The best sports breads from the Monaco Cup semifinals,
Japan and Gopan, were offered to the F1 racers.
The victorious F1 driver judged Shadow’s paella Gopan to be better than Kazuma’s.
Kazuma then tried to approach Shadow, but...
Shadow made fun of him with his strange behavior.
Say, Shadow.
Its proclamation leaving various uncertainties,
the topic for the finals was announced.
That topic was divided into three matches, based on the themes of clothing, food and shelter.
Then...
The theme of the first match, a well-molded bread, goes to Suwabara.
The theme of the second match, dinner bread, goes to Kawachi.
The theme of the third match, a bread with the taste of your homeland, goes to Azuma.
Let’s aim to win!
All right!
There’s English bread, German bread, and French bread,
but Japan’s bread, Japan, does not exist.
In that case, there’s no choice but to create it.
This story is a serious, biographical ballad of a boy who possesses Solar Hands,
Azuma Kazuma, who will create a Japanese bread made by and for the Japanese people,
which can be presented to the world proudly.
I swore to your shining eyes
kagayaku kimi no hitomi ni chikatta
Yakitate!! Japan
Translated by: Anime-Empire
on an afternoon when the blue sky
chiisana mado kara aozora ga mieta gogo
was visible through a small window
that I no longer wanted to run away.
nigeru koto nante mou shitaku wa nai yo
senaka ni atatakai te no hira o kanjiteiru
I feel a warm hand upon my back.
kizutsuku yori mo tsurai no wa
The only thing more painful than getting hurt is...
ashita wo akiramete jibun ni uso tsukitsuzukeru koto
giving up on tomorrow and continuing to lie to yourself.
daiji na yume wo hitotsu kokoro ni itsudemo
The one precious dream always held in your heart
shinjite mamotte norikoete ikou
Let’s believe it, protect it, and overcome everything.
daiji na yume ga aru kara motto tsuyoku nareru
Because we have a precious dream, we can become stronger
omoiegaita mirai wo dakishimete
holding on to the dream that we imagined and painted
kore kara mo
forevermore.
Naked, naked, naked!!
The magnificent bread match!
Naked, naked, naked!!
The magnificent bread match!
It looks like he’s really getting into the spirit for the finals.
Spirit, huh?
Well, it sure does look that way, but...
Why’s he practicing his swordsmanship in the middle of a busy public road?
I mean, does that have anything to do with bread?
Well, I don’t know.
But, I’m sure that he put some thought into that practice.
Do you think so?
More importantly, how about worrying about yourself?
Azuma has locked himself in his room, and seems to be thinking about it in his own way.
You’re the only one not doing anything.
Stop thinking of ways to conceal your baldness with wimpy wigs,
and think about bread a little!
What are you doing?!
Give it back!
Ryou!
Please give it back!
The ordering of the combatants for the American team has been announced.
Is that so?
It seems that the first match will be Monica Adenauer,
the second match will be Spencer Henley Hokou,
and the third match will be Shadow White.
Monika
Suwabara
Monika
Suwabara
Monika
Suwabara
Monika
Suwabara
Monika
Suwabara
Match 1
Spencer
Kawachi
Spencer
Kawachi
Spencer
Kawachi
Spencer
Kawachi
Spencer
Kawachi
Match 2
Shadow
Azuma
Shadow
Azuma
Shadow
Azuma
Shadow
Azuma
Shadow
Azuma
Match 3
Azuma will be facing Shadow, huh?
My opponent is that Shachihoko, huh?
Look up!
Secret technique, Dragon Twister Technique!
The second match is Shachihoko, and the third match is Shadow.
That means, Monica must be that silent girl, since she’s the only one left.
I hoped that I could cross swords with the Shadow who beat Azuma,
but of all people, to think that I’m stuck with the girl...
Well, it can’t be helped.
No matter who the opponent might be, all I have to do is put all of my soul into winning.
With my Lupan #1, Pane di oro Kai.
Say, Spencer...
What kind of sound is that?!
No, it’s just that...
This is the first time you’ve spoken.
So, what brought this about?
That’s because Shadow isn’t here.
It’s annoying to have him imitate me, so I just haven’t spoken until now.
It’s not like I’m the silent type.
More importantly, my opponent, Kai Suwabara...
Is that Samurai Boy strong?
Yeah, he’s really strong.
He was the favorite of the Pantasia newcomers’ battle.
Oh?
Well, I don’t think that there’s even the slightest chance of your losing at this theme.
Just don’t let your guard down, though.
Wh-What’re you doing?
Don’t ever touch my snacks.
Aside from my life, I love candy the most.
Why’s there so little information available on the American representatives?
No matter how much I search, the only information I get is on Shachihoko.
I can’t find a single thing on Monica or Shadow.
Yeah, I noticed that as well.
Huh?
If may be that this is the first time the two of them are appearing in a bread tournament.
That can’t be!
It isn’t possible for amateurs like that to come all the way to the finals in a world tournament.
However, it’s not like the possibility is zero...
What do you mean?
Well...
Phone call, Monsieur.
For me?
Hello.
Hey, Ryou.
Do you know who this is?
Th-That voice is...!
Kid?!
Is it Kid?!
That’s right!
That’s my genius!
It’s been a while, Ryou.
A little birdie told me that you were investigating a woman called Monica and a guy called Shadow.
So, I thought I’d help out and called you.
Help out?!
What are you doing these days?!
These days, I’m running a little investigative company in New York.
I still haven’t found out anything about the Shadow guy,
but it was easy to find out about that woman.
Really?
That would be really helpful.
So, who is she?
That woman named Monica Adenauer is...
That’s all I know.
Hey, Ryou!
This is Kid.
Are you all right?
Allo? It’s “allo” in French, right?
Coming, Kid’s coming... he’s definitely coming.
What’s wrong, Ryou?!
Sophie...
Call everybody here right now.
What do you want?
We’re all practicing hard for the finals right now.
So, keep it short.
Yeah, Kuro-yan.
After being told off by you, I locked myself up in my room, and was thinking of bread.
Did you think of anything?
Don’t stray from the point.
Sorry... but this is important.
First, why do you suppose that the owner of St. Pierre
hasn’t sabotaged us in any way after the semifinals?
Well, that’s probably because it was hard to do so without getting caught, right?
That’s not it.
It’s because he no longer needs to.
What do you mean?
Initially, the American team consisted of only Shachihoko.
But, you’ve noticed what happened after the semifinals, right?
Shachihoko was reassigned to third position amongst them.
I believe that’s because there were two talented amateurs
who quickly learned from experience during the tournament.
Huh?!
That’s even harder to understand.
The owner of St. Pierre...
discovered two amateurs with tremendous innate talent for breadmaking,
and recruited them.
By teaming them up with the talented and experienced Shachihoko,
he had the two of them mature during the tournament.
Wh... Why do something troublesome like that?
It’s most difficult to find talented young bakers.
He probably decided that even though they’re complete amateurs,
it’d be best to raise talented people like that himself.
Ridiculous!
You called us out here to tell us something like this?!
I’m going back.
Ridiculous?
But... will you be able to say the same thing after hearing this fact?
Your opponent, Monica Adenauer.
She holds the title of “Champion of the 59th World Pastry Chef Competition.”
59th World Pastry Chef Competition Champion
In other words, she’s the world’s Queen of Patisserie.
Huh?!
Your opponent, Monica Adenauer.
She holds the title of “Champion of the 59th World Pastry Chef Competition.”
In other words, she’s the world’s Queen of Patisserie.
Huh?!
What?!
So... so, what difference does that make?
Though she may be the queen in the world of pastry,
when it comes to the world of bread, I’m superior!
I couldn’t possibly lose to such an amateur!
It’s to “such an amateur” that Shachihoko lost.
Compared to bread artisans,
those in the world of the patissier lay great stress on the training
required to make their creations beautiful.
With regard to the theme of the first match, making a beautifully molded bread,
I wouldn’t be exaggerating if I said that her skill is that of the top bakers of the world.
Suwabara’s trembling.
It’s not surprising.
He ended up with someone like the Queen of Patisserie as his opponent.
I’d want to run away in these circumstances.
Are you all right, Suwabara?
It’s trembling.
My soul’s trembling!
It’s the first time that I’ve trembled with excitement like this.
You wanted to know if I’m all right, Azuma?
I’m so happy right now, I could die from this trembling.
I’m participating in this tournament to battle strong artisans from all around the world,
so when I learned that the little girl is to be my last opponent, truth be told, I was disappointed.
But, to think that she was the queen of the patisserie world...
I have no complaints regarding my opponent.
That makes it a true final for a world tournament.
I must thank the owner of St. Pierre.
Takes all kinds to make a world...
Yeah.
While there are people like Azuma, who head straight towards fulfilling their dream...
Others, like him, concern themselves over only their wins and losses,
in order to better themselves.
And... then there are unfathomable baldies, like you.
Yeah...
What, you got some kind of problem with that?
If you have a problem, then win once in a while.
Even if Suwabara’s all fired up about it,
it’s questionable as to whether he can win against the Queen of Patisserie at that theme.
Should both you and Suwabara lose, without Azuma even having a chance to appear,
Japan will be finished.
Don’t forget that the spot that you hold in the second match...
is the key position in the winning of this tournament.
The finals are in a week.
If I put my soul into this, it will be complete.
The champion’s crown that I’ll steal from the little girl and place on my own head.
One week later
Just as you’d expect of the finals, they’ve really gone all out.
It’s a band!
But, even though it’s the finals, there isn’t much of an audience.
When it’s like this, I sort of understand Rame’s feelings in wanting the home team France to win.
Ridiculous!
The true spectators are not the crowds that come to cheer a team,
but those who come to observe the quality of the match.
Just having low-level spectators around is annoying.
With only true spectators here, we now have a crowd suitable for the finals.
Yo!
If you don’t intend on watching seriously, then go back home!
If not, I’ll cut you apart.
Geez.
Impudent fools.
Samurai Boy...
N... Naked woman!
What do you mean, “naked woman”?
My name is Monica.
Monica Adenauer.
What the hell are you trying to pull?!
This isn’t the beach!
I can dress however I choose, right?
Even you, a finalist, are planning on sullying the sacred finals?!
So, are you going to cut me up as well?
Like, this part here?
Or this part here?
Just as I thought, this samurai boy’s a straight-laced guy
who’s had little experience with women.
My plan is to confuse him with my sexiness so that he loses the match.
Well, I don’t really think I’d lose, even if I didn’t do something like this,
but it doesn’t hurt to be careful.
In order to ensure that my dream of building a candy castle is fulfilled 100%.
You want me to participate in a bread tournament?
Hey, old man...
I’m a pastry chef.
Yeah, I know.
But, St. Pierre has plans to open up a patisserie branch.
If you win in that tournament, the Monaco Cup,
I think it’d be a good idea to give you the post of General Manager of that branch.
That’s right.
That would truly be the place that would become your candy castle.
Candy castle!
While I may be the world champion,
being able to have a store of my own at my age isn’t easy.
This is a great opportunity, for getting my hands on my castle!
In order to do that, this man must...
Right, Samurai Boy?
In that case...!
Note: The kanji 魁 means “one who takes the lead.” It can be read as “sakigake,” or, in this case, “kai.”
With this, we’re even!
What do you mean, “we’re even”?!
What’s with this guy, he’s really weird!
He really hates to lose, no matter how strange things get.
It really takes all kinds to make a world.
Ladies and gentlemen.
Welcome to the first match of the finals.
Uh, although there are not many of you out there...
The second match is in one week, and the third match is in two weeks.
Let us have fun fun fun for these two finals weeks!
Here we have the Japanese representative: Naked Samurai, Kai Suwabara,
and the American representative: Naked Girl, Monica Adenauer.
The time limit is 5 hours.
In that naked state, you can take your time baking amour!
It’s finally time.
Yeah.
Suwabara.
If you lose,
Note: “Zura” means “wig,” but “zureteru” (滑れてる) means “to slip.” Yet another play on words.
we’ll have to depend on the win of this baldy,
who hasn’t even noticed that his wig has slipped so much.
A loss is unforgivable.
Oh!
Suwabara has two sets of dough,
and for some reason, their consistencies and volumes are different!
The big bowl is syrupy, and seems to contain a lot of egg yolk.
The dough in the smaller bowl is clearly croissant dough.
Wait and see, you damned naked woman.
By combining these two sets of dough, I’ll create the most supreme radiance.
You’ll learn of the magnificence of my Lupan #1, Pane di oro Kai!
Oh?
Just take a look at what’s on Adenauer’s countertop.
She has prepared five different sets of dough!
What?!
Here, it looks like the volumes of all five sets of dough are approximately the same.
Hey, Kuro-yan.
Overall, I don’t quite get what Suwabara is doing, but...
I understand what Monica’s doing even less.
I mean, is there any meaning to splitting the same dough into five bowls?
Are your eyes merely empty holes?!
That’s why you’re a slipped wig.
Those five sets of dough aren’t the same.
Look carefully.
By looking at the color of the dough, it’s clear that rye has been mixed in.
But, they’re all of different shades.
That’s true!
That’s proof that the amount of rye in all five of them is different.
Rye bread originated in Germany, so a German may know of some trick.
Huh?
I know that rye bread originated in Germany, but...
Who’s the German that you’re talking about?
Monica is the American representative.
Yeah... A slipped wig like you wouldn’t know.
Adenauer is a surname of German origin.
Actually, most of the immigrants in America are German,
and constitute about 23% of the American population.
Politicians like Bush and Rumsfeld,
and former presidents like Roosevelt and Eisenhower, are of German origin.
Just as you’d expect of Kuro-yan. You’re just like a triviabot.
And you’re just a slipped wig.
I got a little smarter today.
The only way that a pastry chef like me, still new to this field,
can compete with world class bakers is with this rye bread.
This rye bread, which my mother would often make when I was young.
Here you go, Monica.
The rye bread’s done.
I don’t want it!
Oh Monica, you’re chewing on gum again?
Because we’re just having bread again, right?
In that case, I prefer to have sweet things.
That’s not good.
If you don’t eat proper food, it’ll be bad for your body.
Proper food?
Simply eating bread without anything on the side is just as bad for your body, isn’t it?
Monica!
I’m sorry, Monica.
But, we’re now going to go to live in America, the land of freedom and opportunity.
I’m sure that your father’s dream, to make a candy castle, will come true.
Then, we can bid goodbye to living in poverty like this.
Really?!
Yes, really, Monica.
Papa!
The candy castle is also your dream, right?
I’ll be sure to fulfill that dream in America for your sake as well.
So, don’t complain for now.
Please eat your mother’s bread.
Okay!
What’s this? It’s delicious!
It isn’t like the usual bread!
Well, you’d get tired of eating the same bread all the time, right?
So, I applied a trick to it.
Be patient for a little while longer, Monica.
Once we’re in America, I’ll make lots of yummy stuff for you.
But, our life in America wasn’t easy.
Nobody accepted Papa’s pastries.
He collapsed from being overworked,
and Mama was hospitalized from worrying too much.
Papa, Mama...
I don’t like this.
I won’t lose.
Papa and my dream castle... Our candy castle...
I’ll be sure to build it...
On this continent of America.
That dream is now close to becoming a reality.
Samurai Boy...
I don’t know what you’re up to,
but I won’t let you get in the way of my dream.
Oh? Oh? Oh, oh?
What is that?!
Suwabara’s fruit are shining brightly.
What is... that radiance?!
That’s pretty.
Kuro-yan?
It looks like the surface has been covered with syrup, but...
With just that, you wouldn’t get that much of a shine.
This is...
We might be able to see a new, never-before-seen variety of Suwabara’s bread.
How in the world did such radiance...
This isn’t the time to be impressed, Monica.
Samurai Boy...
Note: Another play on words. “Amaku miru” means “to underestimate.” “Amai” (甘い) means “sweet.” And “okashi” (お菓子) means “candy.”
I may have underestimated you a little, like candy.
In that case, I’ll show you what I can do.
The reason that I’m the world champion.
These jewels are the secret behind Lupan #1.
Lupan #1’s Secret
Th-Th-Th-This is...!
T-T-Truly art!
You exaggerate.
This candy sculpture!
Candy sculpture?
Wh-What is that?!
This candy sculpture looks like it is alive!
boku no te wo nigire issho ni minaikai
Grab on to my hand. Would you like to see it together?
kesshiteraku janai ga saikou no sekai
By no means is it easy, but it’s the best kind of world.
souzoushite mitanda jibun de egaita rakugaki no
I tried imagining it by standing on my future map
mirai no chizu ni tatte soshite kimi to waraerukatte
which I had doodled out,
and wondered if you’d be laughing with me there.
kentou wa tsuitenda ashiato darake no michi wo
I’ve guessed it. That if I were to just follow along
tada aruiterunja itsumademo tadoritsukeyashinainda
this road already full of footprints, I’d never ever reach there.
sore ga iyada to iu nara
And if I don’t like that...
heion nante antai wa kono sai yamemashouka
I guess I should take this opportunity
and stop seeking the peace that comes with security.
kanawanaitte akirameta yume wo sutezu tsumiagete
I’ll pile up the dreams I thought couldn’t be fulfilled
without throwing them away
mucha de mubou na teppen ni aru
and become the foundation stone for the dream
yume wo tsukamu ishizue ni nare
that stands at the peak of the absurd and the reckless.
boku no te wo nigire issho ni minaikai
Grab on to my hand. Would you like to see it together?
kesshiteraku janai ga saikou no sekai
By no means is it easy, but it’s the best kind of world.
kesshiteraku janai ga saikou no sekai
By no means is it easy, but it’s the best kind of world.
Next Episode
Because of its extreme deliciousness, Pierrot’s crying.
Because of its extreme deliciousness, Pierrot’s been arrested!
But, why?!
Next time, on Yakitate!! Japan,
Pierrot escorted away!?
The bread packed tightly with love!
Pierrot escorted away!?
The bread packed tightly with love!
Be sure to watch!
Yeah.
Yakitate!! Seed of knowledge.
In French, chefs who specialize in making pastries are called “patissier.”
Chefs that specialize in making pastries
Patissier
Originally, it referred to those who made pâté cuisine
A person who makes pâté cuisine
using pie dough containing minced fish or meat.
Oh?!