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Title:  Yakitate!! Japan #5

Author:  Takashi Hashiguchi

Publisher:  Viz

ISBN:  9781421509228

May Contain Spoilers

The Pantasia Rookie Tournament continues!  It’s Koala’s dragon against Kazuma’s turtle!  Which will corpulent Dave award the battle cry of victory?  Then, Yukino, another of Tsukino’s evil step-sisters, makes an appearance, and she makes Mizuno seem like a cuddly teddy bear!  What vile tricks does she have planned for the South Tokyo branch contestants?

Though the plot gets extremely silly at times, especially with Dave’s Devil Phon War Cry, I’m still enchanted by Kazuma’s bread baking battles.  I’m a sucker for the shounen battle manga formula, and there’s a certain comfort in knowing that the good guy will, eventually, triumph and emerge victorious.  Reading about their inner struggle to find the determination to keep on fighting after suffering setback after setback, or overcoming the villain’s  unsporting attempts at cheating keeps me returning at a series long after I should have tired of these plot devices.

Speaking of cheating, we couldn’t have an epic competition without a little foul play by the opponents.  Kawachi, duking it out with Shigeru Kanmuri, is the victim of a little chicanery when his flour is tampered with prior to his quarterfinal match.  Tsukino’s stepsister, the heartless snake who heedlessly scattered the ashes of her father’s lover into the air despite Tsukino’s pleas to return her mother’s ashes, has cooked up a scheme to steal the championship for her representative.  Anybody so disrespectful of the dead deserves to be reviled, and it looks like she’ll be stirring up quite a bit of trouble for Kazuma and company.  I even hate her more than Mizuno.  I hope her comeuppance is a little more satisfying than Mizuno’s!

I love the cover of this volume.  It really captures Kazuma’s infectious personality and his charming character design.  I love his girly headband and his wispy bangs; they make him look like an inquisitive little cricket. 

Grade: B

Rated for Older Teen

Review copy provided by Viz