SouEri

"But... it's strange. Somewhere along the line... I've come to look forward to tasting your dishes... to look forward... to seeing you!"

- Erina regarding how she feels about Soma.

SouEri is the het ship between Soma Yukihira and Erina Nakiri from the Food Wars fandom.

Canon
Soma and Erina are close friends and rivals. They initially had a tough time with their relationship as Erina thoroughly disliked Soma and arguably hated him. However, by the end of their first year at Totsuki Academy they have become very good friends and partners. Their personalities contrast sharply. Whilst Erina is serious, well-mannered and upper-class, Soma is silly, laid back and upbeat. However, they are both equally determined and passionate with their cooking.

The two first met on Soma’s entrance exam as Erina was his examiner. Due to her upbringing, Erina had come to have a very specific kind of idea when it comes to cooking and quickly came to see Soma as the antithesis of everything she believed was correct. This became apparent to her when he seemingly served her a mundane dish, flaunted a cocky attitude and lacked any manners, all of which irritated her greatly. As such, even though she was overwhelmed by the quality of his dish, in her spite she failed him. After this she was left in denial about Soma’s talents and constantly felt irritated by the fact his style of cooking could exceed her expectations and then some. She would eventually admit this to herself when she faced the fourth seat of the Elite Ten, Momo, and stated that Soma had shattered what she understood about cooking, showing her a new world. Ultimately, he would be accepted into Totsuki Academy, on behalf of Erina’s grandfather, the Director of the school. They reunited at the opening ceremony and Erina was left completely shocked and flabbergasted that he was there. Soma, oblivious, assumed Erina had just jokingly rejected his dish. However, he had come to realise Erina does not accept him and vowed there and then that he would one day make her say his dish is “delicious”. This vow has become a significant motivator for Soma and become one of his absolute goals in life.

Both of them struggled to get along, but this dominantly came from Erina’s side. Whilst Soma was very laid back, friendly and naive about how Erina felt about him, she was harsh, insulting and clearly annoyed just by his presence. However, she would comically become unnerved by Soma’s inability to understand her insults and instead interpret them in a way that sounded like they were friends. Something that was noted by Isshiki himself. Soma could not pick up on the fact that she did not like him whilst Erina could not accept she was intrigued by him. Nonetheless, Soma was well aware she wishes to see him fail and revelled in her doubts about him, and would even tease her when he proved her wrong. Erina would become gradually annoyed by the fact Soma overcame all obstacles in his path and quickly climbed to being in the top four strongest students in their year, including herself. Such was her irritation with him that she refused to reveal to him the error he had made during their buffet exam and tried to deny his entry into the Autumn Elections as a member of the Elite Ten, despite everyone else voting against her.

Even though there was no intention, the two of them would regularly find themselves in awkward encounters with each other. The first time was when Soma accidentally bumped into Erina when she was on her way back from the baths and he was on his way there, which causes her to blush at the fact that she was partly exposed to him and on the floor. The second time was when they were placed next to each other during the buffet examination. By coincidence, they found that the buses to take them back to the academy from the hotel they were at had left them behind. Thus, Erina reluctantly allowed Soma to sit in a private car with her to get back. During the Autumn Elections, Soma had wandered into her private booth to watch the match between Hayama and Ryo, and they sat together, even though she was irritated by him, before they were joined by Alice. Despite the fact she still thought poorly of him, she seemed to have at least accepted his presence at the academy by this point as she indulged his curiosities about the match between Hayama and Ryo. And when he had to face Subaru in a match she agreed to taste test his dish in exchange for some manga she wished to read.

Their relationship began to change by the time of the Moon Banquet Festival. It seems that she had come to accept that he was one of the top students at the school and was left angry that he had performed poorly at his stall on the opening day of the festival. Soma, himself, had become even more relaxed in her presence and pretty much saw her as his friend even though the feeling was not mutual. This led to him arriving at her restaurant, that she had set up for the festival, so he could eat there but instead came across an intense encounter she was having with her father. Erina was frozen stiff by her father’s presence and Soma, almost unwittingly, managed to break that tension and prompted her father to leave. The fear of her father’s return and control over Totsuki caused her to flee her own residence and ultimately end up at Polar Star, where Soma was living. Just moments earlier, Erina’s own grandfather had visited Soma personally and requested he help save her from her father. Her experience there soon caused her to realise that Soma was much more than she had assumed him to be. The various people who lived there, intrigued by her God Tongue, would have her taste test their cooking that they experimented with rigorously, which left her confused and somewhat amazed. She soon realised that Soma was perhaps the most odd of them all and noted he was at the centre of everything Polar Star did. She even noted that her closest friend, and secretary, Hisako, has also warmed up to him.

Her perception of him finally changed when she discovered that the chef she admires the most in the world was none other than Soma’s father. She was overcome with shock at this revelation and soon regretted her actions towards him. Eventually, she built up the courage to visit Soma in his bedroom and she confided in him her past with her father, and that ultimately, she does not enjoy cooking because of how her father forced her to ‘correctly’ perceive what was right and what was wrong. This flew directly against what made her love cooking so much in the first place when she tasted a dish that was made by Soma’s father. After hearing this, Soma decided to cook for her under the pretext that he was going to make her say his dish is delicious. Whilst doing so, he noted Erina's despondent look and commented how she can get like that sometimes. When she ate his food she was overcome with its incredible taste, and his words about how the journey of cooking is more fun than the destination resinated with her greatly. Soma helped her remember how cooking can be fun and with this new outlook, became determined to make sure he, and the rest of Polar Star, do not get expelled because of her father. Soma was initially disappointed that she did not admit his dish was delicious, as she became distracted by her new found motivation, but smiled when he realised he had won her over at long last.

From then on the two were allies and gradually grew closer. Erina was determined to make sure Soma would not fail, and told him that they would become second years together, to which Soma assertively agreed with. When he was randomly put into a match with one of the newest members of the Elite Ten, Hayama, she ran to him to find out if he had won or not, messing up her hair and becoming flustered in the process, and was relieved to see he claimed victory. Soma, whilst Erina was in a confrontation with her father, went up to her side and challenged him directly as a means to stand up for her. Erina also came to have new found respect for him and the two started to get along much better than ever before, even cooking together along with his father. Erina came to realise how much her perception of Soma has changed when he visited her in her train cart and the two sat together and talked. Whilst looking up at the starry sky she laughed at Soma’s bizarre comments which causes her to realise that before, just Soma’s face would infuriate her, but “Now… now I don’t mind him so much…” whilst blushing at him. At this point, it would seem she has developed feelings for him and was later left upset when she tried to compliment him but he had gone to the bathroom before he could hear her.

Erina also seems to have taken inspiration from Soma, as in her victory over Momo she paraphrased his signature line, something he picked up on and teased her over. When they defeated the first and second seat, Soma encouraged her to say his signature line once more as they claimed victory and she did so. Erina’s admiration of Soma went a step further, as when she created her specialty she utilised the idea that he had shown her the first time they met, and again Soma picked up on this and playfully teased her. Their mutual respect and admiration caused them both to nominate each other for the highest roles in the academy. Erina nominated Soma for the role of the first seat of the Elite Ten as she believes he was the reason why they succeeded in their Team Shokugeki. Soma was irritated that he was given the first seat, rather than winning it, as he believes Erina is still much better than him. As a result, he told her he would only take the first seat if she becomes the Director of the academy, the only position above the first seat. Initially shocked, she ultimately accepts his proposal.

Despite how close they have become, the two do struggle to work together as a team, due to their strong personalities, and comically argued with each other to the point that they went into their final match sleep deprived. Even then, they had a game of rock-paper-scissors just to determine who would do the starter and main dish. Nonetheless, Soma enjoyed having her as his partner as he could take full advantage of her God Tongue, which excited him greatly. This allowed him to fix minute flaws in his dish that he, himself, could never pick up on. To defeat the first and second seat of the Elite Ten, Soma decided to force Erina to come up with her own specialty for the first time when he produced an unorthodox starter in their match. He called her out and told her to see the match as a competition between him and her. Erina was annoyed at him for this but soon felt grateful as he had once again helped her develop her own cooking.

After their first year the two have become very close. Erina’s feelings for Soma start to become more obvious and Megumi noted that when Erina described her ideal man she ended up describing Soma. Soma’s own feelings for Erina seem to gradually grow as he told Asahi that Erina belongs to him after he had stated that Erina is his to claim. Erina overheard Soma say this and fainted at his words. It also appears that Soma has become somewhat enchanted by Erina as he momentarily had his breath taken away when he saw her outside on a balcony and bluntly told her how much prettier she is to him when she smiles, which left her flustered. Asahi telling him that Erina would leave him soon also played on his mind frequently and sought reassurance from her and Erina, not too sure what he meant, managed to reassure him she has no intention of going anywhere. By this time, Erina's faith in Soma appears to have grown as well, as she fully stated that she expects him to overcome the difficulty of the promotion exam, like he always does, and would happily have a Shokugeki with him any time he wishes.

However, their relationship becomes strained throughout BLUE. Whilst they remain cordial, Erina’s brutal determination to win the competition to prove to her mother that she can satisfy the God Tongue causes her to grow more distant, frustrated and miserable. Furthermore, Asahi’s apparent strength and unbeatable status starts to eat away at her as she feels she cannot overcome him, ultimately convincing herself that she is perhaps better off marrying him like he suggested. The two came to a head when Erina admitted to Soma that there is a part of her that wants him to lose to Asahi, as he appears to be the only person capable of satisfying the God Tongue and spare both her and her mother from their suffering. However, Soma appeared unmoved by this predicament, simply stating that it’s none of his business and that he intends to defeat Asahi regardless. Despite this, just before his match with Asahi, he told him that he could never make Erina happy.

Soma noticed Erina’s mental deterioration throughout BLUE and saw it grow gradually worse in their final match. He was irritated and upset at how different she has become, reminding himself of what made him like her so much, that she was so prideful, taunting and confident. As a result, he chose to risk his chances of winning BLUE and produce a dish with the express goal to break her out of the mental prison she has put herself into. He made clear his intentions when he tasted her dish and questioned how he could possibly be happy when he wins if she has such a sad face. The dish he then created was a combination of the dish he served Erina in his dorm room, that helped her find her joy in cooking, and the Eggs Benedict she served at the Buffet Exam, the first dish she ever served in front of him. He reminded her what her purpose for cooking truly is, not to overcome the God Tongue, but to get her mother to say her dish is “delicious”. That, fundamentally, she should not despair at the consequences of the God Tongue, but to revel in the challenge of satisfying it. The sheer quality of the dish allowed Erina to realise what she truly wanted to do with her cooking and as a result was able to go back to her old self. Even though she called the dish disgusting, she was determined to produce a dish that would surpass it, and the two continued their match smiling at each other.

By this point Soma had come to recognise that he has only been able to succeed as much as he has thanks to Erina. That after so long, he was finally able to produce a dish he could call his own. Erina’s mother came to understand that to satisfy the God Tongue you need someone to be utterly fixated on achieving that goal and undeterred by failure, and came to see that person for Erina is Soma. It seems Erina has also come to accept this fact as well, as when Soma up and left her for a few years she was furious. She hated that she could not cook by his side, as she wished to do so, but still decided to indulge him when he wished for her to test his new dish as he promised that, this time, he would make her say "delicious". Whilst he prepared the food she acknowledged that she longed both for his food and for him. Soma, whilst he was on his way to meet Erina at his diner, thought on the words his father had told him about finding someone special to devote all your cooking to, and seemed to realise that special someone is Erina.

Fanon
SouEri is an exceptionally popular ship among the Food Wars community, with many fans, both for and against, agreeing that SouEri was a near certain outcome. This ultimately led to surprise among the community that the manga did not end with them as a couple.

The rival ship to SouEri is SouMegu. Although by no means a rival, SouEri shippers hold great hatred for Asahi, who attempted to court Erina and marry her, and for effectively interfering in Soma and Erina's relationship.

On AO3, SouEri is the most written ship for Erina and the second most written for Soma. It is also the second most written ship in the Food Wars tag.

Fandom
FAN FICTION

Trivia

 * In the epilogue for  Le Dessert , Food Wars author, Yuto Tsukuda, made numerous comments about Soma and Erina.
 * He wished for Soma and Erina to get married but felt he could not fit it into the storyboards at the time.
 * Soma has realised he has feelings for Erina and he promised an oath to her, but he had him use inner monologue rather than verbally communicate them.
 * The introduction of Asahi as an antagonist was to make Soma realise his own feelings for Erina. Whilst the girls of Polar Star talking about Erina's ideal man was to make her aware of romance.
 * The decision by the author of Food Wars, Yuto Tsukuda, not to officially pair Soma and Erina together within the manga and anime was met with widespread criticism across the fanbase and a great sense of disappointment, as many believed the series was building towards that outcome.
 * When Joichiro Yukihira said, "Listen well, Soma, the secret to becoming a great chef is... meeting a woman that will make you want to give all the food you make to her." the next shot is of Erina.
 * During the fifth ending, Atria, the main cast can be seen running alongside the train with Erina in the lead. Eventually, Soma catches up to her and starts running beside her, with Megumi and Aldini in tow, she then looks at Soma and notices his smile and decides to smile herself. This is almost certainly a reference to Soma helping her find the joy in cooking.
 * The final season of the anime has Erina state that Soma and his dishes is what her heart has longed for, acknowledging her feelings for him more conclusively but similar to the manga.
 * In the anime, Soma and Erina reunite after six months, whereas in the manga it is 7 years.
 * For the alternative cover art for Volume 36, Soma is seen feeding Erina one of his dishes.