Final Impressions / First Impressions / Shokugeki no Souma

「戦士たちの宴」 (Senshi-tachi no Utage)
“The Banquet of Warriors”

Love it or hate it, Shokugeki no Souma ends off smack in the middle of the Autumn Elections.There are definitely a lot more questions that I have than answers, but here’s hoping for a season two! *cross fingers* As someone who hasn’t read the manga, I’ve spotted a few things that I believe were intentionally left out. If anyone cares to satisfy my curiosity, please remember to use the spoiler tags in the comments in case not everyone wants to be spoiled. For one, Group A didn’t really have a proper finale like Group B did. They never announced the top 4 students going forward into the main competition – but we know that neither Shun nor Zenji got that spot. My guess is that they didn’t want to introduce another complexity to the competition and end the season off on a cliffhanger. We’ll have to see what really happened there if there’s ever a season two. Then there’s the obvious question of who will end up on top? Who is going to win the Autumn Elections and who will end up on next year’s Elite Ten? The amount of pressure on these students is incredible and they’re all holding it up very well. Work hard, party hard right?

There’s a heavy emphasis on character development and exploration this arc and I love how it brings all the known students together to give us a better idea of who they are. All the characters that we’re familiar with got their own share of the tournament to shine and even some of the folks that were kind of sitting on the back burner had more screen time. Initially I thought Souma’s story was an exciting tale on its own, but unlike Souma who had a good mentor growing up (his own father), Megumi, Akira and Ryo had more challenging childhoods. Whether they were forced to start cooking or grew a passion for it, it wasn’t easy getting to where they are and it makes me excited to see them succeed. Akira’s story is definitely more relatable if you’re looking at someone that literally came from nothing and only had a good sense of smell to go on. Good thing is, he’s a good kid and his attachment to Jun is very enduring. They’re more like siblings looking out for one another (maybe it’s because I can’t take Jun as a serious adult) than a foster child-parent relatioship.

Overall, I thought the writers did a good job spending the right amount of time tying everything off in the limited time. It’s not ideal to end off in the middle of the Autumn Elections, but at least there aren’t huge cliffhangers that leave the audience mad or confused. The epilogue and aftermath was also nice to see and they brought back snippets of what all the students are doing now. I can’t leave off without talking about Megumi and Souma and of course, Erina herself. Whether or not you believe that Shokugeki no Souma is going to go down any “shipping” route, you can’t deny that Megumi and Souma have a special bond. The finale pretty much gave them a solid 2 minutes to themselves (with some bystanders), and you can’t overlook the significance of that. I don’t know how Souma is feeling about Megumi… but Souma has made a distinct impression on Megumi for helping her through school so I Imagine some sparks flying there. Erina hasn’t gotten much screen time in the past arc so it’s hard to say where she stands. I know she doesn’t like Souma (still) and pretty much can’t even fathom the idea of him being that great of a chef. She can’t accept that his cooking is actually good and I still find that piece of her personality hard to digest. About the only piece of her life that I care about at this point is her relationship with Souma’s dad and that’s surface has barely been scratched.

Bottom Line – @RCCherrie: Didn’t even reveal who made it into the final 4 of Group A… bum bum bum ~ And I won’t spoil it =X More Megumi and Souma moments please! Definitely some romance brewing here… #ship

Epilogue:

Final Impressions

My first thought about Shokugeki no Souma is… d*mn, the manga must love eggs; it’s been such a heavily used key ingredient these past two seasons. Whether it be fried rice, omelets or curry, Souma has done it all. It’s been a magnificent journey as a “culinary” anime, and blogging late at night does not help with the cravings. Not only did the food look good, but if you could imagine just how it would smell and taste, it completely makes me salivate. Shokugeki no Souma is not a show to take lightly, nor would I recommend it if you’re looking for a show that teaches you basic cooking. It’s highly advanced in the terminology and skill sets used. Rather than seeing basic ingredients and foods (e.g. Koufuku Graffiti), you’re learning techniques that you might not even learn on the Food Network. I give complete credit to the creators for being able to have that sort of creativity in their writing and doing the proper research in order to create this anime/manga. Shokugeki no Souma not only makes me feel inadequate as a foodie, but it actually makes you want to recreate their dishes or dive into the culinary profession.

Now stepping away from the food talk…

Where Shokugeki no Souma really captivated my attention has to be in the way that the story is told and just how over-exaggerated and funny everything can be. Keep in mind that while you’re watching this, it’s meant to be a shounen and not everything is supposed to be taken seriously. But also similar to many long-running shounen, things happen for a reason and there’s a lot of great character developments that come out of it. The secondary characters are the ones to watch out for because not only are they influenced by Souma but the other way around too; they encourage him to be better.

When I describe this show to people, I often say, be prepared to watch people eat food so delicious that it blows their clothes off – because that’s literally what you’re getting yourself into. A lot of people might find that idea hilarious and other people would find it a turn off. If you’re amongst the people that get turned off by the ecchi-ness, this is probably the most extreme situation you’ll see and you won’t even see it every episode. I still recommend you give it a try (and perhaps, watch it alone). I think everyone can find something to love about this show – whether it’s the food, the comedy, the plot or the characters, it’s just a fun ride. It’s not long or dragged out and filled with empty arcs of nothing; things happen and before you know it, season two please!

 

End Card

32 Comments

  1. I find it amazing how easily this episode went from intense(Soma vs Hayama), to making me shed a tear both from hapiness and sadness(Megumi’s success and Yuuki’s interaction with Fumio), to funny(the party) to adorable(Soma and Megumi) and does everything so right.

    I don’t think an anime has made me want to read the manga it was based on more then this one, ever and now that I’m almost caught up, so far it just keeps getting better. It is one series that will take a special place in my heart as it actually made me want to get better at cooking. I Loved every seconds of it and thank you for covering it here.

    Geebun
    Reply

    1. Although they left the show open for more, I think this was one few shows this year that gives a satisfying end to said season. You know, like, although the season may be over, it ends in such a way that you can walk away from the show happy with what you’ve seen.

      Lyfe
      Reply

    1. As far as adaptions go, this was a good one. They covered up to the first few chapters of Volume 8 of the manga I believe. I wouldn’t say no to another 24 episodes, the manga will have got sufficiently ahead by the time they come to produce, assuming they do it in the Summer again.

      Lyfe
      Reply

      1. The manga is already sufficiently ahead. They just need the green-light and by winter it’ll be far enough ahead for a THIRD round of 24 episodes for next summer.

        This really was the most faithful adaptation I’ve seen in years. It’d be a shame if it didn’t continue.

        Aex
        Reply

  5. About the Group A 4th Person
    Show Spoiler ▼

    gingerbread
    Reply

  8. Yeah, the 4th person that passed group A was left out.

    Leaving out the remainder of the elections was a good move as it would take at least 12 episodes (likely more around 14 or 15 episodes) to animate Show Spoiler ▼

    Taiakun
    Reply

  9. About the Autum Elections Finale a more complete answer

    Show Spoiler ▼

    Show Spoiler ▼

    With regard to character development there is actually a decent amount of it so far but personally I think that the best development for Souma himself comes from the Show Spoiler ▼

    Juan
    Reply

  10. I went into this show expecting some ecchiness so I wasn’t turned off by it. I actually find it funny even though I don’t usually like fanservice much in other anime, especially when the clothes tearing off happens to both genders.
    This episode made me laugh when Souma “punched” one of the judges because it was sort of unexpected. I’m also glad they showed a lot of the secondary characters because I really do like them. Overall I really enjoyed this show and most of the characters. Season 2?
    Thanks for covering this!

    ZJZJ
    Reply

  11. Barely a moment to catch my breath during the last few eps, especially in this one. The sheer intensity of Souma & Hayama’s battle was overflowing beyond the arena and through my monitor. You know you’re good when you’ve made even highly pretentious judges argue like little kids ;3 Loved the fact that they plenty of time for the Polar Star crew to have a start to close things off, and even invite Nikumi and the Aldini bros too.

    And so end’s my 2nd favorite anime of 2015. There’ll be two gaping holes in my fridays now without Shokugeki no Souma & Prison School. The ending was great and conclusive enough and even thought we got no teaser of a S2 like with Prison School, I think there’s a good chance to expect one, this being in Shounen Jump & all. Until then though, I’ll be hitting that manga.

    Thank you based J.C. Staff one of the most intense anime summers in years. They should really make Shokugeki no Souma & Prison School their flagships for another season or two.

    MgMaster
    Reply

  12. As a manga reader and thinking about all the development that happened in those last chapters, I can only that that
    Show Spoiler ▼

    Higure
    Reply

  13. One of the things I liked, was that both Soma and that guy both won in a way. Soma with more in the way of approval(3 Judges to 2) and the other guy in overall score. I thought it would have been unrealistic for Soma to win outright given how that guy is like a master of spices and stuff and should have dominated the curry challenge.

    Lyfe
    Reply

  14. I’d love to say that they have to do a second season, but I’ve seen shows with break-your-face cliffhanger endings never get one, so who knows. They SHOULD do one, that much is for certain. This is the best adaptation I’ve seen in years, maybe even ever. It captured all the charm of the manga and only cut the tiniest corners. If you can’t find a character to love in this show, you’re doing something wrong.

    And unlike other series that hit their peak the first arc and then kinda meander off into pointlessness limbo, this one just keeps getting better. And better. And better. You love what just happened? You ain’t seen nothing yet!! XD

    Thanks for finding the time to cover this, Cherrie!

    Aex
    Reply

    1. I haven’t read the manga but hearing how everything thinks this adaptation is great makes me happy =) I really hope this means that a second season will be coming out because the hype was real for this one ^^

      Cherrie
      Reply

  15. I know she doesn’t like Souma (still) and pretty much can’t even fathom the idea of him being that great of a chef. She can’t accept that his cooking is actually good and I still find that piece of her personality hard to digest.

    I think the problem with Erina isn’t that she doesn’t think Souma can cook; it’s that their personalities and life experiences clash on a catastrophic level. Erina’s an elitist and perfectionist and Souma’s common and willing to try random things.

    Also, there’s a summer special one shot that was placed between the Karaage and Election arc which wasn’t adapted and explained what everyone did on summer vacation. In it:
    Show Spoiler ▼

    Dave
    Reply

  18. I’m very sad to see this anime go. I loved Shokugeki more than anything as it is my favorite manga and will be waiting patiently for the next season (which I’m hopign comes out).

    With that said… there are some things missing from the anime that was present in the manga and were skipped.
    Show Spoiler ▼

    Also on you note Cherrie, yes Erina did really get much burn during this season. The manga now is finally starting to touch on her now. This first season did not give her much attention, but the anime did a very good job of keeping her relevant unlike the manga. When reading the manga, and waiting 4-5 weeks before you even see an Erina panel, it really made you forget about her, and even miss her.

    The anime made sure to mention her every now and then, and even gave her extra scenes because I’m pretty sure even they noticed the lack of attention on one of the leading heriones.

    I’m really happy where the manga is headed, and season 2 will shine more light and develop Erina. Maybe then you will start to like her more.

    Keivn
    Reply

    1. I hope so too… I think her character can be developed very thoroughly and she has a good background story (I hope?) with Souma’s dad. Her current personality is just a bit too juvenile and immature for me (but hey, they’re teenagers so go figure).

      Cherrie
      Reply

  19. Sorry, if is hijack this Anime blog for the Manga.

    @Shokugeki no Soma Manga
    (This posting is about the Manga. So open the Spoiler only if you are uptodate)

    Show Spoiler ▼

    WorldwideDepp
    Reply

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