Saito Somei has attracted attention with his unique style, including a giant sword-like knife and a mohawk. Saito is said to be the greatest sushi chef of his generation, and in the fourth season he will appear from the very first second bout. Although he is a genius sushi chef, the theme ingredient in the Solidarity Food Wars is chosen randomly by lottery. It is interesting to see whether sushi chef Saito can fight with ingredients unrelated to sushi. So, in this article we will introduce the samurai-like genius sushi chef, Saito Somei.
Saito, who for some reason almost always keeps his eyes closed
Saito's mohawk and giant knife tend to draw attention, but there's another major feature about his appearance: his eyes, which are always closed for some reason! He occasionally opens his eyes, such as during a food battle, but he generally seems to keep them closed throughout his life. I'm not sure why... Perhaps he does this because he's too much like a samurai, making him more sensitive to the presence of others.
Is his first-person pronoun "ore" (ore) or "setsusha" (wish)?
Mohawk, giant kitchen knife, closed eyes. Saito has many distinctive features in his appearance, but when he speaks, he also has the characteristic of speaking like a samurai. He calls others "master" and values bushido so much that he has become a samurai in both body and mind. However, even Saito denies calling himself "I"... but he is criticized for calling himself "I" by his comrades, Ryujin and Tsukasa, as well as even Megijima, his current enemy in the Rebel Alliance.
Why Saito Supports the Azami Administration
Saito grew up in a single-parent household, where his mother was also a skilled sushi chef. They had regular customers and seemed to be living a smooth life despite being a single-parent household. However, after Saito entered Totsuki Academy, his mother also went to train at a renowned sushi restaurant. However, what awaited her there was discrimination based on outdated ideas, and Saito's mother eventually collapsed from overwork. His mother ran his family's sushi restaurant alone, so Saito took over as a sushi chef while still in junior high school.
Childhood Events and His Encounter with Itsumi
Shortly after Saito took over as his mother's tsukeba, the sushi chefs from the restaurant where his mother trained came to complain. They ranted about him, calling him "all for show" and "presumptuous," to which Saito calmly greeted them. Afterward, he silenced the "old adults" who discriminated against him for various reasons, not with words but with the sushi they made themselves. Azami, aware of this, sympathized with Saito, telling him that the discrimination the adults were committing was "unacceptable." He invited Saito to join the Azami administration, and Saito, who shared his views, decided to join Azami.
When did he start wearing a mohawk and embracing bushido?
As you can see from the image, as a child, Saito had a very ordinary hairstyle and spoke in a normal manner. At this time, Saito was attending middle school at Totsuki Academy, shortly after his mother collapsed. The next time the craftsmen came to pick a fight, as mentioned earlier, he had a mohawk. This is why Saito got his mohawk shortly after his mother collapsed. His way of speaking is likely influenced by the historical drama he was watching around that time.
The much-anticipated second bout features a Shokugeki with Mimasaka!
Saito's first battle in the Rentai Shokugeki was the second bout. His opponent was Mimasaka, who made full use of Perfect Trace. Mimasaka's fighting style involved perfectly tracing every move and adding his own unique twists to them. Saito's Shokugeki battle feels as if he's fighting himself. Incidentally, even his hairstyle appears to be traced, but it's actually Mimasaka's natural hairstyle, so it's not actually a trace (lol).
The theme ingredient is tuna, which gives Saito an overwhelming advantage!
The theme ingredient given to Saito and Mimasaka in the second bout is "tuna"! Tuna is, needless to say, the most iconic sushi ingredient. Saito uses this tuna to create small sushi balls. Naturally, Mimasaka, armed with perfect tracing skills, also fights back with small sushi balls. Mimasaka perfectly traced the dish with the exact same movements. However, Saito seemed somewhat at ease, lending his own knife midway through the match, saying, "To make it a fair fight."
The difference between the two was the depth of the hidden knife.
Mimasaka seemed to have a lead with his flawless tracing and arrangement, but in the end, Saito was declared the unanimous winner. The reason for this was the hidden knife used for the sushi topping. In this Shokugeki, the two made not regular sushi, but "Kodama Kogyoku Sushi," which is even smaller than regular sushi. So Saito deliberately limited the number of hidden knives. Mimasaka failed to notice the technique, which only a sushi chef like him could have noticed, and he was defeated.
No Interval Required!? Saito Also Appears in the Third Bout
Saito won the second bout amidst a tense atmosphere, as if he were fighting his own shadow. Tsukasa and Rindou, who also fought in the second bout, were exhausted from the Shokugeki and needed a day of rest. Since the two cannot compete in the Shokugeki, Saito will have to compete in consecutive days of the Third Bout due to the limited number of participants. Soma is concerned about this, but Momo says that Saito has been practicing water purification rituals to sharpen his mind and compensate for his fatigue... Incidentally, the venue for the Solidarity Shokugeki is Hokkaido in the middle of winter (lol).
Soma will be Saito's opponent in the Third Bout.
Saito's opponent in the Third Bout is Soma, the protagonist of the story. With consecutive battles and an opponent like Soma, Saito fans are probably feeling a bit uneasy (lol). Furthermore, the theme ingredient for the third bout is "butter." While tuna was the theme ingredient for the second bout, Saito was able to gain an advantage from the start, it will be interesting to see how he will tackle the theme of butter, which has absolutely no connection to sushi.
Saito's third bout featured a seafood bowl!
A butter-based dish created by a genius sushi chef. That was the "Exquisite Butter Seafood Bowl." Butter is used to make salmon meunière and stir-fry squid. This bowl is obviously delicious just by looking at it. It turned out so well that some people even tried to recreate it (lol). While it ultimately lost to Soma's butter pilaf inari sushi, Saito won hands down in terms of Instagrammability.
[Sad News] Senior Saito Somei: A Purely Japanese Style, But He's Bad at Shogi
Let's go back a little in time to a scene just before the Rentai Shokugeki began. Saito is playing shogi with Momo, but... Momo is clearly playing shogi half-heartedly. Despite this, Momo wins by a landslide. Moreover, judging by his comment, "It's checkmate again, Somyan," it seems that Saito has not just lost once, but has lost to Momo at shogi multiple times. Shogi is a game with no cute elements whatsoever, and Momo doesn't seem interested in it, but Saito still can't win... It's kind of hilarious to see him holding his head in the bottom right panel (lol).
Saito Somyan's voice actor is Katsuyuki Konishi!
Saito's voice actor will continue to be Katsuyuki Konishi, starting with the third season! He's voiced major characters in numerous anime, and while it may be unnecessary to mention him, his most notable role in 2019 was as Diavolo in JoJo's Bizarre Adventure. Even those unfamiliar with JoJo may have heard of "King Crimson." However, he's a voice actor with a wide range of acting skills, including playing Kitakita Oyaji in Magic Circle Guru Guru.
Summary of the Genius Sushi Chef, Saito Somei
So what did you think of this introduction to Saito Somei? The image is from before the Azami administration and shows him as the Fifth Seat, but after the Azami administration, he was promoted to Fourth Seat due to Megijima's departure. His eccentric appearance and samurai-like speech are a testament to his unique personality, both inside and out, and he's full of interesting things to see, so be sure to keep an eye out for Saito Somei in the fourth season of Food Wars!: Shokugeki no Soma.
