Bakuman 131

[Scanlation with this translation reserved for MRI scans]

Bakuman
Chapter 131
Copycat and Subconscious


p.01
SFX: Chirp
SFX: Chirp
And one night passed…
“Bakuman.”

Saikou: An e-mail from Azuki…

Saikou: ………
Miho Azuki
(2016/01/25 10:15)
Good morning
I saw the news.
Is “PCP” okay?
(-MIHO-)
Menu Reply

Even Azuki…
SFX: Beep
Beep

Re: Good morning
I can’t draw manga if I get bothered by stuff like that! We’re completely fine!!
Reply Options

Azuki: ………
SFX: Beep
Beep


p.02

Even if you’re fine, Mashiro-kun, how about Takagi-kun? I think Takagi-kun’s more delicate than you. Takagi-kun’s the one who thinks of the stories… I also called Kaya to make sure she cheers Takagi-kun up if he’s feeling down. (-MIHO-)
Menu Reply

…………Shuujin’s more delicate?
Saikou: ………

Now that I think about it, he called me yesterday right after seeing the news,
Phone: “PCP” will be fine, right?
And Azuki is insightful...
Shuujin might be bothered by it more than I think… if that’s the case, I have to support Shuujin.

SFX: Beep

TV: I also learned from this incident that these sorts of manga are getting popular now,
Box: Culture Cultivation University Professor Kin’ichi Demeda
TV: And I especially wonder about its effects on children.
From the title, it’s about perfect crimes.
Saikou: ………


p.03
Page 131 Copycat and Subconscious
A vein on his forehead… Editor-in-chief Sasaki is currently in a rotten mood...

Yoshida: Yamahisa.
Yamahisa: Oh,
Good morning.

Yoshida: What’s up with the editor-in-chief and that angry face of his? What happened?
Yamahisa: “PCP”’s copycat crime.

Yoshida: ………That, huh…
But there’s no use in him showing his anger about the copycat crime.

Yamahisa: That’s not it. It’s about the TV station that reported it like it was all “PCP”’s fault.

Yamahisa: Apparently he directly phoned Sakura TV, which showed the “PCP” manga without permission, and flipped out on them.
Yoshida: Inspires confidence…………


p.04

Sasaki: Hattori.
Hattori: Yes?

Sasaki: Come with me for a bit.
Hattori: Oh,
Okay…

………I wonder if I did something bad………

Miura: Maybe it’s about regulating the content of “PCP”…

Aida: What’re you saying, it’s the opposite of that! Don’t care about it and do it like always!
Kosugi: That’s right! The ones who are wrong are the idiots who actually committed the crime and the TV station that reported it in a joking manner!
Miura: Y…you’re right, d…doesn’t it piss you off……?


p.05

Sasaki: Have you already spoken with Ashirogi-kun?
Hattori: …If it’s about the incident yesterday, I think it’s actually better not to touch upon it.

Hattori: In order for them to think that the editorial department doesn’t have a problem with it, we should deliberately not start talking about it ourselves.
If they ask, I think it’s even good to answer them with a laugh…

Sasaki: It’s certainly true that we shouldn’t show an irritated reaction…
However, in times like these, the thing we must be most sensitive about is the author’s mental state. Don’t forget that.

Hattori: Yes… I think it’ll be okay.
Those two aren’t the kind of people who’d get depressed over something like this.

Sasaki: I hope that’s the case…
But the ways we, who publish the work, and the authors, who draw them, perceive things are different…
There’s a need for their editor to pay attention to the details and watch over them.
Hattori: You’re right, I understand.


p.06

Saikou: ……

Shuujin’s the same as always… maybe I was overthinking it after all………
…No, for him to not say anything the day after… it could be that it’s actually on his mind and he can’t say it out loud…

Saikou: Shuujin, are you okay?
Shuujin: About what?

Saikou: That bank robbery yesterday…

Shuujin: To be honest, it’s a nuisance, but there’s no use worrying over it.

Saikou: I guess so.
I’m glad………

………That’s right…
There’s no use being worried over it…………


p.07
Box: January 28 Friday
Hattori: Alright, the manuscript’s good.
The name for the next one’s done as well. We finished up the 2 chapter Valentine’s story well.
About our next meeting, then.

Saikou: Yes.

Shuujin: ………

Shuujin: Hattori-san, we can do it like we always have, right?
Saikou: !
Hattori: Hm?

…………
So Takagi-kun was bothered by it after all… I can’t lose my cool here………
Hattori: Hahaha, is it about the bank robbery?
Hattori: In “PCP,” you made Makoto say it’ll cause problems for the security companies and the banks so they shouldn’t do it.
There’s no problem at all!

Hattori: The editorial department even protested against some of the reports on it.
Shuujin/Saikou: !

Shuujin: Is……is that so………


p.08
Hattori: You can do it like always.
Like we’ve been saying from before, it’s good if the perfect crimes that Makoto and the others do in the story are not impossible…
And children start to want to copy it.
Hattori: We will stop the things that shouldn’t be done.
You can do it with the attitude of trying to make it as close as you can without being stopped.

Girl1: My nephew loves it and is always imitating it. [altered from previous chapter]
Girl2: My little brother imitated some of the perfect crimes in “PCP” at his middle school and got scolded!
That’s right, it’s good like that.

Saikou: It’s just as Hattori-san says.
We can’t be shrinking away from it.

Shuujin: Yeah…
So, for the next one, after the Valentine’s story I was thinking of doing a one chapter long story about White Day*.
*[In Japan, girls give chocolates to boys on Valentine’s and on White Day (March 14) boys who received chocolates are supposed to give gifts to those girls.]

Hattori: Yep, that’s probably best.
Seasonal stories are standard for the school life genre, and it shouldn’t fail if you do it right.

Hattori: I’ll leave that to you then.
Shuujin: Yes.
Saikou: Thanks for your hard work.

………

Shuujin: I’ll call it quits now as well.
Saikou: Sure.
I have the volume cover art and stuff so I’ll work a little longer.


p.09

Shuujin: Hattori-san!

Shuujin: It’s really okay if we go on like we always have, right?
SFX: Pant
SFX: Pant
Hattori: ………
Of course.

Hattori: “PCP” isn’t a manga that promotes crime.
It’s a manga for people to enjoy things like the protagonists’ schemes, tactics, and tricks.
Hattori: Like I said before, we’ve had phone calls and letters of protest since the start of the series, but it has brushed things like that aside and is now a popular manga.
It’s proof that the readers properly understand that.


p.10
Shuujin: ………Now that I think about it, “PCP” is not becoming an anime because of complaints like that, right?
Hattori: !

………With this incident, it won’t ever be an anime…

Hattori: ?

Hattori: What’s wrong?
If you’re so worried about it, would you like to talk with the editor-in-chief once?
There’s no talk about regulations at all. You’ll understand that well.

Shuujin: No, it’s okay.
I got it, just like always…
No, I’ll make stories even more elaborate and “PCP”-like.
Hattori: Sure! I’ll be looking forward to it.

………


p.11
Box: Four days later
Shuujin: How is it? The White & White Day Plan.

………Could this be………

Saikou: Yeah, it’s interesting! I’ll write out the name with this.

Shuujin: That’s great…………

?: Bye~
?: Good bye.

Saikou: ……

SFX: Beep
Beep

Saikou: Hattori-san, are you still at the company?
Phone: Yeah.
Saikou: Takagi’s text manuscript is done, but there was something that bothered me a little so can I fax it so you can take a look?
Phone: ? Bothered you? What do you mean?


p.12

Hattori: ………
SFX: Beeeep

Hattori: I see………… It’s certainly a little different from how it was before…
Saikou: …It’s “PCP”-like, but, how do I put it…
It pretty much feels like the fun of perfect crimes is gone… It’s just handing out candy to all the girls without being noticed.
Maybe he was affected by that incident after all………
Hattori: But maybe it only seems that way to us because we can’t help but be concerned over it when we read it.

I’ll make stories even more elaborate and “PCP”-like.
Hattori: ………

Hattori: Let’s see how it goes for a bit longer.

Saikou: ………
Saikou: Yeah… I got it.

But my bad premonition was right.


p.13
Box: February 14 Friday
Hattori: This week’s real results………

Hattori: 8th place………

Shuujin: 8th…
Saikou: ………

Saikou: But we were always within the top 5… it’s the White Day story, isn’t it?

Hattori: That’s right.

Shuujin: Why? ………

Hattori: “Why”……… You don’t get it?

Shuujin: Huh?

Hattori: Takagi-kun, from this chapter onwards, you’re making it so PCP doesn’t do things that are close to crimes.
Shuujin: !?


p.14
Shuujin: That can’t be! I’ve been doing it like I always have!
I haven’t run………

Hattori: ………
Are you saying that seriously?

Shuujin: Yes!
Hattori: ………

Hattori: Then you probably subconsciously made the content so it wouldn’t be complained about.
Shuujin: Subconscious…

Hattori: Even if you’re not thinking about it yourself, your head does it on its own.
Shuujin: No…no way.

Saikou: I think so too.
This past month the stories have clearly changed.

Shuujin: ………


p.15
………

Shuujin: I…I understand!
Next time I’ll write intending to make it a perfect crime manga I feel I don’t want people imitating!

Saikou: ………You don’t have to go that far…

Hattori: No…

Hattori: You should write with that feeling.
If you’ve been subconsciously avoiding it, then you should consciously do it.

Saikou: Hattori-san…

Shuujin: I’ll do everything from where I can still fix it!
Saikou: !...

Subconscious, huh……… Damn it…
Shuujin: ……


p.16
Yuujirou: It’s always been in 2nd place these days. Please keep it up.
I’ll be taking the manuscript, then.

Niijima: Yuujirou-san.

Yuujirou: Hm?

Niijima: What’s the difference in votes from 2nd place and 1st place?

Yuujirou: ……
He never once cared for the number of votes until now………
Why so suddenly…

Yuujirou: ………I guess there’s usually over 50 votes between them………
Fifty~
Niijima: (50) is it. Ah~ I see~
I understand~ thanks for your hard work~

Yuujirou: Th…Thanks…
?


p.17
Shuujin: ………
………

Shuujin: ………

Shuujin: Fukuda-san………
SFX: Beep

Phone: I read the sample issue, but two weeks in a row, that’s so unlike you!
You couldn’t have possibly gotten freaked out from the copycat crime and become unable to write, could you?

Phone: I didn’t freak out!
Fukuda: Then that’s fine, but…
It won’t feel like I’ve won if “PCP” got boring and fell on its own.

SFX: Beep

Shuujin: ………
Even Fukuda-san…… Everyone’s worried about me…

Kaya: A~kito-san.


p.18

Kaya: It…it seems like my cold came back…
So I came to say good night…
What’s wrong, you look so serious…

Shuujin: If…… we had a child…………
And that child imitated “PCP”…
You wouldn’t feel good about it, would you?
Kaya: !

Kaya: I’ll raise them so they can tell what they can should and shouldn’t imitate!

Shuujin: Y…yeah… you’re right, Kaya-chan.
Good night…
Kaya: Good night!

Shuujin: ……


p.19
Yuujirou: Whaa!? You can’t write the name!?

Niijima: No, I can’t.
Yuujirou: But… not once
Have you been unable to do it!
You always drew them in a flash!

Niijima: I can do ones I always do, but…
Yuujirou: Huh? I don’t understand what you mean ……

Niijima: With what I always do, it’ll be in 2nd. I can’t make a name that’ll take 1st place.

Yuujirou: T…take 1st………

!
Niijima: If I become the most popular author in Jump,
Please give me the right to end one manga I hate.
………Is he finally carrying that out!?

…Page 131 /END
The genius became serious…!!
Niijima: Yes, I’ll take 1st place.
Bakuman.