Forum - View topicYakitate!! Japan (TV) (w/ index).
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Tony K.
 SubscriberModerator  Posts: 11446 Location: Frisco, TX |
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Yakitate!! Japan (TV) Source: Manga (completed @ 26 volumes, by Takashi Hashiguchi) Demographic: Shounen Animation Studio: Sunrise Genres: action, comedy, drama, slice of life, tournament Themes: absurdity, cooking, Europe, factions, food science, parody, puns, wordplay Plot Summary: Azuma Kazuma isn't terribly clever, but he's got a good heart and great skill - at baking. Since childhood, he's been on a quest to create the perfect bread to represent Japan internationally. Now, he seeks to enter the famous bakery Pantasia, in hopes of reaching his goal. But plots abound... Air Date & Platform: October 12, 2004 (Tuesday) Available on: Crunchyroll, FUNimation, Retro Crush Episode Count / Runtime: 69 episodes ---------------------------------- EPISODE INDEX (Clicking on the episode will take you to my post that has a summary, comments, and screen-caps) Episode 01: He has arrived!! The boy who possesses Solar Hands! Episode 02: Maharaja!! The Day Mount Fuji Fell! Episode 03: Episode 04: Episode 05: Episode 06: Episode 07: Episode 08: Episode 09: Episode 10: Episode 11: Episode 12: Episode 13: Episode 14: Episode 15: Episode 16: Episode 17: Episode 18: Episode 19: Episode 20: Episode 21: Episode 22: Episode 23: Episode 24: Episode 25: Episode 26: Episode 27: Episode 28: Episode 29: Episode 30: Episode 31: Episode 32: Episode 33: Episode 34: Episode 35: Episode 36: Episode 37: Episode 38: Episode 39: Episode 40: Episode 41: Episode 42: Episode 43: Episode 44: Episode 45: Episode 46: Episode 47: Episode 48: Episode 49: Episode 50: Episode 51: Episode 52: Episode 53: Episode 54: Episode 55: Episode 56: Episode 57: Episode 58: Episode 59: Episode 60: Episode 61: Episode 62: Episode 63 Episode 64 Episode 65 Episode 66 Episode 67 Episode 68 Episode 69: ---------------------------------- Finally got around to finishing it, and I must say it was quite a joy, regardless of the rushed ending. I ended up giving it a Masterpiece and all 5 of the important aspects (Art, Animation, Music, Plot/Characters, and Voice Acting) perfect scores. I'm not going into great detail as you can just read the whole thing on my My Anime page, but I just want to say this series was a LOT of fun. Special thanks to the people who fansubbed this for all of the food and cultural notes. I appreciate your hardwork and dedication to research. I never thought I'd learn so much useful and factual information from an anime  .
I will, however, discuss the fact that I hold this series in high favor for its unique theme of baking and just how hilarious the series is with all of its wordplay jokes and parodies. One aspect I really like, though, is the fact that it manages to be a really great shounen series without the use of violence. Quite frankly, I can't think of another shounen title to ever achieve such a feat. I love the music and voice acting, especially. But I'm just wondering, with such a theme as bread-making and an obvious immersion of Japanese culture, will it ever be licensed in the U.S? I know the manga is already licensed (can't wait to start collecting it), but anime can be a much riskier investement. I'll bet most people hearing the fact that the series is focused around a theme like cooking will scoff and say "a show about making bred?!! thatz ghey!LOLZ." If you or any of your friends is like this, I would personally like to call them close-minded, then shoot them in the face. But in the spirit of the franchise, I'd rather shove a piece of Japan down their mouth  .
If you can't at least acknowledge the production aspects like art, animation, or the incredibly epic musical score by the great Iwasaki Taku, only to reply with a stupid rant like what I mentioned above, then you must not have a comedic bone in your body. This series has so many good things working for it, I'm just curious as to why some of you like/dislike it. Last edited by Tony K. on Wed Jan 24, 2024 9:50 am; edited 7 times in total |
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Quadraxis
 Posts: 54 Location: Holland |
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I couldn't agree more
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This series is actually the second (fansubbed) anime I ever followed since I started getting interested in anime. I was hooked right from the start, and the series has been a favourite of me ever since. I just really love this show, and I've seen it two times already. One of them was with a friend of mine, who also happens to be a big fan of the series. But yeah, it's funny that it's a shounen series about making bread, of all things. I like the comedy, the bread battles and reactions are really fun to see and the series manages to serve up an interesting cast full of excentric characters. The music is also really good, it fits well with the series. And besides that, I actually learned a lot about food from this anime too  .
If I were to give the series a rating, it would be a Masterpiece. No doubt about it. |
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GoodLuckSaturday
 Posts: 567 Location: Indiana |
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Yakitate!! Japan is nothing short of an absolute joy. It was just shy of a Masterpiece for me, mainly because I wasn't a huge fan of the episode structure for Yakitate!! 9, nor did it have the same punch as the Monoco Cup, even though it was great and highly enjoyable as well. Plus, I felt the "final, definitive" Japan was well overshadowed by spoiler[the bread that changes history.] But petty pessimism aside, the show just got better and better as it went on, and few series are so good that you actually look forward to every episode. The music is among my favorite. I loved each new theme song ("Chiisana Uta," "Sunday," and "RE:Start" are my favorites), and the score was top notch, easily showcasing the versitility of Iwasaki.
I'm not big on awarding fansubs or anything, but these have to be the most involved and dedicated fansubs I've ever seen. Even if the R1 DVD releases aren't this heavy in information, I'll still be able to know what's going on thanks to these subs.
Hikaru no Go is probably the only other non-violence shonen anime that I've truly felt was something exceptional and magical. The two work on different levels and aims, but in being perfect showcases of their genre, they do amazing things. Yakitate!! Japan is definitely one of the funniest shows I've seen. The parodies were usually top notch (I was disappointed in the One Piece parody...), the gags were hilarious, and the puns were almost too brilliant. Azuma's "Ooo, mango!" is one of my favorite one-liners in anime.
While I highly enjoy The Law of Ueki, I've always been kind of dumbfounded why a series of its quality was picked up before a series of Yakitate!! Japan's, since both are fairly outlandishly premised shonen tournament series. I suspect the anime will make it over one day. It could do well, because its quality speaks for itself, but I am wondering if it will get on television. Maybe a future Jetstream title? It (and Honey and Clover) are the only two anime in my top 25 that aren't licensed, so I am very anxious to get it on DVD.
I have some friends who think the plot sounds so retarded they won't even give it a chance, which really irks me. You can't claim to be a fan of shonen series and then disclude the more silly ones...  Especially when the silly ones are usually the best.
Although, I was telling a friend about the Dragon Ball Z and Case Closed spoofs, and he sounded like he would really enjoy it, so I'll have to break him into it one day. |
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Gubernaculum
Posts: 9 Location: Adelaide, Australia |
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I was going to refrain from responding since I've not yet seen the last 9 episodes but since not many other people are posting their opinions on this show I figured I would.
I started watching this show on a whim. The premise sounding really goofy but after reading some reviews about how funny it was I thought I'd give it a shot. The first episode was decent but I was hooked after the second episode. I think the show is nothing short of brilliant all the way through to the Monaco Cup. Unfortunately the Yakitate!! 9 arc was a bit of a letdown, though keep in mind I haven't seen it all yet. I felt the jokes weren't as clever and the reactions weren't as funny. It also felt rushed like they were really trying to wrap things up in a limited amount of time. Admittedly though, I nearly wet myself from laughing so hard to Kanmuri's "kanchou mango" line. The characters are all fairly likeable, my favorite being Kuroyanagi and his outrageous reactions and his snobby attitude: "trash, trash, trash, trash, trash".....when addressing the failed competitors during the Pantasia contest. Nothing to complain about as far as animation and the music was very good too, my favorite was the disco 2nd ED. I certainly give the creators major credit for originality for this show. As mentioned, it's definitely nice to see a shounen series that's a bit different from all the others. Incidentally I really enjoyed Hikaru no Go as well. Maybe once I've seen the rest, I'll update my comments here. Last edited by Gubernaculum on Wed Aug 09, 2006 1:15 am; edited 1 time in total |
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Buster Blader 126
 Posts: 1207 Location: Mississauga, Ontario, Canada |
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I love this series to death.
I started watching it randomly one day as well, completely unaware of what I was going to witness. I ended up loving it! Comedy is my favourite genre, and I can laugh at almost anything that is intended for me to laugh. So that goes without saying that I often almost fell off of my chair laughing at the gags, reactions, & antics Kazuma & Co. pull off. Animation wasn't a problem for me either. As for the music, the BGM was fine, yet the OP/ED songs didn't see too special for me, except ED2 & ED5, which ended up being my favourites out of the Y!J OP/ED songs. It also taught me about bread, and no series I know actually goes out of their way to actually teach you something, which is a big plus. I intend to try out the rice-cooker Japan soon! 
While I would like to see the anime making its way over to North America, it would definitely prove difficult, with all the culture references & Japanese word puns running rampant. I also have a question. How faithful is the anime compared to the manga? If it is very faithful, should I start collecting it later? I'm considering to wait until the Yakitate!! 25 arc to start buying the manga, but I'm not sure yet. |
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Tony K.
Subscriber Moderator Posts: 11446 Location: Frisco, TX |
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My gf was disturbed by an episode of American Dad and wanted something lighter to scrub the disturbed-ness out of her head. We'd been watching GTO the last couple of weeks, but then I said some of the drama might drag the lightness down, and then I suggested Yakitate!! as a much better alternative.
We started watching this a couple years back, but only got as far as part-way through the Monaco Cup arc, till we got busy and lost track. So we decided to just start over, and here I am reviewing it. My original comments from 14-and-a-half years ago still stand; this is an awesome show. And before anybody tries to compare it to Food Wars!, do take note the Yakitate!! manga debut is 10 years earlier than the latter. Not saying Yakitate!! is the be-all, end-all of shounen cooking titles, but I do love it, and that's what this thread is here for: to display my affection for it. That being said, this series is so much wackier with its style of comedy. It uses a ton of wordplay and parodies. The reactions are also very absurd, and I will using many of those sequences for my caps. Episode 01: He has arrived!! The boy who possesses Solar Hands! Summary: Azuma Kazuma is making his way towards Tokyo and continuing his pursuit to discover Japan, a bread that Japanese people can love as much as rice. But before he sets off, he recollects the moment he started loving bread. However, he's also a few minutes late for his exam and is deducted a few points. ---------------------------------- Comments: This is a super cheery franchise. It's also super cheesy, but in a good and light-hearted kind of way. I'm almost inclined to call it "pure," and I think that's what I love so much about it. Kazuma is an eternal optimist, and I find his attitude and passion invigorating. A big part of the show's charm, though, is the music. Taku Iwasaki uses a lot of his earlier classical-sounding compositions that are reminiscent of Read or Die and Rurouni Kenshin: Tsuioku-hen. The Pantasia theme sounds like a variation of Yomiko Readman's theme, albeit slightly more peppy and with a faster tempo. But man, this guy makes great music! And the OP and ED themes are pretty catchy, too. As I mentioned about the comedy, it's quite wacky, probably the wackiest I've personally seen that isn't outright sketch comedy like Excel Saga or Mr. Osomatsu. And for that, I thank the manga-ka, the voice actors, and the very conscientious translators for the cultural liner notes. If you're going to start this series for the first time, fair warning: a lot of the humor runs on some knowledge of Japanese culture and language, so be aware. Anyway, this episode essentially sets Kazuma's path with the how and why of his journey. But don't let the simplicity of baking bread fool you, there's more depth to this show than meets the eye. However, I'll save that for when the episodes get there. ---------------------------------- Caps:          
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Tony K.
Subscriber Moderator Posts: 11446 Location: Frisco, TX |
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Episode 02: Maharaja!! The Day Mount Fuji Fell!
Summary: After arriving late for the Pantasia employee examination, Kazuma is deducted points for his tardiness and uncleanliness by the examiner, Kuroyanagi Ryou. Kazuma also meets Kawachi Kyousuke and Azusagawa Tsukino, the latter of which lends Kazuma her hairband. The candidates' first test for the exam is to a bake a bread of their own choosing. While doing so, Kawachi tries to sabotage Kazuma's efforts and succeeds. With little time to start over, Kazuma resorts to a quick alternate baking of Japan #16 (Mt. Fuji Curry). ---------------------------------- Comments: We get our first reaction in relation to "the breads that count." And while it's not as over-the-top as others, it results in some funny wordplay involving Indian Naan and interpretations of "naan da!", which depending on how you say it can translate to: "what is it?!" or "this is Naan!," which Kazuma keeps insisting "it's Japan!" Kuroyanagi is played by the great Takehito Koyasu, who is very good at being over the top. This show is hilarious just for the voice acting of his reactions, alone. Kawachi and his Kansai accent are pretty funny to listen to as well. He's very much a country bumpkin like Kazuma, so I think they actually make a great comedic pair. We also get a slight look at Tsukino and Suwabara. Tsukino eventually becomes the emotional anchor of the group, while Suwabara is mostly window-dressing to be the really intimidating samurai dude. But he'll be much more important, later. He's the serious kind of funny (if that makes sense). I also forgot to mention that there's a lot of food science behind some of these breads or the stuff that they go with. So if you're into that, or just like to learn things in general, this is a really excellent show for that. In the next episode, all remaining candidates have to make croissants, which Kazuma has never heard of and thinks they're talking about a guy named "Kurowa-san"  .
It was difficult picking the right screen-caps. Some of the reactions for certain episodes will probably require half of my total allotment, maybe more. But I'm also trying to tell the story with just the caps. So I hope this will get you to watch (or re-watch) the show, if you aren't already doing so. ---------------------------------- Caps:          
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