Toriko



Toriko (トリコ Toriko?) is a Japanese manga series written and illustrated by Mitsutoshi Shimabukuro. It has been serialized in Weekly Shōnen Jump since 2008, and the individual chapters are being collected in 19 tankōbon volumes published by Shueisha. It follows the adventure of Toriko, a Gourmet Hunter, as he searches for rare, diverse foods to complete a full-course meal. On his journey, he is accompanied by a timid chef who wants to improve his skills.

The series has been adapted into an anime series produced by Toei Animation, which has been broadcast in Japan since 2011. Additionally, Toei developed an animated feature film and Ufotable developed an original video animation. The manga series is licensed for an English language release by Viz Media in North America and Madman Entertainment in Australia. The anime series has been licensed by Funimation Entertainment for internet streaming in North America.

Plot
See also: List of Toriko characters

In a world where the taste and texture of food is extremely important, there exist individuals known as Gourmet Hunters (美食屋 Bishokuya?) who specialize in the acquisition of rare ingredients and animals. Toriko is one of these hunters and it is his dream to find the most precious foods in the world and create the ultimate dinner course. As one of the most skilled hunters in the world, he is regularly hired by restaurants and the rich to seek out new ingredients and rare animals. A man with inhuman ability, he utilizes his incredible strength and knowledge of the animal kingdom to capture ferocious, evasive, and rare beasts to further his ultimate goal. He is accompanied by a weak and timid chef named Komatsu who, inspired by Toriko's ambition, travels with him to improve his culinary skills and to find rare ingredients. An organization that seeks to take control of the world's entire food supply increases the struggle.

Protagonists120409.jpg
Toriko ( トリコ Toriko) is the main protagonist of the manga and anime series, Toriko. He is a Bishokuya with an abnormally large appetite (as a food serving for 500 people could only get him 1/10 full). He is known as one of the "Four Heavenly Kings" (四天王, shitennou), and his nickname is "The Glutton". He is an incredibly skilled Bishokuya, having discovered more than 2% of the approximately 300,000 known ingredients worldwide, that's more than 6000 varieties. He is also the adoptive father figure of a new born Battle Wolf pup named TerryCloth and is the only human known to have ever tamed a Battle Wolf. He is currently seeking the fabled holy ingredient from Acacia's Full Course Menu, GOD, which is said to be the greatest main dish in the world and hopes to add it to his own Full Course Menu, despite that this ingredient is also being sought after by the brutal criminal organization, the Bishokukai and many other powerful figures. He is currently in a Combo with Komatsu.

Coco (ココ) is the "Gentleman" of the "Four Heavenly Kings" (四天王, shitennou) and is good friends with Toriko, with whom he was raised with and trained with. While Toriko mostly relies on his brute strength, Coco prefers using stealthy techniques and cunning strategy to subdue aggressors. He is also strong defensively; he is immune to five hundred different kinds of poison. His fortune-telling has made him extremely popular with women and results in him being mobbed by customers when he is in public. He, and the other Four Heavenly Kings, were trained by Ichiryuu, the President of the IGO.

Sunny (サニー) (also known as Sani) is one of the "Four Heavenly Kings" (四天王, shitennou) and Rin's older brother.[1] He has a way of 'knocking' without even touching the target, mostly related to his 'sensor' talent which allows him to know the physical state of those around him. He seeks "harmony" in his dishes which is the perfect use of ingredients, perfect handling of the food and most importantly producing a perfect taste.[2] He, and the other Four Heavenly Kings, were trained by Ichiryū, the President of the IGO. As of the Shining Gourami arc, he also has a child Mother Snake as an Animal Partner, called Quinn.

Zebra (ゼブラ) is a Bishokuya and the strongest of the "Four Heavenly Kings" due to his power and destructive capability. Zebra is described as the most savage of the Four Heavenly Kings, someone who does not stop until even the 'seed' is annihilated. A single attack from Zebra caused all the scars on Match's body. Of the four kings, he only gets along with Toriko, who seems to understand him the best, as Sunny and even Coco blatantly refused to see him for his release when suggested to do so by Toriko. It seems to be more of a rivalry than a friendship and they like to compete with each other whenever they get the chance. Zebra especially hates "cocky people", and is shown to be hotheaded and belligerent, always wanting to fight or compete with Toriko.

Komatsu ( 小松 (こまつ) Komatsu) is a six-star (formerly five-star at the beginning of the series) Chef who works for Hotel Gourmet, a restaurant owned by the prestigious IGO and is the secondary protagonist of Toriko. He is Toriko's ever enthusiastic yet timid chef partner, who despite his weakness is greatly interested by what he finds in his travels with Toriko. As a result, he tries to overcome his fear and does his best to help. He is currently in a Combo with Toriko.

Terry Cloth (テリークロス, Terīkurosu) is a newborn Battle Wolf pup that was adopted by Toriko, it sees Toriko as a parental figure, a big surprise since Battle Wolves never become attached to humans, and became his Animal Partner. Terry got its name from how Toriko described its fur. Only few foods suit its taste, such as Gourmet World's foods.

Antagonists
Midora is the leader of the Bishokukai. He is simply referred to as "Boss" by many of the organization's members. Midora was in the past trained by the legendary "Bishokuya God" Acacia as his third disciple, having been preceded by the IGO president Ichiryuu and the famed "Knocking Master" Jirou. He is currently directing the Bishokukai toward finding Acacia's main dish, GOD, in the Gourmet World.

Starjun (スタージュン, Sutājiun or pronounced Sta-Jyun) is one of the Sous Chefs of the Bishokukai and one of the major antagonists in the series. He has taken up the profession of a Bishokuya as his secondary job. Also, Starjun is currently searching for an unknown ingredient, and has formed a combo with Ootake.

Grinpatch is one of the Sous Chefs of the Bishokukai. He can suck up large amounts of food with his giant straw. For transportation and food collection, he has a pet Jack Elephant (CLVL 85), which is large and strong enough to cut down an entire ear of BB Corn and carry it. He is one of the few Bishokukai members that Alfaro says are capable of entering the Gourmet World.

Tommyrod, also known as "Tommy", is one of the Sous Chef of the Bishokukai. With a bug-like appearance complete with wings, Tommyrod raises "parasite bugs" inside his body and can spew them out at will. He is the first Bishokukai member and Sous Chef to seriously fight Toriko without using a GT Robo. Tommyrod is one of the few Bishokukai members that Alfaro says are capable of entering the Gourmet World. Recently, he has been shown to have regenerated his wounds from his battle with Toriko in the form of scar-like tissue, and has strengthened his Gourmet Cells even further.

other
Ichiryuu is President of the International Gourmet Organization, which implements all food-related laws in most countries of the human world. He is a former disciple of 'Gourmet God' Acacia, and trained all four of the Four Heavenly Kings from childhood. He is considered one of the world's most powerful individuals.

Jirou is a Bishokuya who is well known as being a "Knocking Master" in the Gourmet Age. He is an elderly person, who still hunts for Gourmet Ingredients and is one of the three legendary disciples of Acacia. He is currently trying to acquire GOD.[1] Setsuno, aka the Gourmet Living National Treasure, is a famous chef and Knocking Master Jiro's long-time Combo, who has the same Full Course as him. She is one of only four people whose knives gave Melk the First a shock upon seeing them, the others being Zaus, Frohze and Komatsu. Acacia is the greatest Bishokuya in human history and Bishokushin (Gourmet Deity), as well as the combo partner of Frohze. He discovered countless ingredients all over the world, including the Gourmet Jellyfish from which he discovered the Gourmet Cells, and is the first and only person to find the ingredient GOD, taking a long time to do so and only able to discover it in his final years. With GOD he was able to stop the great war that nearly destroyed the Human World centuries ago. He had a Combo with the legendary Chef,.

Teppei is a famous Saiseiya under the tutelage of Yosaku and the grandchild of "Knocking Master" Jirou. He decided to become a Saiseiya after seeing a barren wasteland that his grandfather used to hunt in. Noticing the sad look on his grandfather's face, Teppei decided to become a Saiseiya. Teppei helped Toriko by protecting him against Tommyrod and resurrecting his left arm.

Yosaku, also called "Bloodstained" Yosaku, is a very famous Saiseiya and a no-need-for-rules type of guy. He has a revival institute in the giant tree "Mother Wood", where he carries out all his revivals. The institute is also covered in blood from all his failures from the past. He is acquainted with Ryu, the former boss of the Gourmet Yakuza, and Ichiryuu, the President of IGO. In addition, he is a member of the IGO's 0th Biotope.

Manga
Main article: List of Toriko chapters

Written and illustrated by Mitsutoshi Shimabukuro, Toriko began serialization in the manga anthology Weekly Shōnen Jump on May 19, 2008. The individual chapters have been published into tankobon volumes since November 4, 2008.[1] As of April 4, 2011, the series spans over 170 chapters and 14 tankobon volumes.[2]

At San Diego Comic-Con International 2009, Viz Media announced they had licensed the manga for an English-language release in their Shonen Jump imprint.[3] The manga premiered in the February 2010 edition of Shonen Jump. The first volume of Toriko was released on June 1, 2010, and Viz has released seven English-language volumes as of December 6, 2011.[4] [5]

Anime
See also: List of Toriko episodes

An original video animation of Toriko, directed by Mitsuru Obunai and produced by ufotable, was released on October 12, 2009 as part of the Jump Super Anime Tour 2009. Toei Animation produced an anime series, also titled Toriko. The series, directed by Akifumi Zako, began broadcasting in Japan on Fuji Television on April 3, 2011.[6] [7] [8] A cross-over special between Toriko and One Piece also aired alongside the premiere.[9] In 2011, Funimation Entertainment announced that it has licensed Toriko for streaming in North America within four days after the Japanese broadcast. It premiered on Hulu and Funimation's official website on April 14.[10] Eventually, the series was rescheduled to stream within three days after the Japanese broadcast.[11]

Film
An animated film, ''Toriko 3D: Kaimaku! Gourmet Adventure!! (トリコ3D 開幕!グルメアドベンチャー!! Toriko Surīdī: Kaimaku! Gurume Adobenchā!!<span class="t_nihongo_icon" style="color: #00e; font: bold 80% sans-serif; text-decoration: none; padding: 0 .1em;">?), produced by Toei Animation, was released in Japanese theatres on March 19, 2011 as a double feature with the One Piece film, One Piece 3D: Mugiwara Chase''.

Video Games

 * Toriko: Gourmet Survival (PSP)
 * Toriko: Gourmet Survival 2 (PSP)

Reception
Toriko is currently enjoying considerable success. Readers have consistently ranked it among the top five Shōnen Jump titles in the Shōnen Jump popularity polls alongside the best sellers like Dragon Ball, One Piece, Hunter x Hunter, Naruto and Bleach. Also, by March 2012 the total sales for the series has broken through 12 million copies.<sup class="reference" id="cite_ref-Chapter_178_11-0">[12]