Shokugeki No Soma

The first chapter seemed to set up Souma as a big fish in a small pond, who needs to venture into wider world to improve and learn that there's more to cooking than he can learn in a small dinner.

Except then it turns out he's way better than like 90% of students from day 1, and whenever things get serious, he falls back in his dinner menu. Weird.

I always thought it was weird that Soma is like the only character who actually learns new things. Every arc, he has to learn a new technique, or master a new cooking style or quinine, whereas all his rivals just get vaguely better as whatever. Like, Hayama is positioned as his superior, but all he ever does is spices. Soma also learns spices? Hayama SPICES HARDER. Takumi gets outclassed? His food is INSUFFICIENTLY FRENCH. Megumi needs to step up? INJECT MORE MOE INTO FOOD.

I should note, I like the series, but the DBZ method of power scaling does not work well with food.

Yea, it's trying to have a linear power system but with food; you can't power scale food lol. You can't just say "OH THIS DISH TASTES GOOD, SO IS THEREFORE BETTER" there needed to be some other measurement of skill.

Which to be fair, was there early on; like how Soma beat Nikumi because of how imbalanced her meals were focusing mainly on high quality meat, while Soma focused on the supplemental parts of a beef meal to make up that difference.

But that obviously wasn't something that could be maintained on a consistent basis.

Yeah, like I said, by the point I'm at everyone is ridiculously-amazing and so the only way to win is being ever-so-slightly-more-ridiculously-amazing. A few of them have Achilles Heels - Nene can't see how anything that's not by-the-book can be good, Momo can't see how anything that's not "cute" can be good, Azami himself has his creepy devotion to his daughter's "divine tongue" backfire on him when Soma gets Erina to approve his food and therefore Azami has to as well - but for the most part the first way is how it goes.

Megumi injects MOMMYKINK into her food.

I think we can all agree that there were inherent problems with the premise that became more apparent over time, but the series got by well enough with a well written and likable cast.

And then it dropped that, and it was just all downhill from there.

Edited by BlackYakuzu94 on May 12th 2021 at 3:59:44 PM

The premise was fine, they could have just polished up the execution.

Alright, time to meet the... secret society of chef gangsters? Okay then? I can see why people think this last arc is a bit too bonkers even by the standards of a bonkers series like this, but I’ve got less than fifty chapters left; can’t stop now!

Don't worry, it gets worse.

I assume SOMETHING legitimately bad must happen, given how every single drop of goodwill seems to have been drained out of this thread except me...

I did enjoy the last arc for what it’s worth, but there’s no denying it’s a steep drop in quality.

Admittedly there ARE actually fraternities of mob doctors and mob accountants in real life, so maybe “mob chefs” do exist?

I mean, those jobs have different functions, and can't really be compared. Medical malpractice is a matter of life and death, and funny money businesses (e.g. money laundering, tax evasion, etc.) is a crime. But unless the "underground" folks dine exclusively on food that uses illegal ingredients, the idea of "underworld chef community" is kind of nonsensical. And I know there's a lot of black market dealings in terms of food products, but none of the transactions involve the chef.

And in-story, the Noir chefs just use outrageous/"unorthodox" techniques that has no way of working in real life, so even if the concept wasn't already flawed, the execution just made it worse.

I can possibly think of underground chefs that use, like, illegal drugs in their cooking.

Using drugs to cook or cooking with drugs?

That's just normal chefs.

Really putting just a dab of coke in their food is 100% more logically dark than any of the preparations the "dark chefs" have done.

Yes.

I remember that came up in Cooking Master Boy. That show was more over-the-too but man did it embrace the cheesiness.

Just remember that the Noirs are stage-performers/magicians foremost and chefs second.

Theatrics are to be expected if that is kept in mind while watching them.

Ooooookay, even I have to admit this is starting to get goofy. An evil long lost foster brother, really? At least Erina’s getting some good development and we’re finally going to BLUE.

I think the second year exam must be the exact point the chef consultant left. How little emphasis on the dishes there was compared to prior arcs is quite noticeable.

34 chapters remain.

Edited by HamburgerTime on May 17th 2021 at 11:21:17 AM

You were warned about how bad it was going to get dude.

Now continue your descent into hell.

Aww, the first round of Blue was actually very touching. And oh hey, Tsukasa’s here.

And now we are properly introduced to the silly villains with their silly cooking implements. It’s so bizarre, but honestly if these guys really existed I think watching them cook might be fun.

24 chapters remain.

Oh no doubt, I would have loved a live cooking demo of that woman who used the chainsaw and explosives to make the cake.

I wonder if they made their evil cooks performance artists rather than have them use illegal or unethical ingredients because a lot of Eastern cooking and medicine is totally okay with that? Like shark fin soup or using the blood of endangered animals to make medicine that doesn't actually work.