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 loose 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 it's 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 it's strange crust? (alright, these are getting pretty bad...) Anyhoo, pick this up. It reminds me of Hikaru no Go in alot of ways; unconventional concept, excellent results! Bon appetit~
