in 2002, and the English-language translation was nominated for an Eisner Award for "Best U.S. Edition of International Material – Japan" in 2007. At the 31st in 2001, the Japanese television drama adaptation won awards in the Best Series, Supporting Actor (for Kippei Shiina), Theme Song, Music, Casting, and Title Sequence categories; a special award was also given to for the design of the pastries and baked goods used in the series. In 2002, the Japanese television drama adaptation won the Nikkan Sports Drama Grand Prix for Best Drama and Best Actor (for Hideaki Takizawa). Analysis Portrayal of cooking and gender Tomoko Aoyama has considered the depiction of cooking in Antique Bakery in relation to the Japanese concepts of and . While the elaborate cakes and pastries of Antique Bakery are self-evidently hare, she notes how Antique Bakery complicates the hare-ke dichotomy through its presentation of gender. While male professional cooking and connoisseurship are generally regarded as hare and female cooking is seen as ke, the main characters of Antique Bakery subvert "assumptions based on age, gender, sexuality, appearance, occupation, education, class, [and] status." For example, Ono is a skilled chef but is coded as female as a result of his homosexuality, while Kanda is regarded by others as cute (a feminine trait) but vulgar (a masculine trait). Desserts in general are seemingly ke for being delicate and "unmanly", but their exoticism as French pastries for a Japanese clientele, as well as the level of skill and craftsmanship required to create them, renders them as hare. Portrayal of homosexuality Yoshinaga has described Antique Bakery as not a work of BL, but as a shōjo manga with gay characters, stating that "being regarded as BL may limit the range of the audience, but there’s nothing I can do about it, and more importantly, I want my readers to read as they like. Surely we should be allowed to read manga with whatever dogma and prejudice we like." Critics and readers have often considered the series as a work of BL, with Xuan Bach Tran describing Antique Bakery as "not a BL manga, but a shōjo work with a lot of BL flavour." Tomoko Aoyama states that while BL elements are "clearly present" in Antique Bakery, in contrast to typical BL works the series does not depict sex or sexuality graphically, and instead "encourages readers to use their imagination" in regards to