Food Wars is a show I didn’t like at first (you can read why here). In short, the sexual humor and fanservice in the first few episodes of Season 1 really turned me off. However, I found the show unexpectedly funny and its central conceit undeniably entertaining, so I kept watching into Season 2. We’re now up to Season 3 of Food Wars, which is a lot of episodes’ worth of Yukihira Soma’s cockiness. Should you jump into Food Wars on the third plate?
Like Season 2, Season 3 of Food Wars makes no effort to catch viewers up on the events of the past season. In fact, the lack of appeal to new viewers is even more egregious this time around, because several OVAs have been released in between Season 2 and Season 3. These OVAs set up the opening episodes of Season 3. I haven’t seen the new OVAs (they’re not available except on unofficial sites, as far as I’m aware) so a few things, such as a flashback to Yukihira’s picnic with the Elite Ten, are lost on me.
Food Wars is a show I enjoy now, despite my awareness of its flaws, but failing to make sure the viewer is caught up on the action of previous seasons is a major error I just don’t understand. Shonen series are notorious for lengthy flashbacks and plenty of exposition, so it wouldn’t be unheard of for Food Wars to spend even a little bit of time establishing some previous background for new viewers.
The raunchy humor of Food Wars is still there, with clothes bursting orgiastically off men and women alike as all are caught within webs of culinary ecstasy. Nikumi is still around, clothes gripping her shapely figure as vacuum-sealed plastic cleaves to a choice cut of sirloin. Satoshi, representative of Polar Star Dormitory and 7th Seat of the Elite Ten, still walks around bare-assed naked in nothing but his apron and a dream his heart makes.
In fact, Food Wars season 3 is a lot funnier a lot faster than its predecessors. Part of this is due to Akira and Ryo, Yukihira’s main rivals during the Totsuki Autumn Elections. Not only does Yukihira come into Season 3 with a new goal thanks to the events of Season 2, Akira and Ryo become his unlikely friends, with a hilarious relationship of their own as well. Yukihira chooses to learn from both Akira and Ryo, while Akira and Ryo are forced to suffer through Alice Nakiri’s complete lack of practical sense as her partners in the Moon Banquet Festival. Laugh-out-loud shenanigans ensue.
As for the Moon Banquet Festival, this event would appear to play to Yukihira’s strengths: the school hosts a massive festival where students can sign up for stalls divided into three distinct areas, each with their own price range and appeal, but if students’ stalls don’t turn a profit, they’re expelled. Yukihira’s real-life experience has served him well multiple times in the past, but pair this setup with Yukihira’s challenge to a snot-nosed, smug member of the Elite Ten and one can’t help but actually wonder: how will Yukihira manage to win this one!?
If you’ve never watched an episode of Food Wars, do yourself a favor and just watch the show from the beginning before you dive into Season 3. If you’re not caught up yet, catch up before starting. But if you’re all caught up on Food Wars, then Food Wars! The Third Plate looks like the most delicious dish yet served.
Food Wars! The Third Plate airs on Crunchyroll on Tuesdays 12:30 p.m. EDT. What do you think so far? Feel free to let us know in the comment section below.
