DVD Corner

Toriko Parts 3 and 4 DVD Reviews

The adventures of Toriko and Komatsu continue in parts 3 and 4.

In part 3 (which contains episodes 27-38), the story begins with Toriko and Komatsu attempting to make and collect ingredients for the legendary Century Soup. Other key storylines involve: Toriko and company facing off against the bug controlling Gourmet Corps villain Tommyrod, Komatsu befriending a helpful baby Wall Penguin named Yun, a trip to the healing country called Life, the introduction of Gourmet Corps waiter Alfaro (who will no doubt be back), Gourmet Knights member Takimaru fighting against Bogie Woods, and appearances by Hellboros (the ruler of Ice Hell) as well as Teppei (and her master).

In part 4 (comprised of episodes 39-50), fans can expect to see plots about: the Century Soup being completed (finally), a new candy house being built for Toriko, a quest/competition to find sweets for a Seven-Color Nessie creature, Toriko’s new arm, a quest to obtain Ozone grass from the Vegtable Sky, thunder, a strange creature appearing in Vegetable Sky, a healed and powered up Toriko venturing into the Gourmet World, a journey to find a legendary craftsman who can forge a new knife, weird foods like tulip pudding and lotus wafers, a growing bond between Toriko and Komatsu, the incredibly powerful Gourmet Hunter (Knocking Master Jirou), and obstacles/baddies like a Killer Bean Tree, Rock Wolves, a Sharkbox Turtle and King Rentra

While the first 26 episodes of “Toriko” were fun, light, imaginative, and above all, hunger inducing, I was concerned about the staying power of the show. Sadly, my concerns have grown after viewing parts 3 and 4.

While “Toriko” does have ongoing story arcs involving Toriko finding his full course menu and the Gourmet Corps baddies, the show loses steam in episodes 27-50. Part 3 in particular sees the story stalling quite a bit. Not only does the Century Soup saga endlessly drag on, but we are forced to watch a time filling “Pokemon” esque cutesy baby penguin. Granted, the penguin is an integral part of a story arc, but it’s still an annoying character that I’m sure many fans wish never existed.

Another major problem? “Toriko” seems to be becoming a bit too “Dragonball Z” as more fights, more deadly creatures, and more power centric plotlines emerge. At first, “Toriko” was almost parodying “Dragonball Z,” but now the show just seems to want to be DBZ. While I’m all for high flying action every now and then, I don’t think I am alone in wanting to see “Toriko” getting back to the story arcs that advance the story.

Video/Audio:

As with the past 2 releases, the widescreen presentation is as colorful as ever. The real question is, when are we getting this show on Blu-ray?

These sets contain English Dolby Digital 5.1 and Japanese Stereo track. The English track is an absolute blast to listen to and the Japanese track is noteworthy as well.

Part 3 Extras:
* Trailers for “Fairy Tail,” “Dragon Ball Z Kai,” “Trigun,” “Shakugan No Shana,” “A Certain Scientific Railgun,” “Lastexile-Fam, The Silver Wing,” “The Slayers,” “One Piece,” “Toriko,” and Funimation.com.
* Commentary on episode 30 by Ian Sinclair, Jason Douglas, and Jerry Jewell. I’ve often been critical of the English cast/crew Funimation commentaries, but I rather enjoy the talkative, laidback tracks on the “Toriko” sets. They are very personable and everyone seems to have great chemistry on these tracks. They’re just fun to listen to.
* 1 textless opening song and 2 textless closing songs.
* A U.S. trailer for “Toriko.”
* Commentary on episode 34 by Tyler Walker and David Wald. The track loses something without the jovial Ian Sinclair.

Part 4 Extras:
* Trailers for “One Piece,” “Level E,” “Fairy Tail,” ‘Sengoku Basara,” “Appleseed XIII,” “Chrome Shelled Regios,” “Eden of the East,” “Remnant Knights Game,” “Dragon Ball Z Kai,” and Funimation.com.
* Commentary on episode 40 by Ian Sinclair and Jarrod Greene. Another laidback and amusing track in which the two geek out about the show, food, Funimation gigs, characters, etc.
* Textless opening and closing songs.
* A U.S. trailer for “Toriko.”
* Commentary on episode 46 by Ian Sinclair and Josh Grelle. Another enthusiastic commentary.
* “Feast With The Cast Of Toriko: Episode 42 Video Commentary”- Last, but not least, we have the most entertaining extra on this disc which is a video commentary featuring Ian Sinclair, Jarrod Greene, Aaron Roberts, and Morgan Garrett feasting on an experimental, tasty looking meal while watching episode 42. Considering all of these episodes make people want to eat anyway, this is a fitting food centric extra. If you don’t like watching or hearing people eat though, this is not the extra for you.

July 1, 2013 - Posted by nicklyons1 | DVD review | Toriko Part 3 DVD Review, Toriko Part 4 DVD Review