Food Wars!: Shokugeki no Soma, Vol. 15

食戟のソーマ [Shokugeki no Sōma] #15

by Yūto Tsukuda, Shun Saeki (Illustrator), Yuki Morisaki (Adapter)

Food fights and fan service—what more could a fan want?
 

Soma Yukihira’s old man runs a small family restaurant in the less savory end of town. Aiming to one day surpass his father’s culinary prowess, Soma hones his skills day in and day out until one day, out of the blue, his father decides to enroll Soma in a classy culinary school! Can Soma really cut it in a place that prides itself on a 10 percent graduation rate? And can he convince the beautiful, domineering heiress of the school that he belongs there at all?!

Soma finally meets the Totsuki Institute's current reigning Council of Ten, and in true Soma fashion, he challenges them all to a shokugeki! But the Council of Ten members see Soma and the rest of the first-years at the Momiji Meet ’n’ Greet as not worthy of their time and blow them off. Soma leaves the meeting pondering ways to convince a council member to take him up on his challenge when Megumi mentions the upcoming school festival. Just what kind of scheme could Soma be cooking up this time?

Genres: Manga, Graphic Novels, Food, Cooking, Young Adult, Shonen, Fiction

200 pages, Paperback

First published October 3, 2015

About the author

Yūto Tsukuda (附田 祐斗, Tsukuda Yūto) is a Japanese mangaka who is mostly known for his manga, Food Wars! (Shokugeki no Soma).

Reviews

[Bookishrealm · Rating 5 out of 5]

Holy crap! I swear that these volumes just get better and better. Soma is completely out of control in this volume (in a good of course). I admire the fact that he doesn't let anyone stop him from doing what he wants to do and it is a hell of thing to want to challenge who he decided to challenge. I won't say who simply because it's a huge spoiler. I just will leave this review saying that if you've never read food wars then I suggest you start now. It is one of the most entertaining manga series I've read and it definitely is great for foodies! : )

[Sanaa · Rating 4 out of 5]

[4.5 Stars]

[Courtney · Rating 3 out of 5]

An interesting volume, focusing on the latest even taking place at Tosuki Academy - the full moon festival, where students set up pavilions and the general public are allowed to attend and try different meals that are provided by the students. It's part school fundraiser, earning enough money to put the school 'in the black' for the year, and part competition - the best-selling pavilions are lauded, with rankings published daily. On the other hand, the worst selling pavilions - those who are in the red at the end of the day - are expelled.

Naturally our favourite dumb***, Souma, lets his ego get the better of him and winds up in the hot seat once again.

He makes the decision to pit himself directly against one of the council of ten members, hoping to gain enough respect that they'll consent to a Shokugeki (food battle) for their seat, despite knowing nothing about said member or their style of cooking. No doubt he'll come out smelling of roses, as usual. At least it's interesting to see how he grows and evolves along the way, learning more about the new style of cooking and facing new challenges.
Still, it's so formulaic at this point - of a lot of manga in general, really - I'm half hoping a challenge comes up in a future storyline that he actually fails at, just to knock a little common sense into him.

[Sophie Crane · Rating 5 out of 5]

This arc is about the moon festival of totsuki academy.

[Nixi92 · Rating 4 out of 5]

Ormai questo manga è diventato la mia ossessione! Mi diverte e riesce a non farmi pensare alle difficoltà quotidiane. Aspetto con ansia di iniziare il prossimo volume per sapere cosa si inventerà Soma questa volta!

[Tyler Gray · Rating 4 out of 5]

Soma, you are an adorable loveable idiot.

[Jane · Rating 5 out of 5]

YUKIHIRA-TADOKORO team!! You can do this!

[Marcos “MSMDragon” · Rating 4 out of 5]

I love a good food festival!

[Wing Kee · Rating 3 out of 5]

Ooo more new stuff.

World: Solid art. The world building is good as it introduces the festival and also the 10. The pieces of world cuisine it introduces for China is also fun.

Story: Well paced and written and once again a change of type of story allows for something fresh and interesting. The ideas behind the festival is good and the team ups and the story is well done.

Characters: Soma is the same but the people around him get more depth, his group of friends and rivals are used well and that are more than just one act characters.

A strong arc.

Onward to the next book!

[DonutKnow · Rating 3 out of 5]

You can do it Soma!

[Julia · Rating 4 out of 5]

Soma Yukihira is a guy who's father owns a restaurant in a poorer part of town. Soma wants to surpass his father's ability so his father enrolls him in a very expensive and prestigious culinary school that has a 10 percent graduation rate. In this volume Soma meets Totsuki Institute's current Council of Ten and in true Soma fashion challenges them to a shokugeki. The series as a whole is a very engaging one. It has real well thought out comedic moments and some more serious ones. Having recipes for many of the foods that they create is a very interesting and engaging way to have people coming back to the books even after they have read them.

[Kenny · Rating 3 out of 5]

Soma takes on the cocky council of 10 and it's a doozy.

[Amanda · Rating 4 out of 5]

Pure chaotic energy, but I was here for this one!

Finally, we meet Totsuki Institute's famed Council of Ten and are introduced to a host of new characters! Totsuki blossoms for its annual Fall food festival, and students transform the campus with elaborate food booths and compete to sell the most tickets, with some of them fighting expulsion for being in the red. Soma picks a fight with Kuga, the eight seat, and learns the secret behind Sichuanese cuisine (ma la!).

Overall I love the high energy and variety in this installment!

[Mike · Rating 4 out of 5]

Quick thoughts: Interesting introduction of the full Council of Ten, moving into Soma's next target and a school festival storyline. The combination of compelling characters and unique cooking challenges and insights continue to provide a strong back bone for the series. Also, an unlikely trio is formed that amuses me to no end.

[Raquel (Silver Valkyrie Reads) · Rating 4 out of 5]

Another fun story, but I'm starting to wonder if Soma will ever stop taking *quite* so many risks.

[Marker · Rating 5 out of 5]

Que trama Soma para recuperar las ventas y no salir expulsado?

La historia se va desarrollando tan bien, el manga tuvo una buena adaptación de anime.

[Cristhian · Rating 3 out of 5]

Welp. Feels esterile.

[Ben Truong · Rating 4 out of 5]

Food Wars: Shokugeki no Sōma!, Vol. 15 continues where the previous tankōbon left off and contains the next nine chapters (119–127) of the on-going manga series and a bonus story.

During the Momiji Meet and Greet between the Council of Ten Masters and the top-eight participants of Fall Classic, Eighth Seat Member Terunori Kuga tells them they have a long way to go before they can think about challenging anyone on the Council, but this declaration inspires the first-years more. When Kuga mentions he will consider shokugeki if they can beat him in any type of cooking-related contest, Sōma Yukihira enters a booth in the school's Moon Festival, placing it adjacent to Kuga's Chinese Food Research Society in order to prove his worth.

Sōma learns that Kuga specializes in Sichuan Cuisine, leading an army of cooks that make an addictively spicy but delicious mapo tofu. He also learns that if he does not turn a profit, he will be expelled. With Megumi Tadokoro helping him, he tries some ideas and gets Erina Nakiri's feedback, and presents a food cart with black pepper buns for the first day of the festival.

However, Kuga's massive booth makes a huge profit while Soma's booth ends up in the red, along with Team Shiomi (Alice Nakiri, Ryōko Sakaki, and Akira Hayama) and if they don’t become profitable by the end of the festival – they would be expelled.

This tankōbon is written by Yūto Tsukuda and illustrated by Shun Saeki. It finally introduces the some of the members of the Council of Ten Masters, which is the student council consisting of the top ten students of the school Tōtsuki Saryo Culinary Institute. In particular, Eight Seat Terunori Kuga is introduced.

Terunori Kuga, a second-year student, leads the Chinese Food Research Society, which has turned into a club that focuses on Sichuan cuisine, where he trains dozens of students with army-like efficiency to follow his recipes.

All in all, Food Wars!: Shokugeki no Sōma, Vol. 15 is a wonderful continuation to a series that seems really intriguing and I can't wait to read more.

[Rolando Marono · Rating 4 out of 5]

Ya es común que esta serie o me impresione mucho o me decepcione mucho. En este volumen tenemos la continuación del encuentro de los 10 asientos con los protagonistas. Me gustó mucho la actitud y personalidad del primer asiento, además el autor nos da pistas de cosas que están sucediendo o que los 10 asientos tienen que hacer que no les gusta mucho. Es un buen provocamiento y veremos a dónde deriva. Mostrar a los 10 asientos de Totsuki sólo aumenta mis ganas de ver shokugekis entre los protagonistas y ellos. Pero sé que hay que esperar y no hay problema.
En este volumen vemos el desarrollo y la mitad del enfrentamiento entre Kuga, el octavo de los diez asientos, y Soma. El enfrentamiento se da en el marco del festival lunar y de nuevo Soma, está masticando más de lo que puede. Se arriesga mucho con este reto y lo obliga a mejorar no sólo sus habilidades como cocinero sino como vendedor.
Me gustó este volumen porque si bien en los primeros 10 volúmenes nos hicieron creer que Soma era todo poderoso e invencible. En la final de las elecciones de otoño pudimos ver el nivel de Hayama y Kurokiba y constatar que efectivamente, Soma estaba detrás de ellos. Con este volumen podemos ver el nivel de amenaza y habilidad que son los 10 asientos y lo difícil que tendrá Soma vencerlos.
Soma me produjo muchas emociones. Sentí ternura y un poco de lástima por él. Desde verlo arrastrando su carretita hasta recordarlo de niño, no sé si estaba muy sensible pero el autor logró que empatizara con el personaje muy bien.
Veamos que prosigue para esta historia en los siguientes volúmenes y espero que no pase mucho tiempo antes de que veamos a alguno de los asientos enfrentarse en un shokugeki.

[Helen · Rating 4 out of 5]

Soma attempts to challenge the Elite Ten for one of their seats, but they laugh him off. He's still a first-year student and poses no risk for them. However, Kuga, one upstart member of the Elite Ten who resembles Soma in personality, agrees to a shokugeki if Soma can surpass him at anything.

Totsuki is hosting its annual Moon Festival, which means the many students and clubs are hosting booths. There are lower-priced booths, mid-range, and elaborate high-end restaurants. The Elite Ten generally run booths in the high-end area. The aforementioned Kuga specializes in Sichuan Chinese cooking (think very spicy!) and has staff who work like robots to help him churn out his specialty, mapo tofu. Soma rashly decides that he's going to run his own booth with no help, right next to Kuga's booth and serving the same cuisine. His dormmates and other allies are all committed to working their own booths, but Megumi turns down her club's booth in order to help him. Soma racks his brain to find some way to best Kuga.

And of course, to keep stakes high, any student whose booth does not turn a profit will be expelled! So, Soma may not only lose his pride, but also. his chances of becoming a great alum of Totsuki.

The anticipation for the Moon Festival arc is high, though this volume is more of a bridge volume. There aren't any big finale-type events. Soma struggles each day, unable to compete against Kuga's superior mapo tofu and well-trained staff, ending up in the lower ranks each day and not yet turning a profit. We also see how the other students are faring at their own booths.

[Brandon · Rating 3 out of 5]

Soma meets the Council of Ten and we move into the Moon Festival arc, where students get to create booths that sell food to guests! Soma, being Soma, stakes his expulsion on it so the stakes are boring again. I don't believe he'll actually be expelled so there's no tension! The actual competition is kind of neat though, similar to the earlier arc about making fried chicken we have more street food style preparation! I wish that the challenges our characters faced were more about their flaws as chefs, instead of 'haha they screwed up their order' or 'they purposefully sabotaged themselves'. I guess these are flaws for them as people but it's not really about the meals and food itself. I'm also disappointed that Tadokoro is using her big internship skill of customer service to... help Soma not get expelled. Again.

At least the food looks good! We're talking about regional differences in cuisine, the novelty involved in street food, and setting up the Council as serious threats who have incredible resources at their disposal. Kuga is a neat case for an opponent, given how the recent stories have been all about Soma finding his specialty and Kuga is so specialized that people get angry at him for only focusing on a specific element of Chinese cuisine. I like how unconventional the format for this arc is as well, specifically trying to earn money instead of judging purely on the quality of the food.

[Marianna Rainolter · Rating 4 out of 5]

Un volume molto interessante soprattutto nella seconda parte: prosegue infatti la sfida sulla cucina cinese contro Koga dell’Elite dei Dieci e Soma ha finalmente trovato il modo di batterle e vendere più di lui. Poi conosciamo meglio il numero uno dei Dieci eletti, Eishi, che mi è piaciuto tantissimo e lo adoro! Ma il bello viene con l’entrata in scena del padre di Erina, Azami, colui che l’ha addestrata nell’arte dell’alta cucina e che adesso vuole reclamare il suo posto all’interno dell’Accademia. La seconda parte come dicevo è davvero bella, con l’entrata in scena di Azami che mette casino e preannuncia una nuova sfida impossibile o quasi per il giovane Soma. Mi piace molto questa parte e sono curiosa di proseguire la lettura e di vedere l’anime quindi pronta a scoprire il resto della storia!

[David · Rating 5 out of 5]

The Stagiaire ends without us knowing the details of the third and fourth site. Then the Fall Classic contestants get to have a "tea party" of sorts with the current Council of Ten Masters, getting Souma all fired up to challenge them. And so begins the next arc - the Moon Festival. Students and student bodies may elect to set up booths or restaurants to cater to visitors, much like a typical food festival, except participants get expelled if they couldn't turn a profit. Souma gets it into his head to challenge the current eighth seat, Terunori Kuga, due to what the latter had said during the "meet and greet" session with the Council earlier.

[L.ivresse.des.mots · Rating 4 out of 5]

Ce manga est tout simplement complet. Je bave devant à chaque fois 🤤 Autant pour les graphismes des plats et des réactions de dégustation que pour la combativité qui animent tous les personnages.

Chaque expérience apporte son lot de saveurs, d'humour et de loyauté. Ça booste le moral, c'est vraiment "peps-y" comme lecture. L'univers est sans pitié, il faut énormément d'essai pour atteindre la perfection.

On est dans le vrai, une petite pépite qui explose en bouche je trouve. Maintenant ça peut déchaîner des passions pour les apprentis cuisinier(e)s avec un goût prononcé pour "le piquant", entendez par la l'érotisme, apporté au fil des pages..

🥡🍑🍱🌶🍜🤤

[Nick · Rating 4 out of 5]

In a way, this story was a step backward both in story and in quality. Once again, the main character has taken a major jump into competition without learning the rules, and putting both his own future and that of a friend into jeopardy. I will be interested in seeing how he gets out of this one, but since the previous story had been about using competition to learn, this one didn't feel right, in sequence. Still, it's an interesting story, and the first half of the food festival is interesting.

[Yukimaru Hatake · Rating 5 out of 5]

Desde el volumen 1 hasta el volumen 30, este manga es increíble. No puedo creer la velocidad a la que lo devoré, definitivamente fue un gusto enorme encontrarme con esta historia.

Todos los volúmenes tienen un inicio y un final que te deja con muchas ganas de seguir leyendo y sobre todo, la comida, la historia, los diálogos, todo tiene un sentido y espero que todas esos platillos sean posibles en la vida real.

[Donna · Rating 4 out of 5]

Soma takes on the Chinese-Food Society with just a food cart at the Fall Festival.

It was fun to watch Soma meet the Council of Ten (and then immediately challenge them to a shokugeki, of course!) I think I know what Soma's plan is for the Fall Festival, but I'll have to read the next volume to be sure. I would definitely like to try those black pepper pork buns!

[Peyton · Rating 4 out of 5]

Now that Soma and the rest of the top first year students have met the Council of Ten, they're gunning for them. Soma wants to challenge Kuga the eighth seat and to do that, he first needs to have more customers than Kuga at the Food Festival while selling Chinese food. The odds are stacked against him! Super fun.

[Michael P. · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is another humorous entry in the Food Wars manga series. In this episode, Soma makes yet another ill-advised wager with a fellow student at the Totsuki Culinary Academy betting his continued presence at the Academy against outselling him at an upcoming food fair. The formula is definitely familiar, but still works.

[Ashley (Tiny Navajo Reads) · Rating 5 out of 5]

Spot On

As the Moon Festival starts we see Soma seek to take on the 8th seat on the Council, Kuwait’s, a specialist in Sichuan Chinese food. What will Soma do to keep out of the red and take on Kuga?