Toriko Graphic Novel Volume 41 cover image

The creatures and beings on a savage, alternate version of Earth pursue the most delicious foods.  This is most important.  Practically everything... and everyone is on the menu.  Ultimate Gourmet Hunter Toriko, one of the Four Kings, is on a life-long quest to create the perfect full-course meal.  With young IGO chef, Komatsu, at his side, Toriko has an Ultimate Hunter-Chef partnership, as he faces every beast in his way, putting some in his bottomless stomach.

As Toriko, Vol. 41 (entitled The Kings' Fight!! Chapters 370 to 378) opens, the king of ingredients is here.  It is “God,” and it has taken the form of a giant frog!  Now, our heroes and their allies must battle their adversaries.  Toriko battles Acacia.  Starjun takes on Joie.  And it is Food Luck vs. Food Luck.  Plus, the Eight Kings and other king beasts appear in all their glory.

THE LOWDOWN:  The Toriko manga, as usual, challenges its readers with more craziness of the imagination.  The series also continues to dig into the return of food legends like Acacia (the gourmet god), Neo, Jiji, and others.

Toriko Graphic Novel Volume 41 is a straight-up battle royale of monsters, creatures, and the usual weirdo lead characters.  Like Vol. 40, Vol. 41 is up and down in terms of quality, and some of the fights are hard to follow.  Still, creator Mitsutoshi Shimabukuro always offers some craziness, and his crazy is always worth seeing.  I like that some comic books can still dazzle with visual and graphical theatrics, even when the narrative is not at its strongest.

I READS YOU RECOMMENDS:  Readers looking for the best in shonen adventure will want a big taste of the Shonen Jump manga, Toriko.

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6 out of 10