Ask John: How Popular is Yakitate!! Japan?

Question:
What can you tell me about the popularity of the Yakitate!! Japan manga in Japan? How much is there, and is an anime series in its future?

Answer:
The tenth collected volume of Takashi Hashiguchi’s Yakitate!! Japan manga is scheduled for Japanese release this month. I’m sorry to say that manga is not my forte, so I’m not familiar with any Japanese resources that report actual sales figures for manga. However, I imagine that the series must be fairly popular among Japanese fans based on the fact that there are a small but not insignificant number of fan produced Yakitate doujinshi. A title has got to be reasonably popular for fans to like it enough to create their own comics based on it.

There have been no announcements of plans to animate the Yakitate!! Japan manga yet, but there’s always a chance. Anime TV series like the 1997 Chuka Ichiban! (AKA: Cooking Master Boy) and 2001 Kakutou Ryouri Densetsu Bistro Recipe prove that cooking themed anime are viable. However, there are also manga titles like Kentarou Yabuki’s Black Cat, which I estimate is roughly equally as popular as Yakitate!! Japan, that have never been animated. Presently, the closest there is to full Yakitate!! Japan anime is a cameo in the March 2002 Shonen Sunday TV commercial.