Original Air Date: October 26, 2019
Despite the three wins for Central, the Rebels managed to weaken the three strongest players enough to keep them from competing in the following round.
This episode provides examples of:
- But for Me, It Was Tuesday: When Rindou scolds Tsukasa for having a Shokugeki with Kuga, he responds "Who?".
- Even Evil Has Standards: After overhearing that Tsukasa can't even remember Kuga's name, even Eizan looks like he feels bad for Kuga.
- Evil Is Petty:
- Momo gets a moment to meet with the rebels and taunt them a bit with her usual pattern. She gives all the people she considers inferior cute names like "-nyan", "-myan", or "-hyan", and then starts to toss Bushi in the air in front of them, said plushie stuffed with all their student books.
- Eizan is still bitter about losing to Soma during the purge, so he is even angrier that he didn't get to duel against him again.
- When presenting the contenders, Urara keeps insulting the first years while highlighting all the members of Central, especially mentioning to the audience that Megumi was about to get expelled during the Training Camp.
- Flashback: The first third shows what happened after Tsukasa defeated Kuga two years ago. Kuga tries to get recognition from Tsukasa after that match, but Tsukasa can't even remember Kuga's name, which hits Kuga even harder than the defeat itself.
- Imagine Spot: The episode opens with Kuga having an imaginary interview where he tells his point of view of his rivalry with Tsukasa. That scene also contains a shot of Kuga dressed as Sun Wukong.
- Impossibly Delicious Food:
- Kuga's Green Tea Kurozubuta manages to blow the judges away. For once, Kuga steps away from spicy dishes and presents stir-fried pork belly which he later smokes, and then adds a sauce made of black vinegar, balsamic vinegar, the soy sauce made by Subaru, and the green tea. The vinegar helps cut the fat of the pork and highlights the green tea of the reduction.
- On the other hand, Tsukasa's Purée Soup from Four Types of Green Teas is named the winner. It uses four types of green tea: Gyokuro blended with sauteed artichokes and butter, Fukamushi Sencha blended with sauteed white asparagus and butter, Genmaicha, blended with boiled chickpeas and water, and Sencha blended with Porcini Mushrooms. The binding component is the Cappuccino Soup, made of mushrooms and vegetable stock. Only the fragrance is enough to make Urara react, while the judges get overloaded with stimulation from each of the pureés.
- Nerves of Steel: While Takumi is in Game Face mode, and Megumi is struggling to calm her nerves with some calligraphy, Soma instead has a good breakfast and plays cards with Ryou, Akira, and Alice. Erina isn't nervous either, as she also wants to butt in the card game.
- Not So Above It All: Ikumi asks Erina if she's okay with Soma playing cards before the Shokugeki, to which Erina replies that it's better if he is relaxed. Ikumi then realizes that Erina really wants to play with them.
- Older Hero vs. Younger Villain: Inverted. Soma, Takumi, and Megumi are the heroes who are being underestimated for being Freshmen, while their rivals are a Junior and two Seniors.
- Pyrrhic Victory: Central wins the three matches of the bout, but the duels leave them too exhausted, which disables Rindou and Tsukasa from taking the next bout against Soma, Megumi, and Takumi. Turns out that Erina foresaw this and intentionally formed the teams with that in mind.
- On the other hand, Kuga at least takes the defeat in a stride, with the plus that Tsukasa now remembers him.
