Yakitate!! Japan ep.3

October 27, 2004 | 1 Comments

First of all, I'm really sorry for the lame sex jokes on the title tags. But I can't help it. This episode really calls for it. Besides, food-type films/series somehow always goes so well with sex. And those of you who have read the manga must already know that this series is full of sexual innuendo of various persuasions as well as some equal opportunity fanservices. So when it comes to food and sex, there's something for everyone here. Ohkay, that's enough 'sex' for one paragraph. I'm going to try to say something else now so I don't appear like a sex maniac. Hmm, the animation impresses me again this episode. Just look at Kawachi's reflection in the shot above. I think it's been a while since I see an anime that goes to that kind of detail with people's reflection. At the same time, the character's face seems kind of screwy at times. But that's probably has more to do with the silly looks each character has to exhibit in this series.

The episode itself begins with Azuma trying to find information about 'Kurowa-san' without much luck. That is until Tsukino comes over to him and tells him that 'Croissant' is a bread from France and offers to teach him how to make it. Before she manages to do so, however, Kawachi appears and takes Kazuma away with him. After the boys leave, Tsukino begins licking her own hands which previously touched Azuma's solar hand. And no people, she's not nymphomaniac. She's just.....sexually aroused when it comes to bread making. Just kidding. Meanwhile, Kawachi tries to persuade Azuma to work with him in the croissant making. Azuma at first refuses but after hearing Kawachi's 2 cents sad story about his past life, he got suckered and agrees to work with him. Upon looking at Kawachi's explanation on making Croissant, however, Azuma realises that the bread is similar to his Japan 43. Azuma thinks his Japan 43 is better because instead of the usual Croissant's 108 layers, Japan 43 has 324 layers!

The next day, Kuroyan is ready to judge the Croissant but it seems only Suwabara and Kawachi present. Kawachi also panics because he's stucked with a charcoal-looking....thing instead of a Croissant. Suwabara laughs at his attempt and decides to call it 'Kuro-wassan'. With the emphasis on 'Kuro' (black). To make things worse, Tsukino then appears with an old man who turns out to be her grandpa and the owner of Pantasia. Deciding that he doesn't have anything to lose, Kawachi decides to do what Azuma had previously asked him to do: hitting the burned croissant with a spoon. Upon doing so, he reveals a golden-looking croissant, which if Kuroyan's impression is to be believed, must be quite good since it can send you over the moon. Kawachi then becomes the winner of the contest. However, when Tsukino reveals the reason why Azuma left the competition, Kawachi grows a conscience and refuses the job. The episode ends with Tsukino telling her grandfather that she wants Azuma and Kawachi to work at her store.

Impression:

A good episode that fleshes out the characters and develops them further. This is especially true of Kawachi and Tsukino. Obviously Azuma will always be the type of character who is willing to help others so easily. Having said that, Kawachi's last minute conscience is a proof that he's not a total jerk who is willing to hurt others to achieve his goal, no matter how much he wants that goal. Similarly, Tsukino started out as a cypher whose motivation is not very clear at first. However, in this episode, we clearly see that she has all the intentions to scoop the best people for her store. In fact, I've always wondered if she intentionally allows Kawachi to fool Azuma with his story first and then tells Kawachi that Azuma has gone for his sake. This way, she ensures that she gets both Azuma and Kawachi for her store instead of having either of them going to the main store. And yes, she is quite capable of doing something like this. But it's a nice change to see a young female character who actually cares about her profession instead of obsessing about love.

© memento 2003