Third Bowl

The third episode of the Ramen Daisuki Koizumi-san anime aired on January 18th, 2018. It consists of three parts, which were each animated from three chapters of the manga.

## Overview

Jealous that Koizumi-san is warming up towards Jun and Misa but not her, the ever-persistent Yuu is showing signs of defeat. One day Yuu invites Koizumi-san to eat with her at a McDonald's-style restaurant, having assumed that she only eats at ramen shops, only to discover that Koizumi-san has actually been to one that serves ramen. Yuu then continues to beg Koizumi-san to go somewhere with her, and after tiring of her constant invitations, Koizumi-san finally accepts. When they get together, however, they enter a ramen shop that only has private eating booths, and both of them spend their time eating without ever interacting with one another. Eventually, Yuu's luck begins to change after finding Koizumi-san collapsed in front of a closed ramen shop. Yuu then brings Koizumi-san into her apartment, and makes home-made, gourmet-style instant ramen to help her recover.

## Summary

### **Saimin**

*Japanese Title: サイミン. Romaji: Saimin*

After school one day, Yuu invites Koizumi-san to eat at WcDaniel's with Jun and Misa, but her offer is once again declined. Yuu becomes discouraged with her lack of progress in getting closer with Koizumi-san, especially with Jun and Misa having already eaten with her. They attempt to placate Yuu's frustration by saying that Koizumi-san is unlikely willing to eat anything other than ramen, and that this would explain Yuu's rejection earlier. Hoping this was the case, Yuu catches Koizumi-san again in the hallway the next day, and asks if she had ever been to a WcDaniel's before. After responding that she has, Koizumi-san begins to recall the first time she had ever gone to one.

Two months ago, Koizumi-san had taken a trip to Hawaii and had walked into a local WcDonald's in order to try their Saimin ramen. Speaking entirely in English, Koizumi-san asked the cashier for ramen and chopsticks. After receiving her order, she heads to the beach in her bathing suit. Tying her hair into a ponytail and grabbing her soup container from the bag, she takes a quick sip of her Saimin.

Yuu all of a sudden interrupts Koizumi-san's story, stunned at the idea that a WcDaniel's could ever serve ramen. Koizumi-san asserts that they do, but that it is only available at their Hawaiian locations. In addition, Koizumi-san points out that Hawaii is very much favorable towards ramen, and that it is being populated with more and more Japanese ramen chains. While fascinated, Yuu presses on to ask if Koizumi-san had ever eaten a burger before, to which Koizumi-san again answers in the affirmative. Koizumi-san had once visited a *Tenkaiippin* ramen shop in Osaka and had tried their limited-time special burger set, which included fries, a cheeseburger, and ramen. Yuu is again surprised by her answer, but is now unable to recall why she called for Koizumi-san in the first place.

### **Flavor Concentration Booth**

*Japanese Title: 味集中カウンター. Romaji: Aji Shūchū Kauntā*

On their way home from school, Yuu asks Koizumi-san if she is free to go with her somewhere that Sunday, but is instantly turned down. Yuu suddenly confronts Koizumi-san about always acting cold towards her, but having already made friends with Misa and Jun, to which Koizumi-san denies ever making friends with anyone. Yuu then asks Koizumi-san to be more sociable for the sake of her fellow human beings, but Koizumi-san declares herself to be a "friend of noodles" rather than of humanity. Yuu then pleads with Koizumi-san to eat with her, even if it means at a place of Koizumi-san's own choosing. Having been annoyed with Yuu's constant invites, Koizumi-san finally agrees to eat somewhere with her.

When Sunday arrives, Yuu is running towards Koizumi-san, excited to see what she looks like in normal clothes. Although disappointed in seeing Koizumi-san wearing her school uniform again, Yuu walks inside the ramen shop, expecting to see either seats or a chef serving them. Instead, she sees a ticket machine for *kae-dama* (extra noodles), which is something Yuu had seen before on TV. After receiving their tickets, Yuu walks with Koizumi-san into the seating area, but finds everyone there sitting in private eating booths, rather than out in the open. To make matters worse for Yuu, the only available seats for the two of them are on opposite sides of the shop.

With Koizumi-san being so far away from her, Yuu reluctantly takes her seat. She sees in front of her a sheet that lists customizable options to select for her ramen. Since this is her first time visiting a restaurant with private booths, Yuu plays it safe and selects more "basic" options. A chef then appears through a sliding window in front of Yuu and then takes her sheet. Koizumi-san, on the other hand, is more particular about her order, and even takes an extra few seconds to decide on the firmness of her noodles. Both of them eventually get their customized ramen, and start eating until they run out of noodles. Still having enough soup left, Koizumi-san and Yuu both request extra noodles, and then dumping them into their dish.

After eating, Koizumi-san and Yuu walk out the ramen shop satisfied, and then say goodbye to each other. It was there that Yuu realized that she was not able to fully interact with Koizumi-san, despite enjoying her ramen.

### **Instant Noodles**

*Japanese Title: 即席麺. Romaji: Sokusekimen*

## Trivia

* In the manga, "Mac" is mentioned instead of the "Wac" and "WcDaniel's" used in the anime. In both cases, the reference to McDonald's is largely hidden.
* At the end of *Saimin*, Yuu is attempting to read the characters for train stations in Osaka, starting with *Kireuriwari*, the station where Koizumi-san ate her burger.