4.5 stars
Triggers-Mild Violence, some sexual content. Currently rated for OT (Older Teen) 16+
Soma Yukihira picked up a kitchen knife at the tender age of 3 and hasn’t left the kitchen since then. He and his father run a small, family-style restaurant which Soma intends to inherit once he 1. defeats his father in a Food Battle to prove he is the better cook and 2. graduate high school. But all that comes to a grinding halt when Soma’s dad decides to close the family business for 2 or 3 years, while he ‘wanders’ the world and Soma can get some much-needed training by joining the elite culinary world, the Totsuki Institute.
What can I say about this manga? It reads like what you expect from a Shonen, from the heart-felt pep talks to spur our protagonists on, to the flashy kitchen battles that makes you wish the food was real, it looks so good! Like a good Shonen, it has a plethora of handsome guys and pretty girls but sometimes the fan-service can be a little over-the-top, hence the 4.5 rating.
If you love food (and hey who doesn’t) and you love manga, then I urge you to pick up Food Wars! The BHPL has the complete collection, vol 1-36. It will make you laugh, probably make you mad and definitely make you shake your head (Shiki’s apron, that’s all I’m going to say) and wish for more.
Want to read it? Check it out!