Futari de Okashi na Kyuujitsu wo
Confessions of a Shy Baker

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Confessions of a Shy Baker by Masaomi Itou was a delightful read. Although it’s tagged as BL, I consider it to be more of an LGBT manga such as My Brother’s Husband and I Think Our Son Is Gay.

The main characters are Toshi - a neurotic gay guy still mostly in the closet working as a real estate agent whose specialty is anxiety and overthinking and his boyfriend Gon who's out, proud and as cheerful as a golden retriever. Gon’s openness makes him a great counterpart to Toshi's more reserved personality.

Toshi’s character is the most developed and his internal conflicts drive the story forward. ... Him wanting to come out of his shell vs the weight of societal expectations and fear of being rejected. Sadly, what was supposed to be the story’s hook – Toshi baking for Gon is just not as enjoyable as the slice-of-life moments and Toshi's panicking. I skimmed over gourmet panels but if you’re into food then maybe you’d enjoy it more than I did.

As for the actual story – the manga opens with Toshi’s employee, Kozue, wanting to make their real estate agency LGBT-friendly as a marketing gimmick. This sends our poor Toshi into a downward spiral of thinking that his sexuality has been found out by her. Toshi fights his inner demons, comes out to people in his life and in these 47 chapters he grows not to feel ashamed of himself. The way he experiences minority stress feels very genuine, but with the help of Gon, his friends, his and Gon’s family he overcomes many of his initial inhibitions. One last note – it’s a very feel-good story in which nothing dramatic happens.

Overall score is 8/10 because the gourmet part didn’t speak to me. The reading experience was very enjoyable, characters are likable (even Pororin!). It sometimes gets a little preachy, especially Kozue, but in no way does it diminish the rest of it.

For context, just like Yoshinaga Fumi's What Did You Eat Yesterday, this is published in a Seinen magazine. In other words, this is actually a Seinen story.

Both the premise and the story structure of this series also mimics What Did You Eat Yesterday.

Most chapters start with a small tidbit of the MCs' lives, followed by tons of cooking (baking here), with a little bit of reflection and then some couple time to close off the chapters. The MCs have an Opposite Attracts dynamic, with the more cooking-centered half of the pair being a salaryman who's way more high-strung, health-conscious, and image-conscious compared to the relaxed ... half of the pair, who's working in the service industry.

Overall, while I do feel the story can try to be a bit more different, I do enjoy the formula so I don't mind much.

Where it differs is in the overall tone and its underlying politics. A lot of people in other places have THOUGHTS about them, and I sort of agree with them; the tone of this story is pretty conservative.

The characters hate prejudice, yet they also hate those who are being too open about their queerness. They hate society's lack of understanding but they themselves are pretty judgmental towards others who live different lifestyles than them. All they want is to maintain their own peace and nothing more. Even the later moments when they actually came out to people are mostly done bcs not coming out is directly affecting them or people around them.

And the tone is also more... vivid.

Yeah, vivid. At best.

More exaggerated faces and dramatic reactions. More arguments and whining. Sometimes they even cross the line to catty and bitchy.

The main characters complain about other people and each other, they hold biases and prejudice even about their supposed friends, they are very conscious about staying in the closet and gets suspicious and jealous and defensive very easily when someone else suspects they are gay.

It's a portrayal of gay community that dances between the line of 'unflinchingly real' and 'just call me a slur.' With all that in mind, I can completely understand the distaste some people feel here. I definitely like the whole cast much less than the cast of What Did You Eat Yesterday.

But.

But I personally find it all very compelling read.

As harsh as it is, as catty as it is, this is all a very real portrayal of a certain subsection of gay people, especially the ones living in a majority conservative culture. The ones who just want to live quietly in the shadows, for better or worse. The ones that mistake pride with bitchiness.

Still reading through it so I'm waiting to see if that worldview gets challenged, but overall the portrayal manages to portray the nuances of living as a (image-conscious) gay person that I suspect either the creator is themselves queer, or they personally know someone with this kind of mindset.

Overall I still recommend What Did You Eat Yesterday first, but this is easily a good counterpart/comparison.