Yakitate Japan Ep 55

Kawachi is shocked at Azuma putting his awful-tasting French bread into the rubbish bag and questions why the latter bothers asking him to make it if he has the intention to throw it away in the end. Azuma clarifies that he just needs to modify the bread since there's no way he could use it directly for the final product. Kawachi reminds Azuma that the bread will become more soggy if it's placed inside the rubbish bag but Azuma reassures him this is what he wants.

Upon seeing this, Tsubozuka raises his objections about Azuma treating the competition like child's play but Kuroyanagi defends Azuma for having a reason for whatever he does, no doubt it may seem illogical. Kuroyanagi tells Tsubozuka to concentrate on his creation which leads the latter to go back to his side while fuming mad. Kuroyanagi himself has no idea what Azuma is up to and understands how frustrated Tsubozuka must be feeling.

As Kawachi watches his bread get soggy in the rubbish bag, Azuma says that it's time for the bread to be taken out and even compliments Kawachi for being a genius at making awful-tasting bread. This makes Kawachi unable to decide whether he should be happy or sad about this comment. Kanmuri can't help but feel that Kawachi's presence is a hindrance to them as the latter mopes over his newly-acquired "title".

Azuma cuts the soggy bread into two and digs out the bread. This leaves a hollow within the crust whereby he uses a hammer to hit it. Tsukino is unable to comprehend Azuma's actions but Matsushiro feels that Azuma is using his own way to bring life to a seemingly worthless item. Upon hearing this, Kawachi exclaims and asks Matsushiro what he means by a worthless thing. Tsukino asks Kawachi why he is in the audience during the competition and the latter says that Kanmuri told him to rest for the next round. Matsushiro and Tsukino see through the fact that Kanmuri only wanted Kawachi out of the way as he was obstructing their progress.

Meanwhile, Tsubozuka is busy with his creation and recalls how he spent the last 10 years undergoing training and his speech having to be peppered with English phrases as a special trait because of his identity as a showbiz celebrity. He had found this to be an insult and cannot speak normally now because of the deliberate attempt to add English in his speech. If not for his passion towards cooking and wanting to show the world about the goodness of food, he would not have perserved for so long. As such, he does not regard Azuma as a worthy opponent and will not allow himself to lose.

When Tsubozuka finishes his creation, he presents it to Kuroyanagi who sees that this was made from a pastry crust. Subsequently, the avocado sauce was added on top and put into the oven again. Last but not least, slices of Ooma's tuna were added on top and baked over a high heat because the fat which oozes from the meat will make the taste of the tuna better as compared to eating it raw. Tsubozuka asks Kuroyanagi to eat it quickly before it cools. Upon taking the first bite, Kuroyanagi's hair colour changes to gold which leads Matsuhiro to declare that he has evolved to become Super Kuroyanagi. Kawachi doesn't believe that Tsubozuka is that great but when he gets embroiled into Kuroyanagi's reaction fantasy world, Kawachi can only agree with Kuroyanagi's judgement.

On the other hand, Azuma finishes his uni-chawan mushi bread but Kawachi doesn't understand where his awful-tasting bread has gone. Matsuhiro reminds Kawachi to take a close look since the receptacle holding the chawan mushi is actually the crust of his bread. Kuroyanagi is impressed with the bread receptacle since there is a need to deep fry the crust when using it to hold liquid substances but in this case, it isn't oily at all. Azuma explains that he used the hammer to hit the crust which removes any spaces within so there wasn't a need to deep-fry the crust. Besides that, he deliberately asked Kawachi to make a soggy bread because the crust will be thicker during the baking process. This will ensure that the crust doesn't crack when it's hit by the hammer.

Kuroyanagi asks Azuma what has happened to the bread which he removed from the crust but the latter hurries him to taste the chawan mushi before it cools during his long explanation. After tasting, it seems as if Kuroyanagi has no reaction towards it where Tsubozuka feels as if victory is secured. However, Kuroyanagi declares Pantasia as the winner which makes Tsubozuka unable to accept the verdict and accuses him of siding with them.

Kuroyanagi's hair becomes the same of a sea urchin and he explains why Azuma's creation is better. The action of hitting the crust also seals in the flavour besides removing spaces within. In addition, the eggs used for the chawan mushi is a famous type in Aomori Prefecture called Shindo Fuji where the chickens are fed with mineral water, organic vegetables and herbs. Kanmuri reminds Tsubozuka that the avocados he used are not available in the locality which puts the latter at a disadvantage given that the rules of the contest favour the side which uses more of the local products.

However, Tsubozuka refuses to accept this and says that Azuma's creation is called bread only because of the crust. He grabs the chawan mushi from Kuroyanagi and takes a bite which results in him being immobilized. Just as Kawachi is wondering why Tsubozuka is not moving, Tsukino brings his attention to the numerous spikes on his body which are from Tsubozuka's hair. Kuroyanagi explains that Azuma had asked Kanmuri to deep fry the bread which was removed from the crust with the sea urchin's flesh where the crumbs will become smaller due to it being soggy in the first place. They were then added to the chawan mushi and remains in the creation of being thrown away.

Tsubozuka can only admit defeat in this case. Kuroyanagi tells him that although Azuma may seem to be playing the fool, he is actually a strong baker who derives joy from working with his pals. As such, this is something which Tsubozuka has lost over the years as he has to contend with rivalry among his fellow CMAP members. Tsubozuka congratulates Azuma and asks to be his friend which Azuma agrees to immediately. After hearing this, it makes Tsubozuka very happy while Kawachi and Kuroyanagi can't wait to get those hair spikes off their bodies.

Frankly speaking, the reaction scenes are getting more exaggerated so that's why I'm not stating them in my synopsis and review. I will only include the explanation of the special features in the bread which is the essence of the competition's verdict.

Anyway, the format of the anime is pretty much fixed where the Pantasia side should win most of the time. It's probably time for them to face a crisis soon by losing one of the matches or else the Yakitate 9 arc would be really boring. Of course, I have no doubt in the end that the Pantasia side should win the competition.

The chawan-mushi bread looks quite nice and the way it was made seemed logical. Most of the time, I can understand how they go about making the bread but there are some creations which I cannot comprehend how it could have been possible based on the explanations given. Anyway, this doesn't look like something Lawson will sell at their convenience stores since this requires a lot of effort and should taste best when eaten hot.