[SCHOOLBOY 1] Hey, you guys gettin' hungry?
Wanna get some ice cream?
Nah, I need something more filling!
[AKI] Me too! I'm starving over here!
[SCHOOLBOY 1] Yeah I get that, but what are you in the mood for?
[SCHOOLBOY 2] Meat!
[AKI] That sounds great!
I, like, want me some meat!
Why don't you take a little bite?
It's fried peanut butter squid tentacles.
It's so putrid, you're gonna freak.
AHHmm!
(Peanut-buttery cries)
No, please!
[AKI] Every single day...
You look at that place whenever we pass by.
Huh?! N-not really...
Don't you "not really" me!
I totally know you're thinking about Soma again.
You should've told him how you felt
while you were still gushing over him in middle school.
Or at least when you learned he was going off to his fancy cooking school.
Uhhh...
Ah, no no! I'm sorry!
I didn't mean it like that, Mayu!
Anyway, look, I don't think it's too late
for you to go after him.
Maybe you should try calling him
or, like, sending a text or something.
But I...
I'm nothing special.
He would never notice me.
Uh... Oh, uh, hey there, Mayumi, how's it hanging?
Ahhh!
[BOYS] WOAH! [AKI] Omigod, when did you get here?!
Hey, it's been a while, you guys.
[SCHOOLBOY 1] You should've told us you were coming back!
You gonna reopen the shop?
Nah, uh, I just came to air the place out for my dad.
WOOAAH!
"Yukihira" is open again!
What?! A dream come true!
C'mon, Soma, please! You gotta make me something!
I'm hungry too! And me!
And me, too, please!
I've missed this place's food so much!
Heh! 'Kay. I'll get to prepping right away, folks.
Eatery "Yukihira":
reopened for a limited time!
Yeah!
(Opening Song)
(Restaurant chatter)
One oyako bowl and a tofu special!
Yahoo!
I've been craving this!
Where's your dad been, Soma?
Haven't seen him around.
Well, he was back in town a while ago...
Think he maybe went overseas again or something.
Hey Soma! Can I get a side of fried sprouts?
Coming!
Ah, Soma...
What? A cooking battle?
Yeah, he's gonna go up against his dad
and, like, he wants us to judge it.
You've never been to the Yukihira restaurant, have you?
The food there is TOTALLY super amazing!
You really don't want to miss out on this.
Soma and I have shared classes since kindergarten,
but we've never really spoken all that much.
Bon Appetite, my lady!
Thank you very much!
(Squeals)
I don't really have any skills or hobbies.
We don't have much in common.
Hah!
[MAYU] To me, Soma Yukihira truly is amazing.
It's only been about two months since we graduated middle school,
but he seems so much more grownup now.
It's like he's gotten even more unreachable for me...
[CUSTOMER 1] Thanks for the food!
[CUSTOMER 2] Thanks, that was great!
See you later!
[SOMA] Thanks, guys!
That's weird, it's kinda dead out there.
Normally, it'd be pretty busy by now.
Wonder what's going on.
(Loud sigh) Gah!
[SOMA] Is everything okay with you, Mr. Tomita?
Does big business really have that much power?!
Tomi, you need to calm down.
What's wrong, has something happened, Mr. Tomita?
The truth is, one month ago the station's commercial area
finally reopened after some major renovations.
[SOMA] Oh, yeah, it looks great, huh?
[TOMITA] Well, they beefed up their "station shopping experience."
They've got clothing stores, book stores, all sorts of different boutiques.
But what's getting the most buzz is this fried chicken place.
Word is it's really something!
Yeah?
So have you guys tried it out already?
Uh-huh. Yeah my parents just bought some the other day.
Us too. Saw their commercial on the internet.
Yeah, I hear it's been getting a lot of views!
(Music playing)
It's crispy, but oh so juicy!
One, two...
Unbelievable! 10 out of 10 taste score!
We keep losing customers.
All because they're going over there for their fancy, juicy fried chicken!
People coming from work, from school...
They just pass on by.
My boxed lunch shop's in trouble!
At this rate, who knows how long I can stay in business?
That's sad.
This isn't the time to eat and sulk.
More, please. No!
I guess it's the sign of the times around here.
We gotta face the facts, our area is done for.
Okay, I'm gonna try something.
"Try something"? Like?
Their main draw is fried chicken, right?
Well, we're gonna come up with a new kind of fried chicken,
one that will out-juicy their juiciest.
What?! That's crazy, Soma!
We are totally outclassed here!
In funds AND customer appeal!
Those guys are villains!
But it's better than sittin' here doing nothin'.
Uhhh...
Customers tend to get greedy when they want something.
"Yukihira" is open again!
C'mon, Soma, please! You gotta make me something!
If something's really good, they're sure to take notice.
(Cats meowing) I'm part of this shopping area, too.
I can't just let it go downhill.
I'll do what it takes to get this place hoppin' again!
Let's make a new kind of fried chicken!
Ohhh!
I like your thinking, Soma!
He's definitely Yukihira's son, alright!
It just might work!
Here's the plan:
I'm gonna use all my time off
to make the ultimate fried chicken!
[SOMA] There's a lot of prep work to do!
So there's no time to waste.
[SHAVED HEAD] Let us know if you need anything.
[TOMITA] It's not like we're very busy!
[BLACK HAIR] We're all counting on you, Soma!
[AKI] Um, yeah, that's a face that says you want to help him out,
but you totally don't feel like there's anything you can do that's useful...
You're, like, SO obvious.
I mean you need some mental help, girl.
Aha! Hey, Soma! Shouldn't you have a taste tester? Hmm?
This girl here doesn't have any conflicts or club activities
and she happens to have a really great sense of taste!
Uh...
Ah, what're you doing?!
I don't know a thing about being a proper taste tester!
Well, an amateur's opinion could actually be pretty useful at a time like this.
But Aki, I'm just a-
HYA!
"Ooh, I'd love to help."
Oh. Well, I do appreciate the offer, Mayumi.
First, we've gotta check out their fried chicken.
That'll give us a clue as to how to make our new dish.
"Yeah, right!"
[SOMA] Great. I'll see you tomorrow morning.
"Uh-huh!"
[MAYU] (Sigh) Can I do this?
I'm not so sure.
I'm not qualified to judge something like this...
Oh don't be silly. You've already judged for one of his cooking battles!
That's totally different!
This is going to be an important new menu item, okay!
You listen to me!
This is your big chance, Mayu!
A man and woman with the same goal,
working in close quarters...
Aaah!
They're sure to get super close and intimate with each other!
G-g-g-get close?
Do not screw this up! You hear me?!
Aki, you're scaring me!
(Dog barking)
Fried chicken, huh?
I've made it here plenty of times, but...
like that buffet challenge at the training camp,
there might be more to it, something to do with the takeout.
Who out of my friends would know something about that?
Fried chicken...
(Jiggle)
Chicken meat...
(Jiggle)
Meat!
(Phone ringing)
Ugh. Who the hell could that be?
I'm tryin' to enjoy my vacation time over here, people!
What in the...? That's weird.
I don't think I've ever seen this number before.
Who is this?
Hey, Meat-Meat. It's Soma!
How did you get my number?!
Oh uh, sorry about that, I asked Kanichi to tell me.
Okay, so, what do you want, Soma?
I'm kinda in a hurry to create a new spectacular fried chicken dish.
I'm in my hometown right now,
but I was wondering if you'd be able to come and help me out.
Huh? You want me to come to your house?
Are you too busy?
No! I, uh, mean YES.
I'm sure I can find time to help out a classmate.
Still, I'm SO busy over here.
My goodness, does the time fly!
I guess it can't be helped, y'know, so busy...
If you're too busy, I can ask someone else.
I JUST SAID I'LL DO IT! AHHHH!
Um... Uh...
(Boing)
(Pow)
(Sheen)
Creepy. This whole area looks deserted.
Let's see... "Japanese Eatery 'Yukihira.'"
Where are you?
Maybe I should have dressed in a bit more conservative fashion.
No, no! I won't let society rule me, I gotta be me!
[SOMA] Sorry, Mayumi!
Just a bit longer, okay?
S-sure! I'm fine! Take your time!
Oh my God! I'm so nervous!
I wonder if I'll be able to help at all.
You better get close! You gotta get all up in there, Mayu!
Don't pressure me like this, you're seriously stressing me out!
Hello?
AHHHH!
This is the Yukihira restaurant, right?
Is, uh, Soma here?
Uh... um yes.
[SOMA] Oh, Meat-Meat!
Thanks for coming all this way.
Oh, so I see you've already met my friend Mayumi
from middle school.
She's gonna be our taste-tester.
Huh?
This is one of my fellow high-school students.
She is our resident meat expert.
You can call her "Meat-Meat."
Meat-Meat?
Will you stop telling people
about that stupid nickname!
I will cut you!
Come on, where's your team spirit?
The gang's all here.
Let's go check out the enemy!
[KINU] Hello, hello! Welcome folks!
Try the famous fried chicken making news all over town.
(Laughter) (Cackle)
[SOMA] Whoa! It's gotten so big!
It's kinda fancy, too.
Our shopping district doesn't stand a chance against somethin' like this, huh? (Laughs)
Um. That's nothing to laugh about, Soma.
Crap! It's not like I imagined being all alone with him at his house or anything.
I only came to think up a new menu item!
So Soma called her, "Meat Meat?"
[MAYU] She looks like a model.
(Men fawning) I've never seen someone so... so sexy.
I don't even know how to look at her.
I am so far out of that league.
Okay so...
There's nothing weird about someone else being here.
And yet, why am I so ticked off?!
Soma said she's his childhood friend or something.
(Mayu laughing) Is THIS his type?
Is that really it?
Ah! Don't tell me...
Ms. Meat-Meat is Soma's girlfriend!
WHAT THE HELL DO YOU THINK YOU'RE LOOKING AT,
LITTLE GIRL?!
I-I'm sorry!
Hey, stop picking on Mayumi, Meat-Meat.
Leave her alone.
Quit callin' me freakin' "Meat-Meat"!
Uh, did I bother you on your day off?
Um, no, not really.
Sorry about that, Mayumi.
Uhuhuhuh!
Hm, this is their first time to meet.
I need to try to help them get along.
Is that it? The famous fried chicken?
[KINU] Please line up right over here.
Welcome to "Mozuya," Fried Chicken Specialty Shop!" [CLERK] Sorry for the wait.
[KINU] Our special right now is the 12-piece combination, folks.
Take some home and be a family hero!
Wait, so this fried chicken place is a Mozuya?
You've heard of it?
It's really popular all over the Kansai area these days.
We have three types of chicken: And that woman right there is Kinu Nakamozu.
normal, spicy, and super spicy! She's at the top of the Mozuya chain of command at the moment.
They built up their brand after winning the gold medal
in the All-Japan Fried Chicken Championship three years in a row.
They're said to be a shoo-in for this year, too.
I get it now...
[SOMA] A lot of customers are housewives, huh?
Mm-hm. And it gets even busier at night, too.
The packaging is stylish, so it's especially popular with women.
They say a lot of people will take the train here from other stations.
Please, right this way, everyone.
[SOMA] They've got a great storefront
and lots of staff.
They sure are busy...
Mr. Tomita?!
Huh?
Hey, Soma!
What are you doing?
Well, uh,
I thought maybe I could help you out in some way.
What's with the disguise?
We are deep into enemy territory.
It would be dangerous for them to know who I am.
How so?
You need to be careful, Soma.
[KINU] You don't have to be all sneaky, you know.
Why not stand proudly in line like everyone else?
Or are you too scared to be seen?
EEEHHH! AAAAHHHH!
Oh my, are these your friends from the shopping district?
How cute! Here kiddos, give it a try!
[SOMA] You're okay with that?
Well then... Don't mind if I do.
The batter is very lightly fried,
and the chicken inside is plump and bursting with flavor.
It runs wild on the tongue!
It's like a flurry of arrows hitting you with waves of deliciousness!
(Cackle)
That is really incredible! How is it so tasty and juicy?
Oh, about that...
We exclusively use locally produced Omi chicken,
which are top-of-the-line and fed only organic herbs.
But the clincher is our marinade,
which uses Mozuya's unique, signature soy sauce as a base.
To that we add grated apple and ten separate spices,
giving the chicken a thorough flavor profile.
Then we use an OPEN fryer to get it golden and crispy!
"It's the best fried chicken anywhere!"
Well, at least that's what all the magazines tell us.
Is it ok for you to blab like this?
This is an enemy recon mission after all.
Oh no! No worries!
I mean it's not like YOU could ever possibly make
something like this. (Laughs)
Oh dear, what a sad little man-child,
having girls and children do the dirty work for you...
You just sat around licking your wounds, while customers stopped coming to your shop.
You don't have a shred of pride or purpose about you!
If a shady little urchin like you were lurking outside,
it would most definitely drive away any potential customers, amiright?!
This man's incompetence reminds me of someone...
You are the next Don of Bowl-club, Meat-Meat!
You're pretty confident teasing this man.
What would you say...
if our shopping area could make a fried chicken
more delicious than yours...
Mozuya would be totally disgraced!
Riight?
You sure do talk a big game there, little boy.
But talking's a lot easier than cooking, isn't it?
What're you gonna do, punk?
I can't hear you!
Yeah... Your dried-up, pissant shopping district
has no sense of identity or competitiveness.
It is only natural that it would fail!
But you're always welcome here at Mozuya when you want some quality cuisine.
See ya next time, kids.
(Theme Song) ｶFried chicken, fried chicken Mo-zu-ya!ｶ
[KINU] Thank you! Buh-bye!
Um... that was, uh, pretty terrifying!
Like some horrible scene in a yakuza movie!
So you really want to try making the enemy's version of their own fried chicken?
Yeah, sure. Why not?
Neither of them seem fazed by any of this.
They're so focused!
Let's get started on making something to take down Mozuya!
I'll cut the breast meat in uneven chunks...
And let it rest in some marinade...
[IKUMI] I added grated apple and onion, the same kinds of things as Mozuya.
I mixed it up by adding ginger, as well.
That'll form the base of our flavors.
[SOMA] Then, coat the meat thoroughly and let it marinate some more.
This is just a trial run so I'll fry it up soon,
but my guess is Mozuya lets their meat marinate for about 10 hours or more.
Ten hours or more? That's a long time!
[SOMA] Okay, now we coat all the meat with potato starch.
Slapping off excess starch is the key to getting it nice and crispy.
I never knew that...
I just thought that the more you had on the tastier it would be.
[SOMA] Alright, the temperature's perfect. Let's try it out!
Trial dish No. 1 is done!
Mayumi, give it a taste!
Okay!
(Crispy moan)
Oh wow, this is SO delicious, Soma!
It's not quite right...
it doesn't have the same kind of punch
that Mozuya's chicken does.
It's that top-shelf marinade.
It has soy sauce, garlic, and a bunch of different seasonings.
Combining all that umami gives it layers of flavor.
I'm sure they spent a lot of years getting it just right.
How do we go up against a marinade like that?
I think I've got it!
We don't have to necessarily fight them
with fried chicken, do we?
We could use beef or pork...
We've got tons of options to work with!
Hmm... You have a point there.
What about using some A5-grade beef? Mph!
[IKUMI] That would surely trounce them in both quality and word-of-mouth!
But that's super expensive meat, isn't it?
As a member of the Mito Group, I can give you a discount.
Call it a favor as a classmate.
You'll get it wholesale so you can have the best ingredients to fight with!
Hold on a sec. Let me crunch some numbers right quick...
Thank you, Meat-Meat, this is a big help.
If you could come up with 100 grams for about 1,000 yen...
A hundred grams for 3,500 yen!
Um, no. Thanks anyway.
Huh? That's super low, so don't try to cheap out now!
It's not a matter of being cheap...
You got any good ideas, Mayumi?
Huh? Um, well... I dunno... um...
S-something that's unique to this shopping area.
But I don't have any specific ideas!
I'm really sorry.
I'm not much help.
[KINU](Laughs) Customers are coming to the station by both train and bus.
And while they're here, they take advantage of the station's facilities.
This location is tremendous.
Sure enough, opening this storefront was the right idea.
Well, given it was YOU who advised us to expand into Kanto,
I'd say it's only natural.
We're doing so well, I mean.
Don't let your guard down.
The Mozuya brand isn't recognized in the Kanto area yet.
If you get wind of something, let me know at once.
You sure worry a lot for such a youngster!
Everything's going to be perfect.
Assess market trends and continue taking optimal measures.
That's the golden rule of business.
Um, well if I had to say something...
it's that some kid from the shopping area came 'round talking nonsense.
What kid?
It's nothing to worry about.
He's no threat to us, the shop is flooded with customers!
It's just a matter of time before Mozuya dominates throughout the entire area!
Just to be safe, I want you to keep an eye out for him.
And continue to report in. Understand?
Yeah, sure thing.
Grrr... How many of these uppity brats
do I have to deal with in one day?
[IKUMI] Hmm. None of them are BAD per se,
they're just kinda normal.
We've already tried different seasonings and changing up
the batter consistency.
Nothing's jumping off the plate, is it?
So what do we change?
What kind of fried chicken would win back our customers?
We need something to differentiate us from the other guys.
(Sigh)
[GUY 1] Come on, guys! What do you wanna eat?
[IKUMI] Wait... Students pass by even while on vacation.
Lots of them, too.
They're coming back from their club activities.
There are a lot of schools around here.
We've got high school and college kids...
S-something that's unique to this shopping area.
I've got it!
Huh? What do you mean, Soma?
Oh, man, I've been such a bonehead about this!
We don't have to fight the enemy on their own terms!
So we're going with the A5 beef after all?!
Nah, we're still going with the fried chicken.
Um, but didn't you just say you didn't want to fight them at their own game?
And we're not going to.
We'll use the same thing, but we'll do something they can't.
Something so unique that only we can provide it.
A way to make eating fried chicken better than it's ever been...
Heh!
We'll create something specific to this area...
The deciding factor in this battle! Hehe.
(Ending Song)
[EIZAN] You'll do what I say without question.
I'll consult for you only on that condition.
Good, I'll do it.
Heh. It's not just Mozuya.
Everyone's after my magic touch...
[ISSHIKI] It's almost time.
Yes, yes. I'm well aware of that.
What's on today's agenda?
Didn't you look at the notice?
It's the Fall Selection.
We have to go through the first-years and whittle down the candidates.
But you know that.
Yeah, but seriously...
Why do we have to bother with this on our vacation time?
[ISSHIKI] Well, it can't be helped.
This is an important responsibility...
for Tohtsuki's Council of Ten.