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Restaurant
Wars
When it comes to Beach City cartoons, they aren’t usually the
show’s most interesting without insightful Gem stuff or meaningful
character development. This cartoon is
about a topic that exists only for here without tying into more important
elements. Even if this is true, that
doesn’t mean that what goes on is bad.
In fact, the whole plot is creative and enjoyable.
It’s a crazy situation that starts with
Steven doing something out-of-the-norm but still harmless by ordering mozzarella
sticks off-menu instead of the usual fry bits at Beach Citywalk Fries. Kofi, owner of Fish Stew Pizza, is enraged
because Beach Citywalk Fries is selling something associated with pizza. It
breaks a pact that neither Beach Citywalk Fries nor Fish Stew Pizza sell food
the other restaurant specializes in thus stealing business. Both him and Mr. Fryman, owner of Beach
Citywalk Fries, reignite an old restaurant war.
It begs the question why Beach Citywalk Fries had those mozzarella sticks
in the first place. Shouldn’t they have been
thrown away to avoid the possibility?
Anyhow, the actual war is portrayed amusingly. There’s no actual
fighting to it like most wars, but it has both restaurants force innocent
bystanders to buy their food. Adding to
the amusing is how the victims of the “war” are portrayed with people on the
boardwalk lying amidst fragments of fries and pizza, sick of eating both. Absurd approaches to big situations like this
bring a welcome edge of entertainment to this petty fight.
Also working in its favor is the fact that we
hardly ever see the children of Kofi or Mr. Fryman together. This way, you don’t find
yourself feeling too bad for them not being able to hang out with them because
of a conflict they have nothing to do with.
This brings another good thing about this cartoon as Steven brings them
together to end the war, making for interesting team-ups never before
seen. Out of this comes a funny attempt
to trick the restaurant owners that Kiki of the Pizza family and Ronaldo of the
Fryman family have been dating. The fact
that it almost works shows that Kofi and Mr. Fryman do have a heart in their
petty disagreement. The interesting
thing about this is through how it fails. A girl named Jane, who’s apparently
Ronaldo’s girlfriend, sees the scene and breaks up with him. It works as a shock because while Ronaldo
claimed to have a girlfriend earlier, it’s honestly hard to believe given what
he’s like. Also, how he laments over the
breakup is some of his more enjoyable moments.
As for a new attempt at stopping the war, it stems from information on the end of the original one where Kofi and Mr. Fryman had to team up
to beat more successful restaurants.
It’s an interesting way to lead to Steven crafting a new plan, though
how it’s executed is a little mixed.
It’s cute seeing the Crystal Gems posing as workers at his makeshift
restaurant and Kofi and Mr. Fryman’s reactions to how great the food is are
hilarious. At the same time, you’re
constantly questioning how neither of them realize the “restaurant” is just
Steven’s house which Kofi has even been to before. It clearly can’t put their
restaurants out of business and this whole thing is a leap
in logic that’s hard to ignore. Anyhow,
it ends the war and the status quo is maintained.
This is still a highly entertaining story
with fun character dynamics and creatively absurd depictions of the idea of
war. However, it’s held back by plot points hard to suspend disbelief towards and
the fact that it doesn’t really tie into anything major like most other
cartoons do. It’s recommendable for a
fun watch, but far from the best thing this show has to offer.
B
The Ranking
- Mr. Greg
- Gem Drill
- Super Watermelon Island
- Too Short to Ride
- Beach City Drift
- Barn Mates
- Hit the Diamond
- Same Old World
- Steven Floats
- Restaurant Wars
- The New Lars
- Drop Beat Dad
Be sure to stay tuned for the review of the next episode with even more moments with the Pizza family and Steven working his dream powers.
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