Half Priced Food Lovers Fighting Til Their (Almost) Death For Half Priced Bento!: Welcome to BEN-TO

Fight scenes, comedy, fan service and food!
What anime satisfies these taste buds?
BEN-TO!

 

**SPOILER ALERT FOR EPISODE ONE**

(Scroll down to the Green text to read just the review)

Our main character, You Satou, finds himself unconscious and beaten on the floor of a supermarket one night after trying to buy himself a bento.

He wakes up, forgetting the events that had happened earlier in the evening, However, he notices a beautiful, white haired girl outside the supermarket window say mouth something to him and walks away.

He wanders through the supermarket with a grumbling stomach looking for something affordable to eat, only to find that all of the half priced bento are gone and so are the instant ramen.

You settles with some cheap fish paste rolls and exits the market.
He passes out after fantasizing about the girl outside the supermarket window and gets rushed to the hospital after losing so much blood.

Being released from the hospital the next day, You heads to school and on the way he meets Hana Oshiro:

A hyper and easily excitable macho yaoi fan girl who is in the same grade and goes to the same school as You.
She was there the night You was beaten down, but seems to relish in the fact the he doesn't remember her at all.

After his "odd" walk and talk with Hana, they finally arrive at school, when suddenly You recognizes the girl from the supermarket window carrying a bunch of trash bags full of plastic.
He ends up helping her carry the trash which turns out to be a bunch of plastic wrappings and containers from old bento. On their way to dump the plastic in the recycle, You asks the girl if she was the one who was at the supermarket the night before, but she only warns him to stay away from that market.

After a rather..... rambunctious lunch break and monotonous class, You finishes his first day at Karasuda High School.

He has a quick monologue about how he's new to this school and how his funds are running a bit on the low side.

Although his senpai (senior/the girl he saw at the supermarket) warned him not to go to back there, he finds himself at that market anyway along with Hana Oshiroi.

You and Hana enter the supermarket together and she points him in a specific direction.
They walk through the market, catching glances from suspicious characters when suddenly, they run into their senpai again.

She repeats what she said earlier that day, but You remains oblivious to her warning and to the action that are about to ensue!

When she walks away, You notices one of the supermarket employees put bento on sale for half the price! (HALF PRICE?!)

An excited and hungry You makes a mad dash for the half priced bento, only to get blown away by an unknown force!

He hears the words "The Ice Witch" before passing out, again, on the supermarket floor.

While knocked out, You starts to remember the events of what had happened the other night. He sees Hana in his flashbacks, the half priced bento, the girl with short hair and... other unpleasant but pleasant memories.

a sexy flashback~

encountering Hana Oshiroi

Getting punched in the face multiple times... sucks....

Kicked in the face... by a beautiful girl! Then... sent flying.

I... can almost... see them!

You gets a wake up call from one of the employees who took him and Hana into the staffs changing room where they could recover.
He asks what's up with the people who were fighting over the bento, but the employee doesn't say much.

He only tells You that he and Hana aren't even "dogs" yet, that he is in the territory of "The Ice Witch" and that he better be careful next time he tries to grab a half priced bento.

The next day at school, You encounters Shiraume and again receives a slep fest from her after failing to answer her questions. (You's encounters with Shiraume are more like a side story; Shiraume is very protective and some-what obsessive when it comes to Hana Oshiroi).

Later that night, You and Hana find themselves at the Hoki Mart (the supermarket) yet again, determined to leave with something to eat.

After the past attempts at trying to obtain a bento, You and Hana learn from their previous mistakes.
They take their time walking through the supermarket, aware that others are prepared for the future brawl about to take place.
Keeping their distance from the shelves that have the bento soon to be marked half priced, they observe which ones they want to take before the battle ensues.

Hana chooses the Spicy Garlic Hamburger Bento and You sets his sights on the Sticky Natto Okra Rice with Cheese Topping Bento.

anime food ALWAYS looks so damn DELICIOUS! ooishi desuneeeee~

The God of Discounts appears and instantly, there is a tense atmosphere surrounding the brawlers.

Everyone holds back as best they can and keeps the peace while the God of Discounts is around. He marks each bento with a sticker, dubbing it as an official half priced bento.

When the God of Discounts finally leaves.... IT BEGINS!!!!

Brawlers from all over the supermarket suddenly throw themselves into battle! Fighting for their share of half priced bento! Only the strong will get their portion and the weak will fall!

You and Hana throw themselves into the fray, trying their best to get their portion!
Hana is thrown out, but gets back up to see "Brunette" rush in, charge straight forward and hold her ground!

"Bozu" gets thrown out as well, but gets up quickly and dashes back into battle!

As the madness continues, You remembers: he set his sights on that Sticky Natto Okra Rice with Cheese Topping Bento!
Listening to the hunger pangs in his stomach.... You charges! Aiming straight for the Sticky Natto Bento!

Hana tries to help by keeping an eye out for You. He manages to dodge a punch but then becomes quickly out numbered as several other wolves create a combo that sends You flying, face first, into the knee of another brawler!

 Right before his face makes contact and sends You flying.... He is saved by his senpai who turns out to be none other than The Ice Witch herself!

Whaaat? I didn't even see that coming!

She completely takes over the battle field! Sending wolves three times her size flying into the others. Swift, Unpredictable,

Elegant, Graceful, Sexy and down right POWERFUL. These are the traits that describe The Ice Witch of Hoki Mart!

With the others busy fighting The Ice Witch and with Hana cheering him on, You takes this chance to charge forward and claim a bento!

SHIKASHI! (However) Bozu, Brunette and The Ice Witch herself quickly put a stop to You's final chance at his Sticky Natto Okra Rice Cheese Topped Bento....

As The Ice Witch takes the Sticky Natto bento before You has a chance to grab it, she tells him, "The weak will perish". And instructs him to meet her at school the next day.

Then.... END CREDITS!
But always make sure you watch until AFTER the credits!

You arrives at the specified room and meets The Ice Witch and Hana.

The Ice Witch introduces herself as Sen Yarizui, the President (and only member) of the Half Priced Food Lovers Club!

**END EPISODE ONE**

And that's pretty much episode one for you.

In short, this anime is pretty damned awesome.

The art is fun and playful and done in a style that satisfies the taste buds. AND is still compatible for cute, sexy fan service and wicked, creative fight scenes. (Fighting with chopsticks?! Whaaaat?) The art is especially detailed when they show the bento~

make sure you click the pictures to enlarge them~

I love the character development as well. In the beginning, You starts off as that weak little puppy, but then grows to be quite a strong fighter and has the honor of being dubbed a wolf with his own name.

Hana isn't necessarily the fighting type, but her character develops also without losing her hyperactive-ness and gets to be called a wolf as well.

More characters are introduced as the series goes on (this anime is only 12 episodes) and I can't express enough how much I love the characters and their development!

I also love the unspoken romance, admiration and affection that tends to show between You and Sen~

The opening song ROCKS ,Live for Life ~Ookami-tachi no Yoru~, (which I'm listening to as I type this) and the lyrics totally match the anime.

**Click Here**  to listen to it~

I love this song so much, I made it into a ringtone.

And the closing song gives you that feeling, like you just ate so much, you're about to fall asleep~

Ben-To: Awesome array of diverse characters, kick ass and creative fight scenes, detailed artwork on the food and no cliff hangers!

It's an honest, start to finish anime with no loose ends.

Great if you want a quick and fun series under your belt and just plain ol' fun to watch with your friends~

That's it for this review on Ben-To!
BlueMenpachi, signing off!

Ja matta ne~