Antique Bakery
Encyclopedia
is a manga
by Fumi Yoshinaga
depicting the lives of four men who work in a small bakery
. It was published in Japan
by Shinshokan
and in English
by Digital Manga Publishing
. The series won the 2002 Kodansha Manga Award
for shōjo manga. The manga was adapted as a Japanese TV drama, with the title Antique or Antique Cake Store, that was broadcast on Fuji TV in 2001, a TV anime
, airing on July 3, 2008 on noitaminA
, and a Korean
live-action movie.
In the Antique Bakery doujinshi by the author, it was revealed that Keisuke has had multiple girlfriends during the course of Antique Bakery.
In the Antique Bakery doujinshi by the author, Ono begins an intimate relationship with Chikage however is still ultimately in love with Tachibana.
In the Antique Bakery doujinshi by the author, Kanda and his French teacher Constance appear to be dating.
In the Antique Bakery doujinshi by the author, Chikage and Ono begin an intimate relationship.
doujinshi of Antique Bakery, showing both "slash
" stories involving characters shown to be straight in the manga series, but also showing stories which were only alluded to in the manga. Yoshinaga feels that these stories are too explicit for the shoujo manga demographic, and Akiko Mizoguchi points out that they are in the boys love genre and it would be "unheard of" for these stories to be published by another publisher, despite their popularity in the doujinshi world. The existence of these stories has never been announced in Wings or in the books collecting Antique Bakery. There were seven doujinshi as of August 2003.
/homosexual aspect of the original manga is significantly reduced to almost nothing. There is the notable addition of Itsuki Momoko, a female sports journalist who appears in the first episode of the series.
Differences between manga and TV series
- The character of Momoko never appears as she does in the manga like she does in the series. Momoko, in effect, provides a sort of cushion for Ono's heterosexual development.
- Instead of being openly gay, Ono is a straight man who merely has trouble dealing with women because he was burned by a bad relationship in the past.
- In the manga, Ono and Chikage developed a relationship (and indeed, shared a near-kiss or two) that came close to, but was never consummated. In the series, the dynamic between Ono and Chikage is reduced to one scene where Ono gives Chikage The Look of Supposed Seduction.
- During a particularly funny scene, Eiji tries to teach the Awkward Kid how to kiss by using Ono as the model of the "girl"-- the camera angle turns away to Tachibana's horrified expression as he walks in on the three of them, and the audience never really knows for sure whether or not Eiji and Ono have kissed.
, was released on November 13, 2008, and drew more than 1 million moviegoers within its first two weeks of release, making it one of the most successful Korean movies ever made.
Directed by Min Gyu Dong, the movie stars (amongst others) Joo Ji Hoon (Goong/Princess Hours and The Devil) as the owner Jin Hyuk and Kim Jae Wook (Coffee Prince) as the genius patissier Son Woo. The film was exhibited at the Berlin International Film Festival in February 2009. The action in the film has been transposed to Korea and the characters given Korean names; otherwise, the script follows the main plot threads of the manga closely.
, it features opening and ending themes by popular band Chemistry
. A subtitled US release by Nozomi Entertainment has been announced for April 2011.
Staff
Sources:
Janet Houck, writing for Mania Entertainment, felt that the story of the first volume was choppy, using many flashbacks, and that the volume should have been given a higher rating due to its depiction of Ono's backstory. David Welsh enjoyed the character-driven story, especially the Christmas story, which was rooted in a business perspective. Jessica Brooks of Anime Jump enjoyed that although food-themed manga is usually about food preparation, instead Antique Bakery is about customer satisfaction. She also noted that Ono's homosexuality was essentially "played for laughs", although she did not feel this was a negative. Tom Rosin, for MangaLife, felt that the first volume was "about cakes more than anything else", and that he felt hungry after reading Tachibana's sales pitches. Katherine Dacey, writing for Pop Culture Shock, felt that the main theme of the series was a "slice of life friendship story". Johanna Carlson noted that the series is faux-yaoi
. Robin Brenner, writing for TeenReads, noted that the series' plot is not "the point" about this manga - the funny character interactions and elegant character artwork are.
The series won the 2002 Kodansha Manga Award
for shōjo manga. The English edition of Antique Bakery was nominated for an Eisner Award
in 2007, in the category "Best U.S. Edition of International Material - Japan".
Manga
Manga is the Japanese word for "comics" and consists of comics and print cartoons . In the West, the term "manga" has been appropriated to refer specifically to comics created in Japan, or by Japanese authors, in the Japanese language and conforming to the style developed in Japan in the late 19th...
by Fumi Yoshinaga
Fumi Yoshinaga
is a Japanese manga artist known for her shōjo and shōnen-ai works.-Personal:Fumi Yoshinaga was born in Tokyo, Japan in 1971. She attended the prestigious Keio University in Tokyo....
depicting the lives of four men who work in a small bakery
Konditorei
Konditorei is the German word for a pâtisserie and confectionery shop. A Konditorei typically offers a wide variety of pastries and is like a little café. In Germany and Austria it is a very popular custom to go to a Konditorei to have a cake and some coffee or hot chocolate mid-afternoon...
. It was published in Japan
Japan
Japan is an island nation in East Asia. Located in the Pacific Ocean, it lies to the east of the Sea of Japan, China, North Korea, South Korea and Russia, stretching from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north to the East China Sea and Taiwan in the south...
by Shinshokan
Shinshokan
is a Japanese publishing company. It was established on June 14, 1961. In April 2009, the US publisher Digital Manga Publishing announced a co-branding operation with Shinshokan, to license yaoi and shōjo manga from Shinshokan's Wings, Dear and Dear+ anthologies under the DokiDoki imprint .-Manga...
and in English
English language
English is a West Germanic language that arose in the Anglo-Saxon kingdoms of England and spread into what was to become south-east Scotland under the influence of the Anglian medieval kingdom of Northumbria...
by Digital Manga Publishing
Digital Manga Publishing
Digital Manga is a company that licenses and releases, in English, Japanese anime, manga, and related merchandise. The company has several subdivisions: Digital Manga Publishing, which publishes Japanese manga, novels and instructional and illustration books in North America with multiple imprints,...
. The series won the 2002 Kodansha Manga Award
Kodansha Manga Award
is an annual award for serialized manga published in the previous year, sponsored by the publisher Kodansha. It is currently awarded in four categories: children's, shōnen, shōjo, and general. The awards began in 1977, initially with categories for shōnen and shōjo. The first award for the...
for shōjo manga. The manga was adapted as a Japanese TV drama, with the title Antique or Antique Cake Store, that was broadcast on Fuji TV in 2001, a TV anime
Anime
is the Japanese abbreviated pronunciation of "animation". The definition sometimes changes depending on the context. In English-speaking countries, the term most commonly refers to Japanese animated cartoons....
, airing on July 3, 2008 on noitaminA
Noitamina
– "Animation" written backwards – is a Fuji Television programming block, devoted to anime, originally broadcast each Thursday night from 24:45 to 25:15 . It was launched with the intention of expanding the target audience beyond the typical young male demographic...
, and a Korean
South Korea
The Republic of Korea , , is a sovereign state in East Asia, located on the southern portion of the Korean Peninsula. It is neighbored by the People's Republic of China to the west, Japan to the east, North Korea to the north, and the East China Sea and Republic of China to the south...
live-action movie.
Main characters
- Voiced by: Kōichi YamaderaKoichi Yamaderais a Japanese voice actor, actor, tarento, narrator, master of ceremonies and impressionist from Shiogama, Miyagi Prefecture. He graduated from Tohoku Gakuin University's economics school, and is currently affiliated with Across Entertainment. Before that, he was affiliated with the Tokyo Actor's...
(drama CD), Keiji FujiwaraKeiji Fujiwarais a Japanese voice actor from the Tokyo Metropolitan area who is affiliated with Air Agengy.His best known projects include Crayon Shin-chan as Hiroshi Nohara, Eureka Seven as Holland, Fullmetal Alchemist as Lieutenant-Colonel Hughes, Zoids: Chaotic Century as Irvine, Final Fantasy VII Advent...
(anime), Asami SanadaAsami Sanadais a Japanese voice actress, best known as the voices of Vita in the Magical Girl Lyrical Nanoha series, Jun Sakurada in Rozen Maiden, and her debut role as Dejiko in Di Gi Charat.-Notable voice roles:Lead roles are in bold....
(anime, young) - The owner of the Antique Bakery, as well as a waiterWaiterWaiting staff, wait staff, or waitstaff are those who work at a restaurant or a bar attending customers — supplying them with food and drink as requested. Traditionally, a male waiting tables is called a "waiter" and a female a "waitress" with the gender-neutral version being a "server"...
. He was childhood friends with Chikage, the son of his family's live-in housekeeper. He was also Ono's classmate in school and harshly rejected Ono's love confession. He seems to be the only man whom Ono finds attractive, but who is not attracted to Ono in return. Tachibana comes from a rich family. He was kidnapped when he was a child. The one thing he remembers about his abductor is that he loved cake and fed him the cakes he bought every single day. Although Tachibana was rescued, his abductor was never found. After this ordeal, his family became overly protective of him. He feels obliged to play the "good boy" for his relatives because he does not want them to worry about him. As a result of his experiences, he often suffers from nightmares and has no taste for sweets. He is also fluent in French.
In the Antique Bakery doujinshi by the author, it was revealed that Keisuke has had multiple girlfriends during the course of Antique Bakery.
- Voiced by: Hozumi Gōda (drama CD), Shinichirō MikiShinichiro Mikiis a Japanese voice actor. He is a member of 81 Produce.Miki is most known for the roles of Kojiro , Takumi Fujiwara , Kisuke Urahara , Akira Yuki , Lockon Stratos , and Roy Mustang .According to the Anime News Network, as of Spring 2007, Miki is...
(anime) - The pâtissierPastry chefA pastry chef or pâtissier is a station chef in a professional kitchen, skilled in the making of pastries, desserts, breads and other baked goods...
, a renowned chef who has been fired from many bakeries because of his "Demonic Charm": whenever he is attracted to a man, that man — whether gay or straight — suddenly becomes irresistibly attracted to him in return. His coworkers will inevitably fight over him, and Ono will wind up fired again. This stemmed from when he was in high school, when Tachibana turned him down. He went into a gay bar, and suddenly he became a very popular lover. He has said his type is older men. He is also scared of women, and is fluent in French as well.
In the Antique Bakery doujinshi by the author, Ono begins an intimate relationship with Chikage however is still ultimately in love with Tachibana.
- Voiced by: Tomokazu SekiTomokazu Sekiis a Japanese voice actor. He formerly worked for Haikyou and is now the head of Atomic Monkey.-About:Some of his most notable roles include Shinichi Chiaki from Nodame Cantabile, Gilgamesh from Fate/stay night, Rob Lucci from One Piece, Gundam characters Domon Kasshu and Yzak Joule, from G Gundam...
(drama CD), Mamoru MiyanoMamoru Miyanois a Japanese voice actor, actor, and singer from Saitama. He is best known for his roles on Ouran High School Host Club, Death Note, Mobile Suit Gundam 00, and Kōtetsu Sangokushi. At the 2007 Seiyu Awards he was nominated for two awards for his role as Light Yagami in Death Note, and in 2008, he...
(anime) - Eiji is Ono's apprentice, as well as other help in the kitchenKitchenA kitchen is a room or part of a room used for cooking and food preparation.In the West, a modern residential kitchen is typically equipped with a stove, a sink with hot and cold running water, a refrigerator and kitchen cabinets arranged according to a modular design. Many households have a...
. He is a former street punk who was picked up off the street and reformed by a boxingBoxingBoxing, also called pugilism, is a combat sport in which two people fight each other using their fists. Boxing is supervised by a referee over a series of between one to three minute intervals called rounds...
coach. He trained to be a boxer, and was a top fighter. However, due to his detached retinas, he had to give up boxing. He saw a "Help Wanted" ad in the bakery's window, and decided to join. He has a huge sweet toothSweet toothSweet Tooth may refer to:* Sweet Tooth , a character in the Twisted Metal video game series* Sweet Tooth , a strip in the British comic Whizzer and Chips, and later Buster...
. He holds Ono in very high regard, calling him his "Master", due to his skill in making sweets. Over time they have developed more of a father-son relationship than that of a master and apprentice.
In the Antique Bakery doujinshi by the author, Kanda and his French teacher Constance appear to be dating.
- Voiced by: Kazuhiko InoueKazuhiko Inoueis a veteran voice actor from Yokohama, Kanagawa, Japan.-Biography:Since his debut in 1973, Kazuhiko Inoue has become one of Japan's most well established voice actors. His early roles from the 1970s include Anthony in Candy Candy, and later as Joe in the 1979 remake of Cyborg 009...
(drama CD), Eiji Hanawa (anime) - Chikage is Tachibana's childhood friend. His family works at the Tachibana house. He was sent by the Tachibana family to watch out for his friend. Chikage is trained to become a waiter by Tachibana. However, he is very klutzy and has a hard time. He wears sunglassesSunglassesSunglasses or sun glasses are a form of protective eyewear designed primarily to prevent bright sunlight and high-energy visible light from damaging or discomforting the eyes. They can sometimes also function as a visual aid, as variously termed spectacles or glasses exist, featuring lenses that...
all of the time, as his eyes are weak. He has a crush on Ono, though he thinks Ono doesn't feel the same way (on the contrary, Ono is in love with Chikage). He is very shy and polite. He calls Tachibana "Young Master" after the game "Ōoka Echizen (大岡越前)Ooka Tadasukewas a Japanese samurai in the service of the Tokugawa shogunate. During the reign of Tokugawa Yoshimune, as a magistrate of Edo, his roles included chief of police, judge and jury, and Yamada Magistrate prior to his tenure as South Magistrate of Edo...
". Chikage is also two years older than Tachibana and has a daughter.
In the Antique Bakery doujinshi by the author, Chikage and Ono begin an intimate relationship.
Minor characters
, affectionally called "Deko" or "Dei-Dei", Chikage's daughter, is a sweet, beautiful, if not so bright young girl, although she is often mistaken for a teenager because of her "mature" looks (she is really about ten years old). and , two regular customers at the Antique. and (nicknamed "Tammy") are two voluptuous female news announcers who are used on the news simply to display their bodies. They long to be seen as real reporters rather than a peep show; they reported a story about the Antique Bakery. is a cold, boring, and, frankly, somewhat scary ex-cop who works for the police, was obsessed with trying to find Tachibana's abductor, and who is now a pastry connoisseur, sampling cakes from bakeries all over Japan. He is married with a son.- Voiced by: Norio WakamotoNorio Wakamotois a veteran male seiyū and budō expert affiliated with Sigma Seven. He was born in Shimonoseki, Yamaguchi Prefecture, and was raised in Sakai, Osaka Prefecture. He graduated from Waseda University...
(anime), is an award winning author who persuaded Chikage to help her conceive Kaedeko.- Jean-Baptiste is a famous pâtissier and Ono's former mentor and ex-lover, who attempts to persuade Ono to return to France to work in his new restaurant.
Manga
Yoshinaga's spinoff doujinshi
Fumi Yoshinaga has published spinoffSpin-off (media)
In media, a spin-off is a radio program, television program, video game, or any narrative work, derived from one or more already existing works, that focuses, in particular, in more detail on one aspect of that original work...
doujinshi of Antique Bakery, showing both "slash
Slash fiction
Slash fiction is a genre of fan fiction that focuses on the depiction of romantic or sexual relationships between fictional characters of the same sex...
" stories involving characters shown to be straight in the manga series, but also showing stories which were only alluded to in the manga. Yoshinaga feels that these stories are too explicit for the shoujo manga demographic, and Akiko Mizoguchi points out that they are in the boys love genre and it would be "unheard of" for these stories to be published by another publisher, despite their popularity in the doujinshi world. The existence of these stories has never been announced in Wings or in the books collecting Antique Bakery. There were seven doujinshi as of August 2003.
Live-action TV drama
The television series differs perceptibly from the story of the manga. While the four main male characters remain the same in many of their relationship dynamics, the BLYaoi
In careful Japanese enunciation, all three vowels are pronounced separately, for a three-mora word, . The English equivalent is . also known as Boys' Love, is a Japanese popular term for female-oriented fictional media that focus on homoerotic or homoromantic male relationships, usually created by...
/homosexual aspect of the original manga is significantly reduced to almost nothing. There is the notable addition of Itsuki Momoko, a female sports journalist who appears in the first episode of the series.
Differences between manga and TV series
- The character of Momoko never appears as she does in the manga like she does in the series. Momoko, in effect, provides a sort of cushion for Ono's heterosexual development.
- Instead of being openly gay, Ono is a straight man who merely has trouble dealing with women because he was burned by a bad relationship in the past.
- In the manga, Ono and Chikage developed a relationship (and indeed, shared a near-kiss or two) that came close to, but was never consummated. In the series, the dynamic between Ono and Chikage is reduced to one scene where Ono gives Chikage The Look of Supposed Seduction.
- During a particularly funny scene, Eiji tries to teach the Awkward Kid how to kiss by using Ono as the model of the "girl"-- the camera angle turns away to Tachibana's horrified expression as he walks in on the three of them, and the audience never really knows for sure whether or not Eiji and Ono have kissed.
Korean live-action movie
The Korean adaptation, Antique, was released on November 13, 2008, and drew more than 1 million moviegoers within its first two weeks of release, making it one of the most successful Korean movies ever made.
Directed by Min Gyu Dong, the movie stars (amongst others) Joo Ji Hoon (Goong/Princess Hours and The Devil) as the owner Jin Hyuk and Kim Jae Wook (Coffee Prince) as the genius patissier Son Woo. The film was exhibited at the Berlin International Film Festival in February 2009. The action in the film has been transposed to Korea and the characters given Korean names; otherwise, the script follows the main plot threads of the manga closely.
Cast
- Joo Ji HoonJoo Ji HoonJoo Ji Hoon is a popular model and actor from South Korea. He is well known for portraying Crown Prince Lee Shin in Princess Hours , which was his acting debut....
as Kim Jin Hyeok (Tachibana) - Kim Jae WookKim Jae WookKim Jae Wook is a model and actor from South Korea.-Biography:Kim Jae Wook was born in Seoul, South Korea, but his family went to Japan later on. Kim Jae Wook grew up in Japan until he was 7 years old, then returned to Korea...
as Min Seon Woo (Ono) - Yoo Ah InYoo Ah InYoo Ah-in is a South Korean actor. He has appeared in a number of movies and dramas, such as Antique, Chil-woo the Mighty and He Who Can't Marry...
as Yang Ki Beom (Eiji) - Choi Ji Ho as Nam Soo Yeong (Chikage)
- Andy GilletAndy GilletAndy Gillet is a French fashion model and actor.Gillet grew up in Megève in Haute Savoie, the son of a policeman and a secretary, he has a younger brother....
as Jean-Baptise Evan
Anime
Animated by Nippon AnimationNippon Animation
is a Japanese animation studio. The company is headquartered in Tokyo, with chief offices in the Ginza district of Chūō and production facilities in Tama City....
, it features opening and ending themes by popular band Chemistry
Chemistry (band)
is a Japanese Pop/R&B duo, composed of and . They were the winners of the Asayan audition in 2000 organized by Sony Music Entertainment Japan....
. A subtitled US release by Nozomi Entertainment has been announced for April 2011.
Staff
- Original concept: Fumi Yoshinaga
- Director: Yoshiaki Okumura
- Scripting: Natsuko Takahashi
- Character design: Akio Uchino
- Art director: Tatsuo Shimamura (Shirogumi)
- Sound director: Hiroyuki Hayase
- Sweets Producer: Toshihiko Yoroido
- Animation production: Nippon AnimationNippon Animationis a Japanese animation studio. The company is headquartered in Tokyo, with chief offices in the Ginza district of Chūō and production facilities in Tama City....
, Shirogumi - Animation production assistance: Synergy SP
- Production: Seiyō Kottō Yōgashiten Production Committee
Sources:
Reception
Comic Book Bin's Avi Weinrib enjoyed DMP's scratch-and-sniff covers. Al Kratina found Antique Bakery "fluffy, light, and disposable". Chris the 4th Pip thought the characters showed "surprising depth".Janet Houck, writing for Mania Entertainment, felt that the story of the first volume was choppy, using many flashbacks, and that the volume should have been given a higher rating due to its depiction of Ono's backstory. David Welsh enjoyed the character-driven story, especially the Christmas story, which was rooted in a business perspective. Jessica Brooks of Anime Jump enjoyed that although food-themed manga is usually about food preparation, instead Antique Bakery is about customer satisfaction. She also noted that Ono's homosexuality was essentially "played for laughs", although she did not feel this was a negative. Tom Rosin, for MangaLife, felt that the first volume was "about cakes more than anything else", and that he felt hungry after reading Tachibana's sales pitches. Katherine Dacey, writing for Pop Culture Shock, felt that the main theme of the series was a "slice of life friendship story". Johanna Carlson noted that the series is faux-yaoi
Yaoi
In careful Japanese enunciation, all three vowels are pronounced separately, for a three-mora word, . The English equivalent is . also known as Boys' Love, is a Japanese popular term for female-oriented fictional media that focus on homoerotic or homoromantic male relationships, usually created by...
. Robin Brenner, writing for TeenReads, noted that the series' plot is not "the point" about this manga - the funny character interactions and elegant character artwork are.
The series won the 2002 Kodansha Manga Award
Kodansha Manga Award
is an annual award for serialized manga published in the previous year, sponsored by the publisher Kodansha. It is currently awarded in four categories: children's, shōnen, shōjo, and general. The awards began in 1977, initially with categories for shōnen and shōjo. The first award for the...
for shōjo manga. The English edition of Antique Bakery was nominated for an Eisner Award
Eisner Award
The Will Eisner Comic Industry Awards, commonly shortened to the Eisner Awards, and sometimes referred to as the Oscar Awards of the Comics Industry, are prizes given for creative achievement in American comic books. The Eisner Awards were first conferred in 1988, created in response to the...
in 2007, in the category "Best U.S. Edition of International Material - Japan".
External links
- Official Anime Website
- Official Korean Movie Website
- Antique TV Drama Official site from Fuji TV. (Korean film) (Japanese mini-series)