Long-term predictions for the manga

[Darya]

I think a new theard for this will be fitting~
A theard to discuss the later future of the manga, the final of the current arc (Hokkaido) and futher, till the end and for poiting out forshadowing.

We used to split mangas into arcs. Of course, you can see them also in SnS. But in this series I can also see more - I would part it also in acts.
The first act ended with the AE in chapter 104. Through 100 chapters we learn about the Jewels and set a new status quo with a new goal for the MC. Even if Erina is his main rival, the most important for the whole series, Souma get two aditional ones - Hayama and Ryo. At that point we get also the message that the three character story lines will be bonded and the two will be one of the most important characters in the story (right after Souma, Erina and Megumi).
It's a big prologue.

After that we start the second act with some small arcs - Staigare and Festival. Between them they introduce us the main players of this act - the current E10. But the true story starts with Azami, and more importantly - Erina. The whole second act is designed to her, the heroine of this manga. It's her fears and her character development and even if the other characters (and the MC) also develop, the focus is on Erina.

So, after this start, let's talk about predictions:
I believe this act ends with the Hokkaido exam - there is enough time to deal with Azami and make a new status quo for the story. In the end of it (chapter 250???), we have to get a ful grown Erina 2.0 and a defeated Azami - and that means 2 options:

• Azami leave Tootsuki and we get Sezeamon back... Or a new director... (And if you need a Nakiri for this place, remember there is somewhere Papa Natsu, who can get gently forced by his family/allies to take over the function as long as Erina isn't ready for it).
• Azami convert and become a nice Stalin, with a troubelsome, but filled with hope for a better, relationship with Erina

As I said, it's Erinas act, so Souma don't develop this much as at the end of the AE, but stil, he should grown. Also, we get some nakama power and establish the position of the Jewels as wonder-generation.
At this point I'll remind you, that Hayama and Ryo should have big plotlines, similar ones and focused on the main idea of the story - cooking for someone who love. That means developing the Akira-Jun and Ryo-Alice relationships, what, honestly, we already saw (Ryos battle) and seeing right now (bearing with Hydra!Hayama). But we need also some interaction between the hole "interesting trio". Well, someoe has to learn Hayama that nakama is magic~
Besides them, they are other character plot lines - Megumi is pushed aside lately but she is one of the most importat charas here, so she should get some focus, too. (*caugh* the dark!Megumi theory)
And of course, our special kid Takumi.
Why special? I have the strong feeling the authors get a quite problem with Takumis popularity. Remember the character poll from chapter ~120? The authors would like that the people love Hayama (then 8th place) and Kurokiba (not even in the top 10) as they have clearly a lot of ideas for their plots. Takumi should be just the funny guy at Soumas side. But as get the 3rd popular character they have to focus at him a lot. For now, they put him as commentator where they can, but its too less... I don't know if Takumi will get a big plotline already on Hokkaido, but we have to keep in mind, the fandom push him i the spotlight.

Oki, but what will happend in act three? Will they come back to the slice-of-life clima or find a new, bigger opponent (or will Azami hide somewhere and armor himself?) I hope for slice of life, but who knows...
Well, but what left us to tell? Oh, a lot.
Like Romance.
After settig Erina 2.0 and, let's hope, a developed Megumi the fun can finaly start. We focus again on the MC and his way to greates. I believe just then, we get Soumas whole backstory and his true motivation for becoming a great cook. And for that you need romance and choosing a girl (the rest of his harem has no chance for this spot - sory Nikumi).
It's also time for fightig for the E10 sets. We will have a really strong, nakama-bonded bunch of Jewels cook and their oponent - the second years. I would love if both generations start a war/rivality between them - The second years would be pissed off that the newbies steal their spotlight and the first years would just don't like they senpais and show the world how good they are as whole generation (But of course, everyone of them will beat Erina and become the best :P).
And of course romance <3 I hope that besides the main triangle, other pairing will develop and maybe become even canon (Ryo, Alice, I'm looking at you!)

Tsukuda write on Twitter (even lately, right?) that he still don't know if SnS ends in the first year or will they make a whole 3-years story. It depends on a lot of things. But, there is material for a long, long story and I hope for it so much. Making it a 3-act story would fit (and we would be in the middle of the manga right now), but you have such a great, big world and so much good characters that you have the material, dear Tsukuda-san. Other schools for a Tournament, a new vilian-drama, stairgare-like arcs even in foreign countries, new characters, but even better - developing the current one. If you can manage to bring then together you can always split them in a Civil War-like event apart, so they have to bond again. And you can develop each character plot-line (example - Hisako has so much potential!). The story would need also some more mystery - if you don't explain ALL what happened ~20 years ago with the PSD Golden Generation it could be a case that the characters are solving for a long time (also, Erinas mother story could be a interesting one).
Even after Soumas graduading, a sequel about him (or other charas) in the great, big world would be amazing.

TL;DR: You can divide SnS not only in arcs, but also in acts - and so, we are in the middle of the second act, Erinas story. I think they should end it by defiting Azami at the end of Hokkaido and move to a new act. One that concentrate on getting the E10 seats and finaly give us romance.
And btw, Takumi steals Hayamas and Ryos popularity. You doing it wrong fandom.

Any ideas?

 

[TotalEconomist]

The bit about the author doesn't know if the series will complete it's 3 years is reaffirmation of the cutthroat nature of WSJ.

Anyway, besides the Judas Megumi Theory, I think the following will happen:

- We learn about Soma's mother and what she meant to him.
- The relationship Gin and Azami had as well the relationship Azami and Jun had.
- Erina the Denier and Soma Christ growing feelings for each other.
- Azami is the Final judge and evaluates Soma's cooking. Soma dish melts Azami dark heart...sort of.

 

[Zekiel]

And of course, our special kid Takumi

As far as takumi's plot is concerned he wants to be souma's main rival but the author hasn't been playing that up well.... So far its been hayama over everyone else..... Takumi after losing in the Ae set up his decisive battles against souma.

Spoiler: ...............

basically not only will takumi be fighting in the not to distant future for his mezzeluna....but will face him in the e10 as well. As for this arc if takumi's character was to be more impactful he would need to eliminate isami since isami is an impactful character to his development..... It would make azami a threat.

fightig for the E10 sets. We will have a really strong, nakama-bonded bunch of Jewels cook and their oponent - the second years. I would love if both generations start a war/rivality between them - The second years would be pissed off that the newbies steal their spotlight and the first years would just don't like they senpais and show the world how good they are as whole generation (But of course, everyone of them will beat Erina and become the best :P).
And of course romance <3 I hope that besides the main triangle, other pairing will develop and maybe become even canon (Ryo, Alice, I'm looking at you!)

What would be hype imo is if the kouhai of next year try to over throw the jewel generation......... really strong American and French chefs who were 3rd years in middle school with bad arse domineers. would be near the strength of the second years. That would be excellent.

As far as ryoua nd alice I agree they need development in a lot of areas.... But ryou probably wont reach that stage with her until 2nd year.... my guess....

Tsukuda-san. Other schools for a Tournament, a new vilian-drama, stairgare-like arcs even in foreign countries, new characters, but even better - developing the current one. If you can manage to bring then together you can always split them in a Civil War-like event apart, so they have to bond again. And you can develop each character plot-line (example - Hisako has so much potential!). The story would need also some more mystery - if you don't explain ALL what happened ~20 years ago with the PSD Golden Generation it could be a case that the characters are solving for a long time (also, Erinas mother story could be a interesting one).

you came up with some plot point even I ddnt think of.... stagaire's a round the world would be hype too..... and the level of difficulty would rise too

erina's mother included too.

--- Double Post Merged, Sep 14, 2016, Original Post Date: Sep 14, 2016 ---

We learn about Soma's mother and what she meant to him.
- The relationship Gin and Azami had as well the relationship Azami and Jun had.
- Erina the Denier and Soma Christ growing feelings for each other.
- Azami is the Final judge and evaluates Soma's cooking. Soma dish melts Azami dark heart...sort of.

1 and 3 can happen on winter break imo it'll be the perfect way for those to get 2 know eachother..... better
2 may be split off between this arc and after the haikaido is over

and 4 may happen at the 6th stage

 

[mike allan]

erina
andQUOTE="TotalEcon, post: 4334407, member: 190727"]The bit about the author doesn't know if the series will complete it's 3 years is reaffirmation of the cutthroat nature of WSJ.

Anyway, besides the Judas Megumi Theory, I think the following will happen:

- We learn about Soma's mother and what she meant to him.
- The relationship Gin and Azami had as well the relationship Azami and Jun had.
- Erina the Denier and Soma Christ growing feelings for each other.
- Azami is the Final judge and evaluates Soma's cooking. Soma dish melts Azami dark heart...sort of.[/QUOTE]
erina and soma travel like jou did,
after a year travel erina and soma have a children

 

[JonDou]

I can't predict where the series will go but if I were tasked to write the next story arc there are very important things that it should contain:

The new head master is Soe Nakiri, but Senzaemon is not far away and is often a Judge. Soe and the school board reassert their authority over the E10 and also make it more difficult to expel students. The E10 is made up of new and previous members.

Soma no longer has to fight for respect. I would start the story 6 months after the rebels return to the PSD after ousting Azami and Central. I would draw Soma a little taller than he currently is to symbolize the passage of time and his growth as an elite chef. His challengers are earnest and I would try and write in some first year upstarts that want to challenge him. The exception might be Eizan Etsuya who will probably still be hanging around, and may or may not still be a student.

Erina and Soma are frenemies. They respect each other and sometimes hang out but are always pushing each other when it comes to food and cooking. They both discover that there is a mystery surrounding their mothers that no one really wants to talk about. (That's what I would hope to write. Nothing like a little mystery to keep reader's interest.) Erina is the first seat and Soma, inspired by their friend Rindou, settles for second seat. (But he wants to win her seat from her and have her admit his food tastes good, which she still has not admitted) Erina and Soma are both aiming to participate in The Blue.

Isshiki has a story arc that involves his break from his family and what ever dirty deed he pulled that made Nene so bitter toward him that she calls him a liar. Isshiki, in his third year, is the Third seat, defering to Erina and Soma who are his close friends now.

Soma and Takumi are constantly having Shokugeki's with each other, but more as friendly rivals trying to push their cooking higher. I'm not going to try and predict their win-loss ratio. Takumi wins back his Mezzaluna

All the PSD regulars will be back in the new series. It wouldn't be SNS without more vegetable harvesting, smoked food, fermented food, wild game and naked aprons.

 

[TotalEconomist]

Fuck it, I will make a new call for the series.

Dark Megumi will appear post Central arc, as a result of power corrupting the innocent. Once she learns it means to be an elite, she uses that power to its fullest extent to go on a shokugeki spree to take over the school's resources for herself. Erina will be deeply concerned and challenges her to a shokugeki, but loses.

Then the 150 chapters we go through "The Graceful Terror" Arc,.

 

[Tommi]

If the rebels win then it is pointless to remain inside the school boundaries, they will be the strongest, so or it finishes or, if there is a new arc, it will be about competitions among schools (but tootsuki already is the best one so, once again, pointless) or directly the blue tournament.

 

[perroloco]

Personally I think Shokugeki no Soma might end with the series´ 1st year, most sport manga for example end after the ´1st year´..

Even if right now Shokugeki no Soma is Jump's 4th best seller (After One Piece, Haikyuu and Hero Academy) that might not be the case one year from now (Which is the time I think this arc -vs E10 arc- will take to finish)

Let´s compare volume sales:

Volume 16´s sales (around one year ago)

Volume 23´s sales

Volume 24´s sales


As you can see volume 23 2 week run didn´t even reach what volume 16 sold one year ago in one week, the series still sells well enough not to be cut (in fact we can be sure it won´t be, it will have a natural ending unless the authors try to stretch if for too long) but if it doesn´t get a new anime adaptation in the next year I think Shokugeki no Soma will most likely end in this arc, or in the next arc (Possibly a ´Next Years Elite 10 selection' arc?)

Think about it, right now there is enough material for 25 volumes, and I think this arc will probably finish in about a year (so 5 more volumes) that is 30 volumes, A LOT of series end with that number of volumes, Slam Dunk, Eyeshield 21, Kuroko no Basket (I´m mostly comparing SnS to sport manga because it kinda is one at least in plot structure and fan base), so I think it either finishes when this arc ends or (as I previously said) in another arc where the 1st years battle each other to see who gets to be E10 next year.. Though I doubt that arc will happen.


000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000
And now my predictions of this current arc the ¨vs Elite 10¨ arc. (Currenly chapter 218)

From what I have read in this thread we are mostly discussing whether Subaru wins his match or not, I can see it going both ways..

I mean Eishi and Rindo are obviously winning, and for those that are complaining about a sweep being too boring, it´s not, it´s good because that way we only have our really interesting good guy characters fighting against the remaining E10, because really who cares about 3rd grade guy and Subaru? Maybe Kuga has some supporters but no one really expects him to win against the 1st Seat..

So even if it´s predictable is something that has to be done in order to establish the opposing character´s strenght.

My predictions for these matches:

Eishi vs Kuga
-Eishi will obviously win the match against Kuga BUT this match will definetly be of future use in Soma vs Eishi, like Soma will notice something on Eishi´s style of cooking or something like that, I´m guessing Kuga will lose by a very narrow margin, actually making Eishi sweat and praise his progress or something (To show the Kuga´s growth) maybe even the first or the second judge to vote for his dish, but ultimately losing.
Expect to see some flashbacks and for this match to be the one with the most focus and obviously most chapters (Probably around 5-6? I doubt it will get as many chapters as a Soma match which as of lately have been around 7 chapters)

Rindo vs Megishima
-Rindo´s obviously winning too, imagine that either Eishi or Rindo lost in these matches.. Sure that would be unexpected, but what would that really accomplish in the story? Not much, it would take the drama and tension away from the equation.. Just accept the fact that Eishi and Rindo have ¨Final bosses¨ written all over them.
As for 3rd guy´s reasons to fight Rindou.. I dunno there could be a lot of different ways the author could write this, perhaps he was 2nd or 1st seat at one point and he lost a match, I dunno..
I wouldn´t expect to see a lot of the match, most things will happen as a ´background´ of Eishi and Tsukasa´s match, meaning the focus will be on Eishi vs Tsukasa while the other matches are ´happening too´. I´m guessing we won´t see much of this match and Rindou´s backstory or development will probably be seen in another match, or maybe the authors will actually use this match to give us more backstory about Rindo..

Subaru vs Saito
Honestly this could go either way, but I don´t really see a point in Subaru winning, because as I said no one really cares about Subaru..
Remember that Megumi and Takumi have to have wins, or at least they should have one win each.. If Subaru was to win then they take away a dispensable opponent from the E10, because no way in hell Megui/Takumi beat Eishi or Rindou..
This match is likely to be the one with the least chapters/development, no one really cares about these characters both are fodder to be beaten by other characters.

As for what will happen after these matches..

The remaining characters would be:

Rebels
-Soma, Erina, Takumi, Megumi, Isshiki

E10
-Eishi, Rindo, Momo, Saito and Eizan


I think Takumi/Megumi will get paired against Bear girl and Big Sword guy and ultimately beat them.
As for Isshiki I think what the authors will ultimately do with him is kinda use him as ´fodder´ to show a character´s strenght.. Maybe Eizan?
It´s sad because I really like Isshiki but this happens A LOT in shonen manga (If anyone knows if this is a trope/cliche please tell me the trope´s name) but you have a very strong character that´s mostly used to show another character´s strenght..
E.g. Tezuka in Prince of Tennis (Really hyped, how many matches did he actually win?), Kakashi in Naruto (Considered a genius.. Yet he lost most of his battles),

I mean out of the other characters bear gil seems unimportant, Saito would have had his own winning match (against Subaru).. I don´t think they would make a Isshiki vs Eishi fight since Eishi´s real strenght would have been already shown in the Tsukasa match.. So that´s why I´m gussing the next Isshiki match will be vs Eizan and he will lose to show Eizan´s strenght.

Takumi/Megumi vs Bear Girl/Big Sword Guy
Isshiki vs Eizan


Rebels
-Soma, Erina, Takumi, Megumi

E10
-Eishi, Rindo, Eizan


At this point the only character that wouldn´t have fought is Erina, but in the context of the story Soma should fight since Eizan would likely want a rematch against him.

Takumi vs Eishi Takumi would probably like to face the 1st seat or something.
Megumi vs Rindou Rindou likes Megumi so she probably challenges or something.
Erina/Soma vs Eizan Eizan wants a rematch with Soma

Ultimately the last match is gonna be Soma/Erina vs Eishi/Rindo, I might be wrong on the previous matches but I think everything will ultimately lead to this match.

 

[JonDou]

Personally I think Shokugeki no Soma might end with the series´ 1st year, most sport manga for example end after the ´1st year´..

The metrics are on your side with this prediction, however the final boss of the series will be Souma's father. When Souma can beat his dad in a cooking contest, the series can conclude. I think Souma will have to participate in The Blue first and redeem his father who fled the competition.

 

[perroloco]

The metrics are on your side with this prediction, however the final boss of the series will be Souma's father. When Souma can beat his dad in a cooking contest, the series can conclude. I think Souma will have to participate in The Blue first and redeem his father who fled the competition.

JonDou, that's not quite true, we have a LOT of manga (and especially Jump manga) series where there is a 'final boss/father figure" that's clearly meant to be a rival/inspiration to the main character, and a lot of the readers are sure that the final battle will be against this 'final boss/rival/father figure' but in most cases that's not the case, in fact I can't remember one case where the main character did beat that final boss/father figure.

A lot of sport series are like this, and Shokugeki no Soma mostly follows the plot elements of sport series
Captain Tsubasa had Roberto Hongo (Tsubasa's coach)
Hoshin Engi had Dakki and Shinkouhyo
Hikaru no Go had Akira
Prince of Tennis had Ryoma's dad (I guess this is as much a similarity as you can get, Prince of Tennis and Shokugeki No Soma are pretty similar in a lot of aspects)

All of these were rivals/final bosses/fatherly figures that the main character was supposed to beat yet this didn't happen in any of these Jump series, as I said I can not remember a single series where this happened.. In fact just as I was writting this I remembered one series where it happened: Yu-Gi-Oh!, but other than that I can't remember any other series.

Anyways I just remembered that they recently introduced the BLUE tournament.. Maybe that could be the final arc, lol I didn't remember they had talked about it like 10 chapters ago, what a bad memory I have, yeah if the authors introduced that element to the story is probably gonna happen..

Though it doesn't necesarily mean that it will get published in Weekly Shonen Jump, that's what JUMP SQ is for if New Prince of Tennis, To Love Ru Darkness and Rurouni Kenshin are any indication JUMP SQ is where a lot of WSJ manga that have ran their prime end up being published.
I wouldn't be surprised to see Soma end and then get a sequel in SQ some years later, as I said all these series I previously mentioned got sequels in SQ, but then again all the serious I previously mentioned were still very popular when they ended (For example both Prince of Tennis and To Love Ru got and are still getting anime adaptations to this day, heck Prince of Tennis has a movie in the works! That's not something you can also say about Shokugeki No Soma which didn't even get a 3rd season as of yet)

 

[JonDou]

Joichirou is a soft boss. Maybe it doesn't fit in with an Asian sense of finality, but I think it would be nice if Souma beat his dad once. Parents want to see their children be better than they are.

 

[perroloco]

It would be nice, but it wouldn´t be realistic for Soma to beat his dad (in the context of the story).

If we go by series progress or ´strenght´ then Joichirou is probably the strongest cook in the world (We certainly haven´t been shown someone that could beat him), so in order for Soma to beat his dad he would have to be able to beat (In this order):

-Eishi/Rindou (Which is gonna happen when this arc ends, I think..)
-The rest of the world cooks his age (Which is what will probably happen if we get the BLUE tournament arc)
-The previous generation Elite 10 members (Like Shinomiya for example)
-Other cooks in his dad´s generation (Which I assume are stronger than Shinomiya, basically we are talking the Elite 10 of the cooking world around the world) for example Gin and Azami (and other cooks from around the world we haven´t even seen)
-And the final boss then would be Joichirou, because as I said right now he´s the strongest cook that has been shown in the story, I think if he was to be on a Shokugeki against either Gin or Azami, Joichirou would win.

So In my opinion it would not be realistic (Again, considering the ´power levels´ the story has established) that Soma beats his dad in the near future, unless there´s a 10 year sudden time skip or something..
And even then, if there was a 10 year time skip Soma would be around 26-27 which is around Shinomiya´s age..

Put other way, do you think current Shinomiya would be able to beat Jouchirou? I highly doubt it, even if Shinomiya is super ´strong´ and all that and was/is a genius.. Jouchirou is just too strong, I think.

 

[Franckie]

We're already at the manga's end game. There's been an element of "rushing" courtesy of the authors, as evidenced by E10 numbers #4 - #10 now officially being reduced to nothing more than glorified fodder. Also, given the cutthroat nature of WSJ, it's best for the authors to conclude the series within a reasonable time frame, so we're talking within the next 2-3 years. Anyway, here are a few of my predictions:

- Megishima will soon be reduced to glorified fodder like his peers. If not this arc, then in the next arc.

- The final match of the current arc will consist of Rindou + Eishi vs. Erina + Souma. Rindou is revealed to be the best cook of her generation, but isn't #1 because of her lack of interest. We see Erina's mother in a flashback afterwards.

- The conclusion of the current arc will have it become public knowledge that Souma is Jouchirou's son. A byproduct of this will be the WGO giving the restaurant Yukihira a 3-star rating, which serves to further hype Jouchirou's prowess in the culinary world.

- Alice's father is voted the new Director. We learn more about the Nakiri Clan and their relationship with the "Circle of the Demon King".

- We'll have a mini-transition between this arc and the BLUE Tournament. Ebisawa makes an appearance. It's revealed Megishima is her son and the deal he struck with Souma is to introduce his sister/cousin/whoever to Souma, with intent of possibly fostering a union between their two families. This kickstarts the Waifu Wars I describe below. Also, we see Souma's mother in a flashback. Characters will be chosen to represent Tootsuki during the BLUE tournament.

- BLUE Tournament: Nothing important. Just extra opportunities for some of the characters to show off against fodder characters. Naturally, Tootsuki dominates everything. Still, it'll be nice to see some worldbuilding outside of Japan.

- The final arc will be a mini-arc that consists of the characters fighting over #1 and #2 of the E10 that become open with Eishi's and Rindou's graduation. Final match will be between Souma and Eizan. Eizan is ideal since he is the closest thing Shokugeki no Soma has to an overall villain who stands in direct opposition to the main cast, has ideological conflicts with both of his foils (Souma and Isshiki), and represents everything wrong with Tootsuki (e.g., elitism). Erina becomes #2. Why? No female character has yet to win the First Seat. Sure, it can happen, but I'm skeptical given what we've seen thus far. Not sure about everyone else. Isshiki is a wildcard since he can't be bothered to apply himself apparently.

- Final Saga = The Waifu Wars. Yes, it involves the BLUE tournament & transition arcs, but that's fodder compared to what people really want to know: who is the waifu who'll win Souma's heart? Will it be Erina, who is strongly implied to be the reason Senzaemon requested Jouchirou enroll his son at Tootsuki? Will it be Megumi, Erina's polar opposite and the manga's female lead? Will it be Ikumi, whose inner conflict involves her becoming more comfortable with her inner femininity, which is associated with Souma? Will it be Rindou, who is strongly implied to be taking an ever greater interest in Souma and would tease the other gals about "attempting" to take Souma from them? Will it be Mayumi, fodder character who no one remembers? Will it be some random female character we've yet to see? Will it be Nao, who is way cooler than all the other female candidates (save Rindou and Megumi)? Will it be no one, with it being revealed that Souma's heart has already been snagged by his deceased mother (it doesn't help Souma has been described as a "mama's boy" per the author's Twitter account, if I remember right)?

Who cares. I'm looking forward to the prospect of the authors trolling everyone left and right on this particular matter. Nao is a good choice, if only for the lulz factor. All jokes aside, I'd prefer Megumi or Rindou, but I can live with another character like Erina winning Souma's heart, if properly handled.

- Final chapter: Epilogue. It's noted Souma "surpassed" Jouchirou and we now see an adult Souma running Yukihira. Besides him, we see glimpses of the remaining PSD as adults. Finally, we see the next generation as Souma's own child enrolls in Tootsuki for his or her first year. ~Fin.

 

[perroloco]

@Franckie:
I agree with most of your ideas, actually I thought that this was probably going to be the last arc before Jump 'axed' Soma.. But since a 3rd season was just announced I think JUMP still thinks highly of Shokugeki no Soma.. What I mean is that it's one of its best sellers, but it has been losing some sales, so it's down, but the new anime is a way to promote it to see if it gets sales boost..

Basically I mean we will probably see a BLUE tournament arc BUT I don't agree with your idea of Tootsuki destroying every other school..
I imagine schools from France or Germany will be the 'champions to beat' and I specifically say that because that way the authors can use a cliche of sorts like Shinomiya or Eishi saying they had been to France/Germany (or other country) and were beaten or something in that country.. Which is a staple of sport manga (Which Soma kinda is, at least in format)

Also I don't agree with Eizan being a good final boss, for starters because it was already beaten by Soma.. and also because if it were to be the final boss it would have already been beaten TWICE (because he has to be beaten in the regimental shokugeki, remember?) So.. No, I don't think Eizan would be a good final opponent..

If this hypotetical "Next Elite 10 Selection arc" were to happen some better 'final battles' would be Soma vs Isshiki/Erina/Takumi..

The problem with this is that it would take waaay too much time, because this hypotetical arc would occur after the BLUE arc which would probably take at least 10 volumes..


What I ultimately think will happen is this:
-Rebels beat E10 in this arc.
-Some random transition chapters between this arc and the BLUE tournament arc, we meet new characters from schools over the world, perhaps some characters already know some of them..? E.g. Takumi knows someone from Italy, Shinomiya from France, Eishi from Germany, etc..
-A selection arc of sorts where the students that represent Tootsuki in the BLUE tournament are choosen (though that would be dumb since the "Rebels vs E10" arc is basically already this and there's not enough time..) Perhaps the authors just speed throught this.
-BLUE arc: Basically I think this arc will consist of Regimental Shokugekis of 5 vs 5s.

These are the characters I think would get choosen to participate in the BLUE tournament:
-Soma
-Erina
-Takumi
-Megumi
-Hayama
-Alice
-Isshiki
-Eishi
-Rindou

I choose these characters based on both 'power' and popularity, even if Isshiki and Eishi aren't in the top 10 in popularity polls I think they are obvious choices..

Then we have popular characters like Hisako, Alice, Ikumi and Megumi and Kurokiba..
I feel like Hisako and Ikumi can be left out of the BLUE tournament, they mosty are 'reactionary' characters anyways (Character that react or explain dished outside shokugekis) but Megumi is obviously going to be included even though she's probably the weakest character in the roster..
Ultimately I think Alice would be chosen because of the way she cooks (Molecular cuisine is pretty interesting, hopefully they show more of her) and because she's pretty popular (ranked 3rd) ..
Also it would be cool to have a Kurokiba vs Alice match were the winner gets to be part of the BLUE tournament, I would like to see that.

Then we have the Elite 10, simply put.. The way the story has been written so far most of the Elite 10 have been made fodder, in fact IMO I would only consider Eishi, Rindou, Isshiki and maybe Eizan not fodder, I think Big Sword Guy and Teddy Bear Girl are meant to be beaten by Takumi and Megumi respectively, though maybe I will be proven wrong later..
3rd Seat Guy is fodder to be beaten by Rindou..
And Kuga is fodder to be beaten by Eishi, though I'm pretty sure in this match Kuga will almost beat Eishi.. emphasis on almost.. Maybe Kuga will get one of the judges, the other goes to Eishi and the last judge isn't completly sure which dish to choose.. Something like that, classic textbook shonen trope of "Showing a character improvement but still loosing to an OP character" and that to me still makes Kuga fodder, because ultimately it doesn't matter how he loses the point is he will lose.. His entire character was written to be beaten by Eishi again if only by a slim margin, and in my eyes that is still a fodder character..

So yeah, I think out of the Elite 10 the ones that would be choosen are Erina, Isshiki, Eishi and Rindou

 

[AstronomyFanatic]

Here's mine:

Part 1: RdC

I do NOT agree with Eishi x Rindo vs. Soma x Erina. A 2 vs 2 battle will NOT work here, as the skills of the top two elites alone are extremely fearsome. If that's already the case, what more if the former two join forces? The best option topple down Eishi and Rindo is to add few more competitors. Using the plot armor device, the Umi's will provide nice additional manpower, or any combination of competing rebels might work as long as it is NOT 2 vs. 2. I'm putting my cards on: Eishi x Rindo (or any other top-notch elites, should Rindo loses her match with Tosuke) vs. rebel 4 (Soma, Erina, Megumi, and Takumi). The rebels will win them and have their peers back in the academy.

Part 2: Megumi's Dark Side

Another thing which I also strongly disagree is that Megumi turning evil/traitor. She is too pure, innocent, and clumsy just to be turned into an evil character like that. Not to mention that she's one of the tritagonist of this manga - it will be a total waste of her character we all accepted and loved. So she was said to have a dark side, what could it be?

- She may turn like Hinako (this is very creepy already).
- Even after the rebels won the RdC, many will still doubt her skills, and even insult her. This will tick her off, and will start taking shokugekis left and right...and win them all. This will propel her skills, confidence, and ranking in Totsuki, at the same time, she will be notorious in taking shokugekis, and winning them mercilessly, similar to what Tosuke did.

Having a dark side doesn't mean that she'll turn evil.

Part 3: Totsuki's New Admin

This might have three possibilities

1. Azami, mended his ways, remains as the headmaster, but initiated true reforms this time.
2. Sanzaemon returns as the headmaster.
3. Gin takes over as the new headmaster, and Azami becomes the head of Totsuki resort - an aftermath of negotiations with the beaten Azami. Genuine reforms will ensue, after some talks with many parties directly involved.

I'm putting my card on Number 3.

Part 4: BLUE

The candidates of AE will battle it out for this competition, and top contenders will earn more respect than ever. I don't have any idea about this, so I can't make a full comment on this one.

Part 5: New Elite 10

Assuming everything goes back to what it used to be, the Elite will reassume their position, but with the agreement of some sort that they will be careful enough to instigate changes for the academy. But remember, few of them are third years and will be graduating soon. After graduation - Eishi, Rindo, Tosuke, Momo, and Somei will be out. This will be my prediction for the next Elite 10:

1 - Satoshi (finally doing his best)
2 - Nene (humbled by Satoshi)
3 - Eizan
4 - Terunori
5 - Erina
6 - Soma
7 - Takumi
8 - Megumi
9 - Ryo
10 - Alice

Then after the 91st generation has graduated, we'll have this set-up

1 - Megumi (full monstrous skills revealed and regularly exercised, very much confident in her skills, numerous win in shokugeki, many school contributions, a responsible, workaholic elite)
2 - Soma (prefers travelling for foodie adventures, possessing Satoshi-like laid-back traits, accepting shokugekis left and right)
3 - Erina (prefers the administrative type of work, enhances god-tongue more)
positions 1- 3 can be interchanged, I just prefer Megumi being No. 1

4 - Takumi (Soma tags him along usually, Soma's accomplice in crimes, hahaha!))
5 - Akira (resulting from his duel with Ryo)
6 - Ryo (resulting from duel with with Akira)
7 - Alice
8 - Hisako
9 - Subaru (improved both his trace skills, and original cooking ideas)
10 - Nikumi

Part 6: Final Boss

Of course, Joichiro takes this role. He will be Soma for 500 times. On the 501st attempt, Soma will take a win...a closely-margined win.

Maybe I'll add some more in the future.

 

[Ser-Veresta]

- More background on Soma's mother. -this is confirmed by the author Tsukada

Spoiler: Spoiler

Tsukuda: That’s something I’ve always wanted to address, and Saeki-sensei and I are on the same page that we’re definitely going to go into that. Because Soma’s mother is in Chapter one, I was worried that the fans might have forgotten about her by now. But no, they’re more and more curious about her. In the manga itself, there’s a little bit of a hint. There’s a scene where Joichiro is talking about Soma. And he says, “You know Soma has this special talent that I don’t even have.” Therefore, Saeki-sensei and myself, we believe that that special talent that even Joichiro doesn’t have must come from his mother. So at some point in the story where we want the readers to understand what Soma is all about, I think we’ll be able to include an episode featuring Soma’s mother.

-Soma getting into the Elite Ten -this confirmed by the author (Tsukada)

Spoiler: Spoiler

APA: Who can we expect to be on the 92nd Generation of the Elite Ten Council?

Tsukuda: Soma. But at this point, we still haven’t quite decided just how long we’ll take this story for. We’ve talked about maybe writing through Soma’s graduation from Totsuki Academy. Another idea that’s been tossed around was wrapping up the story before he enters his second year. We’ll probably do an epilogue of some sort, regardless. We still need to discuss how Soma will be depicted once he’s in the Elite Ten.

-Revisiting on what Jouchirou said about the secret to being a good chef.

Spoiler: Image

Sources:
http://bit.ly/2yyBlbD
http://bit.ly/2fyPgHe
http://bit.ly/2fyoRJx


After reading the interviews, it made me believe that there won't be any deep romance involved because of Soma's character and the possibility of the series ending on their first year. That being said, we can expect no mutual feelings between Erina and Soma but what we can expect is how she is still going to be a vehicle to making Soma a good chef.

I'd like to be surprised though, so hopefully i'm wrong.

 

[Chingaruna517]

If the rebels win then it is pointless to remain inside the school boundaries, they will be the strongest, so or it finishes or, if there is a new arc, it will be about competitions among schools (but tootsuki already is the best one so, once again, pointless) or directly the blue tournament.

Dude, ya gotta think really hard on this because if Team Central wins, its a deadly end for everyone, a very bad end one, and we're not talking about Soma and co. being expelled or the eternal imprisonment of Erina or Saiba under Central. Did you read the part where almost all Ramen shops are closed in Hokkaido alone just for defying Azami's proposal? As well as the owners' hostility towards both Soma and Megumi just by seeing their own just by seeing the Tootsuki uniform?! That gives you an grim idea the so called "Utopia" Azami wanting to create even that will ruin the Tootsuki's good image!

 

[bufferunderrun]

There should be an "international" arc, totsuki is japan top school and being the elite 10 is equal of being the most promising youth chef of that generation in japan and only japan there is no way in hell culinary flagship like France or Italy don't have a school comparable with totsuki.