Oishinbo - Vol. 29 Ch. 271 - The Ultimate's Weakness (Part 3)

[MangaDex]

 

[Babymech2]

I've seen this argument in other manga and I still don't buy it... 'Your weakness was your focus on winning, but now you've managed to put in a lot of effort to win, and thus you've proven that you don't care about winning, which is why you win.' They were still being quite competitive, only with a specific focus on one judge this time (and a huge focus on their competitor, to boot). Nothing about that says that they gave up on winning and focused instead on bringing Dam happiness - bringing him happiness is the way to win.

 

[thirtykei]

Chicken butt is indeed fatty as hell, i'm not a fan

 

[Mugiwara325]

I've seen this argument in other manga and I still don't buy it... 'Your weakness was your focus on winning, but now you've managed to put in a lot of effort to win, and thus you've proven that you don't care about winning, which is why you win.' They were still being quite competitive, only with a specific focus on one judge this time (and a huge focus on their competitor, to boot). Nothing about that says that they gave up on winning and focused instead on bringing Dam happiness - bringing him happiness is the way to win.

You can consider it the 'lesson of the week' before they return to the status quo. This 'showdown' technically isn't even a showdown, more a presentation by the Ultimate Menu to prove that they know their weakness and have the capacity to improve on it.

In fact, I'd argue that using the Supreme Menu's points and then building off of them is evidence that they aren't being competitive, and are willing to accept their opponent's strengths to bolster their own Menu. It would've been a great turning point and character growth moment for Yamaoka, who's always been too prideful to accept Kaibara's opinions. (It'll be a while before we see this lesson actually taking effect.)

 

[Mugiwara325]

Now that Dan has been properly introduced, I'd like to take some time to explain why I think he's such a fascinating addition to the character dynamic.

But before I can explain that, I must first explain the other love rival, Kinjo Isamu. Kinjo was introduced the same volume as Niki Mariko, and was clearly meant to serve a similar purpose. Where Niki is the love rival to Kurita, Kinjo would be the love rival to Yamaoka. Niki fulfilled her role expertly, softening up Yamaoka at times, and most critically, getting a rise out of Kurita. Her aggressive forwardness, coupled with her rich and influential family, made her an actual threat to Kurita (even if we know Kurita is the destined one, what's important is that the characters themselves feel challenged).

Now what about Kinjo? Kinjo was able to maybe bring Kurita on a date once or twice, but he ultimately didn't really incite anything in neither Kurita, nor Yamaoka. It feels like Kariya designed him to be the exact opposite of Yamaoka: Physically fit, passionate and dedicated to work, and very social. It just so happens that none of these are traits that really call out to Kurita (I mean, she's in love with Yamaoka, so come on), which means she doesn't have any real romantic chemistry with him. And Yamaoka is dense as a burnt cheesecake so he doesn't feel threatened either. After several volumes in this 'love rectangle', Kinjo comes out looking very ineffective.

And that brings us to Dan. I suspect Kariya must've realized how ineffective Kinjo has been, but couldn't overhaul his character because that would feel too forced. And so, he created Dan, a new love rival for Yamaoka who was designed to be the opposite to Kinjo, in ways that would actually build proper romantic tension. The most obvious one is that Dan is rich and powerful, and while that's not a trait Kurita looks for per say, it is a trait that makes him conventionally desirable in the eyes of many characters, whose judgement does weigh in on Kurita's own. He's also written to have humility and a general good character, which is important because that IS a trait that would appeal to Kurita. And finally, he's proactive, perhaps as aggressive as Niki in love, which means he forces Kurita to make choices and not be wishy-washy. This was all calculated. It has to be. Dan has perfectly answered every shortcoming of Kinjo's character, and his introduction would spice up this love conflict situation quite a bit.

There is one question that hasn't been addressed though, that being Yamaoka himself. Dan does not threaten Yamaoka, because Yamaoka is still ignorant of his own romance. But, he does threaten Kinjo. We'll see in time, how this situation will unfold. Until then, thank you for listening to my TED Talk.

 

[d_a_renoir]

Chicken butt!! When I was in Japan once I saw a yakitori shop offering skewers of just the tails exactly like what they gave Dan. My sibling and I love it, my parents don't like it because they're worried that's the literal butt and it might still be dirty from poop.

 

[feignedremoteness]

Chicken butt!! When I was in Japan once I saw a yakitori shop offering skewers of just the tails exactly like what they gave Dan. My sibling and I love it, my parents don't like it because they're worried that's the literal butt and it might still be dirty from poop.

do your parents eat eggs?

 

[Mugiwara325]

Chicken butt!! When I was in Japan once I saw a yakitori shop offering skewers of just the tails exactly like what they gave Dan. My sibling and I love it, my parents don't like it because they're worried that's the literal butt and it might still be dirty from poop.

Funny thing about that. When I was younger, my mom one gave me one of these meat stubs and told me it was the chicken's butt.

Me, being a gullible boy, kept looking at it trying to find where the poopy hole is. Turns out, that's not how chicken anatomy works.