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Bakuman [バクマン] #19
Bakuman, Volume 19: Decision and Delight
Average student Moritaka Mashiro enjoys drawing for fun. When his classmate and aspiring writer Akito Takagi discovers his talent, he begs Moritaka to team up with him as a manga-creating duo. But what exactly does it take to make it in the manga-publishing world? Reads R to L (Japanese Style) for teen audiences.
167 pages, Paperback
First published January 1, 2011
8 people are currently reading
490 people want to read
About the author
Tsugumi Ohba
365 books2,858 followersTsugumi Ōba (Profile in Japanese: 大場 つぐみ), born in Tokyo, Japan, is a writer best known for the manga Death Note. His/her real identity is a closely guarded secret. As stated by the profile placed at the beginning of each Death Note manga, Ōba collects teacups and develops manga plots while holding his knees on a chair, similar to a habit of L, one of the main characters of the series.
There is speculation that Tsugumi Ōba is a pen name and that he is really Hiroshi Gamō. Pointing out that in Bakuman the main character's uncle was a one-hit wonder manga artist who worked on a gag super hero manga, very similar to Gamō and Tottemo! Luckyman in all aspects. Also that the storyboards drawn by Ōba greatly resemble Tottemo! Luckyman in style.
There is speculation that Tsugumi Ōba is a pen name and that he is really Hiroshi Gamō. Pointing out that in Bakuman the main character's uncle was a one-hit wonder manga artist who worked on a gag super hero manga, very similar to Gamō and Tottemo! Luckyman in all aspects. Also that the storyboards drawn by Ōba greatly resemble Tottemo! Luckyman in style.
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 83 reviews
June 29, 2017
This is actually how book twitter reacts to so many things. It was kind of crazy.
Read
October 31, 2013No matter how misogynist the earlier volumes of this series were, this volume's best scenes came about because of Kaya and Miho. I like that Kaya is mature, thoughtful and unselfish enough to invite Mashiro to their short holiday. He is practically family, after all.
And Miho. Takagi sums it up when he says, "She sure is mentally strong to be able to make a joke in this situation. You two have a lot of guts to be able to remain calm." I do like that Ohba/Obata decided to include the 2chan harrassment of seiyuu and mangaka as part of this volume. It's something that wouldn't have been a big deal maybe even a decade ago, but now, no matter where in the world you live, I feel that it's common for anonymous internet people to feel that they have the entitlement to say hurtful things about other people, especially if they're celebrities. This phenomenon isn't a Japan-only problem though I think for certain young voice actresses, it's been more common than not. For Miho to take it in stride and to react the way that she does is definitely a sign of her character and fortitude.
And Miho. Takagi sums it up when he says, "She sure is mentally strong to be able to make a joke in this situation. You two have a lot of guts to be able to remain calm." I do like that Ohba/Obata decided to include the 2chan harrassment of seiyuu and mangaka as part of this volume. It's something that wouldn't have been a big deal maybe even a decade ago, but now, no matter where in the world you live, I feel that it's common for anonymous internet people to feel that they have the entitlement to say hurtful things about other people, especially if they're celebrities. This phenomenon isn't a Japan-only problem though I think for certain young voice actresses, it's been more common than not. For Miho to take it in stride and to react the way that she does is definitely a sign of her character and fortitude.
November 26, 2015
*read scanlation version*
*review of vol 19 and half vol 20*
this volume(s) made me very-very upset... no, not bc the story, well, yes it's the story, but.... ough... you know, it's about the internet bullying, and not just bullying, it's character's bullying and harrassment who happened to be a public figure, an artist, if i may say *without spoiling anything*.
shouldn't these people know that artist, author, actors/actress, they all people too... hey, they have their own private life, and it isn't everybody's bussiness. yes... they might be your fav-idols, they might be your figures of admires, you dreams object, whatever... but, they're not your lovers *real lovers that is... whatever happened in your daydreams and dreams, THAT doesn't count :p *
i mean, i have high level of otaku-ness for a certain someone *no kidding* but i care more about enjoying how good his works are. of course i do enjoy his handsome face, i love looking at his pictures, reading his interviews and everything they write about him, watching his clips over and over and over again, and his movies *uhm, lets just don't go there or this review page would turn into 40 pages of irrelevant craziness...*
uhhmmm, i'm rambling here... where were we... oh yeah... so in short, i'm upset bc some people just don't seperated their fantasy and fandomness with their (and their idols) real life. if you love them that much shouldn't you be cheering and supporting too when they're definetly in love...
get a life nasty-stalker-annoying-people.
instead of harrassing your idols, get your own life!!
*still mad* *so mad, i wanna called saikou and shuujin past life as kenshin and soijiro and beat those internet bullies with sharp-edge katanas* #eh #sooooMixedUp :D
but, that being said.... i loveeeeeed how Mashiro and Miho as well as Takagi and Kaya handled the situation. superb and strong will and everything. just LOOOVEEED it.
*review of vol 19 and half vol 20*
this volume(s) made me very-very upset... no, not bc the story, well, yes it's the story, but.... ough... you know, it's about the internet bullying, and not just bullying, it's character's bullying and harrassment who happened to be a public figure, an artist, if i may say *without spoiling anything*.
shouldn't these people know that artist, author, actors/actress, they all people too... hey, they have their own private life, and it isn't everybody's bussiness. yes... they might be your fav-idols, they might be your figures of admires, you dreams object, whatever... but, they're not your lovers *real lovers that is... whatever happened in your daydreams and dreams, THAT doesn't count :p *
i mean, i have high level of otaku-ness for a certain someone *no kidding* but i care more about enjoying how good his works are. of course i do enjoy his handsome face, i love looking at his pictures, reading his interviews and everything they write about him, watching his clips over and over and over again, and his movies *uhm, lets just don't go there or this review page would turn into 40 pages of irrelevant craziness...*
uhhmmm, i'm rambling here... where were we... oh yeah... so in short, i'm upset bc some people just don't seperated their fantasy and fandomness with their (and their idols) real life. if you love them that much shouldn't you be cheering and supporting too when they're definetly in love...
get a life nasty-stalker-annoying-people.
instead of harrassing your idols, get your own life!!
*still mad* *so mad, i wanna called saikou and shuujin past life as kenshin and soijiro and beat those internet bullies with sharp-edge katanas* #eh #sooooMixedUp :D
but, that being said.... i loveeeeeed how Mashiro and Miho as well as Takagi and Kaya handled the situation. superb and strong will and everything. just LOOOVEEED it.
March 11, 2020
This review is for the entire series, which I rate it 5 stars.
Bakuman is the follow up work of the Death Note creative team, which is composed of writer Tsugumi Ohba and artist Takeshi Obata. However, in my opinion, I believe this is the better work.
Bakuman is the story of two teenagers breaking into the manga industry and they going to do it in their own unorthodox way, just like this manga. This manga is so unlike the usual ones. It's not a battle manga, which is the most popular and successful manga genre. Yet, it's like a battle manga because it has rivals, training montages, and other tropes of the genre.
The creative team is firing on all cylinders. The writer creates a genre-bending work and gives Obata-sensei a massive and appropriate canvass to flex his extensive art range, give us the best artwork of his career. The entire story is dense yet light, because it is full of ideas and concepts, like the other manga titles of the main characters' rivals. I wouldn't mind those spun off.
The story is engaging and funny, and gives the fans a satisfying ending. I only wish they included an epilogue to help the reader decompress after reading the last few volumes because it gives you a massive sensation of "finale high".
Aside from the killer story and the amazing art, this manga gave the reader a new way to appreciate and enjoy manga.
Bakuman is the follow up work of the Death Note creative team, which is composed of writer Tsugumi Ohba and artist Takeshi Obata. However, in my opinion, I believe this is the better work.
Bakuman is the story of two teenagers breaking into the manga industry and they going to do it in their own unorthodox way, just like this manga. This manga is so unlike the usual ones. It's not a battle manga, which is the most popular and successful manga genre. Yet, it's like a battle manga because it has rivals, training montages, and other tropes of the genre.
The creative team is firing on all cylinders. The writer creates a genre-bending work and gives Obata-sensei a massive and appropriate canvass to flex his extensive art range, give us the best artwork of his career. The entire story is dense yet light, because it is full of ideas and concepts, like the other manga titles of the main characters' rivals. I wouldn't mind those spun off.
The story is engaging and funny, and gives the fans a satisfying ending. I only wish they included an epilogue to help the reader decompress after reading the last few volumes because it gives you a massive sensation of "finale high".
Aside from the killer story and the amazing art, this manga gave the reader a new way to appreciate and enjoy manga.
January 12, 2023
The finale is so close! I can’t wait to see these characters’ dreams come true. I love them so much!
January 25, 2019
Seri kali ini lebih terasa melankolis karena banyak berkisah tentang Saikou dan Azuki, tentang impian mereka yang ternyata mempengaruhi karir keduanya. Well, kisah cinta mereka memang 'teguh'.
Tapi, aku kehilangan Hiramaru!!
Tapi, aku kehilangan Hiramaru!!
November 6, 2022
5/5
I finished Bakuman, the series by the duo Tsugumi Ohba and Takeshi Obata. It is a simple story about a boy (Moritaka Mashiro) in his third year of middle school deciding to become a manga artist on the persistence of his friend (Akito Takagi). Takagi will write the stories while Mashiro will do the art. Together, they tell their ambitions to his crush (Miho Ayuki), who aims to be a voice actress and decide to get married if and when she gets to voice the heroine of their series. A simple premise, but one that allows for myriads of twists and turns. They begin their manga journey with the pen name Muto Ashirogi.
This is a review of the entire series. Please keep that in mind.
The authors introduce various other mangakas with the most important being Eiji Nizuma, Ashirogi Sensei's biggest rival, a 15-year-old manga genius. They face various hardships along the way, from writer's block to unrequited confessions; from copycat imposters to tight deadlines; from all-nighters to hospital stays. It is a heartwarming story which will motivate you to fulfill your own dreams. The ultimate Shonen Manga.
The authors accomplished everything they set out to do. I cannot think of a single thing to improve in this masterpiece. It is short and concise (only 176 chapters), with no redundancies or detours. It also teaches the readers the grueling discipline required to be a mangaka, the hopes and dreams attached with it and the ins and outs of manga publishing. The Editors and the Editorial Department play as much of a role in the story as the mangakas. How the manga and the artist are tied together and how can gleam an insight into the author's psyche by reading their works. How to deal with success and imposter syndrome. How to actually write an engaging manga and what happens when you actually succeed in your dreams. This and so much more is presented in such an engaging manner in the series.
Heartily recommended to everyone. Can't wait to read more!!!
I finished Bakuman, the series by the duo Tsugumi Ohba and Takeshi Obata. It is a simple story about a boy (Moritaka Mashiro) in his third year of middle school deciding to become a manga artist on the persistence of his friend (Akito Takagi). Takagi will write the stories while Mashiro will do the art. Together, they tell their ambitions to his crush (Miho Ayuki), who aims to be a voice actress and decide to get married if and when she gets to voice the heroine of their series. A simple premise, but one that allows for myriads of twists and turns. They begin their manga journey with the pen name Muto Ashirogi.
This is a review of the entire series. Please keep that in mind.
The authors introduce various other mangakas with the most important being Eiji Nizuma, Ashirogi Sensei's biggest rival, a 15-year-old manga genius. They face various hardships along the way, from writer's block to unrequited confessions; from copycat imposters to tight deadlines; from all-nighters to hospital stays. It is a heartwarming story which will motivate you to fulfill your own dreams. The ultimate Shonen Manga.
The authors accomplished everything they set out to do. I cannot think of a single thing to improve in this masterpiece. It is short and concise (only 176 chapters), with no redundancies or detours. It also teaches the readers the grueling discipline required to be a mangaka, the hopes and dreams attached with it and the ins and outs of manga publishing. The Editors and the Editorial Department play as much of a role in the story as the mangakas. How the manga and the artist are tied together and how can gleam an insight into the author's psyche by reading their works. How to deal with success and imposter syndrome. How to actually write an engaging manga and what happens when you actually succeed in your dreams. This and so much more is presented in such an engaging manner in the series.
Heartily recommended to everyone. Can't wait to read more!!!
December 1, 2017
Bakuman Volumes 15-20
Ohba, Tsugumi, Bakuman, Shonen Jump, 2008.
Personal Response:
My personal response on this book was that I thought it wrapped up the series nicely. The ending did not feel rushed and left a satisfying feeling of accomplishment and overall happiness for the characters. There were no cliffhangers or loose ends left to the reader. The only thing I made a note of is that I would like to see more of a background story after the series ended to see more of Moritaka's and Miho's life together now that they're married.
Plot:
Akito and Moritaka's series finally gets turned into a show, which was their life long dreams. And on top of all of it, Miho becomes the main voice actor for their show which completes her lifelong dream. After all is said and done Moritaka keeps his promise to Miho and marries her. There was not very much going on in the plot at this point and mainly just wrapped up the series.
Characterization:
Moritaka becomes more mature throughout the series. He started out as young, immature middle school boy with big dreams. Now, Moritaka has finally accomplished all of his dreams and married his sweetheart, Miho. Moritaka's personality does not change much but his outlook on life does. He becomes more understanding and confident in himself and encourages others to be as well.
Akito's character really does not change very much, but he had become more mature throughout the story. He made wiser decisions and thought more of others than himself.
Setting:
The setting takes place in Tokyo, Japan from 2010 to future years. This is significant to the story because manga has originated from Japan and it is a major part of their culture.
Theme:
The overall main theme of the series was to work hard to achieve their dreams. It continuously shown the two main characters working hard for their goal and putting their maximum effort in, and in the end they achieved their main goal. They both pushed themselves and strove to become better artists although other people doubted their work and criticized their writing and art styles.
Recommendation:
I would recommend this series to anyone middle school age or older of either gender, due to the slightly advanced reading level. The book does contain romance and slice of life, so it may be skewed more towards female readers. The book reads right to left instead of the traditional left to right.
Ohba, Tsugumi, Bakuman, Shonen Jump, 2008.
Personal Response:
My personal response on this book was that I thought it wrapped up the series nicely. The ending did not feel rushed and left a satisfying feeling of accomplishment and overall happiness for the characters. There were no cliffhangers or loose ends left to the reader. The only thing I made a note of is that I would like to see more of a background story after the series ended to see more of Moritaka's and Miho's life together now that they're married.
Plot:
Akito and Moritaka's series finally gets turned into a show, which was their life long dreams. And on top of all of it, Miho becomes the main voice actor for their show which completes her lifelong dream. After all is said and done Moritaka keeps his promise to Miho and marries her. There was not very much going on in the plot at this point and mainly just wrapped up the series.
Characterization:
Moritaka becomes more mature throughout the series. He started out as young, immature middle school boy with big dreams. Now, Moritaka has finally accomplished all of his dreams and married his sweetheart, Miho. Moritaka's personality does not change much but his outlook on life does. He becomes more understanding and confident in himself and encourages others to be as well.
Akito's character really does not change very much, but he had become more mature throughout the story. He made wiser decisions and thought more of others than himself.
Setting:
The setting takes place in Tokyo, Japan from 2010 to future years. This is significant to the story because manga has originated from Japan and it is a major part of their culture.
Theme:
The overall main theme of the series was to work hard to achieve their dreams. It continuously shown the two main characters working hard for their goal and putting their maximum effort in, and in the end they achieved their main goal. They both pushed themselves and strove to become better artists although other people doubted their work and criticized their writing and art styles.
Recommendation:
I would recommend this series to anyone middle school age or older of either gender, due to the slightly advanced reading level. The book does contain romance and slice of life, so it may be skewed more towards female readers. The book reads right to left instead of the traditional left to right.
February 16, 2021
Bakuman 19
Aquí dividimos en dos.
La primer parte es la lucha por ser el manga top, entre el duo y Eiji, que se vuelve más complicada cuando solo hay un lugar por el anime, y las dos series lo quieren.
Ahí una discusión sobre extender una historia, que a mi me suena como a Death Note, será??? Ni idea.
Hacia el final problemas, y es que se arma un escándalo, y ciber-bullying, y pues está feo, y raro
Subiendo las emociones previo al último volumen.
Spoilery
4 stars
Aquí dividimos en dos.
La primer parte es la lucha por ser el manga top, entre el duo y Eiji, que se vuelve más complicada cuando solo hay un lugar por el anime, y las dos series lo quieren.
Ahí una discusión sobre extender una historia, que a mi me suena como a Death Note, será??? Ni idea.
Hacia el final problemas, y es que se arma un escándalo, y ciber-bullying, y pues está feo, y raro
Subiendo las emociones previo al último volumen.
Spoilery
4 stars
January 22, 2018
Mendekati ending bukannya makin simple malah makin rumit hahaha tapi nggak bisa diprotes karena memang segala hal yang diceritakan di sini manusiawi dan logis. Nggak lebay. Tapi kesel aja gituuu... hahaha
November 5, 2017
*terharu*
February 25, 2021
fangirling modo on
December 14, 2020
This volume brings about the much hoped for anime that the duo has been striving for from the beginning. Because you can't have a story without conflict, a big controversy starts about Mihu and raises the question of whether she'll be able to be in the anime after all.
March 19, 2024
The internet is simultaneously a blessing and a curse.
So much good can come of near instantaneous connectedness from others.
But then, there's always the chance that a person's vitriol & general unhappiness about many things spreads in an echo chamber.
For example, somebody disappointed that their favorite celebrity actually has a life outside of appeasing fans, let alone a LOVE LIFE, and they rally others to become an angry mob to cancel a girl for doing nothing wrong!
So after volumes and volumes of the manga-creating duo being the focus, the author of this series finally remembers to center a story around the heroine of the series, instead of just relegating her as a prize to be won when the boys' dreams are achieved. And while it could be a subtle Take That to the obsessive idiots who would dare call themselves fans, but have nothing but distaste once something doesn't go according to THEIR plans, this was made in 2013 and sadly things haven't changed too much since then. People online will STILL clamor to say that something or another ruined their childhood and cancel culture is stronger than ever.
...
Oh yeah the book.
Book good.
A little weaker since things are going so well for the protagonist duo, but the main conflict is primarily with the outcries of weirdos thinking that there might be nepotism involved in the selection of the voice actress for their work becoming animated. But thanks to the fiery spirits of our main cast, they can hopefully overcome this hurdle too.
So much good can come of near instantaneous connectedness from others.
But then, there's always the chance that a person's vitriol & general unhappiness about many things spreads in an echo chamber.
For example, somebody disappointed that their favorite celebrity actually has a life outside of appeasing fans, let alone a LOVE LIFE, and they rally others to become an angry mob to cancel a girl for doing nothing wrong!
So after volumes and volumes of the manga-creating duo being the focus, the author of this series finally remembers to center a story around the heroine of the series, instead of just relegating her as a prize to be won when the boys' dreams are achieved. And while it could be a subtle Take That to the obsessive idiots who would dare call themselves fans, but have nothing but distaste once something doesn't go according to THEIR plans, this was made in 2013 and sadly things haven't changed too much since then. People online will STILL clamor to say that something or another ruined their childhood and cancel culture is stronger than ever.
...
Oh yeah the book.
Book good.
A little weaker since things are going so well for the protagonist duo, but the main conflict is primarily with the outcries of weirdos thinking that there might be nepotism involved in the selection of the voice actress for their work becoming animated. But thanks to the fiery spirits of our main cast, they can hopefully overcome this hurdle too.
June 5, 2018
Bakuman: Decision and Delight continue where the previous tankobon left off and contains the next eight chapters (161–168) of the on-going manga series.
With Eiji Niizuma's anime for his previous manga going to end in the summer, there is one spot open for a new anime and there are two contenders: Ashirogi Muto's Reversi and Eiji Niizuma's Zombie Gun. However, they share the same problem – there's not enough source material. The anime would quickly catch up to the source material rather quickly, which means that they either stop production or stall by having anime only seasons to give the author to create more source material.
In the end, the new editor-in-chief, Yoshihisa Heishi chooses to produce Reversi as an anime. His reasoning seems sound. Firstly, while the source material is rather sparse, Reverrsi has more depth and meat to the series and could stretch it out further. Secondly, he purposely choose Ashirogi Muto to elevate their position and profile to equal Eiji Niizuma so they could battle with each other and make Shonen Jump even better. However, when told this, Ashirogi Muto informed Akira Hattori that Reversi would end before the anime would get a chance to premier, which is a problem, because one of the main reasons an anime is created is to advertise and sell an on-going series.
However, before they could even resolve that problem, another arose. Kitami Ririka, an up and coming voice actress, posted on her blog about meeting Ashirogi Muto, but was disappointed, because one of them is already married and the other is dating his middle-school sweetheart who happens to be a voice actor she admires. The post has been immediately deleted when Ashirogi Muto found out, but it was too late – the damage was done.
An anonymous poster who claimed to know Ashirogi Muto at school reveals that the mysterious girlfriend that the artist of Ashirogi Muto is dating is Miho Azuki. Furthermore, this poster outs Ashirogi Muto as Moritaka Mashiro and Akito Takagi and offer as proof their pen name – Ashirogi Muto. It was created by Kaya Miyoshi – the name comes from combining the Japanese characters for "dream" and "come true" which gives Muto with a character taken from the three dreamers: Miho Azuki ("A"), Moritaka Mashiro ("Shiro"), and Akito Takagi ("Gi"), which gives the pseudonym Ashirogi Muto.
The problem being is that Miho Azuki is not just a voice actor, but is becoming an idol herself. As an idol, she has to stay single, because she is the representative of the perfect woman to the masses – to the men out there who dreams about being with her and as long as she was single in their minds, they have a chance with her. Furthermore, it was pointed out that she voiced the female lead in the Perfect Crime Party Drama CD, which Ashirogi Muto wrote and they questioned if she got the role on her own merits or – well let's just say she was slut shamed and the masses considered if she slept her way into her other roles as well.
The negative press also hit Ashirogi Muto, but not as bad as Miho Azuki. They received threatening and death threats for dating Miho Azuki. Somehow, their innocent relationship has been twisted to something really ugly – perhaps predatory. When coming to recommend Miho Azuki for the lead role for Reversi – it was not looked highly upon, because of all the negative press and it's something that the anime studio would like to avoid.
Incensed, by all the negative press that his friends Ashirogi Muto are getting, Shinta Fukuda called Akito Takagi to find out what is going on. After hearing the story, he was touched by it so much that he went to a radio station that was promoting his work and told everyone the truth about the relationship between Moritaka Mashiro and Miho Azuki and about pursuing their dreams and encouraging each other by text, while not even seeing each other until they dreams come true.
In response to such a proclamation, Miho Azuki was encouraged by her agent to go on the radio the following day and refute the rumors and the story that Shinta Fukuda had spread. However, Miho Azuki went rogue and didn’t do as her agent asked. She confirmed that she was dating Moritaka Mashiro and reiterated that what Shinta Fukuda retold was correct and further inserts that when their dreams came true – she staring in an anime that was based on Moritaka Mashiro's work – they would get married.
There is one character of note that was reintroduced in Bakuman: Decision and Delight: Hidemitsu Ishizawa. He is a former contemporary of Ashirogi Muto in their middle school years and has written some manga that was published, which he takes great pride in and that he had a connection to Ashirogi Muto. He was also the anonymous source that ousted Ashirogi Muto and Miho Azuki – although they didn't know it was him that did it.
Things haven't gone well for Hidemitsu Ishizawa, while he got some limited success in publishing, he never became a manga artist, yet he refuses to improve his art or take a job as an assistant. After his college years, he's been out of work for many years and has gained a significant amount of weight that I almost didn't recognize him. Although a reason was not giving, Hidemitsu Ishizawa now hates Ashirogi Muto and Miho Azuki that he wanted to destroy them professionally.
Perhaps it was professional jealousy, because they became more successful than him or maybe because Kitami Ririka, the idol he loves and follows her blog religiously, wanted to date Ashirogi Muto, but was disheartened when she found out that one was married and the other was already in a committed relationship that instigated the need to destroy them.
Tsugumi Ohba has written another wonderful tankobon, despite his loquaciousness. As the penultimate tankobon I wonder how it would all be resolved, because it's a given that Moritaka Mashiro and Miho Azuki would end up together – well they should be, because if they're not I would be very cross, because after being invested in twenty tankobon for literally nothing. As always, the illustration by Takeshi Obata was brilliantly depicted.
All in all, Bakuman: Decision and Delight is a wonderful continuation of the on-going series. It is intriguing the difficulties for Moritaka Mashiro and Miho Azuki dreams would come true now because of the negative press all around, but I can't wait to see how this series is concluded in the next tankobon.
With Eiji Niizuma's anime for his previous manga going to end in the summer, there is one spot open for a new anime and there are two contenders: Ashirogi Muto's Reversi and Eiji Niizuma's Zombie Gun. However, they share the same problem – there's not enough source material. The anime would quickly catch up to the source material rather quickly, which means that they either stop production or stall by having anime only seasons to give the author to create more source material.
In the end, the new editor-in-chief, Yoshihisa Heishi chooses to produce Reversi as an anime. His reasoning seems sound. Firstly, while the source material is rather sparse, Reverrsi has more depth and meat to the series and could stretch it out further. Secondly, he purposely choose Ashirogi Muto to elevate their position and profile to equal Eiji Niizuma so they could battle with each other and make Shonen Jump even better. However, when told this, Ashirogi Muto informed Akira Hattori that Reversi would end before the anime would get a chance to premier, which is a problem, because one of the main reasons an anime is created is to advertise and sell an on-going series.
However, before they could even resolve that problem, another arose. Kitami Ririka, an up and coming voice actress, posted on her blog about meeting Ashirogi Muto, but was disappointed, because one of them is already married and the other is dating his middle-school sweetheart who happens to be a voice actor she admires. The post has been immediately deleted when Ashirogi Muto found out, but it was too late – the damage was done.
An anonymous poster who claimed to know Ashirogi Muto at school reveals that the mysterious girlfriend that the artist of Ashirogi Muto is dating is Miho Azuki. Furthermore, this poster outs Ashirogi Muto as Moritaka Mashiro and Akito Takagi and offer as proof their pen name – Ashirogi Muto. It was created by Kaya Miyoshi – the name comes from combining the Japanese characters for "dream" and "come true" which gives Muto with a character taken from the three dreamers: Miho Azuki ("A"), Moritaka Mashiro ("Shiro"), and Akito Takagi ("Gi"), which gives the pseudonym Ashirogi Muto.
The problem being is that Miho Azuki is not just a voice actor, but is becoming an idol herself. As an idol, she has to stay single, because she is the representative of the perfect woman to the masses – to the men out there who dreams about being with her and as long as she was single in their minds, they have a chance with her. Furthermore, it was pointed out that she voiced the female lead in the Perfect Crime Party Drama CD, which Ashirogi Muto wrote and they questioned if she got the role on her own merits or – well let's just say she was slut shamed and the masses considered if she slept her way into her other roles as well.
The negative press also hit Ashirogi Muto, but not as bad as Miho Azuki. They received threatening and death threats for dating Miho Azuki. Somehow, their innocent relationship has been twisted to something really ugly – perhaps predatory. When coming to recommend Miho Azuki for the lead role for Reversi – it was not looked highly upon, because of all the negative press and it's something that the anime studio would like to avoid.
Incensed, by all the negative press that his friends Ashirogi Muto are getting, Shinta Fukuda called Akito Takagi to find out what is going on. After hearing the story, he was touched by it so much that he went to a radio station that was promoting his work and told everyone the truth about the relationship between Moritaka Mashiro and Miho Azuki and about pursuing their dreams and encouraging each other by text, while not even seeing each other until they dreams come true.
In response to such a proclamation, Miho Azuki was encouraged by her agent to go on the radio the following day and refute the rumors and the story that Shinta Fukuda had spread. However, Miho Azuki went rogue and didn’t do as her agent asked. She confirmed that she was dating Moritaka Mashiro and reiterated that what Shinta Fukuda retold was correct and further inserts that when their dreams came true – she staring in an anime that was based on Moritaka Mashiro's work – they would get married.
There is one character of note that was reintroduced in Bakuman: Decision and Delight: Hidemitsu Ishizawa. He is a former contemporary of Ashirogi Muto in their middle school years and has written some manga that was published, which he takes great pride in and that he had a connection to Ashirogi Muto. He was also the anonymous source that ousted Ashirogi Muto and Miho Azuki – although they didn't know it was him that did it.
Things haven't gone well for Hidemitsu Ishizawa, while he got some limited success in publishing, he never became a manga artist, yet he refuses to improve his art or take a job as an assistant. After his college years, he's been out of work for many years and has gained a significant amount of weight that I almost didn't recognize him. Although a reason was not giving, Hidemitsu Ishizawa now hates Ashirogi Muto and Miho Azuki that he wanted to destroy them professionally.
Perhaps it was professional jealousy, because they became more successful than him or maybe because Kitami Ririka, the idol he loves and follows her blog religiously, wanted to date Ashirogi Muto, but was disheartened when she found out that one was married and the other was already in a committed relationship that instigated the need to destroy them.
Tsugumi Ohba has written another wonderful tankobon, despite his loquaciousness. As the penultimate tankobon I wonder how it would all be resolved, because it's a given that Moritaka Mashiro and Miho Azuki would end up together – well they should be, because if they're not I would be very cross, because after being invested in twenty tankobon for literally nothing. As always, the illustration by Takeshi Obata was brilliantly depicted.
All in all, Bakuman: Decision and Delight is a wonderful continuation of the on-going series. It is intriguing the difficulties for Moritaka Mashiro and Miho Azuki dreams would come true now because of the negative press all around, but I can't wait to see how this series is concluded in the next tankobon.
December 2, 2014
Este tomo resulta muy interesante ya que genera una serie de enredos geniales que dan vida a la serie completa. En este tomo creo que ha sido donde han metido toda la carne en el asador y han empezado a salirse un poco del guión al que nos tenían acostumbrados en los 18 anteriores tomos de la serie.
Gracias a salirse un poco de su habitual pelea de series y votos en este tomo meten personajes nuevos que crean intrigas más que interesantes que cierran con un final que se hace completamente inevitable tener que leer el siguiente tomo, que además, será el tomo final que cierra todos los arcos argumentales y la serie completa.
Gracias a salirse un poco de su habitual pelea de series y votos en este tomo meten personajes nuevos que crean intrigas más que interesantes que cierran con un final que se hace completamente inevitable tener que leer el siguiente tomo, que además, será el tomo final que cierra todos los arcos argumentales y la serie completa.
June 18, 2015
This is superb as ever!!! I can't stop reading and I'm almost reaching the end of it. I bought the last one in physical copy. I'm going to jump into it straight away. Even though i am always rooting for ashirogi muto, but i fell for eiji's sincerity and talent all the time. Of course, we have rumours on the internet for this volume, how these rumours affect people and the behaviour of fans really disgust me sometimes, and Fukuda-san is the coolest off all!! 5 stars!
May 14, 2013
10/5 omg. OH MY GOD! That ending what will happen..
Ahhhhhh!!!!!!! So good
Ahhhhhh!!!!!!! So good
April 24, 2020
❤
People are scary sometimes.
❤
People are scary sometimes.
❤
May 28, 2021
for some reason these last five books weren't as interesting to me as the earlier ones but the series is so solid as a whole that yo, it's worth it. the series is 5 stars all together imo.
August 26, 2018
Bakuman continues its renewed Eiji rivalry arc in Volume 19. First it’s the battle for survey results, then it’s a battle for graphic novel sales, and it finally culminates in a battle for a Jump anime slot. These “battles” though are relatively short. The start of the graphic novel sales battle to the conclusion of the anime battle takes only four chapters. The pages though are crammed with dialogue and panels, and it feels a bit like the creators were rushing through to get to the next, and likely final, arc of the series.
The driving force behind Ashirogi’s anime aspirations has been Moritaka’s dream of marrying Miho, so once Reversi’s anime slot is locked in, the story shifts back to Moritaka and Miho’s endangered species-like relationship (as Akito calls it). Of course our pair can’t get to happily ever after so easily, and a new obstacle arises in the form of Internet fandom backlash.
It starts out small enough with an indiscreet blog post stating that Ashirogi-sensei is actually a two-person team, but that quickly snowballs into a tabloid scandal that plunges the Jump office into uproar and threatens Miho’s career. Ishizawa, who’s definitely taken a turn for the disgusting, reappears to ignite the sparks of disaster, and interestingly, Fukuda inadvertently fans the flames. I never pinned the bad-boy motorcycle mangaka as the romantic type, but apparently he is and unfortunately gets carried away by his emotions. As the storm rages, Miho exudes calm as usual, but so does Moritaka, and it’s actually Akito who gets all riled up about the situation. (I know the chances are slim, but I’m hoping for a replay of Akito’s Ishizawa punch!) At any rate, Bakuman looks to be heading toward a strong finish with Miho and Moritaka caught between denying their relationship and achieving their dreams.
Bakuman is at its penultimate volume, and as much as I’ve enjoyed the series, it really does feel like time for it to come to a close. Moritaka’s been in pursuit of his dream of marrying Miho for ten years, and at this point, Akito’s already married and most of their rivals have animated series. But the course of true love never runs smooth, and Ohba-sensei does a great job of throwing yet another obstacle into their path as the story shifts from the Eiji/Ashirogi rivalry to Moritaka and Miho’s hopes for marriage.
The driving force behind Ashirogi’s anime aspirations has been Moritaka’s dream of marrying Miho, so once Reversi’s anime slot is locked in, the story shifts back to Moritaka and Miho’s endangered species-like relationship (as Akito calls it). Of course our pair can’t get to happily ever after so easily, and a new obstacle arises in the form of Internet fandom backlash.
It starts out small enough with an indiscreet blog post stating that Ashirogi-sensei is actually a two-person team, but that quickly snowballs into a tabloid scandal that plunges the Jump office into uproar and threatens Miho’s career. Ishizawa, who’s definitely taken a turn for the disgusting, reappears to ignite the sparks of disaster, and interestingly, Fukuda inadvertently fans the flames. I never pinned the bad-boy motorcycle mangaka as the romantic type, but apparently he is and unfortunately gets carried away by his emotions. As the storm rages, Miho exudes calm as usual, but so does Moritaka, and it’s actually Akito who gets all riled up about the situation. (I know the chances are slim, but I’m hoping for a replay of Akito’s Ishizawa punch!) At any rate, Bakuman looks to be heading toward a strong finish with Miho and Moritaka caught between denying their relationship and achieving their dreams.
Bakuman is at its penultimate volume, and as much as I’ve enjoyed the series, it really does feel like time for it to come to a close. Moritaka’s been in pursuit of his dream of marrying Miho for ten years, and at this point, Akito’s already married and most of their rivals have animated series. But the course of true love never runs smooth, and Ohba-sensei does a great job of throwing yet another obstacle into their path as the story shifts from the Eiji/Ashirogi rivalry to Moritaka and Miho’s hopes for marriage.
November 30, 2020
Rating: 5 stars
Summary:
Akito Takagi aspires to be a manga writer, but he has poor drawing skills. He approaches his classmate, Moritaka Mashiro to be pair up with him into becoming manga creators. Mashiro rejects the idea at first. Takagi then convinces Mashiro when he brings them to Miho Azuki's house. Takagi tells Azuki about their dream of creating manga. Mashiro, who has a crush on Azuki, then "proposes" to marry Azuki if he is able to create a manga that will later be animated and Azuki will be the seiyuu or voice actor for the anime. The duo then set off their dream, going through many challenges and failures along the way, to create a manga that has potential to be animated.
Review (for the whole manga):
I first read this manga when it was published in a local comic magazine here in Malaysia, known as Kreko. Decided to reread again because I didn't finish the whole manga the first time (because I skipped a few volumes of the magazine, so I missed out some chapters of the manga). This manga is interesting as it shows you the "behind the scenes" of the manga industry in Japan. I have heard some people say that being a mangaka is not an easy job that will rake in money. Mangaka have to compete with many other mangaka from various publication companies. If your manga is no longer preferred by the readers, it will get dropped. All that is depicted in this manga series. Hardwork is sure the no. 1 key to success in this field. Overall, I really like this manga (plus the fact that it's created by the duo who made Death Note, Vol. 1: Boredom. ;)
Summary:
Akito Takagi aspires to be a manga writer, but he has poor drawing skills. He approaches his classmate, Moritaka Mashiro to be pair up with him into becoming manga creators. Mashiro rejects the idea at first. Takagi then convinces Mashiro when he brings them to Miho Azuki's house. Takagi tells Azuki about their dream of creating manga. Mashiro, who has a crush on Azuki, then "proposes" to marry Azuki if he is able to create a manga that will later be animated and Azuki will be the seiyuu or voice actor for the anime. The duo then set off their dream, going through many challenges and failures along the way, to create a manga that has potential to be animated.
Review (for the whole manga):
I first read this manga when it was published in a local comic magazine here in Malaysia, known as Kreko. Decided to reread again because I didn't finish the whole manga the first time (because I skipped a few volumes of the magazine, so I missed out some chapters of the manga). This manga is interesting as it shows you the "behind the scenes" of the manga industry in Japan. I have heard some people say that being a mangaka is not an easy job that will rake in money. Mangaka have to compete with many other mangaka from various publication companies. If your manga is no longer preferred by the readers, it will get dropped. All that is depicted in this manga series. Hardwork is sure the no. 1 key to success in this field. Overall, I really like this manga (plus the fact that it's created by the duo who made Death Note, Vol. 1: Boredom. ;)
October 18, 2021
This is (so far, I have not began the last volume yet) the point where the romantic arc of the story comes back on the foreground. We've not read anything about Miho Azuki in quite a long time; her career progression were barely mentioned, her actual work to get where she is almost completely hidden.
Now, though, our heros have to deal with the "scandal" of a 24 year old woman having her platonic relationship in the open. They have to deal with a powerful backlash from the general public, their internet comments, ans tabloid arricles.
If the adversary was going to be The Average Internet Keyboard Warrior, it would have been a decent and interesting turn of events, but they way the story has been handled, with the main characters trying to defend Azuki while justifying the public reactions, is bad. A huge missed opportunity, at the very least.
Lines like "Sure, as a voice actress she projected to be a pure [!!] person, I understand the fans being disappointed [!!!], but they didn't even kissed and did nothing wrong" show where Obha's and Obata's allegiance is. And that's a point of view I cannot subscribe.
I might be out of touch with the underlying teenage colture behind shoen manga, but pretending that the idea of "purity" as a measure of a person's value has any legitimacy in today's world is beyond me.
Now, though, our heros have to deal with the "scandal" of a 24 year old woman having her platonic relationship in the open. They have to deal with a powerful backlash from the general public, their internet comments, ans tabloid arricles.
If the adversary was going to be The Average Internet Keyboard Warrior, it would have been a decent and interesting turn of events, but they way the story has been handled, with the main characters trying to defend Azuki while justifying the public reactions, is bad. A huge missed opportunity, at the very least.
Lines like "Sure, as a voice actress she projected to be a pure [!!] person, I understand the fans being disappointed [!!!], but they didn't even kissed and did nothing wrong" show where Obha's and Obata's allegiance is. And that's a point of view I cannot subscribe.
I might be out of touch with the underlying teenage colture behind shoen manga, but pretending that the idea of "purity" as a measure of a person's value has any legitimacy in today's world is beyond me.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
July 14, 2018
Persaingan antara Ashirogi Muto dan Eiji Niizuma makin gila. Ngga hanya bersaing di angket tapi juga di penjualan tankoubonnya. Keren deh. Sukaaaa banget dengan mereka. Masih sangat muda tapi sangat tau apa yang mereka lakukan. Yang diuntungkan tentu saja si publisher ya hahahaha... Tapi sebagai pembaca, saya yakin duo sensei TO-TO itu menulis Bakuman ini berdasarkan pengalaman mereka. Pengalaman awal mereka merintis karir hingga pasang surut sebuah karya. Keren keren keren lah pokoknya.
Yang bikin gondok disini adalah kekejaman netizen yang seenaknya nyablak tentang Miho Azuki, pacar Saikou, eh, Mashiro :D
Nanti ah nulis review benernya kalo sudah kelar volume 20 :D
Yang bikin gondok disini adalah kekejaman netizen yang seenaknya nyablak tentang Miho Azuki, pacar Saikou, eh, Mashiro :D
Nanti ah nulis review benernya kalo sudah kelar volume 20 :D
September 13, 2019
On peut dire que ce duo sait faire des finales fascinantes. Les tomes 19 et 20 se lisent ensemble, il est impossible d'arrêter la lecture. L'épreuve finale que doivent affronter les héros est cruelle, et infiniment réaliste, dans le monde actuel qui ne peut faire fi d'Internet et des réseaux sociaux.
Si Bakuman était jusque là un manga intéressant parce qu'il nous fait entrer dans un monde rarement abordé (celui d'être mangaka au Japon), avec cette finale, Bakuman devient plus que pertinent. Il met en scène avec brio l'extrême paradoxe de notre monde campé sur ses positions blanches ou noires, sans nuances de gris. Un excellent manga de notre temps et du Japon actuel.
Si Bakuman était jusque là un manga intéressant parce qu'il nous fait entrer dans un monde rarement abordé (celui d'être mangaka au Japon), avec cette finale, Bakuman devient plus que pertinent. Il met en scène avec brio l'extrême paradoxe de notre monde campé sur ses positions blanches ou noires, sans nuances de gris. Un excellent manga de notre temps et du Japon actuel.
July 29, 2022
U Azuki się dzieje. Dziewczyna ma nowe, poważne role jako seiyū. Do tego manga Mashiro na tyle dobrze się sprzedaje, że ekranizacja jest na ostatniej prostej. Ba, zaczynają się przesłuchania do głównych ról. I tu pojawia się problem. A właściwie całe stado. Pierwszym jest to, że mangacy nie bardzo mają wpływ na obsadzenie ról, a przecież była mowa, że to Azuki ma być główną bohaterką ich pierwszej mangi. Musi więc wziąć udział w castingu. Jednak niefrasobliwe wpisy jednej z jej rywalek, hejt w sieci, a także błąd w tekście powoduje niesamowite komplikacje dla zaistnienia w Reversi.
Więcej na: https://www.monime.pl/bakuman-tom-18-20/
Więcej na: https://www.monime.pl/bakuman-tom-18-20/
April 19, 2024
This volume mostly deals with the tabloids and drama centered around Miho. It's a pretty interesting dive into the world of voice acting and Japanese idol status. It also shows some of the toxic fandom of those worlds and touches on the judgmental anti-everything mentality of the constantly-online. It's a pretty interesting and seemingly realistic take on the whole thing. I have to say I wish they had spent more time with Miho and her journey through voice acting, as I think that would have made these chapters more fulfilling and exciting. And also they only focus on Moritaka and Miho in this whole volume so I miss the larger cast.
But overall good stuff.
But overall good stuff.
January 29, 2024
Throughout the series Bakuman's biggest issue has been it's sexism and misogyny, so it comes as quite a surprise that it's best volume is one that tackles the misogyny of modern/online fandom.
The outrage when Miho and Mashiro relationship is leaked, particularly focused on Miho and how impure she now is, is perfectly handled and reflects the way modern fandom often claims ownership over the lives of celebrities.
A fantastic way to usher in the final arc of the series.
The outrage when Miho and Mashiro relationship is leaked, particularly focused on Miho and how impure she now is, is perfectly handled and reflects the way modern fandom often claims ownership over the lives of celebrities.
A fantastic way to usher in the final arc of the series.
September 28, 2017
This is by far one of my favourite volumes. Bakuman is coming to an end, the second last volume of the series, and boy, was it good. The plot is so well carried out and it is refreshing after the last few volumes, I haven't been this excited since what went down between Moritaka, Akito and Miura.
Overall, great plot and theme. 5/5
Overall, great plot and theme. 5/5
May 31, 2020
Muto Ashirogi gets a chance to animate their series Reversi. Reversi will be animated, Mashiro is one step closer to being with Miho. Gossip about who Mihos boyfriend is blows out of proportion and Miho might not get a role in Reversi at all. In the end, Miho reveals her relationship with Mashiro on the air.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
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