This dish was made by Takumi Aldini and Isami Aldini for a match against Soma Yukihara and Megumi Takodoro. As the dish that introduced the Aldini brothers in the plot, it is fitting that it has a lot of Italian influence. In fact, this dish is just a variation of the classic Italian dish – Spicy Roast Chicken with Salsa Verde (green sauce).
Manaria Friends as said in the title is about the “friendship” between Anne and Grea – the two most iconic characters of the Mysteria faction. (Manaria is the English localization. Please note that I’ll use the original Mysteria for this post).
With eight episodes airing and only two more to go, I could state with some confidence that Manaria friends
That said, I think it is still worth watching for the cute interactions between Anne and Grea (their gayness is oft the chart!) If that is not enough, you can taste the eye candy here because the visuals are gorgeous. And finally, if you played some Cygames product – you might like the anime simply for the lore expansion.
While Rage of Bahamut is sadly not available outside of Japan, Mysteria and the characters associated with it had appeared in many other Cygames product. Notably, GranBlue (which is considered the spiritual successor of Rage of Bahamut) and Shadowverse. As a casual Shadowverse player myself, Mysteria is really hard to forget especially with the way they dominated the meta for the past months. ^^
Anyway, on to the show.
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Half a year had passed and there are ten chapters of Saki I haven’t read!
Reading the chapters in one go, the Vanguard Final is really starting with a bang. They dropped two rare yakuman in one hanchan! It helped my mood that Ritz finally revealed the mysterious cousin’s name as well.
So for the first post of the year (yeah I know its March now, my 2019 writing is hideously unproductive), have some bunch of trivia to help you appreciate the Vanguard match.
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I’m quite pumped for the finals but it is moving slowly for my taste so I’ve decided to slowly start analyzing the semifinals. Unlike the quarterfinals which can stand on its own, I believe the semifinals and the finals should be taken as one whole, instead of piecemeal. The latest vanguard match just increased my opinion.
Thus, while we wait for the finals to end, let’s begin the analysis. (Though, there isn’t much analysis on this post and more setting exploration)
East 1 and you already can see some shenanigans going on…
Plot Significance:
This is the dish that Souma used to match Isshiki’s dish. in their informal shokugeki. Also, the first dish introduced that is from Restaurant Yukihira secret menu. Continue reading
So, the finals are starting and we received some interesting information regarding Yuuki’s ability.
As always, TO ANYONE WHO WANTS TO AVOID BEING SPOILED ROTTEN AVOID THIS POST!
Plot Implication:
We meet this dish on Polar Dorm’s Welcoming Party for Soma wherein we meet all the dorm members and have a brief introduction of their specialty.
And of course, this is the dish that served as the hint to Isshiki’s specialty and his past.
As Souma noticed Seerfish or Japanese Spanish Mackerel cooked with pepper is a traditional Japanese food which led him to ask if Isshiki came from a Japanese restaurant. Two hundred chapters later, this hypothesis would be proven right when we find out that Isshiki hails from a prestigious cooking family that specializes in traditional Japanese cooking (Washoku).
Second, this dish serves as Souma’s first introduction to the might of the elite ten. It shows that Souma’s boast of standing on the top of the Totsuki Academy will need
Also, we have the talk between Isshiki-sempai and Ibusaki after the match:
Isshiki: Fu… Fu… Fu… I can’t wait to see what happens. I mean Souma-kun tied with me. With the 7th seat! He will surely get good results.
Ibuki: Don’t make me laugh…. in that showdown, you weren’t serious at all. You didn’t make one of your specialties. For you that dish, was too much of a safe bet, wasn’t it?
Isshiki: I wonder what you are talking about. I put my best effort in cooking it, you know?
We can infer from this talk that Isshiki is the type to hide his power level and his real cooking ability might be higher. Also, even though Souma showed potential and tied with Isshiki, it doesn’t mean that his ability is elite 10 level right now.
Not yet.
Finally, this dish is considered too much a safe bet to be Isshiki’s specialty.
We know that Isshiki’s true specialty is an “extremely aggressive washoku”. This dish, on the other hand, is more in line with the traditional washoku which emphasize simple and harmonious flavor. Thus, while the dish shows Isshiki’s roots, it isn’t his specialty.
Recipe:
About the recipe, let’s talk why the dish brings spring to mind.
First, the Seerfish or “Sawara” is a high-quality fish known for its white and soft fish meat. This fish is considered the best mackerel fish in Japan. The best time to find it is of course in Spring or early Summer. You can even see it in the kanji.
This is the kanji for Sawara (鰆).
魚 – fish
春 – Spring
That said, you can also enjoy Sawara in winter called Kansawara. Kan sawara is fatter and has a more buttery taste than the leaner version in Spring. This makes said variety popular for sushi. Take note, Sawara sushi can have a very fishy smell if not eaten fresh.
Finally, the side dish made from the spring cabbage is another callback to said season. Also, a nod to Isshiki’s farming hobby and how Isshiki incorporate what he grows in his dishes.
Isshiki’s Mackerel Dish by Shokugeki IRL – a post about how to make this dish in real life!
Roasted Mackerel with Garlic and Paprika – a recipe from Gordon Ramsey, the top food critic. An amazing dish of marinated mackerel with garlic and paprika served with softly mashed potatoes.
Samchi Jorim 삼치조림 (Braised Spanish Mackerel) – a Korean take on this recipe.
Haven’t posted in a while… Thus, in honor of the currently airing third season of Shokugeki no Soma and end of the match for Megumi in the manga have a recipe!
I was planning to make a review post for Episode 2 but seeing the newest episode made me change my mind. Not that it is bad; Episode 11 does a good job of setting up things up for the Finale. But, like the first part of a detective/mystery novel, I believe said episode cannot be judged on its merit until we see the solution/key to the mystery.
Until now, the cases are episodic; we were presented the problem, the clues and the solution within the same episode. This time though, what we have are problems and some of the clues – the resolution still lies next week unaired.
This does provide a unique opportunity to truly guess and not rely on hindsight. Let us see how much we’ll get right on the next episode!
For those who are reading this post, here is a simple legend:
Normal text= Fact or something that I believe is 100% true
Italic text = Speculation/Guesses/Wishful thinking
