Shonen Beam

[scanlation by SleepyFans]

PCP being unable to receive an anime adaptation for diplomatic reasons is an unfortunately plausible scenario. Complaints are a harsh truth that mangaka must live with, even when the intent of the work is positive and/or harmless. (The Sket Dance balloon incident comes to mind.) Hattori needed a truly legitimate reason why PCP wouldn’t get an anime, and this plot thread delivers.

Takagi is fighting hard for Mashiro’s side of their shared dream. Often, in scenarios similar to these, when a partnership or team finds overall success but an individual in said group isn’t satisfied, the plot shifts to a developing rift. I’m glad to see that this problem is solidifying the relationship (both personal and professional) between Mashiro and Takagi, rather than introducing conflict.

Impassioned words

At least a midnight anime is still a possibility. It doesn’t seem likely, given the tone of this chapter, but it would be difficult to maintain long-term interest in PCP if there was a defined ceiling on its success that fell short of the biggest remaining goal in the series.

Damn, Hiramaru is loaded. Also amusing is his blatant acknowledgment of Yoshida’s manipulative tactics.

Surprising financial shrewdness

Poignant conversation between Mashiro and Takagi about marriage age. These characters aren’t immature, so the conversation isn’t entirely out of place, but they’re still pretty young.

It’s completely satisfying to see Shiratori praised (and, indirectly, Takagi) and Moriya brought back to reality.

Takagi writing a series for an artist other than Mashiro is worrisome. That would continue to positively portray Takagi as having “made it” as a writer in command of his craft, but it would also take the focus of the series away from the dream held by the original trio of Mashiro, Takagi, and Azuki. This has opened the door to countless possibilities, and has pushed back the potential end of the series by a considerable distance.

Final Flash: A decent chapter with a disconcerting ending.

[scanlation by SleepyFans]

While the prospect of a PCP anime is exciting, it does feel like it’s too soon for so much of the main Bakuman plot to be resolved. The drama CD announcement would mean much less if the editor-in-chief is to suddenly accept an offer of an anime adaptation also.

The scene of local kids “playing PCP” is amazing. Manga as a whole offers a plethora of inspiring sights, but few are as realistic and attainable as this. The “meta” nature of the series has rarely been used to such positive effect. Conversely, the discussion between Mashiro and Takagi about how far they’ve come, relative to what they have left to attain, evokes nostalgia befitting of a series’ 100th chapter.

Beautifully rewarding

Kaya praising the kids for playing PCP is adorable.

This chapter is focusing intently on Takagi, and in an interesting way. Between his encouragement and advice for Shiratori and agreeing to write the crimes for the drama CD, Takagi shows confidence and poise that he never had earlier in the series. This is a nice affirmation of his growth.

What a surprisingly direct portrayal of the state of the Takagi/Kaya relationship.

Healthy marriage, evidently

Even more Takagi spotlight. His maturity as a writer is so obvious that once again, I can’t picture too many more major plot developments before the end of the series.

Despite warning Miura earlier not to let potential anime news leak, Hattori directly announces to Ashirogi that PCP won’t have an anime. Is this a true statement and the sign of another obstacle to overcome, or is it merely a tactic to get Ashirogi to stay grounded and focus? There is no clear evidence to support either argument, but I’m leaning towards the latter option.

Final Flash: Excellent, uplifting chapter. The labor of our protagonists is finally bearing fruit, yet exciting challenges still lay ahead.

[scanlation by Binktopia]

What a great start to the chapter. It might have been necessary and expected for PCP to pass at least one series, but it’s still an exciting moment. They were only 2 votes away from Crow, no less.

Continuing that great start, direct acceptance from the editor-in-chief is a huge moment in the series.

Appropriate reaction

+Natural placing sixth elicits mixed feelings from me. It’s a creative touch not to have PCP outrank +Natural by one place, but it diminishes the impact of PCP’s success somewhat to have it achieve the goal through the poor performance of one of the two target series.

The couple pages spent looking at other series are well spent, particularly the peek at Fukuda panicking about Road Racer Giri.

Iwase crying alone at the restaurant booth is truly difficult to read. She’s been chasing after Takagi’s natural success for so long, and after only a short period of success, she’s once again been bested by him. Worse still, +Natural is underperforming as a direct result of her idea to include the character Crow. Tragic moment for her.

PCP is being adapted to a drama CD! Things are progressing very quickly. At this point, it feels like the series could end within a handful of chapters if Ohba and Obata wished it.

Mashiro could not be cuter as he frantically requests Azuki as the voice actress for Mai.

Slightly excitable

I’ve been very pleased with Binktopia scanlations to date. However, to the immature idiot who thought it would be hilarious to subtly write “Boobies \o/” over Kaya’s chest: You are ruining artistic integrity. There is no place in your scanlations for a 12 year old’s pitiful attempt at humor. No one reads manga because of you. Never alter someone else’s work.

That unnecessary idiocy aside, it’s nothing new for Kaya to react in a cute fashion to Mashiro and Azuki’s relationship, and this is no exception.

Azuki tearing up at the prospect of voicing Mai in the PCP drama CD is another fantastic moment. This chapter is really pulling out all the stops.

The editor-in-chief has offers for a PCP anime! Maybe we’re even closer to the end of the series than I’ve expected.

Final Flash: Hugely impactful chapter, with great moments on practically every page.

[scanlation by Binktopia]

Good Jump cover, but an even better chapter color cover. Fantastic color spread.

Do want

Interesting timing for a Takagi/Iwase flashback. Also, as well as Iwase has been developed into a rival character, it’s still nice to see the old love-struck Iwase.

Refreshing

It’s always amusing to see Crow’s editor excited over its position, as though it should still be surprising. That said, what placed first? Unless I’ve missed a major plot point, it’s odd that some series can do so well and yet remain anonymous.

Those are pretty… specific bet conditions from Iwase.

Has she been giving this some prior thought?

A rival character, being written by a character with a rivalry, who is written by an author drawing from personal experience (and therefore, who likely has a rivalry). Takagi’s decision to turn Akechi into a rival character is yet another amusing exercise in meta.

Great PCP scene, good decision not to have Akechi turn around, and I love that we actually got full pages of PCP within the Bakuman chapter. That’s something I hope we see more often.

I will admit to thinking the chapter was over when I saw the usual Jump chapter-ending logo on the last PCP page.

What a cliffhanger. Next week can’t come quickly enough.

Final Flash: Diverse and engaging chapter, with a properly infuriating cliffhanger.

[scanlation by SleepyFans]

What a typically “shonen” scenario being developed by Takagi. The introduction of a rival character is so often the first step towards serious plot in shonen series.

Has Bakuman ever been more reminiscent of Death Note than on page 4 of this chapter? The “if it happens again while he’s watched” concept is lifted straight from the psychological war between Light and L.

Hello, Yagami

Comparisons to Death Note aside (not that such comparisons are bad), these are some interesting ideas Takagi has come up with for PCP. I find it interesting and all too familiar to see he and Mashiro struggling to forcibly think of creative ideas. The best art is often created by chance rather than deliberate planning, and this chapter has expressed that well.

Disappointingly accurate

Very amusing email from Azuki. What a cute and entirely inane message.

Takagi’s idea of a wordplay code is so good that I find myself wishing real-life Jump had an alternative/mystery series. It’s fun to be engaged with online communities who discuss theories and possible future twists of weekly series. If such communities can thrive for primarily action-oriented series like One Piece, imagine how exciting it would be to exchange ideas over series with plot points that are designed to be solved.

Final Flash: Great chapter with plenty of creative and interesting ideas that finally help PCP stand out. The future looks more promising than ever for Ashirogi.