Food Wars! The Third Plate Episode 11 Review: Der Weiße Ritter der Tafel

If you don’t understand the title of this week’s episode don’t worry too much – unless you’re German, that is. This week’s Food Wars gave me so much to think about in such little time, I was both overwhelmed and happy to see the show getting back on its feet after a very boring cour.

Japanese Original Episode Title: 食卓の白騎士[ターフェル・ヴァイスリッター]

Plot

After Cutting Edge RS wins against the Central, Azami-douche shows up to ‘congratulate’ the winners and naturally take the piss with Alice, who he doesn’t seem to enjoy much. Alice grasps this opportunity to give him a piece of her mind (you go girl) while Erina is secretly watching thanks to a very peculiar space arrangement. How did she even get here? Either way, Erina, after hearing Alice speaking to her father in that way, not only understands how much Alice cares for her but also starts thinking about how she should be able to stand up to her annoying douche-dad.

In the meantime, in one of Yukihira’s classes (that he is attending with Tadokoro, as usual), after the tutor has been sacked for insubordination to Central’s rules, Tsukasa Eishi, first seat, is giving the class for the students to follow, and Yukihira volunteers to be his assistant. Thanks to his stagiaire with Shinomiya-bitch, he is able to keep up with the French cuisine terminology and techniques required to assist Tsukasa.

After the class (and a brief pointless scene of Erina and her assistant whose name I can never remember getting undressed and talking shit) Erina witnesses Tsukasa challenging Yukihira to a Shokugeki, with the first seat at stake. If he loses, he will have to join central as his assistant. No way.

Episode Highlights

There are a lot of students in this school…: So Totsuki is supposed to be a really exclusive Japanese school, where it’s extremely difficult to get in, you get expelled for literally no reason, and we’ve already seen shitloads of students getting the boot. However, every class seems to have more than 20-30 people attending, and that is without the full first-year cast (the maximum number of students per class in Japan is 40). After trying to calculate this through demographics and being aware of Japan’s population density, I came up with the completely insane number of 4000 first-year students per high school. That is probably wrong, but even if it’s remotely close, it just goes to show that probably ‘elite’ is not as exclusive as I had it in my head… Damn.

Tsukasa’s insecurity & personality: I believe that the fact that he is so ridiculously insecure and pathetic is just to make him slightly more likable despite him being an elitist little bitch that basically follows the orders of the senior ultra-douche.

Scandinavia is not a country: Just saying.

Alice and Erina: First of all, why on earth wasn’t Alice calling Erina when she couldn’t reach her? Is that the Middle Ages or something? Second, what ‘horrible things’ has Erina done to Alice? Where they as horrible as what her dad did to her (which was just mildly annoying erratic behavior)? Did she verbally disapprove of her cooking? NO WAY- unacceptable. That said, Alice is probably the only person that makes sense, saying to Erina to get a life and finally ignore her father, like every teenager that respects themselves does. Hallelujah.

Is this even legal: People being constrained in poles in their underwear for not abiding by school regulations? Honestly, is that the best the animators could think of? Is this even education still, let alone from one of the most privileged culinary institutions in Japan?! And why the hell are they demolishing the buildings? Can’t they repurpose them instead of wasting all that money?

Shinomiya’s cameo: ‘I suddenly felt irritated for some reason’. I lol’d.

Themes & Trivia

Amuse-bouche: Literally meaning ‘mouth amuser’, according to Wikipedia amuse-bouches are single, bite-sized appetizers (hors-d’oeuvres). They are different from appetizers in that they are not ordered from a menu by patrons but are served gratis and according to the chef’s selection alone. Often accompanied by a complementing wine, they are served to prepare the guest for the meal and to offer a glimpse into the chef’s approach to the art of cuisine. Fanceh.

Nothing is gonna happen.

I bet here and now that this Shokugeki will lead to a tie, somehow. It is practically impossible for either party to win. Yukihira cannot join the Central and can definitely not be the head of the Elite ten – both events will mess up the show’s structure and end up anticlimactic. And shonen anime is never anticlimactic. It has to end with Yukihira having a 10-episode Shokugeki with Azami-douche or something.

How did you find this Food Wars episode? Let us know in the comment section below! And don’t forget to check the rest of the Fall 2017 anime reviews on MANGA.TOKYO!

NEXT TIME: The One Who Aims for the Summit (頂を目指す者)