Episode 51: The series continues off with Mashiro and Takagi's Perfect Crime Party's serialization. Azuki receives an offer for an audition role in the +Natural anime but she is undecided due to a promise with Mashiro to cast as the female lead for the anime adaptation of his manga. In the end she personally tells Aiko and Eiji she declines the role but before they can talk it out she's taken away by Mashiro who decided to stop her last minute. They hold hands the rest of way. Before she heads home, Azuki tells him that next time they meet, they'll kiss; by that time, their dreams will have come true.
Episode 52: Competition heats up between PCP and +Natural/Crow. Mashiro realize his art style is a tad too dark for their manga and gradually changes it each chapter which results in their rankings slowly getting better. Aiko becomes infatuated with Eiji after he acknowledges her talent while Eiji gets fired up again. +Natural gets the upper hand over PCP when the anime starts airing and things get worse when Eiji publishes a whole chapter without text, relying on the art alone, as response to Mashiro's development. Takahama's Ally of Justice and Fukuda's Road Racer Giri begin their new serializations too, heating up the competition even more. The episode ends with Mashiro and Takagi looking at the crossover between CROW and +Natural.
Episode 53: Mashiro and Takagi decide that PCP won't be able to beat CROW and +Natural at their current pace. Takagi decides that writing a five-week-long arc will increase PCP's ranking for week 25. They need to beat Eiji in order to be able to continue PCP so Mashiro and Hattori agree, though it's a risky tactic because the rating will go down until the finale chapter. Takagi thinks of the arc and it almost done but feels the story is lacking something. After seeing and talking to Aiko again, he realizes that PCP needs a rival character who is also able to push PCP forward as, just like their rivalry with Eiji, Fukuda and the rest does for them.
Episode 54: PCP gets selected for a drama CD to which Mashiro and Takagi nominate Azuki for the role of the main female character. As popularity of PCP continues to increase a light novel is also spawned. However Takagi and Mashiro still push for an anime adaptation causing Hattori to say that PCP will probably not be made into one. He goes on to explain that the editors at Yueisha had received numerous letters of complaint from adults saying that their children have been engaging in petty crimes and mischievous behaviour because of PCP's realistically influential content; this dashes the duos hopes. Nizuma also seems upset upon learning of this news. Shiratori draws his own storyboard with help from Takagi and shows it to Hattori who says that it may be good enough to be printed as a one-shot and even a serialization. Mashiro had conceived a plan for Ashirogi Muto to begin work on another manga. Therefore the news of Takagi and Shiratori collaborating took him by surprise because it would mean that Takagi would have to team up with Shiratori as well.
Episode 55: Takagi and Shiratori's manga Rabuta & Peace is entered into the serialization committee and it is published in the November issue of Shonen Jack placing 5th in the voting charts. Mashiro decides to use his free time to improve his drawing skill, aiming to reach a level where he can draw two manga simultaneously and be on par with Niizuma. Shiratori's mother disapproves of him drawing manga because of their family's high class reputation causing him to run away from home. His family then comes to the studio looking for him where Shiratori's mother insults everyone there by looking down on their manga artists' abilities. This leads to a heated exchange of words by both parties. Hiramaru and Aoki's serializations are both canceled due to low ratings and enter into an upcoming competition, Super Leaders Fest. Upon learning of this and Niizuma's participation (meaning that he will now be working on three manga) Mashiro decides to enter on his own with a new manga, since he doesn't want to affect Takagi's quality on PCP and Rabuta & Peace. However Takagi states that they will enter together.
Episode 56: Mashiro convinces Takagi to let him work on their entry for the Super Leaders Fest so he can concentrate on Rabuta & Peace. After overcoming a bit of writer's block, Mashiro decides on entering with a love story. At Yueisha's Annual New Years Day party (2015) it is discovered that everyone intends on entering the Super Leaders Fest with love stories; Fukuda only did so because everyone else was. Mashiro asks Azuki for her input in his manga which would be based on their feelings for each other. Mashiro and Takagi end up having a fight over whether or not it is right for them to drift apart and work on separate manga. Shiratori decides to quit being an assistant and focus on getting Rabuta & Peace serialized while Takagi stops coming to the studio altogether, even going as far as to discuss PCP with Hattori separately. Later on Takagi comes back and explains that he had been away teaching Shiratori to become independent because Rabuta & Peace is his manga. Ashirogi Muto end up entering together and in the end they place 4th in the competition but reflect that it was worth it because they both had grown from their experiences.
Episode 57: Yoshida wants Hiramaru to aim his manga, Never Reaching You, which placed 2nd in the Super Leaders Fest for a serialization. Hiramaru reluctantly agrees so long as he can go on a tea date with Aoki. Suspecting that Yoshida may be pulling the strings behind the scene, Hiramaru and Aoki to turn off their phones so they can't be disturbed. When Yoshida realizes this, he goes after them but is sent on a wild goose chase through the city because Hiramaru sold his car to Fukuda, preventing him from being tracked. Takagi, Mashiro and Fukuda deduce that Hiramaru went to the tea shop he wrote about in his manga. They chase him and Aoki to a pedestrian bridge where Yoshida tries to convince him to keep drawing because he is a true genius that comes around every 2-3 years (much to Hirmaru's annoyance at the low number). Hiramaru goes to confess to Aoki, but Yoshida tries to talk him out of it because he will be crushed if he is turned down. However he goes ahead with support from Mashiro, Takagi, Miyoshi and Fukuda, to which Aoki accepts; however, Hirmaru now continues making manga with a new purpose, and that is to please Aoki. Ashirogi Muto are chosen to judge a competition called Treasure, and they are told that a newcomer, has entered with a manga called The Classroom of Truth that potentially surpasses all of their work.
Episode 58: Mashiro and Takagi begin reading The Classroom of Truth and decide that it is a very good manga despite the fact that it is unorthodox in nature. The serialization committee however, decide that the manga itself is not suited for Shonen Jack and have it remain a finalist in the competition. Its author, Nanamine Tooru, turns out to be a long time fan of Ashirogi Muto and is brought to Yueisha to discuss changing the material of The Classroom of Truth. However, Nanamine releases the manga on the internet which upsets Yueisha's policy but he brings them a new manga which the Chief reads and approves of as a one-shot immediately. Later, when Nanamine meets Takagi and Mashiro, he tells them he doesn't trust editors since he thinks manga artists themselves know better what a good manga is. He also reveals his working method: he collaborates with fellow manga artist on the Internet and incorporates their ideas into his work, which he then passes off as his own. He states that he will do what is necessary to rise to the top of Shonen Jack. This new revelation leaves both Mashiro and Takagi angered.
Episode 59: As Nanamine's meeting with Mashiro and Takagi continues, he tells them to they are amateurs with no self confidence if they rely on editors that much. Nanamine continues to refine the storyboard for his one-shot with help from his internet community, should it get serialized and completely ignores his editor, Kosugi. A flashback shows Nanamine being a loner as a child, until he read Ashirogi Muto's Money & Intelligence, spawning his myopic philosophy that anything can be bought with money alone. As Nanamine's rating gets even higher, Mashiro and Takagi analyze his progress and begin to discuss their successor to PCP. The editorial department continue to marvel at Nanamine's work albeit minor skepticism from Hattori and Kosugi. Eventually Kosugi goes to Nanamine's house for a meeting where Nanamine reveals his method; paying artists to draw his manga after merging their ideas, to a shocked Kosugi and virtually blackmails him into keeping it quiet. Eventually the serialization committee makes their selections.
Episode 60: The serialization committee decides to serialize Aoki's What God Gave Me and Nanamine's What You Need for a Meaningful School Life. As Kosugi begins to be bothered by Nanamine's method, Hattori senses his discomfort and visits Mashiro and Takagi to gain some insight on Kosugi's attitude, which they reveal is due to Nanamine's unorthodox method, enraging Hattori. At the same time, Nanamine calls Akito to gloat about his serialization, but Ashirogi Muto states they will crush his methods using all the hard work they have put into PCP. Unperturbed, Nanamine says that they will let the rankings decide who is superior. Eventually, Hattori confronts Kosugi and is able to lift his spirits by reminding him of his value as an editor. As Nanamine collaborates with his internet acquaintances, some drop out after becoming fearful of his intention to challenge Ashirogi Muto. While Mashiro and Takagi decide how best to contest Nanamine, they realize, that they can best counterattack, by pitting the climax of PCP's current arc against Nanamine's second chapter. Eventually, as Kosugi reviews Nanamine's work and points out the weakness in his background drawings, Nanamine reveals his secret weapon: a returning Takuro Nakai.
Episode 61: As Nanamine's battle with Ashirogi Muto continues, he hires Nakai and is able to increase the level of his art albeit Nakai inadvertently discovers his method. As the weeks progress, Aoki's What God Gave Me rises to the top of the rankings followed by a sharp decline, while Ashirogi Muto's PCP remain steady at 4th place. Nanamine's What You Need for a Meaningful School Life initially comes in 2nd place but soon plummets to 15th and is on the verge of cancellation since he keeps adding too many ideas from his internet community. Nanamine then tries to bait Ashirogi Muto into competing with the same type of story, which they reject outright due to Yueisha's policy. While he continues to argue with his internet community and rejecting Kosugi's input, a large part of Nanamine's community abandons him for rejecting their ideas and exposes his method to deputy chief editor Aida. Kosugi decides to take full responsibility and visits Nanamine, who asks him to steal Ashirogi Muto's next storyboard out of desperation. Afterwards, Kosugi visits Mashiro and Takagi and explains the situation to them. He asks that they compete with the same story as Nanamine (with permission from the Chief and Hattori) and teach him what it really means to be a manga artist, which they accept.
Episode 62: Kosugi explains the competition to Nanamine and tells him that if he loses, he has to form a proper author-editor relationship with him. Meanwhile, Takagi explains the obvious flaw in Nanamine's method: controlling such a large group of people and choosing/blending the best ideas from them is simply impossible. Nakai also realizes this and tells the internet community that Nanamine had been hiding the true ratings from them to prevent their departure, which they do upon learning of this. With his ranking dropped to 19th and PCP in 3rd place, Nanamine decides to give up but Kosugi doesn't let him walk away and demonstrates he wouldn't leave him, prompting Nanamine to start anew by doing the work himself. Eventually, at Yueisha's Annual New Years Day party (2016), Nanamine deems Ashirogi Muto his rival and vows to beat them eventually. Soon an elementary school reunion takes place which Mashiro attends (Takagi didn't as Kaya was ill and he was worried) and is hailed as a celebrity by his former classmates. He clears up any incorrect ideas they have about manga artist life, surprising them. Afterwards, he explains to Takagi how their profession made them miss out on enjoying life with their friends but are both content that they are pursuing their dream. Finally, news of a bank robbery airs; not a single thing was stolen though. A volume of PCP was left, showing the thieves mimicked the manga.
Episode 63: As Mashiro and Azuki ponder the effects that the robbery would have on PCP and Takagi, the Chief and Hattori decide to support Ashirogi Muto as much as possible. However, Takagi's mental state has already been greatly affected. This causes him to write lower quality stories and eventually he reuses old ideas he once rejected. This results in PCP's ranking dropping from the top five to the 12th place. As PCP enters a slump, Yujiro confides in Hattori of Nizuma's deal to cancel one manga should he get the top spot in the rankings, which may happen soon. This leads Hattori to become fearful of PCP's serialization. As another bank robbery occurs, the thieves leave a card, claiming they are PCP, which enrages Takagi but he finally finds a way to resolve this.PCP's next chapter is about a copycat crime intended to make it seem like the PCP protagonists had done it, but is foiled by their rival who realized the real PCP wouldn't commit criminal acts, much less claim it was their doing. As the results of the rankings come in, PCP jumps back to 3rd place with Mashiro and Takagi expressing that their manga does not condone crime.
Rating: 9/10(Average)
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