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“There's the mackerel of the cornflake for you, you dirty reader of filth and nastiness.”
― Anthony Burgess, A Clockwork Orange

“What luxury ingredient will it be this year?
Matsutake mushrooms?
"Returning" Skipjack?
Fresh soba?"
"IT'S MACKEREL PIKE!"
"Really? Pike?!"
"Umm... that's kind of a letdown, to be honest. They're such common fish..."
"Not so fast, folks.
It is true that throughout Japanese history, pike was viewed as a common fish that only the peasantry ate. But recently, high-class restaurants have begun serving it...
... and it now appears on the menus of restaurants across the world. It has become an unspoken representative of the Fall Fishing Season.
A dish that uses pike in some way...
... is the theme for the final round of this year's Fall Classic!"
"Mmm, pike! The first thing that springs to mind is yummy salt-grilled pike!
The crispy skin... the hot, succulent meat... the savory smell of its juices...
A dollop of grated daikon radish on top, and it's yum, yum, yum!"
"It's been showing up on sushi menus recently too. That's a general ingredient for you. You can do tons of stuff with it."
"As you all know, pike can be used in a wide variety of dishes. But strangely enough, this one ingredient...
... has connections to all three of our contestants.
A pike..
... with its fatty meat is known for its robust fragrance.
It is a prized ingredient in seafood dishes across the world.
And it has a long history of use in what is viewed as common cuisine!"
"Oho! It has facets that appeal to all three chefs."
"That means it's an ingredient that can play to each of their strengths!”
― Yuto Tsukuda, ʳꪤΥ½©`¥Þ 12 [Shokugeki no Souma 12]

“Iris and I will eat at a skeezy yakitori joint and enjoy char-grilled chicken parts on a stick. We'll go to an eel restaurant and eat several courses of eel, my favorite fish. Iris's favorite is mackerel, saba no shioyaki, tearing off fatty bits with our chopsticks. We will eat our weight in rice... we'll have breakfast at Tsukiji, the world's largest fish market. And we'll eat plenty of sushi from a conveyor belt.”
― Matthew Amster-Burton, Pretty Good Number One: An American Family Eats Tokyo

“Buying fish in the supermarket in Japan is a delight, even if the fish is displayed in styrofoam trays, as it is at Life. The most common supermarket fish, mackerel, also happens to be my favorite, and it's sold in a variety of precise quantities. Want three small mackerel fillets? Sure thing. One large? Right over here. Mackerel costs practically nothing and is a snap to cook with the fish grill. I also tried marinated aji (Spanish mackerel) but skipped the salmon.”
― Matthew Amster-Burton, Pretty Good Number One: An American Family Eats Tokyo

“I tried the deep-fried horse mackerel--- your father's favorite, apparently--- and it was far better than any version of it I've ever had in Kyoto."
"You're rambling, Dad," complained Koishi. "Tell him about the nori-ben."
"What's the rush? Anyway, the point is, Mr. Aramiya knows his fish. He comes from a long line of fishermen, and apparently even ran his own sushi place at one point. With someone like that whispering secrets in your father's ear, it's no wonder his nori-ben turned out so delicious."
Nagare picked up the right-hand bento and continued. "Sure, it looks exactly the same. Both on top---" he inserted a pair of chopsticks into the top-right section, which Kyosuke hadn't yet reached--- "and when you dig down inside." Koishi and Kyosuke watched as Nagare carefully set the segment on the lid of the bento, revealing the individual layers. "And yet it's not the same."
"Hmm... it has the same three layers. Looks identical to me," said Koishi, inspecting it from the side. Kyosuke nodded in agreement.
"The difference is this part in the middle," said Nagare, removing the top layer of nori. "Look carefully. Those aren't bonito flakes, are they?"
"You're right!" exclaimed Koishi, leaning in for a closer look. "Is that... fish meat?"
Kyosuke was still gazing blankly, apparently unable to see the difference. Nagare darted into the kitchen, emerging a moment later with a styrofoam box. He held it up in front of the waiting pair, then opened it to reveal a fish.
"Cutlass fish, this is called. See how it looks just like a sword? That's what's in the bento. Grilled, minced, and seasoned with soy sauce and kabosu fruit. Both cutlass fish and kabosu are Oita specialties--- and the citric acid in the kabosu stops the dish from spoiling too. If you just use bonito flakes, the flavor can get a little monotonous, but this gives it heaps of depth.”
― Jesse Kirkwood, The Restaurant of Lost Recipes