A 6 Course Meal On The Seas - Shokugeki no Sanji

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    Have you ever found yourself pacing around the room patiently waiting for the next installment of One Piece? Maybe not, maybe you’re like me and more recently started your Once piece journey and there is thankfully, a lot of content ahead of you. How about just getting to know more about the characters you’ve come to connect with? If you’re a Sanji fan I’ve got the perfect manga for you to sink your teeth into.

Shokugeki no Sanji, or Food Wars Sanji I bet you can guess the author who brought this series of side stories to life. That’s right this 6-chapter anthology series about our star chef was handled by a familiar name in the world of food-related stories, Food Wars creator Yūto Tsukuda. Readers are not only treated to in-depth short stories all pulled from different points in Sanji’s life, but also beautiful visuals to accompany them created by Shun Saeki. 

Originally Shokugeki Sanji ran in Weekly Shonen Jump from July 23, 2018, to July 25, 2022. You can now find all of these chapters together in one manga. Each story is stand-alone and may not make sense based on where you are in one piece. There were characters and places I hadn’t been introduced to yet. The good news is besides showcasing characters you may not know it does not spoil any actual story of One Piece. At least not that I noticed. 

Each chapter showcases a different era of Sanji, pre and post, Straw Hats. There’s a chapter showing child Sanji working hard to prove himself in the Baratie, and a familiar scene at a large table after the Alabasta arc where Sanji is the secret savior of dinner. With Sanji being the main character with cameos from others, food is almost as much of the star as our cook, and I expected nothing less from our chef and author. It’s like reading a cooking blog as Sanji goes over the ingredients, he uses with the main protein stealing the show. Any animal Sanji uses gets a biography talking about its environment and flavor potential. It felt like you could loosely create actual dishes based on the information given. At least inspired dishes. When someone tastes a dish created by Sanji, they can’t help but describe the flavors and expectantly swoon.


I’d like to emphasize how beautiful the art is painting Sanji in the pretty boy light he was always meant to shine in. Sanji shines almost like a model dressed differently than his normal suit for a few of the stories. There is also a stunning reimagined older Sanji, he looked like a pirate prince. 

Shokugeki no Sanji feels like a character study, adding extra depth and development to a beloved existing character. It paints him in ways we don’t always get to focus on with Sanji who is listed as the main crew but sometimes falls into a supporting role. It's all based on the story's needs, but in Shokugeki no Sanji it’s all about him. We see Sanji stand up for the Baratie and overcome workplace challenges. He exceeds the expectations placed on him by customers and other cooks alike. One of the stories that stand out depicts an emotion we don’t normally see Sanji grapple with and that’s struggling when it comes to cooking. This turned out to be my favorite chapter. Sanji is met with a cooking task that seems to be beating him because he lacks the proper tools on the Going Merry. Luckily Zoro lends an unsuspecting hand. I was over the moon watching Zoro and Sanji interact in such a gentle way that showcases friends who have each other’s backs.

 During this chapter where Zoro and Sanji interact, Sanji calls Zoro - Zolo. If you know any One-Piece fun facts, it’s probably that Zoro’s name has become semi-interchangeable due to a combination of differences in language structure and copyright. It was also infamous in the 4kids dub. It’s such a small detail, but it caught me off guard.

Whether you enjoy One Piece or search for Sanji’s face in every frame this manga is for you. Immerse yourself in seemingly behind-the-scenes adventures that sneak in before or after any major plot. Shokugeki no Sanji is waiting for you with a table set and a mouth-watering meal in the oven. 

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