【Toriko】 Adventure x Comic Fantasy! An absolute delicacy for foodies!! Over 25 million copies in circulation!!

Toriko is a Japanese manga series written and illustrated by Mitsutoshi Shimabukuro.

The manga series was serialized in Shueisha’s Weekly Shounen Jump from May 2008 to November 2016. It’s chapters are compiled and collected into 43 separate volumes. The series has over 25 million copies in circulation, worldwide. In 2009, Toriko was nominated for the 2nd Annual Manga Taisho Award. Shimabukuro even collaborated with Eiichiro Oda, the creator of One Piece, for a One-shot named ‘Taste Of The Devil Fruit’.

An anime television series adapted by Toei Animation was released in April 2011, consisting of 147 episodes.

The story takes place in the Gourmet Era, a time where rare foods and ingredients are the hype. A meeting is being held at the Gourmet Hotel, where a function of the Gourmet Assembly will be taking place in a few days.

Uumen, the owner, suggests the main course to be Galala Gator meat, a capture level 5 beast almost impossible to slay. Uumen decides to hire a Gourmet hunter, Toriko, for this job.

Komatsu, the chef, explains the job to Toriko and offers him 100 million yen as reward. Toriko, who is in the middle of fishing, gets a bite on his bait, and as soon as he pulls the giant fish out of the water, a Five-Tailed Eagle tries to snatch it, but with the strength of his bare hands, he slams the eagle into the ground. Komatsu looks at this whole event with his jaw dropped.

“Double the prize and I’ll capture the Galala Gator, alive,” says Toriko.

Witnessing his unbelievable strength, Komatsu agrees and decides to accompany him on this quest.

They meet at the harbor and sail out towards the Baron Archipelago, home of the Galala Gator.

Along their way, “Do you have a dream, “ asks Komatsu. “I’m making a menu, “ replies Toriko, “ springs of melting cheese...... flowers that bloom chocolate...... sand pits of rice...... Wine waterfalls, this world is still flooded with the most delicious ingredients. My menu is still all blank, but someday...... I’ll complete it. That’s my dream!

They make their way through the harsh surroundings of the archipelago and land on the island. Right of the bat, they are greeted by a Baron Tiger, a giant sabertooth beast. Scared witless, Komatsu readies his gun, but doesn’t need to shoot, as seeing the ferocious look on Toriko’s face, the baron tiger retreats into the forest.

We then see a glimpse of the Galala Gator, a monster tens of times bigger then the baron tiger, killing everything in its path as it moves, a monster worthy of a capture level 5.

Thus, Toriko and Komatsu continue their search for the Galala Gator. Will Toriko be able to capture this monstrosity? Or will they both fall prey to this beast?