Bakuman.

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Japanese: BAKUMAN。バクマン。

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Information

Type: Manga

Volumes: 20

Chapters: 176

Status: Finished

Published: Aug 11, 2008 to Apr 23, 2012

Genres: Comedy, Drama, Romance

Theme: Otaku Culture

Demographic: Shounen

Serialization: Shounen Jump (Weekly)

Authors: Obata, Takeshi (Art), Ohba, Tsugumi (Story)

Statistics

Score: 8.37¹ (scored by 84,734 users)

¹ indicates a weighted score.

Ranked: #247²

² based on the top manga page. Please note that 'R18+' titles are excluded.

Popularity: #57

Members: 180,256

Favorites: 11,105

Resources

Wikipedia

8.37

Ranked #247Popularity #57Members 180,256

MangaShounen Jump (Weekly)Obata, Takeshi (Art), Ohba, Tsugumi (Story)

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Volumes: /20

Chapters: /176

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Synopsis

Despite being a talented artist, middle school student Moritaka Mashiro is unsure about his future, accepting that he will simply lead a normal life. After seeing one of Mashiro's drawings in class, Akito Takagi—an aspiring writer—insists that they write a manga together. But Mashiro is hesitant—his uncle, a mangaka, had died from overworking just a few years prior. However, when Mashiro hears that his crush, Miho Azuki, aims to be a voice actress, he becomes determined to create a manga that can be adapted into an anime for her to star in. Reciprocating Mashiro's feelings, she agrees to get married once they have both achieved their dreams.

Bakuman. chronicles Mashiro and Takagi's successes and struggles in their attempts to be serialized in Weekly Shounen Jump and become famous mangakas. Will their gamble pay off, or will they join the countless number of failures?

[Written by MAL Rewrite]

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Background

Bakuman. ranked first in the 2010 Kono Manga ga Sugoi! for the Male Readers division.

The series was published in English by VIZ Media under the Shonen Jump imprint from August 3, 2010, to August 6, 2013. The publisher later released the manga in a 20-volume box set. The manga was also published in Spain by Norma Editorial from October 2010 to November 2013; in Brazilian Portuguese by Editora JBC from August 2011 to April 2013; in Russian by Azbooka as 2-in-1 omnibus volumes; in Mexico by Panini Comics from March 11, 2015, to October 5, 2016; in Argentina by Editorial Ivrea from July 20, 2012, to December 7, 2017; and in Polish by Waneko from May 20, 2016, to July 20, 2019.

The manga was adapted into a live-action movie released on October 3, 2015.

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Related Entries

More characters
Characters

Mashiro, Moritaka

Main

Takagi, Akito

Main

Niizuma, Eiji

Supporting

Hiramaru, Kazuya

Supporting

Azuki, Miho

Supporting

Fukuda, Shinta

Supporting

Hattori, Akira

Supporting

Miyoshi, Kaya

Supporting

Yoshida, Kouji

Supporting

Aoki, Yuriko

Supporting

Reviews

Jun 17, 2024

Dotanuki

Recommended

Bakuman had a Slice of life subject, the main characters Moritaka Mashiro and Akito Takagi's dream was being the best mangakas in Japan, but it was a shonen manga so the execution of the story was not very realistic after all, but the emotional side of the story, things like Taro Kawaguchi were used so well that you look over some of the over the top parts of the story.

Hiramaru sensei was my favorite character. Hiramaru sensei and his editor Yoshida's comedy rutin was hilarious most of the time. Nakai sensei was really funny as well, i was really cracking up as Nakai sensei ...

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Apr 20, 2023

Nerdodivergent

Mixed Feelings

Preliminary (5/176 eps)

I remember seeing ads for this one in my other shonen jump mangas growing up so I figured I'd give this one a shot. The premise really resonated with me. I loved writing stories and even now I still draw my own comics. So I got the first volume and gave it a shot.
And yall I was SO BORED. There was just nothing really going on. The plot was super slow, none of the characters were that interesting, and just overall it didn't captivate me the way other manga has. I will say the art style was really nice; very crisp and gorgeous detail ...

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Dec 16, 2020

ChouEritto

Not Recommended

Bakuman is a series often given recognition as a realistic tale that explores the manga industry in-depth. If we're to take this as its core premise, then the manga is a fundamentally flawed one.

To explain why, the first volume's premise alone captures the core faults of its story with this supposed "realistic" story having about as many plot conveniences as a fairy tale (obviously, minor spoilers ahead). The protagonist, Moritaka, decides to pursue being a mangaka in order to win the affections of his school crush Miho. On its own, that's not bad, but then plot conveniences and contrivances pile themselves together one after another. ... Not only did Moritaka's uncle leave him a manga studio in his will to give him a jump start, but Miho's mother used to also be in love with Moritaka's uncle. As though that wasn't enough, Miho reciprocates Moritaka's feelings but, instead of actually dating and having a relationship like a normal person, she puts in place the prerequisite that they'll get married only once Moritaka has one of his manga adapted into an anime and she can star in it. So, what part of these events and character interactions sounds realistic? If you said none of it, congratulations, because you'd be right.
After that, the plot is just Moritaka working towards that goal. There's at least some attempts to not make the plot entirely straightforward with Moritaka's goals becoming closer to that of doing things for his own passion as a mangaka rather than a contrived promise, though not enough to make his character any more engaging, especially with how reliant the series can be on references during some character moments. The manga at least helps explore many aspects of the manga industry when it comes to things such as popularity polls and the like, though what information the manga conveys is mitigated by its plot having the illusion of the characters struggling in such an industry despite still doing fairly well and never reaching any true low points. The general tone of the manga can feel overly optimistic in the manner many Shonen works are lambasted for, with the majority of the cast parroting the idea that "creating manga is so cool!" and naysayers being shown the error of their ways, such as the female novelist who decides to break into the industry.
The one element of the plot that did seem realistic is at its conclusion where the one work of Moritaka to be given an anime adaption is the one with the most generic premise and execution of its ideas, which strikes true in how most manga/anime consumers would rather see similar premises being repeated than have something innovative. This idea, however, does seem a bit contradictive coming from Ohba and Obata when considering Death Note was their breakout success and still remains both the most popular and innovative of their works.

As for characters, we've already gone over Moritaka and aside from him, there's not much else to speak of. Most of the characters are fairly one-dimensional and don't really have much to make them interesting beyond being mouthpieces for commentary on the industry, with some such as Miho having nonsensical motivations for reasons already stated.

For art, it's decent as expected of Obata, but the shift from the more realistic style within Death Note to one far more typically cartoony, simplified and exaggerated hurts the series rather than helps as it would've at least superficially sold the idea that this was a grounded story meant to be seen as realistic.

Overall, if wanting a great insight on the series, it's better to read a book dedicated to learning about the creation process of manga and anime rather than wasting time on a story that fails hard when it comes to capturing the realism necessary for such information.

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Poll: Bakuman Chapter 168 Discussion ( 1 2 ) Shih - Feb 22, 2012	52 replies	by Adriannitro »» May 6, 2024 4:51 PM
Poll: Bakuman Chapter 144 Discussion Naokohiro - Aug 21, 2011	39 replies	by Adriannitro »» Apr 2, 2024 7:39 PM
Poll: Bakuman Chapter 22 Discussion Kirstenx - Jan 23, 2009	39 replies	by tectacles »» Mar 5, 2024 4:28 PM
Poll: Bakuman Chapter 21 Discussion Faust721 - Jan 16, 2009	38 replies	by tectacles »» Mar 5, 2024 4:12 PM
Poll: Bakuman Chapter 16 Discussion Jello - Nov 28, 2008	29 replies	by tectacles »» Feb 13, 2024 12:22 AM

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