For those of you who think anime is just about giant reptiles raping schoolgirls, think again. There is a totally different side to the Japanese animation. Yakitate! Japan is one of those shows. It is a sweet-natured tale of a young boy with the gift to make delicious bread. His universe is all about creating a Japanese bread that can match with the famous European breads. The show is as wacky as they come and I'm sure that non-Japanese viewers will miss a lot of the jokes. But it is still very nice to watch because of the complete innocent vibe of the show. In the world of Yakitate! it is not uncommon for people to look like they've just had an orgasm after eating bread. The bread is hallucinating and can give the consumer a wide array of super powers, from time-traveling to swimming like a fish. That weird aspect makes it into one of the least predictable and funny shows I've watched in a while.

The premise of this anime series is about bread, of all things to base a plot on! I truly laughed. The main character has a special bread making power that he was born with, and he goes off to bread baking school. I wish it were available on DVD, and it doesn't matter if it's subtitled or dubbed - it's that good. Even the theme song alone is funny. At one point in the theme song, there's an African-Japanese man with an afro on horseback, wielding a French baguette as if it were a samurai sword. These images will not make sense unless you see the anime. You'll laugh until your sides hurt. It is definitely the most unique anime I have seen thus far.

Yaitate!! Japan is a really fun show and I really like it! It was shown in our country just recently in Hero TV and ABS-CBN every 5:30. It is about Azuma Kazuma who is trying to fulfill his dream to make Japanese bread that will represent his country. He is working in the Southern Toyo branch of Pantasia and he is also helping his friend (Tsukino Azusagawa) along with other bakers (like Kawachi Kyousuke and Kanmuri Shigeru) to beat St. Pierre and take control of Pantasia. They fight other skillful bakers from many other countries and not only learn to make different kinds of bread but also learn to cook other food. It is a really funny and unique anime because they also mimic characters from other anime(like Naruto, Detective Conan and One Piece)and famous people from real life. It is one of the best works of Takashi Haschiguchi and is really a must-see for people of different ages.

"Yakitate Japan" literally means 'Fresh Japan,' the first of numerous puns viewers will find hilarious in the series. While France, Germany, Italy, the U.S. and every other industrialized country in the world have 'national' breads, Japan, a country whose history has been largely dependent on rice for the population's starch needs, does not. The Anime's characters are interested in creating this national bread, one that captures the culture/spirit/essence of Japan. 'Pan' being the word for bread, we are to smile that 'Ja-Pan,' or more to the point 'Japan' is Japanese bread. The story tells us of Azuma Kazuma, a young baker from rural (modern day) Japan who moves to Tokyo to pursue his career. There he meets up with other young bakers and together they pursue what can really only be termed as 'Adventures in Baking.' It sounds ridiculous, and maybe it is, but if your interested in a unique spin on the workplace comedy, or if you're an Anime lover, you'll find this show wonderfully diverse in what it's able to do with animation usually reserved for giant robots, the Meiji-era, or general sci-fi (futuristic or steam punk). The characters are full of passion and wit, the plots are thoughtful and pop-culturally relevant. What's more is that in the renditions I've seen, the stenographers take extra care to ensure that not a single joke is lost on the English peaking world with superb subtitles and cogent super titles when necessary.The show it seems, is designed to be a delightful diversion from our every day as well as that of Anime's general fare. The bottom line is that if you take some time to check out Yakitate Japan, you'll find it innocently sensual, and comically very tasty.