Toriko #1-7

Toriko #1-7

Originally released in 2008

Written by Mitsutoshi Shimabukuro

Art by Mitsutoshi Shimabukuro

I've read Toriko, but that was a while ago; the main things that I remember about it are that it was pushed really hard by the magazine Shonen Jump and the anime studio Shueisha (to the point where they acted like it would be the next Dragon Ball or One Piece - from what I recall, it was good, but it did not live up to that hype), and that the ending was rushed and .  Admittedly, endings can be difficult to write - even if you start a story with a specific ending in mind, there's no guarantee that your story will reach that point.  Alternatively, the series could be forced to continue beyond that point, or the story could have changed so much in the process of telling it that the ending doesn't work as well as it originally did.

The main gimmick of Toriko is food - the main character Toriko is a Gourmet Hunter whose job is to track down rare and/or powerful beasts, while Komatsu is a chef who becomes Toriko's partner. (despite Toriko being a mountain of a man and Komatsu looking like a pre-teen, they're both 28, which was a bit of a shock to find out) The planet is divided into the Human World, which makes up about 30% of it and loosely resembles our world, and the Gourmet World, which makes up the rest and is so inhospitable for most people that even the rain is deadly.

The sort of plants and animals that Toriko hunts down have capture levels, with an alligator that has a capture level of 5 being something that even tanks can't handle. (of course, this escalates quickly, and by the end of the series, there are creatures on Earth that have a capture level in the thousands)  These aren't necessarily power levels like Dragon Ball; they also reflect how rare a species is or how difficult it is to find or capture.

Toriko does wear its Dragon Ball influence on the protagonist's non-existent sleeve - having Toriko wear a bright orange outfit seems like something of a giveaway, and his introduction (where he's trying to catch a massive fish) is extremely similar to Goku's introduction in Dragon Ball, albeit escalated given the size of the fish that Toriko's trying to catch. (though Komatsu doesn't hit Toriko with his car or shoot him - I think I'll cover the original Dragon Ball at some point)

Toriko's goal is to complete a Full Course Meal, a list of the tastiest foods that a person has eaten, which is sorted into categories. (funnily enough, in a crossover chapter with One Piece, Luffy had "meat" in every single category, even the drink)  It works well as a goal for the series, allowing for Toriko and his supporting cast to gradually fill up their menu as the series progresses.

One of the highlights of this series is the creature designs.  The animals that Toriko hunts are great, with some beasts (like the Garara Gator or Troll Kongs) taking ordinary animals and making them larger, more ferocious, and/or giving them extra limbs, while others go in more bizarre directions.

Once an arc is finished, Toriko eats the fruits of his labours (figuratively or literally) and we get an in-depth description of how his food tastes.  Toriko is a picky eater, which is why his full course is empty so far, but it means that we get to see every entry in his ideal meal.

At this point in the series, Toriko is intimidating enough that he can terrify lesser animals into submission.  His intimidation is represented by a demonic figure that dwarfs massive gorillas.

The series gets off to a strong start; the creatures that Toriko faces aren't a threat to him at this point, but Komatsu does a good job at giving us an ordinary person's perspective at the sort of insane situations that Toriko finds commonplace. Komatsu's reactions can get a little grating at times, but Toriko is a fun lead character, and the world of this series is vast and creative.