-Good night. -Night.
What? You're working late, Kantaro?
Yes, a little.
That's unusual.
You always finish work right on time and say,
"See you," just before you leave.
Were you impersonating Kantaro?
Pretty good, right?
"See you."
Hey, you two! Stop bothering Kantaro!
Yes, sir.
Kantaro, come drink with us sometime.
Okay. Good night.
Good night.
-Good night. -Good night.
See you.
That was the real thing!
How's it going, Kantaro? Will you be here for a while?
Yes, a little while longer.
I appreciate that you're dedicated to your work,
but you know what they say now. Don't work late too much.
I brought this from home, but I didn't need it.
Have it if you'd like.
We had it for a long time, so it might be past expiration.
They say sweets are best when they're going bad.
How much longer?
Please, sir. Don't worry about me.
Aren't you dining with a special customer?
Anyway, don't wear yourself out. See you later.
Sweets are delicious anytime!
However, there is a sinful way
to enjoy sweets that lifts them to an even more spectacular level.
It's nighttime sweets!
This evening's dish is pudding.
It delivers sugar to a body exhausted from working late,
and allows you to indulge in sinful pleasure.
Tonight, I shall practice this forbidden art
which amplifies the joy of pudding a hundredfold.
Nietzsche once said,
"How can those who live in the light of day
possibly comprehend the depths of night?"
I shall not succumb to the sweet temptation of this doughnut.
Right now, I want to be immersed in
the sweetness of pudding as soon as possible!
You know, this pudding seems awfully flexible.
Kantaro!
Sir? What's the matter?
You know that dinner tonight?
I was hoping you could come too.
I really want you to meet them. How about that?
I still have some work to do.
And I have plans for later.
Why don't I call Yamaji or someone?
Come on! Just one place.
You can just sit there.
Think of it as part of work.
Okay! Let's go!
CARAMEL PUDDING
-You're always overselling! -Who is? Who?
Seriously! This is all thanks to you guys!
The next one will be a success! I swear!
There you go again. Hey, Miyake.
-What? -You always say that.
One time you said it would be a big success for sure,
so the bookstores I run put up a big display for that series,
but it didn't sell at all!
That was 20 years ago!
I swear it will sell! I guarantee it!
Really?
You bet! It comes with the Miyake guarantee!
There you go again! I've never seen that guarantee!
It's really easy to eat a lot here.
I could eat a ton of this!
Superb! Superb table manipulation.
He also hides himself so well that only I notice it.
The clients never need to ask for a thing.
I'm so glad he works for me.
Are you drinking, Kantaro?
Yes, I am.
Liar.
You haven't had anything to eat or drink. Drink up.
Eating and drinking after 8:00 p.m. affects the next day's work.
Then have some sweet and sour pork.
It's great here. Number one in Japan.
No, thank you.
If I had sweet and sour pork, it would ruin my nighttime sweets!
However, I wonder why there's pineapple in the sweet and sour pork.
Unbelievable! This combination defiles the sweetness of pineapple.
It makes me question the taste of whoever made this.
Unbelievable. Relegated to such a pitiful state.
I want to return it to an ocean of fruit anmitsu right now.
Kantaro, do you have a girlfriend?
No, I don't.
You should have!
What about Sano, or Dobashi?
What do you mean?
I don't "mean" anything.
Do you want to sleep with them or not? It's an easy question.
Sir, it's about time to switch to oolong tea.
Hey! The almond tofu is here!
-Okay! Okay! -All right!
The almond tofu here is awesome.
-Here's your food. -I've never had better almond tofu.
Listen, everyone. The stuff here is the best!
It's so great, you'll say, "You have tofu give me!"
You too have some, Kantaro!
Look!
It's as soft and fluffy as the first snows of the north,
and as white as the skin of the women of the north.
So firm, moist, resilient, and smooth,
it makes you want to call this perfect jelly a beauty of the north.
It's love at first sight.
But... But...
When I think of the pudding that awaits me,
I cannot cheat on her now.
Almond tofu, someday, I swear...
I swear I will eat you.
Miyake! Miyake! Let's go to one more.
Oh, yes! Of course!
-Is it this way? -It is, right?
Let's go!
Come on, Kantaro.
Sir, I'll get going now.
What are you talking about? One more round!
Come on! Join us!
This guy can be a real pain when he's drunk.
In order to enjoy nighttime sweets to the fullest,
I've kept from eating or drinking all evening.
Even though almond tofu may despise me for not eating her,
I most certainly will not go to another restaurant now.
What's that?
Hey, Kantaro! Who's that?
Hello?
What?
I see.
I'm terribly sorry. I'll take care of it right away.
What's wrong?
Sir, Akasaka Gohon Bookstore called to say
their delivery of tomorrow's magazines does not match what they ordered.
What? They must have their wires crossed.
No, it's a problem with our ordering system.
They're open 24 hours, so I'll deliver them now myself.
Just call Yamaji to do that.
Tonight, I want to share with you all of my 30 years of experience
in dealing with clients. Come on! Join me!
No, this is my client, so I cannot.
I learned a lot today, sir.
Continue teaching me next time.
No! No! I want it today!
What are you doing?
Miyake! Let's go!
Fine! But next time, we'll stay out until morning, Kantaro!
Yes, sir. Gladly!
I'm terribly sorry about this.
Thank you so much for delivering them yourself.
Not at all. Goodbye, now.
Akasaka.
It used to be known as the leading red-light district in Japan.
However, Akasaka has transformed
into a business district of high-class buildings,
accompanied by a lively and prosperous shopping and entertainment district.
What sort of things are hiding in the dark of this town? Only...
Sweet heaven knows.
Esse Due.
Opened in 1998, this Italian restaurant is highly regarded by those in the know.
I've made it in time.
Welcome. This way, please.
The interior is reminiscent of Naples.
Originally, it was meant to be a specialty restaurant
that served brick-oven Naples pizza.
It receives very high marks for its wide variety of genuine Italian food.
However, what I'm here for today is of course...
Are you ready to order?
Rich cream pudding.
Certainly.
They also have a large selection of desserts.
Tiramisu, gelato, affogato, and more.
They have all the special Italian desserts.
However, pudding may be something that wouldn't normally be on that list.
Yet, in Italy,
there is a wonderful traditional sweet
called crema caramellata.
Apparently, many customers come here just to order this pudding.
Here's your rich cream pudding.
It's standing on its own!
In fact, it's been sliced!
Is this really pudding?
I see. It's made to be extremely firm.
It looks like a cake, which is unusual. No wonder it attracts attention.
But, then, how is the texture?
So soft!
It's magnificently creamy!
This is...
Though it has a very firm texture, there are absolutely no bubbles in it.
This must be the secret to its creaminess!
Egg yolks. Sugar. Vanilla beans.
Milk. Whipped cream.
Just the combination of these five ingredients
is the base for its flavor and texture.
Since nothing more is added,
its simplicity makes it nearly impossible to add anything original to it.
This restaurant cooks a whole pudding that's over 20 centimeters in diameter.
When it's this large, it's not an easy feat
to cook it to such even perfection so there are no bubbles throughout.
If it's not cooked enough, it won't be firm.
But if it's cooked too long, it loses its creaminess.
Like they say, "You can't have it both ways."
A mixture that uses extra eggs. Complete temperature control.
Adjusting cooking time depending on slight variations in conditions each day.
It's the result of the chef's experience in his craft.
It comes together to make this rich cream...
pudding!
You can't find this firm yet creamy texture anywhere else.
The faint bitterness of the sponge cake perfectly moistened with caramel
amplifies the rich pudding's sweetness to an incredible degree.
Here. Open wide.
Such...
Such sweet happiness.
Okay, have another bite.
What's wrong?
I'm frightened because I'm so happy.
Come now. Don't be afraid.
But if I continue to eat you, you'll disappear.
I don't mind. I'll become part of you.
To me, happiness is being eaten up by you.
All right.
I will eat you fondly, one bite at a time.
Who's this?
You're... almond tofu!
Why?
Why didn't you choose me?
You said it was love at first sight.
You said you wanted to eat me.
Someday, I will...
Get out, you impostor! Quit acting sweet! You're just tofu!
Wrong! I'm not tofu. You don't even know that, you bumpkin?
Besides, you're way too sweet! In fact, you're so sweet, it's annoying!
You see, I'm the perfect sweetness.
Plus, I'm full of medicinal herbs, so I'm very healthy.
You moron! I'm full of eggs, so I'm packed with nutrition!
How can you call yourself "tofu" when you're not even tofu?
I bet that's an alias because you're hiding something!
-You disgust me! -Now, now!
Please. Don't get so angry. You're jiggling all over.
And you...
You have tofu give me.
What's that about? Choose one of us right now!
Right! Choose one!
You're always so indecisive.
I... I can't choose!
But...
since I've done this to her head
I must bear responsibility for it.
I see... All right.
Wait!
Eat me in our next life.
Have some.
I will eat you...
fondly.
Open wide.
I've never experienced a last bite... that was so hard to bid farewell to.
The chef says,
"I have yet to achieve perfection."
If one doesn't try and fail, then one will never improve.
In making sweets, like in life,
it's a repetition of trial and error.
Esse Due's rich cream pudding...
was very satisfying!
"How can those who live in the light of day
possibly comprehend the depths of night?"
It truly is deep. Impenetrably deep.
Kantaro!
Hey! I finally found you!
Where did you go?
Sir, what are you doing here?
I couldn't make you work all by yourself.
Earlier, I chased after you, but I couldn't find you.
Oh! I went to Gohon Bookstore!
The manager even told me how much he appreciated it.
Thanks for that!
It's just my job.
I see.
Okay! How about the two of us go drinking?
Think of this as a troublesome part of your job.
I'm lonely!
Oh, that's right!
This is the almond tofu from that restaurant we were at.
You didn't have yours, right?
So, I asked if I could take it home.
It seemed to me like this almond tofu really wanted you to eat it.
This almond tofu is really delicious.
Reincarnated so soon?
What's that?
Nothing.
Thank you.
As for drinking...
I'll join you!
Really? Great!
Yes! Of course!
You know,
if I had been easier on myself when I was younger,
I think I would have gone further.
Okay! Let's treat ourselves to a good time tonight!
Okay?
Yes, sir!
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