Cover Schwarz and Weiss's entire confrontation in one go?!
Yes!
And it might not even last 50 chapters?!
Yes!
But still,
surely there are many ways to continue the story after you settle the conflict between black and white—
We'd rather have a work that we're satisfied with instead of one that has a long run!
I see.
As your editor, I'd want you to continue your manga for as long as it's popular.
However, if it clearly becomes boring because you're forced to prolong it, then...
Okay. Let's put off the decision on whether to end it there or not
until after you're done with their confrontation.
Thank you!
For now, spend each and every week giving everything you've got on Schwarz and Weiss's showdown!
That much I'm sure of!
Yes!
yu
me
yu
me
yu
me
yu
me
Dreams, dreams, dreams, dreams
ka
na
e
ru
ta
bi
ko
wa
re
te
yu
ku
yu
me
As soon as I reach my goals, it all falls through again
na
ze
so
re
de
mo
ma
ta
So why do I run...
bo
ku
wa
sa
ga
su
ha
shi
ri
tsu
zu
ke
ru
...and search in spite of that?
hi
sa
shi
bu
ri
ni
de
atta
We met after such a long time
"
fu
n
i
ki
ka
watta?"
"Has the mood changed for us?"
tsu
ki
hi
wa
na
ga
re
ta
da
rou
So much time has passed
"
a
no
ko
ro
no
ho
u
ga
ta
no
shi
so
u
"
"It seemed like more fun back then"
ta
ku
sa
n
na
ku
shi
ta
We've lost so much
so
n
na
ko
to
wa
ki
zu
i
te
ru
n
da
I already know that, though
sa
ke
bi
tsu
zu
ke
ro
mo
ga
ki
tsu
zu
ke
ro
Don't stop screaming, don't stop struggling
da
re
no
ta
me
ni
na
n
ka
mou
i
da
rou?
You've done enough for others
ma
da
tsu
ta
e
ta
i
ko
to
ga
a
ru
ma
da
ma
da
ma
da
I still, still have something I haven't told you yet
yu
me
no
sa
ki
ni
wa
yu
me
shi
ka
na
i
Beyond each of my dreams lies yet another dream
Breather and Party
Oh, this week's Reversi is in first place.
It's made a complete recovery.
For the past few weeks, Reversi and Zombie Gun have been hogging the top two spots.
There's a huge gap between them and third place.
That said, the main titles have still been doing well.
If we were to bring in a new series right now, I don't think it'd survive long.
Don't sound so hesitant.
Think of it this way—if we bring in a new series,
it had better be good enough to justify canceling one of the main titles.
The serialization committee is on September 27, right?
If some new series are brought in, then others will get canceled.
Yup. If we manage to get three new ones,
the series ending might very well be NATURAL and Seigi no Mikata!
Huh?!
I already said that it wouldn't be unusual if one of the main titles gets canceled, right?
There was a serialization committee today.
And? You already told me there's no way Never Reaching You would get canceled.
I did, but there's something else I need to tell you before we get into what the committee said.
Congratulations! Never Reaching You will get an anime!
Mr. Yoshida! You really are a reliable editor!
I did what you said, and I really did get an anime out of it!
And after my anime starts, you'll be my love adviser and tell me
the magic marriage proposal that'll make Yuri say yes!
Right? Right?
No, that's on hold for now.
What?! Are you trying to trick me again, you bastard?
No. Aoki's What God Gave Me just got canceled.
Huh?
She must be depressed right now.
If you propose to her now, she won't answer favorably.
Yuri's series... Her series is over!
That's how it is, so as for your proposal...
Well, you'd better wait until she starts another new series.
Yuri... Poor Yuri.
I feel bad for Aoki, but this may have saved us.
Yuri... It's at times like these when I need to cheer you up.
Hello?
G-Good evening.
Good evening as well.
What's wrong, Hiramaru?
Uh...
Um...
Once you've finished drawing What God Gave Me,
please come to the amusement park with me!
W-Won't you come have fun with me at the park?!
Hiramaru...
He's trying to cheer me up because my series got canceled.
Yes, I'd be glad to.
Really?!
I'll try to make it as fun as I can!
Yes. I'm looking forward to it.
Hiramaru, it's already been two years since you asked me out.
Have we finally gone from meeting over tea to dates at the amusement park?
What?
You're going to the park with Aoki?
It's "Tea Day" on November 1st.
I wanted to cheer her up.
I'll have my work all wrapped up before I go, I promise!
W-Well, that's great, but...
Well then, I'd better get back to work!
Aoki at the park! It's gonna be so much fun!
Crap! This is bad!
This is the man who let himself get carried away and confessed to her
simply because they went out for tea with each other!
At this rate, he's really going to propose to her!
And if she turns him down...
I'm sorry.
That would be bad! Really bad!
I should stop this from happening.
For his sake!
For his... sake?
Hiramaru Kazuya. 26 years old, single.
It's a pleasure to meet you.
Well, have a seat.
Okay.
So, apparently you wrote this Otter #11 in a month
without ever having read manga before. Is that right?
Yes.
You're a genius.
So I'm often told.
They ask, "You can do it if you try, so why don't you?"
If you stick with me, you can become a popular manga author.
Perhaps.
Will life become fun?
Can I become happy?
Uh... I think you can? You'll get paid handsomely.
Then, make me happy!
Make me happy!
What have I actually done for him?
He's certainly got the sales figures, and the wealth and fame to go with it.
But... is that really enough?
What's wrong, Mr. Yoshida?
Hiramaru, do you really love Aoki?
Yes.
How much?
Huh? Are we in middle school or something?
How much?!
I love her so much that I want to marry her right now!
Isn't that obvious?!
That's it, Hiramaru!
What?
"I love you so much that I want to marry you right now!"
Those are the magic words!
You can take out the "I love you so much" bit, though.
Listen up, Hiramaru!
On November 1st, "Tea Day,"
Hiramaru Kazuya will propose to Aoki Kou, a.k.a. Aoki Yuriko,
at the park!
I-I can?
Can you tell her that, Hiramaru?!
Yes! I'll do my best!
All right!
Date with Yuri at the park!
Hiramaru, this is my first date at an amusement park.
Mine too.
Well, I've only ever had dates with you, Hiramaru.
The park will close shortly.
Oh, right.
Just before it closes, go ride on the ferris wheel.
At this time of year, it'll be dark already and you'll get a nice view.
Right!
It'll set a romantic mood for her answer.
Yuri, let's ride the ferris wheel!
What? Now?
Please!
They're finally on the ferris wheel!
Not bad, in terms of time—
I told him to sit next to her so many times!
I'm gonna bash his face in, dammit!
It's so pretty.
The best time to propose is when your car reaches the top.
We'll be at the top soon.
The item that I've prepared for this day...
...isn't here.
The 50 million yen ring!
Yeah! Go for it!
You're almost there!
Propose to her!
It's not here! Or here!
Here either!
Wh-What's wrong, Hiramaru?
What the heck are you doing, Hiramaru?!
You've passed the top!
Please watch your step.
Are you okay, Hiramaru?
Where did the ring go?
Huh? Ring?
That was Yoshida...
Hiramaru's outfit... Wearing a white suit to an amusement park...
An obviously worried Yoshida checking up on him...
And a "ring"...
Um, can we ride it one more time?
But it's closing time already.
Please?
Go right ahead. Please enjoy yourselves.
Thank you.
Um, Hiramaru?
Yes?
You have something you'd like to tell me, don't you?
Hiramaru, you can do it.
Try to say it.
Please, do your best.
O-Okay.
Huh? What was I going to say again?!
I have to say something!
Yuri's telling me to do my best!
What are you doing, Hiramaru?!
Are you going to let another chance slip you by again?!
Y-Yuri!
Y-Yes?
P-Ple-Please...
...mmmake me happy!
Make you happy?
Yes!
Are you not happy enough being here with me at the park?
No, I mean, marry me and make this happiness permanent...
Marry me...
and make me happy too, please!
I did it!
Oh! He's jumping around! You must've done it, Hiramaru!
Sorry. I was supposed to sit next to you for this.
That's right.
And also, saying "Please make me happy" wasn't very nice.
It wasn't?
It was my once-in-a-lifetime proposal. You shouldn't have placed the focus on yourself.
Really? Did I do that?
I sure messed up.
Hiramaru, look.
Down there.
Mr. Yoshida!
I-I want to get off right now and go to him!
Hiramaru, you really get along well with him, don't you?
Yes! He's like a father to me.
Mr. Yoshida!
You did it, Hiramaru!
Mr. Yoshida!
Attention, all visitors.
We have a lost item: a ring inside a purple case
that was found in the pink cup on the Spin of Dreams teacup ride.
What?!
Hiramaru and Aoki got engaged?
Really?
Yeah. It's the talk of the editing department right now.
Good for Hiramaru!
Yeah.
And there's something else they're talking about.
There is?
It's about the volumes that go on sale today.
They're debating which will sell more: Reversi or Zombie Gun?
Both manga got 300,000 copies printed of Volume 1, right?
Right.
There were 1.5 million copies printed for CROW,
so it's a comparatively small number for Niizuma.
Having the same number of copies printed as him is a great accomplishment, though.
Right!
We want to pass 1 million copies of Reversi and become a flagship series in Jack!
Yeah.
Amazing.
Even though they just went on sale,
they're already printing another batch of copies for both Zombie Gun and Reversi.
Apparently, both of them are flying off the shelves.
So, an immediate reprint.
It's actually kinda cool.
Well, I suppose being stuck with too many copies would be really "uncool."
It's Hattori.
Was something going on today?
Don't think so.
Hi, this is Takagi.
I just thought I'd tell you that they're printing yet another batch of copies.
I see.
Thanks for telling us.
30,000 more?
All right!
Now we've passed 380,000 in total, right?
Last time 50,000, and this time 30,000.
Yes.
Ashirogi Mutou
Two reprints in the ten days since it went on sale. With these kinds of numbers...
No, not at all.
It's selling at a way higher pace than TRAP and PCP!
At this rate, we'll hear talk of an anime soon!
Um, Zombie Gun is also getting a reprint, right?
Yeah.
How many?
It's getting 900,000 more copies.
900,000?!
Has it really sold that well so far?
Niizuma
Eiji
Why is it so much more than Reversi?
It's amazing! You've already got 900,000!
At this rate, 2 million—No, 3 or 4 million isn't just a dream!
4 million is just a dream.
Huh? It is?
Yes.
Why is Reversi getting higher than you on the rankings, though?
Do you know why, Niizuma?
It's more exciting to read it chapter by chapter.
I see.
Which means ours is more interesting to read by the volume!
That's not it, either.
Huh? Why are we selling much more than them, then?
Don't keep asking me these things!
Sorry.
Listen up, you two.
Don't panic and head in the wrong direction because you were distracted by Zombie Gun.
I wanted to know more, so I took a look at the survey results.
Phone Number
Age
Male
Female
The average reader age of Reversi is higher than Zombie Gun,
and it's not as popular with female readers.
Is the content too difficult for kids to understand?
It probably is.
And there's a lot of lines in it, too.
Let's put more effort into concise dialogue that's easy to understand.
Easy to understand...
Speaking of kids,
how about we introduce a mascot character?
Is that something you can do with Reversi?
Maybe a demon in the shape of a cute animal?
In that case, maybe we should put in some breather chapters too.
"Breather"?
Yeah. The content is pretty dense every week, right?
We could put in some "relaxing" chapters that kids can easily pick up.
I think that sounds like a good idea.
If you develop the characters more, you can expand the work and create some depth.
That'll be hard, though.
We did decide to head straight for the confrontation between the two protagonists, after all.
Yeah.
Crap! Why is there such a gap between us?
We're giving him a run for his money in the rankings!
The biggest difference is that Niizuma's the author of CROW, a long-running flagship series of Jack.
It's name recognition.
You're right.
There are many people who would buy his volumes in a bookstore
even if they don't buy the magazine itself.
That's the difference between "Ashirogi Mutou" and "Niizuma Eiji."
Well, as you publish more volumes, you may see an increase in sales.
These aren't bad numbers at all for a first volume.
We're nothing to Eiji...
You're right.
As promised, I've continued my series and waited for you.
I'm happy to try hard and compete with you. I won't lose.
Ashirogi and I are fated rivals.
Eternal rivals.
Write it as "formidable rival" and read it as "friend"... or something like that.
If any one of you manage to beat me before I start on the manuscript of my final chapter,
then I won't end CROW!
We're the ones unable to live up to his expectations!
Come on, Akito! We never get to go to parties, you know.
I told you, we're just not in the mood.
Wow! What a ritzy place!
That's the Tezuka-Akatsuka Double Prize party for you!
Indeed.
You get an invitation to this every year, right?
Yeah. We're always busy near the end of the year, so we never ended up going.
Invitation card
Yuueisha
2017 Tezuka Akatsuka Prize Winners Party
Ashirogi Mutou
Time
2017 December 11 (Monday)
6 PM
6:30 PM
Place
Grand Hotel reception hall (2nd floor)
Doors open and reception begins
Award commemoration party
Eiji is the judge of the Tezuka prize.
He must be here.
Katou is pretty late, though.
I think she said something about bringing a friend with her.
Sorry I'm late!
I'm very thankful you've allowed me to come along!
Oh, it's nothing.
I'm Kitami Ririka.
I'm a rookie voice actress.
Voice actress?
Yes.
Nice to meet you.
Wow! Are all these people guests?
There are manga artists and stars here, right?
I wonder if I can get their autographs.
Definitely not!
It's not here. I thought as much.
Even though I begged Hattori to submit it,
I didn't even make it to the final round!
It looks like we're free to move around here.
Orihara just went off somewhere.
He's over there, stuffing his face.
Mr. Mashiro?
Yes?
Mr. Takagi is already married,
but do you have a girlfriend?
Um, yeah.
Drat. So you do have one.
What are you saying, Ririka?
I'm sorry for her rudeness.
Speaking of which,
I saw that magazine and I was wondering...
Your girlfriend who came to visit you in the hospital—
She's the really popular voice actress, Azuki Miho, right?
K-Katou!
What?!
You're Azukyun's boyfriend, Mashiro?
Um, please don't tell anyone.
Oh, what a bummer.
It's like they're the couple of the century.
I wanna go home now.
Don't be so selfish.
What did you come here for in the first place?
Look, Saikou.
Niizuma's over there, in the middle of a crowd.
That's crazy. They all must have come to greet him.
Looks like it.
And those are the anime guys.
I overheard some bits and pieces.
Apparently, they're fighting over Zombie Gun.
What? Already?
Yeah.
Niizuma Eiji... Can we pass the Eiji?
Can we pass Zombie Gun and become the top manga?
Niizuma Eiji
Tezuka Prize Judge
Niizuma Eiji
Tezuka Prize Judge
Niizuma Eiji
Tezuka Prize Judge
Niizuma Eiji
Tezuka Prize Judge
Niizuma Eiji
Tezuka Prize Judge
Niizuma Eiji
Tezuka Prize Judge
Niizuma Eiji
Tezuka Prize Judge
Niizuma Eiji
Tezuka Prize Judge
Niizuma Eiji
Tezuka Prize Judge
Niizuma Eiji
Tezuka Prize Judge
Niizuma Eiji
Tezuka Prize Judge
Niizuma Eiji
Tezuka Prize Judge
Niizuma Eiji
Tezuka Prize Judge
Niizuma Eiji
Tezuka Prize Judge
Niizuma Eiji
Tezuka Prize Judge
Niizuma Eiji
Tezuka Prize Judge
Niizuma Eiji
Tezuka Prize Judge
Niizuma Eiji
Tezuka Prize Judge
Niizuma Eiji
Tezuka Prize Judge
Niizuma Eiji
Tezuka Prize Judge
Niizuma Eiji
Tezuka Prize Judge
Niizuma Eiji
Tezuka Prize Judge
Niizuma Eiji
Tezuka Prize Judge
Niizuma Eiji
Tezuka Prize Judge
Niizuma Eiji
Tezuka Prize Judge
Niizuma Eiji
Tezuka Prize Judge
Niizuma Eiji
Ashirogi! It's been a Bleach long while!
Yes, it has.
G-Good evening.
Reversi is really good!
It's really ultra good!
I'm always losing to you in the rankings! The readers know a good one when they see it!
Especially these past few weeks! That's Ashirogi for you!
Th-Thanks.
But I won't lose.
I'll go higher than you in the rankings.
And I definitely won't lose to you in the number of copies sold!
Niizuma...
I'm back. I got you whatever looked good.
Thanks!
What haven't I eaten yet?
I'm glad we came, Shuujin.
Eiji said he won't lose to us in the number of copies we sell.
He said he won't lose, even though he's selling so many more than us!
Because he thinks we're going to make a comeback at this rate!
Yeah!
That must be it!
We just have to head towards the ending
while making the confrontation between white and black as interesting as we can every single week!
Yeah!
We'll definitely close that gap!
Um...
Can I speak to you for a moment?
Um, sure.
Excuse me, but you are Ashirogi, correct?
That's right. Can we help you?
I am very pleased to meet you.
I work for this company.
Tanabe Futoshi
Producer
Tanabe Futoshi
Producer
Tanabe Futoshi
Producer
Tanabe Futoshi
Producer
Animation production studio
Tanabe Futoshi
Producer
Animation production studio
Tanabe Futoshi
Producer
Animation production studio
Tanabe Futoshi
Producer
Animation production studio
Tanabe Futoshi
Producer
Animation production studio
Tanabe Futoshi
Producer
Animation production studio
Tanabe Futoshi
Producer
Animation production studio
Tanabe Futoshi
Producer
Animation production studio
Tanabe Futoshi
Producer
Animation production studio
Tanabe Futoshi
Producer
Animation production studio
Tanabe Futoshi
Producer
Animation production studio
Tanabe Futoshi
Producer
Animation production studio
Tanabe Futoshi
Producer
Animation production studio
Tanabe Futoshi
Producer
Animation production studio
Tanabe Futoshi
Producer
Animation production studio
Tanabe Futoshi
Producer
Animation production studio
Tanabe Futoshi
Producer
Animation production studio
Tanabe Futoshi
Producer
Animation production studio
Tanabe Futoshi
Producer
Animation production studio
Tanabe Futoshi
Producer
Animation production studio
do
u
shi
te
da
ro...
i
tsu
mo
so
u
sa
Why, I wonder?
chi
ka
zu
ku
ta
bi
ka
ra
ma
wa
ri
no
yu
me
Whenever I am close to fulfilling my goals, all effort becomes fruitless
ma
e
wo
mu
i
te
shi
ga
mi
tsu
i
te
sou
su
ko
shi
zu
tsu
We walk ahead, hold each other, and with little things
ya
ku
so
ku
no
a
no
ba
sho
he
to
sa
e
ai
na
ga
ra
we support each other to reach what we promised
ji
shi
n
ga
ta
ri
na
i
to
ki
wa
mu
ne
ni
te
wo
a
te
When we lack confidence, we put a hand to our heart
bo
ku
ra
ga
tsu
zu
t
ta
pe
e
ji
yo
mi
ka
e
so
u
and reread the pages we assembled into a story
kyo
u
ma
de
so
shi
te
a
su
he
to
tsu
zu
i
te
yu
ku
no
sa
They lead up to today and continue into the morrow
ta
i
se
tsu
na
yu
me
ga
ka
na
u
so
no
hi
ma
de
We will always be ourselves
a
ri
no
ma
no
bo
ku
ra
de
zu
tto...
until the day that our dreams come true
Next Time
Preview
Making a work you're happy with!
That is the pride of a manga artist!
Can you get away with saying that, Hattori?
Hot Springs and
Confirmation
Next time: Hot Spring and Confirmation.
Which will you choose: pride or dreams?