Toriko is a Gourmet Hunter - in a world where the serach for the ultimate meal has led to ever more rare and dangerous creatures being added to the menu, if there's something you absolutely need, Toriko is the man who'll hunt it down for you. Which is why timid chef Komatsu has hired him, to track down the legendary Gararagator for a very special meal for the International Gourmet Association. The Gararagator is a crocodile of immense proportions - and one that seems to be rather hungry at the moment... Oh good god, where to start. Toriko is destined to be a long-runner, and the "storyline" is structured accordingly - creatures of different levels, and Full Course Menu of his own for Toriko to work his way through, shadowy groups operating in the background, and so on. The the core of it all - the Main Course, if you like - is Toriko catching dinner, usually in the form of something very large and very dangerous. Now, maybe I'm taking all this a little seriously, but: - how the hell did the world get to a state where even politics is dominated by food? - how do they know that creature x is so goddamned tasty when it's just been pointed out that no-one's ever caught one before? - how's the food chain supporting all these monsters anyway? - isn't this sending a rather poor message about sustainability and preservation? - why do I care about all this when the show's so crap anyway!? You get the picture. The whole premise is bloody stupid, and while there's an educational aspect to it (cooking techniques and some jungle lore - why leech bites don't heal, that sort of thing), the underlying "Kill everything! Then EAT IT!!" message seems a tad irresponsible to me. And I'm a confirmed carnivore - I can see the vegetarian crowd having a complete conniption at this one. THE GOOD: Nope. I got nothin'. THE BAD: Just about everything. Fight scenes are just daft, premise is beyond silly, not funny... I could go on, but I won't. Toriko: Killed by Dropzilla, lightly roasted while basted in peppercorn sauce. And then eaten.
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