First Impressions / Shokugeki no Souma

「東から来た魔術師」 (Higashi kara Kita Majutsushi)
“The Magician from the East”

Noooo! I hate cliffhangers! But you know an episode was a great one when it leaves you wanting more and time flies while you’re watching. Of course it wouldn’t be Shokugeki no Souma if it didn’t throw some curves at you once in a while. For the first time since I’ve been blogging this show, I actually feel nervous for Souma and Megumi. It’s not that I don’t have confidence in Megumi’s abilities, but I just don’t think she has it in her (yet) to defeat someone like Kojirou. If this was Souma, hands down, I think he’s got it in the bag… but then Gin appears with some cards up his sleeve and he has to throw Megumi in there too. This makes me question whether or not Megumi’s recipe can really defeat Kojirou’s. Preparation and execution are a different story since Souma was able to help Megumi a lot in that department. This really boils down to whether Megumi’s idea and use of ingredients were better than the acclaimed Kojirou’s. On camera, of course everything looks delicious but I honestly don’t even know what Megumi made? Looks like a layered ratatouille or a layered vegetable bake.

I’m excited to finally see some focus on other characters outside Souma though. This finally puts him in the backseat and puts Megumi front and center to try and prove her own worth. Although I don’t think this kind of “throw them in the lions’ pen” technique works on everyone, some people do need that extra push to even surprise themselves of what they’re capable of. Although Souma wasn’t able to help Megumi think of a recipe himself, he was able to encourage her and help her anyway he could. Not completely backseat driving, but just the small things like food prep and thinking several steps ahead for her definitely lends a good hand. Souma’s experience in the restaurant can’t be overlooked and although this latter half focused on Megumi, I think it further demonstrates Souma’s strengths as well. Not only can he cook for himself as a head chef, but he’s a great sous chef and he compliments Megumi well. Megumi still has a long way to go to build up her confidence in herself, but I’m glad that the show even spends time on her as a secondary character. It only reinforces my ship of Megumi and Souma one day… but then I keep hearing about Erina and Souma and my hopes die a little.

Every episode seems to try and top the teachers and chefs little by little by introducing even more experienced and acclaimed chefs. The amount of expectations that they build for someone like Kojirou is so impossibly high that I can’t even fathom how his food must taste. There are moments that there’s so much talk about his reputation and that I start to blank out all the credit that he’s given because there’s just that much. At times like these, I can’t imagine a student ever defeating Kojirou; it’s painting a picture for Megumi’s inevitable loss. Then Shokugeki no Souma does give us hope by making Megumi’s dish shine as well… and it makes me question all this credibility that Kojirou has. Are they making him appear that great just to prove that Megumi can be better? Or are they really going to fail Megumi because she’s not as great as one of the best chefs in the world?! That’s some crazy odds stacked against Megumi and yet the more likely solution doesn’t seem possible either.

If Megumi does triumph in this battle, I hope they explain just what she can do that Kojirou can’t or what she did differently. If she fails, well… that’d be the first fail that I’ve seen for Souma. Will he really be expelled for it? Probably not, I sense a loophole up Gin’s sleeves if that’s the case. He might just be using this shokugeki as a way to evaluate Souma’s potentials (as well as Megumi’s). He has his eyes set out for Souma but I can’t really tell why yet.

Bottom Line – @RCCherrie: Kojirou is a master of vegetables? Anyone who can make greens taste good is a genius in my eyes =D Hinako is so adorable! She’s the only one that doesn’t always have this stern face on >=( #shokugeki_anime

 

Preview

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26 Comments

  2. As a non manga reader there is no way they should be able to win, regardless of who’s head cheffing.
    This man graduated, g-r-a-d-u-a-t-e-d as the 1st chair in his year. Souma doesn’t even qualify as better than the elite 10 as is. Hell, he stalemated with Isshiki not even trying so there’s no way they’ll win this thing by skill.
    I guess they’ll be forgiven by Gin since he has a soft spot for Souma out of curiosity.

    Tori
    Reply

  5. Guys, who are you even writing these spoilers for? Surely not for manga readers, because they already know what will happen anyways. This way, simple stating if someone will win or lose without any kind of commentary on the actual battle, could only be directed to non manga readers, who were careless enough to open it. Is it really your objective, guys?

    Also, Cherrie already got spoiled on who will win this shokugeki. Please, don’t do the same for next battles.

    brajt
    Reply

  6. Hands down the scenes with Hinako-senpai were one of my favorite moments of the episode, and probably because majority of them were her annoying Shinomiya (that eyecatch with her and Shinomiya is a riot to watch). Actually it looks like all of the alumni like to mess with Shinomiya, even Gin. Anyways, Mamiko Noto really nailed her goofy personality. She’s gotta be my most favorite Tootsuki alumna now. Of course that wasn’t the only highlight as it was very beautiful seeing Souma’s never-ending support for Megumi, both as a friend and assistant chef. As harsh as Gin’s condition was, I think it was also right. His point was very valid in that Souma can’t always step in to save Megumi when she fails so this is where she has to show she belongs in Tootsuki. I like how Gin can at first look so harsh, but is actually very fair in dealing with students and alumni. As for some random observations, I’m just wondering what Megumi’s dialect, Mizuhara-senpai is also so pretty, and Hinako-senpai is a good escape artist. She freed herself from very binding Shinomiya used on her.

    Zhinvu
    Reply

    1. to further elaborate on megumi’s dish

      Show Spoiler ▼

      seeing the magical cabbage in motion, just too much haha, i look forward to the reactions to megu’s dish(manga reader here so i already know what you expect w00t <3)

      Crix
      Reply

  9. Gin is awesome. Thru one unofficial shokugeki alone, he made 3 chefs develop as a character. Souma, Megumi and most especially Shinomiya.

    Character developments that I’m talking about are Show Spoiler ▼

    Gin didn’t approved the unofficial shokugeki for nothing.

    And don’t worry Cherrie, while there are a lot of Erina shippers out there, Show Spoiler ▼

    Our ship is sailing smoothly Cherrie.

    Reikakou
    Reply

    1. Here are my thoughts:
      Show Spoiler ▼

      Cherrie
      Reply

    1. I’d ship these two! Anyone who can withstand the kind of punishment Shinomiya dishes out is perfect for him. Come to think of it, this episode revealed Shinomiya can’t maintain a steady relationship. And he’s pretty close to Hinako that he addresses her on a first name basis. Seems to me she’s the only one that can tolerate Shinomiya’s attitude.

      Zhinvu
      Reply

  11. I am pretty sure they gave Megumi a way out for her win. Kojiro’s downfall is his arrogance, remember everyone questioned why didn’t he make his specialty. I think if he opened with that Megumi wouldn’t have had a chance.

    Regardless Cabbage Pink stole the entire episode.

    LightHawk
    Reply

  12. As much as Megumi annoys me on a day to day basis, her character design is brilliant because it invokes feelings from you. You can already tell what her strengths in cooking are, but she just needs to be more confident of herself.

    Azsurance
    Reply

  13. >Master of Vegetables, revolutionized vegetable cooking around the world blah blah blah
    >Presents a fucking cabbage roll that’s stuffed with meat and has bacon wrapped around it.

    Jesus Christ.

    Eugene
    Reply

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