Yakitate!! Japan

With Shokugeki no Soma recently finished airing, viewers may want to watch a similar type of anime, and indeed, the joy of cooking is upon us with Yakitate!! Japan, which main focus lies on the creation of bread. Now some may wonder if it is worthy of their time, and it this case it is, but to a certain extent, as the anime falls apart later on.

~Story~

The premise of Yakitate!! Japan is of simple nature, Azuma Kazuma a young boy in his quest to make the best bread that identifies with Japan and is able to compete at an international level, called "japan". Throughout the ... anime viewers realize how bread making is actually nothing simple, but a complicated process which involves a lot of specific knowledge on ingredients, as well as techniques. The anime manages to convey these very well by explaining those in detail, but never in excess. In earnest, the amount of techniques that exist was unexpected.

Naturally, creation of bread on its own can be rather dull, so competitions between different contestants and aspirants of the world of baking are introduced (tournament style) ranging from rookies to famous and top-tier bakers from different countries. To show the audience how excellent a bread is, reactions are shown, which are hilarious and fitting to each bread theme it offers. Verbal jokes are often made as well, which at times can be very amusing.

Up to this point it may seem very positive and engaging, yet as the story progresses, the show's quality declines significantly. First of all, throughout the whole anime all the secondary characters are used once, to be rendered insignificant later on, essentially making this anime a one-man-show composed of Azuma. The power levels are imbalanced as it can get in a shōnen. In addition, events that take place as story progresses get out of hand and begin to be ridiculously over the top, such as assassination attempts. Jokes and reactions are no exception either: in the last half gags get repeated constantly to the point of being annoying, and reactions begin to even affect audiences, instead of being individual reactions. Not to mention the wrong and bad use of parodies to other famous series which was introduced in the last half of the series.

~Characters~

The is a wide variety of characters in Yakitate!! Japan, some memorable, some outright annoying, all with a personality, but very generic and stereotypical characters. Azuma is your typical one-dimensional shōnen characters whose only objective is to complete "japan" and undergoes near to zero character development or character fleshing; in fact, he seems to posses all knowledge about baking that there is at his age of 16, making it a rather tensionless watch, as he wins competitions effortlessly and get hints through convenience of the plot.

The supporting cast is rather lackluster as well, all being one-dimensional undergoing almost no character development. Villains are very typical with no motives, opponents as well. There are nevertheless some interesting characters personality-wise, such as the case of Kuroyanagi or the baker with the afro, Matsushiro. However, background stories are almost non-existent, and it is hard to relate to the characters in any way.

~Animation and sound~

Animation quality of Yakitate!! Japan is nothing outstanding, yet fulfills its purpose well enough to convey the different reactions characters have, as well as being consist throughout the entire anime. Backgrounds are varied when needed, and character designs matched with the personality of most of the cast. However, mostly they were generic and nothing out the norm.

As for the sounds used, some soundtracks were memorable and well done, yet were overused throughout the whole show as no new compositions were made. The dialogues were of simplistic nature, and the gags that were repeated became soon old, and pretty annoying.

~Enjoyment~

Yakitate!! Japan was overall somewhat enjoyable experience, being the first half a good experience, proceeding to fall apart as story progressed. How bread making was displayed was well done, as well as the use of different ingredients and techniques. The reactions and comedy was amusing to watch, until it was rehashed and novelty left. This anime would have been much better off by halving the duration of it, as the second half felt unnecessary and was very lackluster, in addition with undesirable characters.

Thank you for reading.

The reason you would want to see this anime is only because of two reasons. The first if you are a bread lover and really really want to see an anime of that. The second one being that you want to laugh (not of the anime but with it).

The story itself is pretty stupid but if you are reading this means that you are already interested in it so....
The art is common almost falling into the bad category but it keeps itself from doing just that.
The music goes kinda with the show but after a few episodes it really gets you, so if you can't ... stand it you'd better stop watching it now. The story can be split into three main "sagas" and in each of them they use a common background music. That and the fact that there are 69 episodes makes you wonder why do the put the same music during so much episodes.

The character development is decent but leaves a lot of holes to fill but given the nature of the show I couldn't care less because as I said the reason to like this show is not due to this.

The reason I enjoyed the show was because of the sense of humor it has which is the only remarkable aspect of the anime. Even though the first episode is pretty generic, the ones following it are much better in terms of humor.

From 2/3 of the way of the show the things begin to turn stupid instead of humorous so watch till the end only if you really want to see how it ends and expect no more.

- English Review (Translated version)

I'll be quick and direct with "Yakitate!! Japan." As this anime is, actually. Yeah, it's a story about bakers making bread, sounds crazy, right? Well, it works. It works within what it is, of course. I'm explaining, "Yakitate!! Japan" is an unpretentious play, that's for sure. Its main asset is very clear, it focuses on comedy with a theme so different and so unusual that it even seems hilarious in itself. It has limitations by its nature, but there is evidence of this and it manages to border on them with mastery almost always. It's fun and at the same time ... didactic, which is always a good mix. It has an almost perfect balance between absurd humor (the most typical Japanese humor in this case) and intelligent humor based on word games and metaphors.

It's original to the point of saying enough is enough to avoid falling into a boredom that seems almost assured due to its subject matter (let's be honest: a story about people competing to see who makes the best bread doesn't have much space). I could really dedicate a whole paragraph of this review to commenting on small details that have caught my attention and that give "Yakitate!! Japan" with a special personality and a very distinctive nature. I will, in fact. I warn that from here on, and until the line break, there may be slight spoilers (never directly from the plot, though). Here I go. In each of the 69 episodes, they spend a few seconds in the end (after the next episode advance and the ending) to explain some real life curiosity related to the plot, usually about bread itself or about Japanese traditions. They call it "seed of knowledge". There are several occasions when the fourth wall is broken in a brilliantly integrated way. I remember a couple of times when the legality of mentioning characters from other anime or real companies is questioned. On another occasion one of the characters wonders how it is possible that in one scene they are in one city and in the next they suddenly find themselves in a different one. Then they tell him about "the magic of editing" and that this is done because "nobody is interested in travel sequences on public transport". Brilliant. There are constant mentions of characters and situations from others animes, even having some sequence in the plot as a tribute or parody (or even both). Without thinking much I remember moments about "Detective Conan", "One Piece", "Dragon Ball" or "Wild Life". There are also many references to brands, personalities and places in Japanese culture. Even some, although less, focused more on the western, such as a curious reference to the great Freddie Mercury. There are episodes with a structure or a theme that offer enormous variety and freshness. I can think, for example, of a plot that includes time travel with butterfly effects that change the present (this one in particular is brutal), an alternative version of the anime in which bread is no longer the main character but rice, a chapter with sequences dedicated to art (with a graphic aspect included) of painters like Monet or Picasso, or a spectacular parody of "The Lord of the Rings". The imagination and originality of the authors/scriptwriters becomes very, very surprising.

Of course, not everything is so good in "Yakitate!! Japan". It's long, very long. That wouldn't become a problem if it wasn't for this fact that it ends up falling into the great ballast of this type of proposal: in the long run it becomes a jumble of "fights" without any kind of link or background between them, which makes the interest to go down little by little. This is especially noticeable in the final section, which I would dare to say is completely unnecessary if it were not for specific details full of geniality (such as some of those mentioned in the previous paragraph). Most of the characters are nice and very different from each other, with very marked personalities. But to tell the truth they are still a set of clichés, although it is not a big problem in a white comedy like this. What is worse is that throughout 69 episodes there is no development or progress in any of them. All of them remain impassive since their first appearances and they surprise little in that sense. The artistic section is correct. With an "old" aspect, more throwing to 90s than to the current standard, something that is neither good nor bad, it is simply like that. It's not out of tune, but it's not a wonder either. Not that much more is needed, by the way. The musical section does seem more remarkable to me. It has cheerful and curious melodies that become easily recognizable and match the tone perfectly. It's not the best OST ever, but it's more than acceptable.


- Spanish Review (Original and faithful version)

Voy a ser rápido y directo con "Yakitate!! Japan". Tal y como es este anime en realidad. Sí, es una historia sobre panaderos haciendo pan, ¿suena a locura, verdad? Pues funciona. Funciona dentro de lo que es, por supuesto. Me explico: "Yakitate!! Japan" es una obra sin muchas pretensiones, eso está claro. Su baza principal está muy clara, se centra en la comedia con una temática tan diferente y tan poco común que llega a parecer hilarante de por sí. Tiene limitaciones por su naturaleza, pero hay constancia de ello y se consigue bordearlas con maestría casi siempre. Es divertida y a la vez didáctica, algo que siempre es una buena mezcla. Tiene un equilibrio casi perfecto entre humor absurdo (el más típico japonés en este caso) y un humor inteligente basado en juegos de palabras y metáforas.

Es original hasta decir basta a la hora de reinventarse para no caer en un hastío que parece casi asegurado debido a su temática (seamos sinceros: una historia sobre gente compitiendo para ver quién hace el mejor pan no tiene mucho margen de maniobra). Realmente podría dedicar un párrafo entero de esta review a comentar pequeños detalles que me han llamado la atención y que dotan a "Yakitate!! Japan" de una personalidad especial y un carácter muy distintivo. Lo voy a hacer, de hecho. Advierto de que a partir de aquí, y hasta el salto de línea, puede haber ligeros spoilers (nunca directamente de la trama, eso sí). Allá voy. En cada uno de los 69 capítulos dedican unos segundos en el final (después del avance del siguiente capítulo y el ending) a explicar alguna curiosidad de la vida real relacionada con la trama, normalmente sobre pan en sí o sobre tradiciones japonesas. Lo llaman "semilla de conocimiento". Hay varias ocasiones en la que se rompe la cuarta pared de una forma genialmente integrada. Recuerdo un par de veces en las que se cuestiona la legalidad de que se mencionen personajes de otros anime o empresas reales. En otra ocasión uno de los personajes se pregunta cómo es posible que en una escena estén en una ciudad y en la siguiente se encuentren de pronto en otra diferente. Entonces le comentan sobre "la magia de la edición" y que eso se hace porque "a nadie le interesan las secuencias de viajes en transporte público". Brillante. Hay constantes menciones a personajes y situaciones de otros anime, llegando incluso a tener alguna secuencia en la trama a modo de homenaje o parodia (o incluso ambas). Sin pensar mucho recuerdo momentos sobre "Detective Conan", "One Piece", "Dragon Ball" o "Wild Life". También hay multitud de referencias a marcas, personalidades y lugares de la cultura japonesa. Incluso algunas, aunque menos, centradas más en lo occidental, como por ejemplo una curiosa referencia al gran Freddie Mercury. Hay capítulos con una estructura o una temática que ofrecen una variedad y una frescura enorme. Se me ocurre, por ejemplo, una trama que incluye viajes en el tiempo con efectos mariposa que cambian el presente (este concretamente es brutal), una versión alternativa del anime en la que el pan deja de ser el protagonista para dar paso a que lo sea el arroz, un capítulo con secuencias dedicadas al arte (con aspecto gráfico incluido) de pintores como Monet o Picasso o una espectacular parodia de "El señor de los anillos". La imaginación y la originalidad de los autores/guionistas llegan a ser muy, muy sorprendentes.

Por supuesto, no todo es tan bueno en "Yakitate!! Japan". Es larga, muy larga. Eso no se convertiría en un problema de no ser porque debido a esto termina cayendo en el gran lastre de este tipo de propuestas: a la larga se convierte en un batiburrillo de "combates" sin ningún tipo de nexo ni trasfondo entre ellos, lo que hace que el interés vaya decayendo poco a poco. Esto se nota especialmente en el tramo final, que me atrevería a decir que sobra completamente si no fuera por detalles concretos repletos de genialidad (como alguno de los comentados en el párrafo anterior). La mayoría de personajes son simpáticos y muy diferentes entre sí, con personalidades muy marcadas. Pero a decir verdad no dejan de ser un conjunto de clichés, aunque tampoco sea un gran problema en una comedia blanca como esta. Lo que sí es peor es que a lo largo de 69 capítulos no haya ningún tipo de desarrollo ni avance de ninguno de ellos. Todos se mantienen impasibles desde sus primeras apariciones y sorprenden poco en ese sentido. El apartado artístico es correcto. Con un aspecto "antiguo", más tirando a noventero que al estándar actual, algo que no es ni bueno ni malo, simplemente es así. No desentona, pero tampoco es una maravilla. No es que se necesite mucho más, dicho sea de paso. El apartado musical sí me parece más destacable. Tiene melodías alegres y curiosas que se convierten en fácilmente reconocibles y concuerdan perfectamente con el tono. No es la mejor OST de la historia, pero sí tiene un nivel más que aceptable.