sonoda eiji
genius cook
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So how much is this dish worth to you?
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| basic information | |
| name | 園田瑛士 (Sonoda Eiji) |
| birthplace | Kanagawa |
| birthdate & age | November 2, 2000 (16 years old) |
| zodiac | Scorpio |
| blood type | A |
| height | 180cm (5ft 11in) |
| personal pronoun | 俺 (ore) |
| stats (scale of 0-5) | luck 2 / intelligence 3 / popularity 4 / special ability 5 / physical strength 3 / influence 4 |
| voice actor | Morikubo Showtaro (森久保祥太郎) ~ other roles |
| fitting in at Bell Liberty | |
| special skill | cooking |
| year | second year student |
| role/affiliation | Durak (treasurer), cooking club (president) |
| class sorting | all hard or ultimate (in ultimate math) |
| best subject | home economics, geography |
| closest friend | Joker, Sakaki |
| favorites & other personal info | |
| family | father, mother, stepfather, stepcousin |
| interests | thinking of new recipes |
| favorite things | people who find his food delicious, transparent billing and accounting |
| favorite foods | lobster thermidor |
| dislikes | unpaid service (volunteering) |
| favorite underwear | boxers |
story intro
Sonoda was invited to Bell Liberty because of his extraordinary cooking skill - he's able to recreate any dish that he's tasted at least once. He practices his skill daily as the school's cafeteria manager, and has created a stunning lineup of daily dishes for the menu, plus special limited edition meals that he auctions off each day. He's also the president of the school's cooking club and even gives private lessons in his free time.
In addition to all of this, Sonoda is also the treasurer of Durak, which makes him in charge of club budgets in addition to everyone's stomachs. :3 If it seems that Sonoda is obsessed with money... well, it's true. He clearly states that he trusts money above all else, and he won't do any special favors for anyone unless they pay up.
Sonoda seems like he would be the ideal partner for food-obsessed Yuki, but despite his interest in the derpy student council president, Sonoda remains somewhat distant. And it's not just Yuki - Sonoda doesn't want to get close to anyone. Though he and Joker appear to be best friends, Sonoda insists that they aren't close. There is one person who's relatively close to Sonoda, but it's a bit of a spoiler, so it's hidden in the relationships section below. :3
personality
When Yuki first meets Sonoda, he's friendly and approachable, even flirty. Sonoda projects an air of confidence and doesn't hesitate to boast of his cooking skill - even labeling himself as a genius - and popularity with girls. His skills, outgoing personality, and position in Durak have made him popular at school.
The flip side of this confidence is a deep-seated, crushing doubt. Sonoda is easily annoyed and reacts dramatically to any little slight, his mood changing from warm and friendly to cold and callous at the drop of a hat. He's especially sensitive to comments about his cooking and will become defensive if he thinks someone doesn't appeciate his skill.
On the other hand, if someone sincerely praises his cooking, they might find it surprisingly easy to steal his heart... :3
relationships
This section contains spoilers.
Spoilers are hidden in a collapsed text box. Click the link below if you want to expand it.
Jokawa Kiyotada - friend (?)
Though both Sonoda and Joker would deny that they're best friends, they know each other's secrets and seem to understand each other quite well. Joker loves to antagonize Sonoda, poking at his insecurities, but he really does care about him... in his own way. And Sonoda goes out of his way to make special dishes tailored to Joker's damaged sense of taste, even if he does charge Joker for his work. :3
Chiba Hayato - friend (?)
The relationship between Chiba and Sonoda is pretty thin, and is kind of like a scaled-down version of the Joker/Chiba relationship. Sonoda teases Chiba for being naive, and Chiba isn't especially close to Sonoda. Still, they are tied together through their positions in Durak and relationships with Joker. Maybe they'll become real friends after the events of the game are resolved...
Sakaki Sojiro - stepcousin
Sonoda's parents divorced when he was in middle school, and his mother remarried soon afterward. Sonoda's stepfather is Sakaki's uncle, making the two stepcousins. They get along well despite their age difference, speaking frankly with each other and even completing each other's sentences at times! Sonoda hosts special 'bar nights' for Sakaki at the school cafeteria (paid, of course!) and they chat casually while hanging out.
character data sheet
The following information is a translation of the character data sheet that was provided on the preorder bonus CD. These character sheets are more like lists of random notes than a detailed character profile, so don't expect this to be terribly coherent. :3
Please be aware that these are early development notes and information may differ slightly from the finished game.
personality
strong point: He can be considerate of others' situations, such as making food to match the tastes of Joker with his taste disorder.
weak point: Difficult personality. Has a father complex. Doesn't balk at deceiving others for the sake of his own goals.
Outwardly kind and sociable. He also gives advice. He is the foil to Joker and his assistant. He believes that compensation for deeds is all settled by money. He has faith in money as an impartial, easy to understand value system.
He is easily aggrieved and has a somewhat difficult personality. (As a theme, he is usually teased by Joker for having a "difficult personality." He's aware of it, but he absolutely denies it when it's pointed out.)
special remarks
He would charge money even when making food for a lover. He believes that compensation for deeds is all settled by money. Though not because he is poor or stingy, he has faith in money as an easy to understand value system that represents relationships. In other words, he doesn't trust people. He essentially controls the finances.
Since he works in the cafeteria as a part-time job, he (Durak) essentially has control of the cafeteria. Because of that, he won't serve decent food to those who are affiliated with the student council because they aren't allowed that benefit. He will only serve them unprepared foods, such as plain udon or rice with furikake seasoning.
personal history
~ Childhood: His father worked as the main chef of a restaurant. He can't remember a time when he wasn't spending time at the restaurant with his father. He learned to cook.
~ 13 years old: The finances of his father's company deteriorated.
~ 14 years old: The Sonoda Group was sold. Father disappeared. Mother remarried.
additional information (revealed in-game)
He guided Joker toward creating Durak and having games to steal the Ace's authority. (Joker knew and went along with it.)
His goal in earning money is to buy back the rights to "Cuisine du Sonoda" that his father sold to Bell Foods.
Currently, the expanding restaurant and patisserie divisions under the Sonoda brand name are being developed in novel ways and diversifying under the management of Suzubishi and sales are going up. Apart from opening restauraunts, they're developing frozen foods for the home, and convenience store desserts. But after the sale, the original chefs left and struck out on their own, spurred by the changing of the recipes. Because of that, even though the food is the same, the recipes and the price became completely different. (It's not that it's bad, but made to appeal more widely.)
The popularity has gone up by making it appeal to the masses, but to Sonoda, it's already a completely different thing. In his opinion, it would be better if it was shut down. He can't tolerate the current situation where something completely different is offered under the same name. Leaving aside that his father had a bad personality and was bad at business management, Sonoda has truly respected and aspired to his skill as a chef and the flavors he created since he was young. Because the Sonoda brand has gotten so large, he can't buy it back with just the amount of money that would cover the debt from before.
additional information (not revealed in-game)
His father was manager and chef of Cuisine du Sonoda, a high class French restaurant. He was a man of few words and had an emotionally clumsy personality. He took pride in his work. His mother was a daughter from an established, high class, traditional Japanese restaurant.
His father couldn't keep the restaurant afloat, and the restaurant group went bankrupt. The Suzubishi Group bought it up (collaborating with rebuilding), but in the end, it wasn't restored the way his father wanted and it was dismantled. After that, his parents divorced. His father is currently missing. His mother remarried the younger brother of the head of the Sakaki Group (for money).