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.