I-I don’t believe it!
It’s true!
Since Panda-chan’s dough explodes multiple times, the bread is really fluffy.
It feels like you’re eating cotton candy.
After it’s exploded once, a hole opens up in the dough.
Once there’s a hole, it can’t possibly explode again!
Just like a balloon.
So... it’s impossible to make it explode two or three times!
There isn’t much point in saying that.
I saw it with my very own eyes.
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.
kono koe todoke tai yo, mada chiisana uta dakedo
I want this voice to reach you, even though it’s still a tiny song.
hajimaru yokan ga suru kara
That’s because I have the feeling that something’s gonna start.
Yakitate!! Japan
Translated by: Anime-Empire
hitori de uzukumari, koe shizume nagara otoshita namida wa
As I was cowering, muffling my voice, the tears that I shed
“shinjiru koto wasurekaketeru to” to
probably helped me notice that
kidzukase tekureta no kamo shirenai
I’ve almost forgotten how to believe.
egaita mirai wo
The future that I painted (I will fulfill it)
(kanaerunda)
hareta sora miagete
Looking up to the clear skies,
mouichido hashiri dasu yo. Itsuka ano shiroi sora
I begin to run once again. Someday, I want to dye
watashi iro ni sometai na
that white sky with my colors.
dokomademo tondoyuku yo. Biidama mitai ni hikaru
I’m going to fly as far as possible, shining like a marble,
kono hane wo hirogete
unfolding these wings of mine.
The miraculous steamed bread!!
The day Panda became a panda!
The miraculous steamed bread!!
The day Panda became a panda!
Very well then, we will now start the seventh match of Yakitate!! 9, here in Gero.
Begin!
Will Azuma be... all right?
An Alps steamed bread that explodes over and over again.
If there really is a technique to make something like that, then our opponent is undefeatable!
Wh-What’s with Azuma’s dough?!
It’s expanded like he already had it ready from earlier.
He made the dough in advance?
Isn’t that against the rules?
It is not against the rules.
I have already approved this matter.
There is nothing describing any impropriety in bringing in pre-made dough
in this show’s rule book.
Also...
His opponent, Panda, has also brought in pre-made baking powder.
So, the conditions are equal.
I see...
No problems, then.
But... I wonder what kind of trick he has applied to that pre-made dough...?
That is...
dough made in the Roumen style.
Manager!
Ken-ken!
Sorry I’m late. I got stuck in a little dispute of theirs.
B-But you’re hurt!
These are bullet holes, right? Right?
They’re just scratches.
Lord, this old man has really become a thug in no time.
What’s wrong, Kawachi?
You seem pale.
N-Not really, Boss!
That’s not it!
I mean Manager!
What in the world is that Roumen style?
Is it something really awesome?
That’s right, really awesome!
The Roumen style is a secret technique that has been passed down from ancient times in China.
First, you make one dough.
A quarter of that dough is preserved separately and not eaten.
Then, the next time you make a new dough, you add in the dough you’ve preserved.
Next, you save one-fourth of this new dough
and once again mix it into your next new dough.
This technique involves repeating this process indefinitely, slowly improving your dough.
If you do this,
you get a dough that doesn’t lose in lightness to dough made with baking powder,
and that also has the elasticity of dough made with yeast.
An ultimate dough with a deep flavor will be born!
B-But...
A dough that takes such a ridiculously long time to make...
When did Azuma start making it?
Azuma is young, but...
He’s a man who has been experimenting with making Japan since childhood.
So, he’s probably preserved some dough by some method all these years.
Oh, is that so?!
Azuma Kazuma... What a man...
His immensity always exceeds my imagination.
However, no matter how awesome he is,
he can’t compare to Panda-chan’s steamed bread that explodes over and over again.
Wh-What did you just say?!
What did you say, Mizuno?!
P-Panda-chan’s steamed bread that explodes over and over again...?
How can that be?!
Did he finally complete it?
“It”?
Yeah...
This goes back to when we were still young and happening newcomers...
One day, while we were drinking at a mixer for newcomers from various companies...
Say, since we’re all here like this...
Tell me what your dream as a baker is.
I want to create the ultimate chocolate bread.
I’m gonna be laying my life down for curry bread.
I want to create Japan’s #1 French bread.
So, what’s your dream?
My dream is...
to create a steamed bread that explodes over and over again, like a Hollywood movie.
That’s how he answered, but...
What? What? What is it?
Whoa, whoa.
That’s just plain impossible to make, isn’t it?
Like a balloon, once it’s broken, it can’t break again.
I mean, think about it a little.
His frustrated face...
I still remember it.
Is that so...?
Poor Panda-chan...
Back then, just like everyone else,
I thought that a bread like that really couldn’t be made, but...
Now that it’s made,
I guess he must’ve had a plan for making the ultimate steamed bread
ever since we were newcomers.
I’m once again reminded of how fearsome a baker he is.
At this rate... Azuma might lose again this time.
What was that?!
I-It’s true!
There were three explosions!
It’s done.
Th-That’s Mokoyama’s...
steamed bread that explodes over and over again, huh?
Judge, try it please.
This is my dream, the Triple Alps Steamed Bread.
Th-That steamed bread looks really soft.
Since it exploded three times,
both the size and the number of the mountains are completely different from regular Alps bread.
From the looks of the progress during the baking process, I was expecting this to be of high quality,
but to think it’d be like this...
This really requires me to steel myself firmly.
Come, try some.
Before it gets cold.
Yeah, sorry about that.
Well, then.
Until now, whenever he seemed to show no reaction at all,
it usually meant something was there, but...
This time there really doesn’t seem to be anything.
I don’t sense anything.
P-Panda-chan...
What’s that?
What’s this sound that’s been ringing for a while?
Well, cheer up, Mizuno.
Even if Azuma should win, he won’t make fun of Panda.
I’m sure that once the match is over, they can be friends...
Oh no!
Everyone, down!
What was that?!
What?
Never mind that, get down!
The Panda’s bread is an awesome bread!
It’s just explosive!
It’s a good bread...
Kuro-yan exploded three times, and has been blown into a million tiny pieces!
What a moron.
Kuro-yan... You died for a stupid bread?
A true moron.
A moron among morons!
The King of Morons!
You’re the moron.
Who’s that?
It’s mini Kuro-yans!
And, so many of them!
The guy who exploded into a million tiny pieces was a robot put there in my place.
Kuro-yan X.
And these are my cute little servants.
Note: Gekimaru (夏鬼丸): An anime about a robot.
Gekimaru Kuro-yans.
Huh?
Kuro-yan X
I was pretending to show a reaction.
Kuro-yan X
During that time, I secretly swapped my body on stage.
Kuro-yan X
It looks like you’ve become good at this.
To express my appreciation for Panda’s magical bread,
where the same bread exploded up to three times,
I used magic as well.
W-Well, that’s all very nice,
but where in the world is the real you?
Probably there.
But, why... on the top of a mountain?
Probably because the “Alps” of “Alps steamed bread” are mountains.
That’s right!
Congratulations on figuring it out.
Well then, let’s descend.
Huh?
He really is a moron for doing such an exaggerated reaction.
Who you calling a moron?!
That was quick!
That was a wonderful bread, Panda!
Not even I have ever seen
a bread where differences of temperature within the dough have been manipulated so skillfully.
As expected of Kuroyanagi, the judge.
He figured out the trick of temperature difference just by eating it.
I see...
That’s what it is...
Temperature difference?
That’s right.
Just like a balloon,
once the dough of a steamed bread has exploded once, it cannot explode a second or third time.
But, that’s only if there isn’t a difference of temperatures within the dough.
If you can maintain a difference in temperature inside the dough,
it is possible to make any number of explosions.
First, the portion that warms up first explodes.
Then the portion to warm up next explodes.
And the portion that warms up last explodes.
Thus, you can have multiple explosions over a period of time.
B-But... wait, Kuro-yan!
While you say that you can maintain a temperature difference within the dough...
Before you warm it, the dough for the steamed bread is in a liquid state!
So, if you make a certain portion cold, all of it will become cold,
Cold
Hot
and if you heat a certain portion, it’s obvious that all of it will be heated.
So how could you possibly maintain a temperature difference!
You really are a moron, Kawachi.
What was that?!
Think carefully.
It’s true that the dough of steamed bread is in liquid form.
But, in addition to steamed bread, what was the theme this time?
Theme...?
Umm... Chestnut kinton?
That’s right!
The chestnut kinton is the key player in creating the temperature difference!
Panda probably cooled down the chestnut kinton to freezing point and used it as a bridge
between the left and right regions.
He placed it within the liquid,
and set it up so that when it was warmed,
the portions that weren’t different temperatures would explode.
Cold
Is that how it is?!
By doing that, you can create a dough that is many times softer than regular doughs.
Wh-What an out-of-this-world strategy.
With something like this having been presented first,
Azuma can’t possibly have any hope of winning!
How’s that, Azuma-kun?
In honor of the respect I have for your talent and skill,
this is a challenge I lay out before you.
Your Roumen-technique dough is great, but...
It cannot possibly match my Triple Alps Steamed Bread.
You really are amazing, Old Man Mokoyama.
But, I ain’t gonna be losing, either.
I... I smell something.
What is this fragrance?
For some reason, it’s pulling me in.
A truly lovely fragrance.
A bold fragrance; the kind that makes you think of roots flourishing in soil.
Th-This is...!
Bamboo!
That’s right!
It’s bamboo!
You came with the Triple Alps, right Old Man Mokoyama?
Well then...
I’m gonna meet you with my Triple Bamboo!
Tr... Triple Bamboo?!
Here, Old Man... I mean Mister Kuroyanagi.
Please try it.
I understood up until the Roumen technique,
but Triple Bamboo, huh?
From the fragrance, it’s obvious that bamboo has some relevance,
but what is this “triple” bit?
I hope that it isn’t something as stupid as three twigs of bamboo inside, Azuma.
Let’s go.
He’s gone quiet again.
We’ve been having a lot of this kind of reaction lately.
No, that’s not it!
Please look!
Azuma-san already looks strange!
Th-That’s...
Roumen...
No, it’s a Noh mask!
Note: Noh men (能面) means “Noh mask.” Noh is a form of traditional Japanese theater.
Kuro-yan’s face has become a Roumen...
I mean a Noh mask!
Th-That’s really creepy!
A man’s life of fifty years under the sky,
when compared to the age of this world...
And... He seems to be singing and dancing...
Is it anything more than a fleeting dream or an illusion...?
Oh... Oh, no!
What is it this time?!
This is a stanza from the warrior hymn “Atsumori” that Oda Nobunaga liked.
Warrior hymn? “Atsumori”?
Put simply, the song says that a man’s life is a mere fifty years.
All who are born must die.
If means that if you’re gonna die anyway, then live your life short, but big.
The reason that Nobunaga sang this before setting out on the Battle of Okehazama is
because he thought that if he was gonna live only fifty years anyway,
then he’d rather bet everything on this one battle and die if necessary.
So, what about it?!
In other words...
He’s...
laying everything down on this reaction,
and is ready to die if necessary!
What was that?!
What is he planning to do?!
K-Kuro-yan?!
Oh, that is...?!
Note: sasa (笹) = bamboo; sasatta (刺さった) = pierced
What an anticlimax... He was only pierced by bamboo sticks?
Looks like it.
Moron! You can’t possibly judge in that state!
The only moron here is you, Kawachi.
As if I would abandon the judging, over something like this!
Wh-What tenacity...
Just what you’d expect of someone who lays down his life on judging bread.
Y-You think so...?
Azuma Kazuma.
Wh-What is it?
A truly deeply mellow fragrance and faint sweetness.
I, Kuroyanagi, stand in awe.
You guys added bamboo tea instead of water, right?
That’s right!
Normally, people only think of bamboo leaves as being used to wrap sushi and dumplings...
However, once they’ve been dried,
if you grind them up and make tea from them, it’s really delicious.
Yes.
But, how exactly did you make this into tea?
I get the feeling that it’s somehow different from regular bamboo tea.
We boiled it in hot spring water.
Oh, in hot spring water?
Well, it’s a hot spring bread, after all,
so it’s obvious that it’d be more delicious if boiled in hot spring water.
And, we made sure to add bamboo leaves into the water we used to steam the bread, too.
So, the fragrance should be perfect.
I see.
The taste of bamboo tea, and the fragrance of bamboo leaves...
These are two of the strategies you applied, right?
So, what’s the third strategy?
Since you call it Triple Bamboo, there should be one more, right?
That, you see...
is your blood!
I... I see, the health benefit!
Bamboo is called the green blood...
It is a great natural health product that helps your blood flow more smoothly.
I was thinking that for some reason I can’t stop bleeding.
I guess that my blood flow is a little too smooth...
Looks like it.
L-Looks like that was...
Blood, huh?
Victor: Pantasia!
All right!
We did it!
Yeah, we did!
W-Wait a minute, Kuro-yan!
What is it?
I admit that the Roumen technique was superb.
But it’s just the bamboo that’s great, right?
In terms of skill, isn’t the Triple Alps better?
That might be true.
But...
K-Kuro-yan!
You look really pale!
Are you gonna die?!
So, what is it?
Explain it to us!
It didn’t go well with the chestnut kinton, Boss.
Panda-chan!
The softness of my steamed bread is in the realm of cakes.
So, it goes well with Western-style ingredients,
but it doesn’t complement Japanese-style ingredients well.
If I were to make it complement the chestnut kinton, which is Japanese,
I would have made the dough a little stickier.
No way...
And, Azuma-kun’s Roumen dough,
having been fermented for a really long time, is very sticky.
Also, the bamboo tea goes well with the chestnut kinton.
So, it’s obvious that I’d lose.
But why, Panda-chan?!
If you knew about that weakness, why didn’t you work on fixing it?
Why?!
It’s not as if I noticed it from the beginning.
Before the match, all that I could think of was beating Azuma-kun.
I didn’t have the composure I needed to judge the strengths and weaknesses of my bread.
But, now I know...
both my personal foolishness, and the foolishness of human beings.
Okay?
The foolishness of human beings?
Yeah, because now, I have...
become a real panda!
What?!
What was that?!
It’s just that my body automatically reacted to that mellow fragrance.
Wh-What a complicated reaction...
Hey! Are you all right, old man?!
Yeah, I’m fine.
And surprisingly, I kinda feel refreshed.
In the end, any battle is a battle with yourself.
I didn’t know that.
Unlike me, who only cared about wins and losses,
so much that I entered the match ignoring my Boss’s objections...
all you do is try and improve your own bread, not caring about who the opponent is.
It’s inevitable that you should win.
Old man...
Let’s go, Boss.
Hop onto my back.
Thank you, Azuma-kun.
I learned a lot from you again.
See ya.
Bye bye, Kazu-kun.
O-Old man...
I wonder if the old man will be all right...
Now that he’s a panda, he can’t even board trains.
He’ll be fine, even if he can’t board trains.
He can walk with his own feet now.
His battle with you has helped him mature once again.
I see...
That’s right.
Yep.
Then, all’s well that ends well, right?
You’ve been forgotten, Kuro-yan.
Yeah...
Now that I think about it, I don’t wanna die.
Kawachi... An ambulance...
I’m a moron...
I don’t know how to call an ambulance.
Please, Kawachi-kun...
I can’t hear you.
Meanie.
Robbie, dete oide yobu koe ni
Robbie, come on out to the sound of the voice calling you.
Robbie, hitorikiri de naiteita
Robbie, you were crying all by yourself.
Robbie, mune no naka sono hitomi wa
Robbie, the eyes in your heart...
nani wo utsushiteiru no?
what is it that they reflect?
..."boku wa dare nandarou"...
...Is it “Who am I?”...
bonyari yuraideru shinkirou no kanata
The other side of the mirage flickers faintly.
doko demo ii koko de wa nai dokoka e
Anywhere is fine, as long as it’s not here.
odoru kokoro biidama ni nando demo umarekawaru
My dancing heart is reborn as a marble time and again.
ima irodzukidashita kimi-iro
The colors I just filled in were yours.
mawaru owaru koto nai Be load
It’s not something that will finish with a turn. Be load.
namida yorokobi no mama ni nandomo nagashite goran
Just like your joy, try letting your tears flow.
hora irodzuita sekai kimi-iro
See? The world is filled in with your colors.
korogaru youni Do the Best of you
Like a tumble, do the best of you.
Next Episode
He became a real panda!
For real, anything goes here, huh?
Don’t be spacing out.
There’s only two more matches in Yakitate!! 9!
That’s right!
So, our next opponent is...
Huh? What was that?!
Next time, on Yakitate!! Japan,
The sun vs. the blizzard!!
The ultimate tart showdown!
Be sure to watch.
Yakitate Seeds of Knowledge!!
Bamboo-leaf dumplings, cakes, and sushi all use "beargrass."
In addition to outstanding taste, it brings chlorophyll and flavonoids to the table.
It's chock-full of nutritious goodness!
Ehhhhh!??!!