Hikuma and Noto put their newly-formed partnership to the test in Hakutaku chapter 3 as they make an interactive game for elementary school students, proving that they make an effective team. Now that the duo is settled, can this series last for the long run?

Although it’s my policy to always spotlight the first chapter of a series in this column, scrmbl ended up launching a little bit after Hakutaku began, so chapter 3 will have to be where the coverage begins. That being said, this does feel like a good place to start: while chapters 1 and 2 saw Noto essentially force Hikuma into making a game, chapter 3 is a lot more consensual. As a result, we get a much better idea of how they work together as a team, with their different skill sets complementing each other in the process of making a game.

In many ways, Hikuma acts as the creative director while Noto is the producer, martialing the resources that Hikuma needs to deliver on his vision. This dynamic shines through in Hakutaku chapter 3 as a shop owner tasks them with making a game for elementary school students to play during a special event: Hikuma immediately comes up with the idea of getting the students to take pictures of dogs and having an AI grade, while Noto immediately follows up by calling in a graduate school student specializing in AI to help them with programming, as well as an area manager for Glico to provide prizes. 

This dynamic is absolutely fascinating as it speaks to the reality of the games industry, which often prefers to separate the creative and the managerial into different roles. Another shockingly realistic parallel then comes when Noto makes the decision to use prerendered models and code from the internet instead of spending time creating their own: this is once again standard practice, but not one that speaks to the ideals of the industry. In this sense, series author Kouki Ishikawa is doing an excellent job of keeping the story grounded.

Now that Hakutaku has published a couple of chapters, a clear pattern has emerged. While this is a series about making games, most of the games that the characters make seem to involve some sort of real life component, whether it be the rest of the class initially or the elementary school students in chapter 3. This is ultimately a smart decision as the process of designing games usually involves a whole lot of solitary work confined in a room or office building, which doesn’t exactly make for an interesting story. 

As long as Hakutaku can keep the process of making games interesting and varied like in chapter 3, then there’s a good chance that this series will stick around for the long term.

You can read Hakutaku chapter 3 for free via VIZ Media’s Shonen Jump.