Alright! So, what we have here is a delicate anime series based on the award-winning manga by Fumi Yoshinaga. There are 12 episodes planned and 10 of them are already out. The animation style is very unusual for a shounen-ai type of anime, because it merges together 2D characters and (mainly) 3D backgrounds, which often occurs in mecha and sci-fi. In my opinion it takes some time to get used to it, especially if you don't favor 3D in general...

Compared to other shounen-ai anime, antique bakery has a storyline that is not as overused as it could have been and it holds an unique flare that makes you almost nostalgic. A solid and continuing plot shows us enough without getting overly confusing and reveals necessary background information bit by bit, in order to make the viewer curious as well as avoiding repetition ... even though it moves along at it's own pace.

And well... the characters... it's hard to tell weather they are exaggerated drama-queens, or just a bunch of winsome eccentrics. On first sight they seem to be relatively uncomplicated personalities, Or at least they're acting pretty predictable. As for the second sight... I have yet to find out if there is more going on in their heads... but together they make an interesting group of people, that will quite likely make you raise a smile.
The character-design itself is, if nothing else, rather unique. Beautiful would be too demanding... like they say: Different strokes for different folks.

All in all Antique Bakery is a likable shounen-ai anime... despite the lack of actual boy's love and other odd behavior. And if the series fails to satisfy your expectations, the opening and closing are special enough to make it up to you.


Watch the episodes on veoh / Yaoi TV
Or follow the links for the cut episodes on youtube: