Does a comic pass the Bechdel test when women's breasts have a conversation that doesn't revolve around men? Or does the focus on breasts just make it all about men anyhow?
Aaaanyhow, this is another enjoyable entry in the Food Wars saga, if far from the series' peak. Hokkaido is a fun side trip, but I would rather the big bad dean were getting shut down instead of reading about some minor speed bumps on the way to a final confrontation.
Whattt?!? This volume was super crazy. The ending. Oh my gosh that ending freaking blew my mind. Where is the next volume. I need it now. How could he do that?!? (If you've read it you know exactly what and who I'm talking about) It makes sense now why he kind of disappeared off the face of the planet in the past few volumes. I thought it was just me, but there was an explanation behind that. UGH I'm so disappointed in him and I hope this is part of bigger scheme that actually helps Soma and the other kids. If not, SCREW HIM! I need the next book now ya'll. I haven't been this shocked by a manga in a while. If you haven't started this series yet NOW is the time to start it.
Just how many cliffhangers do you need in a volume? Along with: - Bullshit 'transferring stripping ability.' Foodgasms are nice once in a while, but this? - Arc dragged out so long the series losts fans. And fujoshi bait? Oh come on, you can do better than this.
World: Solid art with some good character expressions that really emote. The world building is solid also with the structure of the finals for the first year explained out clearly, it’s kinda over the top but this series has been that sine the start so it’s on par. It’s a fun locale.
Story: The finals are fun and what happens and where they go is also a fun challenge. The character dynamics really makes this a meaningful end to the first year and the culmination of the Central story at the moment. The relationships that start at the first issue of the book are so different now it’s amazing.
Characters: The characters are fun, Soma started off as a cliche of the genre and he pretty much still is but his charm is carrying him through. The cast of characters that surround him are also great, they fit the genre too but they are well realised and used well that I can’t help but smirk when we see them interact.
The book isn't backwards this time thank goodness. The story hits the ground running and doesn't stop until the end. The stakes keep getting higher, and by the end I was thoroughly surprised. If you love Food Wars, then this volume does not disappoint.
Erina finally shows some initiative as a character. Sure, it's teaching others so that they can do well, but it's more than she's done this entire series. For a main character she's spent most of the series standing around being condescending. But nope, she has actual character growth and involvement in the plot now!
The advancement exams are kinda crap though. The resisters are sabotaged and have to find ways to overcome challenges like... cooking without ingredients! Sure, yeah, whatever. It shows their versatility, yes, but if you compare the two outcomes: either they lose and get expelled because of obvious unfair sabotage, or; they pass. Neither end up as satisfactory outcomes, the series is supposedly upping the stakes by having everyone not just rooting against them but actively interfering with them. But if the 'stakes' aren't satisfying then what's the point?
The ending of this volume has me intrigued. It could be character assassination, or it could be addition of depth to the character. I predicted this outcome volumes ago, so we'll see how it goes in execution.
El plot twist de Hayama en vez de sorprenderme me decepcionó. Que triste que el personaje (que parecía que podia crecer mucho) se convierta en un villano que ni es villano ni protagonista.
Soma and his friends battle through inferior ingredients, as well as missing ingredients, in their Advanced Placement exams in northern Japan.
This one was fun. There was time for character building between challenges and the stakes seem high with the arrival of someone who used to be a friend but may no longer be.
What kind of cooking school takes their freshman students to a northern island in winter and throws increasingly difficult island-specific challenges at them? Totsuki, apparently. And Totsuki is rolling in wealth thanks to its influence; the academy also owns its own luxury train and special rail line that's used to transport the students to their second challenge.
Soma and his friends who are anti-Central (to be referred to as "rebels" during this arc) are set up for failure during the Promotion Exams. They're given subpar ingredients, while non-rebels are given top-of-the-line ingredients. The rebels are also at a disadvantage (or so Central thought) because they've been excluded from lessons taught by Azami that prepared them for the exam tasks. Thankfully, Erina has been supporting the rebels behind the scenes. Her change of heart toward Soma and his friends resulted in her giving them a week of lectures specific to the ingredients found in Hokkaido, where the exams are taking place. Armed with this extra knowledge, the rebels are able to scrap about and turn the exam in their favor.
The teacher who gives Soma's group their first exam is an annoying stereotype of a villain -- it's too cheap to make her someone who's cackling away and gleefully giving the exposition for how they've been set up to fail. After all the great antagonists the writers have pitted against Soma in earlier volumes, this teacher's personality/character is trite and grating. However, it was thrilling to see Soma, his friends, and their past rivals band together and confidently excel despite all the handicaps they've been given. Their cocksure attitude is part of their heroic appeal.
Hisako is hardcore. Girl tastes Erina's genmai tea for poison just in case Central has tampered with it. It's just a little much, but it works for both dramatic and comedic purposes.
Soma and Erina grow closer, spending time together talking and gazing at the starry sky while they ride the train. The writer/artist also use the psychology of embodied emotion here! Erina is holding a hot cup of tea in her hands while she converses with Soma, warming up her feelings toward him. She notices that she doesn't find his presence annoying as she used to.
In the second challenge, the rebels are assigned to get their ingredients for the noodle dish theme last, leaving them with no noodles or flour to make noodles. However, the kitchens have plenty of potatoes, and all the rebels individually create potato-based udon dishes to pass the second challenge.
The students are then left to enjoy Sapporo for the night, being told they must be back to board their train 10 minutes before it departs. Soma and the gang split up to enjoy different restaurants and cuisines. When Soma's smaller group returns to the train, however, it seems that the train, with many of the other rebels, has already left...and Soma and gang were intended to board another one all along (how did they ensure that students didn't compare notes and see that their train tickets had different times? and how does everyone in Soma's smaller group have the same time on their tickets?). The students are now in different parts of Hokkaido to continue the third test.
The rebels' third challenge (different from that of normal students') is that they must go head-to-head against one of the new Elite Ten. Soma is up first, in a grudge match against Akira, the person who defeated him during the Fall Classic. Their theme: bear meat, which has an unmistakable stink, if not prepared correctly!
Food Wars: Shokugeki no Sōma!, Vol. 21 continues where the previous tankōbon left off and contains the next nine chapters (173–181) of the on-going manga series with one bonus story.
The Promotion Examination event continues and it is from the beginning evidently clear that Azami Nakiri from Central Culinary Institute plans to eliminate every rebel student by weeding them out of the school. The first round had the rebellious students given sub-par ingredients and the second round gave them very little. However, Sōma Yukihira and the other rebellious students led by Erina Nakiri passed both rounds.
The third round of the Promotional Examination has the passing students split up into groups with the rebels being split into four separate groups. Apparently, the rebellious students would go into a one-by-one battle against the Council of Ten Masters. With Sōma Yukihira going against Akira Hayama, the chef Sōma lost to in the Fall Classic is now currently the Ninth Seat.
The ingredient is particularly difficult and favors Akira's penchant for spices – bear meat. Terunori Kuga, Eighth Seat of the Council of Ten Masters helps out Sōma on the condition that he makes this round a shokugeki with Akira's seat on the line.
This tankōbon is written by Yūto Tsukuda and illustrated by Shun Saeki. It starts the Promotion Examination in Hokkaidō begins. This examination is an obvious blatant excuse to get rid of the rebellious students, but despite Central Culinary Institute interference, the rebellious students went above their expectations and overcame their deficiencies. The tankōbon closes with the upcoming third round, where Sōma Yukihira has a re-match with Akira Hayama, who is now a member of the Council of Ten Masters.
All in all, Food Wars!: Shokugeki no Sōma, Vol. 21 is a wonderful continuation to a series that seems really intriguing and I can't wait to read more.
El ritmo de este tomo se acelera considerablemente. Cuando plantean los exámenes de ascenso al rededor de Hokkaido, yo esperaba 4 o 5 tomos en esto. Increíblemente, el exámen está divido en 5 pruebas y para terminar este tomo, van a mitad de la tercera prueba. El tomo es muy emocionante, los opositores de Central son reunidos en equipos y enfrentan un examen con condiciones más complicadas que el resto de los alumnos. Esta situación hace que como lector te frustres pero te recompensa con mucha alegría cuando los alumnos se rifan y vienen con soluciones creativas para sus dilemas. La tercera prueba del examen es un duelo contra uno de los 10 asientos, y el oponente de Soma es maravilloso. Incluso hace que un aliado poco probable llegue para auxiliar a Soma a prepararse para enfrentarse contra este formidable oponente. Al principio no me había gustado mucho la transformación del personaje porque por lo que habíamos visto de él era poco probable que hiciera lo que hizo para unirse a los 10 asientos, pero después le dice algo específicamente a Soma que me hizo recordar a sus diálogos y participaciones en tomos anteriores y eso me convenció de que si era capaz de hacer los sacrificios que hizo para llegar así de lejos. Gin Dojima es el juez de la prueba y al concluir el tomo confirma que las habilidades del oponente de Soma son muy superiores a lo que había visto de él anteriormente y que Soma no estaba listo para enfrentarlo de ninguna manera.
The bad-guy element of the cooking school is trying to manipulate things, to get rid of those pesky "rebels" who disagree with the idea that there is only one way to cook each gourmet dish, and that innovation is to be shunned. The wealth and power of the school and its affiliated corporations is shown by the fact that they have their own luxury train for one of the trips, from one stage of the end-of-year tests to the next, but the blatant cheating on the part of the Central faction seems a bit much, considering the fact that two of the younger generation of the school's controlling family are witnesses. The salmon recipe in this volume looks tasty, and the simplified version printed in the book looks very doable.
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.
A fun arc as the resisters have to cook amazing dishes against all odds. Good thing Erina's bootcamp was twice as hard! The twist at the end was unexpected , and I'm excited to see what happens next.
Also, I know this is a style thing, but I do wish the manga wouldn't make the female characters boob boobily so often. I can't help rolling my eyes.
I'm so damn sick and tired of the blatant cheating from Azami's lackeys. It's starting to ruin a really great series for me. But Akira is back so that's a bright spot. Even him being a bad guy now (or pretending to be a bad guy) kinda makes up for the crap the institute keeps trying to pull.
Oh, man, this series just gets better and better and BETTER! Amazing friendships, hilarious dialogue and facial expressions, weird food , crazy challenges... Plus, lots of Takumi, and a total surprise as far as Yukihira's next opponent goes . I love all these kids so much and every day that I get a new volume of Food Wars in the mail is the best day!
Quick thoughts: This is where the arc drags a little, as while the specifics are interesting the overall framework of the biased teachers doesn't hold up well logically. By the end of the volume though things are picking up again.
Series is finally getting decent again. We see some new stuff and Erina grows some more. Hayama (sp?) comes back for a bit and is mean. We'll see if he's evil-mean or "I want MC to grow"-mean (I'd put money on the latter).
Fun book. I've never heard of anyone cooking with bear meat again. Central should have just pitted the Resistance against each other so that at least half of them would be eliminated every round.
The first two stages were interesting and quite amusing. Boy the Azumi Institute is quite crooked. But the ending got a little boring. Can’t wait to see this rematch in the next volume.