First Impressions / Shokugeki no Souma

「メタモルフォーゼ 」 (Metamorufooze)
“Metamorphosis”

Eggs – that look like eggs but aren’t completely eggs. How ingenious!
It reminds me of the cakes I used to bake – cupcakes that look like burgers but are actually fondant and cake. Or dips that look like pizza but are actually cheese dips! Amazing idea from Alice and I think she deserves more credit than I would’ve given her. The only thing is, I hate her attitude and the way she provokes people. Ikumi’s reaction to Alice is exactly how I would react if I was there; pissed that Alice is actually really good at cooking and she parades around taunting others. Not exactly saying that her dish is better or that others’ suck, but just her expression and demeanor shows that she disapproves or she’s silently judging you. At least Erina doesn’t try and socialize with others because she knows she’s better. She just performs and gets the job done – no need for more words (a lot of the times, she just leaves). Souma is also good – but perhaps it’s because the story is from his POV that I see his struggles and I don’t think he’s too cocky. Other people have also seen him rise up from his own downfalls so he’s proving himself worthy without rubbing it in everyone’s faces all the time. I’ll need to see more of Alice for her character to grow on me if at all… so far, I’m only impressed by her cooking style but not her personality.

As for Souma – well I never imagined that his soufflés would deflate! What an unfortunate pick for a menu item, but definitely a realistic issue because soufflés do in fact – deflate quickly. I remember the last time I made one, by the time I snapped a few photos, it already shrunk an inch or two from the time I took it out of the oven. Anyway, Souma will never seize to stop trying and true to his character, he strives to reach his goal no matter how impossible it might seem. Even though everyone else thought it was impossible to serve 200 plates in 30 mins, he did it! I don’t know how realistic that is… all things considering, his dish is actually quite complex, but I’ll give it to him the benefit of the doubt. After all, in the world of anime, you can’t expect everything to end up like it would in real life. Gin brought up the fact that Souma not only succeeded at the task itself, but Souma also proved to be an entertainer (and lures in little girls…). He transformed food right in front of his customers and made it seems effortless and fun. Some people develop an appetite not just by seeing the final product but watching the process of how it’s made. Souma was able to create a good tasting dish, but in the process, he was a performer and I think that’s what drew people in. Reminds me of teppanyaki… which to me, is more about the fun than the actual food.

The cutest moments from this episode had to be seeing chibi Erina and Alice living in the same household. I can see how Alice developed her obsession of trying to beat Erina, given that their history isn’t all butterflies and rainbows. Growing up in a household with someone having the “God’s tongue” means that Alice probably got compared a lot to Erina. However it’s obvious that at a young age, Alice tried to be Erina’s friend more so than anything else. I do feel kind of bad for Alice… but at the same time, it’s just funny seeing Erina’s reaction to her cake. Now that camp’s over, I wonder when we’ll get to see more of Alice and Erina next. They’re not exactly Souma’s rivals in my opinion, but more like rivals against one another. They’re both excellent chefs, so who is better? Alice uses more modern techniques of cooking, whereas Erina (whom I guess) uses more traditional cooking methods. I still think Erina will come out on top in the end… (she has a top 10 seat and “God’s tongue” after all) but who knows how Alice will take it. Hopefully she won’t be a sore loser about it.

Bottom Line – @RCCherrie: Seeing the flashbacks of little Alice and Erina made me kind of pity Alice… Erina hasn’t changed. Eggs that look like eggs but aren’t all egg?! What a creative idea! Alice blew that challenge away.

Full-length images: 16, 28, 29, 31.

 

Preview

End Card

44 Comments

    2. They’re going for mid-card and end-card illustrations referencing other series now, eh?
      It’ll be nice if they put in a nod to other cooking / food series as well…
      I’m hoping for Toriko, Oishinbo and Cooking Master Boy..

      Techim
      Reply

    3. The end card was definitely a surprise. Again why I love watching this anime. It just continues to follow the mange to a T, but add things here and there keeping it fresh and amazing. The Street Fighter card shown in the middle was definitely shown in the manga, but the ending card, thats new. Green Erina XD. It actually fits cuz she is a bit of a monster haha.

      Also next EP is going to be something for all you guys and gals to look out for! MAJOR INFORMATION IS ABOUT TO GET RELEASED HAHAHA.

      Kevin
      Reply

  4. His rally really doesn’t even make snuff at the number crunching since he estimated 2 and a half minutes to cook and steam the omelettes, leaving aside any prep and dishing that isn’t done during cooking the next round as well as the matter of attracting the first customer. To make 200 servings one by one it’d take 500 minutes, but ultimately he’s using 8 dual-top burners to cook 16 at a time. Even granting that he’s doing that from the start (which he’s not), it’d take at absolute minimum 31 and a quarter minutes to make 200 servings.

    So, in short, Soma’s either undercooking the eggs or diluting time. I’d guess the latter since it’s a shonen anime. XD

    Purple Bomber
    Reply

    3. Actually the manga addresses this by showing soma hitting his timer faster each round and the Judges also state that he is optimizing and shaving off seconds every time he completes the process.

      Ramen
      Reply

  6. The only thing is, I hate her attitude and the way she provokes people. Ikumi’s reaction to Alice is exactly how I would react if I was there; pissed that Alice is actually really good at cooking and she parades around taunting others. Not exactly saying that her dish is better or that others’ suck, but just her expression and demeanor shows that she disapproves or she’s silently judging you. At least Erina doesn’t try and socialize with others because she knows she’s better. She just performs and gets the job done – no need for more words (a lot of the times, she just leaves)

    Woah! My thoughts exactly on Alice so far. Like, if that was me instead of Souma right there, I’d prefer Erina as an opponent since I’d know what to expect from her – not because she was introduced earlier, but because she’s more direct in her arrogance. Alice on the other hand, seems to know how to get under one’s skin. Thought Souma’s probably thick skinned enough not be bothered by her anyway.

    MgMaster
    Reply

    2. Given that the episode focus was on Alice and Erina – I think it’s only appropriate that my eye was on them >_> When and if the other guys get their own episodes, I will write a bit more about them =X There were episodes centered on Kojirou and Takumi so I don’t think I’m only looking at the females…

      Cherrie
      Reply

      1. With only about 30 minutes remaining and a cooking time of approximately 2 and half minutes, Souma would not have been able to serve up the 190 dishes needed to pass if only 8 stoves were used.

        The anime corrected this by having Souma use 16 stoves.

        RifuloftheWest
        Reply

  9. I want to eat Alice’s egg milkshake.
    https://randomc.net/image/Shokugeki%20no%20Souma/Shokugeki%20no%20Souma%20-%2014%20-%20Large%2007.jpg
    Shokugeki no Souma knows when to draw the boundaries. Little girls do not experience foodgasms.
    https://randomc.net/image/Shokugeki%20no%20Souma/Shokugeki%20no%20Souma%20-%2014%20-%20Large%2014.jpg
    Alice was super adorable during her childhood!
    https://randomc.net/image/Shokugeki%20no%20Souma/Shokugeki%20no%20Souma%20-%2014%20-%20Large%2027.jpg

    ichigo
    Reply

    1. Shokugeki no Souma knows when to draw the boundaries. Little girls do not experience foodgasms.

      Well, in a bonus chapter for the manga, they did the same for the kid, so yeah, it was an expected type of self-censoring / consideration.

      *Chapter 116.5, Erina was serving the main girls from multiple series, think Chitoge/Nisekoi, Kagura/Gintama, Nami/One Piece etc…the theme being that all the girls were from series published by Jump magazine and/or had ongoing anime at that time.

      Techim
      Reply

  10. https://randomc.net/image/Shokugeki%20no%20Souma/Shokugeki%20no%20Souma%20-%2014%20-%20Large%2013.jpg

    but Souma also proved to be an entertainer (and lures in little girls…).

    Move his cooking place into a suspicious ice cream truck souffle van(?) and it would make Souma look like a suspicious pedo lolicon..

    On the topic of loli though…….loli Erina is cute. XD
    https://randomc.net/image/Shokugeki%20no%20Souma/Shokugeki%20no%20Souma%20-%2014%20-%20Large%2028.jpg
    I wonder how their interactions would have gone if Erina and Souma had met each other as childhood friends..

    Techim
    Reply

  11. I was waiting for this part of the manga to get animated, and it didn’t disappoint.Show Spoiler ▼

    I can only imagine Souma was going really fast and smooth to be able to flip more than one pan of souffle, catch them on the plates, and then serve them, and he had sixteen pans to work with to boot! About Souma too, this episode made me wonder if he’s sometimes faking or he’s really aware when someone’s insulting him. In the last episode before their challenge started, Souma didn’t notice Erina’s sarcasm was an insult. Here, after he passed the exam and was approached by Alice, the face he’s making when Alice starting rambling on how great she is gives me the impression he clearly knew Alice was looking down on him. I just loved it when he snapped back at her insults by admitting he did almost fail. I guess Alice didn’t expect Souma admitting that so from her reaction she probably felt she looked foolish for trying to insult Souma in the first place.

    Also as much as I also don’t like Alice’s arrogant attitude, she’s kind of cute when she gets angry, especially when her bodyguard doesn’t act the way she expects. And also when her insults are thrown back at her, as demonstrated by Souma and Erina. It’s got to be those black-and-white round eyes she makes.

    Zhinvu
    Reply

  12. Le nez sighted!
    Can’t wait for Cherries reaction to God’s Show Spoiler ▼

    .
    But yeah…we’ve officially seen the top 3 cooks that aren’t in the elite 10.
    Also, Erina is the better cook. This elite 10 position is utterly seriously. You can pretty much safely assume anyone outside of the elite 10 isn’t a better cook yet.
    Yes, that’s to say Soma would lose to Erina as it is right now.

    Kabble
    Reply

    2. you fool
      here what have to be done

      i am the bone of my knives
      white is my body, Yolk is my blood
      i have created a thousand kinds of food
      faces over thousand kinds of challenge
      i have unlimited stock of every existing food materials in my storage
      and unlimited amount of stoves and spatula
      face it! the Unlimited Cooking Work

      Mishama
      Reply

  15. If it were realistic, Souma would’ve had customers from minute one, and people like to watch, so he could play up the live cooking show the entire time. This is shounen battle fiction though.

    Also unrealistic is how many people vs how many dishes/servings were served in that room. A room of that size would have a capacity of 300-ish set by fire restrictions. There would’ve been around 150-200 at that density without people constantly flowing in and out of the room.

    Collectively there were over 600 victors, so if they had to serve 200 meals each, then it’d be over 120,000 meals served. There’s simply not enough people to eat that many meals. Even if they had multiple rooms, they’d simply struggle to have enough people given what the capacity of hotels are.

    I don’t even want to think about how much of a mess it’d be, how impossible to have enough ingredients, or how much smoke & other hazards cooking would generate to mess up that room either.

    Drasca
    Reply

    1. They are in multiple halls. Soma was in hall A. Alice was in hall E. That’s why Alice had to walk down a hallway to see how Soma was doing.

      Also I think a number of people complaining about the number of servings are over estimating the size of a lot of the servings. By and large, those weren’t huge servings on large plates, they were small servings on small plates easily held in the hand. A person isn’t going to eat food from just one student and be full. They’re going to need to get something from multiple students, just like someone at a buffet takes several items to make up a plate for themselves. That greatly lowers the number of people needed to eat 200 servings per passing student.

      Krono
      Reply

  19. Good cooking genes run in the Nakiri family huh? It’ll be interesting to see how it all develops between Erina and Alice. As much as she tries to be intimidating and tries to put people down, for some reason I feel she’s a much better person that she appears to be. Maybe that’s just my hope, haha. Her dish is really quite fascinating though and I wouldn’t mind trying it in real life!

    I love how Souma admits his failure and his statement about how he learnt from his failure, which surprised Erina and Alice. It’s a very different attitude to the girls’, even though their goals of being the best chef may be the same. I wonder what he learnt from his shougeki with Shinomiya, even though it wasn’t really his fault as such…

    I’m also intrigued by Alice’s assistant/servant. He seems to share similar traits to Soma in particular how he also wears a cloth round the wrist. I don’t think he untied it to put it on his head though–or did he?

    Hm, time to eat some eggs… hehe

    xClueless
    Reply

    1. Totally read this spoiler at your own risk if you’re curious about Kurokiba
      Show Spoiler ▼

      Kabble
      Reply

  20. Honestly, I prefer Alice to Erina. While she may be more provocative at least she isn’t actively aiming to have/hoping for other students to be expelled nor is she falsely judging other people’s cooking.

    Jason
    Reply

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