Food Wars!: Shokugeki No Soma Volume 25 manga review

Food Wars Graphic Novel Volume 25 cover image

Soma Yukihira grows up cooking in the Yukihira Family Restaurant, which is owned by his family.  The 15-year-old wants to be a better chef than his father, Joshiro Yukihira, so he hones his skills day in and day out.  Then, his father suddenly decides to enroll him in a classy culinary school, Totsuki Saryo Culinary Institute, a place that prides itself on a 10 percent graduation rate.  If Soma Yukihira really does not want to attend Totsuki, how can he succeed?

As Food Wars!: Shokugeki No Soma, Vol. 25 (Chapters 209 to 217; entitled “The Life of a Reject”) opens, the Régiment de Cuisine Shokugeki is off to a rousing start.  This rare event will decide the fate of both Soma and his allies, known as “the Resistance,” and Totsuki's “Council of Ten.”  If the Resistance wins, they save their expelled classmates and gain seats on the council.  If they lose, all students connected to the Resistance are expelled and Soma's father becomes a slave... or sorts.

The first bout is comprised of three cards:  first card – Shoko Kaburagi vs. Tosuke Megishima; second card – Julio Shiratsu vs. Satoshi Isshiki; and the third card – Nene Kinokuni vs. Soma Yukihira.  The match has begun with the third card's soba noodle battle between Kinokuni and Yukihira.  It turns out that soba is the very ingredient in which Kinokuni specializes.  Will our hero give up because of this bad luck?!

[The volume includes bonus manga and recipes.]

THE LOWDOWN:  The Food Wars! Manga is a shonen manga (comics for teen boys) set in the world of Japanese cuisine, and this world is very competitive.  This series is at its best when it depicts cooking competitions.

Food Wars!: Shokugeki No Soma Graphic Novel Volume 25 gives us two intense struggles, one featuring soba noodles and the other featuring eel.  It's full-on battle manga – culinary style.  In Vol 25, series creators, writer Yuto Tsukada and artist Shun Saeki, give us classic Shokugeki No Soma, a volume that is full of mouthwatering dishes and chef versus chef clashes.

In each battle, the story digs into the soul of the chefs as much as it digs into the special recipes.  Adrienne Beck's translation shines in conveying the character and personality that stand out in this story.  I recommend that we, dear readers, return for a second helping of this delicious story.

I READS YOU RECOMMENDS:  Readers hungry for good manga will want the “Shonen Jump Advanced” title, Food Wars!: Shokugeki No Soma.

A
9 out of 10