Shokugeki no Souma: San no Sara

I believe no one needs an intro to this anime anymore since this is the 3rd season. And with the sequel for season 3 on air now, i believe everyone is SUPER HYPED WATCHING IT because i know i do! In order to commemorate the airing second course, let's continue reviewing season 3! The Prequel to a Storm

For those who have read my previous reviews on the series, you all should know i am a HUGE fan of this show and i have explained why that is in those reviews. For season 3, the hype is no less than the previous season, if not more. ... Season 3 of Shokugeki no soma lets us dive deeper into the Totsuki Culture and the mysteriously eluded Elite ten as well as introduce the prelude to the BIGGEST arc of the series, and most probably the best one!

[HEAVY SPOILERS] Proceed with caution

Story : 9 / 10

The story this time around is highly anticipated, especially for those who have not read the manga. This is because the entirety of the story is like a dive into the deep sea of mystery that is the Elite ten, and the beginning of a major arc of course! The story opens up with another traditional Totsuki Culture that is the Totsuki Festival! (Name validation required). Aside from the very interesting way of how the festival is ran and organized (the different levels of district, club stalls and food served), the real highlight of this is the challenge that Some has extended to Kuga. This is one of the more indirect challenges that has happened in Shokugeki no soma. While the previous battles had all been conducted in a Shokugeki. This indirect battle is actually spanned over the course of a few days. I find this very interesting as not only does it offer a fresh new perspective of battle. It also shows in detail of how Soma overcame the difficulty of matching an Elite ten member despite his inexperience in the festival field compared to Kuga who has dominated the field before. The process and determination of Soma to create a winning platform with a simple stall and innovative idea is overwhelmingly incredible. Not to mention, the cooperation of friends and foes alike to help Soma with the success of his stall is also nice to watch. All in all, this is one of the more creative and fun arcs of the story to watch because of how different and fresh it is.

The transition of the end of the festival into the latter half of the story is also very smooth considering both arcs are totally opposite from one another. From a lighthearted and fun festival challenge into a deeper and darker plot. The entirety of this arc is nothing less of astounding. There are so many highlights here it's really hard to conclude how fun this arc is so i'll try to describe how fun it is as clear as i can. First up is the of course, the Elite Ten. After getting a better insight of Kuga, you are shown a demonstration of the special First Seat's skills as a chef. Later on in the show, you can also see other elite's performance such as Eizan. That itself is already a treat on top of the already glorious food wars.

Next up is the irony of the plot. Shortly after the 2nd arc starts, you can clearly see how much of a twist the show takes. The show revealed the darker side of the story NONE OF US has expected up to this point. Director Azami's dark intentions with the future of Totsuki, Erina's sad, scarring dark past, and the unlikely event that the Elite Ten approved of Nakiri Azami's election and betrayed Totsuki. Everything about the sudden change in plot is filled with interesting plotlines and hints at a very excitable fourth season in the making.

Thirdly, is the individual character's reactions during the plot itself. Confused and bewildered, some even angered at the sudden change in Totsuki, many of the students are cornered to dealing with the Purge. Each using their own ways to cope. Soma being soma of course went for the hardest route to overturn fate, Alice and Hisako (Ryo being forced) decided to rescue and protect Erina from her father. During the entirety of the Purge, you can feel and see how each student struggles against the inevitable fate. And yet, even faced with such drastic odds, decide to keep fighting for Totsuki's future. How can anyone not want to be moved by something like this!? It contained everything! Fear, Cooperations, Struggle, Trust, Courage, Determination. Everything was there and it was perfectly executed into a twist of masterpiece. And the final highlight of the second half of the show, and that is Nakiri Erina. I will elaborate more in the character section since this is more character than story related

Art 10/10
Honestly, nothing i could say that haven't already been said. Creative graphics, mouth watering plates of food, side serving of ecchi.

Sound 10/10
Opening and soundtrack is awesome as usual. Soundtrack becomes something more to an ominous and tension filled song which complements the plot well. One major change for me is the ending animation. Not much on the song but the animation really captured me. Why? Well, the moment the ending song starts. every single plate that has been served is visually collaged and displayed. The rush of feels when seeing this is not easily described. It's like this short animation is telling you how much the show has shown us. And come on! The dishes all look visually stunning so if you aren't the sentimental type at least looking at the dishes gets your mouth watering thinking about the previous matches.

Characters: 7/10

I am honestly torn between giving it a 10 or a 5. So i decided to give it a 7 instead. See, anybody who watched this season probably knows what i'm trying to say. You might even get it if you see between the lines of what i was saying above. Basically, apart from soma and ryo, you don't really get any showcase from the returning characters! When i mean showcase, i mean that the returning characters do not get to show their skills in any of the episodes (mainly hayama, alice, takumi, tadokoro). After the intern at different shops, it'd be ecstatic to see how much the characters have grown in terms of skills just like Ryo did during his battle with central and soma during his battle with Eizan. Although you do get nice snippets of them during the festival and see them struggle to survive in the Purge, you don't actually see them cook as they did in the previous series (Season 1 preliminary matches and Season 2 official matches) . However, it is not all bad since this season is wholly focused on two different things. The plot and

The new characters!! That's right! With the sour one out of the way, let's talk about why we're here [apart from the story] First up, THE ELITE TEN! In the previous 2 seasons, there were scarce mentions of the Elite Ten but in this season you get to know them more, both in terms of cooking battle skills and personality quips. And both aspects were wholly entertaining. I do not even need to MENTION that we got 3 battles with the Elites this season alone!! What more can a guy ask for? To make things even more exciting, this means that next season, we won't be having any more intermission apart from the best of the best fights and plot! Imagine what the other Elite ten can do and their personalities! The second of course is the woman whom we owe the ferocity of this season to... NAKIRI ERINA! Seriously, this has got to be the biggest change in Shokugeki history. With her character growth this season, i'm actually surprised they managed to fit it in 12 episodes. From her nature as a born princess to be revealed to have such a tragic past and to turn her into a vulnerable and lost person is such a drastic change i never imagined possible in this series. Not only do you get to see her past, you also get to enjoy an innocent and new tsundere side of Erina you have never seen before! Watching her try to crawl away from her father's control and learn to live amongst other polar star students and exposed to their culture is nothing less than entertaining. It's like watching a person being reborn. It's honestly these characters that have brought season 3 to an all time high and built a great foundation for season 4!

Enjoyment: For strict anime watchers, go for it! Please! Do it! Even if it's just for my sake! Compared to the first 2 seasons, this is like tasting Tsukasa's dish! For Manga reader like myself, you probably will be more hyped for second course like me!! But no spoilers given for that season ;)

TL;DR This review is split into 3 paragraphs
1st paragraph= opinions for people who have never watched the show
2nd paragraph= opinions as a sequel
3rd paragraph= opinions as an adaptation of the manga

As a starting point for newcomers this season left a lot to be desired. A vast amount of characters are introduced to the season's detriment as the number of supporting characters already meant that some were struggling to stay relevant. This coupled with very few lasting effects from the final battle of two of the three story arcs leaves the season very disappointing. Compared to the stakes or tension of the fights from previous seasons, ... the fights this season felt like they were filler to the much heavier and darker story unfolding in the background. I highly recommend you watch the previous seasons before this one or at the very least watch the ending song fully as I feel like it recaps the story so far decently enough. That being said, why is anyone watching a show starting at its third season?

As a sequel, this season felt like a lot of set up for what is to come, feeling more like a interlude rather than an actual continuation, like a calm before the storm. Hopefully the next season will provide the pay off for all the investment put in this season. The music for this season is by far the best the series has had, the OP perfectly captures feeling of the series and the themes of the season, accompanied by visuals that hint at whats to happen in the season without spoiling anything. The ED feels like a tribute to the previous seasons with its farewell sounding lyrics and visuals of every dish ever made in the series and highlight scenes of the previous seasons.

As someone who knows what is to come, this season is everything I expected, I was a little disappointed with the 12 episode length but with the next season coming out 3 months from now instead of a year I can wait for the next season. The season adapted the source material faithfully and there is nothing left to say without spoiling upcoming events as my disappointment stems from the season finishing too soon and nothing about the season.

This, ultimately, feels like half of a complete series.

I have long been a fan of the Food Wars series, with it's excellent character sets, great story arcs and fantastically imaginative 'battles'. Food Wars is a wonderfully funny and imaginative action series, but this is definitely the worst season yet - so far.

For me, Food Wars S3 falls down in two specific areas:

Firstly, S3 doesn't seem to have the same level of competition as the other seasons. Yukihira's enemies in the previous seasons are now his friends, and the new opponents feel very lifeless and one-dimensional. Secondly, this is a really slow series, with some of ... the most infuriating cliffhangers in anime - the first and last few minutes of each episode, more often than not, are the only moments with any substance, the rest of each episode feeling really flat.

Food Wars is a fantastic series. However, Season Three is the weak link. If you haven't seen it yet, it might be worth waiting until the story continues in April 2018 and binging the whole lot for a better experience.

This show brings a whole new meaning to Food Porn.
As a chef, it is inspiring and as a former student of Johnson & Wales University, it takes me back to the cutthroat grading of my chef instructors and watching classmates drop out left and right.

If you hate Ecchi anime, I can still recommend it. The adult themes are very tame for the genre.
If you love cooking or food, I would recommend 100%.

I don't know how to pad this out any more. It is a show well worth watching unless you are a super prudish anorexic with an aversion to comedy.

Shokugeki no Souma is a fun anime.
While my enjoyment is in a descending line, my intriguement in the show is evergrowing.

It has goofy characters, completely filled with over the top clichés and stereotypes, making the anime seem borderline parody.
Even the seemingly harem element to it is played as a joke, which is a pretty hard thing to do. And even when it does stuff which can never be done in reality, even that is a joke.

But, even that only goes so far.
A joke is a joke, and repeating it a million times doesn't make it endlessly funny.
And honestly, that's what Shokugeki no Souma is ... doing right now, not to mention that barely anything substantial happened in these past episodes.
Even the plot is barely a 5, because it's not really interesting or clever.
It sticks to the basics.
"My dad is secretly a super amazing chef"
"I make girls around me fall in love because I am also a super amazing chef"
"Evil figure related to main heroine takes over my school oh noo"

This doesn't stop me from liking it though, it's still a really fun anime.

THE REVIEW IS STRICTLY BASED ON THE ANIME AND NOT THE MANGA.

I have been putting off watching this anime series for quite sometime because of the supposed eechi content. Now that i have seen it, it is not that bad. i watched 3 seasons including the OVA and i still ended up liking each season the same as its prequel.

i have given this anime an overall 9 rating because of the following reasons

1) The MC is a red-head- the reason is rather petty but i think a red head mc has a fresh outlook than the multi colour hair types.

2) The MC is calm, cool ... and badass. Unlike the shounen heroes who are loud and annoying, souma has the aura that says he is a smart cookie.

3)I love his improv and innovative cooking style that stems from down to earth yet quality ideas.

4) The best part of the story is in totski academy way of running the show. i have come to appreciate how every day is a competition that gives each student a run for his money. the shokugeki also keeps viewers on our toes as we wonder which dish will rip asunder whose clothes.

5) Ishiki's lack of clothes.

6) The supporting characters do not rant too much on the nakama crap. They are pretty self reliant who do support each other without imposing their will.

7) The humour is decent too. the aldini brothers, nikumi, erina's tsundere, they are funny. esp the way souma's face puffs up while he is trying to figure something out is so cute.

8) While Joichiro up and leaves like every good dad (who abandons the kid in an apartment with all amenities and who knows how the parent affords the cost), its nice to see him once in a while.

9) Tsukasa Eishi- As a chef of his caliber, everything about him screams Elite and intimidating. he is selfish, conceited and makes no secret of it. yet his attempts at projecting himself as a lighthearted and oddly wavering person who is nervous, easily succumbing to a non existent pressure and overly unmindful of his acting pegs him as a calculating person. there is definitely more that meets the eye. you cant hate him.

That being said, there were a few things peculiar to the shounen genre that puts this anime right back into the average aisle.

The clothes rip too many times to miraculously put back together

MC's father being a legend who is admired by anti-hero, possible love interest and friends alike.

the loud kurokiba ryo. its is like an anime cannot work without the loud guy.

The groundwork so far laid now is towards an average story revolving around a small town chef who ventures into the outside world to make a mark for himself. Somehow i feel that season 3 felt like some broken pieces were glued together just to hold up this predictable plot. While the competitions and shokugeki were the main part of the anime, the story line looks forced making joichiro's past either an important turning point or just a quintessential shounen trite that brings out some last minute ass pull. Then again, i have not read the manga and i don not know how much the anime deviated from the source material. so i can safely assume that the manga may be better.

What nakiri azami is trying to do roping in the elite ten and some promising yet short lived side characters is a plot development that i saw coming miles away. the yohan leibert look alike swoops in to purge a place he believes is ill run, the next thing the MC will set things right and anti hero gets a change of heart.

on chara:

todokoro megumi- she is that character we either love or hate. she made no impression on me.
The echi content magnifies the already revealing chara like nikumi. You hardly see her wearing more than a bikini. Or nakiri whose breasts looks like she came out of a wet t shirt contest.
while erina was just the pompous tsun, i thought Alice had much more to her personality. her dumb comedy is fun. with kurokiba, the duo has the most humour besides tsukasa.
Agreed that marui aka shinpachi, don club chief and cauldron witch brought some humorous scenes, all the other chara fell flat. They were necessary to the plot but the mark they made is superficial.

something i noticed: perhaps its just me.
some chara resemble chara art of other anime a tad bit too much.
shinomiya: midorima
dojima: hanamichi
rindou: ayato sakamaki
tsukasa: shun, ichigo hitofuri, yashiro and some others
kuga: kise
saiba: yomo renji
momo: random loli
takumi: alibaba(magi)
marui:shinpachi
azami: yohan leibert
eizen: aizen

i do recommend anyone who likes fast paced anime to binge watch it.

Picking up right where the second season (and its associated OVA) left off, Shokugeki no Souma: San no Sara continues the story of Souma, underdog student at a renowned and extremely competitive culinary academy, focusing especially on his latest ambition to challenge Totsuki's Elite Ten, a group made up of some of the school's most reputable chefs-in-training. This most recent entry in the series retains the heated cooking battles and whacky foodgasms that the franchise owes its incredible popularity to. However, unlike the seasons that preceded it, San no Sara throws in a polarizing plot development about halfway through, which shakes up the show's tone ... considerably.

Simply put, the show's most underwhelming aspect, objectively speaking, lies in its visual presentation, notably its animation. There is very little animation to speak of, overall, considering most scenes involve panning and zooming over still images, rather than actual movement. This is a shame, especially considering the high-quality, energetic animation of its previous installments went a long way in bringing the culinary battles to life, and was, in part, what made the series so appealing in the first place.

The artstyle retains the same quality as the previous two seasons for the most part. During the few instances when they are depicted, landscapes are detailed and picturesque, though for the majority of the show, background art is of little consequence and barely noticeable. Character designs are still wonderfully done, being both memorable and interesting, and newcomer Rindou Kobayashi is no expection.

The CGI used in the first couple of episodes is quite ugly and distracting, but fortunately, plays such a minuscule role that it is relatively easy to forgive. In addition, San no Sara seems to rely on more chibi scenes than its precedessors, which could possibly indicate the same lower effort/budget as the sparse animation.

The first story arc in San no Sara feels like an organic continuation of the formula Shokugeki has established since its first few episodes. What this means is that we are provided with more of the fun and intensity that we have come to love and expect from the show. Souma behaves and performs just as we expect him to, his opponent is fleshed out in a way we have come to expect, and hijinks from the supporting cast are served up as well, functioning as a decent way to remind us of who they are and allowing them to interact with each other in new and entertaining ways. This introductory arc works well by playing to its strengths, while consciously refusing to go out of its way in subverting any expectations. And maybe this is necessary, as the latter arc is like nothing the show has ever done before.

Smack dab in the middle of this third season, the show throws in a plot twist that shakes the very foundation of Shokugeki. Likely, this unexpected development will prove divisive amongst fans of the series, as it brings with it a wide array of strong changes to the formula.

For one, it leads to the emergence of a "main villain" of sorts, something which is quite typical for a shounen anime. Which is why the very idea may leave a bitter taste in some viewers' mouths, especially those who appreciated Shokugeki's refreshing new take on the genre, devoid of any big bads, and black-and-white depictions of morality. It also doesn't help that said main antagonist comes off quite one-dimensional, defined almost entirely by his cruelty and wickedness.

While the development serves to weaken the series' innovative approach to redefining shounen anime, forcing it closer and closer to conforming to more and more tired clichés, it isn't all bad. On the bright side, the shift does a great job of igniting Erina's character development, and causes a large portion of the cast to band together, which is incredibly satisfying to watch after getting to know them over the span of so many episodes.

Speaking of the cast, it continues to shine through as the show's strongest asset. Souma continues to be a fantastic protagonist, balancing goofiness and badassery incredibly well, and working well as a foil to the snooty, elitist students of Totsuki Academy. After Souma, the majority of San no Sara's focus is on Erina, who receives a lion's share of the character development this season and becomes increasingly more likeable and easy to root for.

Amongst the newly-introduced characters, Rindou Kobayashi is a standout, being equal parts mischievous and endearing. Though her role is relatively small, she leaves quite a lasting impression and will hopefully become more prominent in later seasons. Tsukasa also works well as a contrast to Souma, personality-wise, and an antagonistic force, cooking-wise. The most disappointing of the newer characters is, without a doubt, Azami, who functions more as a plot device than a fleshed-out character.

For a twelve-episode season, San no Sara also does a decent job of giving its supporting cast small moments here and there. The banding together that occurs in the latter half of the season provides an opportunity for generally-shunned characters to get some lines and interactions in before they completely disappear from the limelight. Given the considerable size of the cast and limited time to work with, the show's ability to fit this in is quite commendable.

In its third season, the wildly popular cooking series significantly deviates from its own status quo in a number of ways. Animation is underwhelmingly sparse, the visual variety can be distracting and questionable at times, and a controversial plot development at its midway point leaves a polarizing mark on the franchise as a whole.

At its heart, however, it still retains its charm, high-octane culinary showdowns, and incredibly likeable and memorable cast. On top of all that, it goes out with a bang thanks to a well-executed (and long-awaited) reveal in its final moments, which will make the wait until the fourth season even harder to endure. Overall, San no Sara still manages to hold up as a strong entry, thanks mostly to it recognizing its own strengths and keeping them at its core, even in light of its visual presentation and sudden plot twist, which are, at best, mixed bags.

The art and animation took a big dip. The plot and characters are a lot more one note than usual. The main bad guy is both too simple and also incomprehensible. Jesus, the guy wears a freaking black trench coat. How cliche.

The food porn is still pretty good, though. For some reason, they only show the completed food for about 1 second. And only .5 seconds of the food is animated. Which sucks. Episode 9 was a low point.

The Sizzle and pop of the food cooking is still awesome, tho.

tldr; food is still yummy but everything else is lower than last season.

SnS San no Sara is basically a mix between the first and second season of SnS title. This is quite visible when we see the technical quality that it presents. But this third plate holds more than those technical qualities alone. It holds potential and promise.

This third plate holds two different meat, which the first is called Moon Banquet Festival. This arc can be translated as a plot to show what those Elite 10 members are capable of, ranged from one of the lower ranked to the highest one. This results in a realization of strength gap between the MC and those members of the ... Elite 10. It’s a far gap, but not far enough to say unreachable.

That first arc is presented in a tidy and well-structured way, maybe even more than that of the few earlier arcs in the first season. By no mean this Moon Banquet Festival arc is impactful, but we can feel a different, fresher breeze than what we feel in the second season. Yes, in a way, this arc stands as one of the most unique arc in SnS title.

Then comes the second meat, called Nakiri Azami’s arc. In here, comes the exiled demon lord which causes wreck and havoc here and there, in the name of salvation. While this arc is a very classical shounen-ic one, where there is a definite evil antagonist and the MC fight against him, and presented in a pretty straight-forward manner, this arc also represent one major thing that exist in the world of cooking, and more generally in the world of art.

This arc represent the clash of ideals between quality and originality. A quality that is regarded very high. The ephitome of objectivity and no one can deny. Only a few, gifted and selected ones truly capable to make this way into realization. All should follow this way and this way alone can bring the world of art (cooking) to a higher plane.
Against that, there’s originality. A way that emphasizes creativity and individual differences. A way that speak of enjoyment in venturing a stormy place called hardwork. Instead of talking about a very high sky, which everyone sees sky that way, this way talks about a never-seen sky.

When we see it that way, this arc holds a very big promise of the story in the future and realize that this arc is only the start. We will see how both sides struggle to defend their own ideals and that is something to be expected and enjoyed.

Despite the big promise that it holds, however, delivering it is a different thing to talk about. While we can see this arc as an exciting start of the wars that will come, at the same time we can feel that this arc is the start of a very big pitfall, that compares evenly with the Autumn Election arc. Nevertheless, enjoy the continuation of this third plate ~

Hi guys,

I'm back after watch Food Wars S2 and Food Wars 2 Ova.The Totsuki Moon

Festival is arc that I like in the story. It shows 10 Totsuki Elites that have

their own personalities and Characters. I don't know that The First Seat Elite

have it anxiety and perfectionist. The bun looks so yummy during Moon

... Festival Arc. How the character developments of 3rs Seat of Elite. It Cool man. Guysss!!!

Episode 7 hits me hard. It make me crying after Polar Star Dormitory show

their memories and sadness

during this part. Do you think Totsuki Seat Elite did Coup de Etat?

You need to watch this seasonnn

Shokugeki is hands down my favorite shounen anime. Not being an expert in the genre, this is the first of them that has captivated me in several ways. The story is simple, following the journey of several students through the rigorous and exclusive Totsuki Culinary Academy. It isn't anything new, but is very engaging and provides an excellent canvas for where the show really shines. The Characters. This show has the single best and most well balanced cast of characters I have ever seen in any anime. I genuinely have a hard time choosing a favorite due to how excellent every character is. Third plate ... in particular has done an excellent job of not only introducing new characters (The Elite Ten and Central Elite) as well as HUGELY improving the character of Erina Nakiri, who I found lackluster in the first two series. Her backstory is heavily explored in third plate, and I hope they continue this in April, when 4th plate is scheduled to release. The art and sound are both incredible, they have to be in order for us to be engaged in a food anime like this. In total, I have to give Shokugeki a ten simply because of its lovable cast of characters. There are so many characters in this show, each with their own lovable and memorable personalities. Id recommend this show to anyone interested in watching a unique anime with an excellent sense of humor and wonderful cast of characters.

This was a little bit of a let-down in comparison to the previous two seasons, which have remarkably made it into "wow, these are actually really good!" territory.

The biggest issue is with the absolutely exponential increase in the absurdity of the anime's premise. While the first two seasons carefully balanced the lines between parody, ecchi, and a genuinely good gourmet anime, this season decides to ramp up the tension and drama in a way that feels rushed and unnatural. It seems to be taking notes from Kill la Kill without actually taking into consideration why Kill la Kill was so successful with its insane premise ... of an authoritarian school district - Kill la Kill brings a level of absurdity from the very first moment you lay your eyes on the screen, which allows for the increasing insanity of its plot to just feel as though it's another reveal in the world. Unfortunately, Shokugeki no Souma does not have this permission from its audience to suspend their notions of disbelief. It quickly amps up the tension from an incredibly challenging and toxic - but believable - academic environment into a fascist dictatorship on school grounds.

Additionally, the art and animation quality has strangely decreased this season. Perhaps it wasn't as noticeable in the first two, but there seems to be way more use of the chibi forms of the characters than before. It seems like all of the budget was put into the orgasmic food scenes, which is fine, but just greatly contrasts against the rather poor animation in literally every other scene.

The first half of the arc, with the Moon Festival, was genuinely rather interesting and had some good character development for main cast. The second half had me slowly slipping into a state of contempt for how I could predict where the show was taking me.

I am additionally not a fan of what I believe to be the romance the show is trying to hint at developing between Yukihira and Erina. While I love the character development they've both given one another, I personally believe Megumi and Yukihira just make far more sense as a couple. Additionally, I hope that Shokugeki no Souma doesn't intend to rob us of the greatest sapphic relationship of all time between Erina and Hisako. I could really see that blossoming into something even more special down the line. But since Shokugeki is one step away from a harem anime, I am reluctant to put my full hopes into it.

Looking forward to the next season and hoping my critiques here are rectified in both the animation and writing quality.

Story 9/10

Another really strong season starts with some excellent episodes as Souma takes on one of the big ten at the Totsuki Moon Festival we then see the big ten turn traitorous as they allow an evil takeover leading to the creation of dictatorship at the school through a group called Central which destroys all individuality in cooking and tries to take out the dorm and all the clubs with Central to be unopposed and in control of all decision making at the school.

Souma and his friends begin a fightback against Central to end another high quality season.

Art 8/10

I’m still really enjoying the art style ... regarding the food and the characters.

Sound 9/10

Still excellent quality with the music, sound and voice acting.

Characters 10/10

Still love all the characters we finally get to know more about Erina and everything that she has gone through and why she is the person that she is the situation with Central leads to her finally rebelling against something for the first time in her life and she becomes a much better person for it.

I completely despise Central but the actual elite ten have some interesting characters with strengths and flaws in their individual character which leads to the situation the school is in.

Enjoyment 9/10

A really good set of episodes maintains the fun and humour of previous season while adding more tension and concern with Central taking over the school but overall as much as I loved this season it wasn’t as strong as the second season which has more constant action.

Overall 9/10

Shokugeki No Soma is a strange beast. It annoys me, but makes me laugh all the same. It's like one of those annoying friends who keep on bugging you, but you can't help but like them a little.
Story: The story in Shokugeki No Soma is the low point of the series, meaning, there isn't much story. Soma wants to become a better chef than his dad and ends up going to a high class culinary school. The plot is simple, but it works. In the world of Shokugeki No Soma people settle a lot of their disputes through food battles, which have people make extreme ... reactions according to the food. This ends up with mostly being ecchi stuff, like people losing their clothing, but can be fun ("Oops. I turned into a young girl for a second" hint hint). Tragically, I think the writers must have had a hard time writing about food as it mostly boils down to "The umami of this works well with the umami of that. The sourness enhances the umami. Umami this, umami that...". It's like 90% of all taste is suddenly umami. I call that "bullshit" or "horse crap".
Art & Sound: The shows art style is nice and flexible, switching fluently between detailed drawings and a more simplistic style (usually when the character aren't acting seriously or for comedic relief). This is well done and goes well with the show. Also, the food is nicely drawn and kinda makes me hungry sometimes. The sound is also very well done, with nice voice acting and good sound effects.
Characters: The character are a diverse trope filled with most of the stereotypical characters, some mixes and a few, a bit, original. They are enjoyable enough, but usually doesn't get you too invested in their lives.
Overall: Shokugeki no Soma annoys me often, especially with way they describe flavors, but it's a fun watch with enough to keep me watching it all the way. If you're not super against flashing of skin (with awkwardly placed light beams or items placed in front of the more daring areas) or drawn underwear, and want some, over the top, extreme comedy this is a nice watch. Intensive, mostly brainless fun.
Enjoy!

So, I'm not entirely sure why MAL separated the third season of Food Wars! into two separate pages, but I'm here to review the first twelve episodes.

Basically, this season takes a turn for the nasty as far as plot goes. No, the anime hasn't lost any quality, but the story gets a little darker than usual (which is kind of my forte). You're going to get a lot more character development for Erina in this season, which was lacking in seasons prior.

If you're only in this series to see Shokugekis then, unfortunately, this season will disappoint you. There's much more character focus going ... on in this first half of the season, although that isn't necessarily a bad thing. Mind you, that doesn't mean you won't see Soma throw down in one way or another.

Personally, I think this anime is just getting started, and it has a lot more story to tell before it's finished.

Before I start this review this review will be covering seasons 1-3 and I will be updating this review when the 4th season comes out which I think it comes out of spring of 2018 so your looking at April May time frame anyways lets start the review. I am surprisingly pleased with this anime because when I first saw it I put it off because I thought I would hate it but then one day I decided to give it a watch and I do not regret it. the weakness part is the story the story is ok its not bad but not great ... the story follows the Main Character named Souma he has been cooking under his dad his whole life mastering his craft so to speak. and one day his dad took off out of nowhere and send his son to the top cooking school in japan. now the characters I feel that the characters make this anime work if it wasn't for the characters it would fail this anime did a really good job on characters there was no almost no useless characters each character had its own personality and back stories for each character were solid and character development is decent. now lets get into the Ecci and I will admit I hates Ecci anime series 9/10 times but this show is in that 10 percent the ecci scenes only really happen when they eat the food which is great because it is a way to show how good the food is and the ecci seems very subtle and not in your face this is one of the few times I actual enjoy Ecci in an anime or manga series. if you hate the ecci tag I would personally still give it a shot. the art and sound are great no problems here. this anime was really close to a 8/10 but I thought the story was a little weak but Overall good anime I would definitely give it a shot.

OKAY YALL, I DONT HAVE A ONE TRACK MIND SO IM GOING TO WRITE WHATEVER COMES TO MIND WHEN I THINK OF THIS ANIME!

First off, the story was less thrilling in the beginning. The first 2 seasons before this did a better job of capturing my attention in the beginning, but knowing how great this anime is I kept thru. In the end I loved it, whats new LOL, but just incase someone has the same tastes as me PUSH THRU!

Also, prepare for a big cliffhanger! Ive been waiting for the day for some back story on Erina! It lets you see her as more ... of a human than just someone with "gods tongue". Shows friendship and how much the Polar Star dorm and the students mean to each other.

To be honest, I was expecting more of Souma's dad but unfortunately he only makes one brief appearance. I was looking for him throat the whole season LOL. Other than that, this season and the last and the one before that is all worth watching. MAKE SURE YOU WATCH SEASON 1 & 2 BEFORE THIS. I don't know what kind of person would want to watch season 3 first and then watch 1 and 2 tho.. LOL

Another season of Shokugeki no Souma and this time things arent as predictable as were in previous seasons.

Unlike previous seasons this time shoukugeki gets a lot more story focused(always keeping in mind the whole focus of the foodgasm series)by involving Erina and her father with Soma and his family.

We get to know more about Erinas past and present(she becomes more present this season than in the previous ones)and also we get to know(some of them in action)some of the elite ten of the academy.
I personally really liked this approach.And it makes sense as it shows something a bit different than Souma trying to bear everyone ... in a Shokugeki.

Erinas father is a short of plot twist(his past and present)that is really welcome in the series mostly because it spices things up a bit and the series becomes a bit less predictable.
The fanservice is still present obviously but there are arent as many scenes as in previous seasons.

The art direction and animation like in previous seasons is spot on.

It short of ends with a cliffhanger concerning Soumas father but the series will have a continuation in April. I really enjoyed this season more than i expected and am looking forward to the next one.

The stagiaire finishes and this season picks up with all of the main Autumn Elections finalists getting to meet the entire Elite Ten. Pretty sure anyone who has watched the series up until now and knows how Souma is can guess what he does, and the immediate result too of course.

From there we step into the Moon Festival where students at the academy can set up their own food booths if they so desire for the masses. Through this Souma gets inspiration and thus trials and tribulations occur throughout. We definitely get to see some of Soumas crafty thinking through the process which ultimately helps ... him through what should have been one of those circumstances where he bit off way to much more than he can swallow.

Most of the cast takes part in the Moon Festival in one fashion or another and in some way, shape or form gives a helping hand to our reckless main stay. There were certainly a few things that happened that I never expected which I won't spoil to much but the surprise coming together was really nice. I even did one of those cheesy one word reactions with a fist pump type thing. Kinda like what you'd see in a sports anime like Haikyuu except its not as cheesy since its a sports theme and it also didn't happen in my living room in front of my laptop with nothing else going on...

Toward the end of the Moon Festival we get thrown another twist that I certainly didn't see coming and the latter half of the season is just building up to whatever is gonna happen next. I gotta say and I am sure I'm not in the minority in this but I'm with Alice, I don't like that man. At the very end we get left with a huge cliffhanger and Erina finally finds out what we've known this whole time.

One thing I must say is I really don't quite understand why the ending of the season when the bomb drops hits me so hard but the way it was executed was amazing for me. It must have something to do when the way they made it flow with the ending theme and the screen effects combined with the voice acting because I really enjoy watching the small clip of that little segment. It's easily one of the most stand out and memorable moments of all my anime experiences so far and I think I've seen quite a few...

This one is definitely a nice installment of the show and I for one am glad to say that for me personally the quality of the show hasn't really diminished over the course of the seasons or years and I'm super grateful for that. That doesn't happen often in cases like these.

**This review contains minor spoilers. Don't kill me if you get spoiled :P**

Now before you (the fanboys) rush into my profile calling me a hypocrite for not 9/10ing Food Wars for the third time, hear me out here. It's a good show. Just that it wasn't good enough. I think J.C Staff themselves understood that something was wrong, hence the step of making a split cour and figuring out how to get things right next time. Dewa, hajimeru yo!

Story: 6/10

Somehow this felt kinda average to be honest. I expected it to go at a better pace and cover stuff properly but frankly I couldn't find ... much that was amazing. Thanks to more focus on Erina and her cliched adventures and a certain badly characterized father the story part took a nosedive, although not too great as the focus wasn't that deep. It's difficult to go deeper without entering minor spoiler territory so bear with me. Central was a pretty cliched move and their motivations were weird and cliched at best, not to mention if there WERE any in the first place. On the other hand that certain father's motivations himself were also terribly disappointing... As a fellow manga reader I was quite disappointed with this in the manga as well, but enough of that. If there was one focus and one downfall of this anime in quality, both have that father as the reason. Now you might point at that mean score and popularity chart and look at me questionably to which I say, it's the fanboys. Being a Shounen, there are obviously bound to be fanboys who take no notice of the issues surrounding an anime or it's sequel and just blindly 10/10 or in my case 9/10 everything. I'm guilty of that myself but I won't do that for this season. Season 3 slightly disappointed me as a fan and as an anime watcher. A small reason for that 6 in particular is also that cliffhanger in the end...

Art: 5/10

Now something I noticed in this season particularly was that the art sometimes felt distorted and the characters looked a little weird in close-ups. This wasn't there in the previous two seasons and I felt kinda like I was watching a remaster of a 1995 anime at best which is obviously not a very good sign. What was the saving grace of the anime? The backgrounds. The cinematography to some extent. Both were decently done and even the character designs made me fall in love with the characters yet again. Not a bad job. Decently done at best.

Sound: 7/10

Apart from the usual brilliance of the BGM, we also had the added benefit of an amazing OP and more importantly an amazing ED. The BGM was timed perfectly with the emotion and situation while the aforementioned OPEDs hyped you up. If you like me love to download anime OSTs then this is the place for you.

Character: 6/10

Now it's impossible to avoid the spoiler territory with this section especially since the character in question is the main focus of the anime (he's on the flipping cover as well). The purported rise and actual fall of Food Wars Season 3. Azami. His motivations weren't explained at all. And Sanzaemon's exile felt kinda forced as well. Yukihara and gang were amazing as always, but the character who was the key focus himself was flawed so everyone suffers. I tried many times to wrap my head around Azami but couldn't understand him at all... And for the second character who brought this down, Erina. To all those who've read my last two reviews of the series know very well of my hatred and grudge against Hime-deres, Erina included. What made it worse this time? The unnecessary focus on the 'oh so weak' Erina-sama. She and Azami double-handedly crushed any potential the season had to improve...

Enjoyment: 7/10

Nevertheless, Food Wars as usual was an excellent anime to enjoy and I certainly DID enjoy Food Wars a lot, just not to the extent of the previous two seasons. In my opinion, I'm glad J.C Staff bit the pill and split cours to understand what went wrong and how to fix it. Since I'm a Food Wars fanboy, I obviously was a little biased towards it but tried my best to tone it down. I really hope J.C hit back with another super hit season. This time one that actually has the quality to back itself up like Seasons 1 and 2.

Overall: 6.2

To the most conservative of people, this show was decent at BEST. And no amount of fanboy nagging can change that. To all those who watched season 2 and are a fan, continue, if you're just in it for fun, you might get it here. Thankfully the potential is not ruined, but again, the question remains, is it too late? Can J.C save Food Wars? Let's see this Spring.

P.S: Megumi retains her rank as best girl for the third time in a row! Megumi best girl <3