Final Review: Antique Bakery
Oct 13 2008 • Anime
This show reminds me of a reality TV show - and alternative title could be Big Brother: Cake Shop. All the characters are quite separate and clashing individuals, brought together for the common purpose of selling cake. While this did occur, the characters didn’t become closer at all but actually ended up further apart than in the beginning.
Characters are bland; cake looks delicious.
At the end of the series, I’m not really sure any of the characters stood out to me. I was certainly surprised by some of the aspects of their past - Ono’s former abusive French lover or Chikage’s daughter, for example. jedko @ Borderline Hikikomori described it as barely inching forward - I might go one step further and say that with the exception of Tachibana, none of the characters developed after episode 5. I’m only cutting Tachibana some slack because he does find resolution for his kidnapping, even if it’s not the resolution we want.
The ending was good but not entirely satisfying. Initially, I had a similar reaction as BluWacky @ Cinnamon Ass, “What? That’s it?” But as the final credits played, I realized that it does make sense. Tachibana finds himself in a job he likes, working with people who he likes (and like him), and the only thing dragging him back was his obsession with the kidnapper. His choice was either to remain stuck in the past or continue on with life and he chose the latter. As for the rest of the characters, their actions made sense but I felt that the delivery was rushed.
On a final note, I found it interesting that the kidnapper who Tachibana found was not the mentally disturbed man but a hikikomori. At least, it’s insinuated that he is such, given that he lives with his mother, reacts violently towards her, and has bags of trash piled outside of his secluded room. I haven’t seen a portrayal of that in a while, much less any major news in the last couple of years. Looking at the time the manga came out, it makes sense but it still seemed anti-climactic.
Rating: 
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@issa-sa: The cakes are really the only reason to keep watching, although I found their descriptions kind of crazy. Whatever happened to that old time classic, plain chocolate cake?
i like the ending… it’s realistic enough when pointing out to the point that not everything works out in the end so you just have to be content with what you have. but yeah… in the context that it’s fiction and can be considered as a form of escapism, it was kind of a let down.
there’s a place here in manila that sells the best plain, chocolate cakes. they even built a business with that as their flagship product. ^^
@biankita: I think that even outside the realm of fiction, it’s natural to want to see the criminal get caught. Even if the main character is the criminal, there’s the inevitable question of what’s going to happen to him when he gets caught - which can be just as exciting as when he’s out doing evil things.
I agree that the ending was slightly down-letting and that after ep 5, only the lead received development. At the same time, it’s like real life. People grow and they separate. The boxer grew to accept his baking talents and left to develop them. Chikage grew up and moved out. Also T and Ono finally grew in their relationship with and acceptance of each other. At the same time, I wanted to see a progression in Ono and Chikage’s relationship. Plus, I was intrigued by Ono’s confessed self-destructive tendency and wanted T to reveal why he rejected Ono in such a way, after he realized it for himself. Also, I found it problematic that Chi had a daughter who he readily let return home with a clearly abusive mother.
However, for such a short series, they definitely tied up the loose ends when closing time rolled around.
@An: Thanks for stopping by. ^_^ Chikage’s decision to let his daughter go home with her abusive mother was also problematic for me as well. Had it been any other character, they would have done the right thing and gotten her out of there. I know that she’s supposedly reformed by the end of the episode but it just seems too fast. I think AB could have used a girl in the shop.
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It wasn’t a mind blowing end, and you’re rather right about how the characters seem to separate in the end rather than grow closer, but the way it ties up the story in the end was still satisfying enough for me. Or maybe it’s just the cakes talking…