Original Air Date: July 2nd, 2016
The First round of the Autumn Election starts with the first duel: Soma vs. Alice.
This episode provides examples of:
- Achilles' Heel: Despite all the hype she gets from the student body, when tasked to create a bento, Alice technically fulfilled the criteria of the assignment, but failed to realize the point was to create a bento. What she made was simply sushi in a box that would stay cold for six hours, not the novel experience that Soma produced by simply starting with the basics and then improving from there on.
- Adaptation Expansion: Akira's reaction to Soma's dish is shown, as well as a mild amusement towards him.
- Cliffhanger: The episode ends with Megumi preparing for her duel and the reveal that her opponent is Ryou Kurokiba.
- Hypocritical Humor: Alice gets annoyed at Soma watching her working and teasing her about it. Soma then remembers that Alice did the exact same thing when they met at training camp.
- Impossibly Delicious Food:
- Alice's Temari Bento is meant to be eaten in a specific order. The flavors progress in intensity as you go along in a similar manner to a full course meal. The 'sushi cakes' had filtered tomato jus extracted with a centrifuge. First is Abalone (pressed in kombu) with kombu dashi foam (espuma), Sea urchin, Salmon roe, Cured bonito, Pumpkin wrapped mille feuille sushi, Beetroot wrapped mille feuille sushi, Tanakazushi? (sushi rice wrapped in pickled tanaka mustard leaves), Zucchini wrapped mille feuille sushi, Meat* (or smoked salmon), Cured beef fillet, smoked salmon and finishing with a "Sea bream chazuke"note . Despite the great amount of techniques and flavour, it couldn't compete against...
- Soma's Evolved Nori Bento, which better captured the spirit of the theme. The first dish consisted of deep fried fish cake, Kinpira Gobonote in beer batter and a tartar sauce and cod fillet previously marinated in dried tuna stock, then followed by a soup of bacon, onion and miso. And for the main course, the nori bento had Nori Flavor Bombs (made with a basic molecular technique and seaweed extract) and rice layered with dried tuna and bonito fish. The final touch is a kudzu sauce added to the rest of the rice. This made the judges eat excitedly and remember the joy of having bentos in their childhoods.
- Pragmatic Adaptation: The episode focuses in Alice and Soma's duel, mentioning briefly the manga chapters in between, like Ryoko sampling Soma's prototype and Soma's session at the DEF kitchen, mostly for narrative purposes.
- Smart People Wear Glasses: Invoked by Yuuki, when she demands Marui to explain what Alice is doing. He can't because Molecular Cuisine is not his area.Yuuki: Are those glasses just for show?!
- Stepford Smiler: Ikumi notes that Alice being friendly towards Soma is fake, as she is very sure of her victory.
- Underdogs Never Lose: First episode of the season, first match of the tournament and his opponent is Erina's cousin, Alice. You honestly thought Soma would lose?
- Walking Shirtless Scene: As noted by many, if Senzaemon strips and goes barechested, this means the food is beyond excellent. He did this for both Alice and Soma's entries.
- What Kind of Lame Power Is Heart, Anyway?: Alice asks Soma if he is trying to teach her a lame lesson about the dish needing "a heart". Before going any further, Senzaemon explains that it's not about "a heart", but about capturing the spirit of the theme given to them. Soma's dish, unlike hers, managed to surprise them and be a bento, while she only focused on showing off her knowledge and making a dish that could also pass by in a sushi theme as well.
