Bakuman 7: Comicità e serietà

Bakuman [バクマン] #7

by Tsugumi Ohba, Takeshi Obata

Il momento fatidico è arrivato! La riunione in cui i redattori Shueisha decidono quali nuove serie inizieranno su Weekly Shonen Jump e quali verranno interrotte si è appena conclusa. Saiko e Shujin sono sul punto di scoprire se sul loro manga si abbatterà la scure… I due ragazzi hanno il cuore in gola: nel caso Detective Trap dovesse essere interrotto, riusciranno a trovare un’idea per un’altra storia di successo? Quello dei manga è un mondo davvero duro in cui possono sopravvivere solo i migliori!

Genres: Manga, Comics, Slice Of Life, Shonen, Graphic Novels, Fiction, Young Adult

Kindle Edition

First published March 4, 2010

About the author

Tsugumi 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.

Reviews

[Brian · Rating 4 out of 5]

Volume 7 opens with a major setback and the rest of the volume is tackling how to deal with that. The main conflict is between Muto Ashirogi and their editor, Mr. Muira. What makes it interesting is not so much that either is wrong, but that both have very different personalities and desires in what they want to read in manga. A fight with an editor is entertaining to read because, once more, you can feel for both sides. Then near the end, some potential relationship drama kicks in, something that hasn't really been a focus of the series so I'm curious to see where it goes.

[Emma · Rating 4 out of 5]

I want to jump into this volume and strangle the boys' new editor. What a jerk dirtbag buttface!

I have such strong feelings about this volume but I can't say much without giving spoilers sooo.. good stuff, you should read it.

[Nicolo · Rating 5 out of 5]

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.

[Wataru · Rating 4 out of 5]

In this volume, we can know the depression of the Manga Artist who couldn't serialize one Manga anymore (I mean, the editorial denied it) and how hard they work for getting the next serialization with their editors. In this Manga, Bakuman, they're losing their direction: Gag or Serious? It totally has a reality, we're gonna not only enjoying reading but also studying how the one artist get their serialization. I will recommend you to read this one.

[Lucien · Rating 2 out of 5]

misogyny. that's a word i would use to describe this. it's getting a bit unbearable, honestly.

[Chivitouille · Rating 5 out of 5]

Y ciertamente, lo inevitable llega...aunque guardaba las esperanzas de que el rumbo fuese diferente, al final ha sido lo más lógico. Es imposible que logren su objetivo de la manera que quieren con Detective Trap y también es cierto que la pausa ha sido una consecuencia más, pero han podido aprender mucho sobre cómo llevar una serie y el hecho de que lo hayan conseguido a pesar de los muchos problemas, es de admirarse y mucho.
Ahora toca pensar con qué seguir ahora.

Por lo pronto deciden a cual universidad asistir basados en cómo eligieron la preparatoria, una que no les exija mucho para poder seguir dedicándose al manga y como no podía ser de otra manera, tanto Mashiro, Takagi y Miyoshi quedan juntos de nuevo.
Deciden llevar las cosas con calma e ir tanteando el terreno para saber con qué tipo de historia continuar, por lo que después de conversarlo mucho optan porque la mejor opción sea volver al terreno conocido, pero ahora el problema será Miura, quien se ha puesto demasiado testarudo con las ideas que deberían de seguir.
El dilema es que Miura además de que esta influenciado por sus gustos siente la enorme presión de representar una serie que se convierta en un éxito, lo cual creará muchas situaciones bastante tensas con los Ashirogi.
En la primera reunión cada quien deja ver cuáles son sus planes a seguir, que no podían ser más opuestos, por un momento Takagi se empieza a dejar convencer por las sugerencias de Miura pero es Mashiro que al estar mas enfocado en sus puntos fuertes y en trabajar en lo que mejor se les da, intenta aplazar cualquier decisión que los pueda comprometer. Y como no hay mejor manera de salir de dudas que preguntando, consultan con las personas que más confianza tienen, Niizuma y Hattori.
No podía ser de otra manera y me encanta que se apoyen en ellos dos cuando tienen estas dudas.
A pesar de que intentan dialogar con Miura, esta claro que no lo harán cambiar de opinión, por lo que deciden tomar algunas decisiones bastante interesantes, tanto para demostrarle a él que está equivocado como para tantear el terreno y saber si realmente el camino que quieren seguir es el mejor.

Como pequeño paréntesis, hay un pequeño momento en el que reconocen que para lograr su objetivo necesitan de la ayuda de Miyoshi, y aunque ella sin duda los ayuda por gusto, me ha encantado que por fin reconocieran lo importante que es que siempre este ahí para darles apoyo con lo que necesiten.

Continuando, esta claro que las desiciones que toman crearán aún más tensión con Miura pero están decididos a demostrar que la mejor manera en que trabajan es con lo que mejor se les da.
Algo curioso es que tanto los de la revista como Niizuma llegan a la misma conclusión, que los Ashirogi tienen un gran talento pero aún pueden dar mucho más de sí y aunque hacen un excelente trabajo aún tienen detalles importantes que afinar.
Una vez que logran más o menos demostrar su objetivo pensando que podrán seguir lo que han planeado, se encuentran con que Miura ha estado investigando por su cuenta; obvio para respaldar y sustentar que la opción que él esta empeñado en que ellos sigan es la mejor, y todo esto provocará que las relaciones lleguen a un punto sumamente delicado donde al no dar su brazo a torcer y no escuchar a Mashiro, hablará de más y si de por si las cosas no iban muy bien, terminaran yendo peor.
En este punto definitivamente terminó por desagradarme completamente y nunca imagine que fuese a decir lo que dijo.
Esto demuestra que Miura al ser su supervisor se ha dejado llevar por la presión y la desesperación por lo que se ha olvidado por completo de guiarlos y aconsejarlos como es debido. Pero también toda esta situación demuestra la enorme amistad que tienen Takagi y Mashiro y aunque este último es quien en su mayoría propone las cosas, al final todo lo conversan y se apoyan mutuamente. Es increíble lo mucho que han avanzado hasta llegar a este punto, son un equipo excelente.
Al final deciden llevar las cosas en paz y encontrar un punto medio que será muy interesante de ver; se haya comportado como se haya comportado, Miura trabaja mucho y demuestra su esfuerzo y empeño por hacer las cosas lo mejor posible, ahora solo falta ver cómo se desarrollarán las cosas a partir de ahora.

Ahora bien, de manera paralela sabremos más de Aoki y Nakai, quienes se encuentran en la misma situación de qué hacer ahora que su serie ha terminado, con la diferencia de que Aoki tendrá un nuevo supervisor y Nakai estará a la espera de encontrar un guión que pueda ilustrar.
Este nuevo supervisor, Yamahisa, sin pensarlo dos veces me ha desagradado mucho, es demasiado alivianado y no duda en ningún momento en hacerle preguntas personales y de algunas veces mal gusto a Aoki, aunque es claro que sabe hacer su trabajo.
Esto significa que tendremos más participación de Aoki de ahora en adelante y más porque gracias a una de las sugerencias de Yamahisa para su nueva historia y de las circunstancias, empieza a hablar más con Takagi.
Mientras que Nakai empezara a trabajar con unos conocidos de los Ashirogi, que luego al ir avanzando el tiempo a uno de ellos le incomodara un poco por la situación que se empieza a crear, que sin duda es algo divertida.
Por otro lado se empieza a vislumbrar la participación de un nuevo mangaka a quien hasta Niizuma le reconoce el buen talento que tiene y por lo poco que nos hablan de este personaje será muy interesante de conocer.
Y como las cosas no podían estar en calma, hace su aparición un personaje sumamente inesperado de su pasado, quien ocasionará muy malos entendidos. No me esperaba para nada la manera en cómo se han desarrollado los últimos acontecimientos, hay algo de drama y uno de los personajes a los que les tengo gran estima se verá más perjudicado, dejando un final de los que sin duda te hacen querer saber lo más pronto posible cómo se resolverá este nuevo problema.
Una vez más nunca sabes con qué te van a sorprender, no me canso de decirlo una y otra vez y no me canso de sorprenderme y emocionarme leyendo esta historia.

[Marta · Rating 4 out of 5]

Third book on the Manga Readathon
-A manga that's been on your TBR the longest

De verdad que no me canso de leer esta serie. Me parece brillante que los autores hayan ido por esta idea de el mundo del mangaka y lo difícil que es convertirte en uno.
Me gusta mucho que estén profundizando más en Aoki y sus struggles, de modo que ya no es esa tía estirada, sino que tiene sus propios problemas y es una persona normal (y menos mal que no sale Miho, de verdad que no puedo con ella, me parece una petarda). Tengo que admitir que he empezado a shipear a Takagi y Aoki (lo siento, la pareja Miyoshi-Takagi simplemente no me pega nada tío, no terminan de convencerme). Impaciente por saber más (espero no tardar mucho en comprarme el próximo tomo jeje)

[Jesus Flores · Rating 3 out of 5]

Este es un volumen de transición, por lo que ocurre al inicio. Interesante si, aunque en menor grado, que ya se tendra mejora el próximo.

spoilers

..
.
.
.
harto spoiler

Pues si, los cancelaron, a ellos y a Aoiki-Nakai.
Pues tienen que idear el final de su serie y una nueva.
Aqui el obstaculo ser el editor, que afuerzas quiere hacer un manga comico y ellos uno más serio, tipo sci-fi. Llega al punto de decirles que los va a separar, lo cual pues si es tremendo error.
Al final llegan a un compromiso

[chloe · Rating 4 out of 5]

Best volume yet. But, they decided to go to college...to study business...tf? I mean, not only are they competing against other artists in the magazine, but now they’re butting heads with their new editor. Not sure what about that situation made them think that reverting back to the zombied-out grind of their high school years would be beneficial to their manga careers, especially if it’s just to study for study’s sake.

[Robert Kirwan · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is the first volume there was a little disconnect for me and where things dragged on a little.

I felt, towards the middle of the volume there was a lot of repetition and things stagnated a little!!

Still great!! The drawings are still amazing, the characters are great and have a place in my heart :)

Will continue and hopefully will be less bored

[Cece · Rating 3 out of 5]

Hace una semana que terminé este libro y se me había olvidado marcarlo como leído.
Ha sido muy poco memorable, los mismos conflictos y tramas que llevan pasando en los volúmenes anteriores. Si sigue así, seguramente no termine de leer todos los tomos.

[Lisa · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is one of my favorite volumes! so many good story lines!

[Yuki Murata · Rating 4 out of 5]

In this volume the protagonists try to against their new editor, but they never change thier opinion. They made a few mangas at the same time to see what kind of their manga goes well even though they had just came back from the hiatus. I can see how passionate and professional at that young age. They separate the job so sometimes their opinion split, but afterall they get back together and the circle makes me feel that they are meant to be manga artist.

[Blake the Book Eater · Rating 4 out of 5]

I really loved the push and pull in this volume between what type of manga they want to create next as well as their feud with their editor!

[Josi · Rating 4 out of 5]

Me gusta la comedia, me gusta.

[Ricardo Marín]

3.5 / 5

Me he desesperado mucho en este tomo pero qué bien se torna al final.

[Lisa · Rating 5 out of 5]

it's awesome, it's awesome

[Miss Susan · Rating 3 out of 5]

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?

[Karina · Rating 4 out of 5]

I was shocked to know that “Detective Trap” will end. I thought that it would be animated because it was doing well before the hiatus. Well, we can’t change what happened, so all I can do is wait for their new series. It seems that they will create a gag manga! I hope that will be successful.

Also, I could know the difficulty of editor. Their work is to make manga artist create a interesting manga that become a big seller. However, Ed. Miura was enforcing his opinion too much to Mashiro and Takagi. He is very immature, but readers can watch over him from afar, so I hope that he will be mature.

I am worried about Takagi and Miyoshi. It is good for him to exchange ideas with Aoki, but he has to tell Miyoshi, his girlfriend, as soon as possible. I hope that he doesn’t get in trouble with her....

[Amanda Setasha · Rating 4 out of 5]

This series is definitely interesting. The quality picked back up, and the story takes some good twists.

My one major complaint with this series so far is the HUGE amount of text. Don't get me wrong, it's great. But it's a lot.

[Olivia · Rating 2 out of 5]

This series is bearable for the most part, but one has to wonder, has Ohba ever seriously interacted with a woman before??

[Aca · Rating 5 out of 5]

❤

The process of coming up with new ideas is really interesting. Also, the author learned to deal with writing female characters much better!

❤

[Ben Truong · Rating 4 out of 5]

Bakuman: Gag and Serious continue where the previous tankobon left off and contains the next nine chapters (53–61) of the on-going manga series.

The fate for Ashirogi Muto has been sealed – they have been cancelled. Their editor, Goro Miura insisted that their next contribution be a gag manga, despite that not being their forte. Miura is desperate to get one of his series serialized in order to protect his job, and believes to no end that a gag manga have a better chance of doing so, which of course didn't sit well with Ashirogi Muto – to the point where they submitted two series one gag and the other serious – their forte. Most of the tankobon is having them argue with their editor to the point where things got so heated that they said things that they shouldn't have. In the end, they decided to trust in their editor and to make a gag manga, but a new idea.

Near the end of the tankobon, Akito Takagi met Ko Aoki coincidentally at the zoo and they struck up a conversation. Aoki has trouble writing from the male's point of view, which is rather determent considering she's publishing her work in Shonen Jump – a manga target to males, while Takagi has trouble writing from the female prospective, so they formed a writer's alliance so they could trade thoughts and critiques. Coincidentally, Ko Aoki is acquainted with Aiko Iwase – the former rival of Akito Takagi, whom Aoki purposely force a reunion.

Surprisingly, for the second tankobon in a row, Tsugumi Ohba isn't as verbose as he used to be – could this be growth? However, there are a few places where the written word takes up more space than illustration, but it is an improvement. It's either that or I've built up an immunity to it and have a higher tolerance for his loquaciousness. Like always Takeshi Obata is wonderful in his artwork and I have nothing but compliments for his artwork – I even like how he drew Akito Takagi's drawing style, which is terrible, which makes sense considering he's the writer in the duo.

All in all, Bakuman: Gag and Serious is a wonderful continuation of the on-going series – it ended on a cliff-hanger, after a fashion – the reunion of Akito Takagi and Aiko Iwase.

[Nisa Greennnpanda · Rating 5 out of 5]

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. ;)

[Subodh Garg · Rating 5 out of 5]

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!!!

[Alex · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is a great volume - mostly centered on Moritaka and Akito's major setback after Detective Trap is cancelled. They have to basically start from scratch on a new idea. Their editor Miura really develops into an interesting character in this volume. The artists and the editor don't agree on what direction they should take for their work. It leads to a lot of believable and interesting conflict - with each side having their own valid take on the situation.

In addition they add some romantic drama to the story with Aoki, Iwase, and Akito. It's mostly a tease in this volume and I think there is more later. I do more complexity in the romantic stories would have added welcome nuance to those aspects. Moritaka is basically non-human when it comes to his romance, so I always wished they had pushed Akito's relationship development and struggles more into the limelight. Ultimately there's not much time for that kind of relationship drama because they want to focus on the manga creation. That is the core element of the story, and the relationship stuff is fun and well done but could probably have had some more complexity to it.

[Sinta Nisfuanna · Rating 4 out of 5]

Perdebatan Miura dan Ashirogi Muto memanas, antara membuat Manga Komedi yang pastinya jadi pengalaman baru, atau tetap di jalur misteri yang sudah menjadi keahlian Saikou dan Shuujin. Agak bete juga sih dengan Miura, apalagi pas Shuujin sampai bilang Muak. Yang artinya, Bakuman makin mantap menyeret pembacanya masuk ke cerita. Keren!

Kalau kau terus memikirkan soal kegagalan, kau nggak akan sukses jadi mangaka.

[Jasper O. · Rating 4 out of 5]

For the first time, the tension is actually serious and long-term. This volume addresses important questions such as: What do you do when you disagree with your editor again and again? Can you fire your editor for saying inappropriate things about your partner? How closely can you work with a female mangaka before it is considered cheating by your puppy love girlfriend? Ah well, we'll see in vol. 8 I guess...

[Brittany Walker · Rating 4 out of 5]

3.5 stars

Hopefully, all the characters have been introduced at this point, there are WAY too many, and the story has finally picked up in these last 2 volumes. I really liked the conflict between the boys and Mr. Miura on the genre of their next manga. I'm just saying I would fight it too and not just because I like sarcastic humor.

Also, why are manga titles so bad in this series? Crow and Future Watch are the only good ones. Detective Trap is okay.

[Ben Zimmerman · Rating 4 out of 5]

It's crazy to me how interesting this team can make a really mundane story. This entire volume is just about the Ashirogi team coming up with a new idea for a series after their first one gets cancelled, but it's a real page turner. More female characters show up in this volume as well. I like Miss Aoki a lot, but I am not a huge fan of the romantic comedy cliches that start showing up.