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The over the top racism to the chef in France was a bit much. As seriously as they take their food, sabotaging someone who's aiming for a Michelin star or equivalent would be a huge black mark on an assistant chef and if word got around they'd never work at a high end restaurant ever again. What is the obsession with manga always showing an overseas encounter where everyone is super racist to the noble Japanese?
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Jun 10, 2013 10:23
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I've been watching old seasons of Masterchef for the past few weeks and all I could think when Souma revealed his curry risotto was Joel Bastianich yelling "Curry!? In a risotto?!"
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Nov 25, 2013 05:46
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SatansBestBuddy posted:Wait... doesn't smell have a huge impact on taste, to the point where you can flavour some foods just by having the right fragrance nearby? How can something that smells so bad it would even reach the audience and make them choke taste good when eaten? This is particularly weird cause they had that one guy who could smell real good just a couple chapters ago make a big deal out of smells and spices. There are a lot of foods with incredibly potent smells that have completely different tastes, to where they suggest to newbies that they hold their nose to eat it the first time.
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Dec 10, 2013 07:38
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BlitzBlast posted:I was kind of expecting a punchline while flipping through that, and it didn't really deliver. Yeah, it really lacked anything substantive. I'm really hoping this doesn't turn into another Yakitate Japan where 90 chapters in all the emphasis on food and cuisine drops off for food based time travel and magic powers.
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Dec 28, 2013 09:49
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BlitzBlast posted:This was the first time I actually laughed at the explanation for what's so amazing. Oh my god, not basic barbecue technique! You've clearly never been to bbq country. People will fight you over what is used in the smoke, how long its smoked, how the meat is hung, what type of meat is hung, how often its rotated, etc. People serious about bbq take it obscenely seriously.
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Sep 14, 2014 23:35
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DoubleDonut posted:Is barbecue even well-known in Japan at all? Do they have American Restaurants over there that serve things that aren't burgers? If not, then yeah it probably would be a big deal for a high school student to use barbecue techniques for a stew. I think over there its like the "grill fresh meat over coals in the center of the table" which is the Korean style. Things like mesquite and smoking meats for hours is a very non-Japanese style. Outside of "bbq country" most people think its nothing more then slathering the thick traditional sauce on some meat and calling it bbq.
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Sep 15, 2014 03:29
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Serious Frolicking posted:So is smoked meat in general largely absent from japanese cuisine, then? This was on wikipedia quote:A characteristic of traditional Japanese food is the sparing use of red meat, oils and fats, and dairy products Modern Japanese cooking is probably a much different story, plus regional varieties, etc. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Yakiniku This is what "Japanese BBQ" returns, its mostly descended from Korean BBQ styles.
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Sep 15, 2014 03:43
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Astro Nut posted:That and fermentation can add a certain kick to such dishes that fresher foods won't. One of the brilliant thjngs about people and cuisine - we'll find some way to use an ingredient so long has it hasn't slipped into outright poisonous. If Bizarre Foods taught me anything its that there are an insane amount of ways to preserve and improve the flavor of food, some taking years to reach its potential. That and personal taste is a product of your environment. The local fishermen in Madagascar absolutely despise the taste of oysters but harvest and export them for insanely high prices.
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Nov 24, 2014 10:41
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BlitzBlast posted:You know, I actually forgot that most of the school doesn't like Souma. His first day "You all exist for me to crush" probably had a lasting effect on most of the students.
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Jan 23, 2015 04:20
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Fabricated posted:Souma honestly comes off as a prodigy compared to the one-trick ponies that comprise like everyone he's competed against. No matter what complaints people have about Souma it's not as bad as Alice "the greatest chef ever" who's done absolutely nothing but stand around and get angry/flustered at Souma.
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Jan 24, 2015 16:59
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So, Souma loses, kind of, and now has a definite goal he needs to reach. He doesn't really have a identity as a cook beyond just being able to cook great food.
pentyne fucked around with this message at 04:41 on Jan 26, 2015 |
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Jan 26, 2015 04:18
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To speculate, it looks like Souma's goal in life has been less about becoming a world class chef and more about beating his father, so while everything he cooks is top tier there's nothing about him that makes him stand out against other top tier cooks. He's great at thinking outside the box and finding ways around his weaknesses but he doesn't have a signature like the other two (I guess). It's pretty dumb, but now that I think about it most world class chefs have a signature dish or type of style they're known for and are the world's best at. Gordon Ramsay with his beef wellington, Graham Elliot and Heston Blumenthal with molecular gastronomy, etc. Plus every single season of Masterchef has drilled into the contestants "we want to see you on a plate" and how important it is to "speak" through your food. I would like to think this means the manga is going to step away from the constant cooking tournaments for a while and have Souma branch out and learn what he needs to surpass his father, probably from Dojima. After all, even though his father is the "demon" he was still only 2nd chair to Dojima's 1st plus he dropped out. Souma's father would rather run a neighborhood shop and be a highly regarded wandering chef then cultivate a world class business. I bet it will be something about Souma's mother as to the reason, just for the extra drama kick, like she originally ran the meager shop, Joichiro fell in love and joined her, she died a few years later. Mraagvpeine posted:Soma is basically "jack of trades, master of none" and this is why he lost. Except the judges still say the dishes tasted the same, and Souma clearly beat them in terms of creativity (an essential skill for Michilin level cooking) and Spice dude just smashed his spice covered face repeatedly into the dish.
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Jan 26, 2015 17:15
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Having Souma lose now seems to be more of "he's missing something key to his rise and his obsession with beating his father is holding him back" just done with a stupid dramatic twist. I feel bad for the gloomy kid. Now Alice is going to lord it over him that he technically lost to Souma as well. Souma seems like if he was given a kitchen, a selection of top quality ingredients, and told to cook for a fancy high end dinner party he'd absolutely knock it out of the park with inventive and creative dishes, probably the type of thing his father does, but not develop a unique style of cooking that he becomes world famous for. Maybe he'll finally spend more time around Megumi to learn her method of cooking.
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Jan 26, 2015 23:46
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For 100+ chapters in there's been a shocking absence of anything romance related aside from Nikumi getting flustered and a few brief scenes with Megumi. This tournament arc has really carried on for far too long with shockingly little payoff, serving more as a vehicle for a poo poo ton of extra characters to get their day in the sun. 40+ chapters of this entire series is this 1st year tournament, and it adds at least 10-15 new characters. pentyne fucked around with this message at 01:13 on Jan 27, 2015 |
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Jan 27, 2015 01:10
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Begemot posted:I mean, that's what the manga is. It's not going to turn into a romance manga all of a sudden. It's about cooking, the whole tournament was almost nonstop cooking. If you're not enjoying the cooking, I'd stop reading if I was you. No I meant as a general observation. This entire cooking tournament has kind of fallen flat and almost seems like a waste now.
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Jan 27, 2015 04:19
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buzmeg posted:And, even moreso, I think it was Ramsay who says that the initial test for interviewing chefs is having them simply make *scrambled eggs*. Learning how to make a perfect omelet is cooking school 101. If you can't do that then you shouldn't be a chef. Patware posted:Everyone here needs to remember, *with a crazy amount of fanservice
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Jan 27, 2015 14:02
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Mraagvpeine posted:Hey, microwaves are a legitimate cooking appliance just like toaster ovens. Only to anyone who grew up deliberately refusing how to use a stove. Someone shared a story in GBS about a co-worked who didn't cook (at all) and when his wife left him all he knew how to make was microwave scrambled eggs. 2 eggs in a coffee cup, beat with fork, 60 sec on high.
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Jan 28, 2015 18:20
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vibratingsheep posted:That's why I'm excited about her showing up at the end of the chapter looking envious - once she's allowed to be a character and not just an object of worship, we could find some defining characteristics that make her interesting. She hasn't been allowed to do anything herself yet, though, so she's just sitting around while everyone else gets defined personalities and developed rivalries. She'll probably end up stagnating or something and get all huffy and emotional when confronting Souma and then fall for him when she finds out who his father is. The whole "she's still the absolute greatest cook" is really starting to get annoying. Her cousin is a million times more interesting, if only because Alice will probably end up badgering Megumi for home-style cooking techniques so she's not completely dependent on all her fancy machines.
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Feb 4, 2015 02:55
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Angry Grimace posted:That's the point - they're implying Hayama won because his dish had an additional intangible quality that Soma's did not due to his feelings for Shiomi. Its the exact same thing Jouchirou said in the first chapter and again in this chapter.  So, I assume Souma's mother is dead, but there's no reason to make the face hidden unless the writer planned some big reveal down the line.
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Feb 4, 2015 22:38
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Looking back the "cooking for a treasured person" is just the latest special skill of undefinable quality. From what I can remember - Erica's "God Tongue" (though given that she's never cooked in the manga just having the greatest palette in the world is kind of lame) - Megumi's "Hospitality" - Crazy guy's "Chef Tracing" and of all of them the only one I expect to "level-up" is Megumi.
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Feb 5, 2015 06:59
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SyntheticPolygon posted:I spent the last week reading through this series due to a recommendation and although I thought I wouldn't be able to get into the premise it turned out to be really good. It took me a while to get into it though, the first ten chapters or so were kind of weak but once the Polaris dorm was introduced it started to become pretty fantastic. It looks like I picked a good time to finish reading it as well because the Autumn Tournament was exhausting enough reading it all at once I can't imagine how it would've been reading it week-to-week. Also, Megumi is the best character and probably one of the best Shonen heroines ever, especially of the character archetype she follows. The running joke in this thread is that Erina has been constantly mentioned as the absolute greatest cook of her era, but does nothing but stomp around and get mad and Souma for his success and try to get him kicked out/defeated. They're really playing up the Elite 10 as a mix of vindictive assholes (blond slicked back hair guy and Erina) and just regular people (nudist chef) but they've never cooked so it's not even clear what the point to them is other then being final boss
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Feb 12, 2015 02:14
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Allarion posted:I'm glad Megumi got paired up with Erina. Hopefully that'll lead to better development for Erina. Even though the teachers praised her, can't help but think that Erina is probably making a mistake, but that's mostly because I just want her to not be perfect for once. Her being so completely unambiguously perfect when we know that she definitely has the "doesn't cook for a loved one" flaw is starting to get annoying. Her superpower is supposed to be the "god's tongue" meaning she can literally taste every single aspect of a dish but I don't see how that translates to her having the years of experience and skills necessary to reproduce said high level flavor. All we've seen of her is her sitting around lording over the people below her and enacting her petty revenge attempts against Souma rather then constantly cooking. She had one cooking challenge (which doesn't make sense why would anyone challenge the no. 1 seat?) that she effortlessly won against some scrub and that was it. She threw a temper tantrum when Souma surprised her and has been tasking people to try and kick him out ever since because he had the audacity to push her limits. Plus, as a student on a work experience venture her telling the owner/chef to gently caress off when he tells her to wash dishes should've resulted in him just going "Okay, then leave and I'll just tell your school that I dismissed you. Other girl, get started and we'll work up to you as a trainee chef by the end of the week" but since she's literally perfect the manga has to show her humiliating everyone who opposes her and cruelly mocking their inferior attempts to cook.
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Feb 24, 2015 16:46
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Another thing is the "special event" the whole week is about and Souma and secretary girl are helping the guy actually run a better restaurant by doing things he could easily do. All Erina does is show up, cook the world's best food, then smugly leave. As soon as she's gone and the quality returns to its previous level the restaurant is going to get reamed for the difference. One of the big differences between world class chefs and Erina is yeah she can show up and makes mind blowing food, but she could never build up an entire team that could follow her lead and function without her presence. By that definition she's a failure of a chef. pentyne fucked around with this message at 16:24 on Feb 28, 2015 |
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Feb 28, 2015 16:19
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I'm not surprised that the whole point of the trainee cooking week is to pass on better practices to the restaurant. Most of the dialogue from the staff was like something straight out of Kitchen Nightmares with the whole "but this is the way we do it we can't change now!" mentality. The whole point of the catering industry is change or die as the market dictates and when doing the same thing isn't working you have to try something new.
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Mar 4, 2015 13:10
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Well, the forcing the reader to sympathize with Erina begins again. At least we're going to see some next level development from Souma at his new apprenticeship.
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Mar 9, 2015 03:40
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Angry Grimace posted:He's a shonen protaganist. His theme is "Because I have friends." Looks like Shinomoya is going to try and master a french-japanese fusion style (using burdock, a widely popular vegetable in Asia, not often used in Europe), which will make for some interesting stories. I've been watching Mind of a Chef and David Chang does some amazing stuff when trying to make new styles of ramen, and one of my favorites is where he takes the traditional style of making ramen broth (4-10 hours) and manages to make the same quality (or better) broth in 10 minutes by using freeze dried mushrooms, chicken, pork, and other seasonings. One of the amusing things he mentions is how in Japan ramen is constantly being experimented with and modified and new styles emerge, but if people develop a new style/technique outside of Japan no one really regards it as "authentic". Looks like Shinomoya is going back to his roots to create something new and unique that will capture the taste buds of Japan. pentyne fucked around with this message at 10:53 on Mar 16, 2015 |
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Mar 16, 2015 10:48
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SwissArmyDruid posted:Ooh, and it's on Amazon. I'll watch that, thanks for mentioning it! Which episode is this, S1E1, or S1E11? Almost all of the episodes have a great Japanese segment, I'll list my favorite. Episode 1 Ramen: Pretty much all about ramen, noodles, instant noodles, ways to cook ramen broth, etc. Episode 2 Pig: Details how Chang created a version of katsu bushi (dried, preserved fish that's rock hard and shaved into slices and served everywhere in Japan) using pork instead and how once the technique is perfect any animal protein can be made the same way and open up tons of new ways to prepare Japanese cuisines that formally used the fish k-b. Episode 7: Simple: Covers a lot of the "simple" Japanese food traditions like yakitori that are refined to perfection and a ramen restaurant where there's no talking aloud Episode 10 Japan: Covers Japanese bar culture, food markets, and an extremely formal meal served at a Japanese temple that's looks like actual art Episode 11 New York: Features a NY guy living in Japan running a ramen restaurant who's developed his own unique take on tonkatsu ramen that's pretty popular Episode 12 Fresh: Covers how precise the fishmongers are when they kill fish, and how even fish can be aged like steak for better flavor, and then covers the freeze dried food experiment where Chang makes a ramen broth in 10 minutes he says is as good or better then the broth Momofuku (his flagship restaurant) makes over the course of 12 hours. Episode 13 Soy: Pretty obvious, you get to see fresh tofu being made using the same techniques they've done for centuries and how miso is made Mikl posted:I like Shinomiya. Now that he's chilled out he's a pretty cool dude. He seems like the kind of chef who's hovered at that 2 Michelin star level for years and has sat comfortable while being slightly afraid to push for a 3rd star by challenging himself until he finally faces a new experience and is forced to admit he's stagnant. One of the things Gordon Ramsay talks about the most when it comes to Michelin Stars is how you have to keep pushing the boundaries of quality and experience because the people are paying Michelin level prices and you absolutely cannot stagnant or rest on your laurels. pentyne fucked around with this message at 12:04 on Mar 16, 2015 |
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Mar 16, 2015 11:59
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New chapter has been up for a while. Looks like Souma finally realizes the difference between working in a restaurant kitchen vs. running a local shop.
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Mar 23, 2015 14:27
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Angry Grimace posted:I like where they're going with the Michelin star hunt since that's completely serious over-the-top business even in real life. A meal at a three-star restaurant is about 300 bucks a plate - the only places that get these stars are in major cities where Michelin does city guides, so there's a huge amount of competition. In the last 2 decades Japan has been getting an extraordinary number of stars relative to the rest of the world, and many people have criticized the Michelin Guide for being more lenient with Japanese restaurants but every food show I've ever seen that covers Japan portrays the bulk of Japan's food culture as far more serious then most other countries, and chefs like Jiro are closer to the norm rather then the exception. Getting a 3 star Japanese restaurant is still difficult and it really comes down to absolute unfettered perfection and never letting the slightest detail slide. In Jiro's restaurant one of the training chefs had to make the tamago, the egg sushi topping, hundreds of times before Jiro finally told him it was acceptable. One of the reviews I remember most about Dreams of Sushi was how Jiro continues to try and improve his food any way he can, from washing the rice a different way, to hand massaging squid for 45 minutes instead of 30 because he found the extra time really brings out the perfect texture and flavor. Fun fact, the entire situation looks depressing as hell for the first son, who's still working under Jiro in his mid-50s because he can only take over when Jiro retires/dies, and the second son left and started his own restaurant and quickly gained 2 Michelin stars but is still seen as a "discount Jiro's"
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Mar 24, 2015 06:45
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There's going to be one of those gifs like with the Maoyuu Maou Yuusha anime where the words "plot" and "economics" were superimposed over the Maou's massive swinging rack within the first few episodes. I'm just wondering if the food reactions are going to be full on orgasmic sounding or just slightly erotic.
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Mar 24, 2015 17:13
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tonberrytoby posted:I loved the after credits sequence. Otherwise the first episode is OK, I suppose. The food reactions are about as insanely over the top as you'd expect.
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Apr 3, 2015 23:45
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buzmeg posted:I'm a little disappointed in the author recently. He seems to have lost the "rules" that he put down for his own universe. No, Souma would be able to nail it if they used a term to cut the fish the right cut that he already knew. The hurdle for Souma is working in a kitchen and knowing instantly what terms refer to what in a different language. His sleepless night consisted of him memorizing what terms mean what so the second they shout it he can put it up without hesitation, as well as knowing what to prepare in advance. Also, he's the outsider in a closely knit team, so he would obviously have problems adapting to their style and methods instantly. Being able to do it in 3 days is a sign of how talented and adaptable Souma is, plus he's willing to ask for help at every turn until he's caught up. Someone like Erica in the same position (as good as she is, working in a Michelin star kitchen means she's working with peers, all of whom have much more working experience) would just refuse to ask for help and struggle and/or fail.
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Apr 9, 2015 23:24
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vibratingsheep posted:You must never forget the eggs in an oyakodon. There will be quail eggs in there and it will be pants-creamingly delicious because ohhhh yes quail eggs. It's probably going to be a call-back to that egg dish he made for Erina or something like that. A dish he's made before that he incorporated french tecnhiques and flavors into. It's been a while since I read the first few chapters, but in the anime Erina's seething hatred of Soma seems to consist of "he wasn't born into privilege and even though he's skilled he must be destroyed so other commoners know their place"
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Apr 14, 2015 02:56
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SyntheticPolygon posted:Megumi's the heroine. She has more screentime, focus, character growth, and is way cooler. It seems pretty obvious that in another arc or 2 (depending on how slow they go) once Erina founds out who Soma's father is (her super crush) she'll probably change her tone and reluctantly start helping Soma after he starts butting heads with the other elite 10 who are total assholes (the smug guy in charge of that chicken franchise)
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Apr 14, 2015 03:52
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jackofarcades posted:Could be as simple as a few people stuffing the ballot. That's how all Japanese surveys/voting works.
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Apr 21, 2015 01:32
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MonsieurChoc posted:You guys are really harsh on Erina. Like, she'S not my favourite character, but she does have a personality and character arc. There's the whole thing about her having trouble relating to people and being really lonely and missing her best friend who went on some stupid self-imposed exile and what not. It's not great or original, but it's there. No, she doesn't. Her entirely personality up to this point is "I HATE SOMA FOR NOT BEING A CHILD OF PRIVILEGE AND WANT HIM DESTROYED!" and nothing she's done has changed that. Even her "humanizing" chapter with her and Megumi at that one restaurant was her being an unbelievably arrogant rear end in a top hat and humiliating the chef to prove her superiority. Her being lonely is stupid because it just means she's never made an attempt to bond with Hinako and was completely fine letting her act as a bowing and scrapping servant until Hinako feels that she fails and exiles herself. Her being given so much importance is annoying as poo poo given how many more interesting characters are currently present and she's literally just "tsundere blond princess" and nothing else.
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Apr 21, 2015 07:00
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Kyte posted:Tosh would prolly do it, but the editor would never greenlight it. Wasn't there some problems with a recent arc where Nagisa's mother went crazy and was going to imprison him and make him study 24/7 and also burn down class E that had a sudden change because the editors told tosh to dial it back mid storyline?
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May 1, 2015 06:32
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Captain McStabbin posted:Unless he beats them all only to discover they were a puppet government for the four devas of delicious, who are just the face of the seven sins of succulence, and so on and so forth. The most dangerous cooking of all, underground illegal cooking matches using rare and forbidden ingredients (panda steaks, condor eggs, elvers etc.) You have to bet a part of your body, and the entire scene is dominated by a seedy cabal of Europeans. We learn this as Soma's Dad shows up and we see he now has a prosthetic leg, and warns Soma that even he was completely outclassed.
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May 15, 2015 04:31
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SyntheticPolygon posted:Megumi definitely. But I don't really see anyone else going for it, maybe Ibusaki since he's been getting some slight focus. But I think there are other characters who I think are a bit more important and likely to get a spot such as Akira, Kurokiba, Alice, Takumi, and maybe Arato depending on how her arc goes. Megumi is the only one who has a chance to compete at Soma's level because she has the indefinable "hospitality/comfort" aspect that the other chefs can't match. Even Nikumi is just a one trick pony who may have leveled up her meat cooking skills but is still clearly behind them.
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May 15, 2015 18:13
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Angry Grimace posted:All of them look like Bleach characters except the one guy that looks like Iruka from Naruto for some reason. Every single one of them literally looks like "shonen trope X" to an absurd degree, like the author just went down a checklist of how to appeal to everyone. You have - blond glasses wearing cold business guy - Overly excited blond/black hair kid with the catch phrase - Stern and humorless glasses girl wearing pigtails - Guy with mohawk carrying a sword/massive cooking implement - Reserved and nervous looking girl clutching stuffed animal (who I assume she will talk to during cooking) - Eager looking dark haired female with hair covering one eye - Stoic guy wearing a funny hat and not wearing the uniform correctly - Blond prince like guy who is clearly the best edit: Well the spin-off is shaping up to make no sense. Apparently the 79th class top graduate, Shinomiya, isn't able to find a job working in any kitchen and is fired after the first "mistake". The cooking school that graduates in single digits and once you graduate you are a world renowned expert.  I'm starting to think the author is coming perilously close to Bleach level "eh gently caress it" levels of contradicting himself. pentyne fucked around with this message at 00:01 on May 19, 2015 |
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May 17, 2015 19:58
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