Is there a dream you want to achieve? That dream can only come true with a lot of hard work, but if you keep at it, the payoff will, indeed, be great. I'm sure that's the message that Tsugumi Ohba and Takeshi Obata, the ones behind "Death Note", wanted to convey in this manga. From the moment I heard about this manga, I knew I had to read it and watch its anime adaptation. After getting a box-set of the entire manga series sometime after completing the anime, I began to seriously read the manga, and I've got to say, I enjoyed it just as much as the anime.
Ladies and gentlemen, aspiring mangaka of all ages, here is my review of "Bakuman."
Moritaka Mashiro is a middle school boy who basically doesn't know what to do with his life. He used to want to be a mangaka, but he gave up on that dream after the death of his uncle, who was a mangaka. However, one day, he accidentally leaves his notebook at school, and when he goes back to get it, Akito Takagi, his genius classmate, is waiting for him. Takagi has seen Mashiro's drawing of his crush, Miho Azuki (who we later find out dreams of becoming a voice actress), and asks him to team up with him to create manga. Mashiro refuses at first, but when Miho finds out about it, it ends up leading to a promise that once one of Mashiro and Takagi's manga gets an anime adaptation, Miho will voice the heroine; then, Mashiro and Miho will get married. (They agree not to actually see each other until then, though.) The story of "Bakuman." follows Mashiro and Takagi as they strive to create manga, meeting friends and rivals along the way.
I guess I should start with the artwork. Now, the artwork for this manga, drawn by Takeshi Obata, is rather good. Some of the character designs reminded me of characters in "Death Note"....but hey, they're from the same mangaka duo! What do you expect me to say?! Speaking of the characters, there is a great number of likable characters in this manga, and all of them get great development. I especially liked Shinta Fukuda and Eiji Niizuma; both of them had some really funny moments.
Now, let's talk about the story. I can think of a few other manga that have a mangaka as one of the main characters, if not THE main character (Gekkan Shoujo Nozaki-kun, Mangaka-san to Assistant-san to, etc). However, what I love about the story in THIS manga is how it portrays a story like this. Not only does it give us a more realistic look at the manga industry (heck, I sometimes even wondered if it was secretly Ohba-sensei and Obata-sensei's autobiography), but it's a kind of story that inspires you to chase after whatever dream you have. Seeing Mashiro, Takagi, and all of the other mangaka who appear in this series doing (or drawing, I should say) what they love.... it just really gets you motivated, you know?
Overall, Bakuman is a pretty good manga. If you're looking for a realistic and/or an inspiring read, this is the one. Whether or not you end up liking it.... well, I guess that determines whether or not Ohba-sensei and Obata-sensei succeeded in their gamble.
