Episode 38: In response to Kuga's condescending provocation at the Autumn Leaves Viewing, Soma decides to show off his cooking prowess in the upcoming Moon Festival, which involves groups or individuals setting up food booths on school grounds. Deciding to go up against Kuga directly, Soma approaches Miyoko Hojo, who specialises in Chinese cuisine like Kuga. Miyoko explains that while she specialises in all forms of Chinese cuisine, Kuga's focus is on Sichuan spicy cuisine, and takes Soma to Kuga's mainstay, the Chinese Cuisine Research Society. Soma is shocked to see many chefs working in perfect unison and precision, all trained by Kuga himself. After tasting ten identical speciality dishes of mapo tofu, Soma becomes more determined than ever to beat Kuga, claiming the booth area directly in front of his, and deciding to serve Chinese cuisine as well. Just as Soma submits his application form, Erina reveals to him that he will get expelled if his booth loses money, much to Soma's disbelief.
Episode 39: Hearing about Soma's indirect declaration of war on Kuga, the initially apathetic Alice joins the festival. She capitalises on Jun's maternal instinct to include her and Ryo in the booth run by Shiomi Seminar, much to the annoyance of Hayama. After involuntarily tasting Soma's version of mapo tofu, Erina superciliously explains to him the concept of `Má' (麻 lit. hot) and `là (辣 lit. spiciness) in Sichuan cuisine, unintentionally giving Soma useful information. Alice and Hisako explain that spiciness works on vanilloids receptors different from the sense of taste, rather on the sense of pain, which has addictive and medicinal effects. Back at the dorm, Soma starts experimenting with Megumi to catch up with Kuga's level; but ends up just making overly spicy dishes. The next day, Hojo lends them the Chinese department's open clay pot oven and they plan to make Hujiao bing to attract customers with its unique method of cooking.
Episode 40: The first day of the Moon Festival begins, and Kuga's restaurant immediately gets a long line of customers, while Soma manages to impress the few he is getting. The booths run by Isshiki and the Polar Star Dormitory, the Don RS and Ikumi, and the Aldini brothers all seem to be going well. By the end of the day, Kuga's restaurant has clinched first place in terms of sales in the Central area, and the only two booths that lost money were Soma's and Shiomi Seminar's, leaving Erina appalled as they were all competitors who made it to the main tournament of the Autumn Elections. Day 2 passes and Kuga's restaurant takes the first place again, while Soma manages to climb up five rungs from last place with the introduction of a new noodle dish created by slicing up the dough for the Hujiao bing into noodles and pairing them with garlic, shrimp stock, and the ground pork filling, improvising from ta-a noodles. Meanwhile, Alice decides to start over and cooperate with Hayama to make a dish that will satisfy customers.
Episode 41: Day 3 passes without much improvement. Soma notices that even though Kuga is getting steady business, the long waiting time and the requirement for quick eating at peak times frustrates the diners. With Tomita's help on Day 4, Soma adds tables and chairs to his booth. He also adds a remade version of his Yukihira-version of mapo tofu by adding noodles and a giant mystery meatball with curry in it. Its aroma and intriguing appearance appeals to Kuga's frustrated customers, and slowly but surely, they begin to defect to his booth. Just as customer numbers begin to get out-of-hand, Mimasaka comes to help. As Megumi handles customer service and evening falls, their friends from other booths and members of Megumi's Regional Cuisine RS arrive to help cook and draw in more customers. Together, they pass Day 4 and defeat Kuga's restaurant in terms of sales in that area, clinching first place. Shiomi Seminar's booth also finally manages to attract customers and make up for their losses.
Episode 42: Kuga beats Soma again on the 5th and last day of the Moon Festival, but he is not satisfied. A flashback reveals how Kuga had also challenged the Elite Ten as a first-year at the previous Autumn Leaves Viewing, and that Tsukasa Eishi, the current first seat, accepted his challenge. While Kuga lost, he made a deal with Tsukasa: if Kuga was first place in sales in the Central area every day of the Moon Festival, just like Tsukasa was the previous year, they should have a rematch. Unfortunately, both Kuga and Soma lost, as Soma also didn't achieve his goal of beating Kuga in total sales. As a consolation, 2nd Seat Rindou Kobayashi invites Soma and Megumi to Tsukasa's booth, where all three of them enjoy a nine-course meal, entirely prepared by Tsukasa. Intrigued by the different level of dining that the uptown area offers, Soma visits Erina's booth; only to find the Erina trembling in fear and her diners shocked by the unexpected appearance of her elitist father, Azami Nakiri. Soma and Megumi witness Azami mocking the gourmands that have come to taste Erina's food. Azami declares himself the new headmaster of Totsuki, ousting Senzaemon after revealing that he has the support of 6 members of the Elite Ten.
Episode 43: Gin and Joichiro meet coincidentally after many years, and in the midst of their reunion, Gin is informed of the replacement of Senzaemon by Azami, who was revealed to be the 3rd Seat behind the two of them. The news of Azami's takeover spreads like wildfire around the school, much to the shock of the students and the public. Azami dismisses Hisako from her post as Erina's secretary, with Erina unable to object. Sanzaemon meets with Soma, and the former director reflects on Erina's childhood as a happy little girl, and how she was brainwashed, abused, and isolated by Azami to polish her "God's Tongue" to what it is today. This left her traumatized by his presence. Azami also ripped up all the letters Alice sent to Erina from Scandinavia. Azami was exiled, but continued to build his strong base in other parts of the world. Although Soma seemed asympathetic about Erina's situation, he reiterates to Senzaemon his vow from when he first met Erina: to make her say his food is delicious. As Erina begins to despair alone in her room, Alice, Ryo and Hisako arrive to break her out of the Nakiri estate, and ultimately find refuge for her at Polar Star Dormitory. Upon learning about her past, the other residents' accept Erina as part of the dorm.
Episode 44: Azami announces the disbandment of all research societies and independent bodies in Totsuki, much to the horror of the student body and staff. He also announces the formation of the Central Gourmet Society, Central for short, a new authoritarian body that will decide what students should cook and create. Ninth seat, Eizan Etsuya, arrives at the Polar Star dorm with his goons to announce its closure. However, Soma explicitly asks if a Shokugeki can overturn the decision. In response, Eizan accepts and broadcasts live a Shokugeki with Kabutoyama Tetsuji, head of the Skewer Research Society, only to reveal that he has bribed the judges, and nefariously declares that the Shokugeki is dead. While the dorm residents lament their fate, Soma obstinately issues a Shokugeki challenge to Eizan for the survival of the dorm. As their Shokugeki begins, Eizan secretly directs his men to forcibly vacate the dorm, aggravating Soma.
Episode 45: Soma refuses to be intimidated by Eizan's tactics and continues cooking, infuriating Eizan. Meanwhile, the Polar Star dorm residents band together and repel Eizan's thugs. After further taunts from Soma, Eizan finally decides to cook seriously. With Satsuma Jidori Chicken as the theme, Eizan serves a Hainanese chicken rice dish that impresses both the judges and Soma. Soma responds with a special chicken wingtip gyoza dish that uses pork fat, parmesan cheese, and ketchup as special ingredients. He dares Eizan to try his dish, and as Eizan takes a bite, he reluctantly acknowledges that Soma's dish tastes good. Seeing Eizan's reaction and tempted by the smell of the food, the judges cautiously and curiously taste Soma's dish. Amazed by its unique delicious flavor, despite the unorthodox cooking methods used to make it, the judges vote unanimously for Soma. Eizan is forced to admit defeat, and Soma declares to the school that he will battle anybody who threatens his friends and Polar Star, including the Elite Ten.
Episode 46: With Soma's victory, Eizan's thugs are called off and Polar Star is saved. The residents celebrates the victory, along with Erina, Hisako, Takumi, and Isami. Isshiki then arrives and explains that thanks to Soma's victory, Central is now allowing school organizations to issue shokugeki requests which will be overseen by neutral judges. Several days later, Isshiki is dismissed from the Elite Ten, along with Kuga and 3rd seat Megishima, as they voted against Azami's installation. Meanwhile, the rest of the Elite Ten and other Central members begin to "hunt the survivors" by defeating the other school societies in their Shokugeki matches. Soma and his friends decide to observe the matches in order to gain intelligence on their potential opponents. Alice and Ryo arrive for the final Shokugeki of the day, with all previous matches having resulted in a win for Central. Alice explains that she had inadvertently become the head of the Cutting Edge Cuisine RS, making her target in the hunt. Ryo accepted the challenge on her behalf, and prepares to face off against Central member Kusunoki Rentaro, with the main ingredient being salmon.
Episode 47: As Ryo prepares his dish, it is revealed that Rentaro is an expert in low temperature cooking and he makes use of a combi steamer and cryomill to create a salmon confit flamme with a side of salmon ice cream. Ryo responds by baking a coulibiac. As the judges deliberate on which dish is better, Rentaro impetuously boasts that he had submerged his salmon in olive oil while cooking it, which would prevent any of the moisture from escaping the meat and therefore preserving all of its flavor. However, the judges declare that Ryo's dish is superior. Ryo reveals that he had inserted a spinach crêpe, and a special spice mix he learnt from his stagiaire experience in a curry restaurant, into his coulibiac. In addition, Ryo's blend of various uneven flavors together accentuated the taste of his salmon, giving a dynamic sensation far better than Rentaro's salmon. Ryo is declared the winner as Azami enters the arena.
Episode 48: Erina shows up at the arena just as Alice berates Azami publicly, and tells Erina to stand up for herself. The next day, Soma volunteers to be Tsukasa Eishi's sous chef during class, impressing Tsukasa with his advanced skills. At the end of the class, Tsukasa asks Soma to join Central as his assistant, and Soma refuses. Tsukasa then challenges Soma to an informal Shokugeki and wagers his position as first seat, in return for Soma joining Central if he loses. Erina, Hisako, and Megumi watch from a distance, hidden. Soma then asks Tsukasa what Azami and Central's true plans are, and Tsukasa reveals that Azami's ultimate long-term goal is to eliminate all restaurants in Japan and replace them with the fine dining gourmet eateries that only he approves of. Realizing that this means the end of many local restaurants, such as Yukihira Diner, Soma resolves to beat Tsukasa so he won't be forced to join Central.
Episode 49: Some creates a charcoal grilled venison thigh with sweet chestnut sauce, while Tsukasa makes roast venison back strap with peppercorn and berry sauce. When they are finished, Erina, Hisako, and Megumi act as judges and they reluctantly declare Tsukasa's dish as superior. However, Tsukasa changes his mind and decides not to force Soma into Central, stating that Soma's unorthodox and non-wavering cooking style would hinder his own cooking. The second Survivor Hunt begins a few days later, with Megumi, Ikumi, and Marui managing to save their respective clubs. That night, Azami pays a visit to Polar Star, where he is coldly received. As he leaves, Soma confronts Azami, who reveals that he was part of the Polar Star's Golden Generation, and he revered Joichiro and his cooking. Soma then tells Azami that Joichiro is his father, right as Erina walks in on the conversation, shocking both of them. Intrigued and curious, Azami arrogantly declares that the revolution he is planning is meant to bring down the food culture that "ruined" Joichiro, leaving both Soma and Erina wondering what happened between Joichiro and Azami.
Rating: 8/10(Average)
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