The series so far has been a constant pleasure, thanks to its detailed look upon the process of crreating manga. A love letter to manga industry, Shonen Jump especially, with lots of wit and comedy, but also some sincere statements about ups and downs of mangaka's profession. The fourteenth volume is one of the most interesting so far, thanks to the new character unafraid to play dirty! Surely, up to this point there was a lot of competition between the creative teams, constantly demanding and sometimes ruthless, but always played by the rules. Enter Toru Nanamine, the 18 year old prodigy, surely talented, but also not above some schemes in order to gain fame & glory without forcing himself too much. As any BAKUMAN reader understands by now, the motto of the series is "no pain, no gain" (or "per aspera ad astra", if you prefer classic Latin), therefore Nanamine is set as a straight villain from the moment his innocent facade drops! Neverthlesss, his unorthodox method of creating manga is very interesting to behold. We may be aware it's not fair, but want to be convinced that in the end is uneffective as well, in order to believe that the best way for mangaka is to work honestly and ceaselessly under the editor's supervision. BAKUMAN is surely an equivalent of a motivational book, but much more fun to read!
Volume 14 brings back Nakai, the character who dropped from the series some time ago in disgrace. May it be a start of his redemptive arc? Fingers crossed, but it will be quite a challenge, considering his current characterization as the most pathetic and the least likeable character in the series!