For this post I’ve decided to try out a different, more original style, and this involves basing my impressions and comments around quotes that turned up in the episode. Think the recap style used by Durarara in the middle of their OP sequences.
Summary
The authors meet the editors to sort the boycott matter out, and though the editors try and offer a compromise, Fukuda won’t take anything without a guarantee. Back in the hospital, as Mashiro has his surgery and recovers, him and Takagi find out about the mass boycott and the trouble it’s causing for Shounen Jack, agreeing to hiatus until his discharge.
That occurs smoothly, and Ashirogi Muto go to the editorial department to convince the Chief Editor. After showing him the unpublished manuscripts and with a quote about guts, the Chief finally allows Detective Trap to be resumed.
Impression
“If the Chief Editor doesn’t go back on his decision about putting TRAP on hiatus, we’ll also put our four manga on hiatus. That’s what we’ve decided!” – Fukuda
All of the writers seem to really have the devotion to support Mashiro and go against the editorial department, especially Aoki, whose manga is nowhere near as popular as Crow (which got an anime adaptation already O_O) but is still willing to risk her career to help Mashiro stand against the Chief Editor. Another admirable thing is Niizuma’s willingness to use his savings to help pay for the assistants, though with an insane amount of money from all those volume sales there’s only so much a high schooler can buy. Poor Hiramaru only agreed to the boycott as he wouldn’t have to work as much – though I don’t get where he’s coming from at all, if I had badass drawing skills, and lived in Japan I’d try be a mangaka as well.
“I don’t think I wanted to kiss you. Oh, not like that. I never felt like I wanted to.” – Azuki
Unlike Miyoshi and Takagi, who’ve already kissed several times in the series, Azuki and Mashiro are taking it the old-fashioned way – slooooowly. Yeah, so everyone leaves the room so you can have private time with your fiancée, and you don’t get farther than holding hands, briefly? Mashiro, I am disappoint. I swear, there’d better be some sort of progress in their relationship by the end of the season.
“I won’t have that! It’s not right for everyone to take a break for our sakes!” – Mashiro
I can understand why Mashiro felt bad, since with 5 manga gone from a magazine as popular as Shounen Jack, there would have been a huge uproar over it, as well as many editors potentially losing their jobs. Part of me actually wanted to have Mashiro refuse any sort of hiatus and see what kind of shit would go down, but for the sake of the show I guess that wouldn’t happen in canon.
“Fine. I will gladly accept your ‘gutsy’ manuscripts. I will resume TRAP as quickly as possible!” – Chief Editor
Kawaguchi Tarou got Mashiro into this mess, and it turns out that words from him got Mashiro out too. One thing I don’t get is the Chief’s sudden change of heart, as he refused any sort of debate on the hiatus matter before and all of a sudden he agrees to resume Detective Trap just like that? Maybe he was internally struggling all along, though he certainly didn’t show it.
So now Mashiro is out of hospital, and everything seems fine once again. On the whole this episode was pretty decent, and my only complaint is the resolution of the clash with the Chief Editor being far too smooth, without any sort of condition or compromise.