The Spring 2015 anime season has so much to offer that is both bad and good–  as for reviewing I’m watching a new series’ episode just about every day on top of series I’ve neglected from the Winter 2015 Season and even anime from the Fall 2014 lineup.  It’s quite a list and I hope I can continue maintaining this blog for years to come [hopefully with the inclusion of another writer or two possibly].  More importantly I hope that my readers enjoy these sometimes short writings each week on their favorite episodes.  Speaking of which I need to continue watching [C] the Money of Soul and Possibility CONTROL.  If there is a series you would like to see me cover–  I will try to get to writing a full series review if its aired in a previous season.  So please let me know through the comments section.  Now onto Shokugeki no Soma‘s 2nd episode!

This show is really funny but the problem of a long gag between food being an erotic pleasure can only go on for so long without running out of steam.  This episode works perfectly in bringing in Erina Nakiri, Totsuki Corporation’s examiner.  I like the chemistry between Soma and Erina a lot.  Their introduction here enriches this series’ comedy to a refreshing level.  It pushes away at times the reflective compatibility between its characters in favor of developing them through the culinary education program Soma is trying to get into.  Soma’s blatantly obvious brash behavior is a good balance to how Erina acts.  Her chauvinistic culinary upbringing as ridiculous as it is establishes this sense of  prestige the distinction between being of a higher class to a commoner quite well.  I really like how we see this foreshadow from Nikaido Yoshiaki and his dialogue with Soma about how much Totsuki caters to the elites that apply.  Erina throwing all this away by using her own methods is a smart tactic on her part as an examiner and I’m sure its this factor that will bring Soma closer to realizing how important the delicacy of a dish really is.  The dish Soma prepares featuring eggs with rice is a nice touch to illustrating how traditional Japanese food is handled–  which is miles apart from anything Erina has ever seen before I’m sure.

Erina looks the other way using the background discrimination trope and handles herself justifiably right up until her first bite.  Her reaction is priceless and to her own initial thoughts:  shocking.  Shokugeki delivers fan service that is rife and very intense–  now I can see how Tatsuya Katou’s music score works here.  Heck even his father’s situation in New York is downright crazy when the tribe from India shows up.  I’m curious how the creators are going to handle the drama portion of this show because right now it’s been all comedy.  Where’s the educational aspect of this?

Sometimes this show will need to learn to tone it down and reel us into the joke by setting up these build-ups instead of just overlaying it with intense moments one after another.

OVERALL IMPRESSION: 6/10

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