While far from underrated, the anime and manga series known as Bakuman has gone fairly under celebrated in recent years for its depiction of two young boys' and their pursuit of their dream to become the greatest mangaka duo in Japan. With brilliant emotional development, interesting characters and loads of references and Easter Eggs, Bakuman is one of the best romantic shonen series to date, and brings together the beauty of romance with the intense and edgy world of manga.
Bakuman is a series created by Tsugumi Ohba and Takeshi Obata, best known for the creation of one of the most famous and influential anime of the past two decades, Death Note. Having collaborated in various other manga-turned-anime projects, the author and illustrator duo created a masterpiece, and with it nearing its fifteenth anniversary in 2023, here's why you should definitely watch Bakuman.
Plot
Bakuman follows Moritaka Mashiro, a teenage boy who once dreamed of becoming a famous mangaka like his uncle, Tarou Kawaguchi once was; however, a terrible tragedy causes him to abandon that dream entirely in favour of pushing himself to become a salaryman one day. One day, Moritaka forgets one of his notebooks in his desk, so he goes back to find it and encounters Akito Takagi, the school's top student and an aspiring writer who enthusiastically approaches Moritaka with the idea that with his storytelling ability and Moritaka's artistic talent, they could become mangaka. Initially uninterested in the whole thing, Moritaka becomes wholly on-board with the mission when he finds out that the girl he likes, Miho Azuki, has aspirations of one day entering the anime and manga industry as a voice actor. Together, Moritaka and Akito form the mangaka duo known as "Muto Ashirogi", and begin their journey to becoming the best mangaka in Japan.
One of the best things about the Bakuman series is the kind of insight it grants into the process behind the creation of manga. While it can't be regarded a source of complete insight into the industry, it provides just enough of a glimpse into how things work. It also has a huge romantic and slice of life component that drives the story – Bakuman's biggest draws are the central romance developing between the spouses-to-be Moritaka and Miho; as well as the way it depicts the manga industry, especially from the perspective of authors who have created work featured in major publications like Jump.
Characters
Moritaka Mashiro
The first character introduced in the series, Moritaka had childhood aspirations of becoming a mangaka like his uncle, who was the author of a famous gag manga. However, manga ended up being his uncle's undoing as consistent low ratings led to his manga's swift cancellation, and his uncle subsequently died from overwork. However, after finding out that Miho Azuki has aspirations of becoming a voice actor, Moritaka decides to humour Akito.Akito Takagi
The instigator of the aspirations of the mangaka duo known as Ashirogi Muto, Akito is intelligent and excels at school; however, his aspirations are artistic in nature. Fancying himself a writer, Akito saw Moritaka's artistic talent (and his below-the-surface adoration of Miho) and thought that it was exactly what his writing needed.Miho Azuki
Moritaka's crush, Miho, aspires to become the voice actor of the heroine in the anime adaptation of a hugely successful manga. When Moritaka finds this out, it becomes the final push he needs to decide to collaborate with Akito, and the pair form a promise together with Miho. If they create a successful manga series that gets an anime adaption, they want Miho to be the voice of the series' heroine – and to Miho's surprise, Moritaka asks for her hand in marriage in the event that each of their dreams come true.
Themes
Unlike many other shonen titles, Bakuman depicts the journey of its characters from high school into their adulthood, and because it is centered on their lives as mangaka, the series has incredible ups and downs that reflect the intense experience it can be to be in pursuit of a dream. Like many other shonen titles, the Bakuman series sets up its characters in familiar clades; such as Moritaka and Akito being the dynamic duo but also being part of the series' main trio with Miho, mirroring other anime character trifectas like Naruto's Team 7. While inspirational in one vein, Bakuman can also get fairly dark especially in its depiction of the working conditions of mangaka; the sheer pressure and low success rate that comes with the territory, not to mention how time-consuming it is to create manga. It is romantic, sometimes even cheesy in that regard, especially with regard to the characters' relationship with their craft. The death of Moritaka's grandfather is one of the series' most urgent aspects, but it goes severely underused as a device in the plot once Moritaka is able to get over the initial stumbling block of wanting to get involved in manga in the first place.
The series is on some level, a love letter to the art of creating manga, as well as a love letter to Jump; but on another level, Bakuman is a cautionary tale. Even though the main duo are set up in a familiar shonen manner, with their achievement of their life goals coming down to being a matter of time and diligence on their part, a lot of the other characters are tortured by the craft on some level, haunted by deadlines and a tough industry that continuously grinds the bones of authors.
A magazine as important to the manga scene as Shonen Jump is especially rife with peril for any author hoping to make it, as the biggest stage is often the most demanding of the performer, and seeing how it took some kind of genius on some level for the successful characters to be so, it can be a tough pill to swallow while also being a cheesy romantic shonen about achieving and living one's dreams. All things considered, Bakuman comes highly recommended, especially for fans of more dramatic titles that take place over the course of several years in-universe. It can be fun, insightful, romantic; albeit a bit bright-eyed in its approach, Bakuman is definitely another hit from the dynamic duo responsible for the classic that is Death Note.