- Updated on: July 24, 2022
- by Ernie
In the world of Shonen Jump, there is one manga/anime that took the world by storm. It’s none other than Shokugeki no Souma, aka Food Wars. This anime takes the normalized Shonen tropes and flips them upside down. Come on, you can’t say that there is another shonen that has “cooking” as its main selling point. Whether you love cooking or not, if you wanna see some Food-gasms, then this is a must-watch show. It is eye-pleasing and has an excellent story.
Since the anime has concluded its last season and no more new seasons are coming out, it is high time to binge-watch Food Wars. There are not that many episodes to begin with. But we do recommend you watch them in the correct order.
Table of Contents
Now you might be thinking, “Huh, the show is finished, so why not just watch it in the order Crunchyroll offers it in.” Well my friend, if you do that you will miss a lot of funny and exciting pieces of information or even worse, get spoiled about them.
We put together the perfect blog for you to make sure you get the ultimate fun from the foodgasms. If you are one of those normies who just watch as Crunchyroll says, then goodbye. And if you are one of the Cool Kids like us, then welcome to the complete watch order for Food Wars.
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Table of Content
HOW TO WATCH FOOD WARS IN ORDER
Quick Chronological order
Food Wars Recommended Watch Order
1. Food Wars! Shokugeki no Souma (2015)
Release Date: April 2015
End Date: September 2015
Type: TV
Number of Episodes: 24
Duration of Each Episode: 25 minutes
About Season:
Souma is hell-bent on becoming the owner of his father’s restaurant, but his father is against it. The only way Souma could do that was by beating his father in a cook-off. For this, he had been cooking against his father since the age of six.
Over time, they had many cook-offs, and all of them ended with his loss. Four hundred and eighty-nine losses to be exact. But all these losses didn’t discourage Souma. He was determined to beat his dad and take his rightful throne. Seeing such passion, Souma’s dad, Jouichirou, signs Souma up for a transfer to a culinary school.
Souma being the “cocky kid,” thought it was just another same old boring culinary school. But oh boy, was he soooo wrong. Totsuki, the school he was going to transfer to, was the best in the entirety of Japan. It is so strict that the graduation rate is lower than 10%. Now seeing the challenge ahead of him, Souma was fired up and jumped into the world of cooking with a new resolution.
2. Food Wars! Shokugeki no Souma OVA (2016)
Release Date: May 2016
End Date: July 2016
Type: OVA
Number of Episodes: 2
Duration of Each Episode: 25 minutes
About OVA:
This two-episode OVA delves into the vacation life of the supporting characters. As the Shonen saying goes, “the Protagonist is God,” so the supporting characters don’t get that much spotlight in the main series. With this in mind, the OVA tells a story where the support characters steal the show.
Near the end of the first season of Food Wars, Totsuki was closed for summer vacation. During this period, many of the main and support characters went back home to rest and learn more about cooking and hone their skills. The same was true for the Aldini Brothers and Nakiri Erina.
The first episode shows how the Aldini brothers spent their vacation in Italy. True to the main story, this single episode holds on to the intensity. But the second episode is like a breath of fresh air, for it shows Erina’s summer life. It is like the chill pill that everyone needs.
3. Food Wars! The Second Plate (2016)
Release Date: July 2016
End Date: September 2016
Type: TV
Number of Episodes: 13
Duration of Each Episode: 24 minutes
About Season:
The second season of Food Wars is filled with more intense and vivid foodgasms, which pleased the fans. After the end of the Autumn Elections in the first season, the Totsuki school is in a mood for some more intense cook-offs.
Eight cooks who were selected via the elections are now to face each other to prove their worth. Do keep in mind that they are high schoolers in a shonen anime. So expect to see some over-the-top logical cooking.
As for the timeline, the stories take place right after the first season. This season is pretty good because it has a critical character development plot for one of the core support characters. Oh, by the way, almost forgot you must watch this season to make sense of all the clothes ripping off in the following seasons.
4. Food Wars! The Second Plate OVA (2017)
Release Date: May 2017
End Date: July 2017
Type: OVA
Number of Episodes: 2
Duration of Each Episode: 25 minutes
About OVA:
After the events of the second season, the Polar Star residents plan to relax. And what better place to relax other than a hot springs inn!! Yep, this is the obligatory “Hot Springs” episode.
But this OVA is not entirely fan service. It has the usual cooking action that we all love (at least those of us who love cooking, that is). In the first episode, Souma and gang go to a hot spring to release their tension. But with the usual shonen fashion, instead of relaxation, they are put on the chopping board as they have to cook for the guest since the kitchen staff had an “incident.”
As for the second episode, let’s just say it sets up the events for the future arcs. After the trip to the inn, Souma and other quarter-finalists of the Autumn Election have some “tea” with the Totsuki Elite Ten. This not only introduces us to the Ten Best Cooks in Totsuki but reignites Souma’s passion for reaching the top.
5. Food Wars! The Third Plate (2017)
Release Date: October 2017
End Date: December 2017
Type: TV
Number of Episodes: 12
Duration of Each Episode: 24 minutes
About Season:
After the events of the Autumn Election, Totsuki enters a festive mood as the Moon Festival is right around the corner. As a connoisseur of fine shonen, we all know what this festival truly means. This is the arc that will help the dark horse transfer student make a name for himself.
To most, this festival is a place where they are to accumulate fame. And to do so, they have to sell their cuisine of choice to make a profit. But to the transfer kid Souma, this is the opportunity of dethroning the Elite Ten.
But no one wants the transfer kid to outshine the regulars. For this, the journey of Souma reaching the top becomes more and more perilous. A devious plot is underway to ensure that Souma’s life becomes a hell that he didn’t ask for.
6. Food Wars! The Third Plate: Totsuki Train Arc (2018)
Release Date: April 2018
End Date: June 2018
Type: TV
Number of Episodes: 12
Duration of Each Episode: 24 minutes
About Season:
Following the end of the Moon Festival, the Totsuki Culinary Academy enters a dark age. The Elite Ten betrays the true essence of being a chef and starts a coup. This dethrones Senzaemon Nakiri and crowns Azami Nakiri as the new director.
For Azami, creativity in cooking is pointless. But for Souma and Jouichirou, it is the creativity and experimentation in cooking that brings true joy. Not only them, but the entirety of the Polar Star dorm and few elite first years think the same way.
To change the wrong ways, Souma and the rest band up against the reforms. They want to re-establish the lost ways of Totsuki. But their journey is not gonna be easy, for Azami doesn’t take this threat lightly. Souma has to overcome the underhanded plots and regenerate the true essence of cooking.
7. Food Wars! The Third Plate OVA - Erina's New Life (2018)
Release Date: May 2018
Type: OVA
Number of Episodes: 1
Duration of Each Episode: 23 minutes
About OVA:
Due to the reformation steps taken by Azami, many of the Totsuki students were expelled. But the worst thing was Erina’s home imprisonment. To keep Erina “safe”, Azami locked her and only allowed her to eat the foods that he deemed worthy.
But to Erina, this was the highest form of torture, and so she escaped her home. As she had no place to go to, she took shelter at the Polar Star Dorm. This OVA shows her the first day in the eccentric Polar Star dorm.
She is easily overwhelmed by the dorm members. But she had the most fun that she’s ever had in her entire life. That’s because, around the dorm members, she was not the Elite Erina but the REAL (Girly… lol) Erina that she always wanted to be.
8. Food Wars! The Fourth Plate (2018)
Release Date: October 2018
End Date: December 2018
Type: TV
Number of Episodes: 12
Duration of Each Episode: 24 minutes
About Season:
Souma and the rest of the rebel forces can see the light of success. They secured perfect wins in the first bout of the eight-on-eight Shokugeki known as the Régiment de Cuisine. The only thing between them and the dethroning of Azami is the last half of the Régiment de Cuisine.
They have already beaten a few of the Elite Ten, so this should be easy, right? Well, it is not going to be as easy as the first bout. For in the second half, Souma and the rest are to face off against the remaining members of the Elite Ten.
The remaining ones are not as easy to beat as the first half. They are the best even among the Elite members. To ensure a bright future for themselves and Totsuki, they have to give a final push. And what better way to do that other than using the “Believe in yourself Jutsu” along with some of the “Friends no Jutsu.”
9. Food Wars! The Fifth Plate (2019)
Release Date: April 2019
End Date: September 2019
Type: TV
Number of Episodes: 13
Duration of Each Episode: 23 minutes
About Season:
Finally, after Azami was dethroned from the Director’s seat, Totsuki was back to its former self. But this doesn’t mean that the students can relax and have a chill pill. That’s because “The Blue” is right around the corner.
You are asking what the Blue is? It is a competition that presents the International Gourmet World with promising young chefs. The ones who participate and show their skills will undoubtedly be the ones leading the future Gourmet kingdom.
This brings in many new challenges which Souma has to overcome if he ever wants to inherit the Yukihira Diner from his father. But only showing your cooking skills is not enough. To leave an impression in the world of cooking, you have to overcome your limitations.
For Souma, this is not the toughest of all tasks. But the problem arises when Asahi Saiba, his adopted brother, faces him. Asahi is the leader of the Underground Chefs, Noir. Noir wants to remodel the gourmet industry. Will Souma be able to defeat his opponent this time!!! (Oh, come on, we all know he would, it’s a shonen anime after all)
Food Wars Release Order
1. TV Release Order
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Season 1: Food Wars! The First Plate (2015)
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Season 2: Food Wars! The Second Plate (2016)
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Season 3: Food Wars! The Third Plate (2017)
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Season 3: Part 2: Food Wars! The Third Plate: Totsuki Train Arc (2018)
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Season 4: Food Wars! The Fourth Plate (2018)
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Season 5: Food Wars! The Fifth Plate (2019)
2. OVAs Release Order
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OVA 1: Takumi’s Downtown Battle (2016)
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OVA 2: Erina’s Summer Vacation (2016)
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OVA 3: Autumn Moon’s Chance Encounter (2017)
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OVA 4: Tōtsuki Elite Ten (2017)
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OVA 5: Erina at Polar Star Dormitory (2018)
Food Wars Recommended Watch Order
The studio released the Seasons and OVA in the perfect order. So the watch order for this Food-gasmic show is the same as its order by date of release. The release of each part perfectly follows the timeline of the story.
But if you want a watch order by episodes, I suggest you don’t do that. First of all, that would be a tedious task and a waste of time. And secondly, the OVA episodes are not entirely based on the timeline.
Q/A
Is Food Wars similar to the other Shonen anime and mangas?
The answer to this question is both yes and no. Yes, since it has the generic shonen trope of “Protagonist is OP.” And no, because even though the protagonist is OP, he does have decent character growth, and also, the main concept of the anime is entirely different.
Will there be a Sixth Plate of Food Wars?
Nope, Food Wars has officially ended. The main source material that is the manga, was completed back in 2019. The Fifth Plate also concludes at the same point that the manga did. But there were some specials released after the end. So, one can hope for those specials to be released in the form of OVA.
Can I watch the OVA after finishing all the main story?
Yes, that is doable. But it is not recommended to do so. That’s because the OVAs are released after each season is finished. So the story and timeline are synced with the prior season. Thus, if you watch it all at the end, you might miss a few exciting snippets.
Did Food Wars Watch Order Help You?
Though I joked that Food Wars is all about Foodgasms, it is an excellent anime to enjoy. The writing, the art style all are captivating. In fact, I learned a lot about cooking after watching this anime.
If you genuinely want to enjoy this show, there is no better way to do that than following the watch order. This show doesn’t have any Movies, ONA’s, or Specials. So it is an easy thing to follow. But if you were still confused, I’m confident that this blog has helped you get rid of that confusion.
