Original Air Date: July 31th, 2015
Soma decides to use his vacation week to return to his neighbourhood and air the restaurant, but things are not going fine for the economy of the district, as all the local businesses are being affected by the new shopping mall at the train station, mostly the Mozuya Karaage franchise.
This episode provides examples of:
- Adaptation Expansion: When Ikumi arrives to Sumiredoori, she wonders if she should have dressed more conventionally. In the Eye Catch, she spent 2 hours deciding what to wear.
- Animal Motif: Fittingly a snake, one of the Imagine Spot even paints Kinu with a fork tongue.
- Awesome, but Impractical: Ikumi's first idea to use A5 meat for a local karaage business is discarded automatically because it costs too much for a middle-class shopping district. Ikumi is confused, as she doesn't understand why Soma rejected it.
- Berserk Button: Kinu Nakamozu. She cracks her confident smirks once Soma challenges her on making a better karaage than hers.
- Betty and Veronica: Sexy, rich and brash Ikumi as the Veronica and shy, kind and cutie Mayumi as the Betty to Soma's Archie. Both girls also envy the other's attibutes and wonder if they are Soma's type.
- Bitch in Sheep's Clothing: While smiling and using a chipper voice, Kinu kept insulting Yuuya for depending on teens.
- Call-Back: Mayumi keeps looking at Yukihira's storefront while remembering the Squid-Tentacles with Peanut Butter.
- Can't Catch Up: The way Mayumi feels when Soma starts attending a super-chef academy, especially reinforced when Ikumi is brought on-board to help him with the district store owners, who is physically stunning and skilled in culinary. Mayumi, however, wants to help Soma in any way possible.
- Comfort Food: Yuuya Tomita and a few others lingered on in Yukihira's during Soma's brief vacation, depressed over lagging sales; Soma lampshades and asks them why they're buying dinner when they should be having money troubles. Yuuya asks for seconds.
- Conspicuous Trenchcoat: Yuuya uses this to go spy on Mozuya. It doesn't work as both Soma and Kinu recognize him at first glance.
- Creator Cameo: The commentator on TV that gives a good grade to Mozuya's Karaage is Yuuki Morisaki, the manga's consultant — i.e. the Supreme Chef who created all the recipes seen in the anime and manga.
- Early-Bird Cameo:
- When the rest of the Elite Ten are glimpsed, some can be clearly identified despite still being in shadows, like Nene Kinokuni (glasses girl), Soumei Saitou (mohawk guy), and Tosuke Megishima (hat guy). Their designs weren't all clearly revealed in the manga until after the anime started.
- When Soma reopens the restaurant, the dishes he makes include oyakodon and mapo tofu.
- Embarrassing Nickname: Ikumi yells at Soma because he keeps spreading "Nikumi" around.
- "Eureka!" Moment: While he didn't understand Mayumi's idea at first, Soma realizes that they are in a shopping district full of commuting students and they have to take advantage of that.
- Evolving Credits: In the Opening Rising Rainbow, Megumi's vegetables are yellow zucchinis. For the Ending Sacchan no Sexy Curry, Mayumi is running along with Ikumi.
- Foreshadowing: In the very first scene, Soma's former schoolmates are discussing what to eat on their way home, as Yukihira's is closed and they would like something more filling. At the end of the episode, Soma realizes that this will decide the war.
- Harsh Word Impact: Yuuya Tomita gets this from Kinu Nakamozu, when she chews him out for depending on teenagers to save his business. Every insult towards him pierces his head like arrows.
- Hypocrite: Kinu Nakamozu insults Yuuya Tomita for depending on teenagers to save his business, while Mozuya's success was only because she had Etsuya Eizan, also a Tootsuki student, as her consultant.
- Ignored Expert: While talking to her consultant, she was confident that she had already won over Tokyo, but he warned her that Mozuya wasn't a lovemark yet, so she shouldn't let her guard down. Right after ending the call, Kinu dismissed him as a brat.
- Impossibly Delicious Food: The flavor and texture of Mozuya Karaage is so intense that both Soma and Ikumi can feel it piercing like arrows. It's later explained in a long description by Kinu Nakamozu, the general manager, who lists the chicken's breed, the marinate with apples, soysauce and onions and the process to fry it.
- Jingle: In this version, Mozuya has its own jingle. Even for this episode previews, unlike the others, the music is the same jingle.
- Just a Kid: A mindset Kinu had of both Soma and Etsuya, her own Food Consultant (whom she also considers a brat, even planning on cutting ties with him).
- Male Gaze: Several shots of Ikumi's bosom and butt in her very short outfit. Also the foodgasm shot has her and Soma being stripped by only one free sample.
- Motor Mouth: Kinu Nakamozu gives a long and fast explanation of how the karaage is made.
- Ms. Fanservice: Ikumi arrives to Sumiredoori wearing a very short and revealing outfit as casual clothes. All the guys at the train station keep looking at her and even Mayumi can't help but think she is sexy.
- Nerves of Steel: While Mayumi was outright intimidated by their encounter with Kinu Nakamozu, she is impressed that both Soma and Ikumi get down to business like nothing had happened.
- Oblivious to Love: Soma can't get a clue that Mayumi and Ikumi have crushes on him, and thinks that they just don't know each other enough.
- Ordinary High-School Student: How Mayumi feels when Soma returns to town and meets Ikumi, both coming from a "super-school of chefs".
- Playing Hard to Get: Even thought Ikumi is free on her vacation, she says to Soma "I'm very busy, but I'll make the effort to go".
- The Reveal: Turns out that Mozuya's consultant is a member of the Elite Ten.
- Save Our Team: When economy in the neighborhood starts decreasing, Soma lends a hand to revitalize it, as he also considers Yukihira as part of Sumiredoori and his neighbours as his big family.
- Shipper on Deck: Aki kept saying to Mayumi that she should have told Soma that she liked him before he changed schools. Then Aki manages to enlist Mayumi as Soma's taster, so they can have some "alone time".
- Those Two Guys: Mayumi's group after Soma left Sumiredoori consists on her and Aki and two unnamed generic guys.
- You Remind Me of X: Ikumi kept compairing Yuuya with Kanachi because of their nervous breakdowns. Even those two are played by the same voice actor.
