(Nitsuj): Hello and welcome to Project Nitsuj. In the late 90s and early 2000s Pokémon-mania was runnin’ wild, brother. It was easily Pokémon at the height of its popularity and everyone couldn’t get enough of it. Whether it was the games, cards, dolls, figures, show, movies, etc. if it had Pokémon on it you had to have it. Because of Pokémon’s success, it was normal to see copycats riding off the coattails of its success to get recognition. Series that were similar but at the same time different. Even to this day we still see copycats trying to emulate Pokémon. Nobody really seemed to mind and over time these copycats would go on to be recognized as their own series. Digimon, Yu-Gi-Oh, and Monster Rancher were seen as copycats but would grow in popularity and move out of Pokémon’s shadow. But then you get a copycat that was so obscured that no one remembers it. Hiding in the shadows instead of being burnt by the sun. One of those copycats was Fighting Foodons. I imagine some of you are going, what, right about now. But yes, this was in fact a real anime. When Fox Kids was getting their butts kicked by WB because they had Pokémon and Yu-Gi-Oh, they imported Digimon which was a hit and decided to bring over another copycat. They chose Medabots. But that didn’t get the needle moving so they chose Fighting Foodons next. A show that was so bizarre and crazy that I didn’t believe it existed.
(Shizuku): But it did, and we’re looking at it. What’s up everyone? Shizuku here.
(Nitsuj): Yep, if I’m going down this crazy rabbit hole I figured I bring a guide to help me navigate it.
(Shizuku): And who better for the job than me?
(Nitsuj): Now a little backstory about this series. It was based off a manga written by Naoto Tsushima. It didn’t last that long only going from 1998-1999 and had a relatively silent run with only two volumes. People called it odd and said it made Iron Chef look tamed by comparison. But that didn’t stop Group TAC from turning it into an anime in 2001. This anime was so obscured I couldn’t even find the original version of it online. I searched everywhere but all I keep finding is the dub version which was done by 4Kids.
(Shizuku): Let’s have a fair and messy food fight. This is Fighting Foodons.
Episodes 1-4
(Nitsuj): So the anime starts with a king who loved culinary food asking his chefs a question: Which one is stronger? The tofu surprise or the stuffed duck (Shizuku: Who cares. They’re both tasty. Eat up). The chefs were confused and thought the king was going mad, but one mysterious chef approached and presented to him two cards known as meal tickets (little did he know this would become a fad for public schools and colleges). The meal tickets brought the food to life transforming them into monsters who could fight each other (like I said Pokémon copycat. (Shizuku): But a delicious one). The meal tickets caught on with the chefs who would use them to bring their meals to life and battle each other to see whose dish was the best. However, tragedy would strike as the Glutton Empire would rise up under the rule of their emperor King Goregeous Gorge (oh yeah, they got food puns. Get ready to hear a lot of them. (Shizuku): If it’s any consolation, his name in the original was Don Cook). Gorge used his vast army to enslave the world and force chefs to work under him. In a town known as Gorgetown (gotta love that 4Kids writing), we focus on a young boy named Chase voiced by Tara Sands (Mokuba from Yu-Gi-Oh) along with his little sister Kayla voiced by Amy Palant (Tails from Sonic X) and their foodon Omelet (a floating omelet with cat ears and tail) infiltrating the town to rescue their dad, Jack, the leader of the Rebel Chefs who are fighting to overthrow Gorge (viva la delicious). After causing a distraction, they manage to free their dad and split up. The kids secure their dad’s mobile attack cuisine cart (or M.A.C cart for short) which can pretty much turn into anything while also serving as a kitchen. Jack on the other hand goes to disrupts the food ceremony of Gorge’s royal chef Clawdia, a pink anthro cat wearing a somewhat revealing outfit (Shizuku: Well that’s a fetish character. (Nitsuj): Yeah, between this, Disney, Looney Tunes, and various other stuff I’m surprised my generation isn’t all furries). Jack fails to stop Clawdia who uses her meal ticket to bring to life a new Foodon known as Beefsteak (https://youtu.be/CDa4N_mkrnU?si=rJdo8YbBjlRPlE8d). Beefsteak goes on a rampage tearing up the town and an elderly man known as Oslo voiced by Maddie Blaustein (Meowth from Pokémon) uses this chance to escape on his flying saucer plate (I couldn’t make this up if I wanted to). As Oslo escapes he comes across Chase where we find out he used to be a great Foodon chef who taught Jack everything he knows. He wonders why Chase hasn’t summoned a Foodon to fight Beefsteak to which Chase says he’s not really that good. All he’s been able to create so far is burnt meatballs (Shizuku: How do you burn meatballs? (Nitsuj): The same way you get a girl pregnant. You stay in the oven for too long and don’t pull out when the time is right). Oslo gives Chase a meal card and he uses it to bring to life his ultimate dish, Fried Ricer (a simple but delicious dish). Fried Ricer defeats Beefsteak and Clawdia vows revenge before retreating. The Glutton Empire’s control of the town is broken and they retreat as well. Jack heads out alone to continue fighting the empire while Chase and the others go off on their own journey to get strong.
In episode 2 Chase’s cooking skills are getting better day by day. Meanwhile, the Glutton Empire continues to destroy towns and capture Rebel Chefs. We focus on a young chef named Pie Tin voiced by Kayzie Rogers whose parents have been captured by the empire and he heads out on a journey to rescue them (although going around asking everyone if they’re with the empire is a bad idea). Clawdia tricks Pie Tin into thinking Chase is a member of the empire and forces him into a fight. His Foodon is Sir Dumpling who seems to be no match against Fried Ricer but Pie Tin introduces us to power toppings. Just like the name implies power toppings are foods that enhance the dish and gives the Foodon a power-up. Sir Dumpling turns the tables on Fried Ricer and that’s when Clawdia makes her move by releasing a new Foodon called Boulder Broth (Shizuku: Which I’m pretty sure was the inspiration for Torkoal). Once Clawdia’s true identity is revealed, Pie Tin and Chase team up to take down the Boulder Broth and send Clawdia flying (she’s blasting off again). At the end of the episode Pie Tin decides to join Chase and the others believing that he’ll find his parents if he does.
Nothing much happens in episode 3. Oslo accidentally shaves off his cow lick and starts to lose his powers. In order to restore his powers Chase and the others set out to find the Diamond Mushroom. The journey is long and Clawdia sends other Foodons after them but they manage to pull through and retrieve the diamond mushroom which restores Oslo’s hair (Shizuku: Oh it did a lot more than restore his hair).
So episode 4 is a strange one. The episode sees Clawdia recruit these two Foodons in an abandoned mansion named Slice (Nitsuj: Pizza slice) and Frenchy Le Toast. These two once belonged to a master chef named Flambe. Many years ago Flambe served a princess named Cupcake who ordered him to make her a pizza. He got to work creating what he considered to be the perfect pizza, but Cupcake got impatient and just went to town to get one (kind of a bitch move but when you take too long I can understand). Flambe fell into depression and passed away haunted by the fact that the princess never tasted his pizza and his Foodons haunted his mansion. Since Kayla bears a striking resemblance to Cupcake, Clawdia tricks Slice and Frenchy Le Toast to kidnap her in order to defeat Chase. The plan backfires as Chase and the others reach the mansion and Omlete manages to free Kayla. When Kayla appears before everyone the ghost of Flambe appears mistaking Kayla for Cupcake (Nitsuj: Yes, because the princess would never age after all these years). He presents his pizza to her which she enjoys and this allows Flambe and his Foodons to pass over peacefully into the next life.
Episodes 5-8
It’s time for the tournament arc in episode 5. Chase finds out there’s going to be a food tournament happening soon where the finalists will fight aboard the S.S. Foodfight. Chase and Pie Tin enter the tournament where the only one to advance through the preliminaries is Chase with his fried rice (like I said fried rice is king. It can go with just about anything). It gets revealed that the tournament is hosted by the Glutton Empire and they invite Chase to join their ranks. Chase says no and a Foodon fight erupts between him and the judge. Chase wins by the skin of his teeth and impresses the audience but one chef named Albert isn’t impressed. While on the cruise ship Albert confronts Chase and challenges him to a cook off. Chase cooks with anger and makes all sorts of mistakes leading to his defeat at Albert’s hands. Chase then challenges him to a Foodon battle where once again he loses in spectacular fashion. Despite taking a hard loss Chase is now determined more than ever to win this tournament, beat Albert, and prove he’s a great chef (Shizuku: Hopefully not in that particular order).
(Shizuku): Episode 6 gives us the tournament where they manage to complete it all in one episode (a pretty rushed tournament but it manages to tell its story). Chase manages to win the first round and moves on to the next round where it’ll be a two-on-two affair against the tough and merciless Chet. Chase uses Fried Ricer and Omlete while Chet uses Juiceman and Pound Cake (love the hairdo on Pound Cake. (Nitsuj): Thank you. Thank you very much). Chet’s Foodons dominate a majority of the bout but Fried Ricer and Omlete get a good hit in and to pick up the W. This means that he’ll be facing Albert next and it’ll be a three-on-three battle (and he’s only got two good Foodons who can fight. I mean what else can he use, burnt meatballs? Slightly racist dumpling?). In order to come up with a third Foodon, Chase hits the kitchen and begins to cook. After a night of cooking (I hope you eat all that food you make) he finally creates a third Foodon for his team. We then go to the final bout where we see Chase’s new Foodon is Hot Doggone-It (Nitsuj: Ahhhh~ you are killing me 4Kids) a cowboy hotdog (the funny part is you can see where they localized his guns by giving him ketchup and mustard guns). The fight is pretty meh and Chase wins in the end. When Chase offers the hand of respect to Albert, he decides to play the cool guy and say he went easy on Chase. However, that cool persona disappears when Chase reveals that Jack is his father. Who just happens to be Albert’s hero.
Moving on to episode 7 Chase gets ready for his next opponents, the Big 4, Gorge’s elite chefs and if Chase loses the bout he loses his Foodons. We get to meet the Big 4 (Nitsuj: Why don’t you just call them the Elite 4 and get it over with): Cinnamonkey, Cole Slawter, Rose Marinade, and Grill (why do you guys sound like cereal mascots?). They create a buffet of food for everyone (https://youtu.be/wl5ftuhmlxs?si=_FKBknUiwSNYzh29&t=10) but the group manages to fight through the good food and maintain their sanity. Jack soon appears and everyone gets captured where they’re taken to an empire testing facility that happens to be holding Pie Tin’s parents (what are the odds?). They fight their way in and manage to rescue Pie Tin’s parents. As they try to escape they get chased by the Big 4’s food bird. Jack sacrifices himself and steers the bird straight into the compound to destroy it as well as himself (Nitsuj: Doubt it. This is a 4Kids dub. He was sent to the Shadow Realm). Chase falls into the water and somehow washes up on a tropical island where he’s saved by a masked man and girl.
Episode 8 sees Chase wake up and meet his rescuers Chef John and Coco a chef in training. After enjoying some island cuisine, Chase has a bout with Coco where Chase wins but Coco was the better fighter. She anticipated his moves, used tricks to gain the upper hand, and exploited the weaknesses of his Foodons. John tells Chase that his opponents won’t play fair and he needs to be ready for whatever they throw at him and counter them. He sets up a challenge between the two chefs where they’ll have until nightfall to create the best curry dish. They’ll have to gather their own ingredients as well as avoid each other’s trickery. Chase keeps finding good ingredients but Coco keeps stealing them from under his nose. He does rescue her from a wild Foodon (and she’s gonna fall for him. I’ve seen enough anime to know a ship when I see one) and then they cook their dishes in a volcano (Nitsuj: Dead. You should be dead. Or severely burnt from the intense air). They present their dishes with one looking like a four-star meal and the other looking like prison food (can you guess which dish belongs to who?). John tastes both dishes and declares Chase the winner. Chase used the natural resources of the island to bring out the true flavor of his dish and capture the identity of the island (Nitsuj: Yep. He did a good job. Now give him a victory kiss). So the training ends, Chase and Coco shake hands, and we get a little song number to bring this bizarreness to an end.
Episodes 9-13
In episode 9 Chase leaves the island only to land on another island with a convenient store owned by a crazy woman named Jambalydia (Nitsuj: AHHHHHHHHH~ it hurt so much). She’s a member of the Red Peppers an underground network that helps out the Rebel Chefs. With Jambalydia’s help Chase manages to find his friends who have just been captured by Tureen the granddaughter of Jambalydia. Years ago the two were caught infiltrating a Glutton base by Cinnamonkey (seriously, how are you not a cereal mascot?). He casts a spell on Tureen turning her into his faithful servant and serving the side of evil (https://youtu.be/vW_1HuMH0SY?si=g1_boZ6eeblOW2Rs). Chase and Jambalydia invade the base where they manage to defeat a couple of chowder-heads (Nitsuj: Literally) and save Tureen in the process. With the base destroyed Albert decides to split in order to focus on his own training but he and Chase are buddies now.
Episode 10 sees Chase and the others enter a chef academy in order to get stronger. The academy is run by a man named Crock Pop who happens to be the grandfather of Chet. Speaking of Chet, we see he’s there training as well. As everyone trains we see Clawdia steal their sacred scroll and tries to use it as leverage to take over the academy. Chet steps up to fight Clawdia for the scroll in a Foodon battle. We see her new Foodon, Bearafooda (*guitar riff*) and Chet’s new Foodon, Rap Scallion (and yes he raps. (Nitsuj): Oh God, I’ll grab the alcohol. (Shizuku): You don’t drink. (Nitsuj): No, but this anime is driving me to it). Rap Scallion gets a whooping from the bear but Chase and Pie Tin step in to fight. Through their combined efforts they manage to defeat Bearafooda (*guitar riff*). Despite losing Clawdia decides to steal the scroll anyway only to discover it’s a fake. Crock Pop switched out the real scroll with the fake while they were battling. He moved so fast that nobody saw him make the switch (Nitsuj: He’s a ninja). Clawdia retreats and Crock Pot invites Chase to stay and become a real combat chef but he decides to leave (gotta keep the story moving).
It’s a tale in the old west in episode 11 as the group arrives in Dusty Town (aww~ no food pun? How disappointing) to try some of their famous salsa. However, the mayor thinks they’re thieves and decides to lock them up. The truth is the town lost the recipe and what little they have left is kept in a safe in the sheriff’s office. As they get locked up they see that the Foodons are mistreated. While the townsfolks do nothing, the Foodons do all the work and get kicked around if they complain. That night, the town gets attacked by a taco Foodon named Tacquito (Nitsuj: We think that’s his name. His accent is so thick it’s hard to understand him) who leads a group of Foodons fighting to steal the salsa and free the other Foodons. Tacquito’s attack fails and he escapes to fight another day. Chase and the others use this chance to escape where they wind up with the bandits and agree to help them out. The next day Claudia attacks the town trying to steal the salsa for the empire with Doughnasour (and I think they got lazy here because that looks like Beefsteak). Through the combined effort of the Foodons and townsfolks they manage to defeat Doughnasour and send Clawdia packing. However, Tacquito got injured saving the mayor and an act of compassion the mayor uses the salsa to save Tacquito’s life. The town realizes their mistake and agree to start treating the Foodons with respect.
(Nitsuj): Episode 12 sees the end of Cinnamonkey. After Cinnamonkey takes over a city inspired by Indian culture the king tries to create a five-star Foodon some of the strongest Foodons available. Unfortunately, he sucks, but Chase on the other hand is able to do it and summons Fruit Turtle. Along with this new Foodon, Fried Ricer also evolves into Super Fried Ricer whenever Fruit Turtle is out. Together they defeat Cinnamonkey’s Foodon and lift Gorge’s curse on him to revert him back into a monkey.
In episode 13 news of Chase’s victory over Cinnamonkey reaches Gorge’s ears and he orders the remaining Big 4 to capture him. Cole Slawter says he’ll capture Chase and manages to capture John and Coco. Using them as bait, he manages to lure out Chase and the others and challenges him to a Foodon battle. If Chase wins Cole Slawter will free John and Coco and return the food he’s stolen (does money have no meaning in this world? It’s always food). Chase summons Fruit Turtle but he lacks the requirements needed to summon it (https://youtu.be/aa9BOryn2tI?si=_cpuKeIkKIRkMHon). He fights with his ace Fried Ricer who manages to win and Cole Slawter being a sailor of his word frees John and Coco and returns the food. However, he vows to return and defeat Chase.
And that does it for part one. I need to take a food break from all this bizarreness. Tune in next week for the second half of Fighting Foodons. Thanks for reading and I’ll see you next time on Project Nitsuj.