Iron Wok Jan!

Episode 4

I'm net positive on this week's Iron Wok Jan!. It has plenty of strengths, though I do wonder if they aren't stretching the bit a little too far.

For the positives, this is a good challenger for Akiyama. Having this outside cook come up specifically under Otani's wing to undermine Akiyama is a good setup. The newcomer has a special trick up his sleeve - the XO Jiang sauce! Gasp! It's described as a magic sauce, and that's more or less what our bald antagonist functions as: a foe with a bag full of magic tricks. Or, more accurately, magic trick in the singular, as he doesn't know how to use the sauce well and doesn't have another angle other than its use. This is an effective setup, both in that he's a decent gimmick foe and also that he has a connection to a prior enemy for the gang.

The best part of the success story this week is Jan's continued development. This is an opportunity to show not just his knowledge but his unique skill set. He's not just using techniques or sauces that others don't think to use or haven't heard of - he's intimately trained in their use and getting the full measure of them. It's a genuinely hilarious character beat that when Akiyama finds himself up against an opponent using a magic potion, he turns around and reveals that he also keeps a bag full of tricks with him that has at least three times as many magical elixirs in it. Akiyama Jan is a culinary mastermind, ten steps ahead and three char-broiled layers deep in his planning. Similarly, even though Okonogi and Kiriko don't get the same shine, we see elements of their character progression brought to the fore. In Okonogi's case, we find he has a good heart but has never been properly taught some techniques. In Kiriko's case, we see that she might be a bit behind the 8-Ball when it comes to novel approaches; she's a lightning-fast learner and is more than capable of matching or exceeding Akiyama.

The letdown here is that this week feels pretty similar to what's come before. Even with last week's venture into Akiyama's past, we've been doing this general setup more or less from the jump. A new chef appears, the kitchen staff gather and judge the food, a winner is declared, you know how it goes. I was expecting we'd see a bit more of the team struggling to serve, um, actual customers? Being a restaurant? Maybe that's a ridiculous thing for me to ask for, I don't know. But I think it would be nice to see the chefs face off when those tasting and reviewing the food don't have quite the same perfectly calibrated palettes as their peers. Here's to hoping for next week.

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Iron Wok Jan! is currently streaming on Crunchyroll.