Is it, though? Everything besides the mook wild demons comes down to strategy in the end.
Those strategies rely on physical ability though, like even lord Byron.
Norman has a very weak constitution and I don't see him being able to do what Emma did in those fights.
It's also not like Emma isn't smart or strategic herself. It's not a brawn vs brains situation, and she is also exceptionally smart.
Norman's been off doing her own thing and we see that Emma is incredibly capable without him.
Edited by Saiga on Mar 23rd 2019 at 12:25:14 AM
Maybe not in that exact way, but his strategies are so damn good that he never actually needs to rely on physical ability. Like how he recruits and trains a whole army of fanatically loyal warriors willing to do the physical stuff for him. Or how he's able to manipulate the demon lord into not eating him while he's totally vulnerable because he knows exactly what to offer to make alliance a more attractive alternative, etc.
And yeah, Soma is incredibly capable on his own as well. But he's not as good as Erina.
Edited by IniuriaTalis on Mar 22nd 2019 at 10:28:10 AM
Too early to judge on his contract with the demons because that hasn't actually come to fruition yet, and the fact that he was put into a farm with a bunch of literal superhumans is a big contribution to his successes.
CHADhan Player.
Once again, I think you're overstating things a bit too much to make your point. I Ts not even like anyone said Soma should be better than Erina.
If they're meant to be two foils of completely valid cooking strategies, then it kind of makes sense from a narrative standpoint for them to be mostly even, with Erina maybe edging him out a bit.
Her being better than wholesale no matter improvements he makes destroys that dynamic a bit, because it's basically saying Erina's is completely right no matter what Soma accomplishes.
A lazy millennial who's good at what he does.
Goku doesn't have a love interest, crazy people. He has a woman that lives in his house, cooks his food and takes his money. There's clearly no love between those two!
^ Personally, I think she's indisputably better right now or should be. With time that gap should close.
Also Sound is considered 100% right by the narrative. Their opinions do not hold equal weight.
Edited by Arha on Mar 22nd 2019 at 9:36:15 AM
![[up]](https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/smiles/arrow_up.png "[up]"){kind=icon}
Oh yeah, you're right. If Goku had a love interest, he would clearly have kissed her and been aware of her children's birthdays.
And there's never been an indication that Soma is at or even approaching Erina's level of skill. Hell, he never even tries to: his goal is to get her to acknowledge his cooking, not to surpass her as a chef.
CHADhan Player.
No, he wants to beat her; he said so at the end of the RDC.
A lazy millennial who's good at what he does.
Did he? I forgot about that. Well, it's not like he's visibly improved at all since then.
CHADhan Player.
And yet, he's going to beat Asahi anyway.
A lazy millennial who's good at what he does.
Which is pretty BS honestly. Do we really think Soma has earned a victory over someone stronger than people like Jou and Tsukasa, who he never surpassed?
This whole thing has been a mess, it's unfortunate but inevitable that what comes next will be too.
CHADhan Player.
This what happens when you derail your entire narrative for shitty plot points your series didn't need.
Kingpin of Steal-yo-girl
Like I said in my original post, I think Souma beating Erina is an *unexpected* twist, as in something we would not see coming. I also said the tipping point would be something we were introduced to in the opening chapters of the story, something we're getting callbacks to now; Jouichiro's "Find someone you want to cook for" advice, where that line directly cut to the introduction of Erina, linking the two thematically. It's been Souma's shtick for a long, long time now to make stuff that Erina is FORCED to acknowledge as excellent food. Now, as random and absurdly overpowered as Asahi is, he's after Erina for that same reason.
In the end, I think that is a justifiable reason for how Souma can beat Erina. Maybe not in this event, maybe not in this series even, but it fits. Irregardless of talent, upbringing, dedication or effort, the series has been boiling down it's themes to a chef being at their greatest when they cook with identity and purpose. Really, by that logic, what can taste better to a person than food cooked *for* that person by another?
But hey, maybe then Erina finds that same Power of Love and the dynamic just becomes Souma pioneering new flavours and Erina refining them to perfection. That's something. All I'm suggesting in this is how early themes might be coming back for something resembling a realized finale.
Edited by JacksonJin on Mar 24th 2019 at 1:13:33 AM
Eyebrows are your most powerful muscles, they can hold up entire conversations.
Right now Erina is fighting for the right to cook for her mom, so thematically her winning would fit better.
Kingpin of Steal-yo-girl
Then I suggest a thematic compromise; Erina defeats Souma in the event according to the judges, but upon tasting Souma's dish is utterly shocked and protests. She believes his dish far superior and not wanting to win like this, even potentially believing it her mother's cheating somehow.
Souma then points out he cooked the dish for Erina, not the judges, and explains his reasoning. Even to him, her dish tastes better, regardless of her God Tongue, but he made a dish he wanted her specifically to love, using everything he knows about her. For once, the subjective nature of taste is brought into the manga about *cooking.*
Erina then takes this into consideration, and makes a dish for her mother that uses her love just the same. That dish breaks the so-called curse, and all is well. We even get a new dynamic with neither Souma nor Erina truly believing themselves on top, but cooking ever-more delicious meals for each other in a perpetual rivalry, reaching into new horizons and heavens. End manga.
Eyebrows are your most powerful muscles, they can hold up entire conversations.
CHADhan Player.
That actually sounds like a fair way to end it; if this arc is going to be trash, at least end it on a good note.
A lazy millennial who's good at what he does.
Sounds too well written for the manga at this point.
CHADhan Player.
There's a few diamonds in the ruff; Takumi and Soma's match was good. I thought Soma talking shit to Asahi is good.
Really, individual moments are good, but the setup for them is absolute shit.
A lazy millennial who's good at what he does.
The Head of the Hydra
Well the arts still pretty dope.
That vs shot of Soma & Asahi was beautifully drawn.
"I am Alpharius. This is a lie."
CHADhan Player.
I this was well written, that would have been a really hype moment.
A lazy millennial who's good at what he does.
The Head of the Hydra
Without a doubt indeed.
Sadly though the arts wasted.
"I am Alpharius. This is a lie."
That's what happens when a manga gets targeted by a ''serial''-killer with an axe...
Rush, rush, rush.
That aside, considering that Erina's hand is at stake (despite how utterly dumb the whole thing is), does that mean that Souma gets the option of eventually marry her in the future if he choose as such?
It would resolve the issue of having creeps like Asashi coming on her after all...and she can escape future political marriages by already having a "fiancee" as well.
But considering that Souma is Souma...
Edited by TitanJump on Mar 26th 2019 at 5:18:11 PM
CHADhan Player.
Given the pacing of the latest chapters; what are the odds we rush through the entire climax and this match is over in one chapter.
A lazy millennial who's good at what he does.
The difference is that physical ability is very relevant to the plot of Neverland.