Food Wars!: Shokugeki no Soma

Shokugeki no Soma
Industry	Manga publishing
Founded	2012
Founder	Yūto Tsukuda, Shun Saeki
Headquarters	Japan
Products	Manga series, anime adaptation, video games

Shokugeki no Soma is a Japanese manga series crafted by writer Yūto Tsukuda and artist Shun Saeki. It was serialized in Shueisha's Weekly Shōnen Jump magazine from November 2012 until June 2019, comprising a total of 36 volumes. The narrative centers on an ambitious young chef enrolled at a prestigious culinary institute where students engage in intense cooking duels. Culinary recipes showcased throughout the series were provided by Yuki Morisaki. In North America, Viz Media holds the licensing rights, releasing the volumes digitally starting in March 2014 and in physical print editions from August 2014 onward.

The anime adaptation, produced by J.C.Staff, aired its first season between April and September 2015. This was succeeded by a second season titled Food Wars! The Second Plate, which broadcast from July to September 2016. The third installment, Food Wars! The Third Plate, was divided into two parts airing from October to December 2017 and April to June 2018 respectively. The fourth season ran from October to December 2019, followed by the fifth and concluding season airing between April and September 2020. Additionally, two video game titles were launched in 2015.

By March 2020, the manga had achieved circulation figures exceeding 20 million copies, earning praise for its captivating storyline and authentic culinary content.

Setting

The storyline predominantly takes place at Tōtsuki Culinary Academy (Tōtsuki Saryō Ryōri Gakuen), an elite cooking school located in Tokyo, Japan, where only a small percentage of students successfully graduate each year. While most attendees progress from Tōtsuki's affiliated junior high school, transfers are admitted through competitive entrance examinations. The academy features various research clubs, professional-grade kitchens, and expansive arenas designed for cooking competitions. Student accommodations vary in affordability; the most economical option is Polaris Dormitory, where securing residency requires impressing the dormitory supervisor with a culinary creation. Tōtsuki also manages a series of resort hotels, notably including the Tōtsuki resort overseen by Gin Dojima, which plays a role during protagonist Soma’s initial year.

The Council of Ten Masters comprises the top student chefs and serves as the school’s highest authority aside from the director. Students have the ability to initiate a shokugeki—a high-stakes cooking duel that can involve wagers such as cooking equipment, club privileges, council seats, or even expulsion—against classmates or alumni.

Plot

Soma Yukihira is a teenager aspiring to become a professional chef at his father Joichiro’s family-owned restaurant and surpass his culinary expertise. When Joichiro accepts an international assignment and closes their establishment temporarily, he enrolls Soma at Tōtsuki Culinary Academy—a renowned institution known for its competitive shokugeki. Despite resistance from Erina Nakiri, granddaughter of the academy’s dean, Soma gains admission and is placed in Polaris Dormitory. There he encounters fellow aspiring chefs including Megumi Tadokoro. The plot traces Soma’s journey through rigorous cooking battles against peers as he strives to become Tōtsuki’s leading chef, motivated upon discovering his father once held the prestigious second seat on the Council of Ten.

First-year students face an intense cooking camp evaluated by alumni judges that eliminates approximately one-third of participants. Soma competes in the Fall Classic tournament which narrows sixty competitors down to eight finalists who then compete in the Autumn Elections. Following this, students undertake week-long stagiaire internships and participate in the grand Moon Festival event. During this festival, Erina’s father Azami seizes control of the academy; Soma and Erina form a resistance group opposing his authoritarian rule. Supported by Joichiro and Gin Dojima, they confront Azami’s faction "Central" in a Regiment de Cuisine (Team Shokugeki) showdown, ultimately overthrowing him with Erina appointed as headmaster.

In their second academic year, several Fall Classic finalists join the council to replace graduates. Their initial challenge involves confronting "dark chefs," individuals connected to organized crime syndicates. Joichiro’s former protégé Asahi Saiba leads this group known as "Les Cuisiniers Noirs" and kidnaps Erina with plans to marry her forcibly. To rescue her, Soma alongside Megumi and Takumi enter BLUE—a prestigious invitation-only competition hosted by the World Gourmet Organization under Mana Nakiri, Erina’s mother. The trio battles these Dark Chefs with Soma ultimately defeating Asahi. The manga concludes with Soma facing Erina in BLUE’s final match—Erina acknowledges Soma’s culinary talent but describes his food as "disgusting."

The epilogue titled ~Le dessert~ reveals Soma taking an indefinite hiatus before his third-year exams while Erina and Hisako investigate Joichiro’s history with Tamako; concurrently Mana and Azami discover that Asahi is Azami’s biological son and Erina’s half-brother, leading Azami to invite him into the Nakiri family. Years after all members of the Jewel Generation graduate from Tōtsuki, Soma returns home and challenges Erina once more—she confidently accepts, expecting him finally to earn her approval by calling his cooking "delicious."

Concept and Creation

Before working on Food Wars!, Yuto Tsukuda created two lesser-known sports manga: Shōnen Shikku centered on soccer, and Ao no Rettou, which focused on ski jumping and was developed during the serialization of Food Wars!. The illustrator Shun Saeki envisioned a concept featuring a female character experiencing intense pleasure through food, but he concentrated mainly on the artwork. Consequently, Tsukuda, who was Saeki’s senior at university, took on the responsibility of crafting the narrative. The team enlisted celebrity chef Yuki Morisaki to provide expert guidance on culinary matters. Tsukuda’s goal was to highlight Saeki’s artistic talent, while Saeki depended on Tsukuda’s expertise in storytelling. Their collaboration involved jointly developing the plotlines with input from their editor, often employing free association exercises to design characters' reactions to dishes. They also maintain an extensive archive of researched recipes to align with each week’s storyline.

Manga

Food Wars!: Shokugeki no Soma, authored by Yūto Tsukuda with illustrations by Shun Saeki, initially appeared as a one-shot in Shueisha's Jump Next! magazine in April 2012. The full serialization commenced in Weekly Shōnen Jump on November 26, 2012, and concluded on June 17, 2019. Following the main series, a three-chapter sequel titled Shokugeki no Soma -Le dessert- was published in Jump Giga from June through August 2019. The entire series consists of 36 tankōbon volumes released between April 2013 and October 2019. Viz Media acquired the North American rights, publishing volumes from August 2014 until June 2020. Additionally, Shueisha began simulpublishing English chapters via Manga Plus starting January 2019.

A spin-off named Shokugeki no Soma: L'étoile ran on the digital platform Shōnen Jump+ between February 2015 and June 2019, compiled into eight volumes. A crossover tribute called Shokugeki no Sanji, celebrating One Piece, started serialization in Weekly Shōnen Jump in July 2018. The franchise also expanded through two light novels penned by Michiko Itō: À la carte (2014) and Fratelli Aldini (2015).

Anime

In October 2014, Shueisha announced an anime adaptation of the series. Directed by Yoshitomo Yonetani at J.C.Staff, with scripts written by Shogo Yasukawa, the anime featured Yoshitsugu Matsuoka voicing the protagonist Sōma Yukihira. The series began streaming on Crunchyroll from April 3, 2015. In North America, Sentai Filmworks licensed the show for digital distribution and home video release. However, following Sony Pictures Television's acquisition of Crunchyroll, both the original series and its sequel were removed from Crunchyroll's platform as of March 31, 2022. In Southeast and South Asia regions, Medialink holds licensing rights.

For episodes 1 through 14 of season one, Ultra Tower performed the opening theme , while Tokyo Karankoron provided the ending theme . Starting with episode 15, the opening switched to a track by Misokkasu and the ending to one by Seiko Oomori. A 25-minute original video animation (OVA) was released alongside volume 19 of the manga on July 4, 2016, later included on DVD with other Jump titles.

The second season, titled Food Wars! Shokugeki no Soma: The Second Plate, consisted of 13 episodes airing from July to September 2016. Its opening theme was "Rough Diamonds" by Screen Mode, and the ending theme was performed by Nano Ripe. Additional OVAs were bundled with manga volumes 24 and 25.

The third season aired in two parts: its first cour from October to December 2017 and second cour from April to June 2018 under the title Food Wars! Shokugeki no Soma: The Third Plate. Opening themes included "Braver" by Zaq and another song by Luck Life; ending themes were provided by Nano Ripe and Fo'xTails respectively. Sentai Filmworks obtained home video rights for this season and released an English dub version in 2020.

The fourth season, named Food Wars! Shokugeki no Soma: The Fourth Plate, aired between October and December 2019. It featured "Chronos" by Stereo Dive Foundation as its opening theme and "Emblem" by Nano Ripe as its ending theme.

The fifth and concluding season titled Food Wars! Shokugeki no Soma: The Fifth Plate aired from April through September 2020. Opening and closing themes were "Last Chapter" by Nano Ripe and "Crossing Road" performed by Mai Fuchigami. Production faced a hiatus midway due to the COVID-19 pandemic but resumed activities in July 2020.

In the United States, an English-dubbed version aired on Adult Swim’s Toonami programming block from July 7, 2019 until June 18, 2023.

Video games

Two titles were exclusively released in Japan. The mobile game Food Wars! Shokugeki no Soma: The Ultimate Recipe, published by Bandai Namco Entertainment, became available for iOS and Android platforms on August 17, 2015.

Another game, Food Wars! Shokugeki no Soma: The Dish of Friendship and Bonds, is a visual novel created by FuRyu and published by Bandai Namco Entertainment for the Nintendo 3DS, launching on December 17, 2015. This game presents an original narrative set in Europe, featuring voice acting by the anime's cast. Its gameplay primarily consists of reading character dialogues and the protagonist’s internal thoughts, characteristic of the visual novel genre.

Critical response

Rebecca Silverman from Anime News Network assigned a B grade to the initial manga volume, commending the artwork and Soma’s appealing character but pointing out that the abundant fan service might unsettle some audiences. She characterized the series’ ending as a "rough journey with a slow beginning and several issues along the way." Ashley Hawkins of Manga Library recommended the manga as an "instant purchase" due to its realistic culinary illustrations and recipes, although she also mentioned fan service as a negative aspect.

Cecilia D'Anastasio of Kotaku chose to avoid watching the anime because of what she described as its "distracting breast-to-food ratio." Meanwhile, Russel Fernande from One Tech Traveller rated it 4.7 out of 5, labeling it "highly addictive." The manga placed twelfth in the 2014 Kono Manga ga Sugoi! Top 20 Manga for Male Readers ranking and secured third place in the Nationwide Bookstore Employees' Recommended Comics list for 2014. Dan Barnett of UK Anime Network praised it as "exceptionally brilliant," despite its "simple structure," whereas Helen Knight from the same outlet noted its divisive nature, comparing it to marmite’s slogan: "you either love it or hate it."

Sales

By April 28, 2013, volume 1 had sold 139,657 copies; volume 2 reached sales of 176,682 by June 16, 2013; volume 3 sold 238,590 copies by August 18, 2013; volume 4 achieved 252,975 copies by September 22, 2013; volume 5 recorded sales of 271,570 by December 22, 2013; volume 6 reached 277,726 copies by February 23, 2014; and volume 7 sold 279,364 copies by April 20, 2014. The manga's print count rose to 14 million copies by May 2, 2018; this figure increased to 19 million by June 17, 2019, and further climbed to 20 million by March 2020.

External links