Bakuman

Genre: Slice-of-Life, Comedy, Shounen





Table of Contents

Synopsis

Bakuman follows the story of high school student Moritaka Mashiro, a talented artist who does not know what he wants to do with his future. One day, Mashiro draws a picture of Miho Azuki, a girl he is secretly fond of, during class but forgets the notebook at school. He comes back to find that his classmate Akito Takagi is waiting for him with his notebook. Takagi tries to convince Mashiro to become a mangaka, a manga artist, with him, leading to Mashiro's disagreement. Mashiro goes home and thinks about his mangaka uncle, who had only one successful series before he died in obscurity. Mashiro is interrupted by a phone call from Takagi, who says that he is going to tell Azuki that Mashiro likes her. Mashiro runs down to Azuki's house to find Takagi waiting for him. Once Azuki comes out to meet them, Takagi tells her that he and Mashiro are aiming to be mangaka. Mashiro then learns that she wants to be a seiyuu, a voice actor, and has shown promise in the field. Mashiro, once again thinking about his uncle, accidentally proposes to Azuki who accepts. However, she will only marry him after they achieve their dreams. In addition, they cannot see each other until then.

After reading the manga and watching the anime, I've scoured the internet out of curiosity on what other people thought about Bakuman. For some reason, most of the negative reviews that I've read are pretty biased and misinformed, so here are a couple of things that need to be cleared up for your expectations:

This is a slice-of-life shounen anime, so expect a slow paced story that's light hearted.

anime, so expect a slow paced story that's light hearted. Don't expect a dark story, read a seinen if you're looking for the most realistic realism.

if you're looking for the most realistic realism. Don't read or watch Bakuman if you don't like the slice-of-life genre.

There are 3 seasons in the anime cover most of the manga, so don't judge the entire story by watching only 1 season. Most people who end up reading or watching Bakuman are aware of the fact that the people behind the global phenomenon of Death Note are also behind Bakuman. Takeshi Obata and Tsugumi Ohba are the writer and artist duo who are the masterminds responsible for Death Note, so people expect great things from Bakuman. You know you've seen or read this. Now be aware that Bakuman is a stark contrast compared to Death Note. While Death Note is dark, dreary and suspenseful, Bakuman is a light-hearted, sweet story about the life of 2 young mangakas.

Yeah wut.





Normally I wouldn't want to watch a slice-of-life anime because I tend to watch animes that have some kind of out-of-the-ordinary element like aliens, demons, samurais, ninjas, etc., but I've already read the manga and it was a great read. Bakuman also opened up my perspectives on the life of mangakas as well; thus I was able to understand why some mangas drag (*cough cough* Naruto and Bleach), why some good mangas get cancelled (Anedoki and D-Grayman), and why shounen mangas are styled the way that they are. Bakuman obviously parallels some of the personal experiences of Obata and Ohba with Death Note references and how the Ashirogi Mutou mangaka duo consists of an artist and writer.





Ordinarily I wouldn't mention too many characters because some characters spoil the plot, but Bakuman is a slice-of-life; thus it should have an exception because the entire plot completely focuses on character development and character relationships. The entire cast of characters is the best thing about Bakuman because you won't see this many well-developed and well-likable characters in a shounen anime. There are also different groups of characters in the story, so I'll break them down as Ashirogi Mutou, Other Mangakas, the Editors, and the Girlfriends. The only characters that I'm going to mention have a significant impact on the show and are the driving force of the show, except I'm not going to mention characters that spoil the story just by describing them. I also mixed around the first and last names around based on what name they're called the most.





Ashirogi Mutou [Main Characters Duo]





Moritaka Mashiro

Mashiro Moritaka is the artist of the Ashirogi Mutou duo of who, the story primarily focuses on. He's your typical shounen protagonist: brash, hard-working, determined to make his dream come true, and in fact will piss you off from time-to-time because of his stubbornness to see the bigger picture like Eren Jaeger from Attack on Titan and Shinj Ikari from Neon Evangelion Genesis, except that his character isn't dark at all (don't expect murderous or suicidal thoughts from him because he's a pretty happy-go-lucky character). Even as the years pass by, Mashiro behaves like a middle schooler when it comes to love. His unrealistic and innocent romance with Azuki Miho will annoy most people, but to me, it's a charm that Bakuman has because every young guy fantasizes about their own perfect romances. Even I wish that I could have a love relationship that was innocent as Mashiro's. Mashiro is also the less interesting part of the duo and cast of characters, despite the majority of the story focused on him. I like to think of it as Fullmetal Alchemist where Edward Elric is an okay main character, but he is outshined by the supporting characters who are better characters than him with less screen time.







Takagi Akito

Takagi Akito is the writer of the Ashirogi Mutou duo and plays the part as a secondary main character. Unlike Mashiro, Takagi is a braniac when it comes to school work and writing stories. He is the jelly of the peanut butter and jelly; Mashiro is the base of the story, while Takagi compensates for his shortcomings. The livelier character, Takagi is the one who took the initiative of becoming a mangaka team with Mashiro by reinvigorating Mashiro's passion for manga and starting out Mashiro's couple relationship with Azuki. It feels like Takagi should be the primary main character of the story because he has more character than Mashiro and he's the go to person when someone wants to talk to Ashirogi Mutou. He also has more developed relationships with the other characters compared to Mashiro.







The Girlfriends





Azuki Miho

Azuki Miho is Mashiro's lover who shares the same dream as him. They're really similar to each other when it comes to innocence and shyness, except Azuki is a little more straight-forward in what she wants. She doesn't have as much screen time as Kaya, but her character is as important to the story as Mashiro is. Her character isn't as developed as the other characters due to the lack of her screen time, but she is likable in the sense that her will is unwavering (compared to Mashiro and girls in general), she has a very humble personality, and she's very hard working.













Kaya Miyoshi Kaya Miyoshi is Takagi's lover who is a ditzy, athletic, tomboyish girl who has no real aspirations, but holy shit. This character is hilarious. Most of the time when Kaya is around, I couldn't help but laugh because she is the definition of comedic relief with her violent behavior and funny facial expressions. Even though Takagi and Kaya are the couple, it always seems like she's the 3rd wheel in Takagi and Mashiro's bromance. Heavily underrated and unappreciated, Kaya is one of the most important character in Bakuman as she is Takagi's motivation and is the glue that keeps together Ashirogi Mutou and Mashiro and Azuki's relationship. She even came up with the name Ashirogi Mutou. She's a very lovable character who also has a nice character development and becomes more mature as the series goes on. is Takagi's lover who is a ditzy, athletic, tomboyish girl who has no real aspirations, but holy shit. This character is hilarious. Most of the time when Kaya is around, I couldn't help but laugh because she is the definition of comedic relief with her violent behavior and funny facial expressions. Even though Takagi and Kaya are the couple, it always seems like she's the 3rd wheel in Takagi and Mashiro's bromance. Heavily underrated and unappreciated, Kaya is one of the most important character in Bakuman as she is Takagi's motivation and is the glue that keeps together Ashirogi Mutou and Mashiro and Azuki's relationship. She even came up with the name Ashirogi Mutou. She's a very lovable character who also has a nice character development and becomes more mature as the series goes on.





Other Mangakas





Niizuma Eiji Eiji Niizuma is a highly eccentric manga prodigy who is Ashirogi Mutou's number 1 rival. This guy is always entertaining to watch, and his voice actor does a great job capturing his eccentric nature really well. It always feels like the anime staff had a blast animating Niizuma with his exaggerated sounds and expressions.









Kazuya Hiramaru Hiramaru Kazuya is the least motivated character in the story, but not in a bad way. He's like everyone we know: he doesn't want to work, but rather enjoy his life. Another character who is eccentric like Niizuma, you can also expect great over-the-top voice acting from his voice actor. Hiramaru along with Niizuma are two of the most hilarious characters from Bakuman, and my two of my favorite characters to be honest.









is a highly eccentric manga prodigy who is Ashirogi Mutou's number 1 rival. This guy is always entertaining to watch, and his voice actor does a great job capturing his eccentric nature really well. It always feels like the anime staff had a blast animating Niizuma with his exaggerated sounds and expressions.is the least motivated character in the story, but not in a bad way. He's like everyone we know: he doesn't want to work, but rather enjoy his life. Another character who is eccentric like Niizuma, you can also expect great over-the-top voice acting from his voice actor. Hiramaru along with Niizuma are two of the most hilarious characters from Bakuman, and my two of my favorite characters to be honest.





Fukuda Shinta Fukuda Shinta is an outspoken, brash character who is the leader of the mangaka characters. I feel like Fukuda is more suited to be a main character rather than just a supporting character because he has the traits of leadership, bravery, compassion, and so on. At first he might seem to be just a typical douche, but later on you realize that he's just blunt with his words. Good character, I just wish that he had more screen time.



Yuriko Aoki Aoki Yuriko is one of the stubborn female mangakas. She goes through significant character development and is a very likable character. Her and Kaya go through the most character development in the story. I'd like to say more because I really like this character, but anything more to say about her will spoil the story.











The Editors Hattori Akira Hattori Akira is the skilled editor who is Ashirogi Mutou's guidance and mentor throughout the story. Despite his silly design, he's a very competent person and resembles Ryuk from Death Note. He also seems like your every day sort of guy. Don't get me wrong, he's a good character and very respectable and all, but if he didn't receive the amount of screen time that he has and play a really important role in the series, he'd be significantly overshadowed by the more dynamic and extreme characters of Bakuman because he is like your every day sort of person. This is most likely due to him being based on a real editor at Shonen Jump. is an outspoken, brash character who is the leader of the mangaka characters. I feel like Fukuda is more suited to be a main character rather than just a supporting character because he has the traits of leadership, bravery, compassion, and so on. At first he might seem to be just a typical douche, but later on you realize that he's just blunt with his words. Good character, I just wish that he had more screen time.is one of the stubborn female mangakas. She goes through significant character development and is a very likable character. Her and Kaya go through the most character development in the story. I'd like to say more because I really like this character, but anything more to say about her will spoil the story.is the skilled editor who is Ashirogi Mutou's guidance and mentor throughout the story. Despite his silly design, he's a very competent person and resembles Ryuk from Death Note. He also seems like your every day sort of guy. Don't get me wrong, he's a good character and very respectable and all, but if he didn't receive the amount of screen time that he has and play a really important role in the series, he'd be significantly overshadowed by the more dynamic and extreme characters ofbecause he is like your every day sort of person. This is most likely due to him being based on a real editor at Shonen Jump.







Hisashi Sasaki Sasaki Hisashi is the serious editor-in-chief at Shonen Jump (or Jack in the anime). The writer of Bakuman did a really great job in creating a very serious and relatable character with Sasaki. The anime does this very well too. You really get the vibe that you don't want to screw around with him or disappoint him. He's a very well done, relatable character that actually gives the vibe of an actual boss. This is mostly likely because Sasaki is based on a real person, the editor-in-chief of Shonen Jump, just like how Hattori was based on a real editor.









Yoshida Koji Yoshida Koji is the reason why Hiramaru is so damn entertaining. This guy isn't even very significant to the plot, but he deserves a special mention. He's a first class psychopath who is very charismatic and always has schematics that keep Hiramaru in line for his own personal gain which have really hilarious effects. All the editors shown in the anime try their best for the sake of their mangakas, but he's the exception; he only does thing for personal gain. Another special note to mention is that his voice actor is Takehito Koyasu. Takehito Koyasu really really knows how to play charismatic psychopaths really well like Dio Brando from the JoJo's Bizarre Adventure and Takasugi Shinsuke from Gintama (note on the emphasis of really). Because of Takehito Koyasu, Yoshida is the best voice acted character, even among Niizuma and Hiramaru.





Animation Hajime no Ippo or Naruto. There was only one scene like that as far as I can remember though. This is a slice-of-life anime, so don't expect flashy action scenes. But because this is a slice-of-life anime, most of the scenes are drawn realistically. The best parts of the animation was when they exaggerated character expressions and broke away from reality, which created some highly entertaining scenes, mostly with Kaya (I keep going on with Kaya, but she's the best character in the series).

Kaya occasionally physically beating Takagi. Hiramaru celebrating from not having to work.

The animation staff also did a great job in recapturing certain moments in the manga just to add more to the comedy. Classic manga styled animation. And like I said, the colors are great because they're vibrant and pleasant to look at. The animation staff usually made scenes more vibrant with pivotal or exciting moments in the story. The usual animation for scenes like this.

There is subtle fan service throughout the anime (which is surprising because the over-arching plot is an innocent romance), usually with Kaya's breasts

This is the only scene with obvious fan service in the anime. The animation is very well done. The colors are great. The comedic animations are gold. While I was watching this, I could tell that the anime was well-budgeted because I never really noticed any obvious animation errors. There is a scene where Takagi asks Kaya to beat him up (but I couldn't find any videos or pictures of it unfortunately) and the fighting animation resembled a high budget action anime scene fromor. There was only one scene like that as far as I can remember though. This is a slice-of-life anime, so don't expect flashy action scenes. But because this is a slice-of-life anime, most of the scenes are drawn realistically. The best parts of the animation was when they exaggerated character expressions and broke away from reality, which created some highly entertaining scenes, mostly with Kaya (I keep going on with Kaya, but she's the best character in the series).There is subtle fan service throughout the anime (which is surprising because the over-arching plot is an innocent romance), usually with Kaya's breasts or Aoki's breasts (which I don't remember being so big in the manga, and they make them noticeably larger as the anime goes on strangely). This should be a plus to those who enjoy fan service, but also to those who hate fan service because it's usually so subtle and extremely rare. Another really awesome part of this anime was that unlike the manga, the anime really fleshed out the manga works of the mangakas and sometimes with animated openings. For example: when I first watched the anime, this was the very first scene and I was really confused because thought I was watching the wrong anime.



It really does looks like a legit anime opening lol. My only real complaint with the animation was that in the first season, I felt that the animation staff hadn't really solidified the character designs. For example: Azuki had an awkward design in the first season of the anime. is the serious editor-in-chief at Shonen Jump (or Jack in the anime). The writer of Bakuman did a really great job in creating a very serious and relatable character with Sasaki. The anime does this very well too. You really get the vibe that you don't want to screw around with him or disappoint him. He's a very well done, relatable character that actually gives the vibe of an actual boss. This is mostly likely because Sasaki is based on a real person, the editor-in-chief of Shonen Jump, just like how Hattori was based on a real editor.is the reason why Hiramaru is so damn entertaining. This guy isn't even very significant to the plot, but he deserves a special mention. He's a first class psychopath who is very charismatic and always has schematics that keep Hiramaru in line for his own personal gain which have really hilarious effects. All the editors shown in the anime try their best for the sake of their mangakas, but he's the exception; he only does thing for personal gain. Another special note to mention is that his voice actor is Takehito Koyasu. Takehito Koyasu reallyknows how to play charismatic psychopaths really well like Dio Brando from theand Takasugi Shinsuke from(note on the emphasis of). Because of Takehito Koyasu, Yoshida is the best voice acted character, even among Niizuma and Hiramaru.

First Season





Third Season



























But this problem was fixed as the anime went on and the staff had more experience drawing the characters. It could also be due to the design improvements from the mangaka as the manga went on.



Music The music was good. There isn't much that I could say about it because it's your typical slice-of-life anime music, so don't expect anything crazy good like orchestral music over intense fight scenes. This anime is nowhere near sad or depressing, so there isn't any sad music either.

Plot The plot is simple and straightforward: Bakuman is the story of two mangakas living the life of mangakas and their eventual goal is for Mashiro and Azuki to marry once they accomplish their dreams. This is also a slice-of-life comedy story, so the plot is entirely character development and character relationships. Since there is mostly comedy in the story, there is never anything sad. There are some dark underlying realistic tones with certain characters, but I haven't mentioned them because they would spoil the plot, and even then they still don't drastically effect the tone of the story; they only add tension momentarily. I also felt that the anime was slightly rushed and I wanted a little more from the original story (there are certain characters and an entire arc completely cut out). What I really did like was that they added a little more to the ending than what the manga had.



Conclusion But this problem was fixed as the anime went on and the staff had more experience drawing the characters. It could also be due to the design improvements from the mangaka as the manga went on.The plot is simple and straightforward: Bakuman is the story of two mangakas living the life of mangakas and their eventual goal is for Mashiro and Azuki to marry once they accomplish their dreams. This is also a slice-of-life comedy story, so the plot ischaracter development and character relationships. Since there is mostly comedy in the story, there is never anything sad. There are some dark underlying realistic tones with certain characters, but I haven't mentioned them because they would spoil the plot, and even then they still don't drastically effect the tone of the story; they only add tension momentarily. I also felt that the anime was slightly rushed and I wanted a little more from the original story (there are certain characters and an entire arc completely cut out). What I really did like was that they added a little more to the ending than what the manga had.

A great cast of characters, great character development, great character relationships, great animation, and a great experience overall. If you like the slice-of-life genre, you'll especially like this and I highly recommend that you watch this. The story was very enjoyable and you get to learn more about the manga and anime industry. Aside from certain parts of the manga cut out from the anime and awkward character designs of the first season, I still enjoyed this anime as it was faithful to the majority of the manga.



