Shokugeki no Soma Episode 12: The Memory of a Dish

I want to collect them all.

Impression

Megumi and Shinomiya were both saved today. In different ways, and to different degrees – but both gained something from this impromptu showdown so cleverly engineered by Doujima the evil mastermind. I mean, he never intended to let Megumi be expelled from Tootsuki in the first place. But then again, there’s no realistic way she can possibly win against someone like Shinomiya, and the ‘official’ results of the Shokugeki demonstrated as much. All the alumni were conjuring up various adorable youkai versions of Megumi in their minds, and complimented her well enough with high praise – but when push came to shove, there was no doubt that the chou farci from last episode was superior. So Doujima banked on the hope that Megumi could teach Shinomiya something important – of course, if she’d produced a crappy dish then there would be no helping it, but Doujima sees potential in Tadokoro-chan that she isn’t aware of herself, and this is where it starts to truly take shape. So it was a win-win situation- all according to keikaku (TL note: keikaku means plan).

Do you remember that time when Megumi made some food for Soma and the rest of the Polar Star members whilst they were working on Isshiki’s farm? It was a small hint for a development that’s now happened – Megumi is now aware of her skill and talent in ‘hospitality’ cooking, and this is the start of her ascent in Tootsuki. All this time, she’s barely managed to survive her classes, and now members of the former Elite Ten (i.e. who are way better than the current members, given that they’ve had years of industry experience) have complimented her cooking. It’s not that Megumi was bad – as she said before, it’s a confidence issue, and it’s an issue that’s now starting to be fixed.

I think Shinomiya is likely to get some sympathy after this episode. He has been a massive jerk, but his own experiences explain why he’s the way he is – his fixation over everyone following his recette to the letter was born out of his own negative experiences with jealous and racist employees. I guess it’s still just really mean to introduce oxidized vegetables into a bunch of fresh ones on purpose, just to ensure that some end up failing, but in a way it does represent how life can be cruel at times, and life was certainly cruel to Shinomiya. That time when he expelled a guy for using the wrong hair product was still stupid, though. But anyway, on his way to the top, Shinomiya lost something – the goodness of his heart, if I had to sum it up in a phrase. Megumi’s terrine may have been full of technical flaws, but it contained something the current Shinomiya could never have replicated, and he had the humility to recognize that.

It remains a fact that, had this been an official Shokugeki, Megumi and Soma would have lost badly. It’s not a true loss, but it’s a loss to Soma – you can argue that he tried to bite off way more than he could have chewed, but he genuinely tried to win as Doujima said. I thought that scene was way more powerful in the manga – you could actually feel his frustration across the double page spread.

One True Alice awaits next week, brought to you by the voice of Aki-lucky and Nibutani Shinka! All converts welcomed with open arms, please form an orderly line.