Mokoyama, returning as a panda man,
brought along with him the ultimate weapon, Super Baking Powder, and challenged Azuma.
Faced with the difficulty of making bread steamed with hot spring water,
the Pantasia team had a hard fight ahead of them, but...
The water is filled with bamboo leaves!
Oh, this smells good.
That’s it! This smell!
This is it!
We did it, Kawachi, Kanmuri!
I-It’s true!
There were three explosions!
It’s done.
Well, then.
Oh no!
Everyone, down!
What?
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!
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
Let’s go.
Th-That’s...
Roumen...
No, it’s a Noh mask!
Kuro-yan’s face has become a Roumen...
I mean a Noh mask!
Th-That’s really creepy!
A truly deeply mellow fragrance and faint sweetness.
I, Kuroyanagi, stand in awe.
Victor: Pantasia!
All right!
We did it!
Yeah, we did!
Using bamboo along with his Roumen technique,
Kazuma’s secret plan was truly explosive.
And it won against the Panda’s Triple Alps Steamed Bread.
Well then, we will now begin the eighth match.
Participants from Pantasia, step forward!
There are only two matches left in Yakitate!! 9.
I’m sure that St. Pierre will do their best to send forth a fearsome opponent.
But, no matter who our opponent is, we won’t lose!
We will win and get back Pantasia!
Next, would the participant from St. Pierre step forward!
Th-That’s Yukino!
Isn’t it Azusagawa Yukino?!
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 sun vs. the blizzard!!
The ultimate tart showdown!
The sun vs. the blizzard!!
The ultimate tart showdown!
I-Isn’t that Yukino?
Why is she here?
Th-That’s...
You little...
How many times do I have to tell you not to talk when I’m talking?!
If you do it again, I’ll shave off every hair you have on your bodies!
E-Every hair on our bodies?!
We’re very sorry.
We won’t do it again.
We’re truly repentant!
Well, as long as you understand.
Well then, let’s move on to choosing the city for our topic.
Would the participant from St. Pierre step forward and choose a panel.
Six.
Open panel #6.
Tomiura
Looks like it is Tomiura.
Tomiura
But, this city’s name is colored red.
The topic for this city has been decided in advance.
Tomiura
Now, let’s flip it once again.
Tart
Tart?
And let’s zoom in.
Awa District
Tomiura is a city in the Awa district of Chiba prefecture.
Tomiura
It is famous for producing strawberries and Kenjou loquats,
which are loquats of high quality that even to this day are presented to the Imperial household.
You are to use these marvelous fruits to create a tart that can be presented proudly.
That is all.
That really surprised me.
To think that she’s our next opponent...
Yeah...
But then, that means we’ve just had some unexpected luck come our way.
She may be fearsome as a person,
but when it comes to baking bread, we wouldn’t lose to such a woman.
No, that’s not the case.
However, yeast are ultimately germs, aren’t they?
It’s true that Azusagawa Yukino is the kind of person who calls bread yeast a germ.
We’d be safe in saying that she has absolutely no talent in baking bread.
But on the other hand,
she possesses the ultimate gift to make tarts, which is our topic this time.
In contrast to the Solar Hands that we possess,
she possesses the ultimate gift coveted by patisserie chefs.
The Blizzard Hands!
The Blizzard Hands?!
But that was surprising.
To think that Yukino had such a gift...
But, Kanmuri...
Why is it advantageous to have cold hands when making tarts?
That’s because tart dough is not fermented.
Among tart doughs, there is a variety called futage.
All you do is add butter into the thin, non-fermented dough and fold it.
Since it’s non-fermented, your hands don’t need to be warm.
It is advantageous to have cold hands, as it will keep the butter from melting for a longer time.
Things like tarts, where you add fruit to the dough, are all about crispiness.
So, the more skillfully you add in the butter, the bigger the advantage you have.
I see...
B-But wait a moment.
Still...
Even Azuma can make a many-hundred-layer croissant, right?
The only differences between croissant dough and tart dough
Croissant
Tart
Non-fermented
Fermented
are the amount of butter you add in and whether or not you ferment it, right?
If you make the croissant into the dough for a tart, won’t it be crispy then?
That is certainly a possibility.
Tart
Croissant
But, while that may be pretty rare for a fermented croissant dough,
300-Layer Tart
| |
Normal
300-Layer Croissant
| |
Exceptional
it’s normal for tart dough,
which is folded without fermenting, to have many hundred layers.
Tart dough
Unlike tart dough, which can be stretched infinitely thin since it’s not fermented,
croissant dough is made after the dough has fermented and expanded.
Croissant dough
So there is a limit to how thin you can make it by stretching.
Only after going to great lengths can you make that many layers in a croissant.
And it absolutely can’t have more layers than a tart.
I-I see.
Also, even if you manage to make a greater number of layers,
Yukino has yet another secret technique.
A legendary technique that can be performed only by people with cold hands.
The Reverse Folding Technique.
R-Reverse Folding?!
What is this?!
Isn’t this the match locale, Tomiura of Chiba prefecture?!
City of Tomiura, Awa District, Chiba Prefecture
Wh-Why are we suddenly in the match locale?
Weren’t we just in front of the Great Tokyo Television station?
Looks like we got here before we knew it.
Saitama
Tokyo
Chiba
Chiba is right next to Tokyo, after all.
It’s close by.
Are you making fun of me because I’m from Kansai and not Tokyo?!
Nope, we’re just shortening things.
Nobody wants to see the travel scenes, after all...
W-Well, that might be true.
So, what kind of super technique is it?
That Reverse Folding thing...
Putting it simply,
it is a technique where the dough is enveloped in butter, even at its outermost ends.
Butter
Dough
Normally, tarts and croissants are made by wrapping butter inside the dough,
Butter
Dough
but in the case of Reverse Folding you do the opposite.
You wrap the dough in butter.
By doing this, you can wrap the outermost ends of the dough with butter as well.
So, it’s possible to increase the crispiness of the dough even further.
It goes without saying that this is impossible
for anyone whose hands aren’t cold enough to fold the butter so that it doesn’t melt.
It is a high-level technique.
H-How can this be...
To think that woman had such a technique...
Where are we this time?!
Where have we been brought to?!
Geez, what the hell are you talking about?!
We’re at the loquat market.
The loquat market.
Loquat Market
M-Market?
Loquat Market
We’re just shortening the time.
Shortening it.
There’s no point in worrying about our opponent after all.
First, we have to think about obtaining the specialty products
and deciding how to use them to make a delicious tart.
N-No...
That’s not what I’m worrying about.
Damn geezer.
You only have loquats preserved in brown sugar?!
What the hell do you mean?!
I have a match in three days.
It’s useless telling me that.
You can’t get fresh loquats in this season.
I can’t give you something I don’t have.
All we have are loquats that have been preserved in brown sugar syrup for long-term preservation.
Like I care about that!
Then why don’t you just plant some and raise them right away?!
You’re asking for the impossible!
Stop that, Yukino!
What are you doing to an elderly person?!
Loquats for souvenirs
The Story of the Loquat
Well, look who we have here.
Loquats for souvenirs
It’s the cockroaches from Pantasia!
You’ve come to buy loquats too, right?
Loquats for souvenirs
But it’s too bad...
It looks like it’s the wrong season for the famous Kenjou loquats.
All they have here are these filthy loquats, preserved in brown sugar
and put in these ridiculous octopus pots for preservation.
My loquats are not filthy.
Yeah, that’s right!
Then, why don’t you use them?
I’ll use the other specialty product, strawberries.
Bye bye then, Mr. Cockroach.
Loquat Market
Are you hurt, Mister?
My body is all right.
But, I’m mortified.
While they may be preserved,
the loquats that I prepared so diligently don’t deserve to be spoken of in that manner.
Mister...
Please, young man.
From what I hear, you’re going to have a match with her on a TV program, right?
Is it not possible for you to use my loquats and defeat her?
I know that fruit is more delicious when fresh.
I know that I’m asking for something unreasonable.
But my loquats are not filthy!
I want her to know that!
Please? It is the wish of a lifetime, young man.
All right, Mister.
I’ll use these loquats.
I’ll defeat her with these!
Really?!
Yeah, of course!
A-Azuma-kun...
Azuma...
Please, young men!
Loquat Market
Please take revenge for me!
Yep! Leave it to us!
But, is this really all right?
It’s not that I don’t understand your sympathizing with him, Azuma-kun...
But, at the topic of making tarts,
Yukino is already at an advantage due to her cold hands.
And that woman will be using fresh strawberries.
Of course, I don’t think that they are filthy or anything...
But, preserved loquats have absolutely no chance of winning.
That’s right, Azuma.
It’s a given that using fresh fruit for a tart is best.
It’s not too late yet.
Let’s apologize to the old man and come up with another way.
No, that won’t do.
I’m definitely going to use these loquats.
B-But being stubborn about this won’t help much if we lose!
So...
I won’t lose.
Not if I take up the challenge with croissants.
But, didn’t we just talk about this at the Great Tokyo Television station?
Not even your many-hundred-layer croissant can win against Yukino’s tart.
I’m not fighting her with that croissant.
I’ll be taking on the challenge with the Super Tart Japan.
With the Super Black Loquat Croissant!
B-Black Loquat Croissant?!
Hey, wh-where’s this now?!
The match location!
A-And why is it suddenly the day of the match now?
Isn’t the match usually three days after the location is announced?
Looks like Azuma-kun did it.
This time, we didn’t just fly to the next place, we went ahead in time, too.
W-Well, this isn’t quite the time to be impressed, is it...
It’s probably because Azuma-kun is really serious this time.
Whether you’re a baker or not,
what’s most important is to care about the people who eat your food.
In other words, your regard for other people.
He holds more regard for others than most people.
I’m sure that his strong regard for the old man will work in ways that we can’t even imagine.
That’s probably what made time fly ahead.
Well, I understand that it’s a heartwarming story and all...
But as far as I’m concerned, I’m just disturbed by the fact that
three days of my life just went by and I have absolutely no memory of them.
Wh-What is it now?!
Hey, aren’t you the old man from the loquat market?!
It looks like Azuma-kun’s regard transported the old man as well.
Wh-What was that?!
You must be surprised at the sudden turn of events.
This is the location of the match.
The details will be explained by this person here from Kansai.
So, please be at ease.
Hey, wait a minute!
Well, I’m off to help Azuma-kun.
Hurry up.
5. 4. 3.
Well then,
we will now begin the eighth match of Yakitate!! 9, here at Tomiura!
Begin!
That was quite a turn of events,
but now that we’re all here, there’s nothing we can do about it.
I’ll leave all the rest to you.
I believe in you, Azuma.
You’re a spectator again, Kawachi-san?
Oh, Tsukino. And Manager!
Oh, you came too, Meister-han?
Yes.
I believe that as an official of Pantasia, it is my responsibility
to watch over these last two matches of Yakitate!! 9 that are to decide Pantasia’s fate.
I guess that’s true.
Have a good time watching.
Okay.
Wh-What’s with that woman?!
She’s folding the butter with her bare hands, but it’s not melting at all!
How in the world is she folding it?!
Th-That’s truly amazing.
I’ve seen many a baker, but...
It’s the first time I’ve seen someone who can handle butter like that.
Far from melting,
it almost looks like the butter is hardening.
She truly has the Blizzard Hands.
I-I wonder if Azuma-san will be all right...?
At this rate, she’ll make the ultimate tart!
I don’t know if he’ll be all right, but...
There’s no mistaking the fact that he’s at a tremendous disadvantage.
N-No way...
Th-This is bad...
Even Manager just passed a pessimistic comment.
At this rate, we’ll...
Did you see that, you little cockroaches?
This is my power.
You’re no match for me!
I’ll trample you to a pulp!
Wh-What?
Wh-What’s with that dough?!
I’ve never seen dough that can stretch so much!
Wh-What is that stretchy dough?!
Even I’ve never seen anything like that!
Way back when Azuma made the double gluten dough, it...
But, this one stretches even more than that! It’s a dough with the ultimate extensibility!
Manager! How in the world did Azuma make such an extensible dough?!
He’s using flour with high protein...
No, super-high protein content.
F... Flour with super-high protein content?
Wh-What the hell is that?
Put simply, it is flour with even more protein content than hard flour.
M-More protein content than hard flour?
Does such a flour even exist?
Yep.
Protein Content
Based on protein content,
Soft Flour
Low level
flours are classified as soft, all-purpose, and hard.
All-Purpose Flour
Mid level
Hard Flour
High level
But actually, flours with high protein content and super-high protein content also exist.
High Protein Level Flour
Really high level
Super High Protein Level Flour
Bloody high level
But, if the protein content is too high, it’s harder to get the dough to ferment.
Also, it becomes hard to knead.
So, a regular person cannot use it.
It is something that only people who possess the Solar Hands, like Azuma-kun, can use.
I see...
To think that something amazing like that existed...
But, the theme this time is tarts, right?
He needs to be making a crispy crust.
So, why is he making that kind of extensible dough?
Uh... Yeah, even I don’t know that.
Oh I see!
He’s doing something crazy!
Both of you, look at his dough carefully!
That’s...
What does this mean?!
Azuma’s dough has suddenly disappeared!
Look a little more carefully.
It’s not like his dough has disappeared.
He’s stretched that sticky dough to its absolute limit to make
a perfectly transparent dough!
I-I see!
If it’s just regular fermented dough,
then there’s a limit to how much you can stretch it.
But if it’s that extensible a dough,
then you can extend it as much as you like, just like a sticky rice cake.
With this, it’s unmistakable that he’ll be able to make a thin and crispy crust!
It’s for this reason that Azuma used the super-high protein content flour, right?
Yep.
With this, he might be able to surpass the crispiness of Yukino’s crust!
So, it looks like the two crusts are at about equal levels now.
All right!
You did it, Azuma!
Impressive, Azuma-kun.
And that is just how it should be.
Now you’ve gone and done it, you little cockroach!
But... No matter how good your crust is,
all you have are those filthy loquats preserved in brown sugar.
You have no hope of winning.
Looks like it’s finished baking.
Now that the baking is done, all I have to do is add the strawberries.
If I make the judge eat it before the crispiness disappears,
I’m sure to win.
All right!
I’m done!
Wh-What?!
O-Oh no!
What’s the matter, Manager?
Whether it’s a tart or a croissant,
the pie-type, crispy crust is crispiest when it’s just baked,
and definitely more delicious if eaten immediately.
But... both have finished making the tart at the same time!
It’s going to become a race to see who can make Kuroyanagi eat it first!
What was that?!
In that case, eat both together!
C... Could it be that I asked for something that I shouldn’t have?
Th-This is bad, guys!
Wh-What is it this time?
To make him eat two breads at the same time...
Something terrible is going to happen.
We are all going to be pulled into this reaction.
Wh-What was that?
Wh-What’s...
What’s going to happen to us?!
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
What is this?!
Did a new program start suddenly?
What are you talking about?
Come, let’s move on quickly.
It’s the start of a new adventure.
Next time, on Yakitate!! Japan,
This is the path I must take!?
The Road of the Loquat!
Note: Road and Lord are pronounced the same way in Japanese.
The Road of the Loquat!
Be sure to watch.
Yakitate!! Seed of knowledge.
The pastry that represents France, the tart.
Tart
The origin of the name comes from “tourte,” a disk-shaped, pie-type dessert from ancient Rome.
A disk-shaped, pie-type dessert from ancient Rome
Tourte
Small versions of tarts are called tartlets.
Tartlet
Small versions
Oh?!