Who experienced fear of an elderly foodgasm in this chapter? I hope it wasn't just me.
This chapter overall turned out to have a rather predictable outcome for such a low level attempt of getting rid of the enemies of central. It was to be expected considering it's the first stage and there is absolutely no way a team consisting of 4 autumn election finalists -- two of whom being the literal best non-seated first years under Hayama -- are failing from low bait tactics. That being said the chapter was nothing short of the usual shokugeki chapter if not a little more disappointing.
Give our heroes a bit of opposition which is designed to put them in an "impossible" situation (usually minor bait). Accompany this with the hubris of the antagonist who believes they've won even before the match has even started, boasting while breaking one of Sun Tzu's cardinal rules war. There's your stage (this is the previous chapter) for action. Then our heroes "surprise" everybody with their power and skill that was vastly underestimated. Insert a badass panel consisting of the sole concentration of hype for that chapter that precedes their display of power. Then decimate your weak tier 1 level boss with your signature combo strike and BAM! You have a Shonengeki no Anime I mean Shokugeki no Soma chapter >.>
Typical shonen stereotypes aside, the disappointing factor of this chapter for me was a lack of emphasis on Megumi who is the other seafood expert in the group. You have Kurokiba who as already asserted his superiority in the field, MC who is MC, and then Alice. While I can understand Alice's incorporation to a degree, she's a Nakiri who possesses a background in that area as well and her scientific cooking is one of the more elite techniques of the first years. I'm aware that Megumi isn't exactly a powerhouse but she's made tremendous strides from the beginning of the series where she was basically on the verge of getting expelled to being considered one the 8 best in her year. She still has a considerable ways to go but her development was one of primary PSD members has been a bit stagnant. I can't really think of too many other places where she'd come out and shine in an arc like this with a non-seafood related event. She needs to step out of shadows of big players. She is Wifu after all.
I still liked the chapter if not for anything else but that the usual tropes and steroetypes of this series have yet to make me tired of it and I always enjoy those classic rape face expressions on our heroes just before the enemy's foodgasm (thank god it didn't happen this time). It's sooo satisfying to see a series like this with so much hype and energy packed into it for something so unorthodox. Giving DBZ and Naruto level hype to a series about cooking.
