Bakuman Season 3 - Episode 24

Now that Azuki's place as the lead female role in the Reversi anime adaptation has been sealed, Ashirogi Muto can get back to doing what they do best - worrying about making their manga a success.

As a result, this brings us back to a potential sticking point between artists and editors, as Takagi continues to insist that the series needs to end and end soon as his story works hard to be the best it can be, no matter how brief.  With only a couple of months worth of material left to run, it's time for Hattori to go to the chief editor with this news, and needless to say it doesn't go down too well, especially given that this means the manga will end before the anime adaptation even begins.

With the editorial department adamant that the series can't end so soon, Mashiro and Takagi are left with a choice - defy the chief editor and end the series at their own pace, or elongate it to keep him (and the magazine) happy.  After some waxing and waning on the idea, it's Takagi that makes the decision that he simply can't try to make Reversi run any longer - not least because he wants to create a perfect ending that will allow Mashiro to get married while holding a place as the number one manga artist.  Thus, Reversi's grand finale is unveiled, and it seems that Ashirogi Muto can tick another item from their "to do" list.

Having thrown so much drama and tension at us across its three series, it's inevitable that these final episodes will see a lull along those lines as the show dots its "i"s and crosses its "t"s - sure enough, this penultimate instalment is far more of a feel-good story than one of exquisite twists and turns.  Not that this is a criticism - it's a fitting end to the show and the journey it's taken us on, and I'm sure nobody can begrudge it a suitably happy ending after all the blood, sweat and tears we've seen toiled by its main cast throughout.  Hopefully the final episode can provide a fitting ending to the Bakuman story outright.