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A review by misssusan
Bakuman, Volume 7: Gag and Serious by Tsugumi Ohba
3.0
I think this series is at its best when it focuses on the mechanics of how manga magazines make the decisions they do. I found this volume's look at creator-editor conflict with Muto Ashirogi and Miura to be really engaging because I could see where they were both coming from. Plus the focus on statistics and trying to analyze what makes a manga likely to succeed in the long-term was interesting. Its something I instinctively want to argue against because I feel like the stories that really explode in popularity are the ones where you can feel that the author actually cares about and wants to be writing what they are; there's something off-putting about the idea of stories written to a formula. But I can totally understand the desire to want to analyze what makes a sure thing because hey, manga artists have to eat. I'm actually really interested to see how the 10 plotline plays out and whether it'll end up being the series that works out for them.
Also on lady watch: yayyy interactions between two female characters! I was really excited when Miss Aoki met Aiko Iwase and saw herself in her because potential lady friendships? Maaaaybe? A bit disappointed to see that the last chapter seemed to indicate Obata will be taking them down an antagonistic route. And I like the Takagi-Aoki plotline where they're working together to help each other write the opposite gender but I want it to stay a totally platonic creatively-oriented partnership and I'm pretty sure Obata's setting up Aoki to fall for him. :l It's okay Obata, I will care about Miss Aoki even if you don't have her involved in the romantic plotline. Ladies DO have lives outside of the luuurve you know. I feel like Obata believes male readers are categorically incapable of caring about female characters outside of the context of how they relate to men and just. Come on, give dudes some credit for empathy here. We're all human aren't we?
Also on lady watch: yayyy interactions between two female characters! I was really excited when Miss Aoki met Aiko Iwase and saw herself in her because potential lady friendships? Maaaaybe? A bit disappointed to see that the last chapter seemed to indicate Obata will be taking them down an antagonistic route. And I like the Takagi-Aoki plotline where they're working together to help each other write the opposite gender but I want it to stay a totally platonic creatively-oriented partnership and I'm pretty sure Obata's setting up Aoki to fall for him. :l It's okay Obata, I will care about Miss Aoki even if you don't have her involved in the romantic plotline. Ladies DO have lives outside of the luuurve you know. I feel like Obata believes male readers are categorically incapable of caring about female characters outside of the context of how they relate to men and just. Come on, give dudes some credit for empathy here. We're all human aren't we?