Yakitate!! Japan

For those of you who think anime is just about giant reptiles raping schoolgirls, think again. There is a totally different side to the Japanese animation. Yakitate! Japan is one of those shows. It is a sweet-natured tale of a young boy with the gift to make delicious bread. His universe is all about creating a Japanese bread that can match with the famous European breads. The show is as wacky as they come and I'm sure that non-Japanese viewers will miss a lot of the jokes. But it is still very nice to watch because of the complete innocent vibe of the show.

In the world of Yakitate! it is not uncommon for people to look like they've just had an orgasm after eating bread. The bread is hallucinating and can give the consumer a wide array of super powers, from time-traveling to swimming like a fish. That weird aspect makes it into one of the least predictable and funny shows I've watched in a while.

Yakitate! Ja-pan (translated as Fresh Baked! Japanese Bread) is the story of a young man named Azuma Kazuma and his journey to make the perfect Japanese Bread or Ja-pan, for Japan, and for the Japanese, that will be recognized the the whole world.

Of course, that's just on the outside. In reality, Yakitate! Ja-pan isn't really about the bread, but the reaction that come after eating the bread, and the pun that comes with the reaction. The series is lovable because of these puns. From popular anime titles like Naruto, Detective Conan, and Dragon Ball to blockbuster movies like The Matrix and Lord of the Rings. It's all there.

So what makes this title different from other titles of the same genre like Cooking Master Boy or Mr. Ajikko? Well, unlike the others who use cooking for world domination, Yakitate! Ja-pan is purely comedy. Sure, there are times that the story turns to drama, or even murder, but the comedic atmosphere makes you laugh at them. You'll be laughing at their own view of heaven. Just watch it.

Just remember that this is also fiction, although some of the bread made here are based on real bread, eating the home made Japan #2 won't turn you to a Super Saiyan or turn your body to rubber.

"Yakitate!! Japan" is an incredibly weird show and one of the most enjoyable anime shows I've ever seen. This is because the subject matter is very dull but the writers inject so much silliness and insanity into it that you cannot help but laugh. This is because they take ordinary things and tell them in the most over-the-top manner you could imagine.

The story is about a young man who isn't very bright but has almost magical hands...called 'hands of the sun'. They are much warmer than usual and when he bakes bread these magical hands help him to make truly amazing bread. How amazing? Well, at times when folks try it, they reach magical heights and hallucinations....and are often left crying, reaching some sort of orgasm or experiencing a near-death situation! It's really ridiculous but is also a way of poking fun at the MANY super-serious fighting animes. In this case, the big fights are cooking competitions and they seem more serious than anything you'll see in "Dragonball", "Yu-Yu Hakusho" or "Naruto"!! Additionally, many of the characters are just nuts...such as a rival who looks like a very buff Satan, a boss with an amazing afro and the actual writer of the anime who is portrayed as a blob who is brought to competitions in a bulldozer! Too weird but also incredibly funny from start to finish. Not to be missed.

The premise of this anime series is about bread, of all things to base a plot on! I truly laughed. The main character has a special bread making power that he was born with, and he goes off to bread baking school. I wish it were available on DVD, and it doesn't matter if it's subtitled or dubbed - it's that good. Even the theme song alone is funny. At one point in the theme song, there's an African-Japanese man with an afro on horseback, wielding a French baguette as if it were a samurai sword. These images will not make sense unless you see the anime. You'll laugh until your sides hurt. It is definitely the most unique anime I have seen thus far.

"Yakitate Japan" literally means 'Fresh Japan,' the first of numerous puns viewers will find hilarious in the series. While France, Germany, Italy, the U.S. and every other industrialized country in the world have 'national' breads, Japan, a country whose history has been largely dependent on rice for the population's starch needs, does not. The Anime's characters are interested in creating this national bread, one that captures the culture/spirit/essence of Japan. 'Pan' being the word for bread, we are to smile that 'Ja-Pan,' or more to the point 'Japan' is Japanese bread. The story tells us of Azuma Kazuma, a young baker from rural (modern day) Japan who moves to Tokyo to pursue his career. There he meets up with other young bakers and together they pursue what can really only be termed as 'Adventures in Baking.' It sounds ridiculous, and maybe it is, but if your interested in a unique spin on the workplace comedy, or if you're an Anime lover, you'll find this show wonderfully diverse in what it's able to do with animation usually reserved for giant robots, the Meiji-era, or general sci-fi (futuristic or steam punk). The characters are full of passion and wit, the plots are thoughtful and pop-culturally relevant. What's more is that in the renditions I've seen, the stenographers take extra care to ensure that not a single joke is lost on the English peaking world with superb subtitles and cogent super titles when necessary.

The show it seems, is designed to be a delightful diversion from our every day as well as that of Anime's general fare. The bottom line is that if you take some time to check out Yakitate Japan, you'll find it innocently sensual, and comically very tasty.