Yankee & Caramelized
Writer/Artist: Chiuko Umeshibu
Publisher: Yen Press (print and digital editions)
Translation: Emma Schumacher
Lettering: Olivia Osants
Publication date: October 28, 2025
Rating: Mature
Genre: Manga (Japan), Boy’s Love, LGBTQ+, Romance
Yankee & Carameliser ended its run in 2023, so it’s not a completely new series, but it’s Chiuko Umeshibu’s first work licensed for English by Yen Press. This review details specific events in the story. If you haven’t read it yet and want to read it blind, I recommend visiting after you’ve finished reading it. Next, let’s dig into this heartwarming boy’s love manga!
If I were friends with Akito, I’d probably be violent too… ©Yen Press, 2025
What would you do if you discovered the secret account of a delinquent student in your class? Of course you kindly threaten and burn him! Despite the account being anonymous, Maki’s careless photo angle reveals his identity, and Akito continues to follow Maki, not to mention wanting to try the sweets he posts.
What’s more, he believes people will flock to his account if he can better represent himself online, but it will take some coercion for Maki to start his NeoTube venture. The two get a chance to get to know each other as one looks away while the other watches through the camera.
High school is a very popular setting in boys’ love manga, and one of the first character archetypes that comes to mind for readers in this setting is the delinquent. Typical delinquents, along with yakuza, have been on the rise in recent years. One of the most popular examples is Kosuke Ohno’s ruthless ex-yakuza gang member turned wife, Gyokushuhudo, and the appeal of this archetype lies in the obvious differences in their appearance and characteristics.
©Yen Press, 2025
At first glance, Yankee & Carameliser appears to be building its story on a similar foundation. A smart, popular, and kind-hearted boy accidentally discovers his classmate’s account “Toitter” where he anonymously shares the Western sweets he has baked. The problem is that Maki is notorious at school and is plagued by terrible rumors. He’s always wearing a screamo metal band’s tour T-shirt, his hair is dyed blonde, his ears are full of piercings, and his gaze just screams “Scram!”
But as Akito convinces Maki to start a NeoTube channel with him (I love these pseudo-social media platform names) and Maki’s story unfolds layer by layer, we discover the real Maki beneath his unapproachable exterior. This is the real crux of this story. Their joint project “The Sweet Life of High School Delinquents” becomes a secret they share.
©Yen Press, 2025
Maki is in charge of shopping, preparation, and baking, while Akito is in charge of filming, editing, uploading, and managing social media. The series begins with Akito talking to his friends about the dance video he uploaded to Toyota and what he should film next. Although Akito seems reluctant, he quickly proves to be very popular on social media with over 16,000 followers. So it’s safe to assume he knows the inner workings of social media and algorithms, and his interest in Maki prompts him to take on the production burden.
We don’t know that Akito has any interest in cinematography/filming/editing, but we are initially confused by his simple suggestion of filming his reluctant classmates. But the camera becomes an interesting and meaningful tool in context.
A character looking through a viewfinder at a loved one is not an especially unusual trope in romance novels. The camera provides an excuse for the character’s gaze to linger on the other person, capturing the object of their feelings and affections at a particular time and place. Through filming Maki, Akito not only shows his friend’s love for baking and his own true side, but also witnesses a side of Maki that others don’t see. He is looking at Maki with the intention of getting to know her and truly meeting her. Maki’s talents are recorded for everyone to see online, but only Akito can see the look on her face as she mixes ingredients and the way her blonde hair shines like candy in the sun.
©Yen Press, 2025
Then, through the lens and Akihito’s serious gaze, Maki gains the recognition and acceptance that she has longed for deep within her heart. My family was the first to fail and ignore me. He had to grapple with why it was not considered normal to love cute things, and why the gravure magazines his male friends looked at every day didn’t excite him. What the world has taught him about manhood is to act tough and fight. If there is a part of him that stands out, he needs to be reworked. This is why the camera serves as a link between two young people who are trying to find their passion or are struggling to recognize their passion.
On the day of the shoot, Akito suggests visiting a trendy cafe with Maki for inspiration for plating and decorations. The sight of two men eating cute and fashionable sweets attracts the attention of customers. Akito is unfazed and suggests he doesn’t care, but Maki is extremely self-conscious. Akito excitedly talks about how much fun it is to run the channel together and is happy with its growing popularity. But all Maki thought in her heart was, “I just wish I was happy, I wish I had fun.”
©Yen Press, 2025
Admittedly, it’s not that simple or easy. Loving things, nature, animals, and people is, and always has been, political, and sometimes it costs money. Maki is estranged from her family because of herself and her own interests. They are unable to maintain friendships or do not form friendships in the first place because they are afraid of being criticized. As a result, he doubts the feelings and intentions behind Akito approaching him.
In that sense, “Yankee & Caramelized” is first and foremost a story about Maki, and the absence of Akito on the cover makes this clear. This work is a story about the romance that develops between two people, but it is also a story about identity. As already mentioned, Akito is portrayed as a character who has never been able to find something that moves his heart in life, but now he finds it by bringing out Maki’s love for baking. But it’s as deep as his role in the narration. He’s kind of a narrative tool, much like his position in the baking channel. He is there to hold and cherish Maki and help him reach his full potential.
While the main beats of Yankee & Caramelized are similar to a regular high school BL with delinquents, the way Chiuko Umeshibu approaches certain themes with subtle touches is what sets the series apart. There’s a scene where Akito says he’s relieved that nothing happened between them because he saw Maki coming out of a love hotel with an older man. Maki interpreted this as Akito being disgusted by the idea of two men having sex, and responded in a way that surprised me.
“So what if something happens? See? You’re going to start thinking I’m disgusting.”
This is a superficially simple line, and any misunderstandings are quickly cleared up. What struck me was how, with the rise of purity culture, queer works depicting sexuality (and the people who engage in such works) were openly demonized, as if they were fetishizing queer identity, while the focus was solely on romance as a reader, and praised as “the only proper way to enjoy queer works.” The same old pure/filthy dichotomy still reverberates, now more dangerous than ever because it is cloaked in left-wing rhetoric.
©Yen Press, 2025
I realize this is completely off the mark in what I’m saying. But what was notable to me was that Maki has internalized sexual desire for men, and Akito in particular, which must be disgusting to an outsider looking in. However, sex is a part of a romantic relationship that he wants to experience. Yankee & Carameliser has decided to subtly weave these conflicts and concerns that young queer people experience to varying degrees into a sweet and romantic youth BL manga.
Don’t worry, you’ve finished reading and you’re craving some more of these two. The sequel, Yankee & Carameliser: Second Bake, is currently self-published on the digital manga platform pixiv COMICS, and will hopefully also be picked up by Yen Press when (or if) it is physically released in comic book format.
Finally, I would like to end by saying that Chiuko Umeshibu’s “Yankee & Caramelize” is a truly adorable and heartfelt manga that perfectly balances the conflict surrounding one’s own gender identity with the sweet romance that two boys share through mutual understanding and acceptance. Highly recommended!
Yankee & Carameliser is available in digital and print editions on the Yen Press website and other retailers.
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