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So something that immediately caught my eye when making this list was the food items Kokichi enjoyed, and how my mind immediately jumped to this bit of dialogue from the Salmon mode dates with Kokichi:
It’s an interesting line of dialogue that pops up, seemingly out of nowhere or coming from a tangent, and immediately Kokichi backpedals into the idea that this is a lie.
However… he never outright says it’s a lie at all, actually. We assume it’s a lie because he follows it up with “I like sweets and spicy food!” but both of those kinds of foods might have another element that makes them enjoyable without him being able to taste them.
After doing a lot of research, a lot of taste-related disorders are actually smell-related disorders, and finding birth defects where just the sense of taste is affected is… strangely difficult. So the most likely candidate is that Kokichi was born with very very dull taste buds, no taste buds at all, or has a hard wire problem where he has taste buds, but his brain doesn’t receive input from them. Either way, it’s still possible that he was born with this inability to taste food.
It is important to note that Kokichi never implies his sense of smell is compromised, and has made remarks on scents before, so it’s best to assume that his sense of smell is fine.
However, as per research goes, a lot of people who have this (or a similar) issue with the inability to taste food is through textures and temperature.
Spicy foods are a prime candidate to make food enjoyable without being able to taste anything, because the heat you feel from spicy food has nothing to do with your taste buds. The sensation is caused by a chemical compound called capsaicin, which is an irritant for mammals. It’s actually designed to deter animals from eating the plants that produce them, but we humans sure are adventurous and eat it anyway. Regardless–because of the fact that capsaicin is causing a chemical reaction to create the sensation of “spicy” rather than it being directly related to the taste buds, Kokichi can definitely feel the heat.
Sweets is a bit more difficult to determine exactly why he would enjoy them as someone who can’t taste food–but it is possible he could simply enjoy the textures of various sweets. Chewy caramel, smooth hard candy, melting chocolate–sweets have a lot of potential textures that he probably finds enjoyable.
I’m pretty convinced after looking at the food items he enjoys that he’s not lying here–that he can’t taste food, and the food he likes mirrors his words.
The Boba tea has chewy tapioca pearls. The Non-Alcoholic Drink of Immortality does not taste good according to the item description but says it will make the drinker immortal. Bubble Gum Bomb makes explosive sounds when blown and popped. Rock Hard Ice Cream and the Fully-Automated Shaved Ice Machine both include cold elements. Sukiyaki Caramel (Caramels have fun textures as they are) is apparently made with really strong, clashing flavors hat don’t mix well. Gyoza In the Shape of a Face has a thick skin and is tough. And finally, the Astro Cake is freeze dried, meaning it’s not your typical cake–it’s crunchy and hard.
In conclusion, I actually do genuinely believe that Kokichi can’t taste food, which is why most of his liked food items feature a temperature or texture element. The only one that stands out is the Immortality drink, but if you couldn’t taste how bad it was anyway, who wouldn’t love getting a drink that might or might not give you immortality?
Kokichi’s favorite drink–anything carbonated–also makes sense if you think about it. While the fandom likes to joke around and say his favorite drink of all time is grape soda, his profile specifically states he likes carbonated drinks. Nothing specific. He would probably enjoy the bubbles and carbonation if he was unable to taste the drink normally.
Anyway, that concludes this mini analysis. Take it as you please, but I’m pretty convinced Kokichi actually can’t taste food.