Shokugeki no Soma – 17

Today’s special dish IS YOU

As much as I would love to make karaage alongside of this post, I have to use my time wisely to pack. Yes, I’ll be going to Tokyo for 2 weeks where I can just eat all the karaage I want! I won’t be keeping up to date with anime while I’m away, but there will still be at least one Shokugeki no Soma post while I’m gone. It just won’t be written by me! Ah, the beauty of team blogs.

I wasn’t quite sure if I would enjoy seeing the plot sidestep into a vaguely related story about ashopping district. However, it proved to be a great change of pace as well as a great solution to the “not enough cooking” issue. This episode is all about scouting out Mozuya’s karaage and trying to make a better version of it through a rigorous trial and error process. That means a lot of cooking. It’s similar to what Soma did for his donburi Shokugeki against Nikumi, but the tone is completely different. For the shokugeki, Soma’s neck was on the chopping block and it felt like he absolutely had to nail this recipe or else he’d be axed. This karaage refining feels more like a fun series of experimentation with two silly sidekicks pitching in. Furthermore, Kinu (Basically “niku” or “meat” backwards…) is such a cartoonish rival for the shopping street that it doesn’t feel like a tense competition. The comedy is usually a big “miss” for me, but I liked the lightness and silliness of Mayumi and Nikumi’s shenanigans.

I just want them to get along!

Soma has been cooking at Totsuki Academy for a while to reach the longterm goal of being the number one chef (who successfully graduates). This…is going to take a while. So it’s cool to see Soma aim for some shorter term goals such as saving the shopping district his family’s restaurant is situated in. This is proof that the skills he’s learning in school can actually be applied to real life. Soma’s gotten by in his father’s restaurant just fine with what he picked up on the job, so I was worried about what on earth he had left to learn that he could actually use in a practical way when he returned to the field. Thankfully, Totsuki has provided him with numerous experiences to broaden his perspective. It wasn’t just grueling battles and challenges so they could watch the students suffer. That training is actually preparing Soma – a guy who is already a seasoned chef – to be an even better culinary tour de force. Most notably, Soma draws from the buffet challenge to see things from a business standpoint instead of just what’s literally put on the table. Some dishes are just not feasible as popular take-out items.

For this 2-episode karaage mission Soma has set out on, I’m really glad he called on Nikumi for help. Not just because I really like her, but because I feel that we’ve had so many new characters thrown in our faces that very few have had the chance to really be explored in depth. Or…at all. Nikumi has thankfully had quite a bit of the spotlight shone on her over the season. Seeing her bicker with Mayumi, whose return was also a welcome surprise, was entertaining. After Megumi had a big character arc, I was a little worried that was going to be all we got in terms of letting side characters have more screen time.

BOW CHICKEN WOW WOW

I’m still not quite sure what Soma’s solution is to make the ultimate karaage, but I’m sure it’s something that should be simple but is actually genius. What do students like? Cheap eats? Portable eats? Something with 120% of their daily recommended salt and fat intake? All I know is that it will be glorious to see Kinu’s kingdom fall to Soma’s superior karaage. Kinu is such a big stack of stereotypes that it’s hilarious to see her in action. A lot of the strong personalities in Shokugeki no Soma are a hit or miss with me (like Erina and Alice), but Kinu is perfect. Campy, ridiculous, and an excuse to have over-exaggerated faces in every scene. Every show needs a greedy kansai-ben accented lady with kitsune eyes waving a fan and switching between sweet and spiteful at the drop of a hat. The end card with her forked tongue wasn’t even much of a stretch given the way she was portrayed for most of the episode. Just imagine her as the boss of something like MacDonalds and it just gets better. “Corporations are bad! Support local diners!”

While I obviously won’t be here next week (I’ll be getting my own damn karaage!), I’m still looking forward to how this plays out. It’s a really fun change of pace from stuff at the Academy, and a great way to kick things off before the elections begin. And boy, do those elections look ominous. You know it’s serious when Isshiki actually puts clothes on for something.

This is exactly how I got *someone* to blog my shit while I’m away

About Overcooled

A neuroscience graduate, black belt, and all-around nerd. You'll either find me in my lab or curled up in my rilakkuma kigurumi watching anime.