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The Japanese show was both crazy and serious at the same time. It was like professional wrestling, with food and humiliation added. Totally Japanese and totally bizarre. The American version is nothing special. It's like the worst of American sports: watching high-paid professionals with nothing on the line go through the motions. Where's the drama?
Of course the best version of Iron Chef were the original, undubbed shows, which were shown on Asian TV stations in a few U.S. cities with hilariously bad subtitles for a year or two before the Food Network picked up the show. Those were much funnier than the Food Network version, because the subtitles were so obviously out to lunch!
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