STORY: 7/10
Not the most original plot, Ben-To actually delivers well using themes such as supermarket, food and hunger as the backbone of the story.
ART: 8/10
The fighting scenes are definitely a blast to watch. Ecchi elements meaning that female characters are often designed to be well-endowed.
SOUND: 8/10
Pre-battle - the heartwarming, family-friendly supermarket jingle; during-battle - the hot-blooded, fist-pumping rock soundtrack = WIN.
CHARACTERS: 6/10
So-so cast of characters but still likeable. The writers did fine to develop the main characters well and flesh out the side characters enough.
ENJOYMENT: 9/10
Ben-To is hilarious, addicting, and highly entertaining to watch.
The long review:
STORY: 7/10
Do you remember the time where you were so hungry that you could easily gulp down an entire cow? Do you remember how extra-delicious the food was just because you were THAT hungry?
And indeed, hunger is a very powerful motivation that can drive us a desire for food so strong that, we could as well push ourselves beyond our limits to obtain it.
Using this as the central plot element, Ben-To turns out to have a very easily relatable plot where the viewer can understand well, without the need of scratching one’s head, why the characters in Ben-To are so determined to get the half priced bento.
Fighting is how the hungry wolves in Ben-To decide the winner for the half priced bento. I find it awkward at how the characters are never shown to train their brawling skills, yet they can quickly adapt to the deadly battlefield and look perfectly natural in it, as if they are born to fight for bentos. Hmm…
Oh, did I forget to mention that in Ben-To, while you got beaten down to a point where you lose consciousness the day before, your wounds heal so fast that you are in tip-top condition to fight again the next day?
There are additional themes in Ben-To, such as friendship, rivalry and also a little bit of love (maybe) to spice up the plot a bit.
The central theme of Ben-To is easily relatable enough that it’s a solid 7 to me.
ART: 8/10
I am really fond with the fighting scenes of Ben-To. They are drawn and animated in detail, and the camera angles are decent.
Character designs are average but fits well with the anime.
There are several ecchi scenes so you can expect the female characters to be drawn voluptuously.
Oh and finally, the food! Although they aren't real, they are drawn decently enough that may make your mouth dripping with saliva!
I don’t find any slip ups in the animation so it will settle with an 8.
SOUND: 8/10
Ben-To has a rather… unique soundtrack. Supermarket jingles play a big role in the soundtrack department and I really like how the producers use them. Before the bento fight starts, you will listen to the heartwarming, family-friendly supermarket jingle while waiting for the “half pricing god” to finish pasting the discount stickers onto the delicious bentos. Once he’s done and the rumble begins, a heart-pounding, fist-pumping rock track will be played to signal the change of the overall mood of the show. This alone always got me excited, I must admit.
The OP and ED of Ben-To are decent songs to listen as well. The rest of the soundtrack are nothing memorable, but functions well to fit into the scenes they are inserted into.
The voice acting are fine, although Oshiroi’s voice may annoy me sometimes.
8 points to the sound section!
CHARACTERS: 6/10
The character cast in Ben-To might be its weakest aspect. You have Satou You, the male protagonist who is clueless at first, but once he got the hang of things, he turned out to be pretty much a stereotyped male lead: determined, never give up, kind, and lots of resolve. Oshiroi is mostly for comic relief with her sexual fantasies with Satou and how she uses him as fan fiction material. Yarizui is your “cool and badass” character in which she isn’t one who speaks a lot but packs a lot of fighting prowess. Finally, you have Ayame who is the boldest among the four and isn’t afraid to use her sexual appeal.
Our 4 main characters do develop somewhat throughout the course of the show. I will not spoil much for you, but you should note the usage of the word “somewhat”.
The side characters do enjoy sufficient screen time to flesh themselves out and make themselves memorable enough for the viewers. However, some villains only appear for one part of the show and dissapear soon after. So they might be less memorable to viewers, then.
It’s decided that this section will earn 6 points.
ENJOYMENT: 9/10
As mentioned in the short review above, Ben-To is funny and action-packed enough to keep me entertained every single episode. The plot is good enough to prevent things from getting stale. Also, personally I myself don’t mind a little bit of fanservice here and there as long as it doesn’t steal all the spotlight from the main aspects of the anime. The fighting scenes are good enough to keep myself at the edge of my seat (kudos to the brilliant soundtrack) and make my blood boiling.
One does not need to take the anime too seriously or else you may fail to grasp the main idea of watching Ben-To. Just relax, let your eyes and stomach do the watching and you will enjoy every single flavour of Ben-To.
Being highly entertaining and amusing makes this section deserves a healthy 9.
Other Thoughts:
Finally, do not expect any superhuman, otherworldly powers from Ben-To. The fights are still, at least to me, human-like. Watch out for the ecchi elements in case they aren’t your cup of tea.
OVERALL: 8/10
