Fairly well drawn - though I don't like the characterization of Ko Aoki very much. From the writing, I don't get why she's wanting to write for Shonen Jump, as opposed to (to use another Shueisha magazine) Margaret, since she specifically comes across like she doesn't like Shonen manga. ( )

This volume brings a welcome broadening of the cast, giving a broader (and perhaps more typical) range of manga artists to follow. It's a little heavy on the details of the industry, but to be honest I quite like that. The outcomes of the story are probably rather improbable, but they stay within the bounds of possibility - and I liked the way Yuujiro is humanised more in this story.

From a learner's perspective, this is a bit hard to follow, not because of the technicalities (hello, dictionary) but because there's a lot of nuance being imparted by subtleties of complex syntax, and I couldn't really follow it. It's not necessarily a problem for following the story, but working out exactly how people feel about things is tricky at times. All those stacked negatives and compound verbal structures...

What happened to Kaya, though? She's lost a fair bit of her oomph this time, and turned into a bit of a wet blanket. It's nice that she's invested in their struggles, but having her drop her own ambitions to focus on "supporting Ashirogi" didn't sit too well with me, despite the excuses given. Feels more like an editorial decision than a natural outcome of the character. ( )

Another pleasant and interesting volume. The inside view on the manga industry is interesting and I've got quite fond of the industry characters, who seem less erratic than the artists. The main romance remains just on the believable side of ridiculous, in a grand teenage gestures sort of way; Takagi and Miyoshi are much more credible. There's a nice variation in stuff going on too (though I do wonder about their school - unacademic it may be, but surely someone should worry about them sleeping through every class?). ( )