Kyuujitsu no Warumono-san
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An up-close view of the manga industry that both celebrates and criticizes... At the same time, a true slow-burn romance

/anime/36641/bakuman
Review of Bakuman.
by Rivka
Posted on July 25th, 2019
Positive 7
Overall Rating
 
+

***This review covers all three seasons of Bakuman.***

IN BRIEF: two middle-school boys, Mashiro & Takagi, become friends and decide to pursue becoming professional manga-ka. One of them even blurts out an unusual and precocious marriage proposal to his previously-unspoken-to crush Azuki: once she succeeds as a voice actress, and the boys succeed as manga-ka, he'll write a role for her in their manga so that she can be in the anime adaptation, and only *then* can they get married. Because she's just as ambitious and old-fashioned romantic as he is, Azuki agrees, and adds that they can't spend time together until they succeed. With this very strong motivation, Mashiro & Takagi treat the viewers to an insider's view of the manga industry, specifically the shonen magazines, as they make their journey to the top.

Bakuman is one of the few shows that I've been willing to sit through more than 50 episodes for (yes, I'm that kind of anime fan, and the modern trend for one- and two-cour shows doesn't bother me at all). For Bakuman, the length is necessary for the story: the viewers can buy into a romance that lasts almost a decade of waiting before its consummation, because it feels like a substantial amount of years have passed naturally. Do I like slow moving plots normally? No. But once again, it's part of the world-building needed to capture the audience. Bakuman relies heavily on seeming like the real world, and so the passage of time (while not actually equal to real time, thank goodness) is subtle, and time skips only become prominent when Mashiro & Takagi have gotten used to their jobs, and so take less interest and stress from actions that would have been crucial character milestones in earlier seasons.

I liked the realism, and I loved learning about the ins and outs of the manga industry. Finally, I understand why so many shonen manga have terrible endings! As a bonus, apparently many of the characters are based on actual manga-ka and editors, so they have a certain roundedness that adds to their appeal. Other things I liked about Bakuman: ambition and devotion to one's work is depicted as a-okay for a woman (the one ambitious female character who gets some flak for her behavior is also obsessively driven by rivalry beyond all sense, and gets treated better by the narrative when she gets a grip on her motivations); there's a wide variety of personalities in the ensemble cast that are mostly endearing; generally it has a good balance between the A-Plot of the boys development as manga-ka and the various B-Plots each season; there's a satisfactory ending arc.

That's not to say that a show that lasts 75 episodes, and is meant to both analyze and embody shonen tropes, lacks warts. First and foremost, just because the relative lack of importance of female characters in shonen is explained and lampshaded repeatedly, is no excuse not to do better with the frame story. Miyoshi, Takagi's girlfriend-turned-wife, is great as a person, but doesn't have much to do, as she lacks a job or a goal. Some viewers might not find the core story believable, because we don't spend a lot of time with Azuki, so we know relatively little about  her personality and her successes, and have no reason to believe in her devotion to Mashiro. The ladylike female manga-ka Aoki has to put up with a ton of nonsense from guys perving on her (there's a whole arc about one guy who's shown to be appropriately devoted, and then a follow-up arc when he's devolved to possessive & creepy, and then a third arc for a second guy to come in and be the respectful love interest... so yes, there's a lot of emphasis on the romance of an otherwise secondary character). In the end, the story of Bakuman can't quite break free of its own genre restrictions, and that's a little sad.

Second and relatedly, I have to warn for Nakai's overarching character development. He starts out as an older guy who is desperate for full-time manga-ka work and a girlfriend, in that order. As the years pass, he loses hope for the former and becomes deranged about the latter, until viewers can't be sure whether he'll beat up Aoki for rejecting him again (Yes, he's the guy for her first two romance story arcs). Unfortunately, the show also goes with the easy visual motif of fat=evil, so as he gets worse he also gets less physically attractive. I would not judge anyone for not being able to watch his later scenes, as he's just such a horrific example of a real-world fear of sexual assault from a "friend". At least at the very end he's getting help, but yeesh. 

Rivka
My reviewing system for films and shows that are NOT anime:
1-5: I hated it. I also don't think it has redeeming qualities, so you shouldn't watch it either.
6: I didn't like it. It's not my thing, I didn't like the execution, I don't want to see it again. However, I don't think it is a BAD film or show - it has qualities that will recommend it to those who like that kind of thing.
7: It was fine. I didn't love it, and I don't need to see it again. I won't be sad if I never see it again.
8: I liked it. I didn't love it, and while I'd like to see it again, I wouldn't want to see it often.
9: I loved it. I would be sad if I never saw it again. I might want to see it every few years.
10: I loved it beyond description. I wouldn't mind re-watching it every year.

*********************************
Clarifying my Anime rating system:
My number key below is an attempt to parse the small differences between 5 and 6, 7 and 8, & 9 and 10. When I rate, I consider my own enjoyment, the characterization and the plot, the appearance of the animation, and occasionally the soundtrack - in roughly that order. An anime will lose at least 1 point for presence of deal-breaker tropes (for example, comedic pedophilia), and more if the trope(s) ruined my enjoyment. On the other hand, it will gain at least 1 point for artistry in animation or sound. I don't expect to rate anything 1-4, as I would probably never finish watching something in this range of rating.

Cautious Recommending:
5: In this case, it started out with a higher score and slipped over time... because I normally don't watch anything that I would score below 6, except for movies (small time commitment).
6: I may or may not have watched the whole show, but I recognize deal-breaker issues in it, and I'm unlikely to rewatch. It just wasn't enjoyable enough for me to forgive its flaws. There would be huge caveats to any recommendation.

Likely to Recommend:
7: There's two types of 7s (ideally I could rank the second one 7.5). For the first, I didn't like it enough to think I would rewatch it, but also didn't see huge problems in the plot, characterizations, etc. and thought it was worth finishing. I might suggest it to someone if I know they like the specific sub-genre or other work by the studio. For the second, I recognize shows/movies that have high quality but just aren't my cup of tea. Not my thing, but usually I at least respect the work.
8: I had a good time watching it, but it didn't move me the way a 9 or a 10 does; it's possible that over time I would upgrade it if I liked it more on reflection. I would be willing to rewatch it if a friend wanted to watch it with me. I may or may not buy the DVDs (I'm more likely if there's something unique about it). I'd recommend it with the occasional caveat.

Highly Recommend:
9: I enjoyed it very much. It may have had one or two issues, but not enough to diminish enjoyment. It's possible that over time I would downgrade it to an 8 (changing tastes) or upgrade to a 10 (realize it's never left my mind). I'm likely to rewatch, and likely to buy the DVDs. I'd recommend it to most audiences.
10: Virtually flawless. I'd definitely rewatch, and definitely want to buy DVDs. I would shill this to anyone.

EDIT: for years when I'm participating in the MAL Anime Challenge, any anime in the Completed section with a * in the note was watched for the challenge. Similarly, if I'm participating in the MDL Drama Challenge, any drama with a * in the notes was watched for the challenge. Previous years' challenges will have their * removed.
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