Hey there, and welcome to my read-through of Chapter 155: Studio and Notebook in which I make an embarrassing confession, and I meditate on the shonen mindset.

If you’re not caught up, please use this index here to do so. There are no spoilers past the current chapter.

I am hard at work editing my film. It is my continued hope that I will be able to post weekly, but until the edit is locked, there maybe some weeks where I don’t post. Don’t worry! I schedule these blog posts in advance so we’re not going to hit those mega hiatuses that we used to experience. This series is going to be finished! It just might take a little.

If you want to support the mangaka and read along, please consider buying a tankobon of the current volume or subscribing to Weekly Shonen Jump or Mangaplus. I’m not affiliated with VIZ, I just want artists to make money.

If you want to support this content so it can continue at a regular pace, please like my Facebook page and Twitter, or comment down below. I do read those comments, and they make me feel all warm and fuzzy inside. Or, if you want to support me, buy me a cup of coffee here. Or, help get my film through Post Production and Donate Now

Studio and Notebook Summary

Aim for the Top

Picking up directly from the previous chapter, Heishi announces Reversi will be serialized in WSJ, and PCP will continue in Hissho Jump. Not-Nakano reminds Hieshi that he asked Sasaki to do Reversi. Heishi tells him not to worry, asks to continue the meeting, and dismisses Ashirogi and Hattori.

They celebrate their massive win.

Nakano is shocked to learn the news that Reversi will not be in Hissho, but the editor-in-chief is all for it. Sasaki elects to leave, but not before letting the boys know that now that they’re working on two series, they will encounter new challenges, but he’s counting on them to pull through.

The boys thank him.

Meanwhile, the editors return from the serialization meeting; Aida and Kosugi are shocked by the speed at which it concluded. Nakano dismisses Hattori to go hear about the new serialization.

Everyone raises a furor over the news about Reversi’s publication. Hattori walks over to Yujiro and personally thanks him. Yujiro stops him: it’s premature; if Reversi gets axed after ten weeks, they’ll both have egg on their face.

Hattori swears to turn it into the best manga ever; Yujiro assures him that Zombie Gun will be the best. They swear to each other that they’ll never lose.

Miura and Kosugi don’t understand why they’re getting so pumped up about all of this when their series are too new to predict the success of. Both Hattoris scold their kohais for lacking ambition. You always have to think about being the best and it wont’ be possible unless you think its possible from the start.

Hattori returns with the news: Reversi will start in Issue 37 on July 3rd. Nakano’s glad to hear he got a date; Hattori’s not done. Zombie Gun will appear in the issue before them. Those are the only two new series currently.

the boys are immediately on alert at this news

Everything in its right place

Shujin jumps right into letting Hattori know he has a ton of ideas for making Reversi better. Hattori reminds them that they have to wrap up PCP before doing anything first.

Shujin apologizes for getting ahead of himself.

They’ll have five chapters to wrap up PCP’s time in Jump. Nakano thinks it makes sense to have them graduate from elementary school and move on to middle school in Hissho jump.

Shujin offers to use their special stand-alone chapter mega-crime to close out their run in Shonen Jump. Hattori explains he’ll take care of wrapping up the elementary school arc before handing it over to Nakano. Nakano agrees to it and starts chewing on potential ideas for when they enter middle school to keep things moving.

They all start discussing assistants.

Late at night outside the Shueisha, Hattori apologizes for the late hour. Shujin downplays it: it was a productive meeting, and he and Saiko decide to take off for the evening. Hattori thanks them for coming, then stops them while they’re leaving: he has total faith that Reversi can become Shonen Jump’s Flagship series. He’s actually completely confident in it.

The boys agree and are eager to get started.

Meanwhile, Heishi apologizes to Sasaki for being selfish, but Sasaki rejects that: it’s the best of all possible worlds. Reversi will achieve its true potential as a weekly series, and PCP has a wide appeal, so it will do better in Hissho. Heishi’s surprised to hear that Sasaki agrees with his captains, especially Yujiro. Heishi didn’t expect Yujiro to do well.

Sasaki recognizes that Heishi is becoming a good editor-in-chief himself. Sasaki is looking forward to seeing Shonen Jump when they come out.

Fire Up Your G-Pens

At Eiji Co. Ltd., Yujiro gives Eiji the good news (and a moderate plot hole): Zombie Gun will start in Issue 30, the issue before Reversi (Issue 37)

Woopsie

Eiji wants confirmation: Reversi will be in Shonen Jump?

Yep. Is he more fired up now? Eiji sure is and announces it’s time.

Wait, what?

With a demonic gleam in his eyes, Eiji gets his G-Pen inked up and prepares to go hard for what we don’t know.

Meanwhile, at Hiramaru’s, Yoshida announces that Hiramaru’s laziness is no good: if they don’t hustle even harder, Zombie Gun and Reversi will get an anime before Can’t Fool Me. That is how good those series are.

Hiramaru enters a genuinely serious, humorous fury and vows never to let that happen. He’s going to get an anime and marry Aoki. Nakai – now noticeably thinner (and not flatteringly so) wants to be introduced to Miss Eriko; he’s lost over 20 pounds and doesn’t want to let that go to waste.

Uhhh good for you, dude.

Fukuda receives the news and announces that team Fukuda’s era is finally here. He cannot lose to them, and they are going to move Road Racer Giri into the MotoGP arc. It’s no time for ramen! They must start work.

A Big Purchase

The next day at the studio, Saiko explains to Kaya that they’ll be bringing Ogawa back, their earliest assistant who worked on Detective Trap. He’s been working at Shonen Three but is also looking for more work. He’s married with kid number three on the way, which earns the funniest response from Kaya:

Saiko is pleased: Ogawa is worth three assistants in work management, so he’ll be the only new assistant he needs. It’s going to be great. One of the three wonders whether the office won’t get cramped with so many people in there. Saiko thinks it’ll be possible if they move the couch or, if worse comes to worst, they can do some work at his place.

Saiko doesn’t want to move from the studio, though.

The Takagis remember Taro and understand completely.

Saiko announces, also, that he will be buying the studio off his grandfather. Saiko explains that he has the money now, and it was wrong to keep renting it off his grandfather. Shujin understands but offers to buy half of it. Saiko refuses the gesture; Shujin reminds him that they’re Ashirogi together.

Saiko’s adamant: they didn’t search for the studio together, and it’s his uncle’s studio, so he wants to be the one to buy it. Shujin triple dog confirms that those are Saiko’s express wishes.

Kaya offers that Shujin can buy a house for Miho and Saiko when they get married. Shujin panics and offers to have Kaya’s father help with the acquisition. Saiko plays along and notes that it will have to be a house that costs around a hundred million yen.

Saiko and Kaya laugh at the joke.

The Notebook

The next morning, an exhausted Saiko prepares to leave for work when his mother informs him that his grandfather wants to speak with him. Saiko’s mother wishes for them to speak now, as he often comes home very late. Saiko can talk for a bit. Saiko wonders if it is about the studio.

He finds his grandpa in the backyard pruning bonsais.

His grandpa says some Japanesse Grandpa shit about wanting to spend time with his grandchild for once. Saiko apologizes for being absentee.

His grandpa mentions that Saiko’s Mom, Kayoko, mentioned a pretty young girl who visited him in the hospital daily, and he wants to know if they are currently in a relationship. Saiko freaks out at the mention but answers honestly: yes, kind of. His grandpa also asks about his intentions with Miho.

Siako promises to tell him if he’ll keep it between the two of them: he expressed an intention to marry her someday. When pressed, that day will come when Ashirogi’s work is animated; then he’ll be worth.y

Sigh.

Saiko’s grandfather finds that very interesting. Saiko’s confused by the response; he’s being serious.

His grandfather apologizes for joking around; he knows that some things pass genetically, but not usually from uncle to nephew. Saiko remembers that Taro made a similar promise about a girl when he became a mangaka. His grandfather thinks that Saiko already knows that simplifies things.

His grandpa gives him the title to the studio, which was sold – I guess last night – and also hands him a notebook. Nobuhiro’s diary. Not quite a diary, since it wasn’t a daily affair. His grandpa chose to hold onto it, though, and he thought it would be strange to burn it. He offered to take a look once, as Nobuhiro’s father.

He insists that Saiko take it.

Saiko, understandably, refuses that request. Saiko’s grandpa isn’t concerned; he thinks Nobuhiro would want Saiko to read if he were alive. Saiko wonders if it will help with his manga making (lol, how single-minded).

Not directly.

Saiiko’s grandpa clarifies: it’s about the feelings he held for a certain someone. Saiko thinks that’s even more disqualifying. Saiko’s grandfather insists that he read it again. It’s interesting. Regardless, it’s in Saiko’s stewardship now. Saiko can do what he wants with it, but he thinks Saiko should read it at least once.

That night, Saiko decides to take a quick peek at it.

The first entry is Nobuhiro’s express goal to marry Miyuki Haruno, and he writes it in the notebook as a promise to himself to see this through. Saiko’s surprised to learn that Taro and Miho’s mother also sat next to each other in their second year of middle school. Saiko keeps reading.

Saiko has a variety of reactions to the diary, including fond laughter. He wasn’t aware of his uncle’s imagination and silliness. Then he turns the page.

He realizes that this intention was not merely an idle dream: he fully intended to marry Miyuki. He and Taro had the same goal, but the journal abruptly ends; Saiko remembers that Miyuki got engaged in 1993 to someone else. He flips the journal.

April 1993 was his last entry. He received a letter; she was thinking of him, and he reiterated that he needed to become successful quickly. He also plans a list of proposals.

Saiko is overcome with a feeling of determination, he is going to correct the failures of the past, the failures of Taro. H remembers Hattori’s faith in him: they can turn this series into a flagship title. Saiko is fully ready for that; he’s going to do it. All the things his uncle couldn’t

By becoming a flagship artist in Jump.

On that note, the chapter concludes.

Studio and Notebook Reaction

Complicated Feelings

Yeah, so overall, this was a great – and mercifully light – chapter to summarize, and I was all about it until that last few pages.

Now I’m in a more meditative space.

My initial reaction was to sigh in frustration, not because it was bad, but because this remains one of the most consistently frustrating plot lines in the entire series, and the fact that we’re closer to Saiko’s goal has not diminished my general frustration with the underlying philosophy of it.

But this last moment – Saiko’s determination to correct the sins of the father – deserves a little bit more reflection on my part.

In the last few months, I have become more mindful, by which I mean the meditation style. It is an entirely intentional practice that I have cultivated over…well, almost eight years – I started about a few years before reading Bakuman. I’ve heard anecdotally that when meditating, you notice changes at 8 days, 8 weeks, 8 months, and then 8 years.

And lately, Iv’e noticed that. A slowing down. It’s also just a getting older thing, but due to my many mindfulness practices, I’ve started to pause more regularly, and more deeply in the last few months – around the time I hit the 8-year mark – so maybe the anecdote is correct.

And a few new thoughts appear to me at this juncture.

The overriding one is that Bakuman is even more in debt to classic shonen storytelling than I realized, and here it is most evident;. However, it is obscured by the fact that this is not a battle shonen and so does not require as much scrutiny or anger at the weird level of coincidence that this trope requires.

But the Sins of the Father trope is one of the most hated in all of Shonen Manga. There is a massive movement against it, and it has only gotten more virulent in the internet age.

Simply: The Sins of the Father is where someone – often a paternal or master like figure fails to accomplish a similar goal to the protagonists in the current story. Their failure in part starts the story, although often it’s not revealed until the end game. A major component of this trope is that the protagonists have to become the father, fix the sin, and then move on. It is pure jungian shadow/anima/animus developmental stuff.

The most infamous example is the final arc of Naruto, where Naruto’s connection to Sasuke is made to be part of a larger conflict between Indra and Ashura, a good guy and a bad guy who are fated to fight in multiple incarnations. This battle between them ceases to be a conflict between two boys whose relationship is complicated at best, and a story about a chosen one whose victory determines the fate of all.

But it’s also in Star Wars: Luke is meant to balance the force after his father fails to do so by falling to the dark side unless you like the monkey paw interpretation of “Balancing the Force” to mean reducing the Jedi and the Sith to nothing, which is, technically, a kind of balance.

Or the Wheel of Time, which is a much more explicit version of it in the form of Rand Al’Thor having to atone for ht failures of the person whose spirit resides in him.

It’s a very popular trope and sometimes too narratively convenient, which is why it has to be laced with extreme care to work . Otherwise it falls flat.

And in that sense, this is one of the better executions I’ve seen of it. And that’s mostly because the sins of the father trope is a purely personal arc within the story. The overly coincidental connection between Saiko and his uncle exists so that the past can be rectified due to the failings of the previous generation. Still, ultimately, it rests in Saiko’s own personal development. So it works a lot better

And now for some character development on my part

I’m grumpy about this arc because it reminds me too much of my own failures

I discussed it far earlier in this blog, when these failures were still much fresher, and I was smarting off a particular brutal case of waiting too long to tell someone how I feel, and finding out that they were getting married.

I used to be obsessed with Dante and his unrequited feelings for Beatrice because it made my loneliness feel like something artistic and beautiful and worth holding onto. It made my suffering artistic. I even referred to a girl I had a longstanding crush on as Beatrice at one point in another, older blog that I am definitely not linking to because it’s embarrassing.

And in hindsight, that choice was apt. Although the feelings were misplaced – I didn’t really know this person well, we didn’t interact much – they were real, and in some of my darkest moments, they sustained me. Not the person, but the fantasy of ending up with some grandiose love that was so huge that it was worthy of being remembered 700 years later.

I then made some grave errors in judgment, and they cut me out of their lives. I regret that my loneliness led me to act like a weirdo, which pushed them away. But I own it. I made mistakes that were not okay.

But I still held onto that feeling for years. Some part of me remained in denial for a very long time about it. I made sure to distance myself from them and respect their space, but some part of me held out hope, some feeling of maybe. I didn’t check up on them, didn’t keep tabs. I just went about my business, feeling alone, but energized by this sense that once I had accomplished my artistic goals, they’d be there.

And then I found out they got engaged.

And it broke me.

To Beatrice, I’m sorry for everything. I could have done better. I should have done better. I won’t reveal who you are (that would be too much), and I’m pretty sure only one person might know who it is. But if this ever finds you, I’m sorry.

I had been coming to realize for a while at that point that this hopeless romanticism was a crutch for my feelings of inadequacy, and, far more critical, incredible, overwhelming loneliness. And that it was a loneliness that fed on itself by sustaining hope that someone who was never, ever, ever going to come back into my life, even under the most generous of circumstances, would somehow change their mind.

But it also finally, truly broke me out of that spell, and I started putting more effort into socializing and meeting people. And then I found anime, and started actively working on myself as a person.

So my bitching about this arc comes, in part, from a place of bitterness. I’m not the protagonist of a shonen manga, and just because I work really hard at my goals doesn’t mean that a.) I’ll achieve them in a timely manner. b.) achieve them at all, or c.) that I should predicate my romantic life on their success.

But it’s also because of arcs like this – Dante and Beatrice being the most famous one – that I gave myself enough rope to not do things that would have likely led to a relationship had I been willing to get in the dirt and mud of real life and try.

It’s made more complicated by the fact that, despite my efforts, I still haven’t found someone yet. I’ve made significant progress – in fact, many of my least healthy habits have dissipated, and I’m now a healthier, happier person in many important ways. As a result, my dating life has improved substantially since I overcame this issue.

But even with all that work, I don’t have a partner. And I don’t know if I ever will. I probably will. But there’s always a nagging sense that I won’t. Just a lot of failures and a lot of wreckage to be completely optimistic about it.

And so, even though I firmly believe this storywide plotline is a deeply harmful one, I think having this moment works. Because it underscores something massive: these things might work out, but the overwhelmingly likely outcome is that they won’t.

But that doesn’t diminish one thing. And that one thing is the thing I’ve been neglecting about what works, and that is:

The Shonen Mindset is Necessary

As I mentioned hundreds of chapters ago, the resolute acceptance of death is necessary. And Saiko has it. He’s determined. And that kind of determination is powerful. I’ve been my most productive and best self when I’ve had that underlying “fuck you reality, I’m going to do the impossible energy,” and it led me to do something impossible once. Well, multiple times, in specific ways. And so, even though in the real world, this is more likely to be Taro’s end than Saiko’s inevitable win. I’m going to be on Saiko’s side for this one.

Because…you know what, I’m going to do it! I’ll find someone special, who I care about and who cares about me, and I’m going to be a successful artist. I’m going to sell a screenplay and direct films (I have already!), and I’m going to release an incredible album of music which I’ve been working on. In fact, I’m as excited about my musical and film endeavors.

And I’m going to get a one-shot published in Viz Media, one day. Or in Jump. I’m going to do it because I can.

And…holy shit we just spent a long fucking time on this and there was SO MUCH ELSE THAT HAPPNED IN THIS CHAPTER THAT WE NEED TO TALK ABOUT.

Oh god, sorry guys, let’s go into that:

Nizuma and Team Fukuda

So the most interesting development this chapter was probably the twin reveal of Nizuma and Team Fukuda gearing up to fight Ashirogi.

I’ll start with the lower impact, but also surprisingly compelling reveal of tw things: Hiramaru is ready to fight and Nakai lost twenty pounds.

Now, look, in the spirit of reconciliation, if we can get Nakai to admit he was a fucking jackass that will not actually absolve him of all the awful shit he did in the series – there is a fucking line and it is threatening to physically assault women for not liking you – but seeing him actually lose weight so he can end up with Aoki’s twin sister.

Also fucking gross, come on. But he’s doing the work, so I have to give him some props. However, I’m actually quite thrilled that Ohba has made his character design – at least in the two panels I’ve seen – reflective of a gross old man in his 40s rather than some younger-looking guy who is actually appealing. I think that would be a bridge too far.

Will he still end up with Eriko? God, it’s fucking looking like it, Jesus Christ. But if he can chill out a bit, I can almost pretend that I’m okay with this development.

Sigh.

Anyway.

The other, more interesting thing – aside from the snapshot of Fukuda announcing it’s the “Team Fukuda era” and gearing up for battle was Nizuma’s “It’s time moment”.

That is going to be huge at some point. I assume sooner rather than later, but he’s got something planned, and he’s fucking pumped. I don’t think it’s part of his keikaku (that means strategy), but I do think it has been something that Ohba and Obata wanted to implement since the beginning of the series.

The fact that we don’t know what it is, and we also see Eiji’s eyes gleam, means that it is a big weapon and it’s going to rock the foundations of Reversi’s ability to be number one. But it also means something else.

Whatever secret weapon that Eiji has up his sleeve, it’s going to bring the best out of the boys, and they are going to bring the heat. Which makes me so pumped for the final battle.

What could it be, though?

I honestly straight up don’t know. It could be an emotional arc? Or something like that. A new character design? Jumping straight into a serialized arc with Zombie Gun? Impossible to say.

But that feeling of excitement is infectious.

It also highlights something about this entire chapter I love:

The Palpable Enthusiasm and the God Tier Art:

I think this chapter really highlights just how enthusiastic the creators are now that they are at the end of the series. They’ve been waiting to pull the big guns out since the beginning of the series, and that enthusiasm shows.

I think it most shows in Obata’s thoroughly gorgeous art in this chapter. But it’s not beautiful in an overt way. It’s lovely in this really understated, meditative way.

Panels of Saiko looking over his desk; Eiji with his ink pen; Hiramaru finally going hard to get Aoki’s hand in marriage. These are all functional panels in a way. They’re not calling attention to themselves.

But the way the compositions are laid out, the subtle humor in Kaya’s expression at Ogawa’s announcement of a third pregnancy. The little grins.

Even though it’s not flashy, it speaks to incredible skill and restraint. And that’s what the series needs to propel itself to the end. It doesn’t need flashy double spreads -which, when it does, it nails – it doesn’t ned huge cool sequences.

It needs perfectly balanced compositions of a man cutting bonsais, which reminded me of Karate Kid. I think the Bonsai is an excellent metaphor for this chapter; the art is perfectly balanced and reflective, while also being propulsive.

If you want to know what good manga art looks like, this is it. Study this chapter. Because even though you’ll not find huge displays of talent, you’ll see what a true master of the craft can do when they want to be casually excellent.

Speaking of:

Sasaki’s Excitement, PCP, and the Assistant

These were all little grace notes more than anything else. I like that Heishi was surprised about Yujiro’s work as a captain, and that surprise also extended to Sasaki. Although it’s a little less narratively momentous, sometimes it’s nice to get an easy win. It does feel like the decks have been thoroughly cleared to enter the final rounds of competition, and there is no need for any needless conflict.

I still wonder if the boys can handle the amount of work they’re committing to. But I do like that we got another little bit about how when a manga transitions from a magazine to a book, they have to be treated like any other cancellation or conclusion and plan out he final five chapters to wrap things up.

And even though I think the mega crime works better as the ending to PCP even though I’ve read precisely four panels of it, I think it’s a brilliant idea to set up middle school arc and it slots very neatly to have the middle school arc start in Hissho jump. Almost like they planned it to be that way.

Derp.

But yeah, I guess Nakano is not going to be a factor at least for a little bit unless there is a time skip to the release next chapter, which I doubt.

The more disappointing – but not altogether surprising thing – is that Ogawa is coming back. It’s going to be interesting to see how he’s changed now that he’s on kid three and needs more assistant work. I wonder if we’ll see Moriya’s reveal that Ashirogi is actually two writers who will come back to this endgame.

Maybe, given that Shonen Three was mentioned, and that was where Moriya let it slip. It hasn’t been addressed, and it’s being addressed again, so I wonder if it will fuck up the fact that they have two manga.

We’ll have to see.

In any event, I loved the moment of buying the studio, and Hattori’s little declaration to the boys.

I also liked that Nakano is actively thinking of ideas to give story fuel for PCP. He’s a good editor, I can tell already. Although how he’ll gel with Ashirogi remains to be seen.

Everything is falling into place,

as well as the official ship of:

The Hattoris

I don’t want to spend a lot of time on this little development because it’s not the most significant moment in the chapter, but it does segue nicely from the previous little ganbatte I gave myself.

It’s nice to see a formalization of the rivalry between Yujiro and Hattori.

It’s been in the background the entire series because their series have never been in as direct conflict as they are now. But I love that they have the same energy of “I’m going to beat you into the ground” vibe while smiling good-naturedly that they do. It also really underscores the determination to win even in the face of impossible odds. Start with that vision from the beginning.

Which is part of the reason why I’m cutting Saiko some slack here. That determination is powerful, and you need to maintain it even in the face of impossible odds. Something I’ve denied myself while I’ve written this read-through, because I want to be in reality, I don’t want to make the same mistakes I made again by deluding myself.

I’ve been terrified for a long time of making those mistakes. Of accidentally hurting people by protecting myself, or getting hurt by my dreams, of which I have many.

But fuck it. Being delusional is part of the industry I’m entering, and I have the craft now. It’s time, just like Eiji says.

It’s time.

Until next time,

Peace