‘Toriko’ is only just starting out in Weekly Jump, with just this one chapter out yet.
Little chance I’ll continue reading this series… ‘Toriko’ takes us to the wonderful world and tough life of gourmet hunters – no, wait, that’s what they were called in ‘Hunter X Hunter’, years ago when the idea was still original. What are they called in ‘Toriko’? I forgot. But they are awesome~, and bad-ass~, and ~manly~ – and half this chapter is spent demonstrating in many ways how ~awesome~ and ~bad-ass~ and ~manly~ the main character, Toriko, is: He’s huge! He has a lot of muscles! He smokes tobacco TREES! His shit weights several kilograms! He drinks a lot of alcohol! He eats a lot! He catches huge animals by using huge animals as bait! And in case the reader is dumb and doesn’t pick up on it yet that this makes Toriko ~manly~ and ~bad-ass~ and ~awesome~, there is a tiny wimpy rookie character whose sole purpose is to comment on everything Toriko does, and tell the reader what he’s supposed to think: “He drinks a lot of alcohol! He’s awesome! He catches huge beasts! What a guy!” etc.
I’ve been considering the possibility that this is supposed to be funny. Over-the-top = funny, you know. ‘Yakiktate!! Japan’ has proven that it can work. But in ‘Toriko’, it’s just annoying, because this sort of gag grows old pretty damn fast, and thirty pages of it is certainly too much. And you’d think the first chapter would have some kind of climax, maybe a little turning point, but there’s not even that. Unless you count this instance of “Toriko is so bad-ass, he only has to look at the huge wildcat, and it escapes from HIM!” which is so. freaking. old. it’s about as surprising or exciting or funny (I don’t know what it is that ‘Toriko’ wants to be) like finding an old man in a retirement home…
So, if you want the manga version of “Chuck Norris Facts”, read ‘Toriko’. That’s all there is to it.
… maybe I’m being overly mean and maybe future chapters will improve, but this first chapter doesn’t really give me a reason why I would want to bother.
Tags: Mitsutoshi Shimabukuro, Toriko
May 24, 2008 at 10:24 pm |
I’m not totally sold on the story yet and I share a lot of your same complaints, but I love the animal designs for this series. Even if it becomes total garbage later on, I’m shallow enough to skim through it just for those.
May 25, 2008 at 2:09 am |
I wish I could enjoy the wildlife/adventure aspect and the animal designs…
Such a manga would be great. I’m shallow, too, and can’t see past the other stuff, yeah. Just like sometimes, there is one tiny aspect of a manga that makes me like it, even though objectively, it’s not better than others. Or even worse.
What I really wonder now, though, is whether Toriko can stay interesting for a longer period.
September 30, 2008 at 1:38 am |
well i dont know about you but i really like the manga. i think you are just overreacting and cant appreciate anything.
September 30, 2008 at 10:09 am |
heh i kind of like the manga too.. just wish there’s more chapters out..
October 22, 2008 at 9:54 pm |
[...] I know. Anna is writing another negative review! She is – what was it someone wrote in a comment? – “just overreacting and cant appreciate anything.” Yeah, sorry about that. Much like Eiji, who dislikes a music club despite its fame, I am not wild [...]
October 27, 2008 at 7:50 pm |
There aren’t many chapters out but Toriko’s shaping up to be a great manga. Very fun to read and it’s refreshing to read a shonen that doesn’t feature a 12-17 year old trying to make a name for himself with the help of a slutty female companion and/or a goofy male sidekick. Toriko himself is already near the top when it comes to brute strength, he doesn’t need to prove anything or get stronger to beat a one dimensional rival. The focus is on interesting creatures, settings, characters, organizations, and the world in general, not just a single person.
Toriko reminded me of One Piece when I started reading and I wasn’t surprised to learn Eiichiro Oda and the author of Toriko are friends. Both authors have their stories focus on adventure rather than fighting and they have their main character make exciting discoveries as they try to instill a sense of adventure in the reader.
At first I had the usual “please don’t cancel this new series I like” fear but the Jump popularity charts usually placed Toriko fourth in the rankings, right behind The Big Three, One Piece, Naruto, and Bleach and ahead of established series like Gintama and D Grayman. On top of that, the first two volumes are going to be released simultaneously in a few weeks, something unheard for a new series. Supposedly Jump wants to capitalize on Toriko’s considerable popularity.
In any case, these recent developments makes me quite happy as, thus far, Toriko is my favorite new manga of 2008 and I hope it’ll have a long and successful run.
February 11, 2009 at 2:22 am |
I think this review is rather lame, i read Toriko and i would say. yeah its a little over macho xD but i dont mind, i love food
so i think toriko is rather amusing. and it takes up that food is important, problem is that its fantasy 
so its sad that i cant taste any off those things. this is a fantasy for food lovers