Toriko 395 Review: Tears Were Shed

Toriko, Chapter 395: Everyone Around a Dining Table

Well, we're nearing it. Toriko is one chapter away from finishing, and I honestly thought that this was the conclusion when I read it the first time. It's such a beautiful reminder of the entire series as a whole. Yes, the last 50 or 100 chapters was rushed all to hell in order to wrap up everything in a year or two. Yes, we lost at least three entire arcs of hunting down the rest of Acacia's course in the gourmet world, we lost a lot of side-plots and reduced many side characters built up to be important to barely play a role in the finale, and we rushed the whole Neo/Acacia thing like it's not even funny, and the Space Arc that's hinted all the way since the Bishokukai War? Nope, all gone.

But you know what? That's not the series' fault. That's the publisher's fault. And as a chapter to cap off this series, this chapter is wonderful. We basically have Toriko and Rin's wedding, which honestly is absolutely devoid of chemistry but Rin definitely loves Toriko, and Toriko doesn't seem to care, so what the hey. We have the entire chapter presenting Toriko's full course one by one as the entire cast of the manga eats them, and I absolutely love the fact that some of the ingredients that were just shoved into Toriko's full course, like, y'know, the stupid ancient fish and the random elephant -- was served alongside memories of Toriko and Komatsu's old journeys. And honestly, practically every single important ingredient except maybe the silver gourami that they went to get with Sunny was served in one form or another. The Dodurian, medicinal mochi, the Galala Gator from the first chapter, Melk's sawdust, screaming apple, meteor garlic, the cola from the pyramid...

Again, it makes me more than a bit sad that Toriko was rushed. 

We've got a crapton of cameos, too, from all the minor characters over the years. Tom, Match, Mappy, Livebearer, Yuda, Mansam, Chiryu, that luchador crazy dude, Komatsu's girlfriend whose name I forgot, freakin' Alfaro, Melk, Takimaru, Pair (IN A FUCKING SUIT), Damala Sky, Coco's poison-chef buddy who never did anything, Zombie (with a hilarious reaction to the Dodurian) ...

(Who's that dude with dark skin, fangs and stitches all over his face? You'd think I would remember someone that looks like that. I also forgot who the priest was with the huge nostrils, but him I'm sure we saw before)

There are only very few notable exceptions. The Bishokukai is only represented by Starjun and Alfaro, but I guess the rest... died in the fight? No one from Blue Grill showed up -- I was looking for Condor Window's stupid hairstyle. I don't think that I saw Chiyo or Chin Chinchin Chinchin anywhere, nor did I remember seeing Chichi and the other Nitro chefs. Oh well.

And Neo is in attendance. In a suit. With a fucking turban. And he's blushing when they compared him a 'final boss'. What the utter fuck? It's just so funny that I cannot help but laugh. And then smile fondly as we flashback to some of the best and most heartwarming moments of the manga. Remember the Century Soup arc? God I loved that.

Also, apparently what passes as a cross in Toriko-land is a knife and a fork with meat in the middle. And their wedding vows are crazy. There's a short little subplot of a table for ghosts slowly being filled with the ghosts of Ichiryu, Jirou, Acacia, Froese and finally at the end Starjun, who sees Froese and the whole 'eat at a single table with your family' and he cries, being symbolically returned into the form of his younger self again. And I cried a little.

It's a great chapter. Full of nostalgia. I liked it.