Shokugeki no Soma 3×20 Review: Erina’s Diligent Studies

The terms of the Regiment de Cuisine have been set, the rebels have learned the importance of teamwork, and Erina stood up to her father. All this and more on this week’s episode, “Erina’s Diligent Studies”.

Erina has long been the teacher. Even as the lowest seat on the Elite 10, she has been heralded for her cooking genius and her possession of the “God Tongue”, but in “Erina’s Diligent Studies” she seems to finally understand that she still has something to learn. By observing the way Joichiro and Yukihira work together – by challenging and pushing each other – she discovers that she, too, has the ability to think outside the box when it comes to cooking, which leads Team Saiba to creating something that technically qualifies as what they were supposed to make, even if it doesn’t at all look that way.

It isn’t just Erina who learned something in “Erina’s Diligent Studies”. All four of the remaining rebels learned both the importance of teamwork and how to appreciate each of their individual talents. By leaving it up to them to judge the winner of the competition, it forced them to put ego aside and consider the cooking and the dish itself, which led to a hilarious scene that basically boiled down to, “You won” and “No, YOU won”.

Lessons learned, they head to the appointed meeting place where they meet with Azami and the Elite 10 to establish the terms of the Regiment de Cuisine. Azami proves himself to be completely extra by actually skiing down the mountain to meet them at the train station. “This was the quickest way.” Sure it was, Azami, you drama queen. Sure it was.

The terms of the Regiment de Cuisine are thus: if the rebels win, whoever is on their team will take over the seats on the Elite 10, and their expelled friends will be permitted to return to Totsuki. Should they lose, however, they will all be expelled, Joichiro will have to work for Azami, and the Yukihira family diner will close its doors. Takumi, Megumi, and Yukihira are fired up, knowing that they are fighting for their friends, but the wind is taken out of their sails when Azami says that Erina, as a member of the Elite 10, will have to fight for Central. Erina, after several deep breaths to gather her courage, resigns her seat and challenges her father. This prompts Azami to have special conditions for Erina: if the rebels lose, she will work for him forever, and never disobey, proving that he is the creepiest creep to ever creep.

“Erina’s Diligent Studies” is, as much of this season has been, a great episode showcasing some splendid Erina character development. There was a little bit of growth for Takumi as well, who’s been a bit sidelined so far this season. I did enjoy the small snippets we got to see of the rest of the Elite 10 (especially everybody razzing Eizan). I wish we had gotten to see more of them before this arc.

Have you guys seen “Erina’s Diligent Studies”? What did you think?

Author: Jamie Sugah

Jamie has a BA in English with a focus in creative writing from The Ohio State University. She self-published her first novel, The Perils of Long Hair on a Windy Day, which is available through Amazon. She is currently an archivist and lives in New York City with her demon ninja vampire cat. She covers television, books, movies, anime, and conventions in the NYC area.

Twitter

Help support independent journalism. Subscribe to our Patreon.

Copyright © The Geekiary