Episode 22: Those Beyond Ordinary

Those Beyond Ordinary (日常を越えるもの Nichijō o koeru mono) is the twenty-second episode of the first season of the Shokugeki no Soma anime and is the twenty-second episode overall.

Synopsis[]

Judging is currently going underway in Block B.

Plot[]

In Block B, Miyoko Hōjō is the next candidate to be judged. Her Pineapple Fried Curry Rice receives 87 points, pushing aside Nao Sadatsuka into third place. Her dish was reminiscent of Chinese sweet and sour pork. By baking stir-fried rice in a hollowed pineapple, she transferred the pineapple's fragrance into the rice without drying it out. Shingo Andō visualizes Miyoko as a kung-fu master cloaked in a dragon of fire, and he dubs her the "Iron Fire Dragon Girl". It is as if Miyoko's dish was striking a powerful blow against all men. While Megumi Tadokoro is amazed, Miyoko walks passed her.

Meanwhile, Shōji Satō and Daigo Aoki rush into the Block A stadium. Fully expecting an uproar, they were surprised at the utter silence. The root cause was Natsume Sendawara, who had just given zero points to a candidate. Back in Block B, Urara Kawashima announces that Yūki Yoshino's Duck Cutlet Curry received 86, bringing her to third place. Osaji Kita expressed satisfaction with her dish. The flavor of duck permeated her dish, but the combination of turmeric and orange tempered the gaminess of the dish. Andō observes that she must have good connections with hunters, since she was able to acquire such top-notch game. Osaji invites Yūki to join his gourmet club, a prospect that fills her with giddiness. From the sidelines, Fumio Daimidō comments that Yūki's cheerfulness attracts people and then pierces their hearts with her cooking, dubbing her young charge the "Little Red Riding Hood of the Forest of Wild Beasts".

The Aldini twins are next, with Isami Aldini's Curry Bread Calzone up first. Instead of the usual mozzarella cheese and pizza fillings, Isami used curry as the filling. Tomato juice was used instead of any other liquid and mixed with spices that pair well with the tomatoes' natural acidity, resulting in a rich curry full of the tomato's umami. The traditional pizza dough used by Isami is chewy and sweet, and when combined with the curry, provides an impressive fusion of Japanese curry bread with Italian cuisine. Satoshi Isshiki thinks to himself that although many considered Isami as the lesser Aldini, he was in fact a fellow "Adventurer in New Culinary Horizons" much like his brother. Isami received a score of 87, putting him in second place tied with Hōjō. Nao is pushed out into fifth place and out of the main tournament, but she continues to laugh and admire Hisako Arato.

Takumi Aldini presents another Italian dish, his Naporitan Curry Fettuccine, which the judges found unimpressive at first compared to his younger brother's dish. That changes after a single bite: the curry, which uses a wheatless tamari soy sauce as the base, immediately assaults their senses. Takumi also incorporated parmesan cheese into the pasta, which is layered between turmeric outer layers. The resulting combination of tamari sauce and parmesan cheese provides a harmonious fusion of Japanese and Italian cuisine, causing Orie Sendawara to dub Takumi as another "Pioneer in the World of Food". Isami watches the judges' reactions, and he is reminded of the past. Back in Italy, Isami was envious of the customers' praise for Takumi's cooking, and he tried to improve it. However, the result damped down the flavor, earning him a tongue-lashing from his father. Takumi consoles his brother, telling him they are both like the half-moon Mezzaluna; when the two of them work together in lockstep as one, Trattoria Aldini will become the best in Italy. Isami admits to himself that Takumi has bested him again, and this is confirmed by Takumi's score of 90, which brings him to second place.

Alice Nakiri is tired of waiting and serves the judges before Urara can announce her name, earning the latter's ire. Alice's Thermal Sense Curry stunned the normally-talkative judges into silence. Even Shingo, who is a renowned food writer, couldn't describe the deliciousness of Alice's dish in words. Alice's dish, which has a tomato mousse hardened with sodium alginate, consisted of three components: a mousse made from turmeric and foie gras, a flash-frozen puree made from potatoes and six types of cheeses, and spice-flavored pie crust. Alice's dish leverages "thermal sense", a principle of molecular gastronomy that combines dishes of differing temperatures. Her expertise causes Orie to dub Alice as a "Global Innovator". Alice received a near-perfect score of 95, garnering 19 points from each judge. However, Alice was expecting to get 100 points, but at least it's higher than Hisako's and calls her "Secretary-chan", which angers Hisako.

With Isami Aldini and Miyoko Hōjō tied in fourth place, the judges prepare to vote on which candidate would advance to the main tournament. But there is one candidate left... Megumi. The perceived anticlimax of Megumi's dish causes a pall of gloom to hang over the judges, and it also gains the ire of the crowd and the emcee, causing her to apologize. Suddenly, she receives enthusiastic support from a group of fishermen who take time from fishing to watch her. Megumi's Monkfish Dobu-Jiru Curry is a traditional hot pot passed down by fishermen that uses goosefish as the main ingredient. She used sauteed monkfish liver, miso, and sake to form the curry's base. To this, she added monkfish meat and several vegetables used in Megumi's hometown. Compared to Alice's dish, Megumi made a very human dish that conveys the emotion of Megumi's hometown.

When Megumi became renowned in her hometown as an accomplished chef, her mother advised her to join the Tōtsuki Culinary Academy, if only to expand her horizons. As the judges grade her dish, Satoshi notes that it is time for Megumi to emerge from her insular world, spread her wings, and take flight. She receives 88 points, pushing both Isami and Miyoko out of fourth place, and qualifies for the main tournament. The fishermen's cheer for Megumi causes Miyoko to reevaluate her combative stance in the kitchen, and she decides to emulate Megumi's gentle camaraderie instead.

Back in Block A, the atmosphere is still tense. Even the emcee, Yua Sasaki, is completely intimidated as Natsumi gives zero points to the latest candidate in front of her. Shun Ibusaki and Ryōko Sakaki comment that she has yet to give a single point to the more-than-ten dishes presented to her, even though Sōma Yukihira considered them pretty good. Although the stadium is cowed, the next candidate to present, Ryō Kurokiba, looks completely indifferent.

Features[]

Characters[]

• Polar Star Dormitory residents
  • Sōma Yukihira
  • Ryōko Sakaki
  • Zenji Marui
  • Shun Ibusaki
  • Megumi Tadokoro
  • Yūki Yoshino
  • Satoshi Isshiki
  • Shōji Satō
  • Daigo Aoki
  • Fumio Daimidō
• Block B judges
  • Orie Sendawara
  • Osaji Kita
  • Shingo Andō
• Megumi’s mother (Flashback)
• Ryō Kurokiba
• Ikumi Mito
• Akira Hayama
• Alice Nakiri
• Hisako Arato
• Takumi Aldini
• Isami Aldini
• Miyoko Hōjō
• Nao Sadatsuka
• Urara Kawashima
• Natsume Sendawara
• Yua Sasaki

Featured Dishes[]

• Miyoko Hōjō's Pineapple Fried Curry Rice
• Yūki Yoshino's Duck Cutlet Curry
• Isami Aldini's Curry Bread Calzone
• Takumi Aldini's Naporitan Curry Fettuccine
• Alice Nakiri's Thermal Sense Curry
• Megumi Tadokoro's Goosefish Dobu-Jiru Curry

Featured Cooking Duels[]

• TBA

Locations[]

• Tōtsuki Culinary Academy
  • Celestial Arena
    • Block A
    • Block B
• Italy
  • Trattoria Aldini (Flashback)

Trivia[]

General Trivia[]

• The episode shares the same title with Chapter 50 of the manga.
• The manga title refers to Megumi Tadokoro, who displayed hidden skill in butchering the monkfish. Since these events were depicted in the previous episode, the anime title refers to the various participants of Block B whose dishes were featured in the episode.  With high scores in the 80s and 90s, their skills were definitely beyond ordinary since just about all of them were given nicknames by various cooking luminaries.

Manga and Anime Differences[]

• In the manga, Etsuya Eizan advises Natsume to be more tactful after she savaged a candidate's dish. However, Etsuya did not appear in the episode.
• The manga intercuts between the tasting in Groups A and B; this episode finishes Group B and Group A is saved for later.
• The manga flashback where Isami decides to stay a while longer was moved to Episode 20.
• In addition to Alice's score, which the manga breaks down at 19 points per judge, and Megumi's score, which was partially broken down to Osaji's 17 points and Shingo's 18 points, the anime fully showed the composition of the following candidates:

• Part of the flashback in the manga, where Megumi learned how to butcher the hanging monkfish, was moved back to Episode 21.

Errors[]

• TBA

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