After the first chapter, the second chapter showed the main character, Sōma, going to Totsuki Culinary Academy, the top cooking school in the nation, as instructed by his father.
There, he began showcasing his skills and facing off against others in the academy's tests, continuing to surprise and impress the readers like Hanley.
The storyline firmly captivated Hanley, and the upcoming plot confirmed his suspicions: Sōma's father was indeed not a simple character. Although it wasn't explicitly stated in the plot, this only made Hanley more excited to see Sōma's performance in this prestigious chef school!
But it wasn't just Hanley who was hooked on Food Wars!.
Many other readers also flocked to it because they knew the Porter was drawing another food manga.
"This art style... I love it!"
"The Porter is an absolute genius! There aren't even those scenes, yet I'm completely absorbed in it."
"What Food Wars!? This should be renamed to Aphrodisiac Wars!! How can eating food feel like this?"
"The plot is so over-the-top and embarrassing, but after reading these two chapters, I can't stop! I used to think there were no more good cooking mangas after Cooking Master Boy, but then I came across Food Wars!. The perfect blend of art and storyline—I'm totally sold."
"Exactly! When it comes to food mangas, it has to be the Porter's work. No, actually, I'd say all top comics from this country should be by the Porter."
"I'm a girl, and I don't know why, but I've really started to like this manga... Is that weird?"
"You're not alone..."
"Looks like the Porter hasn't changed one bit—still coming up with these serious yet absurd plotlines!"
Daniel read through the comments, taking a deep breath as he closed the comic.
Recalling his feelings while reading, Daniel felt that the Porter was truly incredible.
He had originally thought that Cooking Master Boy was the peak of food manga.
Even if the Porter made another cooking manga, Daniel assumed it couldn't surpass the original Cooking Master Boy.
Many artists are like that: after creating a hit, if they try to make a similar story, it often feels like a copy, unable to outdo or even match the success of the original.
However, after seeing Food Wars!, Daniel realized that the two comics were actually quite different in style.
While he couldn't be sure if it would surpass Cooking Master Boy, he felt that Food Wars! had a solid chance of reaching the same level of success.
Despite both being food-themed, each had its own unique appeal.
But one thing hadn't changed—Food Wars!, just like Cooking Master Boy, was still a heroic tale wrapped in the guise of food.
"Truly amazing... The Porter never disappoints," Daniel murmured to himself.
The panel layouts, the drawing skills, and the storyline were all excellent.
And the creativity of it all was something unmatched by other domestic artists.
Indeed, the future of the comic industry still depended on the Porter!
"But... I really want to eat something now."
Thinking back to the scenes in the comic, Daniel couldn't help but hold his stomach and swallow hard.
The absurdly over-the-top "aphrodisiac cuisine" was somehow stimulating his taste buds, making Daniel feel an intense craving all over his body.
Meanwhile...
As manga fans were celebrating, several food content creators were getting excited too.
Rachel i, a food content creator with over 300,000 followers, was one of them.
The reason she became a food content creator was actually closely related to the Porter's manga.
She was a girl who loved to cook, and after watching Cooking Master Boy, she wondered if it was possible to recreate some of those so-called gourmet dishes from the manga.
So, she started experimenting and casually filmed herself cooking, uploading the videos online.
To her surprise, the videos received thousands of likes in a short time, and viewers kept asking for more.
As a naturally shy person, Rachel was suddenly thrust into the spotlight and felt valued for the first time, leading her down the path of becoming a food content creator known for recreating "dark cuisine" from Cooking Master Boy.
When she found out the Porter was launching a new food manga series, she couldn't contain her excitement and anticipation. She immediately bought the manga and read through it.
"Same as always, with its exaggerated explanations! I wonder what this would taste like in real life."
After finishing the first and second chapters, Rachel went straight to her kitchen, set up her phone, and got ready to start cooking.
"Hi everyone! It's your favorite cute and clumsy food creator, here to try another wild dish! I'm sure many of you have already seen..."
After her usual introduction, Rachel pulled out the ingredients and began cooking.
Of course, her cooking wasn't as flashy as Sōma's, but she was fairly skilled.
Before long, the dish from Food Wars!—the faux-crispy roasted meat—was complete.
"Hm…"
Staring at the food on her plate, Rachel couldn't help but think it looked like a giant silkworm cocoon.
Swallowing nervously, she prepared to take a bite.
This was why so many people enjoyed her videos—they loved seeing her reactions after trying her "dark cuisine" experiments!
Using her chopsticks, she picked up the dish and took a small bite.
And then...
"Huh?"
Her eyes widened in shock, disbelief etched across her face.
To be honest, it wasn't as dramatic as the manga had portrayed.
But the taste...
It was surprisingly ordinary?
Yes, ordinary.
For a dish featured in a manga, this was actually quite a high compliment.
The "dark cuisine" from Cooking Master Boy was almost always inedible!
But this faux-crispy roasted meat was different. The mashed potatoes mixed with diced chicken mushrooms and bacon tasted better than normal mashed potatoes.
And most importantly...
She glanced at the small bowl of sauce she had made according to the manga's recipe: "This sauce is actually really good!!!!"
She never expected that a combination of soy sauce, rice wine, red wine, and butter would result in such a tasty sauce.
It was completely different from what she had imagined!
"Wait... does that mean…"
She eyed the transformed raw egg over rice from the second chapter.
She had a hunch that this recipe would taste different as well!
And then...
"Hm… it actually tastes quite normal too!"
From the kitchen came Rachel's astonished voice.
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