Yakitate!! Japan 20

Are you ready for the Iron Chef of bread?! Manga shall not live by bread alone. R to L (Japanese Style). In the seventh round of the Yakitate 25 baking competition an old rival of Kawachi's comes back to challenge him again. After his first defeat, the bitter loser abandoned his family to live in the forest with wild pigs--which could very well give him an edge in the latest competition. Can the Pantasia team trust that Kawachi's ham-handedness won't ruin their chances of taking home the bacon? Meanwhile, sweet, syrupy danger waits, as a Dutch cook with a thing for flapjacks prepares to beat Pantasia with pancakes! England. France. Germany. What common thread binds these three nations together? Answer: each is famous for producing unique, distinctive, delicious bread. But what of the island nation of Japan, home to rice and delicacies of the sea? Is there not a doughy, gastronomic delight they can claim as their own? The answer is no...until now! Kazuma Azuma, a 16-year-old-boy blessed with otherworldly baking powers, has taken it upon himself to create Ja-pan, the national bread of the land of the rising sun!

Yakitate Japan started running in Weekly Shonen Sunday in 2001. In 2004, it won the 49th Shogakukan Manga Award in the boys category. Takashi Hashiguchi also created the softball manga Windmill, which ran from 1998 to 2001 for 11 volumes. He was born in 1967 in Tokyo. His blood type is O. He keeps his private life secret. In 1987 he won a newcomer prize in Kodansha Young Magazine and debuted in 1988 with the manga Combat Teacher.