Bakuman Page 76

Dum Dum Dummmmmmm~~~

「 76 – A Gag and a Message 」With Tanto’s mixed results in it’s first few weeks of serialization, Shuujin is testing out new ideas to make the series a bigger hit with the kids. Thinking that catchphrases and memorable poses will do the trick, Ashirogi gets to work on coming up with sayings that will stick with the kids. Can they do it?

Bakuman「 バクマン」

One of the most memorable pages in recent memory

Page 76 – A Gag and a Message
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Summary: The chapter opens up with Shuujin showcasing some of the ideas he came up with in front of Miyoshi and Mashiro. None of them were particularly memorable, as Miyoshi and Mashiro weren’t fully convinced with any of the phrases. They instead think that their taste in humor is not the same as they were when they were kids, so maybe it might stick if it’s repeated over and over again. Back at Jump HQ, the upper management are busy discussing the offers that Niizuma has been receiving due to his booming popularity as the mangaka of two massive hits. With multiple offers for dramas, animes and live action movies, the editors decided to discuss this further with Niizuma. After the meeting, Hattori and Yujiro go out for a coffee to talk about the direction they’re taking.

Once alone, Hattori revealed that Iwase had asked him out. Asking Yujiro for advice, he simply answers that he should do whatever it takes to keep her happy, especially if he is acting as the buffer between her and Niizuma. Even if he had to lie, he needs to keep things moving. In the middle of this, Yujiro let it slip that Niizuma had stop reading Tanto altogether. This gave Hattori an epiphany as he leaves straight away to talk with Miura. Hattori demands that Miura tell Ashirogi of the new details, since he is sure that this will be the final push they need to get back on track. Miura reluctantly agrees and at his meeting with Ashirogi later that day, he tells the duo of the news. The news of all the anime and tv offers shocked them but hearing him dropping Tanto completely was the biggest shocker for the duo. Niizuma has never hid the fact that he is their biggest fan and to hear that he’s stopped supporting their latest development really put one over their heads. Asking why Miura decided to tell them this, Miura bluntly replies saying that it was Hattori’s idea to relay the news. They realize that he is trying to get the two more fired up about the rivalry.

After letting things simmer a bit, Shuujin exhibits the new catchphrase he thought up for Miura. With the new phrase being “I dunno about that”, the reaction was kind of underwhelming but since it is such a natural thing for people to say, it might actually catch on subconsciously. The meeting ends and the duo are biking back home. With Shuujin now being married, he has much more things to worry about and requests for the name to be done slightly later than usual. At home, he pull off yet another all-nighter just to keep up pace. This worries Miyoshi and the next day she requests Mashiro to talk to him, since she didn’t want to see her husband repeat the same mistakes Mashiro did in the past.

The results of the new phrase were not as good as they hoped, since they were now 13th rather than the consecutive 12th placing they had previously. The next day, after a very short sleep Shuujin and Miyoshi sat down for lunch while watching tv. They were shocked to find out that Niizuma will soon be on a very famous talk show, and calls Mashiro immediately to turn on his tv. The next day, Mashiro watched the talk show together with Takahama at the studio. When Niizuma was asked whether he was his own biggest enemy due to having to do so much for his craft, Niizuma shocks everyone by saying that he only has one enemy; Ashirogi Muto, his favourite mangaka and biggest rival. After hearing this, Mashiro realizes something and storms out of the studio, heading home as fast as he can and straight into his room. Realizing he left his phone at the studio, he reaches for the home phone to call Azuki to tell her that he desperately wants to get out of Tanto.

My Thoughts: Man, things are moving pretty quickly for Tanto, unfortunately just not in a good way. Just a week after we get news of it’s serialization, there seems to be trouble brewing already as everyone other than Miura doesn’t seem convinced that Tanto is what Ashirogi needs right now. With the lackluster rankings continuing (and it even got worse), Mashiro is getting more insecure than ever now that he can clearly see how hard it is for Shuujin to keep up with the gags. After the not-so-well received catchphrase, Shuujin seems to be at wit’s end trying to come up with fresh gags for new chapters. With the 13th ranking showing the downward slope they are facing, I’m not sure if they have enough time to see all the kids adapt to the series before the next serialization meeting.

The other thing that concerns me is the fact that if they try to get out of Tanto, they face the herculean task of getting a new idea all over again, as well as the fact that the chief editor might not be too pleased that they had failed once more. With another dropped serialization on their record, the chief will probably have them take their time before their next hit, and he isn’t afraid to do so after the hoops he made Ashirogi jumped through to get this far. Hattori and Niizuma will probably vouch for them but it won’t be easy after having two strike outs already. Whatever Mashiro does to get out of Tanto, it will need to receive the Chief’s blessing.

I’m also really worried about Shuujin. I’ve done plenty of all-nighters myself (as have everyone) so I know the kind of effects it has on your well-being. He can’t expect to come up with good ideas if he’s only getting 2 hours sleep every few days. Mashiro notices this and I hope they talk about this before we have Hospital-gate take 2 on our hands once more. Shuujin should know better by now and even though their career rests on the fact that he needs to produce quality scripts, he needs to strike a balance between work and life.

While I’m glad that Hattori and Niizuma are pushing Ashirogi to the brim, I just hope they realize the stress that the two face now. With the balance of their career outweighing their wants and needs, pushing them too far might be a bit too much for Shuujin and Mashiro to cope. This is clearly evident when Mashiro pretty much lost it when Niizuma called them out on national television. But yea, it’s awesome to see Niizuma’s popularity transcend his manga. It’s given him everything that Ashirogi has ever wanted and with him clearly seeing the two as his biggest rival, coupled with the fact that he also does not support their current project, it must be tough on Shuujin and Mashiro. Whatever they do next week will probably be the path of the next arc. Let’s just hope whatever Azuki does to comfort Mashiro isn’t too drastic (cos truth be told, I really want them out of Tanto and into something that I can see myself and Niizuma reading and enjoying. I just wanna wipe that smirk off of Iwase’s prideful face lol. Oh and kudos to Hattori for shutting her down).

As for the catchphrase, I think Shuujin put it best when he said “I dunno about that”. Cos I sure don’t.

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