Screw my education! Screw having something to fall back on! MANGA!!!!!
The chronicles and sacrifices of becoming a mangaka continue to thrust themselves in front of me as I continue watching Bakuman., a series in which I decided to tackle last week. Since then, I’ve progressed to the halfway mark on season 1, and it’s been an incredibly rewarding ride.
A basic summary of what happened in these episodes goes a little something like this: Mashiro (now going by “Saiko”) and Takagi (now going by “Shujin”) have teamed up to become mangakas. Over the months, they have worked with various ideas and grown together as artists, having Saiko tackle the art and Shujin tackle the stories. Eventually, they get good enough to get an audience with an editor for Weekly Shonen Jump (called “Jack” in the anime), who helps the two perfect their own styles and eventually mold them towards being professional mangakas.
What I learned from Bakuman., Episodes 2-12:
1. The second episode was perfect in every sense of the word. In the second episode, Saiko goes through the struggle of confessing to his family that he wants to become a mangaka, despite the fact that they all have negative feelings toward it due to how that occupation essentially killed his uncle. Instead of angry opposition (that might have resulted in Saiko rebelling against them), they honored his decision and encouraged it. Seriously, that episode was a masterpiece.
2. Bakuman. actually has a much deeper story than it originally let on. It feels like a story that’s just as much about personal relationships as it is about manga. Everyone has secrets, and most everyone is not afraid to tell them when the time becomes right.
3. I’m not fond of the music. I usually skip the intro/outros in any anime I watch, so it’s not a big deal. I just don’t care for these songs. I’m not too impressed with the music in general in this series. It’s not bad, but it doesn’t stand out.
4. The relationship between Saiko and Shujin is actually very touching. In the first episode, their relationship was obviously very awkward and distant because they just met, and Shujin’s straightforward personality clashed with Saiko’s aloof nature. Seeing their relationship grow over the past 11 episodes through mutual goals and mutual interests was a real treat. It’s obvious that over time, Saiko began to trust Shujin more and confided in him, giving us some fantastic, fantastic, character development from both of them. These characters are strong, and they can only highlight their positive attributes when they’re together.
5. The people in this anime act like real people and not stereotypes. Everybody is so real. The main characters, the supporting characters… even the editors that work with Saiko and Shujin. They just feel like they’re all being written from a real place and not just a compilation of anime stereotypes.
6. Saiko and Shujin push themselves very hard, but that’s not a bad thing. It’s nice to see characters this determined. They both have goals to reach, and it gets to a point where their goals become one in the same. A couple of episodes into the series, Saiko and Shujin are working their butts off to make their manga win a competition, and Shujin starts working extra hard because he wants to help Saiko achieve his goal of becoming a mangaka so that he can marry Azuki. Friendship!
7. Saiko’s predicament with Azuki is almost exactly like his uncle’s, and it can only hurt him. Azuki says she’ll wait for Saiko forever… but it’s hard to believe her. I mean, these are soon-to-be high school students we’re talking about here. How many people made the best decisions of their lives in middle school/high school? Bingo; the answer is nobody.
8. Our heroes don’t always win. Even when they do win (specifically, getting their manga run in a special edition in a magazine), they only got published as a means to make another new artist look better. It’s a backhanded compliment, but knowing our heroes, they’ll be grateful and take it. If they weren’t as strong of characters, they wouldn’t see it as a great opportunity and only see it as an insult. This tendency of theirs to not always win is also shown through Shujin’s grades slipping due to his determination to manga.
9. Shujin’s backstory has a nice dose of tragedy, but you wouldn’t know it from looking at him. Again, this is another sign of a strong character. He’s written in such a way that he’ll always appear to be upbeat and determined to achieve his goals, no matter how farfetched they may be. Even when he tells Saiko about his family situation, he acts the same way afterwards. After Saiko sees Shujin’s small family apartment, he doesn’t even think twice about being ashamed of his situation. His optimism is just such a great defining feature, and it makes him one of the most enjoyable characters I’ve seen in any anime.
10. The romance aspect between Saiko and Azuki is… terrible. I stated last week that I found the concept of the romance between these two to be forced after seeing the first episode, but now I know that it’s not just forced; it’s also very awkward and frustrating. It’s frustrating both in the fact that it prevents us from learning anything about Azuki, and that it depresses the hell out of Saiko, thus making him unpleasant. Then again, what could we learn about Azuki? She’s just the archetypical ‘pure anime girl’. No personality. Nothing interesting. Move along.
11. On the other hand, the romance aspect between Shujin and Miyoshi is great! These two were obviously made for each other, and their interactions range from being hilarious to downright adorable. How they got to the status of ‘dating’ still is a little questionable, but it’s best not to question the ride; enjoy the destination.
I’ve been watching a lot of mediocre shows as of late, but it’s nice to finally find a show that’s captivating and interesting. All of the characters (with the exception of Azuki) are unique and lovable in their own rights. I always say that the most defining aspect of any show, regardless of genre, is the characters. Bakuman. has a strong roster of amazing characters who get into fascinating situations. So far, I now fully understand why this show is praised, and can’t wait to find out where all these roads lead to in the end!
