BTW i liked shokugeki no soma (but too much ecchi i agree)
Below all Overall i will write spoiler filled with chapter description bashing starting from chapter 25 i started taking notes in order not to forget this nightmare.
Story 3/10
The story revolves around world of culinary and to be more specific curry. Our main protagonist is a curry chef who travels around to find a man who holds a secret so he travels around to improve and find this man while helping around with his culinary skills various people. Until chapter 38 he helps one specific girl who apparently is also main (534 chapters of this sh*%t show......).
To put it bluntly and without any spoilers, people here are MORONS world setting is absurd and everything is whimsical and childish even though it clearly states seinen the feeling of shounen is all over but unlike shounen you expect some mature content well you get it - panty shots (WOW). Also do not seek romance here, there is one but up to chapter 100+ chapter even though they are both adults already they are still on a level of blushing and crotch kicking while it was referred that everyone else (even younger) are humping like bunnies (hell yeah usual manga troupe).
Author really touches more mature content but while making seinen set he makes everyone around like people from "Idiocracy" or at least he tries to project his viewer base like that. Please look at spoilers below if you want to know the reason for this bashing.
Art 7/10
Considering it was issued 2002 it's art is good, characters have unique distinct features with a lot of movement captured as well as emotions. As for background like usual there were quite a few blanks and cut corners but overall details of the curry and panels where background was seem seemed quite good and detailed. Panel placement and speech bubbles are up to standard.
Character 4/10
Sadly characters are f-in one dimensional manga troupes we have a perverted, somewhat skilled and aloof Male lead, Crybaby, short tempered and young Female Lead.
Also we have bunch of supports and backgrounders won't get too deep in them because well absurdity and one dimensionality.
So progression wise i cannot rate too much but looking at chapter 117 mains didn't grew up much besides their hair........
Enjoyment 2/10 (MAL 2=Dreadful)
Yes calling it dreadful is the perfect word for it I almost immediately started to regret reading it i fooled myself when i thought something close to GTO. So i was reading and started taking notes where idiocy was absolute where fiction was over the top where even i could tell that correspondence between fantasy and reality was absurd.
Overall 4/10
I cannot advice to read this. But i saw some reviews and their were more positive one girl even pointed out that fan service would be liked by the boys <--Maybe but i think panty shots and spying while someone showers is more on a creepy side of male spectrum there is distinction between average desire and stalker fetish.
Next many pointed out it's a great manga for cooking and curry well I agree but in that point is a problem......Write cooking books, work at kitchen or write cooking oriented manga not some frankenstein with curry restriction.......
------------Spoilers----------------------Below----------------------------------------
Chapter 25 - Before chapter 25 evil corporation who wanted to buy this run down curry shop for 60 million yen = 569,622.06 United States Dollar. They refuse then they have a competition with corporations hired cook terms being they will leave them or give up on curry shop for free.
They agree to the terms and win despite corporations attempts to play dirty assaulting main lead with a knife injuring his left arm (a deep cut), bribing the judges. He wins BUT the evil corporation does not keep its word and once again starting from chapter 25 create problems.
Problem being pouring gasoline un to the curry restaurant building and setting it on fire while Female Lead is on the second floor with bunch of animals (arson, murder attempt, animal cruelty = life sentence). If it weren't for Male Lead, underage girl would have died with bunch of animals. So fast forward they meet the arsonist (corporation hired cook once again but other cook). So after failed murder attempt, animal cruelty and arson they demand Male lead to agree to cook off with terms 2x reimbursement of damages if he wins or they will give the restaurant for free. So he agrees to their terms on their grounds(their arena) for the challenge despite knowing full well that they will cheat. Corporation frames previous cook for arson (leaving his sunglasses), so police try to arrest this guy despite clearly not having any evidence beside that (NOT Police doesn't work like that especially in japan, japanese prosecutors are very diligent if they don't have a 100% chance of winning the case they won't prosecute).
Next chapter 30 - Arsonist cook attempts assault with a cold weapon, reason being because our leads didn't finish curry in his restaurant after failed felony he tells "Remember this....I will definitely return the favor" - By this point i thought author is either a golden fish or deliberately tries to make absurd situations in order for the reader to feel furry growing inside them so that they would feel emotionally invested in this manga A FU*^&^ING DIRTY AND TRASHY TRICK at least because it is so artificial. After that we hear a sob story about our villain how some "evil" indian curry style cook conspired with others to beat his father in a cook off so his father lost the battle and hanged himself because of the betrayal of 1 workplace while leaving a small child alone <---First of all his father in flashbacks seemed like a strong and normal guy but the next day he is backstabbed and bam he hangs himself...........So now author raised a flag even before reading it i knew that Male lead, will win, arsonist will repent (will be given a light slap opposed to all of his transgressions - arson, attempted murder of underage girl, animal cruelty and attempted assault with a cold weapon).
Fast forward chapter 36 after losing he thinks everyone conspired against him (like with his father) even though obviously he was conspiring with his employer (bribing judges, riding the equipment and trying to stall male lead to competition).
Chapter 37 Like i guessed evil arsonist repents and confesses to the police that he was the arsonist i don't know what happened to him but i suspect because it is a feel good manga after a year or two our mains meet him again but now he is all good (even though in japan death sentence is still in effect and well considering what he was attempting to do death sentence or life sentence is not out of the question)
Also our Male Lead after saying that he is not buddha or god (he is not all forgiving) he still forgives arsonist cook (psychopath) and tells him before the police take him "Let's have a rematch!".
Author wanted to create Onizuka (i think) but created a brain dead moron who for the stupidest reason does idiotic things, he bums away a lot of time despite working in multiple restaurants he doesn't have money and so we meet him in 1st chapter being half dead because he could not find a curry restaurant for three days (he was hungry and dirty). So i don't know is he working pro bono everywhere despite being considered a great cook at least for 3 years? Wouldn't it be easier for him to open his restaurant amass some wealth and hire a detective to find a person he is looking for but yeah author and his artificial story i forgot sorry.
Sorry for the rant but the idiocy and absurdity in seinen manga is over the top I rarely see this sort of absurdity in shounen but shounen usually doesn't go to adult world much as for here we clearly see things like attempted murder and everyone simply forgets that someone could have died and goes with happy go lucky attitude there is a major difference between shokugeki no soma if someone tried to compare them one being a cooking feel good manga with sense of purity and good absurdity mixed it while this piece of s*^&t doesn't even compare.
AND YOU KNOW WHY ?! Why did shokugeki no soma had anime adaptation while this garbage didn't? Because despite having 500 chapters they had a constant viewer base BUT IT WAS SMALL while shokugeki no soma and Gto were works of art where authors tried to create a nice script!
