The Alabasta arc of Toriko seems to share that parallel a little more closely in terms of world building than we first thought.
What They Say:
Zebra and Toriko must eat everything in their path in order to regain the strength needed for their daring rescue mission! Meanwhile, Komatsu struggles to survive on his own!
The Review:
Content: (please note that content portions of a review may contain spoilers)
Starting off by catching up to Komatsu and the footprint, we get reminded of the strange creature he and Toriko encountered on Vegetable Island. When marathoning a Shonen Jump show, flashbacks and re-explanations can get very tedious and annoying. Remember, these shows air once a week, and I am thankful they do this. It’s been about 15-20 episodes since Vegetable Island and I had forgotten all about the creature they encountered. With this now in my mind, Gourmet Corps may not be the big bad this arc but rather something on a new level.
The episode has extremely good pacing as it alternates between Komatsu and Toriko/Zebra. With Toriko and Zebra we just get to see them continue through the Pyramid fighting beasts and promptly eating them. What makes these scenes not seem like a slog is the fact that it’s almost a montage of these events. Sprinkled throughout is some voice-over commentary by Toriko explaining how much energy both he and Zebra need to be at full strength (a requirement in order for Zebra to get his voice back). Then while moving through the montage of fights and food we get quick little updates on how their energy refill is progressing. The first couple of times this occurred, I was starting to get annoyed. However, as the episode continued on the refill information became pretty insightful into exactly how much energy their attacks consume and what is required to gain back that energy. It adds a nice level of “science” to the world of Toriko since it’s no longer just “wow, look at them eat!”. Hopefully this will remain sparingly used (or preferably left to just this episode) as it can delve into parody if it gets used a lot; see Dragon Ball Z and power levels.
The bulk of the action and most interesting parts are in the scenes where we follow Komatsu. After some telepathic advice from Zebra, Komatsu pulls out his Melk Knife to try and defend himself against a high-level beast he encounters. As it turns out, Komatsu has some pretty badass intimidation energy to go along with the Melk Knife. The most interesting portion however, is when Komatsu discovers a room filled with coffins and the adjoining room. In the adjoining room there are multiple “cave drawings” of creatures (that look like both the Vegetable Island creature and the GT Robots) fighting and feasting on various beasts. I really liked this part because it is a small drop into how the author could possibly expand the Toriko universe to give it a deeper richness which will exponentially increase the overall enjoyment of the series. Big things appear to be afoot as Komatsu ends up being chased by a mummy and a gigantic beast lying in front. Thank goodness Toriko and Zebra seem to be up to snuff once again.
In Summary:
This is a really terrific episode that has a lot of world building setup and character development in it. While nothing is actually achieved or substantial in these events, the hints that we are given make it a satisfying experience that will keep viewers tuning in just to see where it all leads. With this episode, Toriko continues to slowly transform into a more fully fleshed out series. It uses all the elements that have made it successful in the past and just add more elements that will help provide it with longevity and enthusiasm. It is interesting to note though, that this arc has the makings of being a world expanding epic that sets up many future events much in the same way that the Alabasta arc did for One Piece. Sure it seems almost too convenient and the cry of rip off may start to murmur, but Toriko is so original in its own right with the world and the characters that some parallels are easily forgivable.
Grade: B+
Streamed By: Funimation
Review Equipment:
Sony BRAVIA KDL55EX720 55-Inch 1080p 3D LED HDTV, Built-in Hulu Plus app
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