Shokugeki no Souma is a show I have not finished. Shokugeki no Souma is a show that I love. Not because it is great, but because it is stupid. To me, it is proof that a show can be unimaginably stupid, but still be pretty good. This is something I have long believed in art, but finding an example of this that people can believe in isn't easy. Shokugeki no Souma does the trick.
I do not mean that the idea of Shokugeki is stupid, or even that the ridiculous fan-service is stupid. But mostly that the characters and plot are so draining on the show as a whole, yet it can live on. A series that has no guidance with its plot and has no meaningful characters can still be entertaining due to good production values, comedy, and the ability to make a 'moment' happen. These are attributes that a creator can package into any story, with any plot or characters. That fits my belief that, well, when rating or creating a show... the concept just doesn't matter as much as people tend to believe. There are so many factors that can just be bundled under 'execution' that can make a show fun or fierce which are sort of intangible and tough to quantify. Shokugeki pulls it off, and the show is a good watch because of it. In terms of no-brain, hands-of-the-wheel anime, this show tops the charts.
Something worth talking about is the fan-service. This show is blatantly parading naked girls with ridiculous features for just no reason. It doesn't enhance any character, it doesn't enhance the plot, I don't really think it enhances the food-eating scenes at all. Of course, it enhances the connection the female-loving viewer has with the show, on a primal level. But that's cheap and, in general, tasteless fan-service puts a ceiling on how good a show can be.
[Rating]
Story: 3
Art: 7
Sound: 7
Character: 3
Enjoyment: 7
Overall: 7
[Story: 3]
The story is bad. It is constantly moving forward but does so without any direction. The various arcs just sort of happen, there is no indication of what sort of path the plot will take next. With that in mind, there is no tension. The audience does not have a feeling on what our characters are working their way towards. We just know that there will be a series of food battles. Which is fun! Sort of. But doesn't lead to an exciting development of characters.
Furthermore, what are the stakes? We keep hearing about how the academy is very competitive and people are getting kicked out all the time, but not a single character has been cut yet. In order to feel the intensity of the situation, it would help if the characters did not have such a feeling of permanence. I feel like the series will eventually go down this path, but I feel like this is several, several seasons in the future given the pace that has been set thusfar.
[Art: 7]
The art is... pretty good? It isn't inspired, but it is certainly lively and not at all lacking in detail and flair when it aims in that direction. The little comedy chibis are pretty funny too. And of course, the food always looks nice. I would say the art is your standard anime fanfare but on the good side. Character designs are a little overblown and too wild, though they are of course inventive and memorable.
[Sound: 7]
Several good, though oft-used, tracks in the score. Voice acting is fine. Sound effects are great and often add a lot to their scenes.
[Character: 3]
It is no secret that the characters in Shokugeki are just garbage. Half of them are throwaways and the other half are throwaways... but with tits. Seriously, each character is just a trope without much other substance behind it. I can imagine some analysts saying that the characters are good because, given that this show functions primarily as a comedy, the characters do their job and make the show funny. I think this sentiment is going in the right direction but isn't true in this particular instance. It isn't like the style of comedy is changing much between characters and that the characters themselves have specific behaviors that are funny. It is mostly that Shokugeki creates a funny moment and then has one of the characters go into chibi-mode and do something funny, which is an important distinction. The characters are not funny, they are used in a way, almost without discretion, that achieves a specific style of comedy that Shokugeki shoots for. So while I think there can be good characters that are good because they are funny and not personable (see Kusheida from Toradora, though she is both funny and personable), in this case, that doesn't fit the bill.
[Enjoyment: 7]
Shokugeki is pretty fun! If the pace is high and a food battle is happening, I enjoy watching it. This is because the director, or whoever, knows how to make a 'moment'. It is this sort of intangible skill that a lot of directors miss because it takes a lot of practice but there isn't much opportunity to practice on, from what I can guess at. Shokugeki does pretty well. I actually got pretty emotional when everyone praised Megumi's cooking at the end of her standoff. And I got pretty hyped up for Soma at the buffet thing. And all the food battles feel fun and competitive and fast-paced, even if there are no stakes behind them.
[Overall: 7]
Is a show bad because it is stupid? Eh, something yes. But sometimes no. But just because a show is pretty decent doesn't mean you should watch the whole thing.
