Shokugeki no Soma – 20
Soma, that’s not how bath bombs work.
I really have to thank Highway and Kyokai for offering to (and in one case being forced to…) blog Shokugeki no Soma while I was in Japan. While I could have crammed 3 episodes into one post, it wouldn’t be pretty. It’d either be an unappetizing wall of text or so annotated that I’d hardly be able to say anything worthwhile. So this post is dedicated to my fellow bloggers who did my work while I was out partying!
Imagine you have an exam with one specific topic and are given 4 months to prepare for this exam. Now imagine slacking the first few weeks (or months…) and then having a panic attack towards the end and having a cram session. When people (especially stressed-out students) are given long-term deadlines, they tend to procrastinate. Not everyone, but it’s definitely a common trend. I don’t know what’s in the water the kids at Totuski are drinking, but not a single one slacks for even a moment. As soon as they get the curry assignment, they all rush about in a whirlwind quest for coveted secrets to make the ultimate curry. They don’t kind of laze around a bit and obsessively scroll down Tumblr for 48 hours – they get right on it as soon as the letter arrives. It’s impressive how focused these kids are at preparing for the Elections…especially one with such a nebulous goal as “git gud at curry.”
Since the end goal is so vague, everyone approaches it in different ways. Marui studies curry theory in depth while Megumi goes home to like, be in nature, man. Each and every student studies in a way that suits them best and that is later reflected in how they put their curry dish together on the day of the actual competition. Curries come from all over the world and can incorporate so many different ingredients and flavours. It was really nice to see all the side characters get ample screentime cooking up their own, formidable curry recipes that showed their personalities.
Since when have we seen Sakaki actually cook despite being introduced ages ago? Or see Marui make something without becoming a source of comedic relief in the process? Or see Shun do just about anything other than brood and make random comments? Finally, characters other than Nikumi and Megumi are starting to become their own entities and not just part of Soma’s posse! And what good timing too, because we’ve been introduced to so many new characters lately that I was starting to worry that no one would ever get a chance to be anything more than a prop for Soma to bounce jokes off of.
tfw the caffeine in your Red Bull starts to kick in
In terms of the new characters, for once I actually feel like they made good first impressions instead of me instantly hating them. For example, Akira and the stalker chick have been pretty fun so far! There’s also Miyoko is an easy sell for me because she’s a strong girl who can cook well and doesn’t take shit from anyone. The qi pao makes me think she was trained in martial arts as well, judging by how the stereotypical kung fu girls dress in anime. Another gold star from me just for that. I hope she gets her own special episode, because addressing the fact that women are told to “get back in the kitchen” and yet most professional chefs are male would be interesting.
It’s like women can only cook as housewives but god forbid if they want to cook in a position of power. From what little I know, it sounds like it’s really hard to be a female chef in a field dominated by men. And that sucks! Shokugeki no Soma should totally talk about that and how it’s key for restaurants to welcome all sexes to form a healthy work environment. I would love to see what Miyoko has had to go through just to prove herself. The way she fights against this double standard is pretty great afterall. If guys look down on her, she just works 3x as hard and does 3x as good so that her talent simply cannot be denied. Not sure Shokugeki no Soma and feminism but hey, maybe I’ll get lucky and she won’t end up falling in love with Soma as a solution. If that happens you’ll probably hear me groaning from across the globe (depending on where you live the volume may vary).
I wonder if his first step was eating instant curry for comparison…
Back to the main character for a second now since we still have much to see from these side characters. I love seeing Soma work so hard and this is probably the most impressive thing I’ve seen him do thus far. I know he’s worked hard before because he tells various stories about all the crazy shit his dad made him do for the restaurant. But I haven’t actually seen him really hone his cooking skills in an intensive way. Watching him prepare for the curry challenge really let me see Soma’s studiousness in action. He didn’t just work hard in the kitchen when his dad was there, he’s still hungry to learn more and become the best chef he can be. I love Soma because he’s not the cocky type to just make up a dish, test it once, and think it’s good enough to beat everyone. He knows he has a long way to go to beat Akira despite training in a kitchen since he learned how to pick up a spoon. So he works himself to the bone sniffing all kinds of stuff (no, not that…) and making curry every day until he gets sick of it. I don’t even know how you can pay such attention to every minute detail of curry that you could study so extensively.
The downside to Soma being a big nerdy keener who pulls all-nighter study sessions is that he ends up so tired that he can’t stay awake. Bad Soma! You never pull all-nighters before exams! The only all-nighter I’ve ever pulled in my life was playing Guacamelee at my friend’s house during summer break. Anyways, clearly no one has told Soma about that so he just straight-up deprives himself of sleep until he screws himself over in the competition. Thankfully, he’s the main character, so he should make a comeback. Maybe he’s just waiting for his curry to boil down, so he doesn’t have anything to do right now anyways. A lot of making curry is just sitting and waiting, right?
I was going to make some traditional Trinidadian curry to follow-up Kyokai’s mouth-watering curries, but my mom is on a business trip. The two are connected because she holds the secret family recipe in her head and I haven’t really learned it yet…Instead, here’s a photo of a boobie mousepad of Erina I saw in the Shonen Jump store in Tokyo. Tasteful!
pero pero perina~
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
::whistles a jaunty little tune::
…the tears of their previously fallen comrades, as the school teaches by harsh example…
Yah, the usual parade of secondary or tertiary characters was a bit more interesting this time around, I guess all dat curry demands a series of spicy entrances! I like Megumi’s approach the best. Curry always strikes me as well loved comfort food, and her Hokkaido home family restaurant is just the place to get that vibe.
If we learned anything from Gin no Saji it’s: if you can’t make good comfort food in Hokkaido of all places, give it up! Now that’s a crossover idea….Field to Plate!
POWUH: Meta Team and The Mad Scientist with 5525 comments
Usually they just kind of scan over the side characters to show that they’re still alive (it was pretty bad in the summer camp that we had to be reminded that they passed every time). But now we get something more personal! I’m sure Megumi’s curry will be delicious. I can’t say I’d be excited to try Alice’s high tech curry when I have a hearty, homey meal from Megumi.
Gin no Saji crossover would work so well! Heck, the whole thing with Isami suddenly becoming thin was a flashback of that girl from Gin no Saji doing the same.
POWUH: Meta Resident and LN Informant with 1529 comments
Here’s a photo of a boobie mousepad of Erina I saw in the Shonen Jump store in Tokyo. Tasteful!
Souma male hug pillows and other boob mousepads for sale:
http://www.crunchyroll.com/anime-new…ads-go-on-sale
No stupid sexy Isshiki?
POWUH: Meta Team and Meta-Analyst with 3844 comments
I dunno whether if I should be glad or not that I missed outbon thr Shiro one…
POWUH: Meta Resident and LN Informant with 1529 comments
Sorry, here’s the direct working link:
http://www.crunchyroll.com/anime-news/2015/08/20-1/food-wars-male-hug-pillows-and-female-mousepads-go-on-sale
POWUH: Meta Team and The Mad Scientist with 5525 comments
The guys from Shokugeki no Soma aren’t what I’d call attractive…are there really that many female followers of the show who would buy those body pillows? Instead of like…a body pillow from a sexy male idol anime?
POWUH: Meta Team and Meta-Analyst with 3844 comments
*looks at the Izuna-tan dakimakura in the room*
finally caved into one…
POWUH: Meta Team and Spammy Tamer with 7115 comments
It has always been something that I cannot wrap my mind around that there is an actual market for oppai mousepads. Besides the fact that people using a mouse are doing it wrong (because trackballs are better in every way, except for people thinking they’re weird), and besides the fact that wrist rests like that have been shown to be of dubious benefit, or even cause more problems, where do you actually USE such a mousepad? I guess if you live alone at home…? And never have anyone over? It’s certainly not something that I’d think you’d ever want someone else to know about you having.
POWUH: and LOLi Defender with 10998 comments
…ask Spencer’s Gift store…
POWUH: Meta Team and Meta-Analyst with 3844 comments
Another point for pettan mousepads. 😛 For the fujoshi/female otaku/occasional male otaku, there are… oshiri pads.
But seriously though, as Highway says, they’re of dubious health value. Perhaps during the days of mechanical mice a mousepad was of some value, but since I shifted to optical mice, I find mousepads to be completely dispensable as the performance deteriorates badly as they wear out. Pieces of paper are what I use. Cheap to replace. 😛
POWUH: Meta Team and Meta-Analyst with 3844 comments
Spammy stole an oppai pad here!
POWUH: and Vampire Lover with 11746 comments
Unless they have ice in their veins and just don’t care.
POWUH: Meta Team and Spammy Tamer with 7115 comments
Even then, it’s so far outside the boundary of what people would believe is in good taste, that I think you actually have to care, and actively want people to see your transgression. I think it’s probably the same as those overtly sexy figures, like Rias and Akeno in bunny suits on all-fours, or the KanColle ‘damage’ series. Either they’re only for you to see, or you’re celebrating having such things. And personally, that feels kinda sad.
POWUH: Meta Team and The Mad Scientist with 5525 comments
I guess part of the appeal of buying something “edgy” is to show off to other people.
The mousepads seem like a novelty item to me though. Just a silly thing you buy like a weird souveneir. I’ve been tempted to get one just for kicks and giggles a few times.
POWUH: and Vampire Lover with 11746 comments
Well, it’s hard to blame them given the environment we’ve seen them in watching the series. It’s a competition, so everyone will be there to prove their worth and take a shot at winning the gold. And the gold is a seat within the Elite Ten. Pretty much killing two birds with one stone and getting serious (legitimate) bragging rights. And we’ve come to know most characters here have huge egos.
The episode sure left an impression with two eye openers. One is Isami pulling a Tamako Inada (Gin no Saji/Silver Spoon) by rapidly dropping his weight within a ridiculously short amount of time. And the other with Alice’s aide Ryo basically changing personality as he goes into cooking mode. I always knew the headband around his wrist meant something. Never trust the quiet ones.
He made a comeback at the camp, he’ll do it again.
POWUH: Meta Team and The Mad Scientist with 5525 comments
The competition is really intense. But why put themselves through this hell just to be a chef? I guess I’m trying to compare it to university where people drop out all the time and that’s very different from Totsuki.
Ahh I forgot her name when I was replying to skylion earlier but yes! I thought about that too! Lots of fun character twists there. I didn’t find a good way to work talking about Ryo into my post but I was definitely surprised at his personality changing.
He’s the main character…he’ll be fine!
POWUH: and Vampire Lover with 11746 comments
Remember the graduation percentage at Totsuki is at least 10% and we’ve already seen students susceptible to getting expelled at the drop of the hat.
I would now call Ryo Alice’s mad dog. I think it works given his family name “Kurokiba” which literally translates to “Black Fang”.
POWUH: Meta Team and The Mad Scientist with 5525 comments
No, I mean we haven’t seen many people flat-out quit or stop caring so much they just slack off. Getting cut is something different.
Mad dog is an apt nickname. At least, when he goes into crazy mode…