The content of this piece was written during a viewing of the first episode of Antique Bakery on March 26, 2011. Edits have been made for spelling and grammar, but the rest is completely untouched, and un-edited from its original format. Antique Bakery is one of those landmark shows - the kind in which auto racers and eurobeat come alive and... oh, wait. That's Initial D. I get confused, thanks to bad CG backgrounds. They don't detract from the substance, but they are definitely distracting!

2:41 PM: Good afternoon everyone, and welcome to a Saturday Showblog! :)

2:42 PM: Today we'll be covering something that could be a tasty treat at this somewhat early hour.

2:42 PM: This morning's feature is Antique Bakery.

2:42 PM: I'll be honest in saying that I know next to nothing about this show, so we'll be in for a few surprises together today!

2:42 PM: Anyway, before I begin, I'll get the basic info out of the way:

2:43 PM: Created by Fumi Yoshinaga (All My Darling Daughters, Ooku: The Inner Chambers)

2:43 PM: Directed by Yoshiaki Okumura (Bakkyuu HIT! Crash Bedaman, Element Hunters)

2:43 PM: Music by Takefumi Haketa (Someday's Dreamers, Debutante Detective Corps)

2:43 PM: Character designs by Akio Uchino (_Summer)

2:43 PM: Produced by Shirogumi & Nippon Animation (Hunter X Hunter, Dog of Flanders)

2:44 PM: Opening Theme: Life goes on~side K~ by Chemistry

2:44 PM: Closing Theme: Life goes on~side D~ by Chemistry

2:44 PM: Released by .@animetoday

2:45 PM: Now, let's get this rolling!

2:46 PM: Opening to some guy running down a hallway, some bearded fellow trying to catch him

2:46 PM: Beardo looks upset... and we're in the present >_>

2:46 PM: Apparently, it's a guy listening to a Cold Case program

2:47 PM: Gotcha - the guy was the one kidnapped, beardo's some pedophile that's trying to give him free candy. This looks legit already. >_>

2:47 PM: Well, cakes... and he wakes up.

2:48 PM: To some sunglassed man candy named Chikage.

2:48 PM: "I'd be lying if I said I'm not lucky guy :o" I see... loving family, very rich, starting a cake shop.

2:49 PM: He's giving up a high-powered CEO job to run a bakery - this doesn't sound like a cheesy sitcom at all! ;)

2:49 PM: And awesomely bad CG pan over the property! Like Initial D bad

2:50 PM: "There's a dark void that refuses to be filled T_T" oh god, that beardo DID screw him up

2:50 PM: And opening credits... which are surprisingly upbeat for the mood so far O_o wtf

2:51 PM: Funky paper cut-out in playset motif for the opening credits. Very stylish, for just the intro.

2:51 PM: And it open to more bad CG pan-ins. :D Where's the Eurobeat? Come on!

2:52 PM: And we're inside >_> Our main character, Tachibana, meets his old classmate - a guy who had a crush on him in high school

2:53 PM: The guy was fired from his last job... this is getting awkward

2:53 PM: d'aww... he made Tachibana a pastry ;3

2:53 PM: THREE pastries - sorry

2:54 PM: Tachibana remembers, but this fellow seems to act like it never happened

2:54 PM: Here we go - why the guy was fired:

2:54 PM: He's man candy. o_o The oweners keep falling in love with him

2:55 PM: And it come out - Tachibana's still his type.

2:55 PM: Forgot to mention his name: Ono

2:55 PM: "I don't have a gay bone in me! D:" poor Ono :(

2:56 PM: "Promise you won't laugh? :D" "No T_T" ...Tachibana = dick

2:56 PM: Ono: "I'm... the Gay of Demonic Charm! :O" wtf XD

2:56 PM: And Tachibana starts laughing.

2:57 PM: Poor Ono just keeps attracting guys, even if he doesn't try to. :(

2:57 PM: And he's changing now... damn, he's good looking o-o

2:57 PM: CG kitty! :D

2:58 PM: And now we're watching boxing? >_>

2:58 PM: Ah, here we go - Gym owner and a worker named Eiji - Eiji's a boxer with a detached retina, so he can't box anymore.

2:59 PM: Poor Eiji's really torn up D: Boxing was his life

2:59 PM: "I have connections :3" mafia?

2:59 PM: Oh... ramen shops >_>

3:00 PM: Some stereotype I'm not sure about there, I think.

3:00 PM: Back to Ono and Tachibana, who are now in Shinjuk Ni-chome, aka the Tokyo's Rainbow District

3:00 PM: Going to a bar in the area called Lollipop?

3:01 PM: Lots of attractive guys cuddling and talking quietly.

3:01 PM: Ono's cruising, I guess o_o

3:02 PM: Bartender is awesome :D

3:02 PM: Hah.. Ono's reputation precedes him.

3:03 PM: The exaggerated expressions are such a weird juxtaposition compared to the show's serious demeanor so far

3:03 PM: Ohp - Ono's opening the wound now.

3:04 PM: And he's moved on from high school, to talking about his first experiences...

3:04 PM: Apparently, he's irresistible to all guys o_o

3:04 PM: And Yu just picked up his company for the night... that was quick o-o

3:05 PM: Outside the bar now... Ono's talking about working at Antique - he can't now that he wants Tachibana.

3:05 PM: And he's forward o_o wow.

3:06 PM: The truth finally came out - Tachibana was the ONLY guy to dump Ono... Ono seems relieved.

3:07 PM: Ono: "am I scary? :D" No... no he's not - he's a pretty cool fellow, though

3:07 PM: Looks like Ono's happy that he can keep his job - even though Tachibana WAS a jerk to him.

3:07 PM: Apparently, Ono takes it as a water under the bridge thing.

3:08 PM: "Why do you keep holding my hand?! T_T" Awkward conversation end leads to happiness for Ono - cute guy from the bar is back for him :D

3:09 PM: The mood just changed completely there... talk about flighty

3:09 PM: More flashbacks - this time from Ono's dumping. :(

3:10 PM: Wow... Tachibana was a hateful bastard. T_T

3:11 PM: Back at the bakery: we're back to Eiji, who's walking by

3:11 PM: And end credits.

3:11 PM: Verdict: This is surprisingly good. o_o

3:12 PM: I wasn't sure what to expect, since I missed the buzz on this, but I'm honestly pleasantly surprised.

3:12 PM: It's a sweet story so far, that has a lot of potential to get better.

3:13 PM: My only real complaint is with the overuse of CG - they use it to the point that the beauty of the character designs is lost in ugly scenery

3:13 PM: Other than that, I absolutely recommend things so far.

3:15 PM: Antique Bakery hits on 4/5 through .@animetoday, so look forward to it! http://bit.ly/fi4wMv