Anime of the Childhood #13: Fighting Foodons (2024)

Today we got an unsurprisingly shameless copy of Pokémon… it’s Fighting Foodons! The anime was dubbed by 4Kids Entertainment (now closed) in North America in cooperation with the now-defunct Enoki Films; Enoki Films held the license and contracted the dubbing to 4Kids. This show originally aired on the FoxBox (later known as 4Kids TV) on September 14, 2002, and was discontinued from their lineup on August 30, 2003. Its English dub’s theme song is based on Jacques Offenbach’s Orpheus in the Underworld.

Wikipedia (English) describes the anime series’ plot:

It all started some years ago when a culinary-confused king asked a question to his chefs. Which would be stronger: tofu surprise or stuffed duck? The king’s chefs thought the king had “gone a little too heavy on the nutmeg.” One mysterious chef knew what the king was talking about and presented him with magical cards called Meal Tickets which turns the food into monsters called Fighting Foodons. Since that day, regular food recipes have been turned into Foodons when the art of culinary combat is concocted.

One day, King Gorgeous Gorge and his Gluttons cook up a devious plan to rule the world and they sprinkled an extra dash of destruction. They plan to rule the world by kidnapping the best chefs & forcing them to make powerful, evil Foodons. A boy named Chase, a young apprentice chef with an appetite for action, thinks he has what it takes to become an Elite Master Chef like his dad Chef Jack. Chase believes that he, his friends, family, and Foodons can change the world, one at a time, even if it involves going into battle against the Glutton Gormandizers, King Gorge’s Big 4, and King Gorge’s female cat-like servant Clawdia. Then, he’d have a final showdown with King Gorge.

• Zen Makunouchi (幕之内 膳, Makunōchi Zen, known as Chase in the dub): The main protagonist of the series. Chase is a 10-year-old, impatient chef-in-training from Yokohoma. He’s the son of Chef Jack and the brother of Kayla. He trains under the Foodon guru Oslo to make more Foodons so that he would become a Master Chef like his dad. His Foodons are Fried Ricer (who turns into Super Fried Ricer when with Fruit Turtle or Feastavus), Hot Doggone-It, Burnt Meatballs who are usually out, Shrimp Daddy, Dim-Sumthin’ Special, Fruit Turtle, and Feastivus (a Deluxe Foodon fused by Shrimp Daddy, Dim-Sumthin’ Special, Sir Dumpling, and the Burnt Meatballs). He is voiced by Chika Sakamoto in Japanese and then-Fridays co-host Tara Sands in the dub.
• Karin Makunouchi (幕之内 花梨, Makunōchi Karin, known as Kayla in the dub): Kayla is Chase’s 8-year-old sister who fights with Coco for Chase’s attention. She is usually seen guarding the Mobile Attack Cuisine Cart (or M.A.C. Cart for short). Her Foodon is Omelet who is usually out. She is voiced by Megumi Nasu in Japanese and Amy Palant in the dub.
• Tsukiji Makunouchi (幕之内 月次, Makunōchi Tsukiji, known as Chef Jack in the dub): Chef Jack is a Master Chef and the father of Chase and Kayla. He’s the leader of the Rebel Chef who fight against King Gorgeous Gorge. At the time of his disappearance, he disguised himself and called himself Chef John (known as Clown in the original version) to help out Chase on different occasions until his mask was destroyed during the final fight with Rose Marinade. His Foodon’s Tofurious. While disguised as Chef John, he used Shark-Fin Soup on occasion. He is voiced by Masami Iwasaki in Japanese and Ted Lewis in the dub.
• Haoji (ハオヂィ, Haojī, known as Oslo in the dub): Oslo is a Grub Guru and was King of All Food until his student King Gorge reverted him to a short man who rides on a floating saucer. He has trained Chef Jack and is training Chase to become a Master Chef. He is voiced by Wataru Takagi in Japanese, Maddie Blaustein (old, later deceased), and Oliver Wyman (young) in the dub.
• Pi-tan (ピータン, Pī-tan, known as Pie Tin in the dub): Pie Tin is a 6-year-old boy from Horai whose parents were captured by the Glutton Gormandizers. He joins Chase to rescue them and fight King Gorge. His Foodon is Sir Dumpling. He is voiced by Yuko Mita in Japanese and Kayzie Rogers (later retired) in the dub.
• Natsume (ナツメ, Natsume, known as Coco in the dub): Coco is a sneaky masked ninja girl who wears a wok on her head and is a student of Chef John. Chase first met her on Banana Island. Coco later became friends with him and fights with Kayla for his attention upon developing a crush on him. Her Foodons are Doughnut-So, Ham Scam-Witch, and Tater Tons. On occasion, Coco would use her wok for offensive attacks (Note: In the dub version, she has nothing to do with a certain bandicoot who first appeared in the second game). She is voiced by Chisa Yokoyama in Japanese and Lisa Ortiz in the dub.
• Ash (アッシュ, Asshu, known as Albert in the dub, though in the Japanese version, that character has nothing to do with a certain then-Pokémon anime protagonist who is known as Ash Ketchum outside of Japan): Albert is a chef who Chase and Pie Tin meet at a Foodon Tournament. He is a fan of Chef Jack and later helps Chase on occasion until he joins Chase’s group following Rose Marinade’s defeat. His Foodons are Cowboyritto, Spaghettabout-It, and Crab Quake. He is voiced by Hikaru Tokita in Japanese and Andrew Rannells in English.

Unfortunately, though, the anime series looked more like crap. One character wearing a wok on her head? That doesn’t even make sense! She should wear a chef’s hat. That anime series is a complete crapper. I’d rather watch Emeril rather than that crap, (including that Gordon Ramsay crap). The anime is also available to watch on Pluto TV.

That wraps up this article, and I hope you don’t watch that crap on Pluto TV, and… it’s RAW! See you next Anime of the Childhood.