The winner of the romance theme will be...

[Koen]

Well,

We have a one shots contest between bakuman most famous mangaka. The theme is romance and for some this known territory, while for others this is an unknown territory.

- So who do you think will have the best one shot?
- Can Mashiro beat Aoki an expert in Romance?
- In whose advantage will the Eiji-Mashiro contest turn out?
- Will Eiji's talent suffice for this?

Vote and discuss it all...

[saladesu]

Since it's a Jump/Shounen manga, I think Saikou will still prevail at the end of the day and get a series that will allow him an anime. That is, regardless of his ranking, it'd be deemed good enough. Yet, I think it'd be cheap if Ohba-sensei used the same ploy again as with PCP earlier, where s/he had Ashirogi nearly miss Eiji but still get to carry on in Jump. So I do hope Saikou wins (as in is actually #1) this time ^^

[Kibate]

I have absolutely no idea
Well, not Hiramaru, he will be just a comic relief in this arc
Aoki is a girl, so therefore she lose(since the author of bakuman is apparently sexist according to that other thread)
Arai...who? Oh right, that new veteran guy, obviously just a side character, so no
Definietly not Fukuda, sorry, not his cup of tea
Iwase is too psycho this arc, so no, otherwise she might have had a chance
last two are Eiji and Mashiro
I think this arc will show that Eiji is not a genius at EVERYTHING. not to mention he just copys what he saw with Mashiro in the first place

so i guess Mashiro will win

not to mention about time Mashiro actually wins for real

[Crude]

I want Saiko to win, but he really needs to change his story. Basing it on his own experiences is alright, but from what I saw it seemed really boring, like an idealized form of romance. Generic shoujo basically. Hiramaru's was actually the one that seemed the most interesting, and would make a pretty good rom-com, if only he'd not draw the characters as anthropomorphic animals (which if you think about it, is actually pretty original). Aoki has a nice story, but I think it needs just a bit of comedy in it (if it hasn't already). Eiji I think will not win this contest. As for who will, I don't know, but I'd like it to either be Saiko or Hiramaru.

[fizban]

I wonder what Arai's relationship status is. As far as we know, this is the breakdown for the characters.

Saiko - Engaged to a Azuki. Eventually they plan to meet in person and talk to each other. Eventually.

Eiji - Married to manga. Possibly asexual.

Aoki - We found out that she has never dated a guy when she was trying to come up with an idea for a romance story.

Fukuda - Also has never been in a relationship. Terrible poker face

Iwase - Crazy crush on Shujin that never went anywhere. Crazy crush on Hattori that never went anywhere. Apparently nothing in-between.

Hiramaru - I recall Yoshida arranged for him to go out with some women at some point to motivate him, but he is fixated on Aoki now. Who knows what kinds of things he did before getting into manga...

If Arai is married, or has ever been in a long-term relationship, I'd put him as the one who could take this. He could make a manga version of How I Met Your Mother and blow everybody out of the water.

[Koen]

Well I am not sure if Mashiro is going to win the whole contest. I voted yes because I kinda hope he does but I agree with people who say that Eiji's talent shouldn't suffice in this contest. I think Mashiro is definitely going to beat Eiji for sure. I also think that a lot of people will underestimate Fukuda. I think he is more talented than some people believe he is.

[Erza Scarlet]

the winner will be between aoki or hiramaru, because everybody loves the impossible love story, people are always touched by this drama, and on the other hand boys love romantic comedy stories, but I voted aoki cuz I want to support girl powa ! xD

Saiko's story is interesting, but I don't like his oneshot, cuz I don't believe in idealistic love, I enjoy more realistic stories, cuz in the shoujo manga the relationships are so perfect and it's always nice to see complications in the plot.

[kdowns]

I have a feeling Eiji is going to do bad on this one =/

[javimgol]

I vote Hiramaru, but I also think that Mashiro could win

1. Iwase shouldn't win, she doesn't anything about true relations
2. Eiji is a genius is shonen manga...but this shojo
3. Aoki needs to lose to get a change in his attitude
4. I can't see Fukuda in a love manga, sorry

But in the other side
A. Hiramaru is a popular character, he needs to be serialized and his weird and funny love manga could be great
B. Mashiro needs to win Eiji at least once in his life, and Akito is already very focused in another series, Rabuta, so he could win.

[eternaltorture]

Oh dear, I actually voted Eiji when I intended to vote for Mashiro

I just really want Mashiro to win this, to show that he can handle two works at the same time and that he can manage independently. I hope his determination prevails in the end.

Hiramaru might have a chance in winning since it looks pretty interesting/funny. (Oh god, I just love his character!)
Fukuda might actually write something unexpected. Throughout the manga, it seems that he knows what he's doing and he cares about his friends a lot, moreso than the others sometimes (The Nakai outside drawing incident, the boycott when he heard Trap will be on haitus till April, the part when he helped Aoko in her drawing, etc). So he might actually turn out to be a really sensitive and romantic guy underneath.

But anyway, voting for Mashiro!

[Reclaimer]

1. Iwase shouldn't win, she doesn't anything about true relations

Other than Takagi, do any of the characters know anything about relationships?
Mashiro knows less than nothing about true relationships. What he does know is an idealistic relationship that only would be "believable" in a manga or chick flick/romance novel. His only saving grace is that his idealistic relationship might have some appeal to the younger audience.

[natli]

So far I think Hiramaru's story is the best, I would like to read his manga in RL It has loads of potential, both for comic relief and serious stuff. But I'm not going to vote till I'll see Arai's and Fukuda's stories.

[Koen]

Other than Takagi, do any of the characters know anything about relationships?
Mashiro knows less than nothing about true relationships. What he does know is an idealistic relationship that only would be "believable" in a manga or chick flick/romance novel. His only saving grace is that his idealistic relationship might have some appeal to the younger audience.

Exactly, I agree. Mashiro is using the mutual lovely feelings of Miho Azuki and himself as the most important element of his story. Who doesn't say that Iwase could do the same. Having a relationship or not? Having had a relationship or not? Everyone has his own love issues which can be a basis of a one shot; even Iwase probably has them too.

I wouldn't be surprised if some of the romance one shots would have a connection to RL romance issues

[Reclaimer]

Everyone has his own love issues which can be a basis of a one shot; even Iwase probably has them too.

Not that she would (mainly because I don't think she has the self-deprecating sense of humor necessary), but Iwase could use her situation with Takagi as the basis for a "romance" manga. Her situation with Hattori is also usable.

[Koen]

Not that she would (mainly because I don't think she has the self-deprecating sense of humor necessary), but Iwase could use her situation with Takagi as the basis for a "romance" manga. Her situation with Hattori is also usable.

Or the two together. Eventually her situation with Hattori was kinda triggered by Takagi's personal (love) life. But yeah, I wonder if she's able to write a romance manga. I think I wouldn't bet on her. She wouldn't be in my personal top 3