Hello Mina and welcome to a review of : Bakuman
I break my reviews into 4 main categories (Storyline, Art logic, and conclusion) each with its own array of subcategories. Anything considered as a spoiler will be replace by a 1* (1 being any number) and added to the notes section at the end of the review. Enjoy!!!
waiting for him, notebook in hand. When Saiko asked Takagi for his silence about his crush, the latter told him he has one condition: "join me in creating a manga." Saiko was reluctent and accepted just to shut him up. After some time Shujin tricked him into meeting at Azuki's house to support her in her secret dream of becoming a voice actress. He then went and told her that he and Saiko will create a manga together. In the shock of actually talking with his love, Saiko shouted out:
Embarrassed, she runs back inside her house and replies through the intercom: “Yes, but we must not see each other until our dreams come true.” his is how the manga author duo Ashirogi Muto was born.
The story went smoothly except when moving from one chapter to the next. It sometimes felt forced, but nothing that serious. The sheer number of characters and the different mix between them was an excellent source for ideas and plot twists.
Moritaka "Saiko" Mashiro:
Ooooops. Wrong Saiko. Ah Here he is:
Saiko is one of the Ahirogi Muto duo. He is shy and has a kind heart. One thing that everyone agrees on and is constantly reminded of is that he is as stubborn as a mule. He is the kind of person that does the best work possible, even if he has to pay for it with his health.
Akito "Shujin" Takagi:
Here we have the second member of the duo. This guy is an academic genius. He gets The highest grades in his class without the predicted effort and manages to write manga at the same time. On the other hand he is a “genius” when it comes to female relations. Boy does this guy get it in the first season. He shares the same mentality of Saiko when it comes to their work ethics and are always “on the same wavelength”.
Azuki Miho:
She is the main female character in this series. Although the whole plot relies on her and Saiko’s dream, she gets little air time. She is, as most of the characters, kind and understanding. In addition Azuki is shy and not open. She is also as stubborn as Saiko or even more.
You can see the time they spent on the art is low but they really wanted quality. This ended up blowing in their face. They ended up with few good pictures that they used again and again and again and again. There is a picture that represents Azuki's house that they used 4+ times and another 2 or 3 using different colours (time of day)
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They also try to put too many things in the same picture thus impacting it’s realism.
To their defense, they got some great scenes here and there. For instance when Mashiro went to see his uncle's tomb,
or when he was in the hospital
or even here
the real shock I saw was when I saw this:
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It's like there is a spotlight on the car AT NIGHT. Now look at the scenery behind the car, look at the characters, and finally at the front-ground. The quality difference is so over the place that it should get it's own name. "Horrishit" maybe. Finally, art-wise, I didn't feel a hint of difference between, 15 year-old Saiko and a much older Saiko (3.5/10)
Notes (spoilers):
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I break my reviews into 4 main categories (Storyline, Art logic, and conclusion) each with its own array of subcategories. Anything considered as a spoiler will be replace by a 1* (1 being any number) and added to the notes section at the end of the review. Enjoy!!!
Storyline
INTRODUCTION
The story start with Moritaka "Saiko" Mashiro introducing himself as a shy middle-schooler who has only one thing special about him: he's a good drawer. He loved to draw from when he was a little kid and he was always inspired by his uncle (a manga artist who got a hit manga a long time ago) to become even better (although his uncle kinda sucks at drawing :S). He also has a crush on his classmate Azuki Miho from the time they were kids and like to sketch her in his notebook. One day, he forgot his notebook in class and went to get it. When he got there, he found Akito "Shujin" Takagi (shujin meaning prisoner)waiting for him, notebook in hand. When Saiko asked Takagi for his silence about his crush, the latter told him he has one condition: "join me in creating a manga." Saiko was reluctent and accepted just to shut him up. After some time Shujin tricked him into meeting at Azuki's house to support her in her secret dream of becoming a voice actress. He then went and told her that he and Saiko will create a manga together. In the shock of actually talking with his love, Saiko shouted out:
Embarrassed, she runs back inside her house and replies through the intercom: “Yes, but we must not see each other until our dreams come true.” his is how the manga author duo Ashirogi Muto was born.
STORY
In my opinion, the story is broken down into 3 main Arcs, each representing a season or so:- Beginning arc
- This talks about the start of Ashirogi Muto, the trials that every manga artist has to go through, and how they pass them.
- Rivals arc
- this extends from the end of the first season to the middle of the last. It talks about Ashirogi Muto’s friends and rivals and the more advanced editor related problems that they face.
- Dream-come-true arc
- I guess this one is self explanatory.
The story went smoothly except when moving from one chapter to the next. It sometimes felt forced, but nothing that serious. The sheer number of characters and the different mix between them was an excellent source for ideas and plot twists.
CHARACTERS
Since the cast is soooo big and I don’t want to spoil it for you, I will only introduce 3 main characters.Moritaka "Saiko" Mashiro:
Ooooops. Wrong Saiko. Ah Here he is:
Saiko is one of the Ahirogi Muto duo. He is shy and has a kind heart. One thing that everyone agrees on and is constantly reminded of is that he is as stubborn as a mule. He is the kind of person that does the best work possible, even if he has to pay for it with his health.
Akito "Shujin" Takagi:
Here we have the second member of the duo. This guy is an academic genius. He gets The highest grades in his class without the predicted effort and manages to write manga at the same time. On the other hand he is a “genius” when it comes to female relations. Boy does this guy get it in the first season. He shares the same mentality of Saiko when it comes to their work ethics and are always “on the same wavelength”.
Azuki Miho:
She is the main female character in this series. Although the whole plot relies on her and Saiko’s dream, she gets little air time. She is, as most of the characters, kind and understanding. In addition Azuki is shy and not open. She is also as stubborn as Saiko or even more.
CHARACTER DEVELOPMENT
I didn't feel there was any notable character development per-SAE. Sure that there are some changes but it is a shame that the main character that developed and changed the most was Azuki with the lowest screen time, and neglect in season 3. The characters were build to embody different emotions: Eiji Nizuma is the unreachable perfection. Fukuda is the Kimpatchi Zaraki of the show. Hiramaru as the lazy genius. Iwase as the too prideful hard-worker. And the list goes on. Come to think of it, Aoki did have some development, but that’s basically it. (5/10)THEME
Bakuman is straight forward. It’s drama is seen in the drive of the protagonists to overcome anything that stands in their path. It’s comedy is also seen throughout it. In the end, though, it is a great slice of life.AUDIENCE
This is a story well fit for college students and new employees more then the rest. Kids don't really feel the pressure of society and family on their future. The ideal love that was scene in here looks too normal to them and they don't know how rare and unorthodox it is. It also has no battles or one-liners to compete with mainstream anime.ART
Drawing
The art in Bakuman is not stable. Sometimes it's acceptable and others it is horrible.You can see the time they spent on the art is low but they really wanted quality. This ended up blowing in their face. They ended up with few good pictures that they used again and again and again and again. There is a picture that represents Azuki's house that they used 4+ times and another 2 or 3 using different colours (time of day)
They also try to put too many things in the same picture thus impacting it’s realism.
or even here
the real shock I saw was when I saw this:
It's like there is a spotlight on the car AT NIGHT. Now look at the scenery behind the car, look at the characters, and finally at the front-ground. The quality difference is so over the place that it should get it's own name. "Horrishit" maybe. Finally, art-wise, I didn't feel a hint of difference between, 15 year-old Saiko and a much older Saiko (3.5/10)
LOGIC
STORY LEVEL LOGIC (The integrity of the story):
Story level logic was great, this is quite expected when looking at the theme of this anime and how it is purely event driven. This is probably why it is such a well known production(4/4)EVENT LOGIC (The side-effects of previous events):
There is the first time I see this kind of Event Logic. This is a rare error, but I see some situations that have been over-analysed. This is probably done to increase the impact of a single event and make it worth more then it actually is. This gives some drive to the story but decreases the quality they worked so hard to produce story-wise (3/4)INSTANTANEOUS LOGIC (at the moment):
It had no flaws here that I can think of. If anything, they took their time thinking about the atmosphere and how get the best out of it, and even, in some cases, add a twist of unexpected humour.(3/3)LOGIC VERDICT
The logic in Bakuman is near perfect and should be held as an example for other productions. Be sure not to mix it with the story itself, because, as mentioned before, it has quite a few flaws. (9/10)CONCLUSION
Although Bakuman has quite the list of problems it is still well known and loved. It has a unique main idea, and teaches a lot about manga, the source of our beloved anime. It has superb moments with its insane comedy that knocks you off your chair. It is a recommendation to anyone just for the sake of its popularity and informativeness.Notes (spoilers):
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