AniManga: Toriko

AniManga is a term I use to describe a Manga that's been turned into an Anime. The anime can be a series, movie, or OVA (Original Video Animation). The newest AniManga I've been following is called Toriko.

At first glance I thought the show was a cheap copy of Dragon Ball. The main character whose name is Toriko looks a lot like Goko in clothing, build and appearance. Before I jumped to conclusions I watched a few episodes of the series. Back then there were only four episodes so there wasn't much information to base my opinion on. Then I read some of the Manga. What I found is that the characters do share similarities with DBZ but Toriko has its own plot.

The story takes place in a world where food is the most important commodity and Toriko is a Bishokuya (hunter of exotic ingredients). All ingredients have a capture value and the higher the value the more dangerous the ingredient. Toriko and a few other characters have special cells called gourmet cells that evolve when they eat foods of high capture value. These cells give them amazing abilities and increase their power, speed and special attacks.

Toriko along with other Bishokuya are searching for a special ingredient called "God" which can start or end world war. Most of the ingredients are puns made from a mix of two different things. For example a tomato crossed with a marshmallow = marshmallow tomato, or a turtle mixed with a shark = shark turtle, which looks like a giant turtle with shark fins and lots of teeth. It reminds me of books I would read as a kid about the magical world of Xanth by Piers Anthony. He was famous for mixing two or more creatures in a comical fashion.

Toriko is not for everyone and is more comical than action packed, but if you like humorous AniManga its worth checking out. Below I posted a few clips of Toriko battles from the Anime.