Bakuman.

As a child, Moritaka Mashiro dreamt of becoming a mangaka, just like his childhood hero and uncle, Tarou Kawaguchi, creator of a popular gag manga. But when tragedy strikes, he gives up on his dream and spends his middle school days studying, aiming to become a salaryman instead.

One day, his classmate Akito Takagi, the school's top student and aspiring writer, notices the detailed drawings in Moritaka's notebook. Seeing the vast potential of his artistic talent, Akito approaches Moritaka, proposing that they become mangaka together. After much convincing, Moritaka realizes that if he is able to create a popular manga series, he may be able to get the girl he has a crush on, Miho Azuki, to take part in the anime adaptation as a voice actor. Thus the pair begins creating manga under the pen name Muto Ashirogi, hoping to become the greatest mangaka in Japan, the likes of which no one has ever seen.

[Written by MAL Rewrite]

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Background

Bakuman. was licensed by Media Blasters in North America, but only released one 2-disc DVD containing the first 7 episodes, the rest of the releases were cancelled.

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Related Anime

Adaptation:	Bakuman.
Sequel:	Bakuman. 2nd Season
Summary:	Bakuman.: Deraman.

More characters

Characters & Voice Actors

Mashiro, Moritaka

Main

Abe, Atsushi
Japanese

Takagi, Akito

Main

Hino, Satoshi
Japanese

Niizuma, Eiji

Supporting

Okamoto, Nobuhiko
Japanese

Hiramaru, Kazuya

Supporting

Morita, Masakazu
Japanese

Azuki, Miho

Supporting

Hayami, Saori
Japanese

Fukuda, Shinta

Supporting

Suwabe, Junichi
Japanese

Hattori, Akira

Supporting

Tone, Kentarou
Japanese

Miyoshi, Kaya

Supporting

Yahagi, Sayuri
Japanese

Yoshida, Kouji

Supporting

Koyasu, Takehito
Japanese

Aoki, Yuriko

Supporting

Kawasumi, Ayako
Japanese

More staff

Staff

Matsukura, Yuuji

Producer

Kasai, Kenichi

Director, Storyboard

Akitaya, Noriaki

Director, Episode Director, Storyboard

Watanabe, Jun

Sound Director

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Opening Theme

	1: "Blue Bird" by Kobukuro (eps 1-24)
	2: "Genjitsu to iu Na no Kaibutsu to Tatakau Mono Tachi (現実という名の怪物と戦う者たち)" by Yuu Takahashi (高橋優) (eps 25)

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Ending Theme

	1: "BAKUROCK ~Mirai no Rinkakusen~ (BAKUROCK 〜未来の輪郭線〜)" by YA-KYIM (eps 1-13)
	2: "Genjitsu to iu Na no Kaibutsu to Tatakau Mono Tachi (現実という名の怪物と戦う者たち)" by Yuu Takahashi (高橋優) (eps 14-24)
	3: "Blue Bird" by Kobukuro (eps 25)

More reviews

Reviews

Jun 20, 2011

8thSin

Recommended

'Bakuman.'
The true meaning of the title was never revealed, but most speculators believe it's short for 'BAKUchi MANga.' (Gambling Manga). It is a simple tale of two middle school guys setting out to become professional manga artists. The story progresses like any other sports or music anime, where ordinary guys aim for the top, facing many challenges and rivals on the way. However, I consider this to be the greatest shounen/seishun (coming of age) genre anime I have ever encountered, because it analyzes what makes a manga good in a coherent way, and more importantly, it practices what it preaches.

This is a review by EIGHTHSin, ...

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Sep 5, 2017

Tempsy

Not Recommended

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 my ... very 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.

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Apr 22, 2014

HappyHarryHardOn

Recommended

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 like ... this: 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

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Niizuma, Eiji

Hiramaru, Kazuya

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Hattori, Akira

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