Common Name: Rokuhoudou Yousuiro Biyori
Alternative Names: Rokuhōdō Yotsuiro Biyori
Score: 7/10, 4/5
Length: 12 Episodes
Genre: Comedy, Drama, Slice of Life, Foodie, Job Shadow, Yaoi
Summary: Since his grandfather's passing, Tougoku Kyousui has been working tirelessly to recreate the cafe his grandfather ran when Sui was a boy. With the help of a skilled chef and sculptor Sui knew in high school, Nagae Tokitaka; a half-Japanese Italian with a passion for espresso and the determination to make amusingly terrible latte art, Valentino Gregorio; and a skilled pâtisser, Nakao Tsubaki, Sui has managed to create a cafe worthy of praise in its own right, the Rokuhoudou. Though the journey of these four friends is only just beginning, the work they do and smiles they readily give has already helped give their cafe a name and the people who visit it a place to feel welcome.
Review: While it is a fairly basic concept and nothing new to the world of creative storytelling, the main through line of Rokuhoudou is simply a running display of beginnings--the start of something new or different. There are, of course, a number of other points of interest to this story, especially when it comes to the various comedic gags and character stories that make up the bulk of this show. Yet each and every episode features the idea of something beginning, whether that be a new love, a fresh start in life, or just starting out in a new and shaky profession. To be clear, though, having this kind of consistent narrative and deeper meaning hiding beneath the surface of an otherwise unambitious and plain show doesn't necessarily save it from faults that can found within. From poorly resolved character stories to the fact that one of the show's main leads lacks the same kind of establishment and development as the rest of the cast, there is a veritable banquet of nits to pick with this show. Don't assume that my ability and desire to nitpick doesn't mean I don't love this show, though. Quite frankly, I absolutely adore it for its cast of lovably chill characters, smooth comedy, and comparatively laid-back approach to what little drama it has to offer.
To be totally honest, though, the moment I truly fell in love with this show was when it
decided to go full, balls-the-the-wall crazy only to deny it ever happened later on.
Before I get too far ahead of myself, though, I suppose I should get into the surface layer appeal of this show before I dive headfirst into anything deeper. Rokuhoudou Yotsuiro Biyori is a fairly plain and standard slice of life workplace comedy about four guys working to create a cafe that both they and their customers love. Episode-to-episode, the show's cast of four main leads work to make the Rokuhoudou a place for everyone, helping them in any way they can. The shop's owner, Tougoku Kyousui or Sui for short, primarily exists as the exemplar of this idea. Easy with a compliment, a smile, or a comment strange enough to break someone out of their shell, Sui is determined to recreate and rebuild the reputation the Rokuhoudou saw under his grandfather's care, leading him to always go the extra mile if it means getting just one more regular customer. Despite that constant pressure that he might not be good enough to see his dream realized, however, Sui manages to run the Rokuhoudou in a near-perpetual zen state which goes a long way to give the cafe the relaxed and comfy feeling he strives for.
But all that cool charm vanishes the minute a cat takes the screen.
Nagae Tokitaka, the Rokuhoudou's chef and tableware craftsman, by comparison, is the quiet, artistic type with a penchant for worrying about overstepping personal boundaries that Sui respectfully ignores. Yet, because of his shy streak and earnest skills, Tokitaka is something of a hit among the Rokuhoudou's elderly patrons. To be clear, though Tokitaka might lack the same enthusiasm and easy-going personality that Sui wears on his sleeve, he is equally determined to help those who have placed their confidence in him. Particularly with his elderly customers, he goes to the same lengths as Sui to make them feel welcome, comfortable, and happy both within the Rokuhoudou and in general. To drive home that popularity and lend more credit to the Rokuhoudou name, Sui goes out of his way to offer pottery lessons to the local community during his downtime. While this gives the elders something to do to break up the monotony of the day, it also builds a subculture and community within the cafe meant to connect people who might have a harder time getting out and interacting with others, much like Tokitaka, himself.
Where the rest of the Rokuhoudou crew at their best is hilarious to watch,
it's kind of adorable to watch Tokitaka put his best foot forward.
Valentino Gregorio or Gure for short, a half-Japanese Italian barista, is the Rokuhoudou's lovably weird goofball with a penchant for unnerving people with his aggressively friendly personality. Very much the odd man out among the Rokuhoudou staffers, Gure is boisterous and more physically oriented than the rest of the staff who are more traditionally quiet and awkward and reserved. Yet his meathead personality isn't necessarily perceived as a negative; if anything, his otherness is a positive for the Rokuhoudou. Where Tokitaka is popular with the cafe's elderly patrons due to his innate wisdom and more reserved nature, Gure is a beacon for the confused, misunderstood, and outgoing because he is/has been all those things. Since he went through a great deal to become the man he is today, he actively understands and knows how to get along with the younger patrons of Rokuhoudou--the rebellious and bullied alike--who are very unlike their elder counterparts. While he admits he still has a long way to go before he's as good as his mentor back in Italy, Gure's obnoxious, jester-like personality is just him making an effort to spread love and peace to everyone around him.
All Praise Gure the Love Guru!
Lastly, Nakao Tsubaki, the resident pâtisser, functions as a kind of polar opposite and best friend to Gure. Where the muscle-bound meathead plays at being a master in the world of latte art, creating horrifying but amusing abominations in everyone's otherwise perfect cups of coffee, Tsubaki is an actual artist, always working to hone, perfect, and adapt his craft in new and interesting ways. Also unlike Gure, Tsubaki is easily one of the most shy and awkward members of the cast. Like nearly every artist I know, he's passionate but insecure when it comes to his work and can never take a compliment well. Because of this professional insecurity, Tsubaki gets far less attention than the rest of the cast, as he remains sequestered in the kitchen, planning and plotting what new, seasonal creation he should make for the Rokuhoudou's menu. What makes this reclusive artist work well with his fellow employees, though, isn't so much his skill, important as it undoubtedly is. Rather, Tsubaki fits well and belongs at the Rokuhoudou cafe specifically because he shares that same love of his customers that the rest of the staff express in their own ways. This sensitivity to the happiness of his customers comes from, at least in part, from his own understanding and love of sweets that he wishes to impart on others. While he might binge on other restaurants' collections of sweets to appease his own sweet tooth, there are a few moments dotted throughout the series that acknowledge that he also does so for far less selfish reasons. This fact comes to light a couple of times as we see him strive to appeal to a particular palette or restriction, adapting a dessert he's had in the past into something entirely his own. Though that feat in of itself should speak to his pride and skill as an artist, the show does a fantastic job expressing that it's the reactions and criticisms of his patrons that inspire him to be the best he can be.
As much as Tsubaki likes to argue about how he and Gure are nothing alike,
his passion for his craft makes him just as crazy as Gure.
As the series goes on, these four members of the Rokuhoudou team spend all their time and energy being generally good people. Both towards each other and towards, each of the Rokuhoudou staffers go above and beyond the call of duty to make their world and business a better place. Whether it's catering to the latest food craze to reinvigorate a drained salaryman, helping an awkward columnist find love, or saving the heart of kid who has grown to resent the world to hide how much he resents his own weakness, all these characters have a natural desire to make the world a better, happier place. Praiseworthy as that desire might be, though, there is something of a selfish undertone to their considerate natures and generosity. For Tokitaka and Tsubaki, it comes from a desire to be the best artists and craftsmen they can possibly be. For Gure, it's just as simple as a desire to pay forward the kindness he received in his youth. For Sui, though, it comes from a far more desperate place--the desire to live up to his grandfather's legacy and prove himself to the rest of his family--his twin brother most of all.
Le gasp.
Though the particulars of Sui's family drama are mostly left unsaid or left up to interpretation, the general understanding is that he and his twin brother, Yakyou, grew apart during their high school years, presumably because of some dispute or unsaid feelings regarding their grandfather's cafe, until they entirely lost contact with one another. Over the course of the show, this dramatic through line is offered in bits and pieces as one of Yakyou's employees pushes the brothers to reconnect, if not make amends. Though neither brother takes this meddling well, this same kind of selfish selflessness they've shown throughout the series eventually pushes Sui to action. In some desperate hope that some of the love between him and his brother can be salvaged or out of some desire to validate his efforts, Sui takes the first step as he invites Yakyou to the Rokuhoudou.
Needless to say, the whole ordeal is nearly as trying for the rest of the Rokuhoudou staffers,
desperate to see their friend and boss happy again, as it is for Sui himself.
This dramatic subplot is, unfortunately, where the show stars to falter and trip on its own ideas. As I mentioned before, one of the main, narrative through lines of this series is the desire to express the highs, lows, determination, and bravery necessary to start something new or let something begin. Every story that makes up this show's runtime features that aspect as the Rokuhoudou staff help their patrons get back on their feet or give them the push they need to see their dreams realized. As interesting and well-executed as this idea is, though, it also serves as one of the show's greatest flaws. While there are a number of reoccurring characters and plots that dot the series, none of the show's character arcs or subplots ever receive any kind of resolution or conclusion. The best we get in most cases are little hints that things might turn out well and that the characters are making an effort to grow out of their various issues or emotional hangups. The most disappointing of these stories, however, is that of the show's central character, Sui and his efforts to reconnect with Yakyou. While I'll just come out and say that the brothers do eventually meet and talk things out in a very roundabout way, expressing their feelings with little words since the two understand each other so well, nothing ever really comes from it. All we get is a cryptic, half-baked possibility that Yakyou might come back to the Rokuhoudou someday now that both of them have acknowledged that, while there are things that separate them, they are ultimately equals with a shared love and past that shaped who they are today.
I feel it almost goes without saying that there is a disgusting
amount of symbolism present in their reunion.
As realistic and quaint as it might be to let that lack of conclusion slide with the assumption that both Yakyou and Sui need to grow a little more before their relationship is fully mended, that lack of resolution leaves the series feeling hollow and incomplete. At best, it feels like a promise for more to come, which I highly doubt is the case. At worse, the whole exchange feels like Yakyou is being needlessly petty or tsundere as he walks away without really saying anything to hint at a conclusion. In either case, in both this story and most of those that this show has to offer, there's never really any endpoint to any of these stories, taking away from the experience as a whole. I mean, I adore the idea that "life is a series of beginnings" that show seems to be going for but I can't help feeling that it tried to stick to this concept more than it really should have. Granted, my reaction to the show's main theme is ultimately just a nit I can't help picking thanks to my own feelings. Beyond this one issue, I have to say I adore this show and for good reason.
Even in the end, this show made me feel as comfy and happy as the Rokuhoudou's regulars.
As regrettable as it might be that the stories remained fairly open-ended and some of the show's characters didn't get a great deal of attention--Sui, in particular, feels a bit bland since his family drama is almost all that defines him--I'll wholehearted admit that this is a good show. The stories that make up each episode all had some kind of intent and meaning behind them that made them fun to engage with both on and beneath the surface. The comedy that runs throughout is well-timed, full of priceless reactions, and is variable enough to keep even the more repetitive jokes fresh. When they're at their best, the show's cast of characters are as lovable as they are memorable as they deal with problems both great and small. Even when they're at their worst, though, they're all still perfectly effective at keeping things fun and engaging. Of course, I'd be remiss to not mention the tasteful romantic undertones that run throughout the show in regards to the main cast and a few of the male side characters. While nothing comes of them, of course, Rokuhoudou manages to work with its queerbaity subject matter in such a way that it'd make sense if the show were looked at from a romantic-obsessed lens but it also doesn't make it particularly necessary to see it that way. Whether the characters are lovers or just good friends, they have a dynamic that works well and is hilarious to watch when its played right.
You'd have to be blind not to catch the metaphor of two dudes working as a
"perfect pair" as they majestically pound away at some mochi though.
Moving past that little tidbit, the art and animation frequently leave much to be offered as the main cast regularly suffers from "Distant Face Syndrome" even in close-range shots. Yet, in spite of that, this show manages to look absolutely gorgeous when it wants to so I'm willing to chalk that one complaint up to being the unfortunate side-effect of a strained budget. If there's one point of praise I can offer without a caveat, though, it's that this show's music is absolutely amazing. Many of the show's scores are orchestral in nature and feature a good amount of smooth jazz that I could soak up for hours on end. So, while I'm generally unwilling to call this show perfect and may even shy away from calling it great, it'd be lying if I said there wasn't a lot to like about it. As a kind of masculine alternative to works like Blend S and Working!!!, it definitely falls within the same league as those two shows and manages to be different enough to not be written off as something derivative or a copycat of any other cafe/restaurant titles I can think of. If you want something funny and comfy with just enough drama to keep things compelling, then I'd highly recommend giving Rokuhoudou a fair shake.