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Antique Bakery #1
Antique Bakery, Vol. 1
Ono has come a long way since the agonizing day in high school when he confessed his love to handsome Tachibana. Now, some 14 years later Ono, a world-class pastry chef and outed playboy has it all. No man can resist Ono's charms (or his cooking skills!) but he has just found a new position under a man named Tachibana. Can this be the only man who resisted his charms, and if so, will the man who once snubbed the "magically gay" Ono get his just desserts? And how in the heck did a former middleweight boxing champion wind up as Ono's cake boy? Digital Manga happily serves up the opening volume of Antique Bakery.
191 pages, Paperback
First published June 1, 2000
9 people are currently reading
733 people want to read
About the author
Fumi Yoshinaga
148 books248 followersJapanese: よしなが ふみ
Fumi Yoshinaga (よしなが ふみ Yoshinaga Fumi, born 1971) is a Japanese manga artist known for her shōjo and shōnen-ai works.
Fumi Yoshinaga was born in Tokyo, Japan in 1971. She attended the prestigious Keio University in Tokyo.
In an interview, she said that "I want to show the people who didn't win, whose dreams didn't come true. It is not possible for everybody to get first prize. I want my readers to understand the happiness that people can get from trying hard, going through the process, and getting frustrated."
Little is known about her personal life. She mentions that her favourite operas are those by Mozart in the author's note of Solfege.
She debuted in 1994 with The Moon and the Sandals, serialized in Hanaoto magazine, but was previously a participant in comic markets.
Of Yoshinaga's many works, several have been licensed internationally. She was also selected and exhibited as one of the "Twenty Major Manga artist Who Contributed to the World of Shōjo Manga (World War II to Present)" for Professor Masami Toku's exhibition, "Shōjo Manga: Girl Power!" at CSU-Chico.
Outside of her work with Japanese publishers, she also self-publishes original doujinshi on a regular basis, most notably for Antique Bakery. Yoshinaga has also drawn fan parodies of Slam Dunk, Rose of Versailles, and Legend of Galactic Heroes.
Fumi Yoshinaga (よしなが ふみ Yoshinaga Fumi, born 1971) is a Japanese manga artist known for her shōjo and shōnen-ai works.
Fumi Yoshinaga was born in Tokyo, Japan in 1971. She attended the prestigious Keio University in Tokyo.
In an interview, she said that "I want to show the people who didn't win, whose dreams didn't come true. It is not possible for everybody to get first prize. I want my readers to understand the happiness that people can get from trying hard, going through the process, and getting frustrated."
Little is known about her personal life. She mentions that her favourite operas are those by Mozart in the author's note of Solfege.
She debuted in 1994 with The Moon and the Sandals, serialized in Hanaoto magazine, but was previously a participant in comic markets.
Of Yoshinaga's many works, several have been licensed internationally. She was also selected and exhibited as one of the "Twenty Major Manga artist Who Contributed to the World of Shōjo Manga (World War II to Present)" for Professor Masami Toku's exhibition, "Shōjo Manga: Girl Power!" at CSU-Chico.
Outside of her work with Japanese publishers, she also self-publishes original doujinshi on a regular basis, most notably for Antique Bakery. Yoshinaga has also drawn fan parodies of Slam Dunk, Rose of Versailles, and Legend of Galactic Heroes.
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 96 reviews
April 20, 2012
Antique Bakery is one of those series that can be hard to describe accurately but reading it is an experience. This series has won awards, been translated into multiple languages, spawned an anime series, a live action series, and a two part movie. Its essentially one of those stories that takes what seems to be a set of characters that would never be together and finds reasons for their paths to cross. It also covers their interactions and relationships in a very realistic way because there's no happy endings or perfect turnouts but just how these characters deal with life.
The four main characters all become important to each other in their own ways and help each other, whether directly or indirectly, with each of their pasts or personal issues without those issues being the sole focus of the series. It also covers side characters to a degree who are customers of the bakery and you get a realistic feel for what its like to work in such an environment and be exposed to certain parts or "snapshots" of people's lives.
Then there's the food and emotion in the series. Yoshinaga-sensei is spectacular at showing emotions in her artwork. She's one of those super rare artists when dealing with manga or comics of any type where she uses expressions and her art itself to show emotion and tell plot. Some of her panels will have no words but you just get the solid sense and feel for what's happening. And because this is a story revolving around cake (it is a bakery after all) she doesn't shy away from incorporating the food itself as a character; its the medium and reason for ever single character in the series to come together.
If you're looking for something straight forward and not as realistic to life then I can see how Antique Bakery might not be for you or, even if you read it, you might not think it was so wonderful at first. But its one of those stories that can stick with you I think and is still an excellent experience to have.
The four main characters all become important to each other in their own ways and help each other, whether directly or indirectly, with each of their pasts or personal issues without those issues being the sole focus of the series. It also covers side characters to a degree who are customers of the bakery and you get a realistic feel for what its like to work in such an environment and be exposed to certain parts or "snapshots" of people's lives.
Then there's the food and emotion in the series. Yoshinaga-sensei is spectacular at showing emotions in her artwork. She's one of those super rare artists when dealing with manga or comics of any type where she uses expressions and her art itself to show emotion and tell plot. Some of her panels will have no words but you just get the solid sense and feel for what's happening. And because this is a story revolving around cake (it is a bakery after all) she doesn't shy away from incorporating the food itself as a character; its the medium and reason for ever single character in the series to come together.
If you're looking for something straight forward and not as realistic to life then I can see how Antique Bakery might not be for you or, even if you read it, you might not think it was so wonderful at first. But its one of those stories that can stick with you I think and is still an excellent experience to have.
May 29, 2008
HAHAHAHA DANCING IN THE RAIN OH GOD MY EYES WTF WAS THAT ETCETC
Okay. So this was my first foray into the BL genre of manga and I think it's probably a fairly sedate place to start given how little time is actually spent detailing the love lives of the main gay male character, much to the benefit of the series in my opinion. It's much more of an ensemble piece. The first two volumes spend a lot of time depicting the everyday running of the eponymous bakery, revealing the personal back stories and personalities of the characters who work there only in small snippets as they go about baking and selling mouth-wateringly described pastries for their customers, who actually initially feature as the main focal points around which the manga's mini story arcs revolve. As such, I think for those who enjoy more plot-based works, the episodic feel of the first couple of volumes would be hard to get into - it is after all difficult to become emotionally invested in these character who only appear very briefly - and the charm of the main quartet at the Bakery is relied upon to carry the momentum of the reader's interest. Whether they work for you or not is probably a matter of taste (hawhaw). To my untrained eye, they seem to occupy character molds that are very particular to manga and a familiarity with (and fondness for) those would probably help.
It's only in the third and fourth volumes that we get the emergence of a continuing story line. However, with that comes the more obviously applied conventions of the genre and it threatens to delve the characters from those delicately realised slice-of-life scenarios into an angsty melodrama that was probably better off being subtly hinted at as in the first half of the manga. Thankfully, I think the manga-ka realised that and ended it on a note surprising for its believability and emotional honesty to the characters' development, if not complete reader satisfaction.
The artwork isn't really anything to write home about. It's full of thin lines and sparsely drawn panels and only the baked goods are really detailed but then, that seems in keeping with what I've seen from most shojo manga, so if you know that you're not averse to that style, it shouldn't be a problem.
It's a fun read for people who enjoy unobtrusive character pieces and it's short enough to be read in one sitting so you won't feel like you've exhausted yourself reading 100+ chapters of unresolved emotional entanglements if it doesn't live up to expectations. On the flip side of this though, I don't think it really stands out either, precisely because it's so ordinary, although I think a lot of people who might be more well versed in this genre would embrace it precisely for its refreshing realism and honesty.
...that is if they managed to get past the dancing in the rain part without busting a hernia with laughter.
Okay. So this was my first foray into the BL genre of manga and I think it's probably a fairly sedate place to start given how little time is actually spent detailing the love lives of the main gay male character, much to the benefit of the series in my opinion. It's much more of an ensemble piece. The first two volumes spend a lot of time depicting the everyday running of the eponymous bakery, revealing the personal back stories and personalities of the characters who work there only in small snippets as they go about baking and selling mouth-wateringly described pastries for their customers, who actually initially feature as the main focal points around which the manga's mini story arcs revolve. As such, I think for those who enjoy more plot-based works, the episodic feel of the first couple of volumes would be hard to get into - it is after all difficult to become emotionally invested in these character who only appear very briefly - and the charm of the main quartet at the Bakery is relied upon to carry the momentum of the reader's interest. Whether they work for you or not is probably a matter of taste (hawhaw). To my untrained eye, they seem to occupy character molds that are very particular to manga and a familiarity with (and fondness for) those would probably help.
It's only in the third and fourth volumes that we get the emergence of a continuing story line. However, with that comes the more obviously applied conventions of the genre and it threatens to delve the characters from those delicately realised slice-of-life scenarios into an angsty melodrama that was probably better off being subtly hinted at as in the first half of the manga. Thankfully, I think the manga-ka realised that and ended it on a note surprising for its believability and emotional honesty to the characters' development, if not complete reader satisfaction.
The artwork isn't really anything to write home about. It's full of thin lines and sparsely drawn panels and only the baked goods are really detailed but then, that seems in keeping with what I've seen from most shojo manga, so if you know that you're not averse to that style, it shouldn't be a problem.
It's a fun read for people who enjoy unobtrusive character pieces and it's short enough to be read in one sitting so you won't feel like you've exhausted yourself reading 100+ chapters of unresolved emotional entanglements if it doesn't live up to expectations. On the flip side of this though, I don't think it really stands out either, precisely because it's so ordinary, although I think a lot of people who might be more well versed in this genre would embrace it precisely for its refreshing realism and honesty.
...that is if they managed to get past the dancing in the rain part without busting a hernia with laughter.
August 18, 2011
Antique Bakery is an interesting manga about a bakery(surprise!) in an old antique shop. It is ran by an all male staff and each character has an interesting back story.
In the early pages we learn that back in their high school days the pastry chef confessed his love to the bakery manager. The chef's apprentice used to be a boxer until he had to quit due to detached retinas. This first volume mainly focuses on how they all came to be at the bakery.
The art is nice and the detail on the antiques and cakes is wonderful.
Some of the speech balloons are massive when a bakery attendant describes a particular cake or treat, but the description in those bubbles is more often than not mouth watering.
A delicious manga ;p
In the early pages we learn that back in their high school days the pastry chef confessed his love to the bakery manager. The chef's apprentice used to be a boxer until he had to quit due to detached retinas. This first volume mainly focuses on how they all came to be at the bakery.
The art is nice and the detail on the antiques and cakes is wonderful.
Some of the speech balloons are massive when a bakery attendant describes a particular cake or treat, but the description in those bubbles is more often than not mouth watering.
A delicious manga ;p
January 9, 2018
אוקי, נסיון ראשון עם מנגה. מכיוון שאין דברים כאלה בספריה והתקמצנתי על לקנות, קראתי תרגום חובבני באינטרנט. אז אולי חלק מהסיבה שלא אהבתי את זה, היא כי התרגום היה גרוע. הכל היה נשמע ילדותי ומעושה. יכול להיות גם שאני לא מספיק מתורגלת בקריאה גרפית, כי בהרבה מהציורים לא נראה לי שהבנתי את מה שאני אמורה להבין, ובעיקר את הבעות הפנים. חוץ מזה העלילה היתה קלושה. הקטע הזה עם הגבר שכולם חייבים לשכב איתו או שהם יוצאים מדעתם היה.. ובכן, אני לא יודעת עם הומופובי הוא המילה הנכונה אבל בהחלט סטריאוטיפי ועשוי רע.
שני כוכבים על תיאורי עוגות שגרמו לבלוטות הריר שלי לעבוד שעות נוספות.
שני כוכבים על תיאורי עוגות שגרמו לבלוטות הריר שלי לעבוד שעות נוספות.
Read
December 14, 2022It held up!!
September 14, 2014
The world of the "antique" bakery seems quite a bit like The Drops of God: Japanese obsessed with French cuisine; well, not wine, this time, but… French pastry? The idea is that everyone there in this hierarchical system is obsessively dedicated to the highest industry standards for… sweets, eaten mainly "by women and children" and there is a kind of fetishizing of cutting edge techniques and ingredients to the point of swooning. Still, in spite of my dismissing this, it IS pretty interesting (just as with the Drops of God, this creation for us of a culture, one with intense competition, intense quality and other standards, just driven people. And it is pretty funny in places, and then even touching in places, including the story of an aging and broke boxer who finally deciders to marry his pregnant girlfriend and buy her the last piece of cake available for the day instead of a wedding cake…. The MAIN attraction of this volume would seem to be that there is a "demonically" attractive gay chef who, in just expressing to himself that straight guys who work there are cute, gets them to go crazy for him… So I only read this because I have read (an really admired) as many volumes of the author's Ooku alt-history series with all the gender bending issues it has, and lo and behold in this (earlier) series the messing around with gender and sexuality is also present here. Ooku is basically adult fare with some adult level sex and violence and political complications. There's sex and political complications (but not violence, and least not yet!) in Bakery, but it's teen fare, and it's mostly all about attraction, almost nothing actually happens, and the political issues are of course politics-lite. Kinda charming gay-themed work, with some pretty cleverly narrated action (you can see this is better than most teen manga on that front), accomplished by the great Yoshinaga. And hey, if you like food or are even a foodie, you'll like this.
May 15, 2024
(Source)
My Thoughts 💭
This was so cute! A classic shounen-ai with cute guys running a bakery shop. One is a boy who was rejected real bad by his crush in high school, another a rich boy who quits his job becomes a chef, and another is a womanizer. The story is more focused on the customers who come into the shop and heartfelt subplots with them, which made my salty heart soar.
Recommendation 👍
Highly recommend to any old timer manga fans but keep in mind that it was published in 2005 so the homophobia is very present.
July 15, 2017
This was a little disjointed, because the chapters were more like short stories, and it wasn't until the second to the last that it comes together and the beginnings of the Antique Bakery shop are revealed. It was a fun read, though, especially since I'm a sucker for food manga with lots of food descriptions. I also liked the fact that this wasn't super fan service-ey, even though it's shojo with a gay character.
October 6, 2018
DNFed right at halfway through -- I was just constantly confused about which characters were which and what was happening.
May 2, 2023
I reads this series of Manga/Yaoi graphic stories/novels/comics (I am not sure what is the appropriate designation) back in the early millennium years when my local library was refurbished and a wide range of new and different sort of books and materials were made available to make sure the library was not just physically accessible but also representative of to a wide variety of ethnic, cultural and sexual groups. As a result not only my local library system, but many in London, had their stocks enriched with a very wide variety of 'graphic' materials. I read a large number, though I hesitate to say extensively, in what was for me a new medium. I found a great deal of it of interest and was particularly charmed by the Yaoi (boys love) stories. The Antique Bakery is a perfect example of the genre.
I know and knew from the start that this was genre written (largely) by and for women - though clearly the English language version was aimed, maybe not exclusively, but largely at a gay market - it didn't matter, I enjoyed the insight into a different culture and way of viewing sex and also men. When I read them I couldn't help imagining what it would have been like as a teenager to have had access to such things, but I also have to acknowledge that when I read this in 2005 I was at least twenty five years beyond my imagined teenage self and almost as much time has passed since then. I still find the stories amusing and fun, though whether any young gay boy will read these is probably doubtful. Which is a pity - I think they are far healthier then the sanitized M&M 'gay' pap which appears to be mostly consumerist or heterosexualized propaganda that most teenage gays seem to be offered. The stories in 'Antique Bakery' and other Yaoi Mangas are wonderfully queer, desire and sex is out in the open and at the centre stories. Love is there, but so is sex, what is the point of all those beautiful boys if you don't have them get down to it - but then Japanese culture has no puritan ethic to escape from.
I have looked at this collection again - I still enjoyed it but I am not about to resume reading Manga stories - I glutted myself twenty odd years ago - it was fun, but ultimately I need the depth of literature, comics are fun but they can't really provide the complexity that the word offers. I do hope many, many people will enjoy this series but I hope they will be inspired as well to search out something more.
I know and knew from the start that this was genre written (largely) by and for women - though clearly the English language version was aimed, maybe not exclusively, but largely at a gay market - it didn't matter, I enjoyed the insight into a different culture and way of viewing sex and also men. When I read them I couldn't help imagining what it would have been like as a teenager to have had access to such things, but I also have to acknowledge that when I read this in 2005 I was at least twenty five years beyond my imagined teenage self and almost as much time has passed since then. I still find the stories amusing and fun, though whether any young gay boy will read these is probably doubtful. Which is a pity - I think they are far healthier then the sanitized M&M 'gay' pap which appears to be mostly consumerist or heterosexualized propaganda that most teenage gays seem to be offered. The stories in 'Antique Bakery' and other Yaoi Mangas are wonderfully queer, desire and sex is out in the open and at the centre stories. Love is there, but so is sex, what is the point of all those beautiful boys if you don't have them get down to it - but then Japanese culture has no puritan ethic to escape from.
I have looked at this collection again - I still enjoyed it but I am not about to resume reading Manga stories - I glutted myself twenty odd years ago - it was fun, but ultimately I need the depth of literature, comics are fun but they can't really provide the complexity that the word offers. I do hope many, many people will enjoy this series but I hope they will be inspired as well to search out something more.
June 17, 2020
I buddy read this book with Lois (https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCGfu...) and Rachel (https://www.youtube.com/channel/UChf3...). Lois picked the book we were going to read in June, and I ended up binge reading this manga. I really liked it. It feels really wholesome, and I loved looking at all of the cakes that the bakery makes, and how the bakery is the main part of the story. I also liked how the chapters focused on the different customers that come into the bakery and their story, as well as how the last few chapters focused on how the employees came to work in the bakery. I really enjoyed this manga and I would recommend it!
July 19, 2020
I was really confused for 75% of this book because we got no intro to what's happening or our main players until chapter 4 and even then, I didn't really feel attached to anyone. I was expecting a more upbeat story and less brash language about the main character being gay. (Some may find the dialogue and archetype of the main guy offensive.)
November 6, 2023
A salaryman decides to leave corporate life and start a bakery. He recruits a gay pastry chef, a former boxer, and in the second volume, his tall and not-very-bright childhood friend. He keeps his bakery open from noon until 2:30 in the morning for reasons that are eventually revealed. That's it. That's the series.
I first read Antique Bakery as a "scanlation" over 20 years ago, and then bought the series when it was released in the early 2000s. I'm usually not a fan of slice-of-life manga or sweets, but by the end of volume 4, I cared a lot about the characters and hoped they would eventually learn to deal with their respective traumas in healthier ways.
The only reason I'm leaving a review today is that I was procrastinating earlier and I glanced at a couple of reviews and saw that they incorrectly label this series as BL or "yaoi". Ono is gay, and that's an important part of the story, but the series isn't BL and he doesn't get the kind of romance plot in these four volumes that he would if it were BL. (The 2008 Korean adaptation Antique, while still not BL, has more of those romance beats, and in some ways is a more satisfying version of the story.)
Volume 1 is confusing because it introduces the main characters and unimportant characters at the same time, and a crucial element of the overarching plot is introduced. Because of the way the first volume is structured, I've always wondered if the series was originally supposed to follow the lives of the regular customers in addition to Tachibana & co. Anyway, this series gets better as it goes on, and this is one of the rare cases when I would advise that a confused reader should keep going and try volume 2 before giving up.
My only real caveat is that Antique Bakery was written in the late 90s/early 2000s, and turn-of-the-century social attitudes are not perfectly aligned with the 2020s. Autres temps, autres mœurs.
I first read Antique Bakery as a "scanlation" over 20 years ago, and then bought the series when it was released in the early 2000s. I'm usually not a fan of slice-of-life manga or sweets, but by the end of volume 4, I cared a lot about the characters and hoped they would eventually learn to deal with their respective traumas in healthier ways.
The only reason I'm leaving a review today is that I was procrastinating earlier and I glanced at a couple of reviews and saw that they incorrectly label this series as BL or "yaoi". Ono is gay, and that's an important part of the story, but the series isn't BL and he doesn't get the kind of romance plot in these four volumes that he would if it were BL. (The 2008 Korean adaptation Antique, while still not BL, has more of those romance beats, and in some ways is a more satisfying version of the story.)
Volume 1 is confusing because it introduces the main characters and unimportant characters at the same time, and a crucial element of the overarching plot is introduced. Because of the way the first volume is structured, I've always wondered if the series was originally supposed to follow the lives of the regular customers in addition to Tachibana & co. Anyway, this series gets better as it goes on, and this is one of the rare cases when I would advise that a confused reader should keep going and try volume 2 before giving up.
My only real caveat is that Antique Bakery was written in the late 90s/early 2000s, and turn-of-the-century social attitudes are not perfectly aligned with the 2020s. Autres temps, autres mœurs.
August 19, 2011
This was nothing like I expected really, being yaoi. Volume one isn't very romantic and the only hint of sex is two panels in chapter five. The story revolves around three young men who own/work in a bakery set in a former antiques shop. The shop serves as the framework for the stories, which revolve mostly around the customers.
The stories are not always linear (especially where the three men are concerned) and I had only passing interest in the clients (I'm more of a genre type girl than a slice of life mainstreamer). The three men are interesting however. Tachibana, a successful young business man opens the shop. He shares a rather jagged, unpleasant past with Ono, a star pastry maker who has trouble holding down jobs due to his overwhelming and unexpected sexual appeal to most men. His apprentice is the youngest of them, a former boxer Eiji Kanda who was forced out due to shorn retinas. Over all, there is a lot of potential in the dynamics of the men but I'm not sure I'd be that interested in a chapter length short story with non-recurring clients every time.
The stories are not always linear (especially where the three men are concerned) and I had only passing interest in the clients (I'm more of a genre type girl than a slice of life mainstreamer). The three men are interesting however. Tachibana, a successful young business man opens the shop. He shares a rather jagged, unpleasant past with Ono, a star pastry maker who has trouble holding down jobs due to his overwhelming and unexpected sexual appeal to most men. His apprentice is the youngest of them, a former boxer Eiji Kanda who was forced out due to shorn retinas. Over all, there is a lot of potential in the dynamics of the men but I'm not sure I'd be that interested in a chapter length short story with non-recurring clients every time.
Read
January 5, 2012Well, first off, to the purists - this is shōnen-ai, not yaoi. (Though even THAT description is pushing it.) There is NO romance between the characters, and NOTHING remotely explicit. The chef just happens to be gay, and got rejected by the bakery owner in high school. (The reason the chef can't keep a job, despite being excellent in the kitchen, is because he is [supposedly] irresistible to both gay and straight men alike, and keeps causing fights - though we NEVER get to see them.)
Frankly, I was bored with all the in-depth description of deserts - I am not a foodie. (If you are, you'll be in heaven.)
The whole book was rather erratic, and kinda doesn't make sense until you read the next volume - when you learn more character background and a (rather mild) seduction starts with a peripheral character.
I really don't see why this series won any awards. But that's my opinion, so whatever.
Frankly, I was bored with all the in-depth description of deserts - I am not a foodie. (If you are, you'll be in heaven.)
The whole book was rather erratic, and kinda doesn't make sense until you read the next volume - when you learn more character background and a (rather mild) seduction starts with a peripheral character.
I really don't see why this series won any awards. But that's my opinion, so whatever.
January 11, 2009
I don't have much to say about this. It's manga, it's yaoi, it's quite cute... This one's about a trio of guys working in a pastry shop. Interestingly, the first few chapters have them all working there and then the later chapters are flashbacks to show how that came to happen. This is surprisingly effective, because you get to see, for example, that Tachibana was not always a pastry expert, as the reader initially takes for granted; he had to learn it, of course. I actually really want to get my hands on the next volume, which I didn't feel the need to with, say, FAKE.
March 16, 2015
You can find my review in its entirety on my blog:
Reckless Indulgence | of the Written Word
It’s a light, fluffy, entertaining story with surprisingly deep characters (as will be revealed later on as the series progresses). I think the major reason I originally picked up volume 1 was because I was finished with everything else and needed another yaoi/shounen ai book to read. The fact that it was a foodie manga really didn’t cross my mind until I started reading it and it dawned on me that I was beginning a new series… entirely about food.
And gays.
But mostly food.
Reckless Indulgence | of the Written Word
It’s a light, fluffy, entertaining story with surprisingly deep characters (as will be revealed later on as the series progresses). I think the major reason I originally picked up volume 1 was because I was finished with everything else and needed another yaoi/shounen ai book to read. The fact that it was a foodie manga really didn’t cross my mind until I started reading it and it dawned on me that I was beginning a new series… entirely about food.
And gays.
But mostly food.
May 18, 2019
A manga mostly about cakes, but occasionally about childhood trauma. As you do
December 20, 2014
Aahhh...Antique Bakery... Nah, judulnya disebut Antique Bakery krn toko cake ini menggunakan tableware yg antik nan mahal utk dipake customer...:)
Tiap kali liat judul komik jadul yg terbit thn 2000 ini wara-wiri di GR's recommendation selalu bikin aku teringat si Takki (Hideaki Takizawa) <3__<3 yg main di dorama berjudul Antique. Kalo ga salah ingat, awal ntn doramanya itu di tahun 2001 atau 2002, waktu masi kelas 3 SMU atau awal kuliah... Waktu itu sama sekali blm tau kalo doramanya diadaptasi dari komik BL, hahaha... Kepincutnya gara2 ada Takki (yg populer setelah doramanya yg berjudul Majo no Jouken), cake (hahaha, tentu saja ;p) dan sinopsisnya yg lmyn menarik, tentang Takki yg beralih profesi dari petinju menjadi pâtissier (pastry chef) di toko cake antik.
Seingatku, dorama ini rada datar ceritanya, mungkin krn lbh fokus ke kehidupan customer yg dtg ke toko (lupa2 ingat juga apa ada bahas kehidupan para MCs :p) walaupun interior tokonya bgs dan tentu saja cake2 yg bikin liur menitik, hahaha. Krn ceritanya datar itulah, maka stlh tahun2 berikutnya saat nemuin komik ini masi blm minat buat baca, selain krn artwork-nya Yoshinaga-Sensei yg kurang memikat...
Tapi, bisa juga krn di dorama versi Jepang itu, unsur BL tdk ada sama sekali...jadinya antiklimaks gitu...plus stlh kubaca versi komiknya, cerita tentang kehidupan customer-nya jauh lebih oke dan menyentuh....Mungkin krn di komik kan kita bisa mengintip benaknya para tokoh...kalo di film kan jadinya aneh kalo menyuarakan apa yg sedang dipikirkan alias bicara ama diri sendiri. :p
Kalau movie versi Korea yg rilis akhir tahun 2008 itu, katanya ngikut persis alur cerita yg di komik, dgn kata lain : ada BL di dramanya. Aku blm pernah ntn yg versi Korea, krn terus terang saja aku kurang demen ama mukanya Joo Ji Hoon yg meranin Tachibana si owner, berasa kurang cakep buat jadi Tachibana.
Tapi, yg jadi Chef Ono versi Korea itu Kim Jae Wook, yg terasa bgt uke material-nya, lol. Mgkn krn rambut panjang ikal-nya yg bikin kesan gay-nya bertambah. Sama kaya si Jang Geun Seuk yg langsung dicap gay ama org2 gara2 gaya rmbt begitu...
Tapi Naohito Fujiki juga cocok bgt jadi Ono versi Jepang, bishounen abis, <3___<3 krn dlm komik itu Ono itu populer bgt di kalangan cowok, yg straight semua dibikin jadi gay ama dia, hahaha. Kalo ga jd rebutan 2 rekan kerja, ada yg bunuh diri krn dia, atau malah affair dgn owner sampe owner-nya ditusuk istri yg cemburu...sampe2 Ono ga bisa bertahan lebih dari setahun di tempat yg sama krn itu dan kesulitan dpt kerja, hahaha.
Eh, tapi sbnrnya Ono dlm komik ini versatile gitu, jadi kadang dia itu seme bgt kalo kacamatanya dilepas, hahaha. Tachibana ketakutan abis krn wkt awal2 merekrut Ono sebagai pâtissier di toko barunya itu, Ono tdk segan2 blg kalo Tachibana itu tipenya bgt dan pas di-PDKT Ono itu wajah Tachibana memucat plus jadi gelagapan. Bikin aku ngakak abis, hahaha.
Tapi yg jadi Tachibana di dorama versi Jepang juga kayanya ga gitu cocok, kesannya tua bgt, padahal Tachibana seumuran ama Ono. Kumis memang bikin org lbh tua. Tachibana malah dianggap umur 43 thn ama Kanda, pdhl dia baru 32 thn. :p
Jadi, di volume pertama ini Tachibana dan Ono ini MC utama di komik ini, Kanda tdk begitu disorot. Cinta Ono ditolak dgn kasar oleh Tachibana (yg straight) belasan tahun yg lalu. Pada waktu Ono diundang Tachibana buat jadi pâtissier itu (murni takdir krn ortunya Tachibana yg kaya raya itu nyariin best pastry chef buat putra mrk), cuma Ono yg blm tau (Tachibana langsung tau at 1st sight) kalo Tachibana itu senior yg nolak dia dgn kasar ("disgusting and go to hell!" gitu kata Tachibana wkt nolak Ono) dan Tachibana juga satu2nya cowok yg imun dari feromonnya Ono dan yg pernah nolak Ono. Jadi Ono yg cape jadi kutu loncat itu senang bgt krn akhirnya bakal bisa bertahan lama di satu toko, secara Tachibana kan ga bakalan jatuh cinta ama Ono. Hahaha. Jadi ceritanya Ono sendiri sama sekali ga dendam ataupun masi jatuh cinta ama Tachibana.
Lalu, utk pemeran Kanda si petinju yg punya pretty face di versi Korea itu mnrtku kurang cocok diperankan Yoo Ah In...not pretty at all...Masalahnya kan Ono tuh ga minat ama Kanda krn dia prefer beautiful guys ketimbang cute guys... Harusnya dicariin lagi aktor yg lebih cute, macam Luhan misalnya, pretty and cute, tapi Luhan ga meyakinkan buat jadi petinju sih memang... Kalo Takki, memang dia bishounen dan lmyn cocok jadi Kanda, tapi mnrtku sih wajahnya lebih ke gorgeous type drpd cute type. :p
Utk pemeran Chikage yg pake sunnies itu, kayanya versi yg manapun oke deh asalkan tinggi dan pake sunnies? Tapi model rmbtnya ga cocok dgn Chikage yg di komik. :p *minta digampar krn byk maunya.* Anooo...habisnya Chikage itu yg paling tampan sih kalo di komik, huahahahaha... Apalagi waktu dia pake apron, duh aku ngerti deh knp Ono begitu kesengsem ama dia, hahaha.
Left pic : Japan, right pic : Korea.
Wow, aku baru tahu loh ada remake yg versi Taiwan...O____O Yg versi Taiwan itu yg paling ga cocok semua cast-nya mnrtku. :p
Ini si Kim Jae Wook sebagai Ono. Omong2, kuenya menggiurkan bgt. Kim Jae Wook-nya? ga terlalu. ;p
Nah, kalo di sini Kim Jae Wook keliatan menggiurkan, hahaha. Cowo keren lagi masak tambah keren deh. ;p Yg di sebelah Kim jae Wook itu Yoo Ah In yg jadi Kanda. Dia lagi belajar bikin kue dari Ono.
Buset Kim Jae Wook seksi bgt di sini, feromonnya beterbangan gitu, lol. Omong2 aku jadi teringat adegan tarian seksinya Moonlight (dari Moonlight, Tiger and Smoke) di super elite striptease club. O___O bikin aku meringis tiap ingat knp dia hrs nari striptease...T_______T
Kayanya di sini nih ceritanya Ono lagi dance di gay bar buat nunjukin ke Tachibana segimana seksinya dan seberapa mankiller-nya dia wkt lg direkrut Tachibana itu.
Joo Ji Hoon sebagai Tachibana dan Kanda yg lagi ngerayu dia? hahaha. Aku 2 tahun absen ntn drama Korea krn bosan dgn cerita yg itu2 aja, kalo ga yg cinderella, sakit kanker, opera sabun family, robin hood di jaman kuno Korea, kisah cinta ABG, dll... Tapi serius, liat adegan ini aku jd pgn ntn filmnya nih, mana tau lbh bgs dari yg Jepang? Jarang2 loh ada film yg temanya BL gitu...yg pemerannya populer gitu mksdnya, kalo yg ga populer atau indie gitu kan byk.
Bicara soal cake...sbnrnya I'm not a cake person, lbh suka ngiler mandangin aja krn cake2 itu begitu sedap dipandang mata. ;p Aku pecinta asin dan manis sih, cuma kalo soal cake itu tmsk tipe yg pemilih bgt soal jlh gula yg digunakan dan tekstur cake-nya. Jadi, dari pengalamanku yg terbilang minim bgt soal cicip-mencicip cake itu, secara jarang bgt beli cake, sampe saat ini rasanya blm byk nemuin cake yg rasa manisnya dan teksturnya itu pas di lidah...kebanyakan bikin aku ngerasa enek stlh mkn seiris...padahal aku ini pecinta coklat...dan krn tdk suka kopi plus tdk tahan minum kopi, makanya ga suka jg cake yg rasanya kopi.... Januari 2013 dulu pernah nyobain blueberry shortcake wkt lg sarapan buffet di hotel Pullman yg sebelah Central Park itu, rasanya lmyn pas di lidah, tapi kalo sengaja ke sana buat cicipin cake itu lagi sih, err...sayang duitnya, hahaha... :p
Anyway, kalo kamu pecinta cake sejati, mgkn bisa share toko favoritmu di Indo? :)
Bicara soal terjemahannya di scanlation-nya. Aku ngakak abis wkt baca komen translator di samping panel komik yg blg "OMFG, it took me to fgure out how to translate it...I looked at the Japanese raws and...what did I see? 'buraunii' WTF x__x". LOL, jadi ceritanya buraunii = brownies, hahaha. Ada lagi, konpooto = compote (alias kolak), hahaha. Pastilah pekerjaan yg berat buat translator kalo tdk familiar dgn istilah2 dlm dunia pastry. :)
Tiap kali liat judul komik jadul yg terbit thn 2000 ini wara-wiri di GR's recommendation selalu bikin aku teringat si Takki (Hideaki Takizawa) <3__<3 yg main di dorama berjudul Antique. Kalo ga salah ingat, awal ntn doramanya itu di tahun 2001 atau 2002, waktu masi kelas 3 SMU atau awal kuliah... Waktu itu sama sekali blm tau kalo doramanya diadaptasi dari komik BL, hahaha... Kepincutnya gara2 ada Takki (yg populer setelah doramanya yg berjudul Majo no Jouken), cake (hahaha, tentu saja ;p) dan sinopsisnya yg lmyn menarik, tentang Takki yg beralih profesi dari petinju menjadi pâtissier (pastry chef) di toko cake antik.
Seingatku, dorama ini rada datar ceritanya, mungkin krn lbh fokus ke kehidupan customer yg dtg ke toko (lupa2 ingat juga apa ada bahas kehidupan para MCs :p) walaupun interior tokonya bgs dan tentu saja cake2 yg bikin liur menitik, hahaha. Krn ceritanya datar itulah, maka stlh tahun2 berikutnya saat nemuin komik ini masi blm minat buat baca, selain krn artwork-nya Yoshinaga-Sensei yg kurang memikat...
Tapi, bisa juga krn di dorama versi Jepang itu, unsur BL tdk ada sama sekali...jadinya antiklimaks gitu...plus stlh kubaca versi komiknya, cerita tentang kehidupan customer-nya jauh lebih oke dan menyentuh....Mungkin krn di komik kan kita bisa mengintip benaknya para tokoh...kalo di film kan jadinya aneh kalo menyuarakan apa yg sedang dipikirkan alias bicara ama diri sendiri. :p
Kalau movie versi Korea yg rilis akhir tahun 2008 itu, katanya ngikut persis alur cerita yg di komik, dgn kata lain : ada BL di dramanya. Aku blm pernah ntn yg versi Korea, krn terus terang saja aku kurang demen ama mukanya Joo Ji Hoon yg meranin Tachibana si owner, berasa kurang cakep buat jadi Tachibana.
Tapi, yg jadi Chef Ono versi Korea itu Kim Jae Wook, yg terasa bgt uke material-nya, lol. Mgkn krn rambut panjang ikal-nya yg bikin kesan gay-nya bertambah. Sama kaya si Jang Geun Seuk yg langsung dicap gay ama org2 gara2 gaya rmbt begitu...
Tapi Naohito Fujiki juga cocok bgt jadi Ono versi Jepang, bishounen abis, <3___<3 krn dlm komik itu Ono itu populer bgt di kalangan cowok, yg straight semua dibikin jadi gay ama dia, hahaha. Kalo ga jd rebutan 2 rekan kerja, ada yg bunuh diri krn dia, atau malah affair dgn owner sampe owner-nya ditusuk istri yg cemburu...sampe2 Ono ga bisa bertahan lebih dari setahun di tempat yg sama krn itu dan kesulitan dpt kerja, hahaha.
Eh, tapi sbnrnya Ono dlm komik ini versatile gitu, jadi kadang dia itu seme bgt kalo kacamatanya dilepas, hahaha. Tachibana ketakutan abis krn wkt awal2 merekrut Ono sebagai pâtissier di toko barunya itu, Ono tdk segan2 blg kalo Tachibana itu tipenya bgt dan pas di-PDKT Ono itu wajah Tachibana memucat plus jadi gelagapan. Bikin aku ngakak abis, hahaha.
Tapi yg jadi Tachibana di dorama versi Jepang juga kayanya ga gitu cocok, kesannya tua bgt, padahal Tachibana seumuran ama Ono. Kumis memang bikin org lbh tua. Tachibana malah dianggap umur 43 thn ama Kanda, pdhl dia baru 32 thn. :p
Jadi, di volume pertama ini Tachibana dan Ono ini MC utama di komik ini, Kanda tdk begitu disorot. Cinta Ono ditolak dgn kasar oleh Tachibana (yg straight) belasan tahun yg lalu. Pada waktu Ono diundang Tachibana buat jadi pâtissier itu (murni takdir krn ortunya Tachibana yg kaya raya itu nyariin best pastry chef buat putra mrk), cuma Ono yg blm tau (Tachibana langsung tau at 1st sight) kalo Tachibana itu senior yg nolak dia dgn kasar ("disgusting and go to hell!" gitu kata Tachibana wkt nolak Ono) dan Tachibana juga satu2nya cowok yg imun dari feromonnya Ono dan yg pernah nolak Ono. Jadi Ono yg cape jadi kutu loncat itu senang bgt krn akhirnya bakal bisa bertahan lama di satu toko, secara Tachibana kan ga bakalan jatuh cinta ama Ono. Hahaha. Jadi ceritanya Ono sendiri sama sekali ga dendam ataupun masi jatuh cinta ama Tachibana.
Lalu, utk pemeran Kanda si petinju yg punya pretty face di versi Korea itu mnrtku kurang cocok diperankan Yoo Ah In...not pretty at all...Masalahnya kan Ono tuh ga minat ama Kanda krn dia prefer beautiful guys ketimbang cute guys... Harusnya dicariin lagi aktor yg lebih cute, macam Luhan misalnya, pretty and cute, tapi Luhan ga meyakinkan buat jadi petinju sih memang... Kalo Takki, memang dia bishounen dan lmyn cocok jadi Kanda, tapi mnrtku sih wajahnya lebih ke gorgeous type drpd cute type. :p
Utk pemeran Chikage yg pake sunnies itu, kayanya versi yg manapun oke deh asalkan tinggi dan pake sunnies? Tapi model rmbtnya ga cocok dgn Chikage yg di komik. :p *minta digampar krn byk maunya.* Anooo...habisnya Chikage itu yg paling tampan sih kalo di komik, huahahahaha... Apalagi waktu dia pake apron, duh aku ngerti deh knp Ono begitu kesengsem ama dia, hahaha.
Left pic : Japan, right pic : Korea.
Wow, aku baru tahu loh ada remake yg versi Taiwan...O____O Yg versi Taiwan itu yg paling ga cocok semua cast-nya mnrtku. :p
Ini si Kim Jae Wook sebagai Ono. Omong2, kuenya menggiurkan bgt. Kim Jae Wook-nya? ga terlalu. ;p
Nah, kalo di sini Kim Jae Wook keliatan menggiurkan, hahaha. Cowo keren lagi masak tambah keren deh. ;p Yg di sebelah Kim jae Wook itu Yoo Ah In yg jadi Kanda. Dia lagi belajar bikin kue dari Ono.
Buset Kim Jae Wook seksi bgt di sini, feromonnya beterbangan gitu, lol. Omong2 aku jadi teringat adegan tarian seksinya Moonlight (dari Moonlight, Tiger and Smoke) di super elite striptease club. O___O bikin aku meringis tiap ingat knp dia hrs nari striptease...T_______T
Kayanya di sini nih ceritanya Ono lagi dance di gay bar buat nunjukin ke Tachibana segimana seksinya dan seberapa mankiller-nya dia wkt lg direkrut Tachibana itu.
Joo Ji Hoon sebagai Tachibana dan Kanda yg lagi ngerayu dia? hahaha. Aku 2 tahun absen ntn drama Korea krn bosan dgn cerita yg itu2 aja, kalo ga yg cinderella, sakit kanker, opera sabun family, robin hood di jaman kuno Korea, kisah cinta ABG, dll... Tapi serius, liat adegan ini aku jd pgn ntn filmnya nih, mana tau lbh bgs dari yg Jepang? Jarang2 loh ada film yg temanya BL gitu...yg pemerannya populer gitu mksdnya, kalo yg ga populer atau indie gitu kan byk.
Bicara soal cake...sbnrnya I'm not a cake person, lbh suka ngiler mandangin aja krn cake2 itu begitu sedap dipandang mata. ;p Aku pecinta asin dan manis sih, cuma kalo soal cake itu tmsk tipe yg pemilih bgt soal jlh gula yg digunakan dan tekstur cake-nya. Jadi, dari pengalamanku yg terbilang minim bgt soal cicip-mencicip cake itu, secara jarang bgt beli cake, sampe saat ini rasanya blm byk nemuin cake yg rasa manisnya dan teksturnya itu pas di lidah...kebanyakan bikin aku ngerasa enek stlh mkn seiris...padahal aku ini pecinta coklat...dan krn tdk suka kopi plus tdk tahan minum kopi, makanya ga suka jg cake yg rasanya kopi.... Januari 2013 dulu pernah nyobain blueberry shortcake wkt lg sarapan buffet di hotel Pullman yg sebelah Central Park itu, rasanya lmyn pas di lidah, tapi kalo sengaja ke sana buat cicipin cake itu lagi sih, err...sayang duitnya, hahaha... :p
Anyway, kalo kamu pecinta cake sejati, mgkn bisa share toko favoritmu di Indo? :)
Bicara soal terjemahannya di scanlation-nya. Aku ngakak abis wkt baca komen translator di samping panel komik yg blg "OMFG, it took me to fgure out how to translate it...I looked at the Japanese raws and...what did I see? 'buraunii' WTF x__x". LOL, jadi ceritanya buraunii = brownies, hahaha. Ada lagi, konpooto = compote (alias kolak), hahaha. Pastilah pekerjaan yg berat buat translator kalo tdk familiar dgn istilah2 dlm dunia pastry. :)
March 2, 2021
Awalnya saya mengenal nama Fumi Yoshinaga gara-gara doyan nonton serial What Did You Eat Yesterday? yang rupanya diadaptasi dari manga beliau. Ceritanya tentang sepasang laki-laki paruh baya di Jepang yang berbagi hidup, dan menghadapi tekanan hidup dengan berbagi makanan. Seolah semua persoalan terhadapi dengan menyantap makanan yang dimasak dari bahan-bahan segar yang kebetulan diobral. Begitu saya selesai menonton semua episode serial itu, saya langsung mencari manganya. Begitu ketemu, saya nggak bisa berhenti membaca. Bab yang satu selesai, ingin segera lanjut ke bab yang lain; judul yang satu selesai, ingin lanjut ke judul manga lain yang juga ditulis oleh Fumi. Kebetulan Fumi Yoshinaga ini termasuk mangaka senior, sehingga karyanya cukup banyak.
Mungkin yang bikin saya ketagihan karya Fumi Yoshinaga adalah betapa pas ceritanya menangkap berbagai emosi yang dirasakan orang di dalam kehidupannya. Memang ada banyak komik ber-genre slice of life, tapi menurut saya potongan yang disajikan Fumi istimewa. Lewat gambar, dia menyajikan pikiran dan perasaan yang tidak terkatakan. Tindakan tokohnya pun nggak selalu simpatik, tapi selalu punya latar belakang yang bikin pembaca bisa mengerti alasannya. Sepanjang cerita, tokoh-tokohnya mengalami rasa malu, kesedihan, dan kemarahan, tanpa jaminan mereka akan merasakan kebahagiaan sejati. Namun, selalu ada penghiburan. Tokoh-tokohnya cukup matang untuk merenung dan menarik makna dari peristiwa kecut, pahit, maupun pedas yang mereka hadapi. Mungkin bisa dibilang potongan hidup yang disajikan Fumi mirip potongan kue yang disajikan Ono, pâtissier di Antique Bakery. Keduanya punya rasa yang nyaris tidak terbayangkan kalau tidak mencicipi sendiri. Bedanya, rasa yang disajikan Fumi tidak manis seperti kebanyakan kue yang dijual di patisserie.
Mungkin juga yang bikin saya ketagihan adalah, ketika selesai membaca, tokoh-tokoh dalam karya Fumi Yoshinaga nggak lantas 'tamat' meski cerita mereka berakhir. Sebagaimana hidup orang-orang yang saya jumpai, yang nggak serta-merta selesai ketika perjumpaan kami berakhir. Dalam diri tiap orang selalu ada inner life, selalu ada cerita yang tidak dibagi, hingga cita-cita dan persoalan yang belum selesai. Setelah cerita selesai, tokoh-tokoh rekaan Fumi seolah melanjutkan hidup mereka ke babak kehidupan selanjutnya, yang tidak terjangkau oleh saya. Saya, yang belum puas dengan perjumpaan kami, lantas mencarinya dalam orang-orang dan cerita-cerita yang lain.
Mungkin yang bikin saya ketagihan karya Fumi Yoshinaga adalah betapa pas ceritanya menangkap berbagai emosi yang dirasakan orang di dalam kehidupannya. Memang ada banyak komik ber-genre slice of life, tapi menurut saya potongan yang disajikan Fumi istimewa. Lewat gambar, dia menyajikan pikiran dan perasaan yang tidak terkatakan. Tindakan tokohnya pun nggak selalu simpatik, tapi selalu punya latar belakang yang bikin pembaca bisa mengerti alasannya. Sepanjang cerita, tokoh-tokohnya mengalami rasa malu, kesedihan, dan kemarahan, tanpa jaminan mereka akan merasakan kebahagiaan sejati. Namun, selalu ada penghiburan. Tokoh-tokohnya cukup matang untuk merenung dan menarik makna dari peristiwa kecut, pahit, maupun pedas yang mereka hadapi. Mungkin bisa dibilang potongan hidup yang disajikan Fumi mirip potongan kue yang disajikan Ono, pâtissier di Antique Bakery. Keduanya punya rasa yang nyaris tidak terbayangkan kalau tidak mencicipi sendiri. Bedanya, rasa yang disajikan Fumi tidak manis seperti kebanyakan kue yang dijual di patisserie.
Mungkin juga yang bikin saya ketagihan adalah, ketika selesai membaca, tokoh-tokoh dalam karya Fumi Yoshinaga nggak lantas 'tamat' meski cerita mereka berakhir. Sebagaimana hidup orang-orang yang saya jumpai, yang nggak serta-merta selesai ketika perjumpaan kami berakhir. Dalam diri tiap orang selalu ada inner life, selalu ada cerita yang tidak dibagi, hingga cita-cita dan persoalan yang belum selesai. Setelah cerita selesai, tokoh-tokoh rekaan Fumi seolah melanjutkan hidup mereka ke babak kehidupan selanjutnya, yang tidak terjangkau oleh saya. Saya, yang belum puas dengan perjumpaan kami, lantas mencarinya dalam orang-orang dan cerita-cerita yang lain.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
August 8, 2018
This book definitely has its problems, but overall I found myself having fun with it. The characters feel fleshed-out and realistic, and their interactions are fun to watch. Not to mention the comedic timing in this volume is pretty great.
There isn't a lot of romance besides that of the minor characters, which is pretty odd considering the genre. However, from reading Yoshinaga's other series What Did You Eat Yesterday?, Volume 1, this is just par for the course. Yoshinaga prefers to let the characters move at their own pace, and this makes for a relaxing read.
The story can come off as a bit disjointed since it likes to jump back and forth across time, (going forward eight years, then back two, etc.) but you get used to it after a while. Plus, the stories are pretty fun, so I didn't mind the time skips much.
All I have to say is, you had better LOVE pastries, or be prepared to skip a lot of text. Yoshinaga loves food, and likes showing off her prowess by writing long stretches of descriptions and details on how each cake is made and with what ingredients, which can get pretty tedious after a while.
All in all, it's not perfect, but it's a fun, relaxing read. I've been reading so much dark and depressing manga these days that this book was like a breath of fresh air. Highly recommend.
There isn't a lot of romance besides that of the minor characters, which is pretty odd considering the genre. However, from reading Yoshinaga's other series What Did You Eat Yesterday?, Volume 1, this is just par for the course. Yoshinaga prefers to let the characters move at their own pace, and this makes for a relaxing read.
The story can come off as a bit disjointed since it likes to jump back and forth across time, (going forward eight years, then back two, etc.) but you get used to it after a while. Plus, the stories are pretty fun, so I didn't mind the time skips much.
All I have to say is, you had better LOVE pastries, or be prepared to skip a lot of text. Yoshinaga loves food, and likes showing off her prowess by writing long stretches of descriptions and details on how each cake is made and with what ingredients, which can get pretty tedious after a while.
All in all, it's not perfect, but it's a fun, relaxing read. I've been reading so much dark and depressing manga these days that this book was like a breath of fresh air. Highly recommend.
September 21, 2020
I've never read any title by Fumi Yoshinaga before, but three of the MangaTubers I highly trust all have sung praises about her works, and I've heard the title for this one thrown around enough times that I finally found a copy of volume one available on Thriftbooks and I snatched that up right away.
Even with some of the discussions I've heard concerning this manga-ka's work, I genuinely had no idea what to expect with this, and I was pleasantly surprised by how much I enjoyed it! The storytelling is fairly interesting, giving us a brief glimpse at our three main characters prior to all of them working at this bakery, before throwing us into a day in their collective work life. A few of the stories all seem to ramble and go off in their own directions, but I don't mind that at all? The final portion of the book is dedicated to actually showing the audience how the Antique Bakery cafe came to be, and how all three of the characters ended up working there, which is rather essential, given the way we're introduced to them all at the start of the book.
I'm not going to say much more than that because 1, I'm not sure I could without giving away some serious spoilers, and 2, I know for a fact I'm going to wax poetic if I give into the urge to say more. I really loved and enjoyed this volume, and I need to hunt down the remaining three as soon as possible, because I definitely need more of these characters and their stories.
Even with some of the discussions I've heard concerning this manga-ka's work, I genuinely had no idea what to expect with this, and I was pleasantly surprised by how much I enjoyed it! The storytelling is fairly interesting, giving us a brief glimpse at our three main characters prior to all of them working at this bakery, before throwing us into a day in their collective work life. A few of the stories all seem to ramble and go off in their own directions, but I don't mind that at all? The final portion of the book is dedicated to actually showing the audience how the Antique Bakery cafe came to be, and how all three of the characters ended up working there, which is rather essential, given the way we're introduced to them all at the start of the book.
I'm not going to say much more than that because 1, I'm not sure I could without giving away some serious spoilers, and 2, I know for a fact I'm going to wax poetic if I give into the urge to say more. I really loved and enjoyed this volume, and I need to hunt down the remaining three as soon as possible, because I definitely need more of these characters and their stories.
October 27, 2017
A light hearted, humourous series which a faint pulse of something darker which never eclipses the character potrayals or the journeys they make in each chapter or plot arc.
The stories center around those who work at the Antique Bakery. There’s Tachibana, the proprietor and long suffering, unsuccessful ladies’s man, haunted by a past we learn more about as the series progresses. His mild mannered pastry chef is Ono, ‘gay of demonic charm’, whose seductive power has caused no end of trouble, despite his genius at his craft. The third member of the staff is former punk and boxer Kanda, led by his sweet tooth to train under Ono in making pastries just as good.
The first book reveals how these three characters came together and how they interact with each other and their customers on a day to day basis. Their customers show their own quirky sides and conflicts as each visitor finds a little resolution and happiness at the Antique Bakery.
The stories center around those who work at the Antique Bakery. There’s Tachibana, the proprietor and long suffering, unsuccessful ladies’s man, haunted by a past we learn more about as the series progresses. His mild mannered pastry chef is Ono, ‘gay of demonic charm’, whose seductive power has caused no end of trouble, despite his genius at his craft. The third member of the staff is former punk and boxer Kanda, led by his sweet tooth to train under Ono in making pastries just as good.
The first book reveals how these three characters came together and how they interact with each other and their customers on a day to day basis. Their customers show their own quirky sides and conflicts as each visitor finds a little resolution and happiness at the Antique Bakery.
October 27, 2021
I discovered Antique Bakery over ten years ago at my local library, and when I was in town I decided to check it out again on a whim. And while this manga has obviously aged, the quality of Yoshinaga-sensei's work withstands the test of time.
This first volume might not have a fast-paced, intricate plot but I found myself drawn into it all over again. Even though it's essentially a collection of small moments of a seemingly random cast of characters (and hints to what I know will become a larger subplot in future volumes) there's a depth and realness to the characters that many stories are devoid of. Maybe this is simply Yoshinaga's storytelling talents at play. Even jokes about Ono being a "demonic gay" feels lighthearted twenty-two years on, unlike most gay jokes in media of the time. The food content is a little strong, but not as overwhelming as it is in "What Did You Do Yesterday?" Yoshinaga-sensei's current series.
This first volume might not have a fast-paced, intricate plot but I found myself drawn into it all over again. Even though it's essentially a collection of small moments of a seemingly random cast of characters (and hints to what I know will become a larger subplot in future volumes) there's a depth and realness to the characters that many stories are devoid of. Maybe this is simply Yoshinaga's storytelling talents at play. Even jokes about Ono being a "demonic gay" feels lighthearted twenty-two years on, unlike most gay jokes in media of the time. The food content is a little strong, but not as overwhelming as it is in "What Did You Do Yesterday?" Yoshinaga-sensei's current series.
September 17, 2018
Rating: 7 out of 10
Violence: None
Fan Service: None
Sexual Content: Moderate (Gay men, fair amount of discussion)
Type: Light Gay Romantic
Read: 1 Volume
More?: Yes
Plot Analysis: Vignettes about a small bakery that uses antique dishes. The first few are general stories about some of the patrons, and then there are stories about how the bakery got started. The baker is gay, and some of the stories do deal strongly with homosexuality.
Review: The sexual side can be a little distracting, but overall the stories are quite good. It takes a little bit to get to know who is who, but the romantic stories of old classmates meeting again and a couple remembering their love are quite heartwarming.
Violence: None
Fan Service: None
Sexual Content: Moderate (Gay men, fair amount of discussion)
Type: Light Gay Romantic
Read: 1 Volume
More?: Yes
Plot Analysis: Vignettes about a small bakery that uses antique dishes. The first few are general stories about some of the patrons, and then there are stories about how the bakery got started. The baker is gay, and some of the stories do deal strongly with homosexuality.
Review: The sexual side can be a little distracting, but overall the stories are quite good. It takes a little bit to get to know who is who, but the romantic stories of old classmates meeting again and a couple remembering their love are quite heartwarming.
January 1, 2024
Antique Bakery feels like a corner stone of Boy’s Love in its infancy in the US and its the first example of what I like to call ‘cooking gays’ that I can think of. Published by DMP (Digital Manga Publishing) with its pencil sketchy art style and scratch and sniff slipcovers, if the men on the front didn’t catch your eye, the beautiful illustrations of the desserts definitely would. Sadly our covers don’t smell anymore, but I do remember the scents of strawberry and chocolate from various volumes while reading these bakery hijinks...
Read the full review for all four volumes at Well, Are They? A Queer Review Blog:
https://wellarethey.blogspot.com/2023...
Read the full review for all four volumes at Well, Are They? A Queer Review Blog:
https://wellarethey.blogspot.com/2023...
May 30, 2020
Sometimes, you come across books or manga that don’t fit in any genre and are nothing like anything you’ve read before.
It was like the ingredients for the perfect manga were laid out there, made into the most beautiful cake and when you finally finished it, you realized that something was missing. The cake is still delicious, but it’s just missing that one spectacular finishing touch.
It was good, not going to lie, but it’s just a little unsatisfying. It left me wanting to know more and I hate that feeling.
Would still recommend it, though.
Actual rating: 3.5 stars
It was like the ingredients for the perfect manga were laid out there, made into the most beautiful cake and when you finally finished it, you realized that something was missing. The cake is still delicious, but it’s just missing that one spectacular finishing touch.
It was good, not going to lie, but it’s just a little unsatisfying. It left me wanting to know more and I hate that feeling.
Would still recommend it, though.
Actual rating: 3.5 stars
November 5, 2024
Eh, it just didn't hit for me. I couldn't get super into the characters. But I do really like how this book emphasizes the way that working a customer service job really connects you with a lot of different people in your community, in a way that you get a brief glimpse into their lives. That really resonated with me.
I would have liked it if there was more comeuppance for Tachibana and the horrible things that he said at the beginning of the book.
I would have liked it if there was more comeuppance for Tachibana and the horrible things that he said at the beginning of the book.
October 12, 2019
I think I would have guessed this was by Yoshinaga even without her name on it -- beautiful boys (one of whom is gay), lavish descriptions of food (in this case pastries), sentiment always undercut by humour... there's nothing in this first volume that astonishes me, but it's a fun read and makes me want to go bake more, which is always pleasant.
January 8, 2024
Going into this series, I was, admittedly, expecting more of a focus on romance. I don't mind that it seems to be more so slice of life with workplace comedy elements, but this volume was hard to get into because of how disjointed the first few chapters were. It was hard to follow and pick out the main cast out of the sea of characters introduced.
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