Are there any other ideas for Mr. Sasayama's signing event?
How about distributing flyers to deep-fried food shops?
The face of a capable man is quite distinctive.
"This is rather abrupt, but for quite some time
I have been puzzled by the word 'wa-sweets.'
Are they Japanese sweets? Are they European sweets?
Is it acceptable for such ambiguous sweets to exist?
I would like to know your thoughts on this, sweets knight.
Sweets princess."
wa-sweets...
Good question, sweets princess.
Are wa-sweets Japanese sweets or European sweets?
The answer to that
is in Kagurazaka.
By coincidence, my sales visits today are in Kagurazaka.
Sweets princess,
I shall answer your question.
MATCHA BAVARIAN CREAM
Who are you?
You have a very good face.
What?
Oh, there you are, Sir.
Sir!
Sir?
You haven't met him yet, have you, Kantaro?
This is Shigeo Matsuzawa.
We're having him look around the office for his series starting in autumn
in the Weekly Morning.
I'm Matsuzawa.
I beg your pardon.
I'm from the Kiccho Publishing Sales and Marketing Department,
Kantaro Ametani.
It's nice to meet you.
It's nice to meet you too.
So, sir, have you found anything that you can use?
He's pretty nice.
What? Kantaro?
Yes.
He's the perfect type to play the lead character.
He looks like a salaryman with a secret life!
That's great, Kantaro!
-You're in the lead role! -Yes.
Come on! Strike a pose!
-Right, a pose. -Come on! Pose!
Sir, what should he do?
Right arm, up.
-Right arm up. -Raise his right arm. Okay.
Firmer!
-Firmer! -Firmer!
And your necktie, don't touch that.
-Don't touch his necktie. -Leave it as is.
Left arm, down.
Down. It's down. Good. Leave it as is.
-And your glasses... Wear them. -Okay.
He'll wear his glasses.
Yes, leave them as is.
Very nice! I'm getting an idea!
Is this good? Is this good, sir?
I'm getting an idea!
He's getting an idea. Lots of ideas.
This is so stunning!
-Stunning! -Excuse me!
Stunning?
I must be going to Kagurazaka now.
-Kantaro... -I shall be going. Excuse me.
Kantaro.
Hey, Kantaro.
Goodbye!
Do you want me to strike a pose?
Oh, good idea. If you would, please?
LABOR ENRICHES DAILY LIFE, AND LIQUOR MAKES SUNDAY JOYFUL.
CHARLES BAUDELAIRE
Baudelaire...
I am in complete agreement
with your belief that "Labor enriches daily life."
However, it is not alcohol that makes my Sunday joyful.
In my case, it's sweets.
No, sweets do not enrich only my Sundays.
Labor enriches my daily life, and sweets enrich it even more.
Excellent! I'm an hour ahead of schedule. It's going well.
If I go to the shop now...
Mr. Matsuzawa!
The more I look at you, the better your face becomes, Mr. Ametani.
You're like a hunter on the prowl for its prey.
I'm getting great ideas! This is fantastic!
Excuse me,
but may I ask you to refrain from drawing me while I'm working?
What? But all I'm doing is watching you from afar.
You mean I can't even look at you?
Well...
A publishing company employee will do anything for their product, right?
Or are you doing something that you don't want to be revealed?
Well... No...
What? Mr. Ametani?
At that time, my head was...
Mr. Ametani!
filled with thoughts of matcha bavarian cream.
matcha bavarian cream!
The backstreets of Kagurazaka still maintain an Edo Era atmosphere.
After you've passed through the cobblestoned backstreets,
you're greeted by a lively street.
Since performances of the sacred music, kagura, could be heard here,
it was called Kagurazaka.
At the bottom of that hill,
there is the long-established sweets restaurant, Kinozen.
I want it now! Kinozen's matcha bavarian cream.
That sure was close though.
If I let him continue following me around,
there's no way I could skip work
and go eat wa-sweets.
There you are!
What do you think you're doing, Mr. Ametani?
I traveled at full speed, how did he get here?
Are you really intent on preventing me from drawing you?
No! Hey! Let go of me, Sir.
I'm not letting go of you until you let me draw you.
Let go of me, please.
What is with this guy?
Oh, dear!
If this keeps up, I'll run out of my hooky time.
Shigeo!
Maria!
Maria?
Are you skipping work again?
I'm not skipping work! I'm preparing for a manga!
Are you kidding me?
Do you know how long it has been since you earned any money?
Sir, who is this?
My wife.
This is chaos.
Get to work!
I won't be fooled this time.
Go to work! What are you? You too, work!
My precious time is being wasted!
This can't go on!
If this keeps up, I'll run out of time to visit Kinozen.
Now that it's come to this...
I'm so sorry about this, Mr. Ametani.
Not at all. I thought you might be tired as well.
Let's have something sweet and relax.
Let's relax, shall we, ma'am?
You are really considerate, Mr. Ametani.
Don't you agree, Maria?
However, as a rule,
my company does not allow us to visit restaurants during working hours.
So, this time is special.
Please make sure that you don't tell anyone about this.
Welcome.
Please go to the second floor.
Since its founder, Mr. Zenbei, was from Kishu, it's called Kinozen.
This shop was established at the end of the Edo Era,
making it a truly long-established shop.
However, in 1948, the proprietress two generations prior
switched from being a sushi restaurant to serving sweets.
Then the present proprietress remodeled the shop,
giving it a modern feel that matches the times.
The pig-shaped rice crackers that are served with the tea
are made from haenuki rice from Yamagata Prefecture
and sprinkled with salt from Brittany.
The proprietress' modern flair
extends even to this.
Mr. Ametani.
She doesn't believe me at all.
What?
She says that I laze around every day, and never work.
I see.
What should I do about that, Mr. Ametani?
I seriously couldn't care less.
Mr. Ametani.
Do you know my husband's manga?
Of course, I do.
His most famous work is The Night Mist Salaryman.
Right.
But since that series ended a year ago,
Shigeo doesn't want to work at all!
That's not true, Maria.
I got a new series, and I'm preparing for it now right here.
What are you talking about?
You didn't do anything for a whole year!
No!
Well, yes. That may be true. Maybe.
There are a million things you could have done in a year.
I'm in complete agreement with Maria.
If a person really tries,
they can do incredible things in a year.
Sir.
The proprietress of Kinozen
spent an entire year developing a new kind of sweets.
She created this, matcha bavarian cream.
matcha bavarian cream.
This matcha bavarian cream revolutionized Japanese sweets.
It is this shop's most popular dish.
If a person works as hard as they can for one year,
they can create something this incredible.
That's what I want you to understand today.
What's with all that?
Are you ready to order?
matcha bavarian cream, please.
I'd like a matcha bavarian cream too.
I'll have the kamameshi.
Sir, did you hear what I just said?
I'm kind of hungry...
Three orders of matcha bavarian cream, please.
Certainly.
To the proprietress who developed these wonderful sweets,
I thank you!
Twenty-five years ago,
you had matcha cake at a European sweets restaurant.
It was your first wa-sweets.
When you ate that matcha cake, you thought,
"I will make matcha sweets that are even tastier than this."
That's when your battle with matcha began.
matcha is sensitive to heat.
To bring out its beautiful green color,
precise temperature control is an absolute necessity.
After much trial and error, you decided to use gelatin.
The gelatin is dissolved in milk,
then egg yolks and sugar are added, and the mixture is heated over a low fire.
Once it becomes thick, then matcha is added.
Finally, fluffy whipped cream is added, and it's poured into a mold,
and slowly cooled in a refrigerator.
Then...
But the proprietress' fight would continue.
She got an idea from European sweets,
like apple pie a la mode.
She wanted to serve matcha bavarian cream in the same way.
But ice cream is too weak to serve with rich matcha bavarian cream.
That's when she decided to use whipped cream that was just as rich.
Its fat content is an astounding 47 percent!
Only 100 percent natural cream from Nakazawa Dairy
can produce the phenomenal milky whipped cream
that you unsparingly serve with the bavarian cream.
Naturally, you only made such a rash decision
because you had confidence in Kinozen's flavor.
You had another ingredient for matcha bavarian cream.
And it was the Japanese ingredient that could perfectly accompany
these rich European foods.
You used the finest adzuki beans, the naturally grown variety from Tamba.
They have an exceptional sweetness that only Kinozen,
a shop that has always been particular about its sweet bean paste, could serve.
Thank you for waiting. Here is your matcha bavarian cream.
It's so beautiful!
It's like a work of art!
Dark earth and white clouds,
and a brilliant matcha mountain.
I never knew there was such green in the middle of the city.
Is this Japanese sweets or European sweets?
Which is it?
I'm not sure which it is.
Oh, dear! I almost forgot.
wa-sweets. Will it be Japanese or European?
Only...
Sweet heaven knows!
Even the first bite delivers the striking aroma of matcha!
Is this Japanese? European? Which is it?
No, it doesn't matter.
I just want to immerse myself in this matcha world.
Something is coming this way.
It's rich whipped cream!
Coming up behind it is sweet bean paste, racing for the position!
I am whipped cream.
I am sweet bean paste.
Oh! It's whipped cream and sweet bean paste!
Who are you?
I am...
matcha bavarian cream!
You're a handsome man with a sweet face.
Thank you.
You're a handsome man who is sophisticated.
Thank you.
Let's all combine forces.
Sweetness and...
Sophistication and...
Creaminess.
Most important is...
-Three in one! -Three in one!
Okay, let's blend ourselves together!
-Three in one! -Three in one!
Japanese sweets. European sweets.
Classifying sweets...
is meaningless!
That was really incredible.
Excellent, very good.
The god of sweets has passed judgment.
The "wa" in "wa-sweets" is...
the "wa" in "harmony."
HARMONY SWEETS
"Harmony sweets."
Right.
The most important thing is...
harmony between the Japanese and the European.
It's the same as a married couple.
Shigeo!
Maria!
Shigeo!
Maria!
Shigeo!
Mr. Ametani, my eyes have been opened!
I'm glad to hear it.
From now on, I'll be more supportive of you.
Thank you.
My goodness! I've just come up with a fantastic idea!
Excuse me.
I have a great idea!
Here it is.
"Are wa-sweets Japanese sweets or European sweets?"
To answer your question, sweets princess,
I went to Kinozen in Kagurazaka.
Kantaro, we received something from Mr. Matsuzawa.
-From Mr. Matsuzawa? -Yes.
What could it be? His idea for the new manga?
I wonder.
What's this?
He was just here yesterday, but he's already done?
Let me have a look.
"Amanoshin: The Sweet Tooth Salaryman.
A talented salaryman who travels to strange worlds when he eats sweets
while he should be making sales visits."
The lower body is a horse, Kantaro.
What the heck is this?
If this manga is printed, then everyone will find out
that I skip work to go around and eat sweets!
Give that back, Sir.
What's the matter?
I reject this manuscript.
Why? It looks interesting. The lower body is a horse.
No, it's not the least bit interesting.
Here, let me see it.
Sir, having a horse for the lower body is all wrong.
I think it's nice.
-Why? -What?
How many men in Japan have a horse for a lower body?
What's that? A dirty joke?
-I'm back. -Welcome back.
Hi.
-Is that a dirty joke? -No, it's not a dirty joke.
Where is Dobashi?
I don't know. She was here a minute ago.
Oh, dear.
I had something for her to do. I wonder if she went home.
"After having the matcha bavarian cream at Kinozen,
I feel very strongly that the 'wa' in 'wa-sweets' is the 'wa' in 'harmony'."
Yesterday, this is where Kantaro went for his sales visits.
Kagurazaka.
If he's the one who wrote this...
Here's your matcha bavarian cream.
then there's another lover of sweets incredibly close...
to me.
Thank you for the food.
Dear sweets knight,
someday I would love to take a sweets vacation with you.
Sweets princess.
BASED ON THE COMIC BOOK KANTARO: THE SWEET TOOTH SALARYMAN
THIS STORY IS A WORK OF FICTION BASED ON ACTUAL PLACES AND SWEETS.
Subtitle translation by Brian Athey