Shokugeki no Soma 05-06
If it’s too hot, get out of the kitchen. Or just get naked. Either one.
I’m back and ready to blog about food porn! I have so many screencaps to make Metanorn’s front page look either super skeevy or just plain weird that I don’t know what to do with all this power. Isshiki is a blessing for screenshots.
I’m starting to realize what an incredibly efficient show Shokugeki no Soma is. It delivers on all of the strongpoints it has to offer: extremely descriptive food porn each week, cooking battles, and an ample amount of characterization to make this more than just a visually pleasing passtime. This could easily be the most vacuous show, filled to the brim with fanservice and pretty food with little else in terms of substance. But the thought that goes behind the shounen food battles makes things exciting, and the rag tag pack of Soma’s dorm mates are really starting to stand out on their own. I’m mostly amazed how they manage to walk through pain-stakingly explicit cooking instructions and monologue about contest rules without becoming dull. The content is just so interesting that such detailed explanations are actually very welcome.
It’s little touches like telling us which ingredients have enzymes that break down meat or bringing up surprising food combinations (kelp and cheese???) that show how much research was put into Shokugeki no Soma. It’s a labour of love, and that hard work shows. The creator clearly loves food, and he wants us to love food just as much. And maybe I’m a little biased because I was already a foodie before, but I feel that he really succeeds in making you get into the whole culinary mindset. It’s a show that makes me want to get up and cook – or at the very least go to a restaurant and order something special.
Episode 5 was a nice contest showcase between Soma and Isshiki, although it was far from being a true cooking battle. Still, it was a fun match-up because the imagery they show to represent how delicious it is…is hilarious. The music is so melodramatic that it sounds like something that should play when the main character’s best friend dies and they’re sobbing over their body while promising to get revenge. Instead, the same music is used for slurping late night ochazuke in a dorm room. It’s such an absurd show that it almost becomes difficult to track all the nonsense going on at once. The spring scene was already crazy enough, but Isshiki being perpetually naked through it all just brought it up to 11. This show is serious in how silly it is.
That bear is IN MY WAY
Episode 6 has a hefty dose of character building, all done in the same efficient manner. Seeing Yoshino (meatball head) wake up to her zoo of a room tells us a lot about her already, and it only takes a few seconds to do so. The same goes with seeing characters like Marui (glasses dork) wake up and lament his “trashed” room which really just has a few bottles on the floor. The result is that although we were introduced to a big group all at once, it’s not overwhelming because we’re getting to know all of them so well. I especially liked the little interlude of everyone gardening together. I’m growing fonder by the minute of Megumi, who is secretly a good cook who just gets stage fright. How cute is that?! In comparison, Erina really is getting dangerously close to the “total bitch” category instead of the “tsundere” category. I think they’re shaping her up to be the so-called villain for now, hence why she’s being framed as such a tyrant instead of showing us her softer side. And I know it’s down there! Somewhere…
Speaking of villains, the newest challenger is a meat specialist whose name is literally “Meat Meat.” She’s clearly an American because she’s tanned, blonde, has big boobs, an American flag bra, boots, and a haughty attitude. Give her a cowboy hat and random engrish phrases and you’ve hit every single horrible stereotype about Americans. She’s…pretty bad. But it’s definitely a perfect challenge for Soma right now. He seems to want to go to the top using his diner-style casual food dishes to prove that all food should be judges equally. It’s an interesting approach for him to take, especially since he’s going against yet another snobby chef who thinks that unless you use A5 meat you might as well cook with rubber tires. I’m surprised all the chefs here are so biased, but I guess they have to be that way to make the “poor vs rich” story more intriguing.
Au naturale
So Meat Meat the super American girl who cooks meat may not be the best character, but whatever…she works for the story so I’ll deal with her and her loose bra that clearly allows for a ton of American Freedom. Thankfully, she retreats for most of the episode and we see Soma actually struggling for once to cook a worthy dish. I looooove donburi and we were so spoiled by seeing so many different variations on the dish. It’s like Soma was tempting me to try and make them all. Instead of training montages, Shokugeki has cooking montages. Gosh, why has no one else thought of a cooking shounen battle manga until now? It’s such a godly combination that I can’t believe I’ve been deprived for so long!
I love where this show is going and it continues to fire on all cylinders for me. JC Staff hasn’t dropped the ball yet, as I feared it would. The characters are really growing on me. Soma is relying on others for help and showing that he isn’t cocky because he’s an ass – he’s cocky because he works super hard. It may not seem like it, but he’s actually the underdog here. I’m looking forward to see how his battle with Mito Nikumi goes, even though I know I’ll be rolling my eyes to the back of my skull when she inevitably comments on how peasant-like Soma’s dish is.
Holy cow, those last two episodes are so full of delicious things I want to cook that I don’t know where to begin. I didn’t think I’d have time to cook since I literally just got back yesterday and haven’t bought any groceries. Fortunately, I had all the ingredients to make an attempt at ochazuke – a dish I often order at a Japanese restaurant on my friend’s campus. I say “attempt” because my recipe was only average-tasting (I can do better!) and because the mound of rice dissolved before I could take a good picture. Haha oops. Anyways, here’s my first attempt. I’ll include Version 2.0 in a separate cooking post…which should be ready for me to write soon. For now, laugh at my rice soup lol
*quickly pours boiling kelp tea* THIS WAS A MISTAKE
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.
POWUH: and LOLi Defender with 10998 comments
Because you cannot spell fundoshi without “fun”!
So, Meat is obviously of the Boehnner clan; or she has an unnatural love of carrots…
You know, I couldn’t feel sorry for Sumo-kun. he rushed that contest pretty hard. But I do feel sorry for Don-kun, as bowls are always to good to pass up.
Damn, bear. I agree.
As for meatball head, I prefer to think of them as dango…
POWUH: Meta Team and The Mad Scientist with 5525 comments
Yeah, the sumo guy didn’t garner much sympathy by acting all pompous and having nothing to show for it. I would definitely join the Don club if I were in that school though!
Meatballs, dango…either way, I’m drooling.
POWUH: and Vampire Lover with 11746 comments
The sumo guy paid the price for being pompous but Erina is the one most worthy of contempt as she was the instigator for trying to run his club out to gain more space for herself.
POWUH: and LOLi Defender with 10998 comments
Pomposity can be forgiven, or a the very least down-played, and at the most entertaining if spun right. But Sumo-kun used off oysters. Elan cannot sub in for bad prep…
POWUH: Meta Team and Meta-Analyst with 3844 comments
Delicious meal-gao.
I am the boner of my spare ribs.
Rump is my body, sauce is my blood.
POWUH: and Vampire Lover with 11746 comments
That was so screwed up I don’t know where to begin explaining.
POWUH: Meta Team and Meta-Analyst with 3844 comments
You are really encouraging the completion of that ten-count aria…
POWUH: and Vampire Lover with 11746 comments
I don’t even want to imagine how you’d finish that.
POWUH: Meta Team and Meta-Analyst with 3844 comments
I have created over a thousand dishes.
Unknown to Otaku, nor known to Fujoshi.
Have withstood many ass-fondling to create many delectables.
Yet, these hands will not touch any booty.
So as I pray, Unlimited Chef Works!
There. It wasn’t so bad. 😛 It’s only the first two lines that can get saucy.
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POWUH: Meta Team and Meta-Analyst with 3844 comments
Obviously spammy is hogging all the deliciousness that is rest of the aria and doesn’t want to share.
POWUH: and Vampire Lover with 11746 comments
Aha! More questionable screenshots… or is it just my imagination? 😉 After the talk of raising one’s own ingredients in the sixth episode, Shokugeki could’ve done good alongside a show like Silver Spoon (Gin no Saji) were they both playing in the same season. That show had a school that operated with various methods as well.
This I agree on. There are aspects in it that actually have real world applications. So it baffles me when I hear the show isn’t faring well among other viewers. Right now, it’s midway ranked: After 1 Month, Anime Fans Vote on Which Spring Shows They’re Still Watching.
Much pity to the sumo guy who lost the rights to his own club property. I almost shed a tear. Almost. Bad enough he lost the match, having his club razed for a petty reason as needing more space but insult to injury with Erina going to the trouble of broadcasting the demolition (in front of a wide audience) to bask in his despair. Now that’s low and oppressive. How low can she sink? Even more disturbing is that her grandfather condones it based on his expression. More and more, the school gives the impression of a regime under an iron-fisted dictatorship.
Nikumi is an interesting enough character. She’s not American, though. Rather she may be fond of them if the choice of bra is any indication. Plus there’s her full name “Ikumi Mito” and she’s the sole heir of a Japanese conglomerate that operates a large-scale meat wholesale business.
I like that Soma was trying out dish options before his first Shokugeki. It shows he isn’t all powerful like saving his neck right off the bat with improvising at any time and is capable of making mistakes. A humanizing move that betters his image.
POWUH: Meta Resident with 1692 comments
Yes, Nikumi isn’t American. But since her family specializes in meats, especially beef, it’s possible they have connections to the American meat industry and possibly one or more large ranching operations. And so she’s into cowboy culture. Or what she thinks is cowboy.
POWUH: Meta Team and The Mad Scientist with 5525 comments
This is such a surprise for me. After all the imagery they still made her NOT American? Well, she certainly is dedicated to cowboy culture.
POWUH: and Vampire Lover with 11746 comments
The American flag style bra aside, there was no indication Nikumi was a foreigner. Otherwise, they’d have called her a transfer student like Soma.
POWUH: Meta Team and The Mad Scientist with 5525 comments
Oh come on, you can’t say it’s weird to assume a bossy blonde girl with blue eyes is American in an anime.
POWUH: and Vampire Lover with 11746 comments
A little error there. Nikumi has green eyes. 😛
POWUH: Meta Team and The Mad Scientist with 5525 comments
I felt the Silver Spoon vibes too. Anime makes farming look so fun!
Oh wow, I’m surprised it’s just doing “meh.” I was under the impression the manga was fairly popular – and the anime looks great to me. I guess the cooking theme is a bit niche :/
I agree, it’s definitely good to see Soma practice before a match instead of winging it. Although that’s impressive in its own way.
POWUH: and LOLi Defender with 10998 comments
…anime made writing in a note book look super interesting…
POWUH: and Vampire Lover with 11746 comments
The way they talk on how they prepare their food, you’d swear it was a special ability used for shounen battles.
POWUH: and LOLi Defender with 10998 comments
It interesting, with both Nikumi and Soma combined you get the attitude of most chefs. Few would pass up the opportunity to cook with a choice cut, and many relish using the “discards”. You saw the appreciation of both.
POWUH: Meta Team and The Mad Scientist with 5525 comments
That A5 meat was starting to sound like the super powerful, undefeatable weapon of some shounen war general!
POWUH: Metanorn Regular with 139 comments
Hahaha, well put. 🙂
As for Nikumi, yeah she totally walking trope in the beginning, but she will steadily gets better later. That’s all I will say on that.
POWUH: and Vampire Lover with 11746 comments
From that sentence, I take it you’re a manga reader. Am I right?
POWUH: Metanorn Regular with 139 comments
Yep!
POWUH: and Vampire Lover with 11746 comments
I had a feeling. You sounded like you knew detailed information and future developments before they got animated and that can only be if you read the source material. Looks like this season really has manga readers for different shows. Some probably resisting the temptation to throw in spoilers. I know that pain well since I’m enduring it right now myself. 😛
POWUH: Meta Team and The Mad Scientist with 5525 comments
Ah, glad she gets better. Right now all I can see is AMERICA.
POWUH: and Vampire Lover with 11746 comments
Hahaha! You’re too accustomed to a stereotype the Japanese have created on Americans.
POWUH: Meta Resident and LN Informant with 1529 comments
This anime has something for all the male and female fans. First Isshiki’s nicely sculpted humps, and now Ikumi’s nicely proportioned “choice cuts”.
POWUH: and Vampire Lover with 11746 comments
Those are some real nice “choice cuts” indeed. Hmmmmmm, all that tender meaty goodness! 😛
POWUH: Meta Team and The Mad Scientist with 5525 comments
Everyone gets a little something something ;D
POWUH: and Vampire Lover with 11746 comments
Now everything’s balanced out.
POWUH: 800-899 and Flying Sage with 856 comments
I don’t find it very surprising. One of the features of youth is a certainty founded in idealism that can come out in warped ways. The effort Isshiki puts into his garden to get the best ingredients indicates a bias that is just as strong as Mito’s. Soma’s belief that his family’s diner is just as good as any other restaurant is another bias founded in Idealism.
POWUH: Meta Team and The Mad Scientist with 5525 comments
I think my surprise comes from the fact that all the elite chefs have ideals that seem extremely stupid and narrow-minded whereas Soma’s ideals are something I can really get behind. Yeah he thinks his restaurant is awesome…because it is. How can so many elite chefs be so dumb?
POWUH: and Vampire Lover with 11746 comments
The answer is simple: Due to their pedigree and the fact they’re in the most prestigious culinary school in the country, they’re in a pride fueled high. Their egos are so inflated it can practically be used as a flotation device.
POWUH: Meta Team and Meta-Analyst with 3844 comments
Yup. We even have another red-haired one in another show that is equivalently as dumb.