Antique Bakery

Year: Summer 2008


Subbed


Episodes: 12


Cat.: Drama, Shounen-ai, Food


Summary:


Tachibana has recently quit his job at a high-class firm, and for unknown reasons, decides to open a bakery. His first employee is Ono, an extremely talented patissier who is also known as the 'Gay of demonic charm' - something that has caused him to lose his job countless times. Joining the crew also is Eiji - a retired champion boxer - who is hired on the spot as only a trainee purely because he is not Ono's 'type.' However, Chikage, the bumbling childhood friend and shadow of Tachibana, is exactly his type! Now, with the shop finally open, everyone seems to be filling their positions well; but one question remains: what were Tachibana's motives for opening the bakery, and does it have a link to his troubled and forgotten past?


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I actually watched the Korean movie version of this before I even knew about the anime. Kim Jae Wook from K-dramas Coffee Prince and Mary Stayed Out All Night, played Ono. There is also a Japanese and Chinese version of the anime.


There are quite a few things about Antique Bakery to consider: yes, it's a boys-love/shounen-ai series. The elements of this in the series are much more mature than I've seen in series of its respective genre and I would even go so far to say it's one of the best titles to look into for this genre. It blends slice of life with comedic and dramatic elements around a strong charismatic cast.


The story focal point falls upon Tachibana, who quits his job at a firm in order to open a bakery, and finds himself in a pinch to find appropriate staff to help him run the business accordingly.  His paissiter happens to be the same boy that confessed his love for Tachibana many years ago, which creates some awkward (and hilarious) moments between the two, in addition to a former boxer with a love for sweets and an overprotective, but clumsy bodyguard on staff.


The series does an excellent job with progressing in the first part of the series, emphasizing humor and allowing the viewer to grow with the characters, but about halfway through, one will note that the story turns noticably darker.  This transition is never awkward because it progresses at such a pace that it never feels like it hops from one plot point to the next or abandons.  It does an excellent job revealing Tachibana's backstory, and delving a bit into the quirks and demons of the characters to give them more dimension.


Now, I'll be honest, some might not care too much for some of the rationales given in some aspects of the series and it may come across about as tart as the cake it chooses to focus upon, but when you look at the broader scope of the series, it's more of the character interactions and environment that appeal to the viewer in its overall progression.


The ending for the series is quite strong in how it resolves the conflict and ties of where the characters progress in the end, while tying into an important theme that matches the title of the series opening theme: "Life goes on."  For that, I was satisfied on so many levels from beginning to end.


I give it a 3 out of 5. (I think I'm low scoring this because I watched the movie first and liked it more.)

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