Shokugeki no Soma OVA 5: Erina at Polar Star Dormitory
Original Air Date: May 2, 2018
Erina at Polar Star Dormitory is an OVA episode for the anime series Food Wars!. It focuses on Erina's time adjusting to the Polar Star dormitory.
This episode provides examples of:
- A-Cup Angst: Once again, Yuuki gets frustrated when she sees that Erina, Alice, and Ryoko have bigger boobs than her. To top it off, Rindou arrives there, showing that she also has a killer body.
- Adaptation Expansion:
- It's shown Erina's misadventures at the Polar Star dormitory. Also, it's shown that Soma did try to feed Erina his awful concoctions, while he never did in the manga until the Distant Finale.
- Mitsuru's flash drive with the girls' photos is stolen by Hinako Inui (with Donato tagging along) because they want to see Megumi's pictures. They're shocked when they see that there are also photos of Doujima in a Speedo.
- Blind Without 'Em: Inside the bathhouse,Marui starts looking for his glasses... which are on his forehead.
- Call-Back: Alice tries to get Erina into changing under a poncho like the time they went to the public pool.
- The Cameo:
- Takumi and Isami make a brief appearance at the bathhouse, just finishing their baths as Soma, Ryou, Shun and Marui were arriving.
- There's a brief shot of Soumei sitting in the bathhouse's back garden.
- Isshiki only appears in the last seconds of the episode, watching the others from the ceiling.
- Chaste Hero: Despite being able to hear what the girls are saying on their side of the bathhouse, the guys are not interested in creeping on them, unlike the typical Shonen series. Soma and Ryou are more interested in having a thumb wrestling match in the hot springs.
- Crazy-Prepared: Hisako slips Erina's belongings to the Polar Star dorms using ninja camouflage techniques (including a ninja outfit) in case Azami has spies around the house. Among all the change of clothes Erina might need, she also includes a body pillow, blankets, a magazine with baby penguins, a radio with relaxation tracks, and the latest volume of her favorite shoujo manga. Even Erina asks herself if all that is normal for runaways.
- Crippling Overspecialization: While Erina excels at cooking and academics, she is completely ignorant of how to do housework, failing to know how to use a domestic washing machine and a vacuum cleaner.
- Comically Missing the Point: When Ryou tells Alice that they will draw too much attention if they arrive in a limousine to the Polar Star dorms, Alice thinks Ryou is telling her to use the shorter limousine.
- Defiled Forever: In the Omake, Megumi can be seen holding onto her bathrobe and muttering that she can't get married after that photoshoot.
- Depraved Bisexual: In the post-credit bonus, Hinako steals Mitsuru's flash drive to get Megumi's swimsuit photos. She gets shocked to see Doujima's photos there as well.
- Don't You Dare Pity Me!: Erina has a lot of Pride and this gets her in minor trouble during the episode.
- She is determined to prove herself after she overhears Daigo and Shoji commenting that Erina is not so perfect after all when it comes to house chores.
- She refuses to ask Soma for help because he tends to tease her a lot, which gives her trouble with the laundry and the vaccum cleaner.
- She later agrees to have a heat endurance match against Rindou, which leads her to faint from the hot water. Fortunately for her, Rindou was just messing with her and never intended to rat her out.
- Exposed to the Elements: The bathhouse has pools of different temperatures, from cold, warm, and very hot.
- When Soma notices that Ryou has been in the cold pool, Ryou brushes it off, telling him that he grew up in Scandinavia so he is used to cold weather. In the following scene, Ryou is loudly enduring the hot pool to prove a point. Shun and Soma point out that he would be better off on the cold side.
- Averted with Rindou. She admits her low tolerance for cold temperatures, but she is very resistant to heat.
- Fanservice: Plenty of Female Gaze and Male Gaze since the second part of the episode happens in a public bathhouse. The highlights include the girls washing each other's backs, Soma and Ryou having a thumb wrestling match completely in the nude, Rindou and Erina having an endurance match at the hottest bath waters of the house, and the girls having a swimsuit photoshoot for a pinup calendar.
- Filler: The OVA has an entirely original plot in the middle of the Central arc.
- Friendly Enemy: Rindou discovers that Erina is staying at the Polar Star, and is willing to keep it a secret... not without messing a little with them and challenging Erina to a heat endurance competition. She even lets Erina win and distracts Nene and Momo at the sauna until the girls leave.
- The Gadfly: Rindou never had the intention to rat out Erina's location, but it didn't stop her from messing a bit with the girls and challenging Erina to a hot endurance battle.
- Highly-Visible Ninja: Hisako's big strategy to deliver Erina her clothes is to appear at the dorms in a ninja outfit and tell Megumi not to get startled, which makes her even more nervous.
- Imagine Spot: Erina decides to partake in cleaning duties because she recalls Daigo and Shoji talking about her lack of skills in mundane duties. In reality, it never happened like that, they were just talking about Erina's almost royalty status living with them. Erina still thinks in her head that she was proving a point to them.
- Idle Rich: Erina is often off-put and amazed by common stuff like vacuum cleaners, laundry machines, and bathhouses. Alice is the same, but her reactions are more childish and upbeat, like splashing around the bathhouse, playing with both cold and hot faucets, thinking a shorter limousine is more "grounded", or laughing at all the animals in the dorms.
- Male Gaze:
- As usual, every time Ryoko moves, her breasts start to jiggle.
- Since the last act of the episode takes place in a public bathhouse, most of the focus goes to the girls in towels.
- Mythology Gag: The omake of the girls posing in swimsuits is adapted here, with Mitsuru taking the photos.
- Nobody Calls Me "Chicken"!: When Rindou challenges Erina to an endurance contest in the very hot pool, Alice says that Erina is too delicate to possibly win, which prompts Erina to accept the challenge.
- Out of Focus: Isshiki only appears in the last seconds of the episode, watching the others play cards.
- Public Bathhouse Scene: Since Daigo and Shoji destroyed the bathtub during one of their brawls, the residents are forced to go to the public bathhouse nearest Tootsuki. Turns out that the place is very popular among the students, to the point even members of the Elite Ten casually go there.
- Rich in Dollars, Poor in Sense: Alice intends to pay a discreet visit to Erina at the Polar Star dormitory, trying not to raise suspicions from Azami. Ryou points out that they won't be able to do that if they arrive in a limousine.
- Sheltered Aristocrat: Most of the humor comes from Erina's lack of contact with the outside world to the point she discovers what is a home washing machine at the dorms. Alice too is amazed at common things like a public bathhouse.
- Slice of Life: The main plot is about Erina struggling with everyday home duties like washing clothes, or using a vacuum cleaner.
- Straight Man: During the whole episode Ryou is the one having to deal with Alice and Hisako being out-of-contact with commonfolk reality.
- Despite both Hisako and Ryou being servants of the Nakiri cousins, even Ryou has to comment that Hisako is too melodramatic whenever she talks about Erina like she is from a superior world.
Hisako: In other words, for someone of noble birth like Erina-sama, it would not be hyperbole to say [bathhouses] will be Mt. Tenno.
Ryou: Nah, that IS hyperbole. - Tears of Joy: At the end of the episode, Hisako leaves the Polar Star dorms with happy tears, as she leaves Erina happily playing cards with the residents. It's clear that Hisako is relieved that she can trust Erina with them.
- Tsundere: Even when Soma is just giving her a small compliment with his usual teasing, Erina thinks he is just mocking her, and can't bring herself to thank him for the support.
