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Bakuman chapter 121 - The Internet and Faces
Review by Nefnora
Review by Nefnora
SUMMARY
Nanamine visits the editorial department as the serialization meeting is being held, together with his editor Kosugi. While Nanamine is energetic and confident (not quite managing to hide the latter with his fake cheerfulness), Kosugi is depressed, secretly hoping Nanamine's manga will be rejected for serialization.
Meanwhile, Hiramaru is working himself into a depression of a different sort. What if Aoki gets serialized and he doesn't? Will she abandon him? He frantically decides to call her and finds himself heartbroken, when Aoki tells him it would, indeed, be bad.
The scene switches back to the editorial department, where the editors discuss the new mangas and compare them. When the meeting ends and the Team Captains and EIC come out, they announce Nanamine and Aiko have been serialized. Robuta & Peace is going to end.
Hattori, noticing Kosugi is glum for an editor receiving such good news, tries to talk with him, but Kosugi brushes him off. Hattori recalls Ashirogu Muto and their equally strange attitude towards Nanamine as well. He continues questioning Kosugi, but all he learns is that Kosugi actually hopes Nanamine will fail, before the latter storms out. Hattori leaves to tell Shiratora his manga has been cancelled.
Elsewhere, Hiramaru is told his manga didn't pass for serialazation and he hysterically tries to call Aoki to ask if she really meant what she said. Unfortunately, Aoki is in the middle of a meeting with her editor, and she ends the call right away, leaving Hiramaru heartbroken once more.
Back at his home, Nanamine flat out tells Kosugi to just giving his opinion - just like the other 50, and shut up otherwise. After that, Nanamine literally kicks his editor.
At Ashirogi's studio, Hattori confronts the pair with Kosugi's reactions. Reluctantly, Shuujin tells Hattori about Nanamine's method of writing his manga. Hattori is flat out disgusted and realizes why Saiko and Shuujin feel responsible, and what to crush Nanamine themselves. Just then, Nanamine calls them, bragging about how his method was proven to be the best. Shuujin and Saiko (aka Akito & Moritaka), challenge Nanamine there and then, and swear they'll get him cancelled within ten chapters.
DELVING DEEP
What I like about this arc and this chapter was how the darkness slowly seeps in. At first, Nanamine is introduced as this uber-cheerful guy. A fan of Ashirogi Muto, who is sure to become their rival. But as Nanamine begins to show his true colors, we discovers he makes Light look like a cute little angel. Cept for the mass-murdering part maybe.
Either way, we're learning what Nanamine is truly about. Last chapter, he was just a big jerk. This chapter, he's proven himself to be a self-made man, stopping at nothing to achieve his goal, no matter how much harm he does in the process. He's rapidly crushing the little confidence Kosugi had, his abusive nature and youthful arrogance more obvious than ever. He keeps underestimating others and brags, even though he hasn't achieved anything notable yet.
Nanamine isn't just Ashirogi's rival. He's their enemy, even more so than Koogy ever was. Someone they absolutely must crush because he's destroying everything they stand for. He is the antagonist few manga manage to achieve: a realistic character so genuinly bad, you can't help but at least marvel at least a little at how well he's made.
It will be interesting to see how Ashigori will beat Nanamine. They're in no hurry to tell the editorial department what Nanamine is upto, and Hattori seems to support their decission. In fact, Hattori is now perfectly placed to give Kosugi a little support so he'll last.
Shuujin swears they'll get Nanamine cancelled within ten chapters. My question is... How are they going to do that if they don't want to tell the EIC? Ashirogi will, of course, do their best to rank above him. But that won't get Nanamine cancelled. I see only one option available: team Fukuda will bear it's fangs once more.
OTHER POINTS OF INTEREST
What surprised me is how swiftly Nanamine is showing his true colors, and how fast Kosugi is breaking down. I expected both to proceed at a much slower pace. Combined with Ashirogi's rathe ambitious challenge, I think we're lucky if this arc lasts another ten chapters. Which is a pity.
What also surprised me was that Shuujin let Hattori in on the secret. They decided they wouldn't tattle a few chapters back, and I expected they'd stick to it, until Hattori had already formed a suspicion beyond 'somethings off'.
And, of course, Hiramaru was as hilarious as usual, ad it was nice to see Shiratoru (sp?) again, even if just for a little.
