Shokugeki No Soma (Food Wars!) Volumes #1-5

Evil Queen here! 

I don't know about you guys but I love reading manga and watching anime. It's one of my favorite hobbies to do and read. Naturally, I absolutely had to read Food Wars! after I found out that the anime came from a manga. Of course, I've watched the entire manga many many times so this was long overdue. 

Shokugeki no soma starts off curiously. The first volume is all about introducing Yukihira Soma and his culinary world revolving around his family diner. In this world, cooking is taking very seriously and Totsuki is known as the most prestigious culinary school in the world. 

Soma is happy learning as much as he can from his father at their diner, however, Soma's father has other plans for him and enrolls him at Totsuki where Soma finds really fast that there's a lot more to learn and discover in his road to beating his father in a challenge. 

At Totsuki, Soma finds himself with a group of outcasts as part of the Polar Star dormitory and he realizes that the cooking school may not be such a bad idea when the elite ten, a group of elected students who are the very best and the most powerful body in the school, sparks his curiosity. Soma decides to be the top student of his generation only to find out that there are many challenges ahead and many rivals who seek the same goal. 

Surrounded by his trusty classmates and dorm buddies, Soma seeks the first seat of the Elite Ten as he is challenged by the "camp of hell" which determines who is worthy of advancing to the middle of the semester. Soma's character is best represented during a "Shokugeki" or duel against a Totsuki alumni who dictated a friend had not passed the exam. Soma does his best and seeks a higher level and in this duel we find his competitiveness, determination and ambition are unstoppable. 

Ultimately, Soma takes a break from school after finding his father is an alumni of Totsuki and a former second seat of the elite ten. More determined than ever to beat his father, Soma is thrown in as a contestant in the Fall Classic. In this event, the very best are elected from their success of the camp and thrown into a competition with the topic of curry. 

Confronted by a new rival who visibly surpasses his skills with spices, Soma portrays yet again that his ability to surprise everyone with unlimited creativity against adversity is his power. 

The first five volumes have been filled with exciting challenges for Soma and his friends. Not to mention a healthy rivalry between Soma and Takumi Aldini. It even provides an interesting "relationship" with Erina Nakiri, the very top student at Totsuki with a world-renowned "God Tongue". Soma's adventures seem to take him closer and closer to Erina and while this manga is not romantic in nature, it does fulfill that theme with Soma's oblivious nature and Erina's blushing moments around him. 

Ultimately, the first five volumes are excellent and do a good job introducing the competition at Totsuki and give a good a idea of the challenges that Soma will face later in the series. It is also good to note that the manga offers significant amount of comedy in its oversexualized nature. 

Overall, the first five volumes of "Food Wars!" are packed with hilarious moments and edge of the seat situations. Therefore, I award the first five volumes as a whole: 

 

*Special Note: this manga is probably not well suited for younger teenagers and definitely not for kids. It is overly sexualized in a comedic manner and intended for older teenagers even though the characters are freshmen*