Story: 3
I will say the premise behind Shokugeki is not bad. It's about cooking and battling, comparing skills with chefs of higher skill (mainly those of the Elite Ten) to become a better chef. Unfortunately, the execution needs a bit of work.
Firstly, the first half of the show is boring. From the beginning our protagonist Soma is presented as nearly perfect. I'll go into more detail about him at the characters sections, but as far as the story goes, because Soma is so proficient at what he does, the plot instantly becomes predictable. Over 80% of this show is Soma facing off against someone who is meant to be higher in skill than him, whether they be part of the Elite Ten or not, but episode after episode he continues to dish out food so good it makes women (on rare occasion men) uncontrollably cream themselves. When the equation for every episode, especially in the beginning, follows as Soma + Ingredients + Cooking skills that surpass Gordon Ramsay = Food that can manipulate anyone to do anything, I already know what will happen in episodes five, six, so on... In the words of Edgeworth from 'Boot to the Head': "How predictably boring..."
Secondly, the ecchi. To put it bluntly, it was overused. I don't have an issue with it if it pops up to 'spice things up a bit.' A good example here is Code Geass. Every once in a while there was a boob/panty-shot to lighten the atmosphere of a rather serious anime. Good. This is how it should be used. But when those shots BECOME the plot, it ruins an anime. Since we're talking about cooking, imagine ecchi like a fine spice. Sprinkled in, it adds a bit of flavour to an already good dish. Poured on haphazardly like the cap fell off a saltshaker makes a meal absolutely disgusting and inedible. Probably the best formula I've found for this is: If you take out the ecchi of a story and you no longer have a plausible plot, you might as well call it hentai. At least Shokugeki admits what it is, but even so, I'm not watching this to masturbate, so the show becomes even more boring and predictable.
Thirdly, and I will admit this is a bit of a nitpicky one, but the story jumped around a bit too much. Usually a story has a stated goal which it follows. The story can branch off and create other short-term goals, but it doesn't usually sway from the long-term goal when that goal is the main focus. In this case, I thought the long-term goal would be Soma working toward and winning a seat in the Elite Ten, but this goal of Soma's seemed to die out the more time he spent at camp. This isn't necessarily bad as this added a bit of plot-specific filler content to the story, but Soma was so set on winning a place in the Elite Ten it was a let down to see that goal completely forgotten, as if it was mentioned mainly for introducing an interesting plot to keep watchers hooked. Of course, as I mentioned above, it would have been rather predictable given Soma's skill, but at least it was a goal the character had rather than just 24 episodes of cooking, beating someone supposedly more skilled, and moving onto the next person.
Finally, the pacing is a bit off. In the beginning it was done all right as characters head to an academy to hone their cooking skills, but the last half of the show involving the Autumn Elections are incredibly drawn out for no reason other than filler.
Art/Sound: 6
Not much to say here. The art of the food was done very well. However, it was so detailed compared to the characters and everything else it was nearly overdone.
Characters: 2
I'll make this fairly to-the-point. Let's begin with Soma.
Soma: As stated above, from the beginning he's shown as perfect. He's not presented with really any flaw nor backstory, and when he is, it's so much later on it doesn't matter. The purpose of the first few episodes should be exposition which is used in a story to sprinkle in bits and pieces of not only the premise and setting, but also who the characters are and a bit about where they wish to be in life. While Soma is presented a few times with the goal of becoming a better cook, it becomes a rather unnecessary goal when he's already surpassed other apparently brilliant chefs. Also, any flaws or backstory that do appear exist for mere moments. He's a lot like a cooking Naruto; hotheaded and determined. But at least Naruto's hotheadedness got the better of him from time to time and was something he could learn from. With Soma, it's a personality trait that all the tsunderes can't help but adore. So, really, he's more like a cooking Kirito. No flaws, really nothing to learn from besides one rival, his father, not much backstory, and all the ladies love him. Boring.
Erina: Not much to say here. She's the bitch with the boobs. Like Soma, she has a bit of backstory, but that's put on the back burner (see what I did there?) in order to show off how truly rich and elegant she is and how much she can't stand Soma. At least she has him as a rival of some sort, but again, there is much development from this rivalry.
Megumi: She probably had the most development out of anyone. She has a bit of backstory that helps her grow as a cook, but unfortunately she relies too heavily on Soma to make her truly develop rather than deciding for herself how and when to grow.
Last, Takumi: Arguably the best character in my opinion. He has a sibling, he has a personality, and he has a flaw, no passion to cook, but even so, he worked toward a goal of learning how to cook. They should have made him the protagonist...or at least kept him in the show. By about episode 10 he's no longer around. He does make a reappearance in the Autumn Elections, but only briefly, so one of the most interesting characters is used for a few moments of rivalry with Soma only to be forgotten.
Enjoyment: 3
Shokugeki is not the worst thing I've watched, but certainly not the best. Certainly not worthy of that 8.6 rank. It skips exposition, introducing characters early on only to introduce their backstories and flaws and goals twenty episodes later. It completely cuts out characters with potential. The beginning is well-paced, but boring while the ending is drawn out and also boring. Its protagonist is too perfect while everyone else with potential and personality are used as side characters or boner-producers. Once it does become interesting, it's only for a moment before reverting back to the same formula: Perfect character is unbeatable, who would have guessed. In conclusion, this anime had potential, but didn't expand on it as unfortunately boobs are more important than plot and interesting characters.
