[Manga Review] Bakuman

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Bakuman Manga Review

Story and Characters

Bakuman is a shounen manga written by Tsugumi Ohba and illustrated by Takeshi Obata whose popularity rose because of the hit series "Death Note". The Manga was published on the Weekly Shounen Jump Magazine in Japan on August 11, 2008 and has now ended it's publication on April of the year 2012. Each chapters are comprised of important events and is directly related to what happens in future chapters where the story is bound to be not boring and connected to the overall plot. The quality of it's story is based on how well the authors played out their cards on how to make their goals which would be presend on the middle and near end chapters of the manga.


The series follows the story of Moritaka Mashiro "Saiko" and Akito Takagi "Shujin, the two who in some sort of fate met in a strage way in middle school then strived to become successful mangaka in the world using the name "Ashirogi Muto". They Strive againsts many hardship and plenty of insurmountable odds to achieve their goal and dreams. In Mashiro's case, he aims to make a great manga enough to make it an anime so that the girl he loves, Azuki Miho can voice the heroine and then marry each other as fulfillment to their promise. The story itself is really pure and straightforward jump material just like other manga on publication it rewards many different values, it's main idealogy which is guts and perseverance is the backbone of the story which makes bakuman really exciting and fun to read.


The first set of chapters mainly on the 1st up to the 3rd volume tackles the hardships of mashiro and takagi or also known as "Ashirogi Muto" to get a manga publication into jump. Unlike other series, the time on bakuman ticks rather fast because each chapters sometime covers more than three months of time. The major characters are then introduced and their roles are set into play which is Mashiro, Takagi, Kaya, Azuki, Hattori, and Iwase. Others say that some few chapters are dragged out or get's boring at some point but i beg to differ. The pacing was good and easy to follow, sure there are some panels that make you want to skip them because of the long dialogues but that's what makes it different from others and it's in the nature of the story a slice of life.

As you go further into reading the series, you'll meet more and more characters like Niizuma, Fukuda, and Nanamine that are also mangaka of the same magazine in which further intensifies the battle of mangaka for the top spot in jump together with their editors which also competes with each other which is funny and entertaining. The romance in the series is also a thing to look into too for it's not only the love problems and rivalry of the main leads are shown but also in those of the supporting characters. The chemistry that is shown in this series is engaged in realistic aspirations and normal yet favorable events, which is very different from their fellow published series and past work, a series that's not presenting any supernatural or unrealistic actions but instead shows pleasant emotions. You'll find a lot of intense in the series that is very similar to what we usually experience in life plus all characters are really likable and bound to get you attached to them because of their unique personalities and physique.

Art

Ohba's great story writings skills and character descriptions equally matched Takeshi Obata's points in art which is indeed excellent in a way. Comparing the art of death note from bakuman, the style has changed to better match the light, touching, suspenseful and fun environment of bakuman. Although this is very different from death note, the high level of detail and clean cut edges of Obata's drawings are still excellent.

It is also very surprising to see that Takeshi Obata can create a variety of drawings from funny comical ones to serious ones. The way characters or events are focused and tones are all very well and matches the athmosphere or effect in the moment of the story be it a serious or funny one. Each panels are well thought out to make readers enjoy each chapter especially when how he make his drawings themseleves come out of the boxes and extends further.

Those who has drawn, written a novel, or made a movie will recognise the creative process in these kind of art is fraught with blood sweat, tears, and cofee. It shows that it requires courage to place yourselft out there in the open from trusted friends to total strangers to receive honest critique and advice. This manga is all about how to achieve and realize the creative process that would help those wanting to create their own works. Bakuman is a manga about writing manga together with the realistic events of how they are made..

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Overall, I give this manga "Bakuman" a 9 out of 10
Good:
- Interesting Slice of life story
- Multiple Character Growth and Storylines
- Interesting Character Ineraction
- Fine art and detail

Bad:
-  Female characters aren't portrayed strongly, some call this  misogyny to the female characters, although it get's better as the story progresses.

Posted in: Manga, Manga Review