but rather unpleasant. On the other side, i find it funny that Souma never changes his uniform, not for cooking, not for being in the house, not for anything. While everyone else respects the rules on that.

Sound. 5
I haven't been enjoying the OP and ED as much i would like, but it doesn't matter. The music is put on good placed and properly decreased the volume if someone was talking, but there is too much music in the show, of a 21 min. episode, at least 17 minutes have music in it. I don't really like that, i feel like they are trying to get me excited when i shouldn't be.

Character. 4
There was no real progress from season 2 for the main characters, but rather there's a bit of development for support characters. Some of them have changed, some don't even appear anymore, and some of them is like they didn't even care to give them a proper development, you get to see everything.

Enjoyment. 5

Overall: 4
This is just an overrated show that didn't deserve my attention, but still got it. It's far from being the worst i've seen but it's certaintly bad and extremely predictable. The ending was a cliffhanger, with again, predictable decisions. The idea of adding a bad guy that would get the support of superior people is not new and not enjoyable. The series just keeps going down and down for me, nothing i can do though.

Before I wrote this review I watched the series like 4 times and still fun to watch even you watch it over and over again.

Shokugeki no Souma: Ni no Sara one of the best anime in the year 2016, though disappointing because it only has 13 episodes but still hoping for another season of this amazing anime series.

This season has a pretty good story line and i think it is the reason that the ratings of this anime is pretty damn high. Excellent visual graphics and amazing animations is what to expect when you watch this season.

This season concentrates about the lead character striving ... to find his own personal style of cooking. Season also has a lot of twist which you will not expect at all and new fun characters.

I just can't get enough of this show. I feel I would become mentally ill if I don't get Season 3 by next week xD. ( but then i realize i am already mentally ill from all that waiting for Hunter x Hunter :3 )
The most praiseworthy thing about this show is the Character development. I just love watching Souma grow as he tries to figure the chef he needs to become and cook the food that only he can, not to forget all these badass cooking moments. Just how can a cooking show be this exhilarating? the whole atmosphere of the show just pulls ... me in. But watching the characters cook for only 13 episodes just doesn't satisfying my hunger. ( geddit? :3 ). It just doesn't cut it out for me. The next season has to be bigger and hopefully it comes fast. I am most probably going to continue the manga anyway tho.
Coming to the Art and music, Of course it was great! Watching all that food made my stomach growl like crazy, it is so detailed and looks so delicious. The OP and ED are really good, I like the ED more, The beat is kinda generic but the vocal is very unique and i found myself listening to it on repeat. The visual in the ED deserves a mention too, they just add beauty to an already sublime feast.
For my final rating, I'd give it a 8.5/10. Can't rate in decimal here, so 9/10.
I only have a problem with the pacing and the length of the show, the length being the source of many flaws, like how many of the side characters or even the main ones like Megumi and Nakiri Alice didn't get as much screentime and some scenes were rushed. But overall that didn't ruin the thrill and enjoyment this show had to offer. Bring on the third plate!

This series is just concentrated entertainment. It has every element and they are blended together in perfect harmony, much like (some of) the food that is prepared in the show.

1. It's funny. The chibi drawings in particular are cute and always at least get a smile out of me. Everything in this show is so over the top that you have to laugh at it. Sometimes it's just so stupid, but in a good way, because it doesn't take itself seriously. There is no pretension here.

2. It really energizes you. There is constant competition, overcoming-of-challenges, people are gracious in ... defeat. There's cliff hangers at all the right places, and just enough unpredictability. Like any good sports anime, basically.

3. All the characters are lovable. And it's not often that i say this about a series, but practically all of them are great here. They're not too archetypal, nor do they have unrealistic gimmicks. In this case, they usually have a food specialty and/or backstory that helps them stand out.

4. Endless eye candy. The girls look cute, really cute. They're consistently well drawn, often have big tits, and there is fan service a plenty. It's forced as hell, but that is intentional, as it ends up looking like a parody of itself, and i can appreciate that. But really it's the food that is the most pleasant to look at. Detailed, colorful dishes and ingredients that are on par with Non Non Biyori's backgrounds in visual appeal.

I've said a lot of good things, but i can't really give it more than an 8. Sure it's enjoyable, but there is not much of a story, no complexity. It gets repetitive fast, but generally remains enjoyable. Also another issue is that i happen to be a foodie myself and generally they fail to create dishes that i would actually want to eat. Plenty of them are not even really feasible in reality. Not a big deal, but if they went the extra mile to do extra culinary research, it would have earned the extra point to hit the 9 mark.

Just watch it, i don't know anybody who didn't enjoy this series.

Shokugeki no Souma: Ni no Sara

Art/Characters: The art style is just like the previous season; that is to say it is impeccable. The sharp design and the detail of not only the people but of the food as well is really what makes this show stick out among the crowd. The way the food is presented and the flavors can be seen rather than just heard about drags me into this world of food and excitement. One of the best parts about this art is the amount of detail that the food has as a finished product. If layers are important to the composition of ... the dish, you better believe those layers will be present and they will be so eye catching you won’t be able to take your eyes off of it. There is a healthy amount of fan-service in this season, as well as the previous season, but it was more male that female; that being said, do your best not to let the fan-service draw you away from this masterpiece of a show. The characters themselves are quite interesting if I do say so myself. Obviously Yukihara is up to his usually antics and everyone wants to see him in action, and the same goes for the people surrounding him, but the people I want to focus on are some characters that we haven’t seen prior, like Mimasaka, a crazy stalker guy that takes down his opponents by making the exact same dish as them, but making it better, or the growth of a former teacher in the latter half of the season. Overall there was a lot of growth coming from the cast here, but the focus is primarily on Yukihara, with the others hardly making an appearance.

Music/Sound: The music that we hear throughout the show makes a splash and helps move the plot along just as much as any of the characters do. The opening is catchy and I find myself listening to it over and over again. As for the music that is in the background, it is refreshing to listen to exciting music to accompany excitement on the screen. And it isn’t some generic music that they use over and over, but it is new and it fits the scene in just a spectacular way. The one song they do use over and over happens to be when Yukihara all of a sudden looks like he is about to take the lead in a challenge and it is both awesome and inspirational, and I find I can’t get the smile off my face when I hear it. The sound direction itself went in a fantastic direction. Much like the previous season, we have sounds for food as well as images (and dare I say smells). We hear the sizzling of meat on the pan, the crunchiness of vegetables being bitten into, and the overwhelming sensation of smell when the food bursts out of an oven. This attention to detail is what brings me to love this show so much.

Story: We pick up the story right at the beginning of the Finals for the Autumn Elections, and Yukihara is not even close to feeling the pressure. He was able to come in 2nd place, only behind Hayama, in the Block challenges, but now it is time for the best of the best. The thrilling conclusion to the Autumnal finals is underway and you do not want to miss the outcome. As for the second arc, we explore with Yukihara the depths of his own cooking and what really makes it great; and from one former professor, what he can do to make it better.

Personal Reflection: FOOD WARS!!!!!!! Now that that is out of my system; this show is spectacular. I fell in love with the first season, and if you haven’t read my season 1 review, I ended it mentioning that I was desperate for a second season, and I begin with this: I am desperate for a Third Season! Everything about this show screamed amazing. The Shokugeki’s, the autumnal finals, and so much more, this show put me in the mindset that I want to be able to cook like that. Now, I am not a professional chef, and I never will be, but I have just enough cooking talent to see this show and want to try, even though I see the rigorous training and the extremely stressful environment might tear me to pieces. In all seriousness though, this show really made my top 2 of this season. The characters were fun and energetic, the art was spectacular, and just when I thought the story was predictable, there is something to trip me up and makes me wonder if I know anything about story. Shokugeki no Souma: No ni Sara is an amazing ride and an incredible squeal to the first season. If you have seen the first season and loved it, I am surprised if you haven’t yet seen The Second Plate!

Overall Score: 9.7/10

First, I'm soooo excited to see shokugeki having another season. This is one of the things I considered when watching an anime, If there is a high probability of getting another season.. and I'm sure there will be another season next year.

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Let's start with the NEGATIVES:
- I'm kinda disappointed that it will only have 13 episodes, but still, I think its fine as long as it will left me in awe every episodes.

- The story is a LITTLE BIT fast-pacing. Particularly in episode 1 where they already began cooking, and the judges where already sitting in their chairs. Unlike in the manga, the judges where ... shown coming from their cars, and the manga has a lot more cooking/prep scenes. BUT, I assure you, gradually, it is now turning into normal pacing again.

- ECCHI, I know lot of people dropped this series because of the ecchi scenes.. but guys, look, you just need to be open-minded. What you are watching is a cooking anime, let the small things like this slide. IT IS THE STORY WHICH COUNTS.

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Next are the POSITIVES:

- OST, sh*t.. Shokugeki never failed to give us quality opening and ending songs! I love the opening so much, it was awesome! The scene where they are standing above their knives in the sky was priceless!!

- Complete package, it will surely make you LAUGH! There was no boring episode, every scenes were all must-see. There is a little bit of romance, and that's why it is good because LOVE CAN DESTROY AN ANIME. Hahaha. There was also some touching scenes. And one thing for sure, every episode is full of SURPRISES!

- ANIMATION, everyone, even the extras were all HANDSOME and PRETTY. There are also a wide variety of characters. And I must say, the character development of the mc and even the supporting characters are all top notch. They have their own expertise and identity. And also the foods, it made me crave for snacks every time I'm watching shokugeki.

- TWISTS, it always have a twist one after another. New characters are making appearance every arc. Its full of fun and exciting events.

- The best characteristic of this anime is the STORY. The concept and everything are all MASTERPIECES.

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I just want to say to all people who dropped this anime.. Guys, you were all losing a great show. Give it another chance.

And to all the super fans out there, lets continue to support Shokugeki.

Btw, I started a lot of threads in forums regarding who is the best girl (currently Tadokoro Megumi is leading), which supporting character needs to appear more (currently, Nakiri Alice is leading), which soundtrack is the best [currently, Spice (Season 1 Ed 1) is leading].

I hope I conveyed my love and support for shokugeki by writing this review.

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This section is not spoiler-free

One of the best character development i saw in anime was Megumi's. I honestly love how she represent common people who kept on struggling, waiting for their hidden talents to bloom. Yeah, she inspired me a lot.
Particularly in episode 2, damn, she really grew up a lot since season 1.
Also, it was a good thing to do a Jojo parody on Megumi and Kurokiba's battle.

I also loved the part when Souma defeated Subaru then the 99 knives were returned to their respective owners.

My final thoughts for the final round between Souma, Kurokiba and Hayama is that i felt pissed off very much, not because Souma didn't won, but because a glory hunter like Hayama won. For those who did not read the manga yet, that guy is full of crap! Since season 1, i don't like that guy, and now that i learned that he's going to betray Souma, i want this guy dead.

Anyway, I appreciate season 1 more than this season. Still, overall, this anime deserves a 10. I hope season 3 is already around the corner.

So, a 2nd sequel of Food Wars has just ended, needless to say I had my fill of food porn, so I'm getting down to business:

Storywise, there hasn't been any much development in a romance sense, it was still all about food , exaggerated factoids, and over the top aphrodisiatic judging, and If Gordon Ramsey, Antony Bourdain, Jamie Oliver and other celebrity chefs watching this, will surly give the creator, Yūto Tsukuda an earful of ridicule , then again since this anime's story line is still connected to the original anime, it was basically as mediocre as it can be thus a 5 over ... 10.

Art, nothing much has change, despite of the fanservice we see, well, we can't expect to see any, Panchira, nipples or hairy pussies. So far, Yukihira is still in his middle school uniform, man what the fuck is keeping illustrator Shun Saeki from making Yukihira wear the standard Tōtsuki uniform? The best fanservice we can see was with Ryoko in her underwear, inpsite of it this category is still a 5 over 10, I may have given it a 10 if I could have seen some Mito fanservice at least in a full bikini.

Sound, I gave this part a 7 over 10 due to the opening and for Megumi's seiyu, Minami Takahashi, since I find it cute.

Character, still a 5 over 10, since we still see the same characters as from the 1st season, as mentioned "No Development", despite of the addition of new judges. I don't have to go any further....besides the star of this anime were always the food..........

Enjoyment, I enjoy this anime up to the end of the Shokugeki, I've started to get bored on the 11th episode, where I've skipped ep 12 and just waited for the 13th, frankly they should have ended on the Shokugeki part and not go to that Stagiaire , thing, so its a fair 6 over 10.

Overall, a 5 over 10, it's obvious that Yūto Tsukuda, was banking on the food preparations as if he's making something like an over pumped up Master Chef, frankly , his work isn't that bad, but overtime it becomes boring as if one is too full to eat more, so no to season 3, if there will be one.


I'm full!

Shokugeki no Souma is back for another round of refined culinary duels!

AND MAN..... WHAT A SEASON IT WAS!

Shokugeki took the concept of BATTLE SHOUNEN to a brand new level! In the Autumn election arc, the screenwriters crafted make one of the most exciting and creative tournments on the history of shounen anime. The duels were full of twists and turns, great dialogue and imagery. Autumn Election is at the same level as DBZ'S Namek Saga; Saint Seiya's Sanctuary Arc or Samurai X's Kyoto Arc and other great shounen sagas, it reaches the quintessence of a shounen perfectly. If you liked the first season, you ... will be just addicted by the new episodes and get stucked in Tootsuki Academy competitive ambience.

Also, the new season features the great Stagiarie mini arc, were we can see all the evolution of Yukiriha Souma, confirming him as one of the greatest anime protagonists of all time.

The combination between an over the top championship and character development is the great merit of this second season, making this one even better then the first one. Yes, you read it right. Ni no Sara is even greater than its predecessor. Not only it had improvements on plot and pacing, but also had technical improvements. The animation is even better, the use of CGI is harmonic with the handrawing. This one is more fluid and vivid, continuing the great work of rocking the viewer's senses. The great soundtrack continues the same of the first season, with improvements on the opening and ending songs, the best of the franchise.

So as Souma, JC Staff have improved its work and made a even better animation. Can't wait for a possible third plate, enjoying the manga while I wait.

Making a sequel for an existing series usually implies trying to accomplish one goal: Don't screw up too much. It's common knowledge that sequels are usually never as good as the original, so the general baseline when making a sequel is to make the newly made material up to at least the standard of the previous season to try and eradicate the stigma as much as possible. So what happens when you adapt a second season of one of the two most popular cooking manga into a 13 episode series instead of its predecessor's original 24 episode run? Well you get Shokugeki ... season 2.

Story: Picking up from the cliffhanger that the first season ended on, season two focuses on the end of the Autumn Elections competition arc and the Stagiare arc that comes right after the Autumn Elections are over. Complete with the normal shenanigans of the Shokugeki series and growth with some of the characters, why is the story that we get so faulty?

There's no questioning that J.C. staff has done a faithful adaptation, especially for the Autumn Elections arc. Much like the original manga series, the Autumn Elections take up a huge chunk of the series in order to complete, spending the majority of the season 2 runtime to finish up the remaining battles and rivalries that come later with rather great detail. It's the kind of adaptation that most series can only dream of since J.C. Staff rarely leaves out any of the details involving that arc. Everything including character development, side interactions, and pacing are kept in rather well and succeed in bringing a close to the second largest arc of the Shokugeki no Souma series. Then there's the Stagiare arc.

In order to compensate for the sheer amount of detail that Autumn Elections give us, J.C. had to pawn away time from the second arc that they were doing in order to bring that big one to a close. This unbalance left the proceeding story to rush through in three episodes and the end result was abysmal. The pacing was quickened through, development for characters got cut short, and overall left a bad taste in my mouth. Character development was there, but it wasn't left on the plate long enough for us to sit and take in, thus leaving what we saw to feel hollow and unnatural.

In the end, season 2's story was the dessert to end the main course we were introduced to in the first season; a little sweet treat with a slightly bitter aftertaste to end a decently satisfying meal. While I am personally disgruntled at the quality of the Stagiare arc, I can say for certain that the overall quality is still moderately well executed.

Overview:
+ Good detail to finish its cliffhanger
- Second arc severely lacked the same treatment

Characters: Quite honestly, characters are really not that big of a deal to talk about. Due to the nature of this sequel, the cast save for a few exceptions are the same as last season with those few exceptions being nothing more than other rivals or side characters that add to the particular arc that's being shown at the current moment of time.

Instead of going through the actual characters (since well they still the same people), first up is the meat of this entire season, growth. The entire season is more or less dedicated to the growth of its characters. Souma, Megumi, and many other members of the recurring cast get varying degrees of growth and/or character motivations that're sprinkled in episode after episode. Sometimes focusing entirely on a single character for the whole episode, sometimes only for a scene or two, the story puts them together surprisingly well to create some meaningful changes that evoke care from the audience. Some however are better treated than others, so not everything is perfect. (Poor Hisako)

As for the new additions to the cast, all of them are side characters that pertain to one arc or another. Quite a few of them are memorable side characters, so there's an upside I suppose. But don't expect to see much more of them or add them to the main set of characters since they're side characters and by the law of shonen, if you don't show up for more than 1 arc, you're time is up.

Overview:
+ Good character development
+/- Memorable side characters (That is a shame that on some cases we don't get more of them)
- Some character development was rickety and/or rushed through

Art: J.C. Staff's art quality only skyrockets or goes to a decent level when the company gives a sh*t about the series that they're adapting. In Shokugeki's case, they care very, very much.

Much like the first season, the overall quality of the series is bright, inviting, and has a lot of appeal with all of the imagery that the series uses in order to represent the current emotions or cooking style that every character uses. From anime references to demonization, and the ever classic "Shokugeki no Souma is a cooking series" hentai foodgasm scenes, the overall quality and look of the series really has nothing truly terrible about it. I will say that the foodgasm scenes have drastically reduced, or at least to the point where you don't see them every other episode, or something. They're still there, just not as frequent.

But the true testament to how good the series looks is the food. Food is by far the most focused part of the art as the glistening and shimmering sauces on the turtle or duck that they characters prepare show just how good food in anime can actually look. Every dish was animated with such care to the point you might want to lick your screen trying to get a taste of whatever these high school students prepared.

Overview:
+ Quality food animation
+ Good animation all around

Sound: The soundtrack for the series is admittedly not really the best. Personally, I prefer the tracks to season one since what they showcased and used here really didn't sound or feel all that memorable. Good tracks, but not anything I'd listen to over and over again like other OPs that I know of.

Personal Enjoyment: I'm still pissed about the Stagiare arc. It's probably my favorite arc considering how non-competition focused it is and how the show focused in a wacky shonen-like way what it's like to be cooking outside of Tootsuki. It was such a different dynamic from the rest of the series that I grew attached to it and actually saw some kind of learning experience from the series since up till this point it's been nonstop cooking competitions with little to no actual learning shown. (I know it's a battle manga, but this is a school. At least show us them learning something sometime.)

Did I like this show?

I did. Admittedly, I'm not the biggest Shokugeki fan, but it's definitely a series I roll with and have a lot of fun both watching and reading. This season tied up loose ends and did well to adapt the source material despite its flaws, so it's good in my book.

What didn't I like about this show?

If my rant wasn't clear enough, the last three episodes focusing on the Stagiare arc. Rushed through that faster than someone cowering from Souma's experiments.

Would I recommend this show?

If you watched season 1 and you want a conclusion, you can watch this. Aside from that, don't. Due to the nature of the adaptation, watching season 2 will get you sorely lost and would lead me to question why you even tried to watch the sequel before the original.

I honestly wanted to enjoy the second season of Shokugeki no Souma much more than I did. Don't get me wrong.... it's good, but not as amazing as the first season. I'm a bit disappointed, but not all that surprised.

I don't have much to say about the animation here. If you enjoyed the quality of the animation in the first season, you get the same thing here. I literally couldn't tell if there were any improvements, despite the fact that it's a new season.

Music for Shokugeki no Souma: Ni no Sara is pretty good. The OP and ED are nice. I wouldn't say they're quite ... as good as the first season though. The score for the rest of the show hasn't really changed. It's just as good as the first season.

One of the problems I had with this season was the story. As everyone already knows, the first season ended in a cliffhanger, which I was not too happy with. Shokugeki no Souma: Ni no Sara continues exactly where the first season left off. At first, I was excited, but I after a few episodes in, I realized what was going on and became utterly disinterested in the series. There's little to no real story in Shokugeki no Souma: Ni no Sara. No, instead it's pretty much one food battle after another. That's the majority of this season. It got tiring and boring after awhile. I mean, the jokes are still funny and everything, but I was hoping for some more character development and a story that dealt with self-discovery. That's not what this is. Not only that, but the ending was pretty disappointing as well.

Unfortunately, because the story suffered, so did the characters. They still have the same personalities as the first season, and they do grow, but not by much. As I said before, it's literally just one battle after another. With the first season, I felt like there was a lot of downtime between battles where we got to learn more about the characters and their past. Sure, that happens here, but not much.

So overall I was pretty disappointed with Shokugeki no Souma: Ni no Sara. It still has the humor and charm of the first season, yet, I definitely felt it was missing a lot of what made that first season so good. Would recommend as a time waster - not much else.

Well another season of Food Wars / Shokugeki and it's just as good as the last season as I see it.

Story still follows a very shounen formula of Main Character just having to get better. The characters are enjoyable except for one I found, the music is still good as it compliments scenes and the art/animation is just the same as last season's. Overall a solid second season to Food Wars without losing or gaining anything.

The one character that sort of threw me out of enjoying Food Wars less is the Subaru guy who studies his opponents to the very detail. Like it's an interesting ... concept but it just sounds too unreal and ridiculous for a cooking competition...
And the entire arc just feels so shouneny (lol ain't a word but deal with it). The moral felt so forced, they were basically spoon feeding it or slapping it to my face. It's a personal nitpick but I don't like shounen and some people do and that's fine. I know Food Wars is a shounen and there are lots of shounen aspects/conventions in it but the interesting dishes and food they make in a creative way and the characters were also fun to watch is what made me forgive that it was a shounen. But alas this time, that Subaru guy pushed it. I made up this phrase to the common phrase "Suspension of Disbelief." Where you forgive a film/tv show for it's unrealistic bits because you're have too much fun to notice or care for it. Well this show has made me make up the phrase "Suspension of ShounenDisbelief." I was willing to forgive a lot of Food Wars season 1 and 2' shounen aspects because I was enjoying it too much but the copycat chef really killed it for me.


Aside from the nitpick of Subaru, the show is still as average but as entertaining and enjoyable as the first season.

Shokugeki no Souma: Ni no Sara, is the second season of an anime culinary show, which has elements of ecchi, comedy and even bits romance. I was really surprised at how much I liked the first season. I enjoyed the simple flow of the story, the original characters and their interactions. It had this weird thing about it, which you don´t see in many anime. There was no real antagonist. Even when there was an opponent of the MC, they soon turned friends. All the characters had good and compact backstories. It even had a somewhat romantic feel between the MC and Erina Nakiri, which ... I enjoyed. But, unfortunately I´m talking about the first season. The second season, or second dish as they called it, lacks in almost every area. I will be comparing it to the first season, to show how much it lacks.

Story: 5/10

As I said, I liked the simple story of the first season, but here it is just too simple. While the first season story was about how Souma went through the ranks, trying to prove everybody that even if he comes from a diner, he can still be better than kids from rich restaurants. It showed different competitions, challenges and just dialogues that could stand on their own, but still connected the story. In the second season, about 3/4 of the story consists of one single competition and cook-offs within it. The rest of the story seems to not be really that connected with anything, except maybe the possible season 3. Yes, you will get moments of tension and build-up, but without any time for character development you will start seeing that it is just a cooking show.

Art and Animation: 8/10

The one thing that a modern anime show must have to stand out, especially if it wants to take experiment with such things as cook-offs, is good art and animation. Shokugeki no Souma gets that right. Colourful, smooth drawing makes the show really enjoyable. That goes very nicely with smooth and fast animations, which are a must for the cooking part of the series.

Sound: 7/10

I´ll keep it simple here. The intro was good, the outro was okay. The music wasn´t anything exceptional, but it did build up some tension where needed.

Character: 6/10

Possibly the biggest let down of the second season. As mentioned earlier, the first season didn´t really have any bad guys. Or even if it had, you either really liked them and even cheered for them, or they turned good right away. I was disappointed to see that the second season had just a straight up bad and boring character. I didn´t feel anything for him, I just wanted him to lose. Before I watched the acclaimed culinary anime show known as Shokugeki no Souma, I asked myself a question. What can make it that good? I found my answer in the characters and their interactions. From the romantic tension between Souma and Erina, to the friendly mentor relationship between Souma and Megumi, it all felt alive. All the character had a nice, but compact backstory which made you cheer for them. However, in the second season there are a lot less characters. And even those that appear seem to be stripped of all the thing that made them special. Megumi and the Aldini brothers hardly get any screen time. The season seems to be mainly focused on the MC, Souma. So it would make sense if he would have a lot of character development, they would show more of his dilemmas, and made him less OP than the first season one. Wrong. They went with the casual MC superhero type for half of the season. At points he even reminded me of Saitama from OPM. At least in the first season he had to think about how to solve his problems with the power of working in a real restaurant. Here he just uses his super cooking abilities. That sort of got fixed in the second half of the season, where they showed interactions between the rest of Polar Star dormitory and other characters.

Enjoyment: 8/10

Although this season focused a lot more on cooking than the first one, it still kept you hype for the next weeks episode. That is the part which they got most correct. Before this show I never would have thought that I would be hyped up all week just to see the results of a cook-off on TV.

Overall: 7/10

I was really thinking about giving it as 6/10, but the second half somewhat saved it. Also there is my sweet nostalgia of the first season. It is not in anyway a bad season, it just has parts which are too mediocre. It doesn´t stand out. Take it this way, if this was the first season it would get no where near the hype as the first one has got. It has parts which may be on par with the first one, but it never surpasses it. It doesn´t really focus on comedy, characters or ecchi in particular. It is pretty much about cooking, what may be a nice thing for some chefs, but I have a hard time cooking pancakes, so I couldn´t care less about the history of some indonesian spices.

Would I recommend it? I guess if you have seen the first season it won´t hurt to see the second one.

The blazing hot season ended with a big bang that would instill it to be one of the good ones. With this, big expectations were..... well.... "expected" (well duh) on the second season, and with it, a big hurdle of a cliff hanger to connect. Running only 1 cour, this season is also tightening up in time so..... a big skip from the original series was also imminent. And just as predicted, it did skip a lot of prep arcs. But still the production made it well enough to make it as far as they can while keeping the quality of the story at a ... high point so...... a big hand to them (Seriously). Well dividing it as usual, here is the rating status of the Second Season:

Story - 6: Yep, it was fairly understandable along with a few obvious skip points to be told, but the overall impact of the story didn't wane much. A bit sad though that it could only reach Stagiaire arc, but still it could've gone a lot worse. Fairly happy yet fairly disappointed.
Art - 8: It holds to be one of the qualities that didn't go bad. Although a few episodes used many flashback cuts, the overall quality is quite good enough to render it to 7. I only added one point on a few humor cuts which are also pretty hilarious to the point that I've seen them being used as meme.
Sound - 9: Even though I'd say the first season's first ED was better, the second season's ED just as good. The sarcastic yet comedic voice overs are still there so...... (lol).
Character - 7: Shino's back! Yay!...... that's the only thing I could tell. Aside from that, the addition of few new characters which I won't probably remember and the highlight of the director stripping (Finally)..... yep, nothing much ..... (SHINO'S BACK!)
Enjoyment - 6: If this season was food, then I might've shove in too much into my mouth without chewing. That sense of "rushing due to time" keeps me from totally enjoying the whole season. The good thing though is that it didn't choke me off from watching.
Overall - 7: Yeah, the first season is definitely better, but it's all due to the fact that time was against them on the second one. Rushing too much ended up making its viewers feel something was lacking this season. But by far in total, Shokugeki no Soma is still definitely one of the notable series to watch.

Note: I was very disappointed that it didn't make it to the reveal of Soma's dad but meh....... not related to this season. :P