These mame daifuku look delicious!
Are you sure, Dobashi?
Yes. Have them, Sano.
Okay! Here it goes!
A Japanese sweet, Mame daifuku from Tsuruse, an old sweet shop in Yushima.
Kantaro Ametani,
judging from your reaction after taking a bite of these mame daifuku,
I should be able to tell if you're sweets knight,
the author of the sweets blog, Amablo.
However...
KANTARO AMETANI - OUT
Too bad. I'll just have to try another time.
Takarabe,
these are delicious mame daifuku. Would you like...
No, thank you.
I'm recently cutting back on sweets.
Sorry.
Oh, I didn't know.
AKIKO 5 BY KATSUHIRO SHOTOMO
Well then. I will now go to the signing event in Nakano.
It was quite a shock to him when Kantaro replaced him as top salesman.
These are delicious!
A signing event in Nakano?
He's working on many ways to get back his position at the top.
But that event is not until this afternoon.
He sure is leaving early.
CHOCOLATE
This fruit is so incredibly wonderful.
These peaches are so fine!
I won't stand for some guy who eats parfait while working
to do better than me!
What?
WOULD YOU LIKE TO JOIN ME FOR SOMETHING SWEET TO EAT?
What?
SINCE YOU ARE SO STOICAL,
I'D LIKE TO HAVE STOIC CHOCOLATE WITH YOU.
Chocolate? No, thank you.
THEN, I'LL SEE YOU LATER.
You won't be acting so calm and cool for much longer,
Kantaro Ametani.
Later, the miraculous event in Nakano finally came true
after making numerous requests.
This will be the first signing and talking event given
by the manga legend, Katsuhiro Shotomo.
Without a doubt, this will give my sales a huge boost.
Plus, I'll have him sign these books,
and dash to deliver them by hand to bookstores in Ikebukuro and Shibuya.
This plan to visit three locations in Tokyo
is also known as...
It's not sine, cosine, tangent,
but using signing to become the undisputed best!
Operation Trigonometric!
This will work!
If I complete this operation perfectly...
This month's top salesman by far is...
Takarabe!
You're so amazing, Takarabe!
Takarabe is really the best.
Last month was just luck for Kantaro.
Damn it!
It seems you were too sweet on yourself with all those sweets.
Takarabe!
This is no dream. Nope, not a dream.
Definitely not.
MANAGER MIYAKE
Hello?
Where the hell are you?
There was a huge panic because you didn't show up!
I'm sorry!
I'm on my way to Nakano now!
Forget it!
I had Kantaro go in your place.
What?
Kantaro?
NAKANO
-Thank you. Keep up the good work. -Thanks.
-Thank you. -Thank you.
-I guess that's all. -Yes, that's it.
-Thank you. -Thanks.
-Sir. -Yes?
I'm terribly sorry
that Takarabe was suddenly absent,
and I arrived late to take his place.
I'm sorry for the trouble.
Forget about it.
Thanks to your resourcefulness, this went well.
My pleasure.
Now...
Would you please
sign these books, sir?
Oh, Takarabe asked me to do this.
Sure thing.
With all these signatures, your sales will get a big boost.
Thank you.
AKIKO 5 BY KATSUHIRO SHOTOMO
But to me, this was not important.
What's more important was...
delivering these signed books by hand.
I can still make it!
IKEBUKURO
Manager.
Yes? What can I do for you?
These are the books signed by Katsuhiro Shotomo.
-Goodbye. -Bye.
SHIBUYA
Manager, thank you for waiting.
I have brought the books...
According to plan,
I delivered the signed books by hand to the stores in Ikebukuro and Shibuya.
To spend this brief period of free time I had obtained, I headed for...
Tomigaya.
Walk down the side street next to Tokyu in Shibuya,
and you'll arrive in the Kamiyamacho shopping street.
It's a mixture
of old private businesses and refined modern shops.
This profoundly mysterious area is called Okushibu.
If you continue to walk even further, you'll arrive in Tomigaya.
Here is the shop that I've been wanting to visit for so long.
Chocolate specialty shop, Minimal.
Coming to this place must surely be the will of god...
No...
The will of sweet god!
Kantaro!
I'm terribly sorry for the trouble I caused you today.
I'm surprised you knew I would be here.
You said stoic chocolate, so I looked for a shop that sold something like that.
Well done.
I owe you a favor for what happened today.
To be honest, it's very frustrating to me.
I promise to repay this favor someday.
Then, can you repay the favor right now?
What?
I would like
to experience these sweets with you.
Naturally, you will accompany me, right?
Well...
I'm cutting back on sweets recently.
Takarabe, right now, you are just like a cocoa bean.
No matter how carefully cultivated the cocoa may be,
having it alone is not appetizing.
By adding sweet sugar,
the original flavor of the cocoa comes out.
It's the same for people.
Right now, you are only being strict on yourself.
It's important to be kind and sweet to yourself sometimes too.
If you say so...
then I will join you.
Welcome. I've been expecting you.
Minimal, the chocolate specialty shop, was opened in 2014.
It is said that everyone who visits
will have their idea of chocolate completely overturned.
What's wrong?
Well, I thought this was a sweets shop,
but does this store only sell chocolate?
Yes. By the way, the shop's name, Minimal,
means the absolute minimum.
Since they use minimal ingredients, they are particular about the cocoa.
To experience the true flavor of cocoa,
they believe that less is better in their sweets.
That is the taste we'll experience today.
Here you are.
What's this?
First, taste it.
It's delicious.
Very fruity, isn't it?
It has a fresh sweetness like lychee.
What fruit is this?
This is cocoa.
What?
It's called cocoa pulp juice. It's the juice squeezed from cocoa fruit.
This is... cocoa?
I'm sure you've heard that cocoa is a fruit from the tropics.
This rugby ball-shaped object is cocoa fruit.
As you know,
cocoa is cultivated in countries around the world, starting from Ghana.
The cocoa beans are fermented, roasted,
and then ground into a paste
before becoming chocolate.
This is a crushed roasted cocoa bean.
Have a taste.
This is... chocolate.
The characteristic flavor of chocolate is in the flavor of the beans.
Here at Minimal, when they make chocolate,
they demand the best cocoa beans.
So they start by visiting cocoa farms all around the world themselves.
So that map of the world is...
Minimal has selected cocoa beans from three continents,
including countries such as Haiti, Ghana, and Vietnam.
Naturally, the flavor of the beans differs depending on where they're from.
Even one one-thousandth of a millimeter difference in size
can change everything, including texture, aroma,
and the amount of cocoa butter created.
Through repeated trial and error, Minimal has determined
the optimum size of bean for each type.
That is how they make their chocolate.
Here you are.
Fruity berry-like.
We added only sugar to lightly roasted cocoa beans from Vietnam
to make this chocolate.
Normally, this chocolate is only sold to be taken home,
but today we can have it here.
Thank you!
It's as fruity as black currant.
Is this really chocolate?
The cocoa was crushed coarsely, so I can feel its roughness.
I can smell the berry-like aroma of the beans.
This truly is...
chocolate that overturns my idea of chocolate.
Can I have some of the others?
I'd like to compare them.
Calm down, Takarabe.
This bar of chocolate is nice,
but it is not today's main dish.
What?
Let's have the ultimate chocolate sweets which can only be experienced here.
Now, may we have your special sweets?
Certainly.
Special sweets...
Today, the special sweets that the patissier has made for us is...
chocolate fondant tart.
The cocoa used is from Haiti.
This mild chocolate smells like amazake
and has the sweetness of boiled almonds.
And this chocolate fondant tart allows us to enjoy
the chocolate with a variety of textures, pastries, and temperatures.
Here you are.
This is a chocolate work of art.
What is this spicy yet sweet aroma that my nose senses?
Java long pepper!
Also, this aromatic tuile made of caramelized honey
placed on top of the ice cream
stimulates the smell and texture even further.
And the bold yet delicate touch only achievable
by knowing all about chocolate.
Slicing into the warm, soft tart, there it is!
Ganache!
When you stuff this with the chocolate ice cream into your mouth...
the warm chocolate and cold chocolate melt together...
in indescribable harmony!
Come on, Vietnam!
Take it, Haiti!
Take it, Vietnam!
Take it, Ghana!
Yes!
Are you guys even trying?
-Yes, sir! -Yes, sir!
Haiti!
Vietnam!
Ghana!
What's wrong with you?
You have no individuality!
-Sorry. -Sorry.
Okay, shout it out!
Shout it out to the setting sun!
I want to be a sweeter man!
I want to be a fruitier man!
I want to be a spicier man!
-Sweet god! -Sweet god!
Stop!
What's wrong, Takarabe?
Don't beg god for help!
You're wrong. We're not begging god for help.
We're begging the sweet god for help.
It's the sweet god!
This is the sweet god?
What an impressive presence!
I want to eat it!
It looks sweet!
But!
I won't let it defeat me.
Yet, it's quite a captivating shade of black.
Would it be sweet if I tasted it?
Stop it! I have to focus!
Now, you must beg the sweet god for forgiveness.
Sweet god!
I am sorry for trying to live without you.
Please forgive me.
This is the sweet god's response.
Such joyful sweetness!
Sweet! So sweet!
Takarabe,
sometimes, it's important to be kind and sweet to yourself too.
A new post on Amablo. The shop is in Tomigaya.
Today, his sales visits were from Nakano to Ikebukuro,
and then to Shibuya.
You can reach Tomigaya from there on foot.
That makes it all the more certain that he must be
the sweets knight.
If that's the case...
I want to talk with him endlessly about our favorite subject, sweets.
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