Bakuman 117

So SF is not doing this anymore. Impetus for me to start translating after saying I wanted to ages ago.

Umm, this would have been done way, way faster (like maybe 4 hours ago) if I didn't go on Skype with some people ;) Oh wells.



------------------------------
01
a1: Page 117 Fan Letter and Blog
letter:
To Ashirogi Muto-sensei
Congratulations on the serialisation of "Detective TRAP"!! I am very happy for you. I have been a huge fan of Ashirogi-sensei since I read "Money and Intelligence" in Akamaru Jump! Both "Money and Intelligence" and "Detective TRAP" are different from other manga in Jump, and I like the darker atmosphere they have. I have been drawing stuff that is sort of like manga since I was in my sixth year of elementary school, but now I'm determined to seriously become a mangaka like Ashirogi-sensei.
a2: The writer then has now become an author!?
b1: The first one we received was this one, when "TRAP" got serialised...
b2: So he actually noticed that it wasn't really you usual "Jump" fare
b3: "become a mangaka like Ashirogi-sensei", huh.......
b4: And the last one we received was when "Tanto" got serialised... Here he's pointing out why it sucks...
b5: WHAT THE?
b6: "Gag mangas do not suit Ashirogi-sensei. I'm disappointed"...
b7: Ah, I remember that. He said something like if we keep on writing gag manga, he would have one less rival to contend with in the future, right?
b8: Yeah, yeah...

02
b1: He's been aiming to become a mangaka, just like we did since we were in our third year of middle school......... He only began for real when he was in his second year of middle school...
b2: When I read this fan letter back then, I never expected him to really submit such a high quality piece of work
b3: Moreover, the fact that it was Ashirogi Muto's works that inspired him to create those makes me so happy
b4: He probably submitted his work to Treasure this time precisely because he knew we were judging them
b5: Makes me wanna support him...
on manuscript: Classroom of Truth
b6: He does, and he makes me think that we too have gotta work even harder
b7: If you're talking about how morally ambiguous it is, then this is better than both "TRAP" and "PCP"
b8: !

03
b1: Though I do feel it's too morally ambiguous......
b2: We're a two-man team, but this guy is at so high a level just on his own, it's amazing
b3: Am I right to say that there's actually a theme running through this?
b4: Theme?
b5a: Humans have to help each other or they can't survive
b5b: He's depicting that paradoxically
b6: ... I didn't read that much into it when I read it, but you're right...... The self-centered guys are all dropping off like flies......
b7a: I want our work to compete with a serialised manga by someone like him......
b7b: I feel motivated
b8: Yeah
x1: And so, they submitted the judging sheet to the editorial division, having ranked "Classroom of Truth" as number one

04
x1: 22nd June, Monday. May Treasure Judging Meeting
b1a: I have no complaints as to how interesting "Classroom of Truth" was
b1b: I believe it will attract readers because of the questionable feeling it gives off
b2a: Got a way with words, huh, Kosugi-kun......
b2b: Ashirogi-kun gave it top marks too, and it can go straight for serialisation regardless of whether it wins the top prize or only makes runner-up
b3: But this isn't something you can put in "Shounen Jump"
b4: You've gotta do something like this or you won't even make an impact or be able to survive, right?
b5: I know, right?
b6: They have talent
b7: I know, right?
b8: Who will be in charge of him?
b9: Ummm.........

05
b1a: Since my team's been delegated to take charge of all the final candidates of this month's Treasure...
b1b: My first choice would be Kosugi, but...
b2: Of course, I'd gladly take on being Nanamine-kun's editor
b3a: How lucky for you, Kosugi
b3b: Getting to be the editor for a big newcomer like this though you just got employed here
b4: I know, right? I've really got good luck
b5: Truth be told, this guy's at the level where he can write a name for serialisation
b6: Eh
b7: However, if we let him do that, he's got to make it something that can be published in "Shounen Jump"
b8: Just as I thought...... Artwork, organisation, dialogue, I have no complaints about any of that. But it's just not suited for Shounen
b9: But our readership's average age is now 18 and above, isn't it...?
b10a: Even so, it doesn't mean we can thus put out a manga that is more Seinen
b10b: If the average age is 18 and above, we've got to bring it lower. We have to make the effort to do that

06
top: ☆ BAKUMAN. TV Anime on air on NHK Education Channel every Saturday, 6pm!!
b1: B... But it'd be really difficult to tweak this series to make it more suited to the shounen demographic
b2: That's precisely the job of an editor - the discuss how to do that with the author, isn't it?
b3a: To make him produce a work that's more suited for shounen, or to introduce him directly to "Young Jump"......
b3b: I don't want to let his talent fall into the hands of another company
b4: ......... We've got the manuscript with us, and I don't think we need to worry that he has more copies of it...
b5: I think it's still best to award him a runner-up prize and publish it...
b6: That won't work. Heishi is right, it wouldn't be fitting of "Shounen Jump" to give this work a prize
b7: .........
b8a: Do your best, Kosugi... Nevermind another company, it'd be a big blow to you even if he brought his work to "Young Jump"
b9: Okay

07
b1: Ah, it looks like the judging for Treasure is done
b2: That piece! "Classroom of Truth"! How did it do?
b3: It didn't get further than the final selection
b4: Fuu, that's great... If that got serialised, "True human" would be crushed
b5: It's too early to be happy
b6: Eh?
b7a: Of course, if you compare him to Shizuka-kun and Ashirogi-kun, he's at their level or maybe even above it
b7b: The editor-in-chief even said "Get him to write a name for serialisation that suits a Shounen magazine"
b8: !
b9: Who's going to be his editor?
b10: Kosugi from my team, of course. He has the least experience
b11: !

08
b1: Just when I thought I'd finally made it by getting a job in the Jump editorial division, I get to be the editor of a rookie, whom everyone's expecting a lot out of......
b2: I'm so lucky... But I wonder what kind of person he is, drawing a manga like this...
paper: Nanamine Tooru | Tokyo City 18 years old | Cellphone 090-
sfx: *ring ring*
b3: Hello
b4: I'm Kosugi from "Weekly Shounen Jump"
b5: !
b6: Ah! Yes! It's me! YAAAAAYYYYY! I got the Treasure prize, didn't I! AWESOMEEEEEE! I was so sure I'd get it!
b7: N... No, I'm sorry, but you only made it to the final selection
b8: No waaaaaay! Are you seriouuus!! I was so sure I'd get it...
b9: B... But you're really talented. You could pass off as a pro... It's just that the content was targeted more at adults
b10: AAAHHHH! I just missed it. I was aiming for that, but it was so hard I guess I couldn't pull it off! But I was so sure I'd get it...
a1: So... Somehow he's a lot more cheerful than I expected... It'll be a lot easier this way...

09
b1: But my talent was acknowledged, wasn't it!
b2a: Ah...
b2b: Yes
b3: So... From now on, I'll be your edito.......
b4: EDITOR! Amazing! YAAAAAY! ...... I guess......
b5: Well, I expected all this to happen!
b6: I see... Good...
b7: It isn't good, this is the worst I expected to happen!
b8: A... Anyway, I'd like to meet you and discuss where to go from here. Can you come down to Shueisha?
b9: SURE! RIGHT NOW, IF YOU WANT!
b10a: Ah, I can't!!
b10b: I've got work today! I work as a pizza delivery boy from 6pm to 11pm, and my off days are Friday and Sunday, but if you really want I can ask for some time off
b11a: No, that won't be necessary...... Let's meet on Friday then
b11b: How does 3pm sound?
b12: Got it. At "Jump", I know where that is
b13: He sure talks a lot...
building: Shueisha

10
x1: 25th June, Thursday
b1: Alright, this week's was interesting, good job
b2: Hattori-san, how did the selection for Treasure go?
b3: Ah, I forgot to tell you there was one honourable mention
b4: Eh!? Honourable mention... I thought it'd make it higher than that...
b5: Wait, you're talking about "Classroom of Truth", right!?
b6: No, the honorable mention went to "Bloodstained Ping Pong"
b7: Eh
b8: Why...
b9: Well, it's nothing new. Just like when Shizuka-kun got the Niizuma Eiji prize, it was because his work wasn't suited for "Shounen Jump"
b10a: There are also people who submit works that should have been brought to a Seinen magazine instead, but their main aim really is to show us what they can do
b10b: A common point would be that they all want to draw for "Shounen Jump"
b11: Even among those, the quality of "Classroom of Truth" is high. In my opinion, he's even better than Shizuka-kun
b12: ! I knew it! You think so too, don't you, Hattori-san?
b13: That's why I told you if you're looking at how morally ambiguous it is, then we lose
b14a: Well, his conceptualisation is a cut above the rest, and the way he handled it was great too
b14b: And the fact that he's only 18 gave me a surprise

11
b1a: ......... Conceptualisation, huh... You're right
b1b: The first game, "Death to those who lie"
b1c: The second game, "Deciding who will die via discussion between a pair who had worked together to escape"
b1d: The third game, "Hide and seek with yourself..."
b2: The stage he created for it was great as well
b3: It made me think once again that in the end, manga is all about ideas
b4a: Of course, "TRAP" was about a detective catching swindlers
b4b: "PCP" is about elementary school kids committing perfect crimes, and I'd thought "this is it!"
b4c: But "Classroom of Truth" has a clearer idea
b5: ......... Don't make it sound like our idea for "PCP" loses out like that
b6: .........
b7a: That's right...
b7b: Especially when it comes to the type of manga you write, which shows things through the story, the setting and ideas are what you are battling with
b7c: And all the more so if you plan to battle with how morally ambiguous your manga is
b8a: ......... Are ideas things that come to you randomly
b8b: Or do they come to you just when you're thinking...?
b9a: It's started again, huh. Well, thinking is a good thing. All the best
b9b: See you
a1: ............ Idea... ... Setting... Morally ambiguous...
b10: .........

12
x1: The next day, Friday
b1: Ah
b2: Are you my editor!?
b3: I'm Nanamine. Pleased to meet you
b4a: Thank you for you call
b4b: I was so happy
b5: I'm Kosugi from "Weekly Shounen Jump". Pleased to meet you
b6a: A namecard!
b6b: Thank you so much
b7: Wow! You're giving me your email address and cellphone number right off the bat! This is different from the rumours!
b8: ...... Rumours?
b9: There are rumours floating around the internet saying that editors don't divulge their cellphone numbers or email addresses so easily, and that it's not even on their name cards! Ahaha!
b10: Ahh, there are many editors that carry name cards that only have the editorial division telephone number on them
b11: Is that sooo! I see, it differs from person to person. Yeah, this is interesting. It might give me another idea!
b12: ......

13
b1a: So, about "Classroom of Truth". You have two options
b1b: (1) Try doing it again using gentler expressions
b1c: (2) Draw something totally different
b2: Please don't say "something totally different" so easily!
b3: I'm a huge fan of Ashirogi-sensei, so the psychological warfare in "Money and Intelligence", "Detective TRAP" and "PCP"!
b4a: Also, when "Rabuta & Peace" was a one-shot, Ashirogi-sensei wrote the story, didn't they!
b4b: That was about people's true feelings and intentions vs their facades. I combined all of that
b5: And kinda stole the setting of Enigma!
b6: Ah, it sounds bad that I'm saying "steal", but at the end of the day, that's what manga's all about!
b7: I read and internalise manga that I like and think are good, and use them to make my own manga with my own style
b8: So even though "Classroom of Truth" is my first submitted work, it's actually a compilation of everything!
b9a: But even though I say that, it still is the first work I drew without abandoning it! Ahaha!
b9b: It may be rude of me to say this, but I thought "Classroom of Truth" would get chosen and get announced with great fanfare!
b9c: I thought that Jump's editorial division would have the guts to do that, but I guess my calculations were off...

14
b1a: I think it's horrible not to have at least the guts to do that!
b1b: You could even say "Jump" is conservative compared to other magazines...
b2: They're really noisy next door...
b3: Speaking of other magazines, you've never brought anything to another company before, have you?
b4: Of course not
b5: In that case, please don't bring any of your works to other magazines...
b6a: Don't say that, please! I want to be serialised in "Jump"!
b6b: And my dream is to meet Ashirogi-sensei and have a conversation with him!
b7: Excuse me
b8: Nanamine-kun
b9: Ah, yes! How do you know my name?
b10: I can tell from the contents of your conversation. You were talking so loudly I could hear everything... Could you keep it down a little? There are other people having meetings here...
b11: Ah! I'm sorry! I thought that since I was in a place like this, I had to speak as clearly as possible with a loud voice!

15
b1: Looks like your meeting's over. Good job
b2: Ah, sorry for the inconvenience earlier
b3: He'll grow. He's cheerful and sociable, easy to talk to... I'm envious of you for getting a rookie like that
b4: You're right. He speaks everything on his mind so it's easy to work with him. He's a good kid, and he's smart too.
b5: Hmmmm, so that's the kind of guy he is. I thought he'd be a duller person based on what he wrote
b6: He planned what he was going to write, but he's actually a really cheerful person
b7: In my opinion he is the ideal kind of author
b8: Mmhmm, planning what he writes... The calculative type like Ashirogi-kun
b9: ......... So he's a cheerful one despite writing that kind of work
b10: A calculative type, eh.........
b11: He said, "I'll write a kids version of 'Classroom of Truth'!"
b12: A kids version? What a thing for an 18-year-old kid to say. How reliable of him

16
x1: The next day, Monday
b1: Good Morning
b2: It's all that rookie's fault. This is no time to be waltzing in at this time going "good morning"!
b3: Look at this
b4: ?
b5: Th... This is!?
b6: Nanamine-kun uploaded his entire manuscript of "Classroom of Truth" onto his own blog
b7a: Eh......
b7b: You mean he actually scanned it beforehand...?
b8a: To make matters worse, he added comments like "This reached the final selection of Treasure" and "I was so sure I'd get in, it's a real pity"
b8b: Tens of thousands of people have seen this, and many of them have even commented on it

17
b1: Even so, most people who read it found it really interesting. It's really popular
b2a: No way. This isn't the time to be so carefree!
b2b: Everyone's saying the editorial division's full of idiots for not giving this guy a prize
b3: More importantly, there's a flood of calls all saying something to that effect!
b4: I... I'll make them stop right away
b5: It's way too late for that!
s1a: pi
s1b: pi
b6a: It must be this generation...
b6b: There's no malice in Nanamine-kun...
b6c: He just can't make a difference between what should go on record and what should stay off
s2: tururu...
b7a: He's not picking up... What is he doing?
b7b: Umm...
b8: His address should be on the back of the manuscript...
b9: Uwaa... He didn't write anything other than 18 years old and Tokyo City
b10: Why didn't you ask him when he came here? ... I really don't get it
a1: .........
a2: I guess I'm really unlucky after all.........

18
x1: It raised such a hue and cry it made the top news on the internet the next day
webpage tab: entertainment
webpage box: - Manga not chosen for Jump award uploaded
webpage words under picture: Manga was not chosen for Weekly Shounen Jump Treasure...
b1: Like I said, the manga was deemed to be unsuitable for a shounen magazine
b2: Nakaji, there's no need to say something like that. It was eliminated after going through a strict selection process
b3: In that case, why not apply to Shueisha to become an editor and do the judging yourself?
b4: Nanamine-kun!
b5: Oh, did you get him!?
b6: Ah, Kosugi-san. It seems like you called me a number of times, but I didn't know where I left my phone just now
b7a: Eh!? I can't upload it to my blog!? I thought it'd work like advertisement...
b7b: I told you "I'll make a new version that's suited for a shounen magazine", but you mean I can't do this!?
b8: ... Of course it's not okay! Please delete your blog this insta...
b9: Ehhhh!? I understand. I'm so sorr--
b10: See, he didn't have any malicious intentions, did he?

19
b1a: It became a really huge thing
b1b: It's really popular on the internet, and everyone thinks its really interesting.........
b2: But he can't just show it off like that, can he?
b3: It should be OK since he didn't get a prize and didn't have it published anywhere, right?
b4: No, he can't do that because as long as he got to the final selection, it means he won some prize money. In the first place, the results haven't even been published in the magazine yet, so he can't go public and say that he made the final selection.
b5: I see... But it'd be amazing if all this was part of his calculations as well, right?
b6: Calculations?
b7: Since his work is interesting, it's accepted by the majority of people, so the results are alright......
b8: "Classroom of Truth" is such a big topic now, Nanamine Tooru can even be considered a popular mangaka now
b9: !...
b10: "My editor got mad at me
b11: So I'll be closing this blog (^_^)"
a1: Is this because of his youth!? This guy doesn't show any signs of remorse!!
s1: tan