As the cover art depicts, Food Wars Volume 22 is mainly given to the Akira Hayama / Soma Yukihira rematch, with the theme being bear, and the contest being, like their last battle, one of scent versus sauce, haute cuisine versus diner fare, and food science versus the universality of taste. Moreover, as if the creators are proud of the menu they’ve created, and happy to serve the same specialty dishes they’ve served in the past, there is little effort to improve on the past plot, which is served to order.
Those who read Food Wars for the foodgasms may be pleased to see the fan service revival in these pages. Not only is there the special order fan service of Berta & Cilla, two teenaged judges whose foodgasms put them in cat cosplay (“…a pair of well-trained pets”) but those who have waited to see Chef Dojima bust out a standing twist yoga pose in a sauna scene with Soma and Kuga get that too.
Those who aren’t reading Food Wars for the cheap thrills will be happy with the evolution of Food Wars continuity, a tale which Tsukuda and Saeki continue to cut closely around the detailed profiles of their characters. While the Food Wars roll call is as vast as the Star Trek, X-Men and Archie universes, every one of these appearances seems a glimpse of a flesh and blood personality.
The personality at center stage this volume is Akira Hayama, to date the most righteous opponent in Food Wars; while leveraged by Azami, and conflicted in general, he is redeemed by a noble backstory in which he wishes to save his benefactress, Jun, from Azami’s machinations. Since Hayama follows the scent of a higher purpose, the Food Wars readership that expect to see his comeuppance, and Soma’s victory, may see an upset coming when this volume closes with the judges’ decisions resting entirely on a Yukihira sauce. While I like to watch Soma’s wins, my hopes rest with Akira in this battle, as if Soma doesn’t have at least one unkillable opponent, his epic pluck will no longer be believable.
Although Volume 22 had some of that famous French sauce, deja vu, I must admit that I’ve long awaited this rematch, and I am both pleased with this volume and anticipating the next installment of the series.
Food Wars Volume 22 arrived in stores on February 2018, and if you have a hard time finding a copy, you can order it through the Viz Media website.
Viz Media sent the review copy.
