How would you describe Food Wars! to an unsuspecting viewer? A slice of life, feel good anime to binge watch? A comedy for those who like an anime to lift their spirits? Or a fun anime for those of us who appreciate the spicier side of life?
The answer would have to be – all of the above! It ticks many boxes for many people. If you are a fan of food, fast pacing, over the top comedy situations and light fun then this is definitely an anime you should watch.
Table of Contents
Food Wars! has a basic storyline which can be seen over and over in anime. The main character is a talented protagonist but wants to be the best. The storyline revolves around him and throws in friends and opponents, each with unique talents which challenge and allow Soma to edge closer to this goal.
One of the unique characteristics of this anime is the amount of attention the writers have put into the realism of the cooking. They show a deep knowledge of cuisine from around the world, and this really shows in the cooking skills of the characters. If you love cooking, there is a chance you might learn something.
An important aspect of this anime is that even if you have no passion for cooking, there are enough over the top characters, storylines and unexpected reactions to provide a decent amount of fan appreciation. Afterall, if food is not good enough to blow the clothes off your body as you eat it, is it really worth eating?
In Food Wars, you will experience things to suit the needs of every anime fan. Extreme Characters , Realistic Food , Underlying love interest, Intense Pacing , Low H-genre situations , Characters with over-the-top reactions battling with knives , Lots and lots of crazy scenes!
An important fact to note. Across all Five series there are NO filler episodes! You heard that correctly, NO FILLERS. There are some one off episodes and OVAs but could these be seen as fillers if you looked hard enough, we will find out as we investigate!
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Table of Content
Shokugeki No Soma Filler List
Season 1 Filler list
| Ep No. | Ep Title. | Type | Date |
| 1 | An Endless Wilderness | MANGA CANON | 2015-04-03 |
| 2 | God’s Tongue | MANGA CANON | 2015-04-10 |
| 3 | That Chef That Doesn’t Smile | MANGA CANON | 2015-04-17 |
| 4 | Maria of the Polar Star | MANGA CANON | 2015-04-24 |
| 5 | The Ice Queen and the Spring Storm | MANGA CANON | 2015-05-01 |
| 6 | The Meat Invader | MANGA CANON | 2015-05-08 |
| 7 | A Quiet Don, An Eloquent Don | MANGA CANON | 2015-05-15 |
| 8 | Concerto of Ideas and Creation | MANGA CANON | 2015-05-22 |
| 9 | The Coating that Colors the Mountain | MANGA CANON | 2015-05-29 |
| 10 | The Supreme Recette | MANGA CANON | 2015-06-05 |
| 11 | The Magician that Came from the East | MANGA CANON | 2015-06-12 |
| 12 | Memories of a Dish | MANGA CANON | 2015-06-19 |
| 13 | The Eggs Before Dawn | MANGA CANON | 2015-06-26 |
| 14 | Metamorphose | MANGA CANON | 2015-07-03 |
| 15 | The Man Who was Called an "Asura" | MANGA CANON | 2015-07-17 |
| 16 | The Cook Who Has Traveled Thousands of Miles | MANGA CANON | 2015-07-24 |
| 17 | Sensual Karaage | MANGA CANON | 2015-07-31 |
| 18 | The Karaage of Youth | MANGA CANON | 2015-08-08 |
| 19 | The Chosen Ones | MANGA CANON | 2015-08-14 |
| 20 | The Dragon Lies Down and Ascends the Skies | MANGA CANON | 2015-08-21 |
| 21 | The Unknown Known | MANGA CANON | 2015-08-28 |
| 22 | Those Beyond Ordinary | MANGA CANON | 2015-09-05 |
| 23 | A Recital of Blossoming Individuals | MANGA CANON | 2015-09-11 |
| 24 | The Warriors' Banquet | MANGA CANON | 2015-09-25 |
Season 2 Filler list
| Ep. no | Ep. Title | Type | Date |
| 1 | That Which Is Placed Within the Box | MANGA/CANON | Sat Jul 02, 2016 |
| 2 | Interplay of Light and Shadow | MANGA/CANON | Sat Jul 09, 2016 |
| 3 | The Age of Kings | MANGA/CANON | Sat Jul 16, 2016 |
| 4 | The Pursuer | MANGA/CANON | Sat Jul 23, 2016 |
| 5 | The Secret of the First Bite | MANGA/CANON | Sat Jul 30, 2016 |
| 6 | Morning Shall Come Again | MANGA/CANON | Sat Aug 06, 2016 |
| 7 | Beasts That Devour Each Other | MANGA/CANON | Sat Aug 13, 2016 |
| 8 | The Battle That Follows the Seasons | MANGA/CANON | Sat Aug 20, 2016 |
| 9 | The Sword That Announces Fall | MANGA/CANON | Sat Aug 27, 2016 |
| 10 | A New Jewel | MANGA/CANON | Sat Sep 03, 2016 |
| 11 | The Stagiaire | MANGA/CANON | Sat Sep 10, 2016 |
| 12 | The Magician Returns | MANGA/CANON | Sat Sep 17, 2016 |
| 13 | Pomp & Circumstance | MANGA/CANON | Sat Sep 24, 2016 |
Season 3 Filler list
| Ep. no | Ep. Title | Type | Date |
| 1 | Challenging the Ten | MANGA/CANON | Wed Oct 04, 2017 |
| 2 | Ma & La | MANGA/CANON | Wed Oct 11, 2017 |
| 3 | The Lunar Feast | MANGA/CANON | Wed Oct 18, 2017 |
| 4 | A Pride of Young Lions | MANGA/CANON | Wed Oct 25, 2017 |
| 5 | The Shadow Over the Dining Table | MANGA/CANON | Wed Nov 01, 2017 |
| 6 | The Captive Queen | MANGA/CANON | Wed Nov 08, 2017 |
| 7 | The Academy Falls | MANGA/CANON | Wed Nov 15, 2017 |
| 8 | The Alchemist | MANGA/CANON | Wed Nov 22, 2017 |
| 9 | Hunting the Stragglers | MANGA/CANON | Wed Nov 29, 2017 |
| 10 | Dance of the Salmon | MANGA/CANON | Wed Dec 06, 2017 |
| 11 | Der Weiße Ritter der Tafel | MANGA/CANON | Wed Dec 13, 2017 |
| 12 | Those Who Strive for the Top | MANGA/CANON | Wed Dec 20, 2017 |
| 13 | Advancement Exam | MANGA/CANON | Mon Apr 09, 2018 |
| 14 | The Totsuki Train Heads Forth | MANGA/CANON | Mon Apr 16, 2018 |
| 15 | Joan of Arc Arises | MANGA/CANON | Mon Apr 23, 2018 |
| 16 | Revenge Match | MANGA/CANON | Mon Apr 30, 2018 |
| 17 | Walking the Tightrope of Umami | MANGA/CANON | Mon May 07, 2018 |
| 18 | For Someone's Sake | MANGA/CANON | Mon May 14, 2018 |
| 19 | A Declaration of War | MANGA/CANON | Mon May 21, 2018 |
| 20 | Erina's Devotion | MANGA/CANON | Mon May 28, 2018 |
| 21 | He Who Clears a Path Through the Wilderness | MANGA/CANON | Mon Jun 04, 2018 |
| 22 | To the Site of the Final Battle | MANGA/CANON | Mon Jun 11, 2018 |
| 23 | For the Sake of Kyokusei Dorm | MANGA/CANON | Mon Jun 18, 2018 |
| 24 | That Which Makes One Strong | MANGA/CANON | Mon Jun 25, 2018 |
| Special | Autumn Moon's Chance Encounter | MANGA/CANON | Tue May 02, 2017 |
| Special | Totsuki Elite Ten | MANGA/CANON | Tue Jul 04, 2017 |
| Special | The Third Plate: Erina at Polar Star Dormitory | MANGA/CANON | Wed May 02, 2018 |
Season 4 Filler list
| Ep. no | Ep. Title | Type | Date |
| 1 | What We Want to Protect | MANGA/CANON | Sat Oct 12, 2019 |
| 2 | Camera Flash | MANGA/CANON | Sat Oct 19, 2019 |
| 3 | Hope in Solidarity | MANGA/CANON | Sat Oct 26, 2019 |
| 4 | Aim for Victory! | MANGA/CANON | Sat Nov 02, 2019 |
| 5 | You're Through | MANGA/CANON | Sat Nov 09, 2019 |
| 6 | A Single Blade | MANGA/CANON | Sat Nov 16, 2019 |
| 7 | The Two Queens | MANGA/CANON | Sat Nov 23, 2019 |
| 8 | Watching from Beside You | MANGA/CANON | Sat Nov 30, 2019 |
| 9 | The First and Second Seats | MANGA/CANON | Sat Dec 07, 2019 |
| 10 | How to Build a Specialty | MANGA/CANON | Sat Dec 14, 2019 |
| 11 | Song of Hope | MANGA/CANON | Sat Dec 21, 2019 |
| 12 | The New "Totsuki Elite Ten" | MANGA/CANON | Sat Dec 28, 2019 |
Season 5 Filler list
| Ep. no | Ep. Title | Type | Date |
| 1 | End of Term Exam | MANGA/CANON | Sat Apr 11, 2020 |
| 2 | Preparetory Battle before the BLUE | MANGA/CANON | Sat Apr 18, 2020 |
| 3 | Les Cuisiniers Noir | MANGA/CANON | Sat Jul 18, 2020 |
| 4 | The Last Supper | MANGA/CANON | Sat Jul 25, 2020 |
| 5 | Convenience Store Brawl | MANGA/CANON | Sat Aug 01, 2020 |
| 6 | A Midsummer Christmas | MANGA/CANON | Sat Aug 08, 2020 |
| 7 | Crossed Knives | MANGA/CANON | Sat Aug 15, 2020 |
| 8 | The Missing Half of the Moon | MANGA/CANON | Sat Aug 22, 2020 |
| 9 | The God Tongue's Despair | MANGA/CANON | Sat Aug 29, 2020 |
| 10 | Surpassing Dad | MANGA/CANON | Sat Sep 05, 2020 |
| 11 | The Taste of Failure | MANGA/CANON | Sat Sep 12, 2020 |
| 12 | The Perfect Rocks | MANGA/CANON | Sat Sep 19, 2020 |
| 13 | Food Wars | MANGA/CANON | Sat Sep 26, 2020 |
Food Wars Overview
Yukihira Soma, a 15 year old cooking prodigy works with his father, Joichiro, in their diner and his dream is to surpass his father’s cooking skills. After being beaten 489 times by his father, Soma’s ambition is far from being realised, but he should be given credit for being persistent!
When his father decides to close the diner to go travelling for three years, Soma is enrolled at Totsuki Culinary Academy to improve his skills. Yukihira is not impressed to begin with but realizes this could be his chance to improve enough to beat his father. In true anime fashion, no one bats an eyelid when a parent dumps their underage child in a school and goes to travel the world! But that is beside the point.
Totsuki Academy is no run-of-the-mill school as only 10% of the students graduate after facing each other in intense, over the top cooking battles, known as Shokugeki.
Food Wars Arcs - Introduction Arc Episode List
Food Wars has a total of 86 episodes over the five series, broken down into 11 Story Arcs
Season 1
First Aired April 4 2015
Manga chapters: 1 – 13
This Arc pretty much does what it says – it introduces! It introduces the main character Yukihira Soma, his father Joichiro and the reasons why Soma ends up at Totsuki Culinary Academy. It turns out that his dad is a world-famous chef – who knew? Well not Soma apparently! You would think that being beaten by your dad 489 times in cooking competitions may give you some idea or make you give up trying but Soma is not the giving up type!
When Yaeko Minegasaki, an Urban Planner, turns up threatening to demolish the family restaurant, Soma is given his first chance to prove his worth as a cook by making a dish that will convince her to go away and leave them alone.
The main characters are introduced earlier than in the manga. Soma’s main rival (and potential love interest) is introduced in the form of Erina Nakiri and we also meet Megumi Tadokoro, his main cooking partner and ally. Soma takes part in his first Shokugeki against Ikumi Mito and wins gaining himself another ally alongside the incompetent president of the Don RS club, Kanichi Konishi.
If I was to list all the crazy scenes in this anime, this blog would just be demonitized. So, I have given two examples, to let you know what you are letting yourself in for with Food Wars.
The crazy scenes kick in early in Food Wars, so brace yourself! The taste of the Gotcha Roast Pork cooked by Soma for the Urban Planner is so good, you are treated to an array of visual craziness and over the top scenes. This is NOT a point where you want your grandmother to walk in behind you!
We are also treated to another foodgasm during the tasting of Honey Pickled Squid Tentacles. Once again, there is a definite increase in the crazy scenes at this point!
Season 1 - Training Camp Arc
The Training Arc focuses on the first event faced by the 92nd Totsuki Generation at the Friendship and Rapport Training Camp at the Totsuki Resort. This arc allows for some extra characters to be culled (not literally) but all of the members of Polar Star Dorm are safe for now!
How much Friendship and Rapport can really be made when you are fighting to save yourself from being expelled from school is debatable but who said names had to make sense?
By the end of the arc, 628 students remain to fight on.
Ok, Ok I know I said I was limiting the mention of foodgasms BUT this one raised some interesting issues on Consent on the fan sites such as Reddit. After eating Charred Okakiage we are treated to a scene of complete craziness involving a mermaid that even after watching that scene more than once, to the horror of the person at the table behind me in the coffee shop I am still overwhelmed at the intensity of it! (Today’s freelance anime blog writer tip – MUTE is your friend!)
Season 1 - Karaage War Arc
This is one of the shorter arcs, and it could be argued that it is filler within the Canon as it is a break from the main story. It is listed as Canon but it is open to debate, and it is debated on many fan sites with no real conclusion. I know because I read so many! Whatever your opinion on side stories, this is a fun (maybe filler) story to allow for set up for the next arc.
There are few characters involved but it introduces two new ones. Mayumi Kurase is a school friend of Soma’s with a HUGE crush on him. She has obviously never told him, but it plays to the guy gets all the girls’ trope that has become popular in anime as his admirers began to grow.
Etsya Eizan is also introduced in this arc as Soma catches his attention and offers him a job. Following Soma’s rejection of his offer, Etsya turns from friend to enemy and threatens to crush Soma and his dreams of succeeding as a chef. This arc allows a set up for future conflict in the upcoming Totsuki Autumn Election Arc.
Some fans have described it as a waste of time arc but is this because of the lack of the crazy scenes that the fans love so much or because it can be seen as filler? With a lack of food duels, the ‘is it filler argument?’ could be seen as valid. We do have some foodgasms and the jealousy between Ikumi and Mayumi plays right into the guy gets all the girls’ tropes.
Season 1 / Season 2 - Totsuki Autumn Election Arc
This arc is split over two seasons
Season 1: August 15 2015
Season 2: July 2 2016
OVAS: Takumi’s Downtown Battle and Erina’s Summer Vacation
Manga Chapters: 39 – 104
The Autumn Election Arc is one of the longer arcs spread out over 2 Seasons, with a 9 month break mid story. The 43rd Annual Totsuki Autumn Election is the focus of the arc and brings back the main characters to battle for their place in the upcoming main tournament.
Jōichirō Yukihira (AKA missing in action daddy) reappears briefly before leaving again. His priorities, it could be argued, are slightly off. But, hey anime parenting is what it is and what is a protagonist without an absentee parent!
Etsya Eizan meets Soma officially in his role as 91st Totsuki Generation alumni and 9th seat of the Elite Ten Council. Also new to the story are Jun Shiomi and her assistant, Akira Hayama. Akira is set to become Soma’s greatest rival through the series. So, we get some new characters in this arc which is always a way to freshen things up.
It goes without saying that at least one dish must lead to a ‘good bye clothes, hello … I think you know where I am going here’ situation and Leonora Nakiri’s reaction to Akira’s Carpaccio is my offer for this arc. Leonora is the mother of one of the student’s Alice, so ask yourself a question; How awkward would it be if your mother joined you for food and the next minute, a crazy scene appears and everything is revealed for all to see? I sense therapy would be needed!
Browsing the fan threads have shown that to many this is their favourite arc, although it was raised that the pace was too slow.
Two OVAs fit in at the end of this arc and can be watched before moving on to the next arc.
Season 2 - Stagiaire Arc
First Aired: September 10 2016
OVA: Autumn Moon’s Change Encounter May 2 2017
The arc focuses on the 3rd Class Event and the 504 students left standing. General opinion seemed to be that this shorter arc was well placed following the longer Autumn Election Arc.
The arc looks at the student internships and is further used to cull the field of students still competing for places.
Opinion seems to be positive with fans saying that this arc allowed for more character interactions and more opportunity for the supporting characters to have some story time. One thing that did jump out at me when looking for reactions, was that this arc is often just used as a comparison for later arcs. Some fans went as far as to say that they lost interest not long after this arc due to repetition and slow pacing.
Season 2 / Season 3 - Moon Banquet Arc
Season 2 final episode first aired: September 24 2016
OVA: Totsuki Elite Ten July 4 2017
Season 3 Part 1 first aired: October 4 2017
Manga Chapters: 117, 131 – 134
Ranked by some fans as the last arc worth watching, the Moon Banquet Arc focuses on the last elimination period for the students as they compete to make the most money from the food stalls. With over 120 stalls, this allows for a lot of food and a lot of competition. The rules are simple, the less you make, the more likely you are to be expelled.
Delving into the online fan comments, this arc is a strong favourite as focus is given on side characters and Soma’s interaction with them. By this point in the series, the crazy scenes have calmed down, a point mentioned online by fans.
All in all, this arc is seen as well written and exciting with the feel good factor of a happy ending. Again, this is one of the shorter arcs but also one of the most popular.
Season 3 - Central Arc
First aired: November 8 2017
Manga Chapters 135-171
Researching this arc took me down a very deep rabbit hole of reviews, a lot of them were bad. It would appear that many fans feel that this is where Food Wars died and should have been left dead.
The list of complaints is long, including bland character development, slow pacing and the arc being too long. Those are the polite complaints!
The villain of the piece Azami, father of Erina, is one of the most complained about characters in this arc. Fans refer to him as a ‘Food Nazi’ and compare his story line to a dictatorship that flies a little to close to past history.
Another complaint is the move from rivalry that is light-hearted and enjoyable to more of a hostile takeover and a feel of forced ideology. Azami is described as too unrealistic, and viewers found it hard to suspend belief in the plot surrounding him. When anime fans find something hard to believe, the story has a huge problem!
Another complaint was plot holes the size of small countries with the story and a sense that the characters had changed their own ideals too much to be believable based on their past actions.
Of course, there were positive feelings, and the battles were described as the arc’s redeeming factor. However, I found it hard to find the same positive feelings for this arc as with the previous ones.
Season 3 / Season 4 - Promotion Arc
First Aired: April 16 2018
Resumed for Season 4: October 12 2019
Manga Chapters: 172 – 263
The Promotion Arc focused on the final exams for the 92nd Totsuki Generation. The series was covered by the final part of Series 3 and the first part of Season 4. There was a long break between the two series of 16 months.
The arc follows the template of the ones before. Students are given assignments, students cook, students pass and move on, students fail and are expelled. It is the rinse and repeat theme that Food Wars relies on.
The fan reviews were harsh. They felt the series had lost momentum, the villains were one-dimensional, and the plot changed randomly, contradicting itself. Soma and his friends were fighting to purge the ‘bad guys’ and I think it was obvious what the outcome would be.
It is at this point that many fan threads said that the series should give up but instead, it continued to limp on.
Season 4 - Hot Springs Investigation
First aired: December 28 2019
Manga Chapters 264 – 276
What is the first thing that springs to mind in the average anime fan when the words Hot Springs is in a title? Yep, hot water and the classic events that take place in Anime Hot Springs tropes!
A four-month time skip sees Soma and Megumi investigating a missing chef, who just happens to be based at a Hot Springs Resort. Megumi challenges a man by the man of Monarch to a food battle, serving him Gumbo, which he mistakes for a children’s meal of curry. The taste of a dish from his homeland, brings on the desired foodgasms but a gentler version, no clothes were shed!
For Megumi fans this arc gave them a chance to see their favourite girl shine and a return of her playful spirit.
In other news, Soma takes on a mystery man in a food battle. Suzuki is a teacher who aims to make Erina his wife. After the battle, it is revealed that Suzuki is actually his real name was Asahi Saiba of the Les Cuisiniers Noir.
Season 5 - Beach Exam Arc
First Aired: April 11 2020
Manga Chapters: 277-282
As said above, Beach Episode usually equals the three B’s that anime fans are most excited about. This episode does not disappoint. The final exam is held on a beach with no concern towards sand in the food or the risk of burns to exposed flesh.
The students are tasked to raise 27,000 yen in three days, simple right? They are working in teams of 10. If they fail all 10 are expelled. It is the group task of nightmares! Soma and his team are at a disadvantage from the start as their ‘restaurant’ is a broken-down old shack. They cannot begin to sell food until day three meaning they have to raise all 27,000 yen in one day.
Impossible you say? Nope – by the end of they say Soma and his team of the Elite Ten Members raise a whopping 6.5 million yen. Not bad for a day’s work! So, no expulsion for them!
Blue Arc
First Aired: April 18 2020
Manga chapters: 282-315
The Blue Arc is focused on a youth cooking competition of the same name. Competing in the Blue championship is extremely prestigious. At Blue, four Totsuki Academy students face off against members of Les Cuisiniers Noir. Soma, Megumi and Erina are amongst the academy students chosen to take part.
There are many problems with this final arc, which lead to the negative feelings amongst fans. Many felt that the villains were weak and poorly written, and the story lines felt forced, just to provide Soma with a final villain to overcome. Unfortunately, Azami was not the villain to do that.
The fans were not buying the Joichiro Love Child angle, nor were they happy with the whole Azami wanting to marry Erina angle either. It was a lazy way to introduce a new character and force a conflict over Erina for Soma.
They were even less happy when the end revealed that Azami was in fact Erina’s half-brother. I guess that is one way to end a love triangle but a bit creepy really!
The final story arc, to many, felt like it slowly limped to a conclusion that should have happened at the end of the Promotion Arc. The new characters introduced were not allowed enough time to develop and were weak and the story line did not do them justice.
The anime skips through the story faster than the manga as the series has gone on. In the final series, starting from the Beach Arc the anime cuts out a lot of the side stories and focuses on the main points. Fans commented that the final series felt too rushed and left out a lot of the manga content, which added to their overall disappointment.
Of course, it is impossible for an anime to please everyone. Food Wars divided opinion amongst fans, but this does not mean that you should not give it a chance! The only thing that fans did seem to agree on is that after a strong start, Food Wars ended with less of BANG and more of a whisper.
Comment Down Below
That’s it for the filler list of Food Wars. I hope you guys found this filler list helpful. Although there are no filler episodes in Food Wars yet that’s a good thing. Now, you’ll be able to enjoy this show a lot more! YOOHOO!
