Antique Bakery
Synopsis
Even though he is the top salesman at his company, Keiichirou Tachibana decides to quit his job to open a bakery. While looking over résumés for a head patissier, one name sticks out in particular: Yuusuke Ono, the young man who confessed his feelings to Keiichirou in high school—and whom Keiichirou harshly shot down. Now, Yuusuke is known both as a genius patissier for his skills in the kitchen, and for possessing a demonic charm that attracts even straight men into his bedroom. Despite their shared past, Keiichirou hires Yuusuke and starts working on making the bakery a success. Before long, the pair is joined by former boxer Eiji Kanda, who is searching for a new career after an injury forced him to retire early. Everything is looking up for the newly-opened bakery named Antique—but the ghosts of the employees' pasts threaten to upset their simple lives. [Written by MAL Rewrite]
Audience Consensus
Audience opinions are mixed. Some viewers appreciate the show's unique premise, well-developed characters, and lighthearted moments, finding it to be a refreshing and enjoyable slice-of-life anime. However, others criticize its inconsistent tone, poor handling of sensitive themes, generic art style, and unsatisfying ending. Overall, the anime has both strong points and notable flaws, resulting in a somewhat polarized reception.
Strengths
- Unique premise with adult characters and slice-of-life elements.
- Well-developed characters with interesting backstories.
- Good representation of gay characters without making their sexuality the central plot.
- Upbeat and catchy opening theme.
- Enjoyable humor and moments of tranquility.
Weaknesses
- Inconsistent tone and struggles with balancing slice-of-life with darker themes.
- Questionable handling of abusive relationships and emotional neglect.
- Underdeveloped side plot that goes nowhere
- Generic art style and animation, especially with the integration of CGI backgrounds.
- Unmemorable background music.
- Ending leaves viewers unsatisfied.
- Poor balance in visual presentation between the characters and the backgrounds.
- Mediocre/terrible art, backgrounds, and sounds.