Food Wars!

Food Wars!: Shokugeki no Soma is a Japanese anime series based on the manga series Shokugeki no Soma, written by Yūto Tsukuda and illustrated by Shun Saeki. The anime adaptation is produced by production studio J.C.Staff and directed by Yoshitomo Yonetani. The series premiered in Japan on April 3, 2015 as part of the "Animeism" block on MBS. Five seasons have been produced; with the final episode airing on September 26, 2020. Crunchyroll began streaming the series on April 3, 2015, as it aired in Japan.

In April 2015, Sentai Filmworks obtained the North American broadcasting and distribution rights to the series and also produced an English dub in 2017. The series premiered on Adult Swim's Toonami block on July 6, 2019 at 1:00 AM and completed its run on April 18, 2020, with only the first two seasons aired. The third season premiered on Toonami from February 27, 2021 to July 31, 2021 and, after a brief hiatus, was followed by the premiere of season four from August 21, 2021 to November 27, 2021. The fifth season made its Toonami premiere on Saturday, March 18, 2023 at 1:00 AM. The series is rated TV-MA-S on Adult Swim.

Plot
Teenager Soma Yukihira aspires to become a full-time chef in his father Joichiro's family restaurant and surpass his father's culinary skills, but Joichiro gets a new job that requires him to travel around the world, and closes his shop. Joichiro has Soma enroll in Totsuki Saryo Culinary Institute, an elite culinary school where students engage in food competitions called shokugeki (food wars). He secures himself a spot at the school, despite the objections of Erina Nakiri, the talented granddaughter of the school's dean. Soma is assigned to the Polar Star Dormitory where he meets other aspiring chefs, including Megumi Tadokoro. The story follows his adventures as he interacts with his peers and challenges Totsuki's students as well as others in shokugeki competitions. Learning that his father was not only a student of Totsuki, but also the second seat in the Council of Ten; Soma plans on becoming the best at the academy to surpass his father.

Characters
Soma Yukihira — Soma is the main protagonist of the series. He is a 15-year-old chef who has been working at his father Joichiro's diner, Yukihira Family Restaurant, since he was a young child. When his father closes the diner to work overseas, Soma enrolls in the Totsuki Saryo Culinary Institute. He resides in Polar Star Dorm, room 303. Like his father, Soma enjoys experimenting with dishes (although they often have horrible results), sees failure as a learning opportunity, and is normally laid-back until a cooking match begins, where he becomes serious. Soma is an energetic and optimistic boy who has the constant drive to improve his cooking, mostly due to his strong relationship and rivalry with his father. Due to undergoing regular cooking matches with his father, Soma is unafraid of any cooking challenge no matter how insurmountable it seems. He does not have a particular specialty, but rather utilizes his rare creativity to create free-style and innovative dishes to clash with other chefs in order to continuously improve himself.

Erina Nakiri — Erina is one of the heroines of the series and starts off as a rival to Soma Yukihira. She is a 15-year-old first-year student at Totsuki and the granddaughter of the school's director Senzaemon. She was the valedictorian of Totsuki's junior high and is the youngest student to join the school's Council of Ten. Wielding the best palate in the world, "God's Tongue" and a member of the illustrious Nakiri family, Erina stands above everyone in her class as the top prospect of the 92nd Tōtsuki Generation

Megumi Tadokoro — Megumi is one of the heroines of the series and is a close friend of Soma. She is a 15-year-old first-year student at Totsuki who resides in the Polar Star Dorm. Hoping to help her family's bed-and-breakfast, the Shokei'en Inn, she left her snowy harbor town in the Tōhoku region, and enrolled in Totsuki's junior high program. However, her shyness and stage fright caused her to perform poorly; she ranks at the bottom of the class and is placed on academic probation at the start of her first high school year. It also took her three months to pass the Polar Star Dorm entrance exam. After meeting Soma, she boosts her courage and confidence, and she improves her grades. She enjoys making comfort foods which impart feelings of familial love and nostalgia in those who taste her dishes.

Broadcast History
The first season aired in Japan between April 3, 2015 and September 25, 2015 as part of the "Animeism" block on MBS. A second season titled ''Food Wars! The Second Plate'' aired on Tokyo MX and MBS from July 2, 2016 to September 24, 2016. The third season, titled ''Food Wars! The Third Plate'' aired on Tokyo MX from October 3, 2017 to December 19, 2017, when the season went on hiatus. The second half of the third season aired from April 8, 2018 to June 24, 2018. A fourth season titled ''Food Wars! The Fourth Plate'' aired on Tokyo MX from October 11, 2019 to December 27, 2019. The fifth and final season titled ''Food Wars! The Fifth Plate'' premiered on Tokyo MX on April 10, 2020. However, due to the COVID-19 pandemic the series went on hiatus after the second episode. The series finale premiered on September 26, 2020.


 * Japan (MBS) — April 3, 2015 - September 25, 2015 ; July 2, 2016 - September 24, 2016
 * Japan (TBS) — April 3, 2015 - September 25, 2015
 * Japan (CBC) — April 3, 2015 - September 25, 2015
 * Japan (BS-TBS) — April 3, 2015 - September 25, 2015
 * Japan (Tokyo MX) — July 2, 2016 - September 24, 2016 ; October 3, 2017 - December 19, 2017 ; April 8, 2018 - June 24, 2018 ; October 11, 2019 - December 27, 2019; April 10, 2020 - September 26, 2020
 * Japan (BS11) — July 3, 2016 - September 25, 2016 ; April 8, 2018 - June 24, 2018 ; October 11, 2019 - December 27, 2019; April 10, 2020 - September 26, 2020
 * Japan (Animax) — July 12, 2016 - October 4, 2016 ; May 13, 2018 - July 29, 2018
 * United States (Adult Swim) — July 6, 2019 - April 18, 2020; February 27, 2021 - November 27, 2021; March 18, 2023 - Present

Toonami Broadcast History
Food Wars premiered on Adult Swim's Toonami block on July 6, 2019 at 1:00 AM. The series completed its run on Toonami on April 18, 2020 and was subsequently replaced in the lineup by Paranoia Agent. Only the first two seasons (37 episodes) aired on Toonami during its initial run. According to Jason DeMarco, this is because subsequent seasons were under a different set of rights.

The third season premiered on Toonami at 1:00 AM on February 27, 2021, replacing Assassination Classroom in the lineup. The series moved to the 1:30 AM time slot on May 15, 2021 when Dr. Stone returned to the lineup, but returned to 1:00 AM two weeks later on May 29th when Dragon Ball Super reruns moved to the end of the lineup. It moved back to the 1:30 AM time slot on June 26, 2021 when Yashahime: Princess Half-Demon premiered. The final two episodes of season three made their Toonami premiere from 1:30-2:30 AM on July 31, 2021, pre-empting Black Clover for one week. The series was then pre-empted for two weeks for a Harley Quinn marathon and the double-episode premiere of Fena: Pirate Princess before the fourth season began airing on August 21, 2021 at 1:30 AM. The season four finale made its Toonami premiere on November 27, 2021 and the series was subsequently removed from the lineup.

The fifth season made its Toonami premiere on Saturday, March 18, 2023 at 1:00 AM.


 * Toonami (United States) — July 6, 2019 - April 18, 2020; February 27, 2021 - November 27, 2021; March 18, 2023 - Present

Toonami Marathons
Food Wars! only had one marathon appearance during its run on Toonami, the Food Wars! Marathon on November 30, 2019.