As a child, Moritaka Mashiro dreamt of becoming a mangaka, just like his childhood hero and uncle, Tarou Kawaguchi, creator of a popular gag manga. But when tragedy strikes, he gives up on his dream and spends his middle school days studying, aiming to become a salaryman instead.
One day, his classmate Akito Takagi, the school's top student and aspiring writer, notices the detailed drawings in Moritaka's notebook. Seeing the vast potential of his artistic talent, Akito approaches Moritaka, proposing that they become mangaka together. After much convincing, Moritaka realizes that if he is able to create a popular manga series, he may be able to get the girl he has a crush on, Miho Azuki, to take part in the anime adaptation as a voice actor. Thus the pair begins creating manga under the pen name Muto Ashirogi, hoping to become the greatest mangaka in Japan, the likes of which no one has ever seen.
[Written by MAL Rewrite]
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8thSin
'Bakuman.' The true meaning of the title was never revealed, but most speculators believe it's short for 'BAKUchi MANga.' (Gambling Manga). It is a simple tale of two middle school guys setting out to become professional manga artists. The story progresses like any other sports or music anime, where ordinary guys aim for the top, facing many challenges and rivals on the way. However, I consider this to be the greatest shounen/seishun (coming of age) genre anime I have ever encountered, because it analyzes what makes a manga good in a coherent way, and more importantly, it practices what it preaches. This is a review by EIGHTHSin,and contains many spoilers. Read it at your own risk.
According to 'Bakuman.', there are SEVEN major steps to manga creation - Name, under-sketch, inking, filling, effects, screen tone, and whiteout. I'm no expert in manga drawing, but with this series being a manga about manga (which actually got serialized), I have no doubt this is correct. Of course, this anime alone is not nearly enough to teach you about how to draw manga, but it is quite enough to entertain a casual viewer like me. The show also emphasizes the difficulty of the process, that one cannot hope to succeed half-heartedly.
As the character mentioned in the first episode, "Manga is the Japanese cultural heritage popular across the globe."
This NHK series is extremely educational not only in introducing the process of manga creation, it also debates many other aspects of mang such as: how things work in a weekly manga publisher; the selection process; how artist stay serialized; the importance of target demographics; and argues how things ought to be in the industry. In addition, famous classic and current manga series and their authors are mentioned throughout this series without alteration of any sort, which functions as a masterpiece suggestion for new manga readers. It even directly quotes them, re-enacts DBZ "fusion", and uses quirks like Naruto's "-dattebayo". I take this to be a stamp of approval from those authors, and also to pressure themselves to create a masterpiece worthy of mentioning those names. The show uses real-life examples as case studies to explain its theories.
According to 'Bakuman.', there are SIX key elements to a successful shounen manga - A world that pulls the readers in, clear reason why protagonists are fighting, battles where it's easy to tell what's happening, equally or even more intriguing antagonist, a cute heroine, and some laughs or tears.
The first episode had an extremely strong pull - The tested and tried "average joe whose life changed by a trigger event", in this case, Takagi's request to be a partner. The turn of events leads to a promise of marriage upon realization of dreams, which serves as the clear reason why the protagonist wants to get his manga serialized, which is the first step to getting an anime series.
The story then goes on to show them making manga, meeting their 'opponents' in manga contests, and their manga are actually shown... even with a clear ranking measurements to determine a winner - easy to tell what's happening in the battle.
Then, there is Niizuma Eiji, the prodigy archrival of the protagonists, who is extremely intriguing, and happens to follow the "Introduce an enemy character, he's even stronger than protagonists, but turns out to be an ally" as mentioned during the 'CROW' production.
There's the cute heroine in Azuki, and the show has many comedy and tear-jerker moments to keep the audience interested throughout the series.
I find it interesting that the shows makes many observations that we probably don't consciously realize when casually reading manga, and even more interesting that if we pay close attention, almost EVERY observations of a successful manga made in this series are actually reflected in the series itself. In fact, it was also mentioned that most shounen protagonists wield swords, and if you think about it, the protagonists in this show brandish their pens in "battle".
The protagonists make FIVE manga series in the first anime series - 'The Two Earths', 'A Millionth of', 'The World Runs on Money and Wits', 'Angel Days', and 'Quasi-Detective TRAP'.
'The Two Earths' is their very first manga. It serves as introduction to the manga creation process.
'A Millionth of' shows the difficulty of getting a prize in manga contests, and introduction of various styles of manga.
'The World Runs on Money and Wits' functions as their confidence booster, as well as their gateway to future successes.
'Angel Days' is used to show the qualities of typical shounen manga, and the importance of choosing manga that fits each author style.
Finally, 'Quasi-Detective TRAP' is their success of the series, and its production process emphasizes the bond and friendship between the two main characters.
The story follows the standard shounen format with many seishun elements. The good guys work hard to realize their dreams while encountering one obstacle after another. After clearing each obstacle, they "level up" by becoming better artists and attain better understanding of themselves. Like all seishun sports or music anime, there are consistent themes of awkward youth love, challenges of being a student, and the importance of friendship.
The protagonists set FOUR years as their goal for their anime debut. This is the prime reason why Mashiro is always in such a rush to make manga, and frequently shows his impatience.
The main characters in this series are extremely human, and they act according to their own desires to make their dreams come true.
Takagi has the ambition of becoming rich and famous, and he gave up the "mainstream" path of elites (get good grades to get into a prestigious university) for his love of manga and became a true "gambler".
Azuki follows her dream of becoming a seiyuu and moves to Tokyo, while stubbornly limits interaction with Mashiro to motivate both herself and Mashiro.
Miyoshi truly acts on her desires, and can't help but reveal secrets of others and butting into their business.
Niizuma also acting on his desires, but in a different way, drawing what he pleases and doesn't care what others think about him.
Hattori sees promise in Ashirogi, and does everything, even some "dirty adult tricks" to make them succeed.
What I'm trying to get at, is that the characters are interesting, and they "move on their own" according to their desires. I have to say, they are *too* human at times, and causes their actions and motivations to detach from reality, but as a fantasy and dreams shounen series, this is totally acceptable.
According to 'Bakuman.', there are THREE requirements for a successful mangaka - Conceit (Confidence), Effort, and Luck.
One of the major themes in the series is to have "Confidence" in yourself to follow your dream.
To follow that dream, the protagonists put a lot of "Effort" into manga, sacrificing sleep, school, and even time for girls in order to become successful.
Further more, "Luck" is prevalent in this series. However, it remains realistic due to many setbacks they face, just as they would in the harsh reality. The protagonists consists of a relative of a mangaka and a guy who's getting the best grades in school yet interested in manga. Right off the bat, they have been dealt pocket aces as "gamblers". Still, they don't become an overnight success. It took a lot of sacrifices and effort, and after 5 manga series, they finally made it to an authentic weekly magazine.
This series isn't just a fairy tale. It successfully shows the difficulty of making a living with manga, and shows the harsh reality that only the most talented *and* hardworking succeed. They were dealt another lucky card in getting Hattori as the editor, who truly cares about the authors and preciously "raises" them as mangaka.
As a shounen manga, a convenient setting is actually preferred. The key is how realistic the story develops given the fantasy-filled premise.
I especially loved a subtle snippet of reality in Mashiro's family. Where the breadwinner and the eldest of the family call the shots in home, like when father and grandpa straight up shut off the mother in roundabout ways, with the "Decision-making process" in his home and "Please get me seconds (refill my bowl)" by grandpa. It's outdated and somewhat sexist, but the harsh reality in Japanese culture.
According to 'Bakuman.', there are TWO types of successful mangaka - "The Genius-Type", and "The Calculating-Type".
The anonymous author of this series is the same as that of 'Death Note' series, and it is also clear in this series that the storyteller is the "Calculating-Type" just like the protagonists. In other words, he "calculates the laughs and tears in a way that doesn't seem to be calculated, through calculation." Obviously, this is not going to work on everyone, so we will all have different opinion, but the story is extremely well-constructed, and the anime direction presented the plot in very interesting ways. It's easy to sympathize with the characters.
I believe the ONE single most important theme in 'Bakuman.' is the love for manga. Both protagonist and antagonists in this series really have passion for manga. It really shows how much love the author has for this series, and manga in general.
The series points out flaws in Shounen Jump ("Shounen Jack" in series), the only real-life title altered in the anime. The show communicates to producers in the real life through its characters.
For example, there shouldn't be any politics in manga selection, like rejecting student submission or favoring popular authors - "Anything interesting will be published."
The potential incompetence of editors, in their heavy reliance of survey to determine which series gets cut off - "Manga written for votes rather than true quality."
The need for manga to have a strong pull early due to selection process of using names of first three weeks and the threat of cancellation due to votes - "The lack of series that slowly draws the audience in, and consequently series being approved without long-term prospects."
Manga published in order of popularity - "Creates unfairness for new and aspring authors."
How audience like stereotypical stuff that stifles creativity - "All popular series have swords"
The young mangaka depicted in this series have hinted how they wanted to change Shounen Jack when they get popular. Perhaps the author of 'Bakuman.' wanted to do the same with this show as well.
'Bakuman.' is the "mainstream among mainstreams" in terms of shounen anime, but has the dreams, the inspiration, the depth, the entertainment value, and of course, the laughs and tears unmatched by any other. It also has the uniqueness in being a manga about manga and an anime about anime. In terms of contribution to the industry, this easily ranks among the most significant series to be aired in this century so far, and I have enjoyed every minute of it.
Tempsy
I was looking through MAL and noticed a surprising amount of positive reviews for this anime. It was being praised left, right and centre without tackling the problems that this anime has. This reviews purpose is not to say that those reviews are wrong, but to just give people a second opinion on this anime and to show that no anime is that perfect. I'll start by giving credit where credit is due. This anime is an AMAZING look into the manga industry and the lives of mangaka. By the end of the show, I felt like I knew how to create a manga of myvery own and it told me how I too could get it published in a weekly magazine. It also told me why I wouldn't ever want do that in a million years. Being a mangaka is hard, and Bakuman shows us that in spades. It cleverly uses Ashirogi Muto's emotions to give a clear understanding of how they're feeling and what they're thinking. That's certainly where this anime shines the most. So, what's wrong with it? Well...
Although Bakuman uses Ashirogi Muto well in some cases, it completely fails at making them likable in the slightest. Mashiro is an arrogant love struck teenager who has a crush on some girl he's barely ever made any interactions with, and Takagi is just the plain boring smart yet doesn't act smart kind of character. I'm sorry if I'm being a little harsh, but in an anime that tries to show a realistic representation of the challenges in the manga industry, making the main characters get away with absolutely everything that would probably get them fired just from the power of pure arrogance and a tad bit of plot-armour just doesn't sit well with me. And that's not even talking about the most forced romance in anime history.
Mashiro decides his entire future based off of a promise he made to girl he had a slight crush on. That's would be pretty fine, if not still a bit stupid, if it weren't for the fact that they drag out this completely uninteresting romance for the ENTIRE SERIES. And they only ever talk directly about 3 times. 3 times! The show rubs it off as being their own way of expressing love or some shit like that, but it was just painful to watch from start to finish.
Not all the characters are bad. Whilst most of the best ones don't really show up that much till season 2, Niizuma Eiji is by far the best character in this show. I won't spoil anything, but let's just say that he's fun to watch every time he shows up on screen and his passion for manga makes you route for him all the way.
Overall, I can see the appeal of this anime. I really can. But the characters and story were just so uninteresting for the most part that I cant bring myself to like this anime. If what I just told you puts you off watching this in anyway, then stay clear. There's much better anime out there.
You're still probably going to end up watching it after reading the other reviews anyway, aren't you?
Oh, and the music isn't that memorable. I forgot that part.
HappyHarryHardOn
The definition of Bakuman comes from the two words, Bakuchi Manga, meaning Gambling Manga. However to me, it means something a bit different. When I think of Bakuman I think of: hubris, effort and luck. These are the 3 principles by which the story’s two protagonists live by. Bakuman is a story about hard work and reaching your dreams as well as overcoming the barriers and obstacles you’re faced with in order to succeed. This is my review. NOTE: This review covers all 75 episodes of Bakuman. Contains Minor Spoilers Story If I could describe the story of Bakuman in one sentence it would be something likethis: Bakuman is a tale about two best friends, Mashiro Moritaka and Tagaki Akito who want to become Japan’s greatest mangakas. Their journey is long and filled with laughter, cheers, tears, courage and romance. The personal lives of our mangakas contain a lot of twists and drama which makes the story more engaging than one would expect. The story is engrossing and so well written that I wish some of the stories and ideas that the characters come up with for their manga were real.
Art
One word, beautiful. Obata Takeshi is an extremely talented artist. His art matches perfectly with the uplifting story and bright atmosphere of Bakuman. Character designs are drawn very realistically however from time to time designs are exaggerated for slapstick purposes, and it actually manages to be extremely funny. The backgrounds are extremely detailed, from the art pens and work desks to the manga posters spread throughout the series. You can even see Mashiro's writer's bump callus from drawing so much. It’s amazing how Obata manages to come up with different art styles for the different manga in the series. Whether it’s dark, gloomy and serious or bubbly and flashy, the art always manages to be entertaining and eye catching.
Sound
I enjoyed every single song used in the show, particularly “Blue Bird” by Kobukuro and “Moshimo no Hashi” by nano.RIPE. The voice acting was top notch. All the seiyuus did a fantastic job, especially Morita Masakazu and Okamoto Nobuhiko, who were hilarious and constantly had me rolling on the floor.
Characters
Bakuman’s greatest strength lies not in its story, but in its characters. Mashiro and Takagi are fantastic leads that fit the theme of the story perfectly because through them we see the struggles mangakas go through in order to get serialized and the constant battle to keep on being serialized. Both of them care for one another deeply and through ups and downs, together they always keep pushing forward. The supporting cast is one of the most likeable and funniest I’ve ever seen. From the fellow mangakas to the editors everyone felt like they had a purpose and helped contribute to the story. I loved every single character however I felt Niizuma Eiji and Hiramaru Kazuya stood out above the rest. They were eccentric, funny and just plain damn fun to watch. And like I said previously, Morita Masakazu and Okamoto Nobuhiko portrayed the characters perfectly.
Enjoyment
Bakuman is one my all time favourite anime. It’s not philosophical, cynical, depressing or about the downfall of humanity. It’s not the anime to end all anime. I just love it because it was so fun to watch. I forgot about my problems for 75 episodes and that’s why I watch anime, to have fun. A great story, beautiful art, a catchy soundtrack and a well developed cast of characters, please give this one a try.
9/10
Quantization
[Reviewed based off all three seasons] I was recommended to check out this show, and it really was worth every second -- it even made it into my top 5 list. I enjoyed it so much, and I don't know where to begin. So we follow Mashiro and Takagi as they chase the dream to become the greatest Mangakas of Japan, and boy is it a treat. Never thought I would enjoy it this much nor did I think that I could watch 75 episodes without getting bored. Now for a guy who doesn't read Manga at all you can probably understand that I waskind of skeptical at first. However I finished all episodes in one week, and would’ve finished it earlier if I didn’t have other obligations.
Now going back to what I said above about me not really reading any Manga. Bakuman was not only enjoyable but also very enlightening or informative -- it'll give you a tour into the world of Manga, and you will learn a lot. The story is so well written, and it feels so real. It really felt like the writer was portraying their own lives and world in front of my eyes, and that's probably why it was so good. A story they can easily relate to?
So for some specifics that I liked;
+ Fantastic story, and progression.
+ Some of the greatest characters I’ve seen in a while namely Niizuma Eiji. Hysterical!
+ There was so many great moments were I even felt like standing up in my bed screaming "YOU CAN DO THIS GUYS!" (IRL)
+ Great character development.
+ Romance was satisfying.
+ Sound and music was also good, and most noteworthy -- S1 & S3 ending and S2 OP!
What also surprised me was the fact that we got to immerse into specific stories and manga chapters, and they were even voice acted. This was really well done, and some of the ideas and stories they made were like "oh I actually wanna read/see this!". I mentioned that it was very informative and it really was. You’ll get to learn about; how they draw, how they make storyboards, editors and what role they have in this, endings, adaptions and so on. There are so many things, but they're all explained in a simple manner - I mean even I understood most of it. You'll see how stories and art are affected by things like stress, schedules and willpower. How it's not always up to the author or artist to decide everything -- and that the editors hold great power. An example of this would be not being able to end a Manga when they want and/or creating the perfect ending.
All in all a really great Anime, and I feel like I have to start reading Manga now so that I can appreciate the original work.
Sallymancan
Anime Review #2 - Bakuman Let me start by clarifying that this review is only for the anime series of Bakuman and although it may mention some references to the manga, I will try my best to focus on what is shown in the anime. “Moritaka Mashiro and Akito Takagi are pretty much foils of each other. Mashiro, an average 9th grade student but talented artist, and Takagi, an overall advanced 9th grader and aspiring writer. After great convincing, Takagi convinces Mashiro to join him in becoming the greatest mangakas Japan has ever seen. Takagi, with his gift of writing, hopes to become a successful mangaka, andMashiro, with his gift of art, hopes to marry the girl of his dreams, Azuki Miho.” – MAL/ANN
Story
The plot of the story focuses on Mashiro and Takagi working hard on manga to make their dreams come true. The genre of the story is a hybrid of slice of life with some romance with themes revolving around friendship, teamwork, dreams and competition which are mostly seen in shounen animes. Throughout the anime, the narrative concentrates on the duos road to serialization in Shounen Jack (Shounen Jump in the manga), starting with one-shot mangas and entering competitions to work their way up as an author with other mangakas attempting to block their path. Although the anime resembles other romance animes, the conventions are broken from the start when Mashiro and Azuki, the female protagonist, decide to get married after the team have an anime.
Each episode will make you want to watch the next.
Character
We have a range of characters, the main protagonists of the anime here are Moritaka Mashiro, a character who is determined to do well and spends a lot of his time trying to improve his art, he illustrates the art. He is the conventional character seen in most animes who is shy when he is around the girl he loves. Takagi Akito, is the central character who attracts Mashiro into becoming a mangaka. He is an intelligent character who gets the highest grades but because he has the passion for manga, he decides to perceive that as his career and writes the stories for the manga. We then have the two female character, Azuki Miho who has mutual feelings with Mashiro and wants to become a seiyuu (voice actress), she is a shy character but also has the determination to take on the obstacles blocking her from what she wants to do. There is also Miyoshi Kaya, Azuki’s best friend, who is a violent character and is sometimes displayed as stupid. She also becomes Takagi’s girlfriend with in the anime and motivates the two mangakas to advance in their work.
To provide a bit of movement in the theme of romance, there is also Kawaguchi Taro, Mashiro’s uncle who taught Mashiro everything about manga and has a similar story to Mashiro’s when the anime starts.
We also have the antagonists such as Niizuma Eiji, who is only a year older than the main protagonists but is considered a genius after becoming serialized at the age of 15, sparking a fire within Mashiro and Takagi, making them desperate to get serialized as soon as they can. There is also Fukuda, Aoki, Nakai and Koogy who compete with the duo and attempt to obtain serialization.
The last set of characters is the editors who provide constructive criticism and advise the mangakas on their work. For the duo there is Hattori, who becomes a character the team can trust and although he is a bit unsure whether the two should be serialized at a young age, he decides that they can pull it off. There is also Yujiro, Fukuda and Eiji’s editor who seems to be a rival to Hattori, possibly because Eiji and Ashirogi Muto (the 2 characters pen name) consider each other as rivals as well.
Art
The art is expected to be good as the mangaka for this manga is that of Death Note, which shocked me at first. The anime’s art shows a great amount of detail yet still maintaining that slice of life environment in the anime. Something which intrigued me the most, in terms of the art, was the displaying of the stories each mangaka made. By animating the storyline and having a narrator explaining the information in the manga, improved the anime.
Sound
Soundtrack resembling that of stuff like Honey and Clover, a very slow and mellow opening and the the first ending is similar to the opening, the second ending is a bit more heavier but still maintaining the romantic element of the anime, a bit like Toradora! Etc. There is narration when each one-shot or idea for a manga is displayed, explaining the story and dialogue in the manga. This anime isn’t really the type where you have to follow the dialogue completely like Gungrave or Death Note but still it helps understand the story, so I suggest you watch the anime properly without having to skip bits.
Enjoyment
There is probably a lot more I can say about this anime in this review but then everyone would be bored of reading this, if you aren’t already. I really enjoyed the anime and can’t wait for it’s sequel which has already been announced. I do recommend it, but I also recommend the audience reading the manga as it’s pretty awesome. In whatever order is upto you.
Enjoy!
Moon-
-----------------------------[THIS IS A 1ST SEASON ONLY REVIEW]--------------------------- Bakuman is the story of two boys who just met and one of them (Akito) that had a particular interest for manga saw the other one (Moritaka) drawing and understood that he had a good talent for drawing and then after convincing Moritaka both of them chose the mangaka life .. At first I found this sypnosis a bit ugh .. And well I was somewhat wrong.. There were alot of stuff they´ve done right and other that werent badly done but left alot to think .. Of course all the questions of the 1st season were answered inthe 2nd but since this is a review about the 1st season and not the all franchise I am going to say what felt wrong and what was good.
To me the story wasn´t anything outstanding .. if anything it was quite simple with a slow paced start that from 19 on turned out really fast and started to be amazingly enjoyable but to get there you need to get trough the ughh and zzz stuff if you know what I mean .. This however was a good decision by the creators since this is a shounen and its normal that its going to have a really weak start.. While I took 4 months to watch the first 19 eps I took 1 and a half week to watch eps 19-25 the 2nd season and the first 4 eps of the 3rd season.. crazy isnt it? .. Well I was sort of expecting something like this .. The direction was good .. the drama and the comedic moments are really well balanced I was amazed by the perfect execution and it made it one of its best parts of the show.. The art for this show is very simplistic, comparable to Danshin Kokousei no nichijou or Gintama, the animation (character movements) were done well and the expressions were really funny.. The sound was particulary good with very fitting soundtrack wich brought the scenes to life, the Openings arent anything special but one of the endings is especially good, the 2nd Ending by Takahashi yuu I have it in my Mp3 ..
The characters were probably the weakest link .. Since this was the introduction they focused more in the story than in the characters.. some of the relationships seemed very forced especially Akito and Miyoshi who looked like they were dating because they were best friends with Moritaka and Miho respectively .. The relationship between Moritaka and Miho was over the top awkward and with a big level of social retardation that made it cute somehow, the only character who jumped to my eyes was Niizuma wich was at first just a goof but he is also very calculative and serious wich makes this contrast very appealing to me.. Hattori looked like one of those characters who usually turn into assholes midway trough but thankfully not..
Has I was saying the first 19 episodes were really hard to get trough so it kind of turned me off however the last 6 eps were really entertaining and they were the key to the 2nd season wich was A-M-A-Z-I-N-G .. I can give this ALL franchise a SUPER HIGH PRIORITY since its really amazing.. The 1st season only flaw was its slow paced who might turn off some people, the incossistent and forced relationships, and the lack of character development.
The way they present the life of a mangaka and how the manga is made is very good and they know how to expand the information field without giving away any questions nor plot holes..
The dialogue was also quite flaired and boring wich together with the slow paced story was quite unbearable .. But altogether Bakuman. is a worth watching franchise
Hagorama
Bakuman is one of the most disappointing shows I have seen in a long time. Bakuman started with a great premise but unfortunately dilutes itself with the god awful romantic sub-plot and poor character development. The show tried way to hard to be mainstream, just like the protagonist who tries to create a mainstream manga, which I think is its biggest downfall. Our protagonist who at first gave up on the idea of becoming a mangaka and rejected his friends offer on working together with him, quickly changes his decision when he finds out that his crush wants to become avoice actress. Then he sets a goal of getting the manga serialised and get an anime done by the time he is 18, just so he can marry the girl.
Now you must think they must really like each other and have a long relationship between them, nah, our MC and his love interest have only talked to each other two times, by two times I mean they have only spoken two lines to each other, their only form of communication is mail. They come of as penpals rather than a couple. Now this wouldn't have been a huge problem if the story hadn't focused on them like it does.
The show could have been a lot better if it had focused on the hard ships faced by a mangaka realistically, the stakes never seemed to be high.
Bakuman could have been a really great show if it had been a seinin instead of a shounen. It seems that the creators compromised on the original idea just to expand its demographic.
Kaynax
I won’t be developping on every aspect separately. I am not smart enough or knowledgable enough in the details to give this kind of review. Rather, i’ll just put down my thoughts and feelings about this anime and hope this works for you. As I watched the very last episode of Bakuman, i realised that this piece of art, that i had watched in a matter of only a couple of weeks for 75 episodes, had made its way to my most favorite animes of all time. But what differenciates a great anime from an unforgettable one? Its exceptional art, its powerful message and moral and it’soriginal setting and story are major decisive conditions for me.
It won’t be rare for it, in a single episode, to make me go through a whole range of emotions. From tears of frusteration, to tears of joy, to sudden burst of laughter, to tears of shared pain, to anger, to surprise, to awe, and to tears of joy again.
It will make me think/rethink the way i see certain things.
And coincidentally, it will have a long-lasting impact on my life.
Bakuman is all of that. It had me rooting for the protagonists like i had never done before. It is a tale of perceverance and hard work. It’s about never giving up on a dream. And it’s also about a healthy rivalry and friendship. Although they are going against each other as mangaka, they are all friends who help each other in times of need. It’s a rivalry where, instead of getting down and holding grudges when they lose, they get fired up and more motivated than ever to always do better. It's a friendship for which they will always give their complete trust and support. The morals of this story are pure in their innocent outlook on life and will quickly become something to look up to and live by as the epiodes fly by.
All in all, this is why Bakuman is now one of my favorite animes of all time and should be given a shot by anyone in search of something more than “just an other anime to watch”.
helur
Bakuman is one of the most exceptional shounen titles I have watched. I didn't know that the author had written Death Note, and neither would I have cared any more for it. It has been an attempted theme in numerous shows and manga, but Bakuman is the first to truly make an exciting and capturing story based off the creation of manga. Following two high school students who form an artist writer combo, we get to watch as the two grow from new mangaka to their competition for serialization. Takagi is the smartest in the class and wants to be in a career that he findsfulfilling rather than get a high end office job. Mashiro is the nephew of a one hit wonder who wrote a comedy manga. Convinced that he worked till his death he is reluctant to draw manga despite drawing all the time. However, due to Takagi's persuasion, Mashiro manages to set a deal with his high school sweet heart. This all happens in episode one.
Yes, the pace of the show is fast, considering they are creating a work and then submitting it in a span of a quarter or half a year. If you have no idea how manga is created, well they don't skimp out on the process much. While a double edged sword, your educated to the point where you will be able to understand everything about it. At the same time something like this can preoccupy a whole episode with little content. While leaving me asking for something else, there is one thing that this show manages to do; make things suspenseful.
Our duo Ashirogimuto enters a contest with a piece of work and is waiting for the call to tell them if it passed or not. Well, our leads have a plot shield don't they? Well, this isn't action. The thing is you never can really predict the results yourself. It becomes a guessing game of whether they can come out on top or not. The maturation is slow, so it isn't like they overcome a hurdle and become number one in shounen jump. Take a guess how far they can get and cut that progress in half.
The romance in this show is cut. Praise the heavens for a shounen romance that doesn't turn into some sort of harem or love triangle. Takagi does get a love interest and makes up for the pace of the other couple. No, Miho and Mashiro are the cutest couple I have seen. They are both shy and also avoid seeing each other as much as possible to complete their life goals. As pure hearted as this seems in any other show it just works for Bakuman. Sorry drama is pretty limited if non-existent.
The comedy in Bakuman is pretty good too. Well, these guys spend half the episode sitting in a room or an office they have to break the ice somehow. You will find laughs spaced out through the episode, and while Takagi is funny someone like Eiji who is a loveable nutcase mangaka or Kaya who acts as the duo's helper provide a lot.
The characters are focused on a lot. Since the story is simple and revolves around their job as mangaka, it then turns to the ability to show depth in the characters and Bakuman easily does that. There are plenty of rivals that appear later on in the series, and it allows us to watch the stories of multiple people competing for the same deadline.
Bakuman is a great show. In fact, while I kept recording my episode scores for everything else, it just said "screw it, this is going to be one of my favorites." It is, every week it just got me all worked up and I loved every minute of it. Obviously I am a fan, I will admit, so I encourage you to both watch this show or read a more negative review to balance out my optimism.
guillaumec
The mangaka Tsugumi Ohba (story) and Takeshi Obata (art) did it again. They made an insane good shounen story that doesn’t had any (real) fights. They’ve really expanded the shounen genre! To those who don’t know, they wrote Death Note too. Since Death Note is the most watched anime here and has lots of points in common. I think it is appropriate that I am going to refer to that to let you understand some things better. But don’t worry if you haven’t seen it. I will try to explain as clear as possible, so everybody can understand it. So let’s start the review already. Thestory is about 2 boys that want to become mangaka, no gamblers. They find the “mangakas” that cannot make a living out of there work, are just gamblers (Btw that is where the name comes from. It comes from “bakuchi” and “manga” what means “gambling manga”. It symbolizes what I just said and that manga is just a gamble. You can try to predict what will be a hit but the real hits cannot be predicted. If you try to calculate what is popular to make a hit it will never be a hit. You need to make it without thinking about that and if it is or isn’t a hit is just like a gamble). But what the story really is about is following your dreams. In Japanese the word “yume” means that much more as the translation dream here. Lots of series use that subject because it is one of the most telling and beautiful words in their culture. If you then see how Bakuman used it. I cannot imagine that something can surpass or even come close to it, if it goes about following your dreams. They teach you that it is good to have dreams, especially the part of trying to accomplish them. You will see that there is only one way to make your dreams into a reality and that is working hard for it. If you read the subs of the opening of their second season you will perfectly understand what I mean. I just got goosebumps every time I hear that song. The fact that you see how hard it is to become a professional mangaka is really good. The secrets of making manga will be revealed, so it is quite interesting to see if you are already a big manga/anime fan.
The story on its own is quite different with Death Note but it has some similarities. The fact that they’re both trying to accomplish their dream (it is more an ideal in Death Note though) is a little thing they have in common. another is the very start of the story. It both starts with their view on life. In Bakuman it is more about the future while it was about how rotten this world is in Death Note. It really gives a weird feeling because they both see themself as someone successful in the future but still see the life as “a pain in the ass”. The way you hear them thinking that while they are just walking to school is really superb.
For the rest is the stories are completely different from each other.
Then the characters. They basically aren’t that special except for the protagonists and the antagonist.The way how they try so hard to accomplish their dreams is just so beautiful to see. And just like in Death Note I actually like the antagonist more. L is surely someone special. Well I don’t think that Niizuma Eiji should yield to L. They’re both special in there own way. Just like I like L with his special habits and the way he thinks do I like Niizuma Eiji with his special habits and especially the way he draws. He is so lively when he draws. The way he empathize with the characters while drawing and reading manga. It is so funny to see him read/draw manga! The way he is always correct with anything about manga is just superb. The fact that you like the rival even more than the protagonist(s) (While you still like the protagonist that much) is really a special way to experience a serie. Guess those who have seen Death Note know the feeling. Though they are the greatest rivals they are friends to, that is just so beautiful to see! The way the mangaka understands that a good antagonist is even more important than a good protagonist. Is something what separates the mangaka from other shounen writers.
The drawings fits the story perfectly. It is fascinating to see people draw manga/anime in a manga/anime serie and those drawing fits their story to. All this is done so well and though it is the same drawer as Death note the art-style is completely different and easy to separate from each other. The ost is again so good. I don’t know why but I cannot tell anything bad about Bakuman and to be honest it is the same with Death Note. But I was talking about the ost. As I said it is good, especially the motivating “lets go for it parts” and the more sad/happy music. I know it sounds weird, just to be clear I am talking about the parts where they are happy but the music is kinda sad not really sad but actually more like something happy but written in a sad-style. This gives an extra special touch that is so difficult to explain.
Then last but surely not least, the enjoyment. This where I criticize most of the series. There are a lot series that just doesn’t excite me. But Bakuman is something different! Just like Death Note I loved it that much from the first to the last episode. Though (Just like Death Note) it was a bit less in the middle. The way they make everything exciting with no battles, Just with story and dialogues is unbelievable!! The Death Note fans know what I mean for sure. I rarely was that excited than from those 2. But there is one big difference with Death Note. This one motivated me to try out manga pages. Actually drawing in common. But not only that, it motivated me to go 100% for everything that I do. That whole “following your dreams” part is really motivating to follow or even get dreams. While after I saw Death Note, it wasn’t like I was motivated to change the world or something.
pockpocks
How anyone could give this anime above a 6 is beyond me. My review is primarily based upon the first season, as I have dropped it mid-way through season 2. I also have not read the manga. I don't write reviews often, but this is the first time I've felt so betrayed by the scoring this anime has gotten on MAL. Now, I wasn't expecting an action packed shounen. I read the description, and I thought it was a unique and original approach to the genre. Watching the adventures of two boys striving to become famous mangaka was, for me, both realistic and inspiring. Needless to say,I was sorely disappointed in the execution of the story. The pacing was agonizing slow, and there seemed to be no real progression. Although I understand shounen requires buildup, this was atrocious. It was nauseating to have to sit through each episode, hoping that the next would be better. I kept telling myself to just wait it out... just wait it out.
Although I understand the characters endeavors contain setbacks, they were very linear. There were no suggestions for an alternative route (really, you can't think of any other place or company to start other than Shonen Jump?). There was nothing refreshing after their failures... you just grit your teeth as they try the same thing again. Bring in a school event, or take them to an art exhibit in Tokyo... ANY change of scenery for pete's sake.
If there was anything worse than the story execution, it was the character dynamics. The main character is an unappealing narcissist with literally no redeeming qualities. Luckily Takagi and Miyoshi provide something light and refreshing with their quirky natures. Miho makes me want to jab my eyes out with how two-dimensional she is as the main characters love interest. How is this anime fit to be called a romance, when there's more romance between the side characters than the main one.
Moving on, the art was mediocre for its age, and the animation was far from amazing. The sound and music isn't anything significant to make notice, as it leaves little to no impression on the viewer.
Story: 6
Art: 5
Sound: 2
Character: 1
Enjoyment: 1
Overall: 5
I have never been so disappointed about a shounen/romance anime with a rating above 8 before. Don't waste your time.
PowerUpOrDie
*This Review Is For All 3 Seasons (75 episodes)* What does it take to get me to watch a 75 episode anime twice in a six month period? A very good anime. A slice-of-life show based on the manga of the same name 'Bakuman' will entertain any fan of Japanese culture who wants to know more about the process of creating manga. The Bakuman anime was originally licensed by Media Blasters, but that company has since gone under. Only the first 7 episodes were released on US DVD, and to my knowledge the license hasn't been reacquired and no legal streams exist. While I will always counselmy readers to only read or watch legal releases, in a scenario where no legal release exists I cannot condemn the use of fansubs (That's how I watched it, so condemnation would be hypocritical in this case anyway).
-Story-
The overarching plot is pretty simple and mostly just an excuse to create a context for lessons about the manga industry. Yes, the romance between Mashiro and Azuki isn't exactly deep and largely serves as a final goal the audience hopes will be achieved, rather than a truly convincing love story (although other characters in the series also acknowledge that their highly idealized relationship is far from normal). Mashiro and Tagaki set out to accomplish their goal, challenges and obstacles are encountered, they deal with them and press on. The highlight of the story is definitely its fascinating looks into the inner workings of the manga industry (when a group of middle-aged men sitting at a table discussing manga submissions actually results in a tense scene, you're doing something right). That being said, without these manga lessons the story would quickly fall to mediocrity, the other elements are just too basic otherwise to stand out. The first season is a bit padded out, the second season is the strongest overall, the third season suffers from a weak opening arc but then races towards the finish line with a feeling of momentum.
-Art-
As a slice of life anime there's a limit to what you can expect (or need) from the animation. Quality is fine, and given the relatively limited movement of the the series ( no 'Attack On Titan' airborne battles here) there aren't that many chances to mess up. There are only a few settings and backgrounds, but given that our characters spend the vast majority of their lives in their studio, at the editorial department, or in school the lack of variety makes sense. Character designs are the strong point of the art, since the cast is large each cast member needs to be immediately recognizable- which this anime achieves. Even if a character only gets a small portion of the screen time you'll be able to remember who they are and how they're important (although characters never seem to age, even though the story takes place over several years). Lots of bright primary colors in the palette, which fits with the upbeat tone of the series.
-Sound-
No major problems with the English dub, but given that it only covers 10% of the series it's hardly worth mentioning. Japanese actors fit their characters well, but not being a Japanese speaker I can't comment on more than that with any authority. The music is generally modern and upbeat but stays out the way, preferring to simply set the mood. While you will definitely recognize several of the tracks by the later episodes the OST never gets annoying. Much like art, the production values are as high as they need to be and not much more.
-Characters-
A series this long simply couldn't remain entertaining if the characters were boring. While character development is relatively simple ( nobody is going to confuse the cast of Bakuman with the cast of Vinland Saga) they do their jobs and keep the viewer watching. The most memorable character is the bombastic Eiji Nizuma, the wildly eccentric genius who serves as the main rival of our dynamic duo. Although he would make a poor main character (he's simply too talented for inspiring artistic struggle and too isolated from the rest of the cast for much meaningful interaction) when he appears his off-the-wall personality is sure to entertain. While some secondary characters seem to exist largely to express a certain view on some facet of the manga industry, they usually have enough personality escape being cardboard cutouts. The cast is entertaining, capable of pulling off enough humor and drama to keep Bakuman interesting.
-Enjoyment-
Here's where I need to state my biases up front. As a man hoping to one day be a published cartoonist, this series is right up my alley, practically tailor-made for my enjoyment, with a couple weak arcs being the only thing that keep me from loving each episode As a result of this, I'm predisposed to rate Bakuman more highly than it might objectively deserve. While I have to concede that a lot of ThatAnimeSnob's plot and character criticisms have merit, from a standpoint of "Do I like to watch Bakuman or not?" I still answer: yes, very much so.
-Overall-
This is a series for anime and manga fans, no question. Although modestly entertaining on its own, it relies heavily on the "look inside the industry" segments that a non-manga fan might only find educational rather than fascinating. For people who are fascinated by the process of making Japanese comics, however, it will be very entertaining (although I also suspect it's a highly optimistic view of the industry). It probably won't change your worldview or teach you deep truths, but it you will be amused.
Hale999
I thought i would enjoy it while watching it because of the MAL score but i got disappointed. That was the most sexist anime i have ever seen in my whole life. I thought it would get better about the sexism it has on the next episodes but no it just went worse. The first episodes was good and amusing if you avoid some parts in it. But the last 6-7 episodes were too boring i couldnt stand them. The anime is about making a manga but Mashiro doesn't even want to be a mangaka. He just do it for marrying with a girl in hisclass he never talked.
Also the romance in the anime is literally the most ridiculous thing it has. Miho is dumb and her relationship with Mashiro is weird. Mashiro is unnecessarly angry and impulsive to the people except Miho. They dont even comminucate with each other normally.
The art is not bad but i didn't like it. Animations were good.
Don't watch it it's waste of time.
And why everyone is mad at Miyoshi.
codedeeply
After reading around 100 chapters of the manga and then not touching it for a few months, seeing Bakuman in anime form was rather refreshing. The first season covers their beginnings and startup and progresses to a (spoiler?) major achievement. Within that span, a main driving force of the show (and characters) that bothered me was the "promise" made between Mashiro and Asuki. It seems cute and acts as a good progression device, but was so over-used I felt that I was just getting beat over the head with it. I get it, move on. Following the team's ups and downs was certainly enjoyable, and thetiming was good. However, the pacing, especially during the "summer of assisting", seemed very slow. Also, can we get Miyoshi to do something OTHER THAN cook? Thanks.
Animation has a classic style and feel to it, and is solidly done.
Watched in sub, and I enjoyed the voice acting. OP is alright, found myself skipping it right away, though. ED 1 was great, but ED 2 took some getting used to.
Again, the characters: My main gripe with this season. While some like Hatorri and Niizuma stand out as great, well-rounded developments, the "antagonists" of this season seem more like playful puppies. For 25 episodes, we really don't get a whole lot of back-story besides Takuro, and his main point is just how old he is. Hoping to see more development as the pace picks up in season 2.
Overall, I enjoyed seeing Bakuman in anime form. It's nice to get a flowing feel for the story, but I really hope things improve -- especially in the development department.
Kuta1
Story: 6/10. In my opinion, I think the romance parts of Bakuman hold it back from being a genuinely interesting show. When Bakuman focuses on the mangakas and their development process, the story is a solid 8/10. However, when we get to the romance aspects of the show, I find myself begrudgingly hanging by a thread as I'm bored to death by the same conflicts and problems. "Azuki and Saiko don't want to talk to each other! Let's remind you of this every episode, pretend we're gonna do something to advance it, but then end up at square 1 again!" Honestly, I think the biggest gripe Ihave with the romance is that I simply do not care. It's not necessary, and it feels out of place and is given too much screen-time when the show could instead focus on its strength of being a tale of two kids trying to make it as mangakas. Literally, the basis of Azuki and Saiko's relationship is formed on a whim in episode 1: both have superficial crushes on each other and say they're gonna get married, and that becomes Saiko's final push to wanting to become a successful mangaka. It's such a contrived reason and feels forced. Saiko already has a good reason; the show could've just went with him following his uncle's dream. Done. You don't need two motivations for your main character, especially when one of them is genuinely good and well-done and the other is contrived, bland and underdeveloped.
Takagi and Mitsuyo's relationship is somewhat better, but Mitsuyo herself is a pretty annoying character that really doesn't contribute anything on her own; she's just there to remind us that Azuki and Saiko don't talk to each other.
All in all, when the show turns its focus to romance, I can barely consider it a 4/10. When it turns to the manga portions, it's a good 8/10; so I guess averaged out, the story comes out to a 6/10.
Art: 7/10. The artwork and animation is consistent, but I felt there was no charm or depth to it either. Everything is colorful and nice, but also bland and forgettable.
Sound: 7/10. Great opening and ending, but unmemorable OSTs.
Character: 6/10. Bakuman is truly an oddity, in that the characters range from being horrible 1/10s (like Azuki) to genuinely great 10/10s (like Takagi and Nizuma). So I guess I could meet halfway and give this a 5/10, but we do see more of characters like Takagi and Niizuma towards the latter half of the show, so I'm fine with giving this an extra point.
Enjoyment: 7/10. I did binge this show, so I don't think it's necessarily bad. It just wasn't fantastic, which is a darn shame because it really could've been. When Takagi and Saiko are in the process of coming up with ideas, writing names and manuscripts, getting put down but rising back up, etc, the story is fun to watch and you really want to see what idea they'll come up with next. It's also really instructional to watch how one goes about getting their manga published into something like Shounen Jump, and the struggles and hurdles they have to overcome both on the personal level and business level: just for this knowledge, I think Bakuman is a truly special show. But the amount of times I had to force myself through a pretty boring episode or part to get to that stuff made it painful.
Overall: 7/10. Bakuman could've been an outstanding show, but instead it's one that has great moments and an equal amount of bland moments. I'm really upset because this show could've been an easy 9 or even 10/10 if it didn't botch its characters and their relationships, and tried going all out focusing on its strengths. The show really should've canned its romance, kept it to a minimum or actually have tried to write interesting relationships (especially with the main romance); since this romance is the centerpiece of the show, it really detracts from the experience when you're not invested in the character's motivations and just want to see the process of making manga and climbing up to success.
I would've given the show a 6/10, but at around episode 17 or so the show starts moving away from the Azuki+Saiko moments and starts getting into some interesting manga stuff with Niizuma, and an interesting separation occurs between Takagi and Saiko. That made me want to keep watching to see how things resolved. I'll probably watch the second season, and I'm hoping the show decides to put way more attention on the mangakas and competition.
EDIT: Now that it's been a few days after watching the show, looking back I decided to lower my score back to a 6. I don't think this series was worth the time investment, especially when I think of the imbalance of romance and stagnant characters to the actual writing of manga. Also, I didn't mention this prior, but I realize Mashiro is a pretty bland protagonist in his own right, and Takagi was really the only spark of life in their duo.
I'm really conflicted between giving the show a 6 or a 7, so I guess my final verdict would be something like a 6.5/10, but rounded down because I don't think I'd recommend the show to anyone really. Romance lovers would probably hate the ingenuine main romance, and people who come to see the manga parts of the show will begrudgingly trek through the romance bits to get a sliver of good content. All in all, I don't really know who the show appeals to; if it focused on one area specifically and did it well (all romance, or all manga), I'd definitely give it a 7 (or even an 8,9 or 10 since it could've done much better). But as it stands, I consider the show a 6/10.
HatchetGirl
Bakuman is a very original series. It was written by the author and illustrated by the illustrator of Death Note, another very original series. What do I have to say about the anime adaption? It's great. From what I have seen, it is much better than the Death Note adaption, and, it is pretty close to the greatness of the original manga. The characters are all very interesting, and, their voices are very fitting. They have some really original characters, like Eiji and Hiramaru, who both have original personalities and designs. The anime copies Obata's artstyle amazingly well, and, the animation quality itself is verygood. The opening and ending themes are very catchy and enjoyable. This really is an amazing anime, and I hope you start watching it soon. Even though it's shounen, if you don't normally like shounen, you should try it anyways because it doesn't really feel like a normal shounen, especially seeing as it isn't a battle manga. Thank you for reading!
nostalgic-hero
This is my review for all 3 seasons (75 episodes) of Bakuman. At face value, this anime that was based on a manga about making manga seemed like something I might not be interested in. I'm glad I checked it out because I was looking for something that was relatively current but could actually measure up to retro series in terms of story telling and character design/development. After watching the entire 3 seasons, I deject my earlier opinion on it as something I might not enjoy. This anime depicts the manga publishing business and the personalities in it quite well. That being said, I would have tosay the part of this anime that stood out most to me was the characters.
While watching it, you might think that the characters are poorly designed and they're weak; that may be the case if you only watch one season but if you watch all 3 you'll notice that there was indeed a lot of character growth from the point when a character is introduced to the end of the anime.
It's a good show that depicts the "behind the scenes" look at making manga and pursuing your dreams. Add in personal relationships with other people into it and you get a somewhat "true to life" depiction of life in the dog-eat-dog adult world.
Luckily it's not straight drama and you're provided with two characters(Hiramaru and Niizuma) for comedic relief. They both do an awesome job at it and whenever you see them on the screen you might even be tempted to watch that scene twice.
Overall I would recommend it to someone if they were looking for something new to watch and haven't seen it yet.
ChefColin
THIS WILL BE A REVIEW OF ALL THREE SEASONS Minor Spoilers Ahead Bakuman, to say the least, is an absolute masterpiece. I stretched my watch through over the course of 6 months and after I was done, I felt just like I did after finishing one of my first ever anime, Yu Yu Hakusho. I wanted more, even though the story had a great conclusion. I loved it so much, I just felt empty after watching. This show even inspired me to try drawing, and then start reading manga! It was truly an inspiring tale that was fun all throughout. Plot - As one will probably already know,Bakuman is about these two kids who want to write manga and how they acheive their dream. For as boring as this sounds, it was presented absolutely phenomenally. It took some time to get going, but the writers did a great job of making the show feel just like an action packed shonen anime, although less cheesy and plot-armory. Serialization meetings felt suspenseful, battles for rank pumped up my adrenaline, and brainstorming ideas throughout the show illustrated just how much they grew as writers and illustrators. Not to mention, this show was also very educational about how the manga industry operates and even to an extent, anime.
Characters - Bakuman has quite the wide variety of characters and I must say, each one is damn amazing. They all feel so damn unique. There are so many just plain fun characters in this show that just makes every second a joy to experience. From the characters that just feel like close friends, to the outright crazy and wacky ones, every character is amazing to have on screen. Our main characters, Mashiro and Takagi, are a great pair and watching them work in the studio is a lot more entertaining than it should be. Even with more than just them, I felt as if I was hanging out with my good friends when watching, I wanted to see them succeed, and when their fortune was good, I would be happy right along with them. The writers even managed to make enemies feel just like characters out of your favorite battle series. The writing was phenomenal, making writing comics feel the same as a death battle, amazing! It's not as if they all stayed assholes, they were redeemed, at least for me. Everyone truly felt unique, and the emotions the characters' felt even resonated with me as a viewer.
Bakuman has some of my favorite characters of all time, and one of my favorite plot lines of all time. This show is absolutely worth a watch no matter who you are, although I must warn you, the show can take a little bit of time to get going. Hell it's crazy to think that I almost dropped this show, and now it's on eof my favorite pieces of media of all time. That fateful night I was bored and saw the phrase "from the creator of Death Note" is one I'll always hold dear, what a fateful day that was. Now that it's over I legitimately miss the characters. As sad as it sounds, I feel like I just said bye to some of my best friends and I'm not going to see them again. Bakuman was just fun, nothing that makes you think too much, nothing that's dark, just some good hearted fun, and some of the most I've had at that. This show will always be close to my heart and dammit everyone has to watch, I swear you won't regret it!
Always follow your dreams!
LeSushiman
Well, guess I might as well write my first review here on MAL. Since reviewing here on this site is highly risky especially in controversial anime due to haters and lovers raging at each other's opinions and tearing apart your criticism I figured to start with a pretty obvious one(at least for me): 'Bakuman'. My review will deal with all of the three seasons of the anime, covering 75 episodes of anime in total. I will start with how I got to watch this anime in the first place before I get to the content. When I first heard of the name 'Bakuman' I looked upthe synopsis and...well, I was a little sceptical if the anime could entertain me. No action, no explosions, no stunning world. If you're not into this, you might as well think it is not that much fun. And so did I. Several times I thought 'Nah, let's watch this later.'. But that was a mistake. When I finally got around to watch this, I was glued to my computer. Let's get into the why now:
Story: 10/10
While there is no stunning mind-blowing storyline with a lot of explosions or stuff and the story as is does not seem that spectacular, the given story of two guys dreaming of becoming famous mangaka is executed nearly perfectly. Because the road from creating the first storybook up to getting an anime adaption is very long. More than often the protagonist trip on their journey, have to deal with strange fellow mangaka or with their personal life in general. Each and every chapter of the journey of Moritaka Mashiro and Akito Takagi made me want to watch the next episode. The anime shows how hard it is to be successful in life. Just because you have ambitions, it does not mean you are able to achieve them. There are people who have more talent and if you are not careful, they might as well leave you behind. Such is the real life.
Furthermore I learned a lot about making a manga in general. If you just read the stuff they print in Shonen Jump you might not imagine how much sweat, blood and energy an author needs just to publish a single chapter. I don't even want to imagine the amount of time in total necessary for even one issue. After watching 'Bakuman' I can only offer my deepest respect for all the mangaka, editors and so on.
Art: 9/10
Well, I can't say much about this. Some friends argued the kinda unique style did not please them. While I can relate to their opinon, I did not mind it in the least. While it was no graphical masterpiece, the animations were fluid and the coloring fit the general mood of the anime.
Sound: 9/10
The BGM of the anime is pretty good as well. Most of the tracks underlined the atmosphere of the anime pretty well without catching too much attention as to distract from the dialogues of the characters. Which brings me to the Seiyuu. I think each and every participating character did an outstanding job of performing their specific character. More than once they made me laugh out loud while watching just because they did so well.
Characters: 10/10
This is without doubt the strongest point of this anime. When you go around and watch like 200+ anime you start to recognize a lot of character patterns. Thus people, me including, tend to get bored of a cast pretty damn quick. That's exactly why Bakuman is so great. Every character is written with so much detail and uniqueness, I don't know if you cannot like them. Especially the kinda weird ones are pretty awesome. Most of the cast develops while the story progresses. Particularly the two male main characters and to a degree the female counterpart Azuki. They start off as somewhat naive lads with a dream, gaining fame and getting more important as the show goes on. I somehow found myself relating to them several times, thinking for some moments I was them, having a dream, want to make it a reality. I got pumped, wanted to do something. This is the kind of feeling I got while watching this anime. There are not that many anime outside who amazed me to that degree.
Enjoyment: 10/10
Well, this comes as no surprise. My enjoyment is the sum of all the aspects mentioned above. Thus I will not go into detail this time.
Overall: 10/10
I want to be honest. I am pretty biased towards this show. In my mind, it is one of the best anime I have ever watched. A masterpiece, if you want to call it that. In a time where Tsundere, Jiggle-Boob-Fanservice-Anime and other pathetic shows are on a run, it is quite rare to find a single ray of light like this one here. While there obviously will be people who will not like this show after watching it, I would at least ask you to give this one a chance. You won't regret it.
