Monday 29 October 2012

Bakuman Season 3 - Episode 4

Given that their career in Shounen Jack is on the line and dependant upon them beating +NATURAL in the rankings, this week's Bakuman is surprisingly swift at delivering its verdict on Ashirogi Muto and their future.


Needless to say, the speed of that judgement makes it pretty much a given that the final news is positive - for Akito and Takagi at least, but decidedly less so for a defeated Iwase.  With their future working for the magazine secured and PCP safe from cancellation, it seems as if life is getting better and better for our two protagonists, with news of a drama CD (and no prizes for guessing who one of the voice actresses working on that will be) and novel adaptation of their work quickly following.

As all of this success floods over them, thoughts naturally turn towards what seems to be an inevitable anime adaptation - but is PCP really suitable to such a switch?  In Hattori's opinion, no, as PCP is the recipient of frequent complaints thanks to its real-life premise and the possibility of kids imitating it.  It's a body blow to our two manga artists as their ultimate dream seems to be dashed (and little do they know of the offer which has landed on the chief editor's desk), so how do they work around it?  Mashiro begins to formulate a plan, only to find that even this looks set to be swallowed up by other events transpiring around him.

Thus, another week brings another entertaining episode of Bakuman as it continues to benefit on keeping its focus largely away from the romance angle to focus on the industry chatter and the hurdles that face our young manga artists (and their assistants on this occasion) - it's a simple but effective formula that I can't help but love as I devour it with a combination of interest in watching its glimpses into the wiring under the board and entertainment at the way it spins so much pure drama out of its concept.  Given the interesting twists and turns brought about by the events of this episode, that opinion doesn't look like changing in the near future either.

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