Wait, wait, wait … Just wait.
This picutre is a bit confusing. Is it really a visual for Season 5 …?
Then .. why is the Lab Coat Trio in this picture?!
Because, for the BLUE tournament they basically were non-existent. Alice just watched the show and neither Kurokiba nor Hayama appeared at all. (Except for this stupid token explanation while Hayama didn’t want to participate in the tournament …)
Also this looks like it is set in Spring. Because - cherry blossoms. So basically, this shows the start of their 2nd year. But BLUE was set in Summer - right after the Beach exam arc.
Yes, there were a few chapters that led into BLUE before the actual tournament. But really, it was just such small amount. You could cover this in a single episode - ok, maybe 2.
Of course, it would be great if this visual indicates that they did some adjustments to improve the story. And it would be understandable since the Lab Coat Trio can be considered stronger than Takumi and Megumi (Please don’t kill me for this statement … it’s just … those three have in fact the higher seats in the Elite 10). And they make a proper comic relif which is always important for a show that is supposed to be funny. So I would be happy to see at least some token moments of them being adorkable goofballs. And they already had more screen time during the Regiment de Cuisine than they had in the manga.
But to be honest .. I doubt this.
Yes, the anime studio needs to make a few changes to the story if they don’t want to get the same negative feedback as the manga. But most likely they will not completely change the story.
This shot looks more like a final shot for the episode 12 which will air next week. Or maybe the beginning of season 5. But it does not show the main story element of season 5.
(Though, hope never dies … you know …)