Mashiro and Takagi meet with Hattori to go out to eat, in celebration of getting published. They eat BBQ, and then go back to the office to go over their name, frame by frame.
Takagi asks if they can get serialized if they beat Nizum, but Hattori would rather they wait until graduating High School in three years. Mashiro of course insists that they get serialized as quickly as possible. Hattori wonders what the rush is, since he thinks even for Nizuma it’s far too early for him to get serialized.
In the end they decide to discuss the matter again if they do well. After they finish working Hattori calls them a cab. When he’s back in the office and mentions what he was talking about with them to another editor, who comments that three years must feel a lot different for the two of them than it does for adults.
Miyoshi and Azuki talk about how Mashiro hasn’t texted her yet, but that she doesn’t mind as they are going to focus on fulfilling their dreams first. Later Miyoshi tells Takagi that Azuki is moving after they graduate, and that she wants Mashiro and Azuki to go on a date before that happens.
When they tell Mashiro, he of course refuses, sticking to his and Azuki’s goal to not see each other until they fulfill their dreams. He and Miyoshi get into a shouting match, with her saying he’s being stubborn, and him telling her to mind her own business. After Miyoshi storms out, Takagi goes after her.
The two of them apologize to each other the next day, but Mashiro won’t be off the hook as far as the male viewers are considered. You do not yell at the hot (and not bitchy) girl!
And then there’s another montage. I almost think they like these.
The name is approved finally, and then it’s time for graduation. After a quick cameo by Keigo from Bleach…
They start heading back, when Mashiro decides to go see Azuki. He finds her in front of her house, and asks her how long she is willing to wait until they fulfill their dreams. Azuki tells him that she’ll always wait for him. The scene is complement by a slightly heavy handed use of the series main theme, which in itself is a pretty beautiful piece of music on its own, but got abused a bit too much during this scene. It’s still a decent enough scene, but it could have been better.
The review for this episode is a bit short. I’m not even sure why, it’s a decent enough episode, but like most Bakuman episodes it doesn’t stand out too well on its own. As such I think we’ll go with a:
