Bakuman.

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.

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

[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.

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!