Antique Bakery

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Antique Bakery
西洋 骨董 洋菓子店
(Seiyō Kotto Yōgashiten)
Genre Comedy, shōnen-ai
Manga
Author Fumi Yoshinaga
Publisher Flag of Japan Shinshokan
Flag of the United States Digital Manga Publishing
Demographic shōjo
Serialized in Wings
Original run 1999 – 2002
Volumes 4[1]
TV drama: Antique[2]
Director Motohiro Katsuyuki
Hanejuu Eiichiro
Network Flag of Japan Fuji TV
Original run October 8, 2001 – December 17, 2001
Time slot Monday, 21:00
Episodes 11

Antique Bakery (西洋 骨董 洋菓子店 Seiyō Kotto Yōgashiten?, "Western Antique Cake-Shop") 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[3] 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.

Contents

[edit] Characters

[edit] Main characters

Keisuke (or Keiichirō) Tachibana (橘 圭一郎 Tachibana Keiichirō?)
The owner of the Antique Bakery, as well as a waiter. 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. Ironically, Tachibana has no taste for sweets.
Yusuke Ono (小野 裕介 Ono Yūsuke?)
The pâtissier, a renowned chef who has been fired from many bakeries because of he is a gay of "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.
Eiji Kanda (神田 えいじ Kanda Eiji?)
Eiji is Ono's apprentice, as well as other help in the kitchen. He is a former street punk who was picked up off the street and reformed by a boxing 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 tooth.
Chikage Kobayakawa (小早川 千影 Kobayakawa Chikage?)
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 not that good. He wears sunglasses 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 smitten with Chikage). He is very shy and polite. He calls Tachibana "My Lord" after the game "Ōoka Echizen (大岡越前)".

[edit] Minor characters

  • Kaedeko (楓子?), 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).
  • Ms. Ito (伊東 Itō?) and Mrs. Urushihara (漆原?), two regular customers at the Antique, are sometimes thought of as lesbians.
  • Haruka Nakatsu (中津 はるか Nakatsu Haruka?) and Tamiko Kagami (各務 民子 Kagami Tamiko?) (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.
  • Tadahiro Akutagawa (芥川 忠宏 Akutagawa Tadahiro?) is a cold, boring, and, frankly, somewhat scary reporter 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.
  • Finally, there's Sakurako Sakaki (桜子 Sakurako?), an award winning author who persuaded Chikage to help her conceive Kaedeko.

[edit] Adaptations

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 BL/homosexual aspect of the original manga is significantly reduced to almost nothing.[citation needed] There is the notable addition of Itsuki Momoko, a female sports journalist who appears in the first episode of the series.

[edit] Differences Between the Manga and the 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 woman 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.

- In the manga, Ono and Tachibana were classmates from high school who, while they were working at Antique, realized that they knew each other from long ago. They are strangers in the series, with no past connection.

[edit] New Korean Movie Version

Directed by Min Gyu Dong, the moview will star (amongst others) Joo Ji Hoon (Goong/Princess Hours and The Devil) as the owner Jin Hyuk and Kim Jae Wok (Coffee Prince) as the genius patissier Son Woo.

The movie is due for release in the first half of 2008

[edit] Anime Adaptation

In an update from the Anime News Network, Fuji TV has announced that the series will be adapted into a twelve-episode anime for their popular late-night timeslot Noitamina. It is slated to air in July of 2008.

[edit] References

  1. ^ Antique Bakery (manga) at Anime News Network's Encyclopedia. Accessed 2007-02-20.
  2. ^ Antique on the Dramawiki. Accessed 2007-06-29
  3. ^ Joel Hahn. Kodansha Manga Awards. Comic Book Awards Almanac. Retrieved on 2007-08-21.

[edit] External links

Languages