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3.82 AVERAGE
3.82 AVERAGE
Bakuman is a contemporary manga series written by Tsugumi Ohba, of Death Note fame. Although it took me a second to adjust to the fact that this series does not contain shinigami death gods, I was quite excited to see how Ohba would handle a non-supernatural storyline.
Moritaka and Akito are two high school boys, both incredibly clever. Doing well in school is Moritaka's plan - good school, good job. But then Akito proposes to write a manga together, and it forces him to reconsider his life goals. What does he really want?
Just like Death Note, Bakuman is filled with gorgeous tight art. The mangaka has an excellent sense of space and the points of view make this manga an absolute pleasure to read. The characters look like individuals without being clownesque and the dialogue does not take away from the visuals. To me, this might be the best looking manga I have read so far - there is something about those clean lines that appeals to me.
As for the content of the story, I am not entirely convinced. For me the largest barrier in enjoying Bakuman is a cultural one. Everything in this manga oozes competitiveness and a drive to perform within the work atmosphere. They have to study! They have to get into a good school! They have to get a good job! If they don't, their lives might as well be over! Their single-minded obsession with having a successful career was hard for me to stomach. In Dutch culture, it is hard work that is deemed praiseworthy, not being able to get to a certain level. The constant teleology of having to "make it" felt alien to me and made it hard to relate to the story in a meaningful way.
In the same line, Bakuman expresses some ideas on strength and weakness that I fundamentally disagree with. While not necessarily the opinion of the author, one character implies that committing suicide is a sign of "weakness". Japan is still very traditional in their gender roles, which again, found its expression in this manga, where a girl is apparently considered unattractive because she's proud of being smart. Overall, all these elements made me feel pretty blah about the story.
On the upside, I really did like the two main characters (though I did find it rather questionable that they are such boy geniuses). Their journey to becoming mangakas is fascinating, and their antics made me laugh several times. Right now I feel like this manga can go either way for me - either I'll turn to love it, or the cultural barrier will prevent me from ever becoming truly attached to the story.
Moritaka and Akito are two high school boys, both incredibly clever. Doing well in school is Moritaka's plan - good school, good job. But then Akito proposes to write a manga together, and it forces him to reconsider his life goals. What does he really want?
Just like Death Note, Bakuman is filled with gorgeous tight art. The mangaka has an excellent sense of space and the points of view make this manga an absolute pleasure to read. The characters look like individuals without being clownesque and the dialogue does not take away from the visuals. To me, this might be the best looking manga I have read so far - there is something about those clean lines that appeals to me.
As for the content of the story, I am not entirely convinced. For me the largest barrier in enjoying Bakuman is a cultural one. Everything in this manga oozes competitiveness and a drive to perform within the work atmosphere. They have to study! They have to get into a good school! They have to get a good job! If they don't, their lives might as well be over! Their single-minded obsession with having a successful career was hard for me to stomach. In Dutch culture, it is hard work that is deemed praiseworthy, not being able to get to a certain level. The constant teleology of having to "make it" felt alien to me and made it hard to relate to the story in a meaningful way.
In the same line, Bakuman expresses some ideas on strength and weakness that I fundamentally disagree with. While not necessarily the opinion of the author, one character implies that committing suicide is a sign of "weakness". Japan is still very traditional in their gender roles, which again, found its expression in this manga, where a girl is apparently considered unattractive because she's proud of being smart. Overall, all these elements made me feel pretty blah about the story.
On the upside, I really did like the two main characters (though I did find it rather questionable that they are such boy geniuses). Their journey to becoming mangakas is fascinating, and their antics made me laugh several times. Right now I feel like this manga can go either way for me - either I'll turn to love it, or the cultural barrier will prevent me from ever becoming truly attached to the story.
hopeful
inspiring
lighthearted
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Complicated
4 stars.
So much happened and this is only volume 1! I feel like I've been with these characters for years. I learned so much about manga through this. I'm really interested in seeing them try to make it as manga authors and to see how things go with Azuki. I really hope those two communicate and don't repeat history like his uncle and his mom.
So much happened and this is only volume 1! I feel like I've been with these characters for years. I learned so much about manga through this. I'm really interested in seeing them try to make it as manga authors and to see how things go with Azuki. I really hope those two communicate and don't repeat history like his uncle and his mom.
3.5 stars. I like the boys' story and find the artwork appealing, but am troubled by how pathetic and/or simpering every single female character seems so far.
The most disappointing book I ever read I was looking forward to reading the entire series because it seemed like an interesting concept two students want to publish manga, but the writing was bland and boring not only that but the sexism and misogyny in the book is the reason I won't read the rest of the series it was bad
I really loved the idea, I loved to read about all the facts about the manga publishing world.
BUT
Did I fail to notice how sexist this author was in Death Note?? I mean this was terrible! I don't even know why he should include some of the comments. They do not affect the story if they weren't there. I hope there will be no more female characters in the series(which is probably why Death Note wasn't like this. There were very few women in it)
BUT
Did I fail to notice how sexist this author was in Death Note?? I mean this was terrible! I don't even know why he should include some of the comments. They do not affect the story if they weren't there. I hope there will be no more female characters in the series(which is probably why Death Note wasn't like this. There were very few women in it)
Holy crap, it's adorable! Not exactly getting off to a slow start on this one, are we? Clearly Obata is 3 for 3 - the more I look into other manga the more I appreciate his clarity and expressiveness. Way to get off to a good start, create a lot of room for the story to open up and deepen. The story gets sluggish when we get manga-making lessons, but that's still interesting too. Characters are great, sense of humor and drama and emotional impact are great, nice to have some romantic treatment, too. Looking forward to following up on this one.
This really surprised me. Designed to give the reader a look into manga creation. Nice extras give a peek at the process of making this particular manga.
Starting this series again since I never finished it in High School. It's pretty fun, but man is there some overt sexism that I didnt pick up on back when i first read it...
This was my first Manga that I have ever read. I really liked reading it and like the main character and the kid who teams up with him to create the manga but I thought that the relationship between the main character and the girl who plans to marry him was just really stupid.