Yakitate!! Japan

What we have here is truly a manga of a different "flavor"; If you're looking for a story that "rises" to the occasion, you "knead" not look further! (Okay, I'll stop... for now.) Obviously, this is a manga about cooking; more specifically, the art of bread-making. How can you make a story centered around making bread, you might ask? Just follow the simple recipe the Japanese use for making "Instant anime material!" (Entertaining characters + special "powers" revolving around the subject of the story + drama. Lots and lots of drama.) The result is Yakitate!! Japan.

My rating for the story is a high/low average. The high point is that Yakitate takes such a seemingly-random concept and turns it into an enjoyable and endearing read; besides Addicted to Curry, the field of cooking series remains desolate. (As long as you don't count Fighting Foodons. I sure don't.) You might scoff at first, but a few chapters in and you'll most likely be hooked. It gets even better with the natural shonen style of characters having special powers when it comes to bread-making; The main character, Kazuma Azuma, is blessed with "Solar Gauntlets," unnaturally-warm hands that are a great benefit in his trade. Later on, you see different abilities that rivals bring into play, probably the funniest (and creepiest) being the Goddess Hands. As for the other side of the story; this is a popular shonen. Meaning it drags on for AWHILE. Like, longer than the Naruto manga, minus Shippuden? And, unfortunately, it can't really keep up the pace for the whole thing. Later on, the story gets into a bit of a rut, with the characters participating in enormous tournaments, with not much plot development at all; just one match after another, which also get tiring because the focus shifts to the obscure Japanese pun that results from the "scoring" of either team's culinary creation. Not that these "reactions" aren't entertaining; it's just that you should get used to them...

The art style was great at its best, and satisfactory at its lowest. This guy does know how to draw his chicks smokin' hot (and that goes for the guys too, when he feels like giving a rare nod to the ladies), so a bit of fanservice every now and then is greatly appreciated. His style also holds out well when illustrating the increasingly-bizarre "reactions" of the judges, and anyone who unwittingly eats food so good, they bend over backwards, try to strip, or even turn into various animals...

The characters were all fairly memorable and endearing. I normally don't feel very attached to the main character of any given series, but Azuma clicked with me fairly well. He had the same ceaseless-motivation-bordering-on-arrogance that's common in protagonists, but pretty much none of the machoism; you might even mistake him for a girl at first, along with almost-androgynous, pink-haired Kanmuri. Fangirls, take note. The minor characters were also great; many make return appearances, or get connected to the main cast in various ways. They're also pretty well-developed; Azuma does have a couple break-downs, despite his optimism, and everyone has their various trials or problems to overcome. Oh, and I can pretty much guarantee you'll hate the main villain's guts. Like, really, really hate her.

I've pretty much covered enjoyment in the story section; you'll get hooked at first, but might lose interest farther in. Nevertheless, I still soldiered through it all, and enjoyed 95% of it. It's really just that good. Early on, you'll get a kick out of the reactions, and drama that arises from a simple contest. Oh, and this is one of those manga that *gasp* you might actually learn something about food chemistry! (Or you can just blow past it. Never been into science, myself.) But you'll definitely come away feeling more knowledgeable about different foods than you ever thought.

Overall, I'm giving this series a 9, despite its drawbacks. This manga pretty much took up two weeks of my life, sitting in front of my laptop, blowing through almost 200 chapters. And I plan to invest in the tangible English editions once I get a windfall. Looking for a longer, less-known series to which to sink your teeth into? Something fresh and hot, that sticks together under its strange crust? (Alright, these are getting pretty bad...) Anyhoo, pick this up. It reminds me of Hikaru no Go in a lot of ways; unconventional concept, excellent results! Bon appetit~

It's a great manga at least until the end of the world competition in Monaco. What next? Regression is not an option, so he ventured outside of the premise. It's no longer about bread, but about all food, and the heroes will travel to various parts of Japan. While the idea is good and refreshing, it has proved to be too overwhelming for the manga. He constantly has to look for a new theme and new setting, so he ends up using a template and rushing the story.

The opponents are far more interesting and colorful than before, but they always vanish into thin air; they don't reappear and have little impact on the story. Even though the opponents are the best in the world in their field, Azuma magically always finds a recipe to defeat them. The manga starts to make no sense at all. The author seems to be making fun, with no disrespect to culinary experts.

The gag is repetitive and boring. Our heroes always stay at a strange inn that seems to be a pun of the place's specialty.

I watched the anime many years ago and recently decided to read the manga since I was bored and curious about how much the anime deviated from the original story.

I found that the manga started off decently, but as it progressed towards the final volumes, the storyline became increasingly absurd. My interest began to wane, yet I pushed myself to finish the series just to complete it.

It felt like the author got a bit too carried away with the plot development in the last few volumes, which unfortunately missed the mark for me.

Yakitate Japan is a manga centered around bread making. This was my first encounter with culinary-themed manga, right after Cooking Master Boy. What sets Yakitate Japan apart is its exclusive focus on bread, rather than cooking in general, although it does touch upon related topics occasionally.

The narrative revolves around a young boy named Azuma Kazuma, who becomes fascinated with bread making due to a nearby bakery. He starts experimenting with bread-making on his own, initially aiming to please his grandfather. His ambition grows as he aims to create the first truly Japanese bread. To achieve this, Azuma must pass an exam to work at Pantasia, from where he can begin crafting what he envisions as the one true Japanese bread. The story begins with local competitions but evolves into global contests and even spawns a TV show dedicated to bread. Towards the end, the emphasis shifts slightly from bread itself to what can be incorporated into it, though the ending feels somewhat abrupt.

The artwork in the series is surprisingly well-done. Character designs improve over time, but they are already quite good from the start. The manga features diverse environments and characters, showcasing the author's talent. Detailed backgrounds are included in many frames, unlike some artists who minimize environmental details. This attention to detail extends to extras like special pages for real bread recipes included in the volume releases.

My main issues with the series lie with the characters. While Azuma is intensely focused on creating Japanese bread, it never feels like he’s progressing towards that goal. He creates numerous new types of bread using various methods, but we rarely see his inspiration or thought process. His relationship with Tsukino remains stagnant throughout the series. His co-workers eventually become mere commentators as they cannot keep up with the rapid development of new breads.

If you enjoy cooking anime or manga, Yakitate Japan is a solid choice. It offers plenty of humor and a large cast of characters reacting dramatically to the food they eat. The series includes surprising cooking techniques and unusual ingredients. The protagonist is dedicated and talented, with a few unexpected twists, though he almost always triumphs.

Overall, Yakitate Japan stands out among cooking-themed manga. However, character development is lacking, and when it occurs, it's quickly overshadowed because the supporting cast can't keep pace with Azuma. If you're drawn to bizarre and imaginative foods along with exaggerated reactions to them, Yakitate Japan might be just what you’re looking for.

I'm not one to often write a review, so don't take this commentary too seriously.

(I've read everything but for the sake of my mental sanity, for the moment, I'm not taking into account the 70 last chapters that... well you'll see)

I understand why some people wouldn't appreciate this manga and the old-fashioned humor, but as a whole, I think it manages to get over the lack of a solid story or its weak set of original characters.

The characters are clearly copy-pastes of a lot of similar mangas, but honestly, they still get their own little characteristic traits permitting them to have their own "mini-development arc" (except Kinoshita-boy, though he is the real MVP).

As for the story (though I'm really biased as it was one of the first mangas I read when I was 7 or 8), it's just a blast to see so much goofiness, and I feel like we don't need to care if everything transitions well or if things actually make sense one by one. Because I'm just focused on the page I'm reading, and I'm not going to lie, I was actually super involved in the dramatic moments even when it just mixes into the comedy. The characters are so extremely serious about it; I just get into the story a little too much.

The art is really decent and pretty much similar to most of this type of manga of the time, but the bread drawings are super cool and made me actually hungry.

So, as I said, it's a 100% sure that I have no real objective vision, but as I re-read it 10 years later, I still think it's as much fun as I remembered from beginning to... maybe not the end, and a pretty wild ride into another world of "gourmet reactions" type manga. (I actually prefer the type of "reactions" we get in Yakitate Ja-pan than what is in Food Wars, which gets a little old as it doesn't differ much, whereas here... Every time it just gets better - until chapter...)

(WARNING: FROM THERE IT'S JUST A TOTAL MESSY RANT TO HELP ME COPE WITH THE ENDING)

.... And I would have loved to stop here, but... What the heck? I discovered I never read the last volume of the manga when I was a kid, and... I honestly never should have. The author was obviously on a cruel rush to finish in a way or another, may it be satisfactory or not.

I mentioned how I loved the reactions, their originality, and "unoriginality" at the same time. Same for every character that managed to have a specific role throughout the story. But, man, right after that Katsuo duel... Everything went downhill. Every character just became an unfunny running gag; they lost every flavor that made them appealing and were just ghosts of the past struggling to survive in the publishing world through incoherent and an even more poorly executed storyline than ever before.

It's not hard to understand what went through the author's mind who, more than ever, doesn't hesitate to break the fourth wall and comment on the bad absurdity he pushed onto his own work.

Thing is, it's not like the humor is drastically different; he didn't bring out a new plotline with brand-new characters out of nowhere. No, everything is built over what was already presented and developed, but... I think the author just stopped caring and tried to satirize his own work.

The story was never a seriously thought-out, solid one, but everything that made it... so refreshing didn't even just disappear; it went straight to the trash. I'm just so sad to discover how one of my now ex-favorite manga ended and collapsed on itself.

I just needed to say that; no need to go into the analysis of the "arcs" or "characters in themselves," just read it, and it'll speak for itself; nothing to debate honestly.

Sorry for the super long review; I have a really complicated relationship with this work.... (and like I said, no need at all to take everything I said seriously))

The manga started off impressively. The creative concepts for various types of bread were novel and captivating. The characters appeared decent, and the unique reactions to the bread added a humorous touch.

However, as time went on, it became evident that the characters lacked any substantial development. Many of them were reduced to mere spectators, while the main character remained an unbeatable champion devoid of personality.

The ideas for new breads grew increasingly absurd and unrealistic, eventually becoming completely detached from reality. As the comedic reactions escalated in absurdity, they began to feel contrived and superfluous.

Towards the final chapters, it was clear that the manga had been abruptly canceled, leading to a rushed and unsatisfying conclusion.

A more structured plan would have greatly enhanced the manga: it should have been considerably shorter, the supporting characters needed to be more active, and the focus on exaggerated reactions should have been minimized.