Title:
Antique Bakery (US)
Seiyou Kottou Yougashiten (Japan)
Creator:
Author and Artist: Fumi Yoshinaga
Publishers:
- Digital Manga Publishing (US)
- Shinshokan Co. Ltd. (Japan)
Volumes:
4 volumes
Manga Genres:
- Yaoi Manga
- Romance
- Comedy
- Cooking Manga
Content Rating:
OT - Older Teens, Age 16+ for a few scenes of gay casual sex and some mature themes
More about content ratings
About the Manga:
Originally serialized from 1999 through 2002 in Wings magazine, Antique Bakery (Seiyou Kottou Yougashiten) is one of the most popular titles by yaoi manga artist Fumi Yoshinaga.
It was adapted as a TV drama series by Fuji TV (Japan) in 2001. Antique Bakery has also earned industry accolades in Japan and the U.S., including the Kodansha Manga Award in the shojo category in 2002 and 2007 Eisner Award nomination for "Best U.S. Edition of International Material - Japan."
About the Author / Artist:
Born in 1971 in Tokyo, Japan, Fumi Yoshinaga made her manga debut in 1994 with Moon and Sandals (Tsuki to Sandaru). She is best known for her shojo and yaoi manga works, including Antique Bakery and Don't Say Anymore Darling. She also draws and publishes doujinshi (fan-drawn tribute comics) of popular manga titles by other artists, including Takehiko Inoue's Slam Dunk and Riyoko Ikeda's Rose of Versailles.
Story Summary:
Three very different men, two straight, one gay team up to run a bakery and café specializing in gourmet French pastries. Tachibana, the owner/manager opened the Antique Bakery with financial assistance from his wealthy family, despite the fact that he doesn't have much of a sweet tooth.
Yusuke is a talented pastry chef armed with a seductive charm that ensnares gay and straight men alike. Eiji is a young boxer whose forced retirement from the ring brings him to a new career as an apprentice pastry chef.
Against a backdrop of these three men flirting, bantering, bickering, and most of all, talking about the finer points of French pastries, humorous and dramatic events unfold in the café. The bakery's customers, wealthy and working class, male and female, young and old work out their relationships and romances over a piece of cake and a cup of tea.
Main Characters
Keisuke TachibanaGruff and a little crabby, Tachibana left his corporate job to open a bakery / café. With his business bankrolled by his wealthy family, Tachibana wants nothing but the best served at the Antique Bakery, despite the fact that his limited palate leads him to write off all pastries as just "tasting like sugar." Tachibana is bit of a know-it-all who likes to think he's got it all figured out, even though his take on any given situation is usually incorrect.
Yusuke Ono
Yusuke is a mild-mannered master pastry chef who just happens to also be, as he describes himself, "a gay of demonic charm." Yusuke's sex appeal is so irresistible, his mere presence instigates passion in gay and straight men, which inevitably leads to him losing his job. Keisuke and Yusuke were high school classmates with a special connection: Yusuke once confessed his love to Keisuke, who pretty much told him off. The result? Keisuke is one of the only men in the world who is immune to Yusuke's charms.
Eiji Kanda
Eiji was once an up-and-coming boxer, until an injury forced him into early retirement. With few employment prospects left, twenty-something Eiji stumbles upon a "help wanted" sign at the Antique Bakery. After sampling Yusuke's pastries, Eiji is overwhelmed with sugar rush rapture and begs to become an apprentice pastry chef at the bakery. Unlike Keisuke, Eiji has a serious sweet tooth, and he's prone to enthusiastic and detailed raves about the flavors and baking techniques of every pastry he samples.