Bakuman

Bakuman (バクマン) is a slice of life manga by Oba Tsugumi and Obata Takeshi of Death Note fame.  The series was published in Shonen Jump between 2008 and 2012 and was collected into 20 tankobon.

   Mashiro Moritaka is good at drawing and has a crush on classmate Azuki Miho.  When fellow classmate,  Takagi Akito discovers his talent he tries to convince him that they should team up to become a successful manga team.  Mashiro is hesitant as his uncle was a semi famous manga-ka who died before achieving the fame he desired.  Takagi forces Mashiro to confront Azuki and confess his feelings for her.  Takagi tells him that Azukis dream is to be a voice actress.  In a moment of nervousness Mashiro tells Azuki that when he and Takagi become famouse manga-ka and have an anime for it she will be cast as the heroine.  Once they accomplish that they will start dating.  Much to everyones surprise Azuki agrees.  With a drive like none other the due strikes out to become a successful manga-ka team.  Along the way they face adversity from the industry,  other artists and themselves.  Can they succeed and at what cost?

    While the entire motivating factor for the series is to see the realization of the romance betwern Mashiro and Azuki,  this series is not a romance.  It actually seems like a biopic.  This was a fun and educational manga that in no way ressembles Death Note.  It gives you a detailed and painful view of the life of a manga-ka.  The duo,  who work under the pen-name of Ashirogi Muto,  face all sorts of conflicts on their way to becoming famous manga-ka.  The series focuses on the process of developing and submtting a manga.  The process of sirialization and the arduous task to keep it going week after week while competing against the other manga for popularity among the readers.  The story plays off of the real artists history with Shonen Jump and probably immortalizes some of the magazines real personalities.  Yet the manga does have its flaws.  The biggest is how wordy it is.  There is a ton of dialouge and at times the manga completely contradicts its characters conversations about what it takes to make a successful series in Jump.  Some of the conflicts in the story seemed forced and half hearted.  There was also an amount of storyline that seemed unneeded and only there to draw out the series.  There were a number of plot arcs that seemed to be pointless.  The main characters are enjoyable but the wide range of supporting characters are the real gem I think.  The creators did a really good job of making everyone unique and memorable.  

    In the end this was a really enjoyable manga to read.  It gives the reader a birds eye view into the world of a manga-ka but also tells an enjoyable story about adolescent dreams and the struggles to be successful.

    The manga is available in its entirety in North America and was published by Viz.  There was also an anime adaptation which is also available and a pending live action movie set to release in 2015.