This week for Manga Monday I’m covering a newer series that runs in Weekly Shonen Jump, the most popular Manga serialization publication in Japan, Shokugeki no Sōma by Yūto Tsukuda.

Plot Synopsis: Shokugeki no Sōma tells the story of a boy named Sōma Yukihira, whose dream is to become a full time chef in his father’s restaurant and surpass his father’s culinary skills. But just as Sōma graduates from middle school, his father, Jōichirō Yukihira, closes down the restaurant to cook in America. However, Sōma’s fighting spirit is rekindled by a challenge from Jōichirō which is to survive in an elite culinary school where less than 10% of the students graduate. Can Sōma survive?

Plot: The plot is fairly decent, nothing amazing like One Piece, and is focused purely on the food competitions and the students who participate in them. Think a standard battle series meets Iron Chef with nearly erotic pictures of both guys and gals experiencing “foodgasms” instead of violence. It’s quite fun actually.

Characters: Sōma is a bit of an arrogant jerk, I actually prefer Tadokoro as she is much more humble, but he definitely knows his food. Lots of varied characters as you’d expect of a series that combines the best aspects of Dragon Ball, Iron Chef, and To Love-Ru.

Art: The art is pretty freaking good, and if your mouth isn’t watering after reading each chapter you must have just eaten a 7 course meal.

Overall: If you enjoy Iron Chef, or just like food, you must read this series.

For those who like: Food, Iron Chef, Battle Series, Shonen, Foodgasms.

Not for those who don’t like: Any of the above, but at least give it a few chapters. It’s pretty good.