「アメとムチ」 (Ame to Muchi)
“Carrot and Stick”

I really didn’t know what to expect when our dynamic duo arrived at the offices of Shounen Jump Jack. I really didn’t give it a lot of thought whether or not their manuscript would really be good enough to become an instant hit. Seeing how this is a shounen, I should have already came to the conclusion that there wasn’t enough leveling up growth yet. When they finally presented the manuscript to Shounen Jack editor Hattori Akira (Tone Kentarou) for judgment though, I was sorta surprised. Before our duo even got that far, what really caught my attention was how nervous Takagi was and how calm Mashiro was. Shaking so hard that he literally looked like he was going to collapse a few times, Takagi couldn’t even hand in a simple form! Not only was his body language giving away how nervous he was but his usually cool and collected voice disappeared completely. Mashiro on the other hand looked pretty calm and managed to keep his head straight. Not only did he constantly give Takagi that “Stop embarassing us” look, but the cold stare he gave to Hattori during their interview was pretty intense. Especially when you could consider this a job interview, I don’t know where Mashiro got the courage to do that. First impressions are everything! Moving on to the actual judgment on our duo’s manuscript was pretty tame in my opinion. Probably because it seems like Hattori see’s a lot of potential in their work, his criticisms felt sincere rather then shallow remarks. Never have I seen Takagi so unhappy then when his script was deemed better for a light novel rather than a manga due to the use of really complex ideas. He also was called a highly person (in a good way), trying to write a story that would play on the themes that aren’t usually in Shounen Jack. All of which Mashiro comments in his head as problems he saw a mile away (the cheeky bastard). Mashiro on the other hand is praised for his well drawn art, except that his art is not suited for manga due to the thickness of the lines and the style of his characters. Taking a step back to look at the manuscript from name to finished manuscript, it looks like Mashiro really looks like he knows what he’s doing here. Not only did he have less faults, but all the problems which were pointed out in his art are all things that he already acknowledged to begin with AND he already noticed the problems with Takagi’s script. I haven’t really been praising Mashiro recently but I have to admit that he really showed his skills this week.

Of course I can’t forget Takagi, who revealed a little bit of his past this week. I was always curious about where he got the idea to become a mangaka especially when he’s always been top in his class. Then I quickly remembered how much it sucks when your parent is smart, or a teacher in Takagi’s case, and forces you to be smart. The problem is that the reasoning behind why the parent wants to make their child smart usually ends up becoming an unmoral one. In Takagi’s case his mother wanted to mold him into being a big hotshot executive so he could get “revenge” on the people who ruined his father’s career. Of course without this revelation in his life, we wouldn’t have the Takagi we have today! The over enthusiastic fellow who dreams, eats, and sleep manga!

For some reason this episode felt really short, probably because that the entire manuscript was not only shown but voiced as well. After actually seeing the manuscript in its entirety, I kind of feel like the ending didn’t make sense and it might not have been as great as I was expecting it to be. Maybe it’s because it’s almost like I’m reading a manga while I’m watching an anime? On the love forefront it looks like Mashiro is getting some help from the Gods. Takagi’s laugh sums up exactly how ironic the class’s new seating pattern is – especially when it puts Mashiro and Azuki right next to each other. Can you say, “Akkwarrrdd”? While I don’t see it as embarrassing, I found it especially cute/funny when they were both embarrassed about if their stomach were to growl during class. To this date, I have never heard a girl’s stomach growl in real life nor understood why it’s embarrassing to hear someone’s stomach growl. The wonders of life in 2D are beyond me.. 😐

* I decided to use their last names >>
* I also had used Shounen Jump like 4 times in the first few sentences so I only crossed out the first one. It got hard to read =_+

 

Preview

41 Comments

  1. I might pick up the show again, considering it starting to look presentable.

    In Takagi’s case his mother wanted to mold him into being a big hotshot executive so he could get “revenge” on the people who ruined his father’s career.
    Was that part as random as hell? Because it was in the manga in an very laughably dark and OMGseriousedrama way.

    Also. where is the jakajang? :<

    Arabesque
      1. My problem with the flashback in the manga was how out of place it was. It came out of nowhere and we never get anything from it. If the anime managed to make it not as random, then I’d consider this the first major improvement the anime had done.

        Arabesque
    1. Same with colds. I have never in my life seen anyone get poleaxed by a cold the way japanese anime characters do when they get a cold. NEVER seen anyone get a cold so bad they collapse and pass out either.

      Karmafan
      1. Actually this happened to a friend of mine recently for the first time ever, and he was pretty much better the day after too! But 99% of colds don’t seem to be that way at all lol.

        willowywicca
  2. haha, love the last part… awkward moment for the win 😀
    Takagi’s lol moment is a nice touch… though maybe he won’t be laughing as hard if they paired him with the apparently smart/annoying girl?
    Mashiro, now is your chance to get Azuki’s mail address/phone number 🙂

    jrj
  3. This episode was damn awesome!!
    I am so excited for the next episode!!
    I had thoughts about reading the manga for knowing what lies ahead but I’ll restrict myself!
    What got me really excited was that in the new term Moritaka and Azuki are seated next to each other ^__^
    I wonder how the romance story will proceed.They haven’t even exchanged contacts till now.
    And I agree with you;
    I really loved Moritaka’s calmness when Hattori was judging their manuscript.On the contrary Takagi was so nervous.
    Moritaka remembered his uncle’s points about ‘the invitation for tea’ and ‘gamble’ so when Hattori mentions about gamble too,he (Moritaka) is convinced that Hattori is a good editor!!
    That’s some serious character development of Moritaka!
    You know what,I wonder…how did the creators Ohba and Obata come up with such a unique story?Maybe they are depicting their real lives and how the work is done. I think Ohba=Moritaka (he does all the drawings and illustrations) and Obata=Takagi (he comes up with the story idea and narration).

    Fai D Fluorite
  4. With every episode, I love this anime more and more. I feel that the anime does the manga justice, even if I think that the visual quality could be a little better, but for an anime like this I dont think its all that necessary. Things only get better from this point on so Im looking forward to it all being animated.

    Oblivion
  5. I loved this episode and especially their manuscript. I’d totally read a manga like that, but I feel like i’ve heard of the scenario before..?

    I think their values really shone through in the manuscript too, which the editor noted on.

    (I think it should’ve had some twist, like the protagonist became so jaded/warped from the trauma/rebelling that he doesn’t believe the ‘amy’ in the end and shoots her. )

    Dawn
  6. wow, Hattori looks a lot more normal in the anime than in the manga, and the manuscript looks a bit different (I don’t think the manga went into much detail, or did it? but that was like 100 chapters ago :/) and LOL at Takagi crackin up, that was priceless

    sunsona
  7. I don’t think it’s really necessary do leave a good first impression when handing in a manuscript. With manga, all that counts is how good it is. Show Spoiler ▼

    By the way, Saiko is judging Hattori wether he is a good editor or not, thats why has this concerned look. At least it was that way in the manga, I haven’t seen the episode yet.

    virox
  8. I had forgotten about a bunch of scenes this time around. Haha.
    It was really funny to see Mashiro and Azuki at the end there, I was laughing like Tagaki while watching. But it was also nice to see the train station scene with Azuki. Even without talking to Mashiro she knows more than his friends do. It was also nice to see her doing VA practices.

    Also, a comment on the stomach growling. Show Spoiler ▼

    Irational Promise
  9. I don’t get what some ppl are saying about the visual quality in the Bakuman anime. I think it’s really great. Could you guys elaborate on what you feel is missing? This is a shounen/slice-of-life crossover anime, so keep that in mind too.

    SOSAnimeBoy
  10. @SOSAnimeBoy: I just think some people expected an anime adaption of something like Bakuman to have a ‘huge’ budget, but imo the anime as it is already has a pretty decent one. Everything is solid; from the character art to the actual animation, although, they could up the detail in the character designs. But, besides that..this is a good looking show (and the most inspiring and entertaining one this season i might add).

    Sho
  11. I’m starting to get scared, I do like the additions they made in the anime so far (Akito’s past and the new sitting assignment), but it also could mean that they’ll just end bakuman in the anime with a made up happy ending, since they seem to want to exploit Saiko’s relationship with Azuki, something that doesnt happen that much in the manga until really later on.

    babawaba
    1. Both Takagi’s past and the sitting assignments are in the manga, infact that end scene is basically directly copied from the manga with the thoughts and Takagi trying not to laugh and all.

      The really funny thing is that the both of them looked and thought exactly the same. Being in sync is an understatement.

      I don’t remember the train station scene thou, so it’s possible that we get to see a bit more of Miho then in the manga. I guess that means we wont be getting to the part where she talks about herself in this season, so they put in some extras to sooth some curiosity.

      Znail
      1. Oh, its been so long that I can hardly remember anymore, specially Takagi’s past, was that a special chapter or something? Cause that one I dont remember at all, while the sitting arrangements is just meh, so easy to forget.

        babawaba
  12. When they were reading the manga out loud I knew it was doomed to failure. It looked good and all but the entire story was revealed and come to a conclusion in 1 shot. Manga are usually an ongoing series and quite often ends on a clifffhanger to make you want to see what happens next. The “2 earths” told the entire story in 1 sitting.

    Karmafan
    1. That wasn’t the problem. That was a one-shot and those are supposed to be completed stories, not a start of a series. If they make a series from a one-shot then the series will generally start a new and there will often be a lot of changes made to both characters and plot.

      Znail
  13. Being an amateur comic artist myself, I’d say that there were also a lot more things wrong with that manuscript than just what was pointed out. There is a lack of emotion in the facial expressions that makes intense moments seem relatively dull. As stated, the text was too long as well, and the concept was pretty vague and not described very well. Still, for their first comic ever, it’s an amazing start. I can’t wait to watch and see how they improve!

    WHOOT! COMICS!

    Pieprsn
  14. Why not use the “Saikou” and “Shuujin” names? It is how they address each other after all, and the names that seem to be heard most often. Nothing against what you decided to use though, just my two cents.

    d_w31
  15. lol, I dont eat breakfast too so when i go to lectures… in the morning my stomach tends to growl its embarrassing since its so quiet and you yourself can hear it very loudly LOL u just wanna dig a whole and crawl in it when that happens so no one can hear 🙂

    chiibox
  16. Ah, I lol’d pretty hard watching Takagi snickering at the end there. 😛 Great ep~ I think it’s cool seeing a manga within a manga, but somehow it loses that affect when I’m watching an anime. I wonder why…

    Pao
  17. I’m pleased to see that they took a slightly more in depth look at the manuscript than they did in the manga. I figured that if the anime wanted to maintain it’s slow but steady pace then that would be the way to do it.
    It’s sort of like filler that isn’t really filler.
    I hope than when they do eventually introduce the Mangaka Hiramaru, that they will show clips of “Otters 11” just because I think that would be hilarious to see.

    Kora

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