Yankee & Carameliser Review

I’m probably the only one who knows… that the terrifying delinquent is actually an amazing baker. Akito

High-schooler Akito has aspirations to be an influencer on social media – if only he could find the right hook to draw in lots of followers. For some time now, he’s been following an anonymous account which features delicious baked treats which fuel his desire to try them! While trying to puzzle out who the mysterious baker might be, he notices a reflection in a glass in one of the on-line images – and to his astonishment, realizes it’s one of his classmates. However, this schoolmate is a reluctant attender with a bad boy (Yankee) reputation: Maki, who has blond hair, piercings, wears a unique T-shirt (a foreign band!) and sports a sullen attitude to match. Surely it can’t be him! But when Maki accidentally spills drink on Akito’s uniform, Akito cheerfully confronts him with a trade: if Maki bakes him something delicious, he won’t expose him as the anonymous online baker. Disgruntled, Maki agrees and takes him to his home and proceeds to bake a Marguerite Cake for him, subtly flavoured with black tea. Akito is impressed by his skills – and even more impressed when he tastes the cake. He suggests that Maki should let him be his producer and post regular baking videos. Maki scowls and says, “I don’t need your damn help” but Akito has already posted images to see what kind of response they provoke. Maki is on the verge of punching him when Akito admits he’s said the cake was made by his grandma! Needless to say, the responses are very positive and Maki grudgingly agrees to Akito’s plan.

So now Maki and Akito are a team and, as Akito has anticipated, Maki’s love of baking leads to plenty of interest and likes on social media for ‘High School Bad Boy’ – and Akito gets to eat the irresistible sweet treats Maki creates. Akito even persuades Maki to go out with him to a café to try new desserts as inspiration (and of course, two young men together provokes the usual gossiping whispers from the female customers). But Maki has started to act strangely around Akito and stops coming to school. Has Akito said something to upset him? And then Akito spots Maki in town coming out of a love hotel… with another man. Akito goes after Maki and confronts him. Maki says, “We didn’t do anything. Turns out I don’t like guys after all” to which Akito replies without thinking, “Yeah? That’s a relief…” only to see Maki’s expression change before stalking away, refusing to turn back. Is this the end of their partnership… or of something even more important, an unacknowledged feeling that has been quietly growing between the two but that neither one has dared to put into words?

We’ve had other ‘bad boy’ high school bakers in manga recently, notably Sasaki in Sasaki and Miyano (Shou Harusono) and Rintaro in The Fragrant Flower Blooms with Dignity (Saka Mikami). The difference in Yankee & Carameliser is that Maki is self-taught and is baking because he enjoys doing so – not that the others named above aren’t enjoying the craft, but they’re the sons of pâtissier families, so it’s expected they’ll learn the skills of the family business.

This is the first manga by Chiuko Umeshibu to be published in English and even though it’s presented as a standalone, the mangaka has started a sequel called Yankee to Carameliser Second Bake in the magazine B’s LOVEY recottia (Enterbrain) in Japan.

The mangaka does a good job of drawing the all-important sweet treats (black-and-white means the art has to be especially well done to look enticing). She’s also especially good on Maki’s body language when he’s feeling conflicted; you can see that he’s wanting to go along with Akito’s ideas but also reluctant, even afraid to do so. Risking too much self-exposure is challenging for a young man who’s had a solitary childhood, we learn, especially because he’s loved ‘girly’ things – and his parents (who were splitting up) disapproved. His delinquent exterior has been carefully cultivated to keep others at arm’s length – until the disarmingly cheerful and positive Akito comes along and breaks down his defences.

The translation for Yen Press is by Emma Schumacker who also provides some helpful translation notes inside the back cover and lettering is by Olivia Osanz. The Mature rating really only applies to the bonus story ‘A little Bitterness Dissolved in Sweet Love’ where there’s a consensual sex scene that’s not very explicit but tenderly portrayed.

In all senses of the word, this is a sweet BL romcom about a promising young pâtissier with an attitude problem and the classmate who sees his potential – very much a feelgood read to cheer dark winter evenings.

(And the ‘Carameliser’ in the title? I’m not honestly sure but, as it must refer to Akito, maybe he’s the one who turns sugar into delicious caramel – even though he burns the caramel when he tries to make a caramel cream cake? A metaphor, I guess…)

Read a free preview on the Yen Press website here. 

Our review copy was supplied by the publisher Yen Press.