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Antique Bakery #3
Antique Bakery, Volume 3
In Volume 3 of the award-winning manga, Ono's mentor Jan, an ingenious French patisier, enters the story. Two women reporters -- a.k.a. "busty female announcer unit Haruka & Tammy" -- also enter the scene, and while manager Tachibana is interested in them, they're only interested in Ono's cakes. Continuing what makes Antique Bakery great, each new character has his own lumbering way of searching for happiness, and we dig deeper into the closets of the series' most popular characters.
208 pages, Paperback
First published December 25, 2001
About the author
Fumi Yoshinaga
132 books234 followersJapanese: よしなが ふみ
Fumi Yoshinaga (よしなが ふみ Yoshinaga Fumi, born 1971) is a Japanese manga artist known for her shōjo and shōnen-ai works.
Fumi Yoshinaga was born in Tokyo, Japan in 1971. She attended the prestigious Keio University in Tokyo.
In an interview, she said that "I want to show the people who didn't win, whose dreams didn't come true. It is not possible for everybody to get first prize. I want my readers to understand the happiness that people can get from trying hard, going through the process, and getting frustrated."
Little is known about her personal life. She mentions that her favourite operas are those by Mozart in the author's note of Solfege.
She debuted in 1994 with The Moon and the Sandals, serialized in Hanaoto magazine, but was previously a participant in comic markets.
Of Yoshinaga's many works, several have been licensed internationally. She was also selected and exhibited as one of the "Twenty Major Manga artist Who Contributed to the World of Shōjo Manga (World War II to Present)" for Professor Masami Toku's exhibition, "Shōjo Manga: Girl Power!" at CSU-Chico.
Outside of her work with Japanese publishers, she also self-publishes original doujinshi on a regular basis, most notably for Antique Bakery. Yoshinaga has also drawn fan parodies of Slam Dunk, Rose of Versailles, and Legend of Galactic Heroes.
Fumi Yoshinaga (よしなが ふみ Yoshinaga Fumi, born 1971) is a Japanese manga artist known for her shōjo and shōnen-ai works.
Fumi Yoshinaga was born in Tokyo, Japan in 1971. She attended the prestigious Keio University in Tokyo.
In an interview, she said that "I want to show the people who didn't win, whose dreams didn't come true. It is not possible for everybody to get first prize. I want my readers to understand the happiness that people can get from trying hard, going through the process, and getting frustrated."
Little is known about her personal life. She mentions that her favourite operas are those by Mozart in the author's note of Solfege.
She debuted in 1994 with The Moon and the Sandals, serialized in Hanaoto magazine, but was previously a participant in comic markets.
Of Yoshinaga's many works, several have been licensed internationally. She was also selected and exhibited as one of the "Twenty Major Manga artist Who Contributed to the World of Shōjo Manga (World War II to Present)" for Professor Masami Toku's exhibition, "Shōjo Manga: Girl Power!" at CSU-Chico.
Outside of her work with Japanese publishers, she also self-publishes original doujinshi on a regular basis, most notably for Antique Bakery. Yoshinaga has also drawn fan parodies of Slam Dunk, Rose of Versailles, and Legend of Galactic Heroes.
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 34 reviews
June 18, 2020
Trigger Warnings: Abuse/Domestic Violence
I managed to continue on my binge reading of this series. I was still up after 18 hours awake to finish this volume. I would say that this volume was still as good as the other two volumes in the series but it dealt with the more serious issue of abuse/domestic violence when Ono gets beaten up by an ex after failing to do what the ex wanted, which was to leave his current job and work for him in a bakery in France. I initially wanted to label this plot point as problematic but I felt like this book doesn't romanticise the abuse, so that aspect wasn't problematic as it's clearly shown to the reader that abuse is not okay. What I would have liked to have seen is for there to have been consequences to the abuse. The abuse/domestic violence itself wasn't problematic, but I think the way that Ono treats is was problematic. Ono accepts the fact that his ex was going to 'throw a tantrum,' but instead of taking himself out of that toxic situation, he walks into it knowing the outcome will be him being beaten up. Later, after the ex has accepted that Ono will not be working for him, Ono still thinks of his ex as a friend and encourages Kanda to go to his bakery to try out his pastries. It didn't make sense in my head why Ono would still support someone who was abusive towards him. I didn't like seeing the ex not having any consequences for his actions, apart from not being able to hire Ono. I feel like the consequences should have been more just.
There was also the plot line with Chikage which had me raising my eyebrows. I won't go into details as it is a massive spoiler, but I didn't like that plot line. I would have rather read a different chapter. I just thought that the whole situation was really weird, and it's weird how the people sexualized a 9-10 year old girl by saying that she has boobs so she needs a bra. It's done in a way that felt creepy to me. The father thinking that she needs a bra, and then the mother asking her if she wants to go and buy a bra and she's like, "it's okay. They'll just grow anyway." And the mother being like, "She takes after me." That whole scene was creepy to me. It feels even creepier now that I know the age of the girl, because the manga just says that she is in fourth grade but I didn't know how old that was until I wrote this review.
I will continue on and read the last manga in the series. I'm hoping that this volume was a fluke. I'm sad to see this series end because I really loved reading it, even this problematic book. I don't know if I would recommend this series after reading this volume. I'll have to make that assessment once I have finished the last book, and I can judge the series as a whole, which is a shame as I did really enjoy the first two mangas in this series.
I managed to continue on my binge reading of this series. I was still up after 18 hours awake to finish this volume. I would say that this volume was still as good as the other two volumes in the series but it dealt with the more serious issue of abuse/domestic violence when Ono gets beaten up by an ex after failing to do what the ex wanted, which was to leave his current job and work for him in a bakery in France. I initially wanted to label this plot point as problematic but I felt like this book doesn't romanticise the abuse, so that aspect wasn't problematic as it's clearly shown to the reader that abuse is not okay. What I would have liked to have seen is for there to have been consequences to the abuse. The abuse/domestic violence itself wasn't problematic, but I think the way that Ono treats is was problematic. Ono accepts the fact that his ex was going to 'throw a tantrum,' but instead of taking himself out of that toxic situation, he walks into it knowing the outcome will be him being beaten up. Later, after the ex has accepted that Ono will not be working for him, Ono still thinks of his ex as a friend and encourages Kanda to go to his bakery to try out his pastries. It didn't make sense in my head why Ono would still support someone who was abusive towards him. I didn't like seeing the ex not having any consequences for his actions, apart from not being able to hire Ono. I feel like the consequences should have been more just.
There was also the plot line with Chikage which had me raising my eyebrows. I won't go into details as it is a massive spoiler, but I didn't like that plot line. I would have rather read a different chapter. I just thought that the whole situation was really weird, and it's weird how the people sexualized a 9-10 year old girl by saying that she has boobs so she needs a bra. It's done in a way that felt creepy to me. The father thinking that she needs a bra, and then the mother asking her if she wants to go and buy a bra and she's like, "it's okay. They'll just grow anyway." And the mother being like, "She takes after me." That whole scene was creepy to me. It feels even creepier now that I know the age of the girl, because the manga just says that she is in fourth grade but I didn't know how old that was until I wrote this review.
I will continue on and read the last manga in the series. I'm hoping that this volume was a fluke. I'm sad to see this series end because I really loved reading it, even this problematic book. I don't know if I would recommend this series after reading this volume. I'll have to make that assessment once I have finished the last book, and I can judge the series as a whole, which is a shame as I did really enjoy the first two mangas in this series.
July 5, 2018
So much for the "dark twist"... it's still good tho.
February 17, 2016
Antique bakery is an oddity, it's weak on actual narrative, but has the best character development of any manga I've come across. Every single character is as unique, fleshed out and interesting as the cakes described. In this volume we get a lot of flashbacks particularly into the life of Tachibana and Ono and we meet Chikage's daughter! (who knew!) - Ono's mentaur an ex, French pastry chef Jean-Baptiste arrives, makes Ono a job offer he'd be hard pressed to refuse AND wants to get back together with him. How can our gay of demonic charm resist?
This series stands out from almost all the other titles out there because it is very different from the usual manga archytpes (you're either going to love that about it or hate it). For fans of rich character development it's recommended, but it is slow build and erratic in narrative with flashbacks popping up all over the place with no real warning.
This series stands out from almost all the other titles out there because it is very different from the usual manga archytpes (you're either going to love that about it or hate it). For fans of rich character development it's recommended, but it is slow build and erratic in narrative with flashbacks popping up all over the place with no real warning.
October 28, 2017
This volume continues the theme of light comedy/drama, often delivering profound messages about the individual and accepting individuality in the face of society’s pressure.
We see some of this in the story of a pair of female radio announcers who come to Antique Bakery. One of them falls for Ono, building a wealth of traditional fantasies around him. Doing this with ‘the gay of demonic charm’ doesn’t go the way she’d hoped, but both she and Ono learn a little more about themselves and each other. While this is happening, the Antique crew face another professional hurdle, when Ono and Chikage participate in a shop demonstration in the mall, forcing Tachibana and Kanda to man the store. Everyone grows a little in overcoming this hurdle. Ono manages to cope with women, Chikage manages to cope with customers, and the rest of the Antique staff manages to cope without Ono. The main character growth happened with Ono and the female announcer when both are forced to question some of their prejudices and the value of them.
The threat of losing Ono becomes a little more real when a five star pastry chef and Ono’s former mentor (and lover) arrives, wanting to take Ono back. The staff of the Antique learn not to take Ono for granted, while Ono learns that the staff is on his side, no matter what kind of reckless choices he makes.
Chikage develops a little more when a strange girl visits the Antique Bakery, revealing a little more of his shared background with Tachibana. Another important lesson is delivered in a heartwarming, at times humorous encounter.
Never losing its light, playful tone, this manga digs a little deeper into the characters old and new, whom play a part in Antique Bakery, offering off slices of human discovery for those who wish to find them.
We see some of this in the story of a pair of female radio announcers who come to Antique Bakery. One of them falls for Ono, building a wealth of traditional fantasies around him. Doing this with ‘the gay of demonic charm’ doesn’t go the way she’d hoped, but both she and Ono learn a little more about themselves and each other. While this is happening, the Antique crew face another professional hurdle, when Ono and Chikage participate in a shop demonstration in the mall, forcing Tachibana and Kanda to man the store. Everyone grows a little in overcoming this hurdle. Ono manages to cope with women, Chikage manages to cope with customers, and the rest of the Antique staff manages to cope without Ono. The main character growth happened with Ono and the female announcer when both are forced to question some of their prejudices and the value of them.
The threat of losing Ono becomes a little more real when a five star pastry chef and Ono’s former mentor (and lover) arrives, wanting to take Ono back. The staff of the Antique learn not to take Ono for granted, while Ono learns that the staff is on his side, no matter what kind of reckless choices he makes.
Chikage develops a little more when a strange girl visits the Antique Bakery, revealing a little more of his shared background with Tachibana. Another important lesson is delivered in a heartwarming, at times humorous encounter.
Never losing its light, playful tone, this manga digs a little deeper into the characters old and new, whom play a part in Antique Bakery, offering off slices of human discovery for those who wish to find them.
January 1, 2024
Antique Bakery feels like a corner stone of Boy’s Love in its infancy in the US and its the first example of what I like to call ‘cooking gays’ that I can think of. Published by DMP (Digital Manga Publishing) with its pencil sketchy art style and scratch and sniff slipcovers, if the men on the front didn’t catch your eye, the beautiful illustrations of the desserts definitely would. Sadly our covers don’t smell anymore, but I do remember the scents of strawberry and chocolate from various volumes while reading these bakery hijinks...
Read the full review for all four volumes at Well, Are They? A Queer Review Blog:
https://wellarethey.blogspot.com/2023...
Read the full review for all four volumes at Well, Are They? A Queer Review Blog:
https://wellarethey.blogspot.com/2023...
June 10, 2023
This manga doesn't stop! It keeps pulling out all kinds of twists... BIG twists for our characters! Even though it is a short volume, I feel like there is so much to unpack from it! It was a really wonderful emotional roller coaster and I don't know how this is all going to get wrapped up in the last one. But I'm looking forward to seeing it.
November 4, 2019
The series continues to get darker and more realistic in the emotions, although there is still plenty of humour. I think I might have preferred a little more enthusiastic description of food and pastry and a little less PTSD, but that is really not Yoshinaga-sensei's way.
August 26, 2022
I want to live in this series. It's cute, funny, got yummy food, pretty boys, awsome communication, and so much more. I could totally live here haha. And who wouldn't want a open super late pastry place haha. I can eat cake at 2 an just like others haha.
September 18, 2017
My favorite of the series
January 9, 2018
Chikage is the purest of beans.
April 17, 2019
This series makes me want to learn to bake!
May 3, 2023
Please see volume 1 for my review of the whole series.
May 17, 2023
I didn't enjoy this one as much as the first two. I found it difficult to keep the secondary characters straight, and the domestic violence was tough to read.
June 20, 2023
God these are funny.
January 9, 2024
I enjoyed this volume overall, but wasn't the biggest fan of that storyline with Deko at the end.
November 13, 2024
What the heck did I just read.
December 20, 2014
Wah, aku makin lama makin suka dgn karakter Tachibana. Kurasa dialah satu2nya tokoh favoritku dari semua MC utama di komik ini. Aku lumayan kasihan juga krn meskipun ia selalu serius dlm menjalani setiap hubungan cinta, pada akhirnya ia selalu diputuskan para wanita itu hanya krn ia terlalu tegar dan berusaha terlalu keras. Mrk ingin kalo Tachibana bisa lebih bergantung pada mrk, menunjukkan sisi lemahnya, berbagi kegelisahan hatinya akibat trauma penculikan yg dialaminya waktu kecil. Ceritanya para wanita ini sadar kalo Tachibana selalu mimpi buruk krn trauma tsb, tentu saja Tachibana tdk tau kalo para mantannya itu tau, sampe akhirnya mantan ketiga blg kalo dia sering jejeritan krn mimpi buruk. Menurutku sih, kalo kamu bnr2 sayang dan cinta pada pasanganmu, melihat trauma masa kecilnya begitu mengganggunya.. dan jika memang serius ingin membantu pasanganmu mengatasi masalah itu berdua, bknnya lbh baik kamu mengulurkan tangan dan saling bertukar pikiran? Jangan cuma menunggu dlm diam sampe pasanganmu bicara sendiri kepadamu. Mungkin mrk merasa kalo mrk itu tak dpt diandalkan utk berbagi rahasia terdalam Tachibana, tapi tdkkah terpikir kalo menjadi org yg tegar dan tdk ingin membuat org lain kuatir krn masalahnya itu merupakan watak dasar Tachibana? Tachibana dianggap rapuh, dan selalu menjadi sumber kekuatiran orangtuanya sejak kejadian penculikan itu. Melihat ibunya begitu sedih krn tragedi itu, dan juga melihat keriangan Tachibana stlh tragedi seakan-akan itu bkn masalah besar, Tachibana tdk sampai hati membuat ibunya bertambah sedih krn ia masih mimpi buruk hingga di usia 32 thn.
Sebaliknya, aku makin tdk suka dgn Ono. Syukurlah si casanova satu ini akhirnya dpt karma krn tingkahnya itu. Makanya jadi cowok itu jangan playboy dan bebas menebar benih dan harapan palsu ke mana2, suatu saat bisa dibunuh org yg sakit hati krn tingkahnya yg seenak jidat. Tapi stlh dpt karmanya, kayanya blm bisa benar2 tobat, cuma agak dikurangi dikit, ga seliar dulu. Parah bnr org ini, untung ini bkn cerita romance.
Sementara Kanda, tampaknya sudah tdk ada yg bisa dieksplor lagi oleh mangaka.
Dan yg paling mengejutkan si Chikage, siapa sangka kalo liat gayanya yg airhead itu rupanya
Sebaliknya, aku makin tdk suka dgn Ono. Syukurlah si casanova satu ini akhirnya dpt karma krn tingkahnya itu. Makanya jadi cowok itu jangan playboy dan bebas menebar benih dan harapan palsu ke mana2, suatu saat bisa dibunuh org yg sakit hati krn tingkahnya yg seenak jidat. Tapi stlh dpt karmanya, kayanya blm bisa benar2 tobat, cuma agak dikurangi dikit, ga seliar dulu. Parah bnr org ini, untung ini bkn cerita romance.
Sementara Kanda, tampaknya sudah tdk ada yg bisa dieksplor lagi oleh mangaka.
Dan yg paling mengejutkan si Chikage, siapa sangka kalo liat gayanya yg airhead itu rupanya
November 27, 2021
The message regarding physical abuse in this volume seems to be to just forgive it? Ono and Tachibana just kinda wave off any attempts to get back at Jean-Baptiste, and Deko learns that her mom actually loves her despite her general attitude regarding Deko’s well-being. Personally, I would have preferred watching Chikage and Kanda boot Jean-Baptiste’s ass back to France with as much force as possible. I also would have preferred that Deko not be stuck with a woman who seems to have no interest in actually taking care of a child, but more in the idea of having one.
I did like a lot of this volume, but damn, can we get some CPS/ass-kicking action in here?
I did like a lot of this volume, but damn, can we get some CPS/ass-kicking action in here?
May 17, 2012
And now it’s flying. Beginning as a guilty pleasure trip for me and suddenly evolving into a genuinely accomplished story “Antique Bakery” now turns completely excellent. Dark tones mesh up with bittersweet moments that illuminate the wonderful characters of this series. There is still humor in the mix, but the main stage is taken up by serious themes and explorations into our cast of bakery employees. There is one more volume left after this one, and by this point the going is very strong.
November 2, 2012
This series is beginning to get confusing. I think this may be mostly due to the manga format which I haven't read in a long time. However, it continues to be silly but fun. There seems to be a plot developing and we get more and more backstory for the characters. However, the exclamations over how good the food is are becoming ridiculous.
February 14, 2013
This time we get to learn more about how Yusuke became a pastry chef and how he has very little self esteem! We also find out something very surprising about Chikage.
While there is still the humor and romance this installment in the series had quite a dark underlying theme.
There's still so much to find out about, which I'm hoping some, if not all answers lie in Volume 4!
While there is still the humor and romance this installment in the series had quite a dark underlying theme.
There's still so much to find out about, which I'm hoping some, if not all answers lie in Volume 4!
July 22, 2007
I didn't like this nearly as much as the first two volumes, which are winsome and sweet without being over-the-top. This, unfortunately, features ugly jealousy and physical abuse, which just didn't fit with how I saw the series.
July 3, 2011
Still very confusing although it has some funny scenes. I like Deko but it feels like the character just pops up out of nowhere. That happens a lot in this series where characters and plots seem to just come and go.
October 6, 2007
Probably the weakest volume in an otherwise strong series, and especially disappointing after the hilarious volume 2.
May 9, 2009
Although the volume gave me the motts a few times, it's actually my favorite volume of the series. I love Tachibana's arc, especially, and I love finding what makes Tachibana & Ono tick.
April 12, 2010
Another fun volume from Antique Bakery, I really loved it.
June 22, 2010
Okay, this one I might give 2 1/2 stars if I could. I'm getting more involved in the characters. But the random storylines with women are confusing. And so are the flashbacks.
April 20, 2012
For my review, please check volume 1...
June 21, 2013
I'm tempted to bump this to four stars. I did not expect such a thoughtful take on sexism, or troubling look at abusive relationships from the wacky dessert manga.
Displaying 1 - 30 of 34 reviews