Category: Anime
Posted by Eric Henrickson (The Detroit News) on Wed, Apr 13, 2011 at 7:30 AM'Antique Bakery' is a delightful confection
"Antique Bakery" (RightStuf/Nozomi) -- I've been eagerly awaiting this series since it was announced several months ago. A few friends read and enjoyed the manga, but I didn't have the funds at the time to invest in a new series.
But seeing has how one of my hobbies is baking/cake decorating, this series about four guys who run a high-end patisserie is right up my alley. And while I thought it started off much stronger than it ended, I was not disappointed after watching all 12 episodes (the complete series) over the course of a couple days.
It all starts with Tachibana, the son of a rich family who decides to leave a successful career in his family's firm to open the shop, which serves Western-style desserts on antique serving-ware. He recruits Ono, a great patissier who, unfortunately, reeks havoc on every shop he works for because every guy he finds even remotely attractive falls obsessively in love with him.
They're soon joined by Eiji, a young, champion boxer with a major sweet tooth who's changing careers after suffering detached retinas, and Chikage, Tachibana's clumsy childhood friend and self-appointed protector.
Though he'd repressed the memory, Ono once confessed his love to Tachibana but was cruelly rejected. Tachibana seems to be the only man immune to Ono's "Gay Demonic Charm" and genuinely regrets the things he said back in high school.
It's quite an awesome mix of personalities, and the show's characters are its greatest strength. They grow in affection for each other, and family-style comedy and drama arise from their relationships.
For the most part, the series finds smaller, delightful stories in the likes of Eiji's transition into an accomplished pastry chef himself, the hijinks of taking part in a department store pastry fair and a blast from Chikage's past.
It's when a subplot in which Tachibana's past as a childhood kidnapping victim is used as a way to foil a rash of current kidnappings that things get a bit bogged down. The final three episodes are mostly taken up by that storyline, which didn't even feel resolved satisfactorily.
The lingering personal affects of the kidnapping add an interesting layer to Tachibana's character, but the final moments just don't track with the rest of the series.
I was also a bit bummed that Ono and Chikage don't go anywhere with a potential relationship, but I understand that's accurate with the book. Oh, well.
It's still a highly enjoyable show. The animation is nice and fluid, and the backgrounds are an interesting hybrid of CGI and what looks to be live shots. As usual with Nozomi, there's no dub. But the voice acting still comes across well, with lots of emotion.
Like the store in the show, "Antique Bakery" is a series worth visiting and lingering a while. GRADE: B
For recipes, interviews and more, visit the show's web site.
