Yuto Tsukuda

The first part of the book resolves the cliffhanger from last volume as our hero works to be creative and snatch victory from the jaws of defeat. His assessment following the competition captures the theme of the entire series: "I totally messed that one up, big time! But thanks to that, I gained valuable experience from my failures." Soma's positivity and competitiveness continue to make him an admirable protagonist.

The second part of the book is an entertaining return to Soma's hometown show more and an attempt to keep the local street market from losing all its customers to new stores opening at a nearby train station. Very well executed and fun.

A final interlude reveals another, welcome side of the usually shy Megumi. Great reveal. show less

Soma Yukihira is a young chef who only wants to run the family restaurant...and to finally out cook his old man. Of course, that'll only work if he leaves the nest to learn new techniques. As such, dad sends him to culinary school...the super elite, #1 culinary school in the world where only 1% of the students graduate. Good luck Soma!

A delightful story with plenty of laughs and recipes you can try at home. The one downside is...it's got a LOT of fan service...and partial nudity. Seriously, show more the third page could be labeled as tentacle hentai.

Awkward food-gasms aside, it's really an amazing series. show less

Still a great series, but this volume loses a little steam for me as Soma competes against one of his least impressive foes in bento boxes. The cliffhanger lacks drama as the outcome seems easily predictable.

The side story at the end offers little beyond putting much of the female cast into swimsuits. This is disappointing as the fan service usually serves as a hot spice accenting the main story instead of being the point of the story.

The interlude in the main story of Soma and Megumi show more subbing at a cooking school is charming and helps keep the rating of this volume high. show less

A fine entry focusing mostly on the side characters. But I'm here for Soma, and the book doesn't really catch fire until the last chapter sets up his next shokugeki. I'm worried that even Soma can't save this series from the dreadful storyline where the new dean is a ham-fisted villain.