The weaknesses of Shokugeki no Soma really came to a head this week. This is, perhaps, the least interesting match to date. These characters are exceedingly simplistic, and their return visit beneath the spotlight really only attempts to reiterate the known. Hayama's strong affinity to aroma is really played up here, but in no way is this ability shown helping to craft what he is making. There is no real attempt by the anime to even make the preparation of his meal seem important, and the show almost goes out of its way to just skip most of its prepwork. This entire match has no real intensity or heat. The theme of what is being cooked around might as well not exist. There is no real back and forth between the competing parties outside of the occasionally nonsensical verbal back and forth.
Instead the show heavily relies on imagery that lacks any real thought or cohesion. The reaction to eating a duck platter? The girls who tasted it are exploitatively displayed in a state of ecstasy, outfitted in some strange cross between a duck disguise and fetish gear. And as for the match itself? For no ascertainable reason it is both a battle between an eagle and a tiger in addition to having this weird Yuigioh card game clash on top of it. None of it ever really means anything at any point, and is completely transparent as a desperate ploy to rile up some kind of excitement. These very basic visual ideas presented for the clash are not followed through on the most simplistic level. The culmination of a character being depicted as a tiger?
A tiger-y looking arm that has a claw instead of a paw grabs his opponents ankle as a signifier that he's a threat.
What isn't lazy is just lousy or underutilized. Even with decent VA talent on board these characters are so intensely bland and uninteresting that they never pop on screen. They never have cool moments. The fights ultimate twist? I guess there was plum in one of the dishes or something. If no attention is payed to the process of cooking, the clash between the cooks and their dishes just feels like such a drag, and that is absolutely not helped by a conclusion that is essentially a draw by default.