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Food Wars! Shokugeki no Soma
Episode 13

by Rebecca Silverman,

We haven't seen a lot of Erina Nakiri lately, and while I'll admit that that has counted as a good thing in my book, she is an excellent rival for Soma, if only because she is so determined not to be impressed by him. Well, she's back this week, and although she is in top form as far as her apparent confidence in her cooking is concerned, there are a few hints that she perhaps isn't as secure as she would like us to believe. Erina's extreme reluctance to admit that she enjoyed Soma's dish way back in the early episodes is once again brought up as she “warns” him not to prepare the same egg dish for this episode's challenge of creating an egg breakfast dish. But there's something about the rest of her attitude and actions this week imply that she's perhaps a bit afraid of, if not him, than of being outshone by his cooking. She needs to be the best in everything, as we see when she announces to her pink-haired minion that they'll be playing a different card game so that she can win after the camp activities. It seems like Erina's actions and attitude are less motivated by competition (like Takumi Aldini's) and more by fear. She's been at the top for so long that she's afraid of being pushed from her perch. Being the best is an integral part of her identity in a way that it isn't part of Soma's; he's not afraid to work for it, whereas she was handed the crown. She's relied on her talent and adulation thus far. That might not work for her now, and she knows it.

Of course, the end of the episode might indicate otherwise. Soma, who has chosen a meringue omelet for the breakfast egg challenge, may not have all his ducks in a row this time. The assignment is to prepare something that hordes of disparate people all agree is worth eating and to convince at least 200 of them to partake, sort of like the earlier dinner exercise. Erina, Takumi, and Tadokoro are all doing a great job with their variations on popular or traditional dishes, but we see as the credits roll that Soma has only managed to serve ten people. We had an earlier indication when a girl with the creepiest red eyes I've ever seen sniffed at Soma's recipe derisively – she also challenged Erina's queen bee status, so she's clearly someone to be reckoned with – so this shouldn't come as a surprise, but given his “failure” during the shokugeki, his ego is in danger...and possibly his standing at Totsuki. While I would argue that Soma doesn't actually need Totsuki and its cruel education practices, it would be a major blow to him personally to be removed from the school, and possibly a professional setback in terms of his cooking. So there's a lot riding on this for him personally, as well as the fact that should he fail it would doubtless feel like an empty victory to Takumi, and possibly Erina.

Once again we're dealing with an episode that isn't particularly well-paced, though if you've been missing the foodgasms, they are back in naked style this week. (Not nearly as uncomfortable as in the early days, however.) There isn't a lot in the way of interesting imagery and animation this week either, and not a whole lot of character interaction; probably the most important and interesting part of this episode is the introduction of the red-eyed girl and her pet goon.

Fortunately the camp storyline is almost over, and within two weeks we should be moving on to different plots. This is definitely an arc that worked a little better in the manga, without prescribed time limits to artificially draw things out. While this episode does have its highlights, such as Tadokoro's interactions with the elderly gentlemen and the nightmare that opens the show, it just doesn't quite work as well as it could have. I, for one, will be pleased to see this storyline end and the next one pick up the pace.

Rating: B

Food Wars! Shokugeki no Soma is currently streaming on Crunchyroll.

Rebecca Silverman is ANN's senior manga critic.


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