Everything You Need To Know Before 'Food Wars!' Returns

The Spring 2018 anime season is a tightly packed one as it features many returning series, [...]

By Nick Valdez - March 26, 2018 10:25 pm EDT

The Spring 2018 anime season is a tightly packed one as it features many returning series, adaptations of popular stories, and revivals of older series leading the pack. But one recent up and comer has gained a wave of popularity and fans of it can't wait to see it come back in April.

The next season of the Food Wars! Shokugeki no Soma anime is gearing to return in the Spring after the third season finale took fans by surprise last year. But now that the series is coming back and looking better than ever, you might be wondering if there's anything you need to know before the series' official return.

Luckily, we have you covered. Read on for what you need to know before Food Wars! Shokugeki no Soma before it returns for its next season.

What Is 'Food Wars'?

Originally created by Yuto Tsukuda and illustrated by Shun Saeki, Food Wars!: Shokugeki no Soma follows Soma Yukihira, a young chef who one days wants to get good enough at cooking to take over his family diner from his father. But when graduates from middle school, his father shuts down his diner and tells Soma to enroll into Totsuki Academy, an elite cooking school where only one percent of students who enroll actually graduate. In order to survive in school and avoid being expelled, Soma eventually has to challenge and defeat any other chef that stands in his way.

The series was first published in Shueisha's Weekly Shonen Jump in 2012, and has been collected in 26 volumes. The manga has been licensed for an English language release by Viz Media. It was adapted into an anime series by J.C. staff has has run for 48 episodes and four OVAs across three seasons, with the newest season coming during the Spring 2018 season.

When Does It Premiere?

The third season of Food Wars! Shokugeki no Soma came to an abrupt end last year, and took many fans by surprise. Fans did not expect to see the next batch of episodes be held off into another season, even if the second season was treated with the same amount of episodes.

Regardless, the wait for new episodes flew by in an instant as new episodes are on the way sooner rather than later. The series' fourth season, which is technically the second cour of the third season, Shokugeki no Soma: San no Sara - Totsuki Ressha-hen, is set to premiere April 8.

What Will The New Season Be About?

In the latter half of the series' third season, Erina Nakiri's father Azami staged a coup at Totsuki Academy. Pushing for a unified way of cooking, cooking that he deems "true gourmet," he's eliminated many of the specialized clubs under his "Central" rule.

At first Souma was facing the newly rigged Shokugeki challenges head on in order to save his Polar Star dorm home, but soon realizes that the challenges only get more severe. This leads to the new season's Promotion Exams, which sees the surviving rebels of Totsuki go against the Central's new Elite Ten in a series of even more aggressive challenges to stay in school.

Are There Any Trailers?

Preparing for the series' April release, Food Wars! has released a few trailers and key visuals which hype up the events of the series. The first trailer for the series (which you can find here) teases an intense bout during the Promotion Exams, which splits up the members of the Polar Star dorm among their own battles on a speeding train.

The second key visual and trailer for the season (which you can find here) features more of a focus on Soma and Erina, which makes a lot of sense given that the latter events of the Promotion Exams arc provide much more of a focus on Erina's character growth and what Souma concocts to meet various challenges.

How Many Episodes Will There Be?

Unfortunately the series has not confirmed how many episodes the series will return for as of this writing, but given that the promotional materials for the season feature a snowy terrain and a speeding train, fans are hoping the second cour of the series will cover major events of the Promotion Exams or give major events in the arc enough time to breathe.

But even if the series seems like it won't stop at a worthy place to end a season, the series has done it many times in the past. The first season ended right after it began the Autumn Election arc, and the second and third seasons ended in a way that felt abrupt. There could be 24 episodes, or there could be 12 or 13 and neither would surprise dedicated fans who are used to the loose adaptation rate.

Are There New Characters?

As teased by the latter half of the third season, the Central arc and Azami's takeover brings many new foes for Soma and his friends to face. There are even new spins for old rivals, as even spice connoisseur Akira Hayama ends up becoming a member of Central and the new Elite Ten.

While the old Elite Ten was merely hinted at, they take a far more prominent role in the coming events as Azami uses them directly to take down the clubs and chefs that do not automatically ally themselves with him.

Not only do the Elite Ten get a shake up, but many prominent chefs arrive as foot soldiers of Central, and with these new Shokugekis come new judges, and new wacky personalities.

Where Can I Catch Up?

If you wanted to catch up with the series in time for its April 8 premiere, there are a few ways you can do so. The first three seasons are available in their entirety for streaming on Crunchyroll in their native Japanese language with English subtitles.

For fans wanting to see the English dub of the series, unfortunately only the first two seasons have available English dubs over on Hulu. As for where you can watch the upcoming fourth season, it has not been confirmed as of this writing but most fans are expecting for a series as popular as this one to be one of the many Spring 2018 offerings from the two streaming services.

Now you know everything you need to before the fourth season begins! Are you excited for more Food Wars? Let us know in the comments below!