Toriko

This lighthearted fantasy adventure anime has a unique concept and some entertaining moments but loses its steam over time. Toriko takes place in a unique culinary world and has some genuinely creative and interesting animals and ingredients that fit the anime world's food theme. Each episode has Toriko and gang in search of new ingredients that each receive numerical ratings called "capture levels" that determine how hard they are to acquire. The series starts with Toriko facing off against low capture level monsters and ingredients. As it progresses the capture level of monsters and ingredients quickly increases but ultimately this feels undramatic, since a high capture level quickly loses its effect because Toriko is going to get them regardless of the level.

Despite that flaw with the story, Toriko is a likable character. --he's a powerful hunter with a conservationist code of ethics that he closely follows. He respects his environment and always intends to use every bit of the animals and ingredients he hunts. Toriko is a good depiction of a character with overwhelming strength showing restraint and respect, but because he's so overwhelmingly strong and a wise conservationist he doesn't have serious character growth or big challenges to overcome. Overall, the series does offer some entertaining moments, but it feels like there isn't enough there to keep viewers invested in the long term.