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.
