I just can't get into these last few chapters not that there bad but this romance is so stupid..it's easliy the thing I hate the most about this series….hopelly Ejii comes back.
And is it werid I like the chapters better when the internet trolls are calling there romance stupid.
You are 12 .
Now i just really hope, Azuki doesn't try to cockblock Mashiro by extending or changing the promise. Cause seriously, that would piss me OFF.
Though I could totally see her doing that….
I wasn't distracted by Lucy being half naked.
You won this week Fairy Tail.
Now i just really hope, Azuki doesn't try to cockblock Mashiro by extending or changing the promise. Cause seriously, that would piss me OFF.
Though I could totally see her doing that….
How much you wanna bet that whole promise was made in the first place because Azuki is terrified of commitment?
How much you wanna bet that whole promise was made in the first place because Azuki is terrified of commitment?
So she made a giant commitment as an excuse to get out of a commitment?
NNID: julsjacket
If you say you're engaged, it gives you an easy excuse to say "no" when others ask you out.
Like it makes any less sense than the alternative.
Well one alternative is that she's really into commitment.
To the point where she promises to marry her first crush in middle school before even knowing him.
Which makes more sense I think.
NNID: julsjacket
Well one alternative is that she's really into commitment.
To the point where she promises to marry her first crush in middle school before even knowing him.
Which makes more sense I think.
It's a commitment that delays another more severe commitment.
She's got some real cognitive dissonance going on there.
The entire relationship between those two characters went from. "Cute and innocent." to "Highly unbelievable." to now "Extremely annoying."
I've seen some bullshit anime/manga romances in my day, watch any Gundam series, but this..this has just been so frustrating to see play out, and I hope to god that they finally just get it over with. We still have loose plot threads to tie up, so if Azuki tries to extend their promise till ."Not until you surpass Eji" or something like that. Man am I am going to be pissed.
Not to mention what this is doing to Mashiro's manhood, honestly that boy must have so much sexual frustration he's gonna die from an ulcer or something..
If anyone, wouldn't it be Mashiro that extends the promise? Azuki has nothing to lose if Mashiro's still second to Eiji.
Wow, I never thought I'd see such hostility, bitterness, and frustration going on about the main couple.
I hardly find them annoying. They aren't all over each other. You'd agree they aren't all lovey dovey, they highly respect each other instead. Sure, they blush when they are together, and they are awkward even when apart. I find it extremely unlikely, improbable, impossible, but I still find it very sweet. It's been a while since I last tried to put their relationship in real life conditions, I must admit and I don't feel the need to.
Thing is, even if it is the very starting point of their dreams, the fuel of it all, it's almost all it is when you look at the whole story, nothing more (well, except for this arc…).
That said, I really wouldn't be happy at any trick used to extend the story and delay the end of their deal.
and 
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Great chapter.
! I liked that Azuki memorized the manga by heart. It implied dedication on several levels. To her role. To her career. To Reversi. To Mashiro. Good stuff. :)
@Elisabeth:
Wow, I never thought I'd see such hostility, bitterness, and frustration going on about the main couple.
I hardly find them annoying. They aren't all over each other. You'd agree they aren't all lovey dovey, they highly respect each other instead. Sure, they blush when they are together, and they are awkward even when apart. I find it extremely unlikely, improbable, impossible, but I still find it very sweet. It's been a while since I last tried to put their relationship in real life conditions, I must admit and I don't feel the need to.
Thing is, even if it is the very starting point of their dreams, the fuel of it all, it's almost all it is when you look at the whole story, nothing more (well, except for this arc…).
That said, I really wouldn't be happy at any trick used to extend the story and delay the end of their deal.
It was sweet at the start, but then Azuki dropped off the face of the earth for 30+ chapters and Mashiro didn't even bat an eye. Coupled with the fact that no one. NO ONE ever pulled Mashiro aside and actually asked him questions about it. No one brought up the complete absurdity of their relationship, no one questioned that they never really knew each other, everyone just smiles and nods and thinks these two are destined to be together. As a reader, I find that to be frustration and downright unbelievable. I mean, this is Twilight levels of stupidity here.
I understand it's a manga and there is certain degree of suspension of disbelief. That's OK and that's what makes love stories in manga and the like interesting. But this? This has just become stupider and stupider the longer it goes on. I would have LOVED to read a chapter when someone really calls out Mashiro on this deal of his, and have him question exactly what the hell he is doing. Because I'm sure any sane person would have done that ages ago.
They talk all the time in texts though. Its no different than having a long distance internet relationship… aside from the fact its a self imposed restriction so they can focus on their careers.
Granted, tying their personal lives so closely into work related goals that might never have come true is a little naive, but given that they were making genuine progress towards their goals the whole way, its not completely insane.
Not anymore than the other crazy "do everything for my dreams" ambitions in the series.
but then Azuki dropped off the face of the earth for 30+ chapters and Mashiro didn't even bat an eye.
She dropped out of the main manga plot. Not the same thing as dropping off the face of the earth.
What about all those chapters where we rapid fire see the characters do 5 or 8 weeks of manga in a single chapter? Does that work fall off the face of the planet just because we don't see them doing the regular daily, non-interesting stuff?
It was sweet at the start, but then Azuki dropped off the face of the earth for 30+ chapters and Mashiro didn't even bat an eye. Coupled with the fact that no one. NO ONE ever pulled Mashiro aside and actually asked him questions about it. No one brought up the complete absurdity of their relationship, no one questioned that they never really knew each other, everyone just smiles and nods and thinks these two are destined to be together. As a reader, I find that to be frustration and downright unbelievable. I mean, this is Twilight levels of stupidity here.
I understand it's a manga and there is certain degree of suspension of disbelief. That's OK and that's what makes love stories in manga and the like interesting. But this? This has just become stupider and stupider the longer it goes on. I would have LOVED to read a chapter when someone really calls out Mashiro on this deal of his, and have him question exactly what the hell he is doing. Because I'm sure any sane person would have done that ages ago.
I agree 100%. this is every reason I hate or don't care for there romace at the least and haven't been able to get into these chapters.
It was sweet at the start, but then Azuki dropped off the face of the earth for 30+ chapters and Mashiro didn't even bat an eye. Coupled with the fact that no one. NO ONE ever pulled Mashiro aside and actually asked him questions about it. No one brought up the complete absurdity of their relationship, no one questioned that they never really knew each other, everyone just smiles and nods and thinks these two are destined to be together. As a reader, I find that to be frustration and downright unbelievable. I mean, this is Twilight levels of stupidity here.
I understand it's a manga and there is certain degree of suspension of disbelief. That's OK and that's what makes love stories in manga and the like interesting. But this? This has just become stupider and stupider the longer it goes on. I would have LOVED to read a chapter when someone really calls out Mashiro on this deal of his, and have him question exactly what the hell he is doing. Because I'm sure any sane person would have done that ages ago.
Like it as said previously, Azuki never "dropped off the face of the earth". Mashiro and her were sending each other texts the whole time. Though she did disappear for us.
Now why would anyone actually question Mashiro about his relationship with Azuki ? Most of those young managakas are single and they always have been apparently.
Aoki, pretty as she is, writing love stories, single. Fukuda, very dedicated to his manga, single. Hiramaru ! Do I have to say anything about him ? He's 30+ now and we followed him for about six years. Six years during which Yoshida tortured him relentlessly, using Aoki as a rewarding carrot to make him work (ahh~ the good times). And now he's engaged to a girl he barely even met (but did dream about for many years) !
And of course Eiji, the self proclaimed eternal boy.
So why would Mashiro/Azuki be questioned ? And if they were, should all of them be questioned ?
We are in that world of shonen mangas where dream is the ultimate power that drives them all…!
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★ Stuff for Sale ★
I just can't get into these last few chapters not that there bad but this romance is so stupid..it's easliy the thing I hate the most about this series….hopelly Ejii comes back.
And is it werid I like the chapters better when the internet trolls are calling there romance stupid.
I would say that's a bit immature…
Look, I can see where you guys are coming from, but Miho and Mashiro have done nothing to be put up on a cross like this. Yes their love is unrealistic, but in my eyes they represent a kind of love that can never really happen, almost like a dream. I highly respect their characters and I've been waiting for this moment. I can't wait to see them get married.
Definitely would like to see Aoki and Hiramaru's wedding as well. I like the idea of them having a double wedding.
This series always makes me happy. I said this last week, but I would like it to continue for another year at least. I'll be sad to see it end now, even if it very well could.
I want them to get together, but if they do won't it end? :sad:
I don't want it to end, but if it doesn't then they won't get together!
Its like a paradox of love and paradoxiness… *sigh
AAAGHGHGAHAG i d k anymore...
I'm not really bitter at all over the couple. Never really was.
That said.
The comments against it on this page are really damned hilarious.
so season 2 has ended now. That ending really made me tear up :')
How long roughly until the next season starts?
The Fall. They take half a year off then start again. How far did they get this time?
Looks like they ended at the point where Mashiro visits his uncle's grave.
~Stargazer~, ~Distance~ original stories.
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Looks like they ended at the point where Mashiro visits his uncle's grave.
With the ratings of PCP?? That chapter in the manga made me cry.
Spoilers for chapter 173:
! Chapter 173: Moment and Final Volume Continuing on from last week, everybody's still in joy and tears that their dreams came true. Kaya and Takagi urge Mashiro to get married now and to quickly say "congrats" to Azuki. But Mashiro says to wait until the assistants and Hattori are gone. At the same time, Mina and Miho's mom congratulate Azuki and her mom teases about how she knew she always liked Mashiro ever since she was little. She knew she'd always admire her art etc (cue those flashback backgrounds). We're then shown scenes where Fukuda's happy and wants to say "congrats" to Mashiro. And in the editorial department, everybody's in a cheerful mood. The EiC says now Ashirogi Muto can 100% concentrate on Reversi now that everything went well. Hattori, with a concerned look on his face, agrees.
! The assistants congratulate Mashiro, and afterwards Kato even jokes about longing to be married now. When Hattori swings by that night, he asks Takagi to tell him honestly how many chapters do they have left. Takagi says about 10 weeks. Probably finished by July (note: anime starts in September). Hattori says he needs to past that on then, and he'll do his best to fight it if things turn sour. Afterwards, Takagi leaves so Mashiro can talk to Azuki.
! Mashiro awkwardly calls Azuki, awkwardly congratulates her, awkwardly says how it's exactly like the time when the anime was announced. Mashiro wants to ask Azuki something. That the moment their dreams come true….technically speaking it's when the show comes on and her voice is heard right? Azuki says that's technically correct. Who knows what willl happen before that so yeah, what if the world exploded before it aired (2012...) etc. Then, when it airs, Mashiro will go to see her, no matter what. Azuki agrees to it.
! The next day, Takagi asks if he proposed or not last night. Mashiro replies no. Takagi asks why since their dreams have come true now, it's time to get married. Mashiro says technically their dream comes true when the anime airs and her voice is heard. Who knows what might happen before then, the world might explode tomorrow for all we know (2012 again). Then he asks if he can borrow some money from Takagi. Takagi asks what for, he should have some left over even after buying the studio. Mashiro says he does, about as much as Takagi have probably, but he wants to give her something joyous in the best way possible.
! Next Monday...
! In the editorial department, Hattori lets the EiC know about the ending. Heishi won't have any of it, tells him to get Ashirogi Muto to stretch the serialization as much as possible. Back at the studio. Hattori lets them know the higher ups want them to continue as long as possible. At least for one season the anime is broadcasted anyway.
! Then Hattori discusses with them whether they'll do a part two. After ending it, take 3 weeks off, and come back with a part two. Sure he said things like "do whatever you want, and I'll take responsibility later" but on the other end, Hattori thinks since they worked so hard to get an anime, they should try hard to keep it up, whether in volume sales or the questionnaires. That's if they still want to beat Eiji. Zombie Gun will no doubt be animated as well. And it'll keep going on. At that moment, it'll be hard to say whose work is better [since one has ended and the other keeps going, he means]. Takagi asks what Mashiro thinks since he's so quiet. They can't change their plans now, but if Takagi wants to pen a part two which will be even better, he'll draw it of course. But he doesn't know if he can do it [a part two that tops part one]. Takagi asks for more time to decide this. Takagi notes if the manga ends in early-July, the final volume should theoretically be released in August.
! After Hattori leaves, Mashiro notes that he does want to surpass Eiji. Although they got an anime before him, it'll be only momentary even if they do surpass him (which he thinks is meaningless). Takagi says whether they continue it is up to whether he can continue writing right, and leaves afterwards. As soon as he gets outside, he calls up Hattori and tells him he wants to talk to him alone.
! Takagi tells Hattori there are 8 chapters left.
! Takagi says it's meaningless to stretch the serialization because of the anime. But NOW IS THE TIME TO SURPASS EIJI. To create the ultimate perfect ending. IN 8 MORE CHAPTERS. If the final volume comes out before the anime, they shouild be able to surpass Eiji in volume sales. For Mashiro, when he has his wedding, he wants him to be the most popular mangaka in Jump when he gets married*. Hattori gives him the thumbs up and tells him to go for it. To create his perfect ending, and he'll handle the rest!
! [ending tag line: "IT STARTS NOW, WHICH IS THE JOB OF THE EDITOR!!]
! Yeah, I had a feeling Mashiro would want to wait until the anime broadcast date until they get married.
! And I wonder if Takagi's "8 chapters left deal" is really Ohba and Obata telling us there are only 8 chapters left.
Oh geez man, don't bold that. That's scary.
@RobbyBevard:
Oh geez man, don't bold that. That's scary.
Wasn't me. That's just how the original source posted it. But fine, I'll edit it.
! I suppose that, if Mashiro and Takagi are running out of material to work with, that would be the best time to beat Eiji. Once the anime starts, Reversi would get a huge boost in popularity (look at what happened with Toriko, after all), and I'm sure they wouldn't want to win due to something like that - they'd want to beat Eiji through quality, not by riding the popularity that the anime gets them.
! Does reinforce the point however, that they aren't winning in an even toe to toe footing. Not able to make a long running ongoing series is a weakness that they've expressed over and over, one that they still haven't conquered really. For all that this arc is wrapping up the main plot points, that still feels like something they need to do…
! Tho it might just go out on a vague "and in the future we'll do better!" note. In which case, yes, they might be going meta with an "8 chapters left" thing.
My reaction to reading the spoilers…
I don't really think that a short series is a weakness though, not if you're more orientated on the quality of your story over how much money your series is pulling in. If you're trying to show the readers something interesting, sometimes its better to show it the way you wanted it to be shown, rather then dragging it out and losing the stories momentum and impact.
! The thing is though that they can't really "surpass" Eiji unless they are on equal ground. This was brought up last week, but this is like saying a short series like Death Note that did amazingly well beat One Piece that is still running years later.
! I hope I'm wrong about that "8 chapters left" thing being a true countdown…
Chapter 173 This is a strange feeling to get while reading Bakuman. Is it ending? Well, it will continue until summer, that much is certain. But then.
! And I wonder how much of their Death Note experience do Obata and Ohba channel here? When they started the talk of the second part, especially. If they suggest to change the the hero of Reversi, and not the villain?.. Well, if there is going to be a second part, of course.
@Nobodyman:
How much you wanna bet that whole promise was made in the first place because Azuki is terrified of commitment?
Mashiro was the one to propose their deal. So to put the whole blame on Azuki would be at least unreasonable if not outright stupid.
Yes, as a real life relationship the one this manga focuses on is not the best example of functionality and reason. But since it is a manga, shounen manga, shounen manga published in Shounen Jack of all things, it is bearing the certain traits that influence it and our perception of it. These traits are dreams and promises. Well, that much is obvious. But the background of Mashiro's promise to Azuki is often forgotten. It's his uncle and his relationship with Azuki's mother. It's all spelled out in the first chapter and hasn't changed ever since. An unreasonable and idealistic gamble made in order to chase their own dream and to honor the dream of person gone. That's all there is to it in my eyes.
From a certain teeth grinding real life point of view, it deserves criticism. But at least not from the charcaters inside of the manga - Eli makes a good point here.
So, in the end all the complaints I end up with are the time spent on the actual moments of Mashiro and Azuki together and the point of expensive travel between mangaka and seiyu parts of Tokyo, because those two are like on the other sides of the island; totally.
! @Silverblade It's such a query whether the authors are pulling their experiences straight from Death Note or if they're just talking about manga in general.
! That said, I'm also wondering how much of what was said in this chapter is being applied to Bakuman, especially the discussions about ending a manga.
! I mean, if Takagi gets his way, then the duo achieves both their goals. Yes there's the wrap up of side characters but from this seems to be the "proper ending" so to speak. So would the authors want to end on this "high note"? Will there be another road block, prolonging at least one of the goals? Or could Bakuman have a part 2 that's even better than part 1?
! I'm glad I'm not the only one who read this chapter and thought Death Note but done right.
Ok, I understand that storywise, they want to pad it out until the final chapters, to have it all end when the manga is about to end, I get that I do. but really?
REALLY MASHIRO? REALLY? Your holding off on a fucking TECHNICALITY?
lol expected Mashiro holding off for something trivial like that.
What I don't see is saying "yay our LAST volume out sold one volume of Eiji's series, so now we're the number one most popular manga duo in Japan!"
It's the same Death Note to One Piece comparison I was talking about last week.
I agree w/ Robby it depends on how they really want to end the series.
What I wouldn't like is them somehow acting like they thoroughly surpassed Niizuma Eiji. I mean, hell Mashiro even said it two pages before Takagi declared to Hattori, that surpassing Eiji for a short time doesn't matter much.
Say volume 12 of Death Note outsells volume 12 of One Piece…great.....One Piece volumes 56, 57, 58, 59, 60, 61, 62 all set new print records, One Piece gets plastered on the side of buses, generates a 500+ episode anime, 12+ movies, tons of video games, etc.
Death Note may be popular but it just doesn't come close to OP....or Dragon Ball....or even Naruto really.
When you think "Pillar of Jump", you think a long lasting series that sustains the magazine.
I do think it's a weakness that Takagi can only write short series, considering their goal as a manga duo is to compete with Bakuman's closest equivalent to Eiichiro Oda or Akira Toriyama.
When you do have series that can maintain high quality and run a long time, saying you can ONLY write something short is a weakness. Takagi also can't write anything that involves battles. I mean, it's one thing if that's not what you want to write, but we've seen he simply can't. The thing is, there are ways to write an action series that involves actual fighting without making it mainstream shonen. As much as it was stupid, look at the manga Panty Flash Fight that was written by Nanamine's corporation. It involved battles and didn't follow mainstream shonen formula.
Really, even look at Hunter x Hunter. There are some typical shonen aspects, but the series follows a pretty irregular story pattern and most of the characters are crazy or dysfunctional in some way or another.
Fullmetal Alchemist had a lot of fights at the end and action throughout, but it wasn't really a manga set up just to have a string of battles (like Bleach or KHR!)
I just think hat saying "Takagi can't do battle, can't do mainstream, etc." is a cop out. I know they're calling the psychological chess game that is Reversi a non-mainstream battle manga, but I just think that they're doing little to improve Takagi's shortcomings as a writer.
REALLY MASHIRO? REALLY? Your holding off on a fucking TECHNICALITY?
It's silly that he's doing that, but this way it looks like the wedding would be in the final chapter.
I understand that completely, it's a proper way to end the series, but i mean COME ON. Who calls up the girl you've promised to marry, RIGHT after finally achieving the two things you wanted to achieve before said marriage and goes. "Yeah, it doesn't count UNTIL it goes on TV."
What a fucking piece of crap that is.
Their whole relationship was based on some arbitrary rules anyway.
Was no one really expecting this?
Taking this relationship seriously is just ridiculous at this point. So in order to stick with the over-the-top shonen-romance theme I actually really like Mashiro's decision. By having his dreams as a mangaka and romance with Azuki culminate at the same instant the manga should end in spectacular fashion.
When it comes to ending the manga this is what I think: They need to have some kind of continuing "Part 2" to really claim that they have surpassed Eiji. Instead of going the Death Note route and continuing with almost all the same cast and plot except worse, they should do it like JoJo's Bizarre Adventure. Just write another story in the same world with new characters and a new plot. It seems like it would work well since they have demons that could team up with new people.
Yeah, not even gonna comment on Mashiro extending the promise, but this was a pretty good chapter.
I'm really curious how things will play out now since it seems like all there's left to do is finish Reversi, possibly surpass and wait for the anime date. Particularly, I wonder if them surpassing Eiji will be quick or be drawn out, because if it's the latter it would be kind of hard to get invested in it if there's nothing at stake other than to surpass Eiji for the sake of surpassing Eiji.
Hrm. Yeah. Jojo s probably exactly what they need for this story. Evne in Jojo the style and format changed radically between installments, completely different worlds and rules practically. Just some minor cameos, but keeps the old title.
Seems the way to go.
I don't see why some of you seem so bugged by the whole "wait for the anime to air" thing. It makes sense to me.
It's just a technicality, a trivial point at best. Certainly not something to get mad over.
I felt cheated. :(
I don't see why some of you seem so bugged by the whole "wait for the anime to air" thing. It makes sense to me.
Same, and I don't even read this series as much anymore.
So then… the final battle comes down the beating Eiji in sales? Can't say I care very much. Aside from the recent chapters with Asuki finally getting the role, huge announcements, cliffhangers, and characters going bonkers over good news for tension is getting a bit old at this point.
I don't see why some of you seem so bugged by the whole "wait for the anime to air" thing. It makes sense to me.
It's just a technicality, a trivial point at best. Certainly not something to get mad over.
It's annoying because they went on and on about how their dreams would come true when he got an anime and she would voice the heroine. Only to have him instantly call her up the moment it happens to go. "Oh yeah..it doesn't count until I can hear your voice."
I understand from a story perspective, but it's just fucking frustrating at this point.
Is sounds to me exactly like what the promise always was. I never thought it would be "The second you're confirmed for the role" but "when there's an anime airing".
This isn't different or a cop out or a stretching maneuver by any means.
And besides. Need time to plan for a wedding anyway.
Also. I am a little annoyed that they never even mention PCP anymore, not since that first chapter overload of extra work.
I wonder how their wedding will go over ^^;. I'm glad that they're actually moving forward with this
(I kind of want to see Fukuda and Hiramaru at this point too XD)
So after doing a bit of math, I've determined that with this chapter, we're four chapters into volume 20. So, with that in mind, I think there are a few ways this could go about.
1. There are 5 more chapters of Bakuman left and volume 20 ends with 9 standard-length chapters like all the others.
2. There are maybe 3 or 4 chaptesr left and the last chapter is really long
3. The series extends into 21 volumes, in which case there could be anywhere between 12 and 14 chapters left depending on how long the final chapter(s) is.
4. Something happens to delay the marriage or the series continues past the marriage and Bakuman lasts even longer.
Of course, it's possible to give or take a few chapters as they could always make the final volume a little bulkier, as publishers tend to do.
Damn they're really trying to make up for Death Note.
