10 Great TV Shows Made From STUPID Ideas
2. Yakitate Japan
It's been said that the tried and true shonen anime formula can make literally any activity/sport/hobby interesting no matter what it is. And those who say that will typically point straight at Yakitate Japan as evidence of this, and for good reason.
What we have here is a shonen anime that follows that formula to a tee...and it's literally about watching bread rise. And it is AMAZING.
A lot of that comes from the fact that this is technically a PARODY of shonen manga and anime. specifically it's a parody of that formula we keep talking about, and how you can apply it to anything and make it more exciting. The show takes this simple joke and runs for miles with it, and it is almost always a laugh riot.
This show takes good natured pot shots at everything shonen anime is known for. From the colorful characters, to the quirky antagonists, to everyone taking whatever the focus of the story is WAY too damn seriously (you have not lived until you have seen grown men talk about baking bread with the gravitas DBZ applies to its world destroying narratives) to the main character always having some super duper special trait that makes him just so gosh darn better than everyone else (his hands are a little warmer naturally, that's it).
Yakitate Japan is a dumb idea for a shonen anime, and it knows it full well. And by god do we love it for that.