Manga: Bakuman

[LobsterMagnet]

Hi everyone

I'm really really surprised no ones posted this manga up yet seeing how by the same the artist/author combo of death note Ohba Tsugumi Obata Takeshi

It's much more light hearted then death note but still same sort of gravitas is applied and honestly I've fallen in love with it even if it's only in the infancy of it's run with only 15 chapters.

The concept is so deceptively simple it's a manga about manga. Basically involves two young high school kids who aspire to become a writer/artist manga combo and get their material published, but at the same time does a really good job of examining what goes into the production of a successful shounen manga.

I think most of the people here would get a huge kick out of it and you should check it out here you can view all of the manga' scan's online:

http://www.onemanga.com/Bakuman/

Hope you guys enjoy this piece as much as I have.

[animus]

Read the first 11 or so chapters. Pretty interesting so far. Very light hearted, was expecting some kind of super natural twist.

I also like how the editor looks like Ryuk, I'm sure he did it on purpose.

[LobsterMagnet]

It's much much more light-hearted in comparison to death note, but it's still got the same attention to detail that made Death Note so compelling. Especially enjoy how the main antagonist Eiji Nīzuma is being built up.

Reminds me so much of L at least how he's portrayed as this sort of aloof borderline autistic genius who functions on another level beyond most people. He's wonderfully unsettling even if all he does is draw manga. Glad you enjoyed hope other people chime in with their thoughts.

[Kraco]

Reading through the first few chapters has left me with a good feeling about the story, but also one question: Shouldn't the dudes get a computer? Surely the mangaka use one these days. Even if one first draws on paper, it would make sense to scan the drawing and fix any faults instead of drawing it all again should something go terribly wrong. Plus some details should be easier to draw using computer software to begin with.

But then again, I've only read the first chapters so maybe they do get one later.

[Ryllharu]

Some mangaka use computers, Akamatsu does (and has for years), but a large number of them still do it the pure pen and paper way.

There are a lot you can do with tablets, but a lot of the really unique things about pencils and inks can't be replicated without more effort than the regular way does.

By chapter 70, out today, they are still doing it the old way. It works. *shrug*

That said, Bakuman does a pretty good examination of different mangaka personalities and work styles. That's part of the massive charm of this series.

[Kraco]

Up to chapter 71...

I liked this a lot earlier but of late I've been losing my interest as rapidly as the two main characters have been losing their shine. I'm not anymore even sure what they are like, in fact. You see it often in shounen that the main character is forced to do the wrong thing unsuitable for him but eventually, one way or another, by himself or by finding a better instructor, he finds the correct path. For the longest time Bakuman was giving the impression gag manga isn't the correct choice for those two but now that it has been hammered down again and again for so long I'm not anymore sure about anything.

And I don't mean I'm not sure just about where their true calling lies. The truth is that they have been failing for so long now and despite that they keep pushing forward with something mediocre (the gag manga) that has been already rejected. Maybe this is realistic in a certain sense but still this is a manga, not reality, and if you look at the other stars in the series, they aren't failing at all at finding what they seem to like doing or are doing best - and their results show it. They still shine very much.

This is essentially why I said the main characters are losing their shine. They have been sucking for so long now and have shown absolutely zero shounen spirit to change their fates. Right now it seems to me they will end up like Mashiro's uncle: Forever trying, never succeeding until they drop dead. With the exception they aren't going to be even one hit wonders. Considering that there's also one element present in this series that infuriates me universally in all stories: Why are those two called so promising and must-to-be-kept-at-Jump-no-matter-what when in fact they can't produce anything that really impresses anybody and instead just bring to the table the same old technically good shit but that's not ever going to be number one and everybody knows it? If you are called impressive, you have to impress people, for god's sake.

I'm not sure I'll keep reading this. If Mashiro and Tagaki finally dropped the bloody gag manga and told the fricking gag loving editor to shut up and consider for the first time what they as the authors want to and can do (instead of the fool of an editor himself), I might retain my interest. But now the dead horse has already been beaten far too long.

[neflight86]

Well, one of the things that actually keeps this manga on my 'weekly read' list is the fact that it is constantly denying my expectations of how the plot should progress. I blame all of the shounen mangas/anime conditioning us to expect a certain difficulty curve for our protagonists. I simply enjoy the character's struggles because, in Bakuman, they seem like REAL hardships, not just some enemy that needs to be out-leveled. It is probably due the the attention to detail in the writing, and the conservative logic most of the characters rely upon.

Likewise, I enjoy the wordiness of the series. It just feels like I am reading more than I do each week, which is a big thing for a manga starved fool. It takes me around 15 minutes to read a chapter, which is great by shounen standards. Anyway, just felt like sharing a little Bakuman love for those on the fence.

[Archangel]

Ok seriously... we have to get this thread rolling

I'm pretty happy with the recent chapter, i was afraid the romance one-shot would be subpar and they would only make up afterwards so this works out for the best. I felt having Shiratori learn how to make it all himself was a tad unrealistic but seeing how the previously mentioned scenario or Shujin giving up were the only alternatives i can't say i'm displeased.

Third place however makes me think they won't be the ones to win this, though I'd be really annoyed if Eiji manages to be the on to do it. Yeah he's a genius but romance just isn't his thing, not only is he not suited to the genre he doesn't even have any personal experience in the matter.

[LobsterMagnet]

Man started this thread 2 years ago!!! Looks like maybe it's finally getting attention due to anime. About time people started taking notice.

Bakuman is easily my favorite of the weekly shounen series. This past chapter was pretty good. Although tagaki coming back felt like it resolved the whole conflict a little too easily.

Can't wait to see all of the various competing manga's in the love fest. Although I'm kind of curious if we'll ever see nagaki again. Poor guy's failure was probably easily one of the most depressing things in the entire series. I'd be nice to see him somehow redeem himself and make a come back.

I mean considering what happened with Iwaise who originally seemed like a throw away character, but the came back with avengence to become the closest thing this series has ever gotten to villain feel any obscure character is never out of the picture for good.

[Ryllharu]

I felt having Shiratori learn how to make it all himself was a tad unrealistic but seeing how the previously mentioned scenario or Shujin giving up were the only alternatives i can't say i'm displeased.

From what it sounded like and what we've seen so far, Shiratori isn't a bad author or a bad artist at all. His problem was always a lack of confidence, due to his mother. His sister and father's endorsement got him partway there, but he still needed a boost. Shujin spent all that time psyching him up to it, as well as giving him a few points here and there. He forced Shiratori to realize he is a strong mangaka in his own right, and always has been.

The bonus of this development was we got to see plenty of Kaya being cutely worried. These last few chapters made me like Kaya more than ever.

I mean considering what happened with Iwaise who originally seemed like a throw away character, but the came back with avengence to become the closest thing this series has ever gotten to villain feel any obscure character is never out of the picture for good.

Iwase is great. She so obsessed with Shujin that she makes really rash decisions and hilarious overcompensations. Her "rival" has found success in manga? Compete as a mangaka! He's found happiness in love and that's made him a better writer? Try and snag the nearest man! She has become one of my favorites because she's so out of control.

She makes the rest of the side characters look remarkably sane.

[Archangel]

From what it sounded like and what we've seen so far, Shiratori isn't a bad author or a bad artist at all. His problem was always a lack of confidence, due to his mother. His sister and father's endorsement got him partway there, but he still needed a boost. Shujin spent all that time psyching him up to it, as well as giving him a few points here and there. He forced Shiratori to realize he is a strong mangaka in his own right, and always has been.

My problem with that is that Hattori was the one to recommended the partnership, if he believed Shiratori was capable of pulling it off on his own i don't think he would have suggested such a thing in the first place

On that note, i have no idea why they're making such a big deal of hiding the reason for his anime ambitions from Hattori. The guy is a total bro, i'm sure he'd give them some solid advising on the matter if they just talked about it.

Edit: I'd also like to point out how much i'm dying to know more about Iwase's character. Her love and competitiveness are way too out there for her not to have an interesting background.

[Archangel]

Chapter 112

If you don't have a MT account yet stop being a douchebag and go register.

[neflight86]

This series really must have me by the neck. It says laugh, I laugh; It tells me to cry, and I cry. After chapter 114, I don't think I have ever run such a gamut of feelings within a single chapter of any manga, and for that I am thankful. Truly a masterful story (among shounen), even if it is treading in slice-of-life territory right now.

[LobsterMagnet]

Yeah that was an awesome chapter. Funny that Hinmaru won the Aoki race. I always felt like Fukuda was the front runner in that regard. Curious to see how things play out. But yeah moments like these are why I fucking love Bakuman.

Now if only nagaki could make his triumphant return.

[Sapphire]

I am on volume 3 of this epically and gorgeously written manga. It is very insightful and motivating. I hope I write like that one day.

Aside from the obvious masterful writing of this manga, I am liking that it's so dialog heavy, because it takes me a while to read up a single chapter. It's almost like watching an episode.

The problem is, I want to read it so fast! Too fast, even. Then I'll have nothing to read. I gotta pace myself...

[Ryllharu]

Bakuman 144



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Interesting (though not all that surprising), that Nanamine's twisted ideas about manga are from being heavily influenced by Shujin and Saiko's first Jump one-shot. He really took it to heart, and since his family has wealth, he could test it out.

I wonder how the duo will shut him down this time. Assuming he never runs into serious debt, which as he said, he can get out of just by making one or two major hits, he seems to have a pretty solid plan. The population in his manga cafe isn't really enough to rig the votes on its own, but he could certainly stuff the boxes. He's got really talented artists who want to get some level of success, and of course there's nothing wrong with having an author continue on in the business as an artist only, happens all the time. His staff of 16 plus 1 lecturer can get really creative without worrying about wasting all their time. What isn't a hit one round lets them refine the concepts and try something better without having to go through drafting a manuscript to see if it is any good. They stop at the name version. They also get immediate feedback from the cafe below.

Manga by Committee is a disgusting concept, but Nanamine seems to have it pretty well figured out this time. Running out of money before he gets some large financial successes is the only thing that seems like it will unseat him.

[Archangel]

Chapter 152:

I wonder... was Niizuma displeased because he thinks he'll lose or because of all the extra attention he got compared to Ashirogi's one shot? In my opinion Reversi sounds much more interesting than Zombie Gun

[Archangel]

Why can't i stop laughing?

[RyougaZell]

You'll never see Kishimoto or Kubo like that. With them not caring about quality and all that

[Ryllharu]

There was a certain air about that frame. It reeked of personal experience by a certain mangaka about a certain series involving a notebook (or earlier, he's been around for a while).

"I love the smell of lineart in the morning. You know, one time we had a chapter inked, for 12 hours. When it was all over, I walked up. We didn't find one of 'em, not one stinkin' dink stray line. The smell, you know that drying ink smell, the whole thing. Smelled like...despair."