“ | Those who wish to board here must create a dish. Residency will only be granted if said dish’s flavor is acceptable. | ” |
—Fumio Daimido, to Soma regarding the dormitory |
Polar Star Dormitory (極星寮 Kyokuseiryō) is the only dormitory within the school grounds. The dormitory is also where Sōma Yukihira and several key characters in Shokugeki no Soma reside.[1]
Overview[]
Polar Star is currently the only on-campus lodging at Tōtsuki Culinary Academy, which requires an extensive hike from the campus grounds. From the exterior, it is a rather run-down, western-styled co-ed dormitory. It features three floors of lodging with approximately 50 rooms overall. In contrast with the exterior, the interior is well-maintained and almost appears on level with most hotels. In the center of the first floor is a grand staircase that leads to the upper residency areas. During the time known as the Golden Era of Polar Star, the dormitory became financially self-sufficient due to the exploits of various notable residents including Gin Dōjima, Jōichirō Yukihira, Azami Nakiri, and Jun Shiomi.
The Dormitory Mother, Fumio Daimidō, allows anyone to enter the dormitory, however they must pass an entrance exam. Potential residents must cook a dish for Fumio using whatever ingredients they have brought with them as well as any ingredients that the kitchen may have. If their dish manages to impress Fumio, she will give them a room. There is no limit to how many attempts anyone can apply, as Megumi Tadokoro took over 3 months to finally be accepted after numerous attempts. Former residents are generally welcomed back into the dormitory at any time. Residents are also allowed to bring guests into the dormitory and guests can stay overnight in some instances.
Because of their history of being challenged by numerous opponents across the campus, some even using physical force as a means, the dorm has some low-grade riot gear for minor protection and deterrence, lumber to barricade doors and windows, and fire hoses to deter undesirables.
Features[]
- Vegetable Garden - Located behind the dormitory, this garden boasts ten different vegetables, including tomatoes, cucumbers, and daikon. The students maintain the garden, most notably Satoshi Isshiki and Megumi Tadokoro.
- Polar Star Kitchen - The Polar Star boasts an extensive modern kitchen with numerous stoves and a well-equipped pantry that is restocked on a daily basis. Students are free to use whatever they want from the kitchen at their leisure.
- Dining Hall - Next to the kitchen is a large dining hall for the students to eat the food they cook or for the students to use for parties and celebrations.
- Shower Room - The Polar Star has only one shower room in the entire facility. It has a large, steel tub and is modelled after a standard Japanese bathroom. Specific times are designated for girls and boys to shower to avoid unfortunate incidents.
- Balcony - From the third floor, students can exit onto the balcony.
- Speaking Tubes - Fumio uses the speaking tube system to yell at students for rowdy behaviour or to inform them that she has made something for them. Satoshi often uses this to ask the residents to come to help him outside or try one of his dishes.
- "Ceiling Area" - Though not an intentional feature, Satoshi, in particular likes to use the ceiling area to enter other rooms to talk to certain students if they do not respond to his calls via the speaking tubes.
- Firewood Workshop - A workshop rented to Shun Ibusaki. It is here that Shun cuts the firewood that he uses for his smoke cooking.
- Kōji Lab - A workshop rented to Ryōko Sakaki. It is here that Ryōko ferments her Kōji.
- Polar Star Farm Pens - A small enclosed cage that is maintained by Yūki Yoshino. Yūki breeds chickens here in hopes of creating an original breed of chicken.
- Ping Pong Table - The dormitory has a ping pong table with a scoreboard for the students to play at their own leisure.
- Food Storage - The dormitory also houses a large food storage area complete with a large freezer room and a humidifier room.
- Barn - Megumi noted that there is a barn near the dormitory and hopeful applicants can temporarily live in there until they are accepted into the dormitory. It is not known if it is used for any other purpose.
History[]
The Polar Star Dormitory was created about ten years after the Tōtsuki Culinary Academy was established. At the beginning of its establishment, the dorm serves as a temporary housing unit for students, both at home and abroad, who desire to come over to learn under the tuition of the director and the cooking styles. Once the academy numbers skyrocketed, the dorm established a pass/fail test to see if there were students worthy of staying at the dorm.
Golden Age[]
Polar Star was once a shining gem of excellence in Tōtsuki Culinary Academy. Approximately twenty years before Sōma entered Tōtsuki Academy, Polar Star experienced a time known as the Golden Era. Due to the various exploits of the residents at the time, Polar Star became a powerhouse in the academy. Fumio stated that at one point, the entire Elite Ten Council was completely comprised of Polar Star residents. Two of the most notable residents during this era were the 69th Generation students, Gin Dōjima and Jōichirō Saiba, whose legendary skills easily allowed them to win countless Shokugekis, allowing Polar Star to become financially self-sufficient. The powerhouse of the Polar Star Dormitory grew exponentially beyond the control of even the corporate body of the school administration, thus it was decided that the Polar Star Dormitory should be allowed to secede from the school authority, creating an independent entity from the school. Fumio considers the last member of this era to be Jun Shiomi, a 74th Generation student. After her departure, the dormitory slowly sank into obscurity to the point that most school officials could not recognize the name of the dormitory twenty years later.
Resurgence[]
After nearly twenty years, a resident finally became a member of the Elite Ten, Satoshi Isshiki, a 91st generation student. Around this time, five notable students of the incoming 92nd Tōtsuki Generation entered the dormitory: Megumi Tadokoro, Yūki Yoshino, Ryōko Sakaki, Shun Ibusaki, and Zenji Marui. These five would make up the soon-to-be legendary 92nd Generation, but there was one last student to enter the dormitory. In Chapter 139, the dormitory was ordered to be shut down by Azami Nakiri's new Tōtsuki curriculum. However, Sōma's victory over Etsuya Eizan in a Shokugeki allowed the dormitory to remain, thus restoring the name of the Polar Star Dormitory once again to the school.
Notable Residents[]
Staff[]
Name | Description |
---|---|
Former and Current Residents []
Resident | Description | Generation |
---|---|---|
Member of the Polar Star Dormitory Golden Era, Riko was a previous 4th seat in the Elite Ten Council, just under Gin, Jōichirō, and Azami. | ||
Trivia[]
- Despite its Japanese name translating to “Polar Star”, the Sentai Filmworks / Crunchyroll dub of the anime has the building retain its Japanese name.
- Whereas the VizMedia translation of the manga refers to it as the “Polaris”.
References[]
- ↑ Shokugeki no Soma chapter 6, page 7
[]
Students | Daigo Aoki • Shun Ibusaki • Satoshi Isshiki • Zenji Marui • Erina Nakiri • Ryōko Sakaki • Shōji Satō • Megumi Tadokoro • Yūki Yoshino • Sōma Yukihira | |||||||||||||||||||||
Former Residents | ||||||||||||||||||||||
Dormitory Mother | Fumio Daimidō |