Bakuman 124

I hope that all of you in Japan or any other area that might be affected by tremors or tsunamis are alright! :s My prayers are with you.

... I will still do 123, just... Later :p

EDIT 25/3: Missing page translation added (pg 13). The page was missing in the raw initially.



01
top: 『Bakuman。』
b1: I've seen artwork get messier from the first chapter to the second for new serializations, but this is the first time I've seen a manga's artwork improve so drastically
b2: The overall balance improved, but if you look at it more closely, the backgrounds and the way the shadows have been added to the characters... It's all about finishing touches like these
a1: Page 124 Examination and Provocation
left: The surprising second chapter...!!
b3: He must have gotten a really good assistant from the second chapter onwards
b4: Why from the second chapter? Even if the second chapter is said to be the one to hedge one's bets on, there's no meaning in purposely lowering the quality of the first chapter, is there?
b5: Maybe this assistant just couldn't make it in time for the first chapter?
b6: Generally speaking, as long as the story doesn't develop in an extraordinarily interesting direction, the second chapter will rank below the first... It's worth examining how this second chapter does compared to the first
b7: We don't have the luxury to talk about things like "examining"... The thing is, we pitted the best part of our arc against this second chapter
b8: No... I think "PCP" will win... It's more a question of how much this improvement in artwork will cushion the second chapter's fall in rank
a2: ....... Even so, these shadows... The way the schoolyard and skies are drawn....
a3: It couldn't be...

02
x1: 30th October Friday
sign: JUMP | SQUARE
b1: AMAAAZIIING!! "Yuuigi~"'s in second!
a1: Is this... The power of Nakai!?
b2: ..... Second.....
b3a: Both the first and second chapters were in second place...
b3b: He's really a genius we haven't seen since Niizuma Eiji!
b4: What do you mean amazing? He purposely raised the quality of his artwork from the first to the second chapter...
b5: That means he's the calculative kind of genius, huh...
b6: If you consider Ashirogi-kun a calculative type of hard worker, then I guess you could say that...
b7: ....... Well then, I'm heading to Nanamine-kun's to tell him the results and to pick up the manuscript...
b8: ......
a1: ...... This is bad, Ashirogi-kun were hedging their bets on this one...
a2: If he really manages to make a popular manga using that method... No, there's no way that could...

03
sign: Nanamine
b1: See? I was right. It was second place.
b2a: "CROW" is in third and "PCP" in fourth
b2b: Has there ever been a rookie who surpassed "CROW" with their second chapter?
b3: ......
b4a: Kosugi-san, never mind the fact that the first chapter was in second. Last week, you made it sound like I was wrong
b4b: You said something like "It's not too late, even now", didn't you?
b5: Well, I'll still let you continue to give your input as the 51st person, just as before
b6: Now, take the manuscript and get out
b7: ....

04
b1: EHHHHHH~~!? WE LOST?
b2: ...... Yeah, "Yuuigi~", second, "PCP", fourth... To think he didn't even drop a single rank...
b3: ..................
black words between Ashirogi: Haaaaah...
b4: In the end, manga's something that needs the art to bring everything together, huuh~~
b5: ......
b6: I prefer Mashiro's drawings, and I think they're better!
b7: Nanamine-kun's are kinda like, expressionless, or cold, or...
b8: If we think about it positively, the results this time are what Nanamine-kun expected... The story and art for chapter one both passed easily... And then in chapter two, the art suddenly gets better
b9: Everyone will think an amazing rookie appeared
b10: Daaaammiiiit~~ I shot my mouth off saying something big like getting him canceled in 10 weeks, but that's going to be impossible now~
b11: We don't know that for sure yet
b12: Eh...? We don't?
b13a: Well, 10 weeks may be impossible, but we don't really know
b13b: It's a different story if the art improves even more in the third chapter, but even if he tries to cover it up with the artwork, the manga's flaw of having so many ideas stuffed into it that it becomes hard to read will, conversely, become more pronounced

05
b1: *crunch*
b2: *crunch*
b3a: *munch*
b3b: *munch*
b4: Nakai-sensei
b5: Ah, hello
b6: Thanks to Nakai-sensei, everything is going well
b7: Going well?
b8: Chapter two was in second
b9: Chapter two in second!? Amazing!
b10: That's why I said it's all thanks to having Nakai-sensei onboard from the second chapter!
b11: What about those two you were concerned about, Aoki Kou and Ashirogi Muto?
b12a: "PCP" was fourth, "Kami ga Kureta..." was seventh
b12b: Well, I'm sure both of them are doing their best
a1: Aoki Kou, seventh
a2: Me, second

06
b1a: Nanamine-kun, I feel awesome!
b1b: So much so that I wanna go over to Aoki Kou's place and tell her I was chief for "Yuuigi~" that got second place!
b2: .....
b3: ...... How did he get such an ego boost from that...? He's nothing more than a single warrior in my entire battalion
b4a: Why don't you?
b4b: You can even tell her that rankings are everything in this world
b5a: !
b5b: I wonder if Aoki Kou will change her impression of me if I say that?
b6: Change her impression?
b7a: *crunch crunch*
b7b: *crunch crunch*
b8: You guys worked together once... Did something happen between the two of you?
b9: Ah... No... I just meant that I wanted to best her.....
b10: ......... You did. I think she'll change her impression of you
a1: She will, huh...
a2: Fufufu...
b11: Well, then
a3: I see... So he's still got a thing for Aoki Kou... At that age, too. How shameless

07
x1: 1 week later
sign: Nanamine
b1: NINTH!? ... Chapter two was in second, but chapter three fell to ninth?
b2: "PCP"'s in fourth
b3: .....
b4a: Take a look at this
b4b: I personally analyzed the survey results
b4c: Almost everyone who voted for "Yuuigi~" also voted for "PCP"
b4d: And they tended to rank "PCP" higher
b5: !
b6: ....
b7: You had your votes totally eaten by "PCP"
a1: This is what I get for being too concerned by "PCP" and trying to make them overlap...
a2: Are you telling me "PCP" is more interesting than "Yuuigi~", the brainchild of dozens of people...?
a3: Well, the level of the story will be right up the alley of the general public from the fourth chapter on..... But even so, how did I land in ninth place..... I have to do something, or...

08
b1: "Yuuigi~" fell real hard, huh...
b2a: It was a surprise that there wasn't one between the first and second chapters, but the third's a different story...
b2b: If the art hadn't improved in the second chapter, maybe it would have fallen this much back then
b3: It's sink or swim for Nanamine-kun, isn't it? Will it rise from here...? Or will it fall...
b4: Yeah, I was bothered by the fact that the finishing touches on chapters three and four were rougher than in the second chapter
b5: Really? I didn't notice...
b6: ......
b7a: It's too similar to "PCP"
b7b: I know you were doing that intentionally, but there's no meaning in so doing
b8: ........
b9: You're too concerned with "PCP", so your originality...
b10: You've said too much, Kosugi-san. Take the manuscript and go home
b11: Go home!
b12: .....

09
b1: Chapter three... Is in seventh
b2: *tap*
b3: *tap*
screen: Seventh!? | First, Second, and now Seventh? That's bad | Seventh place for chapter three isn't all that bad, I think | Nanamine-sensei, what about "PCP"? | It'd be a big problem if we were below "PCP" | Yeah, especially since we're directly competing against them
b4: "PCP" is in fourth...
b5: That's right, we absolutely cannot afford to be below "PCP"
b6a: *tap*
b6b: *tap*
b7a: According to my editor, many people who voted for us also voted for "PCP"
b7b: In other words, we succeeded in making them overlap. In that case, all we have to do is win with our story
screen: The only thing we can do is make it overlap even more with "PCP" | We lost because we overlapped with them, so wouldn't it be better not to overlap so much? | That's why I said from the beginning it was stupid to pick a fight with Ashirogi |It's precisely because we were trying to compete against them that we ended up like this
b8 .....
b9: What are you talking about at this point? If we're making a hit manga, we absolutely have to be above "PCP"
b10: In order to achieve that, we arrived at a general consensus to make our manga overlap with "PCP", didn't we?
b11a: *tap*
b11b: *tap*

10
screen: Nanamine-sensei was so obstinate about it... | nobuo-san, you're crossing a line there | What do you call someone who's all ready to give up like this, saying stuff like "we'd better not overlap" now that we lost to "PCP"? An idiot? | Who's the idiot? | You are | Both of you are
b1: ........
b2: Those of you who think we shouldn't overlap with "PCP", please leave!
screen: Farewell | Well, it was fun killing time like this | Well then, me too... | Proud bastard. Not like you're gonna win anyway
a1: ..... All this, just because we fell in the rankings a little...?
a2: No, just wait, wait a minute... It's precisely in situations like these that I've got to calm down and think rationally...
b3: ....
b4a: In order to make this a popular manga, we have to make it such that we're consistently above "PCP". No two ways about it
b4b: Those of you who understand that, let's talk about this rationally
b5: *tap*
b6: *tap*

11
x1: The Following Tuesday
b1a: Early report
b1b: Early report
b2: Hm? What's wrong, Kosugi?
b3: The fourth chapter of "Yuuigi~" is in thirteenth...
b4a: Really? .....
b4b: That's odd, the art was real good... Well, it's possible that it might be higher in the real rank-
b5: Yeah...
x2: Friday
b6a: Looks like it was thirteenth even on the real rankings, huh...
b6b: The third and fourth chapters really fell...
b6c: Maybe you'd better think of how you can prevent it from falling further
b7: I'm off to get the manuscript for the sixth chapter
b8: THIRTEENTH...!?
b9: .....
b10: That's what you get for thinking you could dumb down the story to suit the general public
a1: Wh... Why? What went wrong?

12
b1: Please leave
b2: Eh?
b3: I keep telling you not to get cocky! Even if I listened to you, no way would the rankings have risen!
b4: !
b5: Suit yourself!
b6: Dammit
b7: *tap*
b8: *tap*
screen: It fell again!? | Chapter four was too empty. How did that happen? | My idea we decided on didn't end up getting used | Mine too | Nanamine-sensei, stop changing the contents as you please
a1: ..... Before the rankings were out, everyone was agreeable to this....!
a2: What's with this complete change of attitude...
b9: ANYONE WITH COMPLAINTS, GET OUT!

13
screen: Not again... | Every time Nanamine-sensei says something like "get out" | We're only left with like half of the 50 people we had at the start... | 23, to be exact
b1a: I understand. But it doesn't change the fact that someone who only knows how to push blame onto others for the results we've had with the manga will only bring harm to all of us
b1b: What's important is to discuss in a rational manner what we should do next. We only need people who are capable of doing that
s1a~s1b: *tap*
b2: ...
b3: !
screen: The best thing we can do is to use the same story "PCP" is using | If we can do that, it'll look like "PCP" plagiarized us | It's impossible to use the same story, isn't it? But if we could do that, it'd be even more effective than overlapping | Never mind effective, "PCP" would die a horrible death like that | We just need to send in a spy | Spy, you say...
a1: Spy!?
s2a~s2b: *tap
b4: ... Please be more realistic...
screen: It's not impossible, we have Nakai after all. Didn't you say he has contact with Ashirogi? | By Nakai you mean that guy sensei said he was "taking care of"? | ... You're seriously thinking about making Nakai a spy? | Let's stop kidding around and have a serious discussion here | It'd be interesting, no? Having a spy, I mean | That's overstepping it. This is totally different from our original goal of making a good manga | We're battling it out with Ashirogi, you know? We have to win no matter what method we use
b5: ...
a2: It's a good idea to use Ashirogi's story before they do... But using Nakai as a spy would be...

14
x1: The Next Tuesday
b1: ....

15
a1: I knew it, this isn't going to work... Right now, I'm... Already working as someone else's assistant. So what am I hoping to achieve...?
b1: !
a2: Aoki-san.....
a3: ..... Hiramaru...
b1: Thank you, the tea was delicious!
b2: Of course! I tried my best to find the best cafe in town!
b3: ...
b4: Hiramaru-san, get serialized next time, okay? It's a promise.
b5: Yes, most definitely!

16
b1: Pinky swear!
b2: <3
b3: Th... This time, when I come home, I'll bring a wife with me.....
b4: I won't pressure you by expecting anything. I'll wait
b5a: I'll get Minamida-kun and Ogura-kun fired
b5b: Anyone who wants to join must be female...
b5c: If we make it such that everyone is female, then even I......
a1: Geez...
a2: Does he wanna make this his harem or something!? We don't frickin' have time for that...

17
b1:*ring ring ring*
b2: Chapter five was fifteenth in the early report..... That's as good as saying this is the end... Start thinking from square one again
b3: ....
b4: *biip*
b5: Nanamine-kun!?
a1: Fifteenth...! This is the end?... The next serialization meeting is next week, on the 24th... It probably won't get canceled so soon, but at this rate...
a2: What should I do...
a3: I could use the same material, but do it earlier... No, that's impossible, I'd have to steal Ashirogi's names... I can't expect anything from Nakai apart from his art. The other members are just pawns to get ideas from. I don't even know what they look like, so I can't trust them...
a4: ! Wh... What am I thinking about... If word gets out that I stole names, it's over for me as a mangaka...
a5: No...
a6: I don't have to do it earlier, we could compete fair and square by having the same story appear in the same issue...
a7: I still have over 20 people on my side... There's no way we'd lose if we were doing the same story...
a8: The last thing Ashirogi wants is to lose to me, so they'll take me up on this for sure...

18
b1: Nanamine-kun
b2: Eh
b3: Yes
b4: Since we're at it, we might as well compete with the same story, no?
b5a: !?
b5b: Compete with the same story?
b6: !
b7: I don't get what you...
b8: We'll pick a theme with which we'll write the same story for the same issue. Which issue do you think we could do this in? I'll go along with whatever you choose for the story
b9a: In the first place, it was you two who said you'd "crush" me
b9b: With this, it'll be a lot easier, everything in black and white, no?
b9c: Or are you so scared of competing against 50 of us with the same story, that you won't do it?

19
b1: Nanamine-kun, you're just grasping at straws, aren't you?
a1: ! ...
b2a: This is not at all like you, Nanamine-kun
b2b: The same story in the same issue? Now that's going to cause huge problems for sure
b2c: No matter what, we can't take you up on this provocation of yours
b2d: Besides
b3: We're just going to keep doing our "PCP" like we always have - solidly!
b4: *biip*
display: [directly below and a bit obscured by b4] Takagi Akito [between b5 and b5] Call Ended
b5: *tuuuuu*
b6: DAAAAMMMIIIIITTT~~~
a1: Agitation... Frustration... Consternation!!