Episode
Bakuman: Chocolate and NEXT!
Overview
Mashiro and Takagi work on Money and Intelligence while applying to the relatively easy North High School. Miyoshi questions why Mashiro and Azuki are not seeing each other, and Takagi concludes that Azuki wants to remain focused on her dream. Mashiro and Takagi get accepted into North High School along with Miyoshi and learn that their work will run in the seasonal magazine NEXT. Hattori tells them that the editors are planning to use them to make Nizuma look good by comparison, but he tells them this is their chance to impress them and win against Nizuma.
Details
- Series
- Bakuman
- Season
- Season 1
- Episode
- Episode 11
- Air date
- 2010-12-11
- Runtime
- 25 min
Episode context
Chocolate and NEXT! is Episode 11 in Season 1 of Bakuman. It aired on 2010-12-11. The runtime is 25 min.
Previous / Next
Episode 10: 10 and 2
Mashiro and Takagi meet with Hattori, who says the manga artists liked their work, but the editors judging it thought it would never be published. Mashiro, wanting to progress faster than he is now, wonders if he could submit a work for serialization, and Hattori is doubtful. The editor in chief says that work needs to be good to be serialized, but Mashiro and Takagi are not good enough yet, and need a good main character to do so. Their early attempts are unimpressive, but Hattori suggests that a cult hit that only 20 percent of the reader base would read, but consider their favorite, might be a way for Mashiro and Takagi to get first place. Takagi mentions an idea he has called Money and Intelligence, in which people sell the contents of their minds to others, and Hattori suggests that they work on it.
Episode 12: Feast And Graduation
After celebrating by eating out, Hattori, Takagi and Mashiro discuss Money and Intelligence, and what changes they need to make to it. Hattori says that they should wait until graduating from high school to go for serialization, and that even Nizuma is going for it too early. Miyoshi tells Takagi that Azuki is moving and hopes that she will see Mashiro at least once before she does. Mashiro insists on keeping to their promise despite not knowing how long it will take until he is able to fulfill it, but meets with Azuki on the way home from the graduation ceremony. He asks how long she will wait, and she promises to wait forever, pleasing him.
More episodes from this season
Episode 9: Regrets and Understandings
Takagi is suspended for a week after punching Ishizawa, causing Mashiro to worry about him. He goes over to visit Takagi and learns that the story ideas he submitted to him were only a few of the ones he came up with. Mashiro then learns that Miyoshi and Aiko Iwase, the second best student in his grade, both have feelings for Takagi. Takagi tells them that he likes them both, but cannot be in a relationship with either due to his manga career. Iwase tells him to quit writing manga and leaves, while Miyoshi promises to support him. Miyoshi gets angry after Takagi admits that he only spoke to her to get information about Azuki for Mashiro, and Mashiro leaves with his determination restored.
Episode 13: Early Results and the Real Deal
Mashiro, at Miyoshi's suggestion, sends an email to Azuki to begin correspondence with her. During the first day of high school, Mashiro and Takagi submit their new pseudonym, "Muto Ashirogi". Hattori is impressed with their work, but Mashiro notices that he is not expecting Money and Intelligence to be serialized, wondering if it is because of his desire that they wait until after high school to get serialized. Money And Intelligence gets first place in the early results of the NEXT polls, but drops to third place in the actual results, with Nizuma's work getting half the votes. This development convinces Mashiro and Takagi that they must make a mainstream work to go for first place, and resolve to make one better than their previous efforts.
Episode 8: Uncertainties and Expectations
Takagi comes up with some more ideas, including One Hundred Millionth, a story about people being ranked according to their abilities, and Hattori is impressed with the story, causing Mashiro to wonder if his art is good enough. The story is chosen as one of the finalists, but does not make it to the four chosen for the award or honorable mentions. Shortly afterward, Ishizawa, a classmate, claims that Mashiro's art is holding Takagi down. Takagi gets angry and punches Ishizawa.
Episode 14: Battles and Copying
Mashiro has come to the conclusion that doing mainstream battle manga is the way forward, and draws characters from other battle manga to polish his skills at drawing this type of manga, Meanwhile Nizuma's manga "Yellow Hit" is on the verge of being serialized, but Nizuma's editor learns that he is planning on submitting "Crow" instead, and brings him down to the editorial offices. At the same time, Mashiro and Takagi are meeting with Hattori, who tells them that they are not suited to mainstream manga and that the mainstream authors who are popular are considerably more talented. Nizuma meets Mashiro and Takagi, telling them that he liked Money And Intelligence and wants to be friends with them, before drawing a name in front of them. Hattori hopes that demonstration will convince them that they're not able to compete with him in mainstream manga, but they remain determined to do so, and he gives them six months to submit a good mainstream work before he steps down as their editor.
Episode 7: Tears and Tears
After meeting with Hattori, Mashiro and Takagi continue working on new submissions, and Mashiro writes notes to Azuki in class. Azuki cries after Mashiro asks her if they have to wait to be together until they have fulfilled their dreams, and she gives him her email. Mashiro is anxious to submit a work for the Tezuka Award so that Azuki can smile again, but Takagi suggests that they should proceed more cautiously and make their manga as good as it can be. Hattori calls them, and tells them that the work they submitted did not even make it to the finalists, but Takagi and Mashiro resolve to keep trying and go for the next Tezuka award, much to Hattori's pleasure. Nizuma receives a visit from his editor and the editor in chief, and agrees to move to Tokyo to write his manga if he gets the right to cancel one series after becoming the top-ranked manga artist.
Episode 15: Debut and Hectic
Hattori goes over the weaknesses of Mashiro and Takagi's storyboard, and tells them that they need good characters, simple yet exciting battles, cute heroines, and tragedy and humor to make a good storyboard. Nizuma admits that he wrote the name on the spot, rather than having it in his head, and Mashiro and Takagi realize that he is a "genius" who can draw what he wants. Nizuma tells his editor that he likes the passion in Mashiro and Takagi's eyes, and sees them as his rivals. Meanwhile, Azuki auditions for Saint Visual Girls' Academy, a midnight anime, and gets a bit part. Mashiro, seeing her progressing toward her dream, becomes somewhat impatient and asks her to continue waiting for him, and she promises to do so while telling him to stop sending emails like that.
Episode 6: Carrot and Stick
Mashiro and Takagi meet with Akira Hattori, one of the editors at Shonen Jack. He notes that their work has flaws, as it is too text-driven and not drawn in manga style, but they have potential. He tells them that they are better suited to figuring out what could be a hit and drawing that, rather than drawing what they want, and while they are less likely to get a smash hit with that skillset, they are more likely to follow up on one if they do. Hattori gives them his contact information, encouraging them to come to him with their work. At school, the teacher decides to seat boys and girls next to each other, resulting in Mashiro sitting next to Azuki.
Episode 16: Wall and Kiss
Mashiro and Takagi, incorporating Hattori's suggestions, comes up with a concept for a story about an angel fighting other angels who kill humans to advance themselves, but are frustrated at their lack of progress. The name is rejected, but the feedback notes that they have promise. Around this time, Takagi is struggling to think of another idea, and begins seeing Miyoshi more often, prompting Mashiro to wonder if he is working on it at all. Hattori learns that Nizuma needs an assistant and that Takagi would not stop Mashiro from going to work for him. Mashiro hears of the offer, and is hesitant to accept it until he happens upon Takagi kissing Miyoshi.
Episode 5: Summer and Names
Recalling when he and Azuki turned back to look at each other at the same time, Mashiro tells Takagi that he and Azuki have been on the same frequency for years, indicating that they are connected without having to say anything about it. Azuki's best friend Kaya Miyoshi goes to Takagi to complain about him telling Azuki about her dream, and as she does so, gives indications of romantic interest in Takagi that Mashiro and Miyoshi notice. During the summer, Mashiro and Takagi stay at Mashiro's uncle's office, and work on a manga called The Two Earths. When it is complete, they call the Shonen Jack editorial department.
Episode 17: Braggart and Kindness
Mashiro starts work as an assistant for Nizuma, and meets the other two assistants; Shinta Fukuda, who had placed lower than he did in NEXT, and Takurō Nakai, who won an award 10 years ago, but has been unable to accomplish anything noteworthy since then. Despite Fukuda and Nizuma questioning why he is working as an assistant instead of trying to get published, Mashiro is determined to learn what he can to help Takagi. Fukuda realizes that "Crow" will eventually get canceled after the novelty wears off if Nizuma does not make it more substantial and interesting. Nizuma adjusts the story accordingly, while also deciding to meet with his editor.