Yakitate!! Japan/WMG

Kazuma is a Firebender.

• His name is full of letters like "K", "Z" and "U", more-or-less following Fire Nation custom.
• His "Solar Hands" are how Firebending ability manifests itself in our universe.
• Having grown up in a society that largely soured on "the glory of war" back when his now-aged grandfather was a young man, he's skipped directly to the "obsessive fixation on one food item" phase we see in Uncle Iroh.

Yuuichi Kirisaki is an alias for Gendo Ikari.

• Yuuichi Kirisaki is just as shadowy and manipulative as Gendo Ikari. He uses his connections to sabotage the Japanese baking team in the Monaco Cup just like Gendo Ikari who uses NERV and SEELE for his own gain.
• Both are willing to kill their minions if they failed them.
• Both have the same voice actor. (Fumihiko Tachiki)
• Both wear Scary Shiny Glasses.
• Both are cold and distant fathers to their children.
• But isn't Yuuichi evil only because he ate his Go-Pan #1? Maybe that was actually made with Gendo's soul from a parallel universe.
• Yuuichi could have found Gendo who was in the form of a puddle of glowy Tang and used him to make Go-Pan #1 for the first time when Yuuichi could not find any water to make it.
  • Human Resources?

Yuuichi Kirisaki is trying to monopolize the baking industry in order to introduce a bread to the World's population that can induce Instrumentality as a reaction.

• Yuuichi doesn't care about making bread for the sake of making bread.
• His breads are so good that even the taste-unsensitive can experience a reaction.
• This fits in Gendo's (possessing Yuuichi) plan of making sure that everyone is equal.
• This actually is what happens towards the end of the manga. He tries to turn everyone in the world into bread creatures called Hu-pan.

If Yakitate Japan did not end on Episode 69, Shizuto Narumi could have become a Rival Judge for Ryo Kuroyanagi.

• Hikaru Midorikawa is Shizuto Narumi's voice actor and Takehito Koyasu is Ryo Kuroyanagi's voice actor.
• This rivalry might ensue because of Relationship Voice Actor.

The final battle...

• Will be between Kirisaki Yuuichi and Azuma.
• It will be set in Azuma's hometown.
• The 'specialty' will be rice.
• And the goal will be to make the ultimate and true 'Ja-pan'.
• Be honest, was anyone not expecting this final battle?

There will be Captain Ersatzes of the other Gundam bad guys if the series continued.

• Yukino is a Captain Ersatz of Cima Garahau and looks like her too.
• The Black Tri-Stars showed up in episode 28.
• Here's to hoping we get an honorable baker who works for St. Pierre's. The baker also looks and acts like Anavel Gato from Mobile Suit Gundam 0083: Stardust Memory

There is more to Kyousuke Kawachi being the butt monkey than meets the eye.

• Ken Matsushiro treated Ryo Kuroyanagi the same way when they had a teacher student relationship. He did it because Ryo was more suited to be a world class food critic than baker. Everyone, except maybe Azuma, treats Kawachi the same way, for the same reason. Of all the regular cast he is about the only one to regularly have reactions to breads and other foods. It is said it takes an hyper sensitive person to have reactions. The others are all treating him like dirt to try and drive him to be a taste taster and find his true calling.
• Confirmed as of chapter 235.

Azuma's Japan will be an ordinary bread, that will not gave off any kind of reaction.

Because c'mon...