Just a couple weeks ago Shima was asking for submissions for new monsters/food and so on, for Toriko's new adventure.
Wild prediction? Area 6's Shell was used as a spaceship to evacuate most of Human World(hinted at during the ANOTHER arc), and they go on a search for a habitable planet to continue their adventures on.
Yeah, with these rankings, and this "final battle", not gonna happen. Toriko might end next chapter.
@Count:
Toriko's Full Course of Rage, oh boy lol. I would love it if we could theorize what each dish that makes up his current emotion of anger is similar to Midora's Full Course of Oedipus Complex.
Wow, Shima actually did it. Not that the concept in and of itself for a final Toriko fight is bad, but like everybody's saying, the fight was seriously lacking.
@TLC:
For all the ridiculous world ending movie gimmicks this final fight has had, it sure ended in an incomprehensible and meh way. Even the actual physical punches that represented Toriko's full course menu felt visually flat.
It's like Shimabukuro suddenly forgot line of action, and Acacia being one big black blob didn't help the visuals either in showcasing the raw concentrated of Toriko's attacks. As well as Toriko's lack of vivid emotion and rape faces.
I'm hoping that with NEO imminent explosion that at least the other Heavenly Kings contribute with some sort of combined attack/cooperation to contain the explosion. Just SOME type of moment where they contribute to the final battle than being completely shafted.
Toriko can't end until at least Chapter 396 due to each volume having nine-ten chapters. The latest announced volume, Volume 41, ends at Chapter 378.
Lackluster: the chapter. "Compatible ingredient" this; "food luck" that; "inner demon here" and "food spirits there"' et voila! Fight finished!
This didn't do it for me. At all. No emotion, reused visuals (seriously, fuck the Planet Taking Damage For the Hundreth Time View tm), too late game concepts that are just NOT interesting or engaging (it's as I thought! Acacia never ate his compatible ingredient! SHOCK! Gourmet Luck saved us, no, he's eating it! SHOCK!), and an anti climatic end to the fight.
This is disappointing, but honestly, let it end. Don't let it go into space. There's nothing left to tell, and we consumed too many Gourmet Bullshit Calories that were too low on Gourmet Substance and left us with a hugely unfilling Gourmet Bellyache.
How many people died on earth because of this battle? Like…billions? It had to be billions, right? Well, at least they saved the planet or what's left of it.
Watch some BS Gourmet Luck or secret technique/backup plan be used as an excuse to have saved the Human World.
I can see Center pouring out and the world getting countless amount of ingredients to eat. But at this point who lives to eat them?
@Myu:
I can see Center pouring out and the world getting countless amount of ingredients to eat. But at this point who lives to eat them?
That's what Ichiryuu and Froese's shenanigans with the Blue Nitro in the spirit world are probably for.
White Oni is so OP! So, what now? I don't think there was any threat foreshadowed remaining. In fact, I can't even remember the time when the worshipped Bishoukuya God suddenly becomes an enemy. He was like thrown out there in the middle when the 8-kings are starting to get amazing. Toriko is not even at 50% potential and he's the baddest out there now. And the same can be said with the 4HK. So much waste, this series made.
Assuming that Neocia didn't just evolve again and is really dead, this is where Toriko's Kaguya shows up.
Complicating things since 2009.
Assuming that Neocia didn't just evolve again and is really dead, this is where Toriko's Kaguya shows up.
Oh God no.
Please just let the series die with some dignity.
Well I am expecting the "Acacia was a cool guy" from Toriko any chapter now with how things are going.
I really hope this series just wraps up now. If it for some reason does continue there is nothing to keep the reader motivated, and nothing to be excited about. The Gourmet World was hyped to be this amazing place and very dangerous, but we skipped so much of it to get to this fight with characters that had little to no development. If this series does go into space I have no reason to expect anything but a quick skip through all the interesting stuff and just continue with the boring and tedious stuff. Shima should've stuck with Midora as the villain and just had clashes with different people as they explored different areas which would eventually lead to the final confrontation for God.
What would be worse at this point:
Final Fantasy/Naruto-style Random-Out-of-Nowhere Final Boss
or
the "Froese was the villain all along" option and Acacia's fall was because she deliberately fed him incompatible foods?
Complicating things since 2009.
Has this ever been explained yet? It could be either the first option Ubiq mentioned or Acacia's fairy tale was about himself. As if he had some sort of foresight that he would become an all-consuming monster somehow. Or maybe Shima is hoping we forgot about this due to the series being rushed lol. Or is this "Demon King" Neo, or at least an early concept of it?
Thinking about it, I feel like Toriko went downhill after the time-skip. Ever since that happened (where the main reason for having it, so that Toriko could rescue Komatsu from the Bishokukai, was resolved entirely off-screen), the series has been on fast forward.
The main characters finally get to the Gourmet World, a place which is filled with danger. It should have been like the series' equivalent of the Grand Line, showing off increasingly bizarre and incredible settings and creatures… and it's basically skipped over.
They seek out Acacia's full course, legendary items that are nearly impossible to obtain... and they find half of them over the span of a chapter.
Next comes God, which has been Toriko's goal since the beginning of the series, and they find it by accident.
And now, Toriko's getting ridiculous power boosts from nowhere in order to combat an enemy (Neo) that was never mentioned before, was introduced by killing off some of the series' strongest characters with no effort, and doesn't seem to have much of a motivation beyond "eat everything just because".
I know this series has always had this insane escalation, but the ending just seems so anti-climactic - it feels like the main characters are basically achieving everything by accident or with no real effort on their part (to the point where Toriko can eat Neo with no negative side effects, and the only reason given is because he "has more potential than Neo" or something like that).
Still feels to me like Shima realized how long he had committed himself to this series if he did all the things he had planned and thought, "y'know what, screw it."
I can't imagine having a job as difficult as that of a mangaka with the knowledge that there's over a decade of that schedule remaining.
Hang in there, Kierkegaard.
Food Luck don't think I ever hated any technique than that seriously fuck it so much.
I can't imagine having a job as difficult as that of a mangaka with the knowledge that there's over a decade of that schedule remaining.
When you're making self-endulging standard shounen fare, sure.
But when you'd be making something like One Piece that's got things to say and messages to convey all the while setting up a narrative that rivals that of centuries old classics? Then it becomes a labor of love and a privilege.
Toriko III: -Doink-
s'all I have to say
Set Art by Daily Rowlet
Now that we're edging close to the final chapter of the series, only one question looms in my mind.
If this series gets an epilogue for its final chapters (presumably of when he's married to Rin and maybe getting his own set of disciples like Acacia and Ichiryuu), then will Toriko get a short haircut like Naruto and Ichigo's endings?
What would be worse at this point:
Final Fantasy/Naruto-style Random-Out-of-Nowhere Final Boss
or
the "Froese was the villain all along" option and Acacia's fall was because she deliberately fed him incompatible foods?
If forze feed him crap, that's on him being so shitty to her. If they beat him because she stopped feeding him rigth, then what was the evil act?
Thinking about it, I feel like Toriko went downhill after the time-skip. Ever since that happened (where the main reason for having it, so that Toriko could rescue Komatsu from the Bishokukai, was resolved entirely off-screen), the series has been on fast forward.
I think Area 8 and Area 7 gone at a pretty avarage pace, actually.
When you're making self-endulging standard shounen fare, sure.
But when you'd be making something like One Piece that's got things to say and messages to convey all the while setting up a narrative that rivals that of centuries old classics? Then it becomes a labor of love and a privilege.
You are being sarcastic here, no?
@Count:
That's what Ichiryuu and Froese's shenanigans with the Blue Nitro in the spirit world are probably for.
Indeed. If anything Froese must be preparing something pretty special with CENTER to revive all those killed by Neo. As far fetched as it sounds, perhaps Acacia wan't bad after all, and Toriko has simply "freed" him from his own appetite.
I think the only way you'd be able to conclude Toriko properly would be for all the characters (past and present) to share a meal around a dining table. It was Ichiryuu's dying wish after all and it would be fitting to see him, Midora and Jirou together one last time.
My guess is they'll all end up back in soul world for an epic feast, which would include Acacia's full course menu.
SAILING AGAIN FOR THE NEW WORLD
I cannot see this ending yet. We don't have any sort of clue why Toriko has three demons, let alone what his white demon is in the first place, do we?
I cannot see this ending yet. We don't have any sort of clue why Toriko has three demons, let alone what his white demon is in the first place, do we?
A series ending without explaining every single question isn't that uncommon.
Thinking about it, I feel like Toriko went downhill after the time-skip. Ever since that happened (where the main reason for having it, so that Toriko could rescue Komatsu from the Bishokukai, was resolved entirely off-screen), the series has been on fast forward.
The main characters finally get to the Gourmet World, a place which is filled with danger. It should have been like the series' equivalent of the Grand Line, showing off increasingly bizarre and incredible settings and creatures… and it's basically skipped over.
They seek out Acacia's full course, legendary items that are nearly impossible to obtain... and they find half of them over the span of a chapter.
Next comes God, which has been Toriko's goal since the beginning of the series, and they find it by accident.
And now, Toriko's getting ridiculous power boosts from nowhere in order to combat an enemy (Neo) that was never mentioned before, was introduced by killing off some of the series' strongest characters with no effort, and doesn't seem to have much of a motivation beyond "eat everything just because".
I know this series has always had this insane escalation, but the ending just seems so anti-climactic - it feels like the main characters are basically achieving everything by accident or with no real effort on their part (to the point where Toriko can eat Neo with no negative side effects, and the only reason given is because he "has more potential than Neo" or something like that).
to me toriko went downhill after the first hundred chapters really..that's where i stopped caring and stayed for the visuals and the abdurdity..but now it's not even that entertaining for that
-Area 0
-One last meal
-White demon getting eaten.
Everyone just got rez'd by food luck right?
I cannot see this ending yet. We don't have any sort of clue why Toriko has three demons, let alone what his white demon is in the first place, do we?
Does it matter? It's either going to be food luck or food destiny related. Nothing matters any more lol. He's the destined foodie.
Neo was doing the best thing that could have happened to this series, eating all the gourmet luck.
But then he got defeated with one finger, so nevermind.
to me toriko went downhill after the first hundred chapters really..that's where i stopped caring and stayed for the visuals and the abdurdity..but now it's not even that entertaining for that
It was still good until Zebra's arc with Toriko I'd say. Was it Mellow Cola or something?
Food Honor arc where Toriko's first materalized started to make things weird. We never get to know Toriko's inner world mechanics after that. Still Toriko was hell of a ride.
Gourmet Casino was also good. So was Frozen Hell, Mellow Cola, Madame Fish, Durian Bomb, Booze Island, Melk Stardust, Cooking Fest…It was only when they hit Blue Grill thigs got messy.
A series ending without explaining every single question isn't that uncommon.
The whole deal of multiple demons inside Toriko has been hyped for quite a while, though. It would be very strange to just drop it when it has been acknowledged not too long ago (when we saw all three demons and one recognized that White was first within Toriko).
On the other hand, this could probably just quickly be explained in one chapter or so.
On the other hand, this could probably just quickly be explained in one chapter or so.
If Shima skipped out on showing how Sunny and Coco got their Acacia's Full Course ingredients (which is almost the equivalent of Zoro, Sanji, and Robin accomplishing their dreams off-screen before the final battle in One Piece with how these were hyped up goals), then why should Toriko's Gourmet Demons be the exception? lol Not to mention how nonchalantly the Blue Oni was very vaguely teased at only once or twice at most before its reveal without any elaboration afterwards.
Also, in case nobody noticed, every single ingredient in Acacia's Full Course will probably be gold when colored. I'm predicting his based on observing how GOD, ANOTHER, AIR, and PAIR are all colored gold so far.
Thinking about it, I feel like Toriko went downhill after the time-skip.
I still regard the Gourmet Soup arc as one of the most exciting and imaginative visually shonen arc that I read these past few years. Everything was great, Tommyrod being the epitome.
That was very good shonen.
Aftermath-healing arc was nice too.
Surprisingly it's right after that I started losing interest. Zebra arc was okey I guess but not so much, Starjune didn't appeal at all to me, and I think it's the casino stuff that made me drop it.
But that soup arc ? Fabulous.
If you can say yes to Tommy, you can definetly say yes to Livebearer.
Livebearer had the best faces.
Gourmet Casino wasn't bad. I remember they introduced tons of potentially entertaning trials only to settle for a card game, which as a huge bummer. The card game proved to be decently entertaining, and Livebearer delivered the goods in the form of rapefaces, but his just desserts came in the form of. . .an off panel beating. Could've been better, but it was ok.
Gourmed Pyramid was good, but I remembed thinking that it wasn't as savagely entertaining as the Ice Hell or Regal Mammoth arcs.
To me, the arc that started to get me out of Toriko was the Four Beast. It just. . .didn't do it for me. At all. Some visuals were cool, but it didn't feel right. The cooking tournament without cooking on it was decent in terms of occasional eye candy and hardcore fighting, but, curiously enough, even most of these fights fell flat compared to the glory of Tommy vs. Sani.
The start of the trip to the Gourmet World was also pretty cool, with entertaining shenanigans here and there, and Bambina's arc was good (even if I didn't find it AS GOOD as others). Sadly, afterwards EVERYTHING becomes muddled in my mind; Gourmet Luck here, Back Channel there, Gourmet Spirits Thingies, Body Snatchers, off-panneling of interesting things, lots of talking about uninteresting things, and a near infinite last battle with a ridiculous looking baddie that lacks any semblance of charisma to back up his relatively entertaining acts of carnage.
All in all, I still think Toriko is worth it, but man, looking back even at those super short arcs like Ozone Herb, BB Corn, even that weird waterfall Toriko and Sani had to cross. . .this manga was meant for greatness, and it's pretty clear in the end it did not deliver on its promise. Sad.
Out of the Human World Arcs, the only one that was really messy was the Cooking Festival.
It was supposed to be the end Arc before Gourmet World and clearly Mashima didn´t thought through on how to make the switch from Bishokukai to Neo.
4 Beasts was weird but fun. It felt a bit imbalanced in terms of power levels, but the fight was worth it.
Food Honor/Bubble Fruit´s only problem was the concept of Food Honor.
to me toriko went downhill after the first hundred chapters really..that's where i stopped caring and stayed for the visuals and the abdurdity..but now it's not even that entertaining for that
Well, but was there anything to care in the first place? The series never really tried to bring forward the emotional depth that other Shonen´s bring.
At least for me, Toriko was always about the absurdity of the scenarios and the animals, the overboard expressions while eating food and the entire process of cooking it (Which Gourmet Wolrd Lacks).
I never really "cared" for it, but it was always a fun ride.
–- Update From New Post Merge ---
All in all, I still think Toriko is worth it, but man, looking back even at those super short arcs like Ozone Herb, BB Corn, even that weird waterfall Toriko and Sani had to cross. . .this manga was meant for greatness, and it's pretty clear in the end it did not deliver on its promise. Sad.
Probably because it never fell in the mind boggling mediocrity that other shonens became. Even in it´s worst, Toriko still had some shining beacons of entertainment here and there.
Some parts of Area 8 were fun, Area 7 is a treasure, and Area 6 was mediocre with some good chapters in between. And all of a sudden we´re at end game.
Remind of Shinzo, where the heroes supposedly had to "clear" 7 areas, but halfway through the third we basically skipped them all. But in Shinzo´s case, it was never popular, so the rush is understandable.
Well, but was there anything to care in the first place? The series never really tried to bring forward the emotional depth that other Shonen´s bring.
At least for me, Toriko was always about the absurdity of the scenarios and the animals, the overboard expressions while eating food and the entire process of cooking it (Which Gourmet Wolrd Lacks).
I never really "cared" for it, but it was always a fun ride..
by "care" i mean things like remembering stuff that happened,characters names and whatnot..basically what i do for onepiece or other manga i like
Remind of Shinzo, where the heroes supposedly had to "clear" 7 areas, but halfway through the third we basically skipped them all. But in Shinzo´s case, it was never popular, so the rush is understandable.
Now that is a name I didn't expected to hear again.
Now that is a name I didn't expected to hear again.
The damn theme song keeps lurking in my head.
Sadly, afterwards EVERYTHING becomes muddled in my mind; Gourmet Luck here, Back Channel there, Gourmet Spirits Thingies, Body Snatchers, off-panneling of interesting things, lots of talking about uninteresting things, and a near infinite last battle with a ridiculous looking baddie that lacks any semblance of charisma to back up his relatively entertaining acts of carnage.
Yes, that's the point. Before ANOTHER, everything (well, almost) was fine and funny, even credible, though for Toriko's standard. Since ANOTHER's arc everything fell down.
All in all, I still think Toriko is worth it, but man, looking back even at those super short arcs like Ozone Herb, BB Corn, even that weird waterfall Toriko and Sani had to cross. . .this manga was meant for greatness, and it's pretty clear in the end it did not deliver on its promise. Sad.
A good assessment. I agree.
All in all, I still think Toriko is worth it, but man, looking back even at those super short arcs like Ozone Herb, BB Corn, even that weird waterfall Toriko and Sani had to cross. . .this manga was meant for greatness, and it's pretty clear in the end it did not deliver on its promise. Sad.
Ozone Herb arc was DA SHIT, and also the beginning of a very deep friendship.
Obviously the Regal Mammoth and Century Soup arcs were the stand out introductory stories that got everyone hooked on the series. I think that was the peak for many people. The Ozone Herb and Melk Stardust parts were good for character development of the 2 main protagonists, but lacked the impact and intensity of the previous larger arcs. Mellow cola arc was solid, but was pretty much supported by the introduction of Zebra who brought a refreshing dynamic being so different in character to Coco and Sunny.
For me, the Meteor Garlic Arc was a return to greatness. That card game was probably my favorite part of the series and felt reminiscent of the battle with D'Arby in JoJo. I was literally on the edge of my seat wondering how it would end!
The Bubble Fruit Arc was again a bit lack luster and like many have said, this is when things started getting weird with the introduction of "Food Honour".
The Four Beast Arc would have probably made a suitable end, except for the threat of Midora and the Bishokukai and the need for Toriko to "conquer" the Gormet World and complete his Full Course.
The Cooking Festival Arc was a mess, the introduction of "NEO" unnecessary and the off-screening of Coco Vs Grinpatch disappointing. I started to struggle at this point and whilst still a fantastic manga, it was clear it would never return to it's greatness of the earlier arcs.
Shima knew it, his editors knew it, damn even Toei knew is, (that's why they pulled the plug).
In my eyes, the timeskip was an attempt to fix things, but by this point the creative juices had stop flowing (or begun overflowing depending how you look at it), the world of Toriko just started becoming more and more ridiculous, with the laws of physics and reality being more and more warped to the point it became a parody, and Shima decided to run with it, giving us characters like Bambina and Don Slime to fuel the nonsense.
I guess he was trying to make the Gourmet World exciting (like Alice In Wonderland style), but unfortunately as a reader I became disconnected with the story since there was no longer any semblance of reality and everything turned into a "anything can happen" scenario.
Now don't get me wrong Toriko is still on my top 3 of all time list and these flaws are by no means limited to this series alone, every great shonen has it's faults and i'm only nitpicking because this could have been the greatest Shonen of all time.
For me it's up there will Dragon Ball and One Piece, with Kinnikuman a very close 4th. (We need a new anime!)
Cooking Fest had Sunny Vs Tommy, Branchi Vs Elg and Zebra Vs Nitros.
I can't call a mess with those three main factors.
Cooking Fest had Sunny Vs Tommy, Branchi Vs Elg and Zebra Vs Nitros.
I can't call a mess with those three main factors.
Yeah, I meant to say Sunny Vs Tommy was the only saving grace of the arc. It was a very fitting end and helped develop the whole "Appetite Demon" thing which is a concept I really like.
Branchi Vs Elg was good, considering these were 2 relatively new characters, with no previous background and somehow in a few chapter it made the reader feel something, but it was all very in the moment. There was no build up to this battle, no previous history between them.
Zebra Vs Nitros, much like the rest of the arc, was just fodderising. It was like a clean up exercise. Shima had introduced too many characters and some of them had to go so that he could bring the focus back to Toriko and Mastu.
SAILING AGAIN FOR THE NEW WORLD
Branchi Vs Elg was good, considering these were 2 relatively new characters, with no previous background and somehow in a few chapter it made the reader feel something, but it was all very in the moment. There was no build up to this battle, no previous history between them.
Does this means to face-off 2 characters, we need to know something about them and they had to have a story in common?
Zebra Vs Nitros, much like the rest of the arc, was just fodderising. It was like a clean up exercise. Shima had introduced too many characters and some of them had to go so that he could bring the focus back to Toriko and Mastu.
Zebra was the center of the hype during the Human World. Shima making him face three nameless Nitros that by that time, one was pretty much a threat, it was one of the best things Shima could done to him. Last time we saw Zebra being awesome was against the Bull Gorilla in Area 7 when you think about it.
Does this means to face-off 2 characters, we need to know something about them and they had to have a story in common?
Not necessarily, but it's nice to at least have some time for character development before you kill them off. Like I said though, in the few chapters we had, Shima did a good job giving Elg a personality. I think it showcased Elg more than Buranchi, probably because Buranchi was due to be fleshed out more later.
Zebra was the center of the hype during the Human World. Shima making him face three nameless Nitros that by that time, one was pretty much a threat, it was one of the best things Shima could done to him. Last time we saw Zebra being awesome was against the Bull Gorilla in Area 7 when you think about it.
Yeah, I agree, Zebra needed screen time during the Cooking Fest, but I would have much prefered it if the Nitros had been fleshed out a bit more before that point. In hindsight it was great, but at the time I remember still feeling very confused over what the Nitros were and what relevance they had in the who story.
Spoilers:
! -Acacia and Toriko are crying (Acacia was a good guy all along…..)
-The things NEO ate are alive inside (meaning NEO does not erase Gourmet cells but his stomach is kinda like a different dimension )
-It seems Acacia and Pair were cooperating from the start
-Acacia is reflecting upon his life, wondering why NEO chose him instead
-Pair is crying when he realized his kin are now free (meaning they can revive)
-Flashback to Acacia and Ichiryuu, Acacia realizing how NEO's appetite seems endless, he asked Ichiryuu to kill and attack him using anger, but he could not do it
-Midora shows up, uses knocking on Acacia (unsure about the knocking part)
-Acacia did not use Knocking on Joa, the blow he used was to finish him off
-Midora remembers his first meeting with Acacia
-While NEO's appetite was filled, Earth was still going to blow up
-Somehow Aimaru brings Teppei with him and ask to do knocking on the Earth to stop the explosion
Teppei says he cannot do such knocking, but with the help of Jirou's soul he does it, from here on he inherits the title of Knocking Master
-Most important part is Pair explaining something about the cooking of planets and gourmet energy/cells
-Anyway, Acacia at the end explodes and a lot of ingredients came from him
