Toriko 344 Review: Naked Ichiryu

Toriko, Chapter 344: To The Back World

Ah, good. We're continuing the flashback. Don Slime just kind of trolls the human chefs a bit, and tells Asarudy to open a gateway to the back channel, well, specifically to the Kitchen of Eternity, where they're apparently sending lines of tied-up slaves, including Chako, into dark wailing flames made of the souls of the damned. Also, apparently where they're cooking Acacia's full course. We get a map of Blue Grill, too, which is nice.

And then we get to see Komatsu and Masked Hobo go on the 'Train to the Underworld' which is running on a track above a sea made of the souls of the damned (it's a common theme in this fucking giant shell, innit) and Masked Hobo talks about how the scary thing isn't just death, and points out a group of masked people that are drinking in a bar because of multiple revivals... though honestly just hanging out in a bar and drinking for all eternity isn't the worst fate I could imagine. Komatsu gives a speech about how he's met people who looked like monsters but have great lives and whatnot, and how Masked Hobo hasn't given up all hope since he tried to save Chako.

But what was the weird sequence where he tried to vomit out a soul or whatever into Komatsu's mouth?

We then cut to this squid-lady Meyl who's like the squid and girl version of Sani who talks about how gross everything is and is just complaining about everything. Chako gets stopped by a masked woman (totally his mom) before stepping into the flames made of the souls of the damned. Then the Food Spirits from last chapter start pouring out of a door (presumably to the Back Channel), though this time around I don't see Tommyrod's food spirit. I recognize some of the others from last chapter, though.

But Don Slime and the others show up through Asarudy's Warp Road, and Don Slime is just all stretchy and scary and just, uh... used Conqueror's Haki or whatever to fucking vaporize all the food spirits. Um... mega kill? Jiji and Don Slime note how the food spirits seem different, how they don't seem like they're coming out to revive, but seemed to be running from something -- maybe Moon ate something funny, Jiji said, and it confirms that the Black Hole Whale's, well, black hole leads straight into the Back Channel. A highway to hell shaped like a black hole shaped like a whale shaped like a moon. Yay Toriko for being fucking insane.

Also he could just be talking about the meatball from Neo.

Jiji talks about the door and the chefs (especially Chiyo) are intrigued, talking about how their senses of duty are piqued by everything regarding that gate, and Jiji starts to talk about their goal -- and we see an entire page of naked Ichiryu seemingly floating around in the 'meat' soup thing that squid girl was talking about before. Komatsu gets off the train and before him stands a woman with Starjun-Midora hair.... Frohze's soul? The mysterious food spirit lady that attacked Kaka? I have no idea who this is, and am too tired to look it up. Mea culpa.

A bit oddly-paced, that's for sure, especially with the random introduction of an entirely superfluous bit character. But overall good stuff, good stuff... it's just that all three chapters this week -- Bleach, One Piece and Toriko -- aren't bad, they're just kind of... underwhelming, I guess? They're all good, solid chapters, but they're just kinda 'get from point A to point B' type of chapters, if you know what I mean.