Fuzzy’s First Impression
Alright, Shokugeki is finally back!
As a long time fan of the anime, I always look forward to new seasons and this one is no different. Especially since things are ramping up with Azami’s reign of terror or Totsuki Academy.
The episode begins with our handsome elite, Tsukasa Eishi, announcing the advancement exam. Things are getting tense! With the announcement, Director Azami is pretty much ensuring that the residents of Polar Star get expelled, leaving all of them on a ticking clock. Totsuki Revolution? Yes please. Using Tsukasa and Rindo was also a great way to start since watching the Elite 10 interact is always fun. It was also great to see that Shokugeki’s Chibi faces are still going strong!
But man, going to Totsuki must be so stressful. It seems like everyone in Polar Star has always been under intense pressure and/or at risk of failing ever since Souma arrived.
But now they have the school’s director targeting them, which is way scarier than anything they’ve faced before.
Nakiri’s entrance into Souma’s room was hilarious, and definitely played on it having romantic intent from Nakiri’s side. I’m not complaining of course, I’ve been shipping Souma and Nakiri since day one! Unfortunately, cooking is the only thing floating around Souma’s head and Nakiri’s permanent blush is not reciprocated from Souma. Dangit shounen protagonists!
The very long flashback sequence on Nakiri’s childhood was interesting, and definitely answered a lot of questions us anime only viewer might’ve had. Most importantly, how the hell and why she’s obsessed with Saiba Joichiro. It must’ve sucked for her honestly, tasting disappointing food day after day. It’s no wonder she clung onto the memory of Saiba since he showed her how great food could really be. But then of course Azami struck again! Dangit Azami just let Nakiri be Nakiri.
But after pouring out her life story and troubles to Souma, she should’ve known what was coming. He is a happy, go lucky shounen protagonist after all. Of course he’d make her some good food!
A small part of me was hoping Souma would hit her with one of his horrible dishes, and it would’ve been really funny to see, but alas, that would’ve been too cruel. The Egg Tempura was an interesting dish and definitely not as flashy as some of the other dishes that Shokugeki has showcased, but it was amusing nevertheless. I would try it myself, but I am a thousand percent sure I would not be able to replicate half of it.
I’m glad Nakiri never answered Souma on whether the dish was good because I think her confirming that truth will be when their romance is sealed by fate. Not saying it now leaves this little aura of mystery and a flying string of fate that’ll one day be resolved, but not today! Also Souma’s confidence level would actually quadruple if Nakiri were to confirm it. I remember a while back Saiba told Souma that becoming a great chef requires a woman to dedicate all your cooking to, or something along those lines. I think with Souma’s desire to impress Nakiri, we are seeing the first sails of the Soumakiri ship unfurl!
The episode ended with Nakiri’s inspirational(?) speech to the rest of Polar Star, and definitely set up the rest of the arc! I’m happy she’s found her passion for cooking again and I’m pretty hyped, but I think the one thing that has stood out to me in the past and still stands out is the mediocre animation. The show is a lot of static characters and moving mouths, but hey, can’t have everything. Also the food still looks great, so at least the budget’s going somewhere!
Chance of Blogging: Very High
Chance of Watching: 100%