Story: 6
Predictable, but I guess a food tournament doesn't really need a super inspiring plot. It is what it is. Boy enters food academy chasing after the dream of beating his father. Boy largely succeeds with almost no challenge because the skills his father taught him were basically god tier. My problem with it is once they get to the main tournament it's basically a continuous monotonous stream of judge reactions and food explanations.
Art: 8
Pretty good. Never gets sloppy, doesn't require a lot of animation so I guess I can't complain. The fanservice bits are a plus I guess.
Characters: 6
Honestly this is where this show should have dumped all its resources into. Megumi seems to be the most developed, and she's sort of likable if you like the super innocent type with self esteem issues. Souma is the stereotypical down-to-earth boy whose biggest challenge is getting second place once or twice (boo hoo?). Erina is the aloof tsundere girl who love/hates Souma (WAY overplayed in this series). Souma establishes the standard "every girl has a crush on the hero" relationship with most of the girls in the series, but never really gets to any concrete relationship beyond "hey you're a friend in need, so I'll cheer you up and help you out but nothing more because cooking is my life!" Maybe all that changes in the later seasons, but now there's basically no character development beyond Megumi. All in all, they come out okay I guess.
Enjoyment: 7
It's a good show for what it is. There isn't really any emotional investment on the viewer's part to most of the characters. Losses aren't really losses. It's just an exhibition on Souma winning. The comedy is good on about half of the stuff, but once you hit the tournament it's pretty forced.
Overall: Not as entertaining as Yakitate Japan, but you can watch it and get some enjoyment.
