Yakitate!! Japan ep.14

January 22, 2005 | 10 Comments

Well, it looks like the Italian-American Spencer Henry Hokou has finally appeared in the series now. In fact, there'll be some more new characters coming up in the next couple of weeks. Some of them can be seen in the picture above. This is basically the result of the character popularity poll held in Shounen Sunday Magazine quite a while ago. This image is also included inside Vol.13 of the manga, albeit in black and white form. Seeing this image makes me wonder how much of the manga's stories will be incorporated into the anime. Especially now that I know the series will only have 47 episodes. I hope that at the very least the anime will reach the end of the 'Monaco cup' arc. I'm a bit worried though since there are a lot of stories to cover within that arc.

This episode itself begins with Ken telling Kawachi that her opponent, a seemingly weak-looking old woman, is actually the Queen of food preparation and the owner of 'Mother's hand' to boot. Even though Kawachi does not know what 'Mother's hand' actually meant, Ken's word never the less strikes a nerve in him. So much so that he begins to imagine him losing to the woman in a Mortal Kombat-like competition. A healthy fear for one's opponent can prove to be useful, however, since in reality Kawachi's fear forced him to do his best when the baking competition starts. In the end he manages to create a good Melon bread using crispy pie crusts which impresses Kuroyan. Kawachi is surprised to see how easily he wins the tournament and later on realises that the manager has lied to him about the whole 'Mother's hand' business.

Kawachi is angry about this because he ended up going all out on someone who he thinks is not that good of an opponent. Ken, however, tells Kawachi that he had to do that because Kawachi was getting cocky about his own ability. He thinks that Kawachi needs to do his best regardless of the opponent. Anyway, later on, Mizuno comes and start telling Tsukino that they should use the upcoming battle to determine who will become Pantasia's successor. She has even signed a contract to prove her sincerity. Much to everyone's surprise, Tsukino agrees to the condition and signs the contract. Tsukino, however, tells them that she doesn't care much about the position. She's happy to simply have the company of Azuma, Kawachi, the manager, and that small little corner store of hers. But what about poor, ignored Kinoshita? Nah! Who cares about him? :)

Not long after this, Kawachi notices a blonde-haired Gaijin talking to himself in a fluent Japanese. Kawachi's comment, however, is overheard by that said Gaijin who immediately recognises Kawachi's accent as Kansai-ben (Japanese accent used by people from Kansai region). So he then introduces himself as the Italian-American Spencer Henry....Hokou....(what a strange last name for an Italian-American), a Pantasia rep from Nagoya as well as Azuma's next opponent. Anyway, it's obvious that Shachihoko, the way Spencer's friend normally called him, does not get along with Kawachi and that Kawachi wants Azuma to beat the guy as well as Mizuno's Koala. Mizuno, however, knows that Spencer is a tough opponent to beat and that she actually once tried to recruit him for her store but he preferred to represent the Nagoya store.

Anyway, Kuroyan soon announce the next competition theme: Yakisoba (fried noodles) Pan. He wants the participants to use Pantasia's bread roll to make a good Yakisoba Bread. As an added incentives, the creator of the best Yakisoba bread will receive 100,000 Yen prize money. Kawachi is surprised about this sudden generousity from Pantasia so Ken tells him that Pantasia wants to expand their business into Schools and Konbini (convenient store) by creating some fast food items. This is why the competition has so far included some convenience breads such as Melon bread and Yakisoba Pan. Throughout all of this, however, Azuma is being quiet so Kawachi wonders why he's so depressed. It turns out Azuma never makes Yakisoba before. He's made the bread but the one who cooks the Yakisoba has always been his sister.

Because of this, the manager decides to take Azuma and Kawachi to Chinatown to meet an old buddy of his, Ryuuroumen-san. Heh, I'm wondering if that name supposed to be a pun as in 'Dragon Noodle person'. Ryuuroumen is apparently an expert assassin as well as...Noodle chef. The guy's Yakisoba is so good to the point that Kawachi starts doing one of those lame 美味い - Umai (Delicious) pun. This time, it's pronounced as 美麺ー (Umen). If the Kanjis are read together, they are actually meaningless. But if they are read separately, you get 美 - Beauty and 麺 - Noodles, rougly translated to "Delicious Noodles". Anyway, despite Ryuuroumen's coaching, Azuma seems to be really bad at cooking ramen. This worries Ryuuroumen and Ken especially after they realise that Spencer Henry is a well-known expert who created 'Kouchinmi' Yakisoba bread using Nagoya's special 'Koumi' sauce and the local 'Kouchin' chicken. Can Azuma beat this guy?

Impression:

This is a very enjoyable episode that shows the changing nature of Azuma and Kawachi's friendship. It's obvious by now that Kawachi finally considers Azuma as his friend instead of a tool to get himself to the main Pantasia store. Kawachi actually worries about Azuma when he sees his friend looking depressed in this episode. On top of it, the power dynamic has slightly been shifted as well. Maybe for the first time ever, there is something that Kawachi is better at than Azuma and that is cooking. It's funny to see Azuma looking a bit peeved and slightly competitive when he sees Kawachi doing a good job at cooking his Yakisoba. I guess the grass is always greener on the other side for each of them. But in general, it seems the series intends to show the strengthening of the friendships between all Southern Pantasia store employees.

It was rather annoying, however, to see Tsukino throwing her future away like that. It can be argued on the one hand that by signing the contract, she trusts Azuma's ability to win. But at the same time, her comment about how she will be happy as long as she has Azuma, Kawachi, and Ken as her friends as well as her little shop sounds a bit defeatist to me. Having said that, the comment shows that Tsukino is a kind character who really appreaciates what she has right now instead of chasing after something that is probably beyond her reach at the moment. At any rate, it's good to see someone like Ken as an adult presence within the three young bakers. I've always wanted to point out how as a 'teacher', Ken seems to do a better job at motivating his 'students' in comparison to my favourite one-eyed teacher from Naruto.

Thanks to Ken's guidance, his 'students' work well with each other instead of trying to kill the other. And as a result, the group's cohesiveness is far tighter and less fragile because each individual in the group seems to like being in the group instead of reluctantly get dragged along for the ride. Ken also never played favouritism amongst his 'students'. He gives equal amount of attention and advice to both Azuma and Kawachi. If there is one thing that annoyed me about Kakashi, it'll have to be shabby treatment towards Naruto during the Chuunin exam arc. I have to say I was appaled at his apparent favouritism to Sasuke. Ken also doesn't unconsciously use his student to 'correct' the mistake that he made in the past. He lets the students know of the facts and then simply tells then not to give up on their own dreams and hopes.

© memento 2003