Food Wars! The Third Plate

Episode 16

Oh, Evil Akira. Not only did you get a CLAMP-style makeover, but your eyes are now perpetually narrow and droopy, and you've gotten much more handsy to boot. Okay, that last bit was just the one scene toward the end of the episode, but I seriously thought that Evil Akira was going to kiss Soma's hand for a second there. Also, smelling the ingredients someone is using by sniffing their hands is very creepy unless you're a dog.

Once again, we have an episode that's intent on cramming in a few chapters from the source material, but it works decently well this time. The return of Dojima as the impartial judge for this particular exam does give the whole thing more of an air of legitimacy than previous stages, because we know that he's much more likely to actually be impartial than many of his brethren. He wouldn't stoop to Azami's level any more than he'd insult Soma by favoring him, so that's a definite good start. While there are still places where Azami's tentacles can reach – the supposedly random selection of bear meat for the topic could favor Akira – we're starting this challenge on much more even ground, especially since Akira's still got a shred of decency left in him.

We see that when he refuses the fancy appliances and assistants that Central has arranged for him to use, which would have been yet another blatant misuse of their power. It's not clear whether it's Akira's former self speaking up when he says no thanks or if it's simply his pride, but I'm inclined to think he wants a more level playing field for his fight against Soma. He keeps repeating how much better he is than the last time they fought, and while that's doubtlessly true (it would be odd if he hadn't kept growing as a chef), he also really cares about this rematch. It's a test of his own worth, since Soma's come close to beating him in spice-based dishes before and if he can win this one, not only will it finally determine that Soma's not worth his apron, it will also confirm that Akira made the right decision in becoming Azami's minion. While we don't know much about why he did this yet, we can infer that it was not an easy choice, given how devoted he was to Jun and her kitchen. Azami hasn't played fair yet, so whatever's behind Akira's choice, there's doubtless some emotional conflict for him.

That's not really an excuse for deliberately pissing Soma off like this, though. (I mean, has that ever worked out for anyone?) If nothing else, it's likely to make Soma suspicious of Akira's motivations and fire him up to make the best damn bear meat he possibly can. That could be what Akira is hoping for, but frankly I feel like this is going to bite him in the rear. Everyone who goes up against Soma makes the critical mistake of underestimating him, and in this case, Azami doesn't fully understand Soma's determination and the full brunt of the support standing behind him. Sure Yuga has his own ulterior motives for helping out, but at the end of the day he's lending his stooges to Soma and helping out personally because he likes the guy. Potentially bringing down Central in the process is just icing on the cake.

Soma's not the only one who might be in trouble, of course. Megumi and Takumi have been taken away by Rindo for their test, and their fate is still unknown at the end of the episode. Rindo herself is the biggest wildcard here, because I feel like she may be playing Clue while everyone else is playing Monopoly. Her motives seem to just be stirring the pot, and I suspect that her only real allegiance is to herself. How that will pan out for Megumi and Takumi is uncertain; it probably depends on how useful she thinks they'll be in the future. We'll hopefully find out next week, as the bear meat cook-off comes to a head. In the meantime, we'll just have to ask ourselves one important question: who would win if this was a bear meat cooking contest between Soma, Akira, and Golden Kamuy's Asirpa?

Rating: B

Food Wars! The Third Plate is currently streaming on Crunchyroll.