Comics / Manga

Toriko: Volume 27 manga review

By Leroy Douresseaux
April 5, 2015 - 12:40

Toriko Volume 27 cover image is courtesy of barnesandnoble.com.

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Rated “T” for “Teen”

It is the “Age of the Gourmet” on a savage, alternate version of Earth.  Here, the pursuit of the most delicious foods rules over everything else.  It is eat or be eaten, and practically everything and everyone is on the menu.  Ultimate Gourmet Hunter Toriko is on a life-long quest to create the perfect full-course meal.  With young IGO chef, Komatsu, at his side, Toriko has an Ultimate Hunter-Chef partnership, as he faces every beast in his way, putting some in his bottomless stomach.

As Toriko, Vol. 27 (entitled Hidden Strength!! Chapters 235 to 243) opens, the battle between IGO and its rival, Gourmet Corp, goes into overdrive.  The fiercest chefs of IGO face the most monstrous and powerful chefs of Gourmet Corp.

As he prepares to rumble with his longtime rival, Starjun, Toriko recalls how he learned the “Ultimate Routine” from Aimaru, the leader of the Gourmet Knights.  When they finally engage in battle, Toriko unleashes his most powerful versions of the Fork, Knife, and Spike Punch, and Starjun counters with fire.

THE LOWDOWN:  In many of my reviews of the Toriko manga, I compare the graphics of Toriko creator, Mitsutoshi Shimabukuro, to the art of Marvel Comics great, Jack Kirby.  In Toriko Volume 27, Shimabukuro unleashes Toriko and Starjun in a battle that recalls Kirby's renditions of The Thing vs. The Hulk.

However, something like the spirit of Todd McFarlane's depiction of Wolverine fighting the Hulk (in Incredible Hulk #340) is delightfully present in this graphic novel's main event.  This is the most brutal fight that I have ever seen in a Shonen Jump “Rated 'T'” manga, and I love it.  I hope future volumes of Toriko offer the kind of explosive fights Vol. 27 does.

POSSIBLE AUDIENCE:  Readers looking for the best in shonen battle and adventure manga will want to feast on the Shonen Jump manga, Toriko.

Rating: A /10

Last Updated: August 31, 2023 - 08:12