OVA Impressions: Toriko



Toriko is a story about a guy who travels all around the world in order to murder all kinds of exotic animals. Yeah, that’s a premise you don’t get to see every day…

In any case, this series reminds me a bit of hte Legend of Koizumi, in the way that it also tries to push GAR to the limits of what can be possible. In this case it’s baed around gathering exclusive wild ingredients for restaurants. Especially all of the designs of the different monsters and animals is pretty creative.

Apart from that, though, I’m a bit disappointed. For what’s supposed to be a comedy, it just failed to make me laugh, and after five minutes of the ridiculously over the top cook Toriko, I was pretty much bored with him. The comedic timing missed the mark in just about all of the jokes for me. This series has a nice gimmick, but it’s just enough to carry an OVA of fifteen minutes, not half an hour. I really don’t know whether the upcoming Toriko movie will be worth it, because its premise was just too shallow and bland for much more material.

The most annoying however, was that tiny side-kick that accompanied Toriko. His constant screaming and whining was sure to sap any of the comedic potential left in this series away. This entire OVA felt like it was trying too hard, but that guy really took the cake.
OVA Episode Rating: 6/10

5 thoughts on “OVA Impressions: Toriko

  1. yeah this is only the first 2 chapters so not much happens which is kinda bad but i know they’re gonna release another OVA on Jump Festa so that might have more content.

  2. the movie is done by toei animation right?(onepiece producers) so still there is a chance that an anime series be announced soon especially since ufotable still has 2 more announcements pending.

  3. Toriko isn’t a comedy, it’s a battle manga. Comedy is clearly not it’s strong suit either so I would suggest not focusing on that. Toriko excels in it’s action and setting. The fights get pretty intense later on and the world it creates is also impressive. It’s a series that makes me hungry constantly with the way it portrays the food Toriko and company capture.

  4. I just saw the OVA and I have to agree the over the top screaming from the sidekick was annoying. Toriko is basically an animal hunter derivative of Goku… I have to admit tho this show made me hungry lol. I give it a C+ because the animation and creativity was there, but it failed in trying to be comedic.

    I really dig your blog, looking foward to reading more from you. Peace

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