Ultimate Routine!

Creative Staff

Story/Art: Mitsutoshi Shimabukuro

Translation: Christine Dashiell

What They Say

It’s fork vs. flame as Toriko and longtime rival Starjun duel for dominance. The two seem evenly matched – for every new combination of Fork, Knife, and Spiked Punch Toriko conjures with the Ultimate Routine, Starjun has a fire burst or blade to counter. But while their battle rages on, NEO continues to viciously decimate both the IGO and Gourmet Corp. If Toriko survives, will it be too late to help his side win?

Content: (please note that content portions of a review may contain spoilers):

Thanks to his training with Aimaru, Toriko has gained the significant ability known as the “Ultimate Routine”. Though it’s a visualization technique, its powerful images can even become reality! With this information out of the way, the slugfest between Toriko and Starjun finally begins in earnest. Though Toriko is able to constantly pull out new tricks, Starjun proves a frightening opponent, armed with his intimidating Burner Knife! The insane battle of blows continues until Toriko is left literally in pieces and his consciousness slips away. However, Starjun gets quite a shock when the impossible becomes possible and Toriko’s demon literally takes form to confront him. Even so, both men are left in shambles and things look quite bad for our hero, forcing Komatsu to agree to go with the villain.

Back in the stadium, things are looking quite serious as well, as the dark chef Joie appears on the scene. Not only that, but the enigmatic chef brings along an oddly mind controlled Teppei and soon manages to revive and utilize some Nitro. Before too much havoc can take place, though, Jiro appears and manages to prove why he’s considered such a powerhouse.

Finally, when Joie’s true identity comes to light, just what effect will it have on those in the stadium?

In Summary

With this volume, we’re treated to a top of the line slugfest of a battle. It just keeps building, and it may well be the most intense to appear in the series as of yet! It does have a bit of an odd idea behind it with the focus on visualization and the “Ultimate Routine,” but in the end it’s not that different from what we’ve seen in the past, which certainly isn’t a bad thing. The rest of the volume brings a bit of an odd reveal, and it’ll definitely be interesting to see where it leads. Add in the end to the main battle matching the heat of the fight itself, and you have a great volume that’s sure to go down as one of the more exciting entries in the series!

Content Grade: A

Art Grade: B+

Packaging Grade: B+

Text/Translation Grade: B+

Age Rating: 13+

Released By: Viz Media

Release Date: April 7th, 2015

MSRP: $9.99