I am sort of grateful now, because it is kind of morbidly fascinating how many people are ready to defend sentences like “Men have dreams women can’t understand!” as being facts, not sexist. =_=
Then again, this makes me hate the manga more than it deserves. It does not deserve hatred. It deserves indifference. It’s slow, unoriginal, pretentious and unfunny.
Three chapters and I still don’t even know what genre it is supposed to be. There are instances of drama and instances of over-the-top parody… played straight. This is simply bad storytelling – Jump manga ned to grab the reader more quickly… if we’re 100 pages in and still can’t tell whether the authors are being serious or not, something has gone wrong.
Some people say they love the references to other Jump manga, but those references are mostly simple name-dropping. “We want to become more popular than One Piece!” and “My favourite manga is Dragonball”…
The only reason why we are talking about the manga at all is because it’s by Ohba and Obata.
Tags: Bakuman, rant, takeshi obata, Tsugumi Ohba
September 1, 2008 at 2:34 pm
Bakuman is pretty easily classified as slice-of-life (which usually veers between slapstick and drama), but it’s odd that it’s running in Jump… seems it would be more at home in Afternoon or something. However, the writing is clearly aimed at a younger male audience and the leads are all convincingly juvenile in their behavior and motivation. I can see young Jump readers empathizing with the characters easily.
Is it sexist? Yeah, but consider the target audience and that Japan is a pretty sexist country.
I’m enjoying it for the detailed look at how manga production works in japan and the character’s motivations, while immature, are easy to relate to.
September 1, 2008 at 4:44 pm
You aren’t saying anything that I haven’t heard before…
September 1, 2008 at 5:56 pm
*phew* I’m glad I’m not the only one. I was wondering if I was crazy. I admit I hadn’t looked around at reactions too much, but my general impression from comments here and there I’d heard was that everyone thought it was quite good, and I… Dunno about that
I guess people can write off the slowness calling it slice of life, but…it doesn’t focus enough on normal life to be that, does it? Or, well, I guess one can focus on a certain aspect of life that isn’t entirely normal/universal, but… A slice of life doesn’t have to go so wacky or dramatic to try to be interesting. And the sexism….hehehe, I’d figure people would just say, ‘Yeah it’s sexist but just ignore it it’s a good manga!’ People are actually defending it as truth? Oh dear… ^_^;
September 1, 2008 at 7:38 pm
I’m apologize for posting then, and will not do so again.
September 25, 2008 at 1:45 am
FINALLY someone that isn’t worshiping this manga. Just because it’s by the creators of Death Note, people have to immediately call it great. It really pisses me off.
I’m really disappointed with Bakuman. I don’t like the characters and it’s too cheesy and unrealistic. I hate how the guy’s love interest is the “hottest girl in school” and how she pretty much likes him back right away. I also hate how he gets his parent’s approval and how he’s this really good, modest kid that most people like. I honestly expected better. :/
I liked the idea of following your dreams, because drawing is my passion and I can relate to how he felt. I’m also curious about how mangas are made, but still, Bakuman I don’t like. The characters aren’t unique like the ones in Death Note and the plot is weak too and things don’t seem to be going anywhere.
I’m just really tired of people that keep saying positive things about it. These people are DN fans too? So they should know a good story and characters…
October 16, 2008 at 2:47 am
Is it me but doesn’t bakuman feel like a parody within a parody. Its a parody of mangakas, but their lives are a parody of manga character lives with the cheesy love and dead uncle, and the 15 year old competitor,
and its written by mangakas, so its really wierd.
December 23, 2008 at 5:29 pm
Firstly, please tolerate my bad English since it is not my tongue language..
It’s shocking… Bad responses to Bakuman are everywhere here…I know human is unique and has different opinion, but it is still weird…
For me, Bakuman is a shonen manga, and that’s all…It’s a manga afterall…It’s only for entertainment and fun…Why do all of you have to evaluate the manga critically?? You want something better, more refreshing and heavier, go grab some nice novels…
It’s not easy to draw, for your info…Try to draw, and you’ll know how complex it can be and i am sure later on you can tolerate to small things in those mangas you read..
You don’t want small issue like sexist? Go read some shoujo manga instead… Anyway, shonen is intended for male teenagers right..?
Manga is only for fun. Want something more critical, read your textbook or novel…
2 cents from me,
Nazry
Malaysian Mangaka
December 25, 2008 at 1:51 pm
1. If you find this “shocking”, you probably shouldn’t continue surfing the internet. You might faint from all the different opinions.
2. Luckily, many of my professors* were not the type to dismiss an entire medium as not worth their attention and analysis. There are a lot of people who refuse to acknowledge that modern media deserve the same respect as traditional media. You are part of that problem. (*I have studied Literature, Art and Media, in case you wonder. During my studies, I have dealt with Half-Life, Monkey Island, Happy Tree Friends and Spider-man, and Iam thoroughly unimpressed by your suggestion that Bakuman should not be thought about too deeply.)
You call yourself a mangaka. I don’t think you could make worthwhile manga with that dismissive attitude. Prove me wrong if you like.
3. What makes you think I never “tried to draw”? There’s a fair chance I’ve been drawing since well before your birth. So, your point is?
4. “small issue like sexist”? You just failed. Want to try again?
5. My textbook? How old do you think I am?
January 5, 2009 at 3:50 pm
I read Bakuman (all present chapters) and I agree with you that it sucks.
Apparently this high schooler who has been playing computer games and studying for all his life suddenly has leet skills in drawing and art. I’m trying to learn how to draw better and I’ll tell you this:
It’s an insult to those guys who really, really like drawing but aren’t good at it yet. People spend YEARS, lots of sweat and toil to acquire presentable art skills and this guy – this 16 year old guy comes along, does manga stories at the speed of Quicksilver (wow, 500 action pages in 1 month!) and ACTUALLY gets somewhere.
And they seem to be really talented, to make it at 16 without any prior training or working for a mangaka.
Bakuman is a travesty. It pretends to be realistic but is just a pastiche of that. The story pisses on all those who are ACTUALLY struggling to get somewhere, be it learning manga or trying to sell their first manga or trying to get into JUMP (which is the holy grail of manga).
January 12, 2009 at 11:55 am
You know, Anna. I loved this comic because I have an interest in drawings and making comic. Until you mention those flaws within the story, I realized that they are true. But I’d still say that it won’t stop me from reading it.
And I am a DN fan, which makes your argument really accurate.
I’ve only read two and a half chapters so far and I can see that this is going downhill slowly. The story starts to get a little dull and repetitive (you can see when the mood is high or low), the characters are really unrealistic; there was a conversation between the main characters about how smart they are and how they are at the top of the class, I mean,, come on!
I think Obata ran out of smart ideas after death note. But as said, this is aimed at younger readers.
January 19, 2009 at 10:42 am
Hi there,
Really sorry about my previous post. I said sexist is not an important issue. Well, I said it in a haste. That kind of opinion is unfair and quite stupid, especially to women. My apologies…
I realize that you are better than me in Literature and Arts & Media, but I have read thousands of manga. Hundreds of them, I read critically. Fyi, manga is my passion. You may have read lots of novels and other type of media, I supposed.. But I rarely read novels. So, I think I understand why there is difference in opinion between us… My academic background is engineering, not arts. I am an academician and I draw manga whenever I have free time. So, our point of view is totally different.
As an academician, I hope that I can produce a technical manga, that teaches a specific subject, such as microcontroller or embedded system. A manga that can provide knowledge and information effectively. A manga that can magically turn something complex into a simpler things. So, for me Bakuman is one unique manga that provides knowledge on manga drawing. It gives a lot of info on how a manga is produced and published. This manga is so important and inspirational, especially to kids and teens who want to become mangaka. Takeshi Obata is my idol in manga, other than naoki urusawa. So, my previous post is just a haste response on your negative comment.
Sorry for arguing your credibility earlier.
Nazry
Malaysian Mangaka
January 28, 2009 at 6:28 pm
I think a lot of shonen jump readers are aspiring mangakas (or maybe manga enthusiasts) and that makes it fit in shounen category.
I think this one’s a unique manga! opposers find it bad because death note is too mainstream.
the mangakas, impressed me in death note, and once again in Bakuman.
I guess this one really capture readers that are passionate about (doing) arts and comics.
April 2, 2009 at 4:27 pm
Bakuman was sort of a disapointment. And it is sexist. I thought that the story of two teenage, aspiring mangakas would be inspiring and informational. Informational, yes, but the story tends to be a little inconsistent. I also think the way they portray Azuki and Miyoshi is very stereotypical (it’s like all the males are so much more intelligent than the females). My friend practically worships it. I feel relieved I’m not the only one who sees some of Bakuman’s flaws.
June 16, 2009 at 4:43 am
I’ll be the first to admit that the first time I’ve read Bakuman it bored the shit out of me . . . I was expecting something more exciting like DN so after reading the first chapter I dropped it like hot potato BUT while I was looking for some slice of manga to read I encountered Bakuman again. And this time around I decided to skip to chapter 3 just to see if it’ll caught my attention and what do you know, from that point on I love it! ^^
I think one must be in the mood to enjoy this kind of manga. If you’re looking for mangas like DN, Monster, Battle Royal, Berkserk, or anything that has lots of action and cerebral plots then this might not be the manga you’re looking to read right now. But if you’re in the mood to read something different or you’re bored with the same same shounen, shoujo, seinen manga you read try Bakuman. I think also that it’ll appeal more to people who like slice of life or sports manga. To be honest this manga kinds of reminds me of Hikaru no Go, it’s kind of gives that vibe you know. ^^
Lastly, I think this has got to be the best manga I’ve read that tackles with the process how to be a mangaka in Japan. Others were just too weird and simply bad.
June 16, 2009 at 4:53 am
Hehe . . . I just checked and read that Takesho Obata was the artist of Hikaru no Go! That’s why they seem so familiar. ^^
Anyway if you like Hikaru no Go, you’ll definitely like this! Just bear with the somewhat slow pace at the beginning and by chapter 3, the plot will get better.
June 16, 2009 at 10:07 pm
I never liked Death Note very much. It’s very well written and drawn, but it’s cold for me. And I really like Bakuman – I think it’s one of best things of current Shonen Jump line-up.
I think most critics are from the supposed sexism (I think it has been taken so seriously for some female readers, but it’s not the most important point of the story), and deception from some DN readers, because it’s not the same thing, it’s not the same kind of story, it hasn’t homoerotic subtones (and it attracted a lot of female readers to DN by fetish factor), but I think it’s a very distinctive work.
And nobody is more sexist than Misa-chan, let’s admit.
P.S.: Sorry if I did any English language mistake. It’s not my main language.
August 21, 2009 at 6:12 pm
I rather like Bakuman and I don’t think it’s sexist because I can tell you that I’ve seen these situations in real life where the mother doesn’t want the son to follow there dreams because she’s too afraid that he might die in the process.
Out of everyone I know my mother is the only person that does not believe my dreams are something worth risking my life over.
I have great respect for women as well so calling this manga sexist is just not valid, calling it conservative would be more accurate if anything.
I’ll admit I’m a DeathNote fan but I’m no fanatical fan that talks about how awesome the story is blah blah. I will admit flaws if they are clearly and intelligently pointed out with facts but all I see is opinion here.
August 23, 2009 at 11:54 pm
Did you miss the previous, more detailed post I wrote, since you criticize this post’s lack of facts? I wrote this afterthought to a previous post one year ago, so replying to it now was hardly an urgent matter, you could have put in some more effort.
Anecdotal evidence is tricky. For every mom who is just like the mom in Bakuman, there is one who isn’t. If your personal experience count as “facts” to prove that Bakuman got it right (because all moms are like your mom, or what?), do my personal anecdotes count, too?
You know, I am not a poor misunderstood teenage boy like you, I’m a girl who’s had stalkers and weirdos who made my life considerably more uncomfortable than necessary, because they bought into romance fantasies that are encouraged by ridiculous stories like Bakuman. You never talked to her? No problem! She will have harboured a secret crush on you as well, and your love shall be eternal! A girlturns you down? Stalk her apartment until she gives in! If she doesn’t, she’s just a bitch, after all!
There are people who really believe these things, you know. I’ve known people like that, and so have friends of mine. At points it has turned into frustrating or even creepy situations. It is a major problem, and I think a large portion of the blame gets to go towards popular culture, which LOVES telling stories like that, because the stories are probably written by that kind of awkward guy who wants every other awkward guys to know that they can still get the hot girl, NO, they DESERVE to get the hot girl, and should not take no for an answer, but persist until she gives in! Bakuman is part of this culture. You either understand it, or you don’t. You possibly won’t until it has somehow happened to you, but please accept that this is JUST as valid a reason for finding Bakuman sexist as your glorious “my mom doesn’t understand my dreams”.
Protip: Maybe a woman spots sexism more easily than a man. Maybe telling a woman what she should think about sexism IS sexist?
I’m gonna close the comments to this post, I think, because I have had it up to here with all you guys feeling the need to tell me how wrong I am about being uncomfortable with the depiction of my gender, and the next time I read stuff like the comment from Alexandre above yours about how women take sexism too seriously… yeah, uh. No?