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I first started the Bakuman series because it sounded interesting and because it was rated highly; I'm an on and off manga fan, so I didn't think that it would appeal to me, but I was wrong. This led me onto the second series, which I found to be pretty much just as good as the first.

The story is continued literally from the last minute of the first series, so there's no need to refresh your memory too much. A vast majority of the characters also appear again, with a few new characters that aren't too shabby, either.

Okay, staring off with the story: The main ... thing that I respect about this story is that it's realistic - it's not always predictable, the heroes will not always win, and when they do, it's after a lot of sleepless nights, constant working, and a strict refusal to give up no matter what. Takagi and Mashiro are very inspiring individuals, so it's not difficult to get sucked into the story and root for them.

The art is another aspect of this series that I thoroughly enjoyed - the characters are all very distinct-looking (I'm sure a lot of you have seen series' where every character essentially has the same face with a different eye-colour...), and their facial expressions, bodies etc are pleasing to the eye. The humour comes across exceedingly well with the character design; there are several instances where characters display exaggerated reactions that will make you laugh out loud. It's pretty much the same as it was in the first series, so no quality is lost.

For some reason, the familiar soundtracks that would play behind some scenes made me feel comfortable. I'm not sure if it was because I like the anime so much, but the sound worked, and it fit really well with the general mood of the series. The opening and end themes didn't stand out to me, but I didn't dislike them either.

There were only a couple of characters that bored me, and I really didn't like one character, but at the same time, that character's role was essential to the duo's evolution as manga creators. Also, it's interesting to see how characters from the first series have grown up, it almost feels like you've known them personally forever; you can see the subtle differences between how they were in high school compared to when they age a few years.

The characters really bring the show together.

When the pair got bad news, I would exclaim, "No!" despairingly, and if they did really well, I'd smile and sometimes go, "This anime...!!" The series is amazing at drawing people in, even people like me who - as I mentioned - have no serious interest in manga.

It fired me up and I often couldn't wait to see the next episode, so I managed to finish it all in three days.

Watch the second series, you won't regret it.

[I originally reviewed this straight after watching it and got a bit too excited and waaaay too biased due to my love of this type of horror, so this review is a lot more accurate.]

This anime was everything that I love about anime: bloodshed, twists, messed up plots, a horrible secret…basically lots of drama and tears…with death and mutilation around every corner.

If you can’t stomach that stuff, I’d maybe consider your decision a little harder.

Why did I like it so much?

It was the plot from the beginning that initially made me want to watch on, because it was a shocker of an introduction. ... The fact that it was packed full of bloodshed urged me further through the series too as the deaths/mutilations were pretty ridiculous, and almost hilarious...which is positive for some but not others.

The deaths and injuries inflicted were usually justified, especially in some of the prison's twisted little 'games'. I really liked the entertainment 'carnival/circus' theme of the games mixed in with the death/horror, it was very much like a clown massacring a bunch of kids, with cute music in the background. Again, some people will dig this, some will not. (I must note that Shiro's character reflected this very thing to a tee once you find out more about her).

The characters were driven with a passion due to their horrible surroundings. This caused them to become strong, emotionally as well as physically.

In addition, the majority of the characters were very three-dimentional as you find out a lot about them as people due, mainly, to flashbacks. The flashback method which was used within the story makes it a bit easier to emphasise with some of the characters, especially those with bad pasts.

As more and more characters get put through an emotional rollercoaster, so do you.

I usually don't care so much about the sound and will skip an opening theme if I've watched it all the way through already but the Deadman Wonderland OP I watched/listened to every single time. It fit the anime pretty well but the heavy emphasis on the guitars, and the genre of the song in general, made it look more like an action anime than anything else (rather than a horror or a drama), which isn't necessarily wrong.

Originally when I reviewed this anime, I could find no negative aspects, but since calming down as well as talking it over with a friend, that isn't true. One thing that annoyed me was the plot - it became quite unresolved and characters' aims became distorted or forgotten. However, if there's a second series, it will make this series better as it feels incomplete.

At the end of the day, if you want to be shocked, WTFd and don't mind extreme forms of death and/or questionable methods of mutilation, give this a go.

This was such a good manga that it left me at a loss for what to say with tears in my eyes because I managed to get so attached to it in such a short amount of time.

The story is of Mashiro Ichijo and the conflicts that he faces because he has a male upper half but his genitalia are that of a female. Two people enter his life: Kureha Fujishima and Sou Mizuhashi, he likes them both but can't decide which one to go for because he can't decide if he's a boy or a girl.

The struggle to find his gender is carried on ... throughout the manga.

The 'class' that he along with other students join after school makes him decide his fate (to be a boy or a girl) so that he can graduate and be free of the worries that he previously had.

The main reason I liked this and why it got to me was because it addresses things that happen in the real world: a struggle to find yourself and who you really are. People can identify with the lead character (aside from the ol' downstairs mix-up) and it makes us feel for him. Also, the fact that he's fallen for two people at the same time makes a lot of people relate to that; it's just the fact that those two people happen to be male and female that confuses Mashiro.

The fact that Sou and Kureha are male and female is nescessary for Mashiro to see which gender he feels better as: the one who protects the weaker ones: the male, or the damsel in distress who wants to be loved and accepted: the female.

Sou sees Mashiro as female, regardless of how he looks on the outside, and Kureha (someone who happens to hate men) sees Mashiro as a male but also as a female, that's the only reason that she can trust him because he isn't like other guys.

Aside from the main plot, the twists and the twists within twists are what made it really enjoyable for me as I love being taken by surprise! And the twists aren't confusing either like I know some twists can be...

The characters in this were very good and I liked how Mashiro handled his male and female sides; he pulled off being a male as well as a female very well. He has many comical moments and gets flustered easily so tripping over his words and blushing is inevitable when it comes to him.

Kureha is the one with a tragic past which triggers her hate for men. It's sweet that she feels comfortable with Mashiro because of his unique situation and because of that, they both help each other with their problems: Kuhera gradually becomes more comfortable with men and Mashiro finds out the gender he feels better as thanks in part to her.

Sou's childhood was also interesting but I can't say much without giving things away, all I'm gonna say is that he loved his big sister. Sou has a front: he's cool and nonchalant but deep down, there's something more to him...

I loved this manga a lot and would urge anyone thinking of giving it a go to do so because I'm so glad that I did!