Random Anime: Shokugeki no Souma

Disclaimer: Everything written here is only my opinion and my personal preferences, do not take any kind of offense of what i write here. Also as the name suggests, I use a randomizer to pick what anime i'll write about next. Also this was made before season 2 aired and I'm too lazy to edit this so here it is.

Title: Shokugeki no Souma
Episode Count: 24
Aired: Spring 2015
Studio: J.C. Staff
Source: Manga
Genre: School, shounen, ecchi, cooking

- Synopsis (Source: MAL):

Ever since he was a child, fifteen-year-old Souma Yukihira has helped his father by working as the sous chef in the restaurant his father runs and owns. Throughout the years, Souma developed a passion for entertaining his customers with his creative, skilled, and daring culinary creations. His dream is to someday own his family's restaurant as its head chef. Yet when his father suddenly decides to close the restaurant to test his cooking abilities in restaurants around the world, he sends Souma to Tootsuki Culinary Academy, an elite cooking school where only 10 percent of the students graduate. The institution is famous for its "Shokugeki" or "food wars," where students face off in intense, high-stakes cooking showdowns. As Souma and his new schoolmates struggle to survive the extreme lifestyle of Tootsuki, more and greater challenges await him, putting his years of learning under his father to the test.

- Personal Thoughts (probably will be biased and has a bad quality, you have been warned):

     This is a cooking manga made into a cooking anime. Yes, i know, what's the point in watching someone cook when you have little to no interest in cooking. When i read the manga i never thought i would enjoy it this much, but well, the manga is amazingly good and i really look forward to the next chapter every week. The anime adapts the manga really well and the pacing is quite good too. For a bit of warning, there's a lot. A lot of fanservice in the first 3 episodes, you have been warned. Although that fanservice has a significant drop afterwards, so bare with the first 3 episodes if you absolutely hate fanservice.

Yeah, this kind of fanservice

     The story itself is quite straight forward, but quite interesting. They can challenge someone to a cooking challenge to have something as long as the two side bets something equal. Rather than a fighting battle to get something, this series took it in a new light, a cooking battle. This alone pulled me into the series and i don't regret watching this in the slightest.
For a brief summary with my own words on the story, there's this famous school that pumps out world class cooks. This school accepts only best from the best cooks from all around the world, and those great cooks compete with each other in this do good or get expelled school to ultimately graduate from this school. Graduation itself isn't easy, from thousands of students, the one who graduates can be counted with your hand fingers alone. Our main character enrolled in this school and strives to be on the top there.

Tootsuki's elite ten. Basically they're the top ten students. Well, put Erina there to make it a complete ten.

The characters are also great, they all have their own charm and their own cooking specialty. There's someone who specializes in smoked food, meats, seafoods, spices, and even gastronomy. Yes, i know the word gastronomy from this series. I have to mention something about the characters, best girl alice is best girl. That's all.
The animation quality is really well done, there's some cg here and there but that cg has been handled really well, it actually boost the quality of the series rather than dragging it down like most series out there. I also like the first opening song, it's a good song if you ask me. Also if you're observant enough, you'll notice that the curry in the opening song in each episodes changes, it's a quite nice easter egg if you can call it one.
There's also one more thing that made me respect this series a lot more, that is that most if not all of the food made in this series are actually real, there's a real recipe for them, and they say that the author himself consults with a chef about the foods featured in this series. That alone earns my respect on this series. A friendly reminder from me, watch this with food ready, you'll get hungry just by watching this series

Alice's food. Damn, that looks beautiful

- Verdict:
Obviously i really like this series and i'll recommend it to those who likes cooking or not. Just please do bare with the first 3 episodes, there's a ton of fanservice there, more than necessary. Still, please do watch this.