Bakuman

Mashiro and Takagi get good news about their new series, PCP. Meanwhile, +Natural is getting animated and Azuki is on the short list to play the heroine when Iwase figures out the secret behind Muto Ashirogi's pen name.

Mashiro and Takagi become more determined than ever but get a shock when they hear that they might be canceled. They attempt to step their game up, but Niizuma fires back with a special chapter of CROW while Iwase hatches a secret plan.

The boys are despondent after getting bad news about PCP's ratings. Hattori realizes something about the surveys and comes up with a way to turn things around.

Mashiro and Takagi find out if PCP will be canceled and receive some surprising news from Hattori. Meanwhile, Shiratori is encouraged by everyone to draw his own manga, with Takagi eager to give him advice!

Takagi is asked to be the writer for Shiratori's Loveta & Peace, but Mashiro is conflicted. Shiratori dreams of his own series, but his mother is strongly opposed, forcing him to run away from home.

Muto Ashirogi decides to participate in the Super Readers Fest, but Mashiro declares that he wants to draw on his own. With both Mashiro and Takagi busy and unable to work as Muto Ashirogi, they get into an argument and Takagi stomps out of the studio.

PCP reaches its fiftieth chapter and Muto Ashirogi attend an award ceremony. Hiramaru aims for a date with Aoki, but doesn't know how far he can trust his editor Yoshida.

Mashiro and Takagi are the judges of a monthly manga contest and encounter Classroom of Truth. The artist is a talented young man named Toru Nanamine, who immediately begins to cause trouble at Shonen Jack.

Mashiro and Takagi find out how Nanamine gets his ideas and are appalled, but, realizing his popularity, they are quietly determined not to be outdone. Nanamine gets a one-shot, but is walking all over his new editor Kosugi.

When Nanamine gets a new series, Hattori becomes concerned about Kosugi and Muto Ashirogi. When Hattori questions the boys about what is going on they reveal Nanamine's method for coming up with ideas.

Nanamine improves even more by adding an old acquaintance of Team Fukuda's to his staff. However, when his rankings start to suffer, he begins lashing out at those around him, including Muto Ashirogi.

Muto Ashirogi accepts Nanamine's challenge to run the same story in the same issue, with Takagi confident Ashirogi will win. Later, Nakai realizes that Nanamine has been lying about What You Need's ranking.

Muto Ashirogi is shocked when a crime copying an event from PCP occurs. Niizuma is suddenly concerned about rankings when he never used to be.

When CROW takes first place three weeks in a row, Yujiro becomes concerned about the promise to allow Niizuma to end a manga he doesn't like. Niizuma then turns up at the editorial office for a chat with Sasaki!

The editorial office is in an uproar over the possibility of CROW ending, while Ashirogi and the rest of Team Fukuda are fired up to defeat Niizuma before he reaches his goal.

With only three more weeks to beat CROW before it ends, PCP uses its center color pages in a final, novel gambit to take the top spot from its greatest rival.

Ashirogi's new one-shot battle manga Reversi and Niizuma's new Zombie Gun are both so good the editors can't decide which is better. When both get published, Mashiro, Takagi and Niizuma get even more fired up!

Reversi gets approved for serialization, but with PCP still running, Mashiro and the assistants are pushed to their limits to make their deadlines. Later, when Niizuma changes up Zombie Gun, Mashiro realizes what Reversi's weakness is.

Mashiro and Takagi tell Hattori what's important to them about Reversi. Meanwhile, when Hiramaru's series gets an anime and Aoki's is canceled, he takes it on himself to cheer her up.

At the Tezuka Award party, Mashiro and Takagi learn they've been receiving offers to turn Reversi into an anime. Later, they take a trip with Kaya to blow off steam and celebrate the New Year.

Reversi is getting an anime! Mashiro and Takagi are overjoyed that their dream is coming true, but a blog post about them by a rookie voice actress threatens to derail everything.

Azuki has addressed her relationship with Mashiro on her radio show, but now the director for the Reversi anime is suggesting that, to keep things fair and open, the auditions for the role of Naho be made a public competition.

Reversi's story begins to heat up and Muto Ashirogi is in fine form, but Hattori is getting pressure from his bosses to convince Ashirogi to continue their series.

Mashiro decides to propose to Azuki and make all the dreams of his uncle, Taro Kawaguchi, come true, along with his and Azuki's. When the day of the Reversi anime broadcast arrives, Mashiro is ready for the climactic moment of his life!