Bakuman
Encyclopedia
Bakuman, stylized as , is a shōnen manga
written by Tsugumi Ohba
and illustrated by Takeshi Obata
, the same creative team responsible for Death Note
. The series follows talented artist Moritaka Mashiro and aspiring writer Akito Takagi, two ninth grade boys who wish to become manga artists
.
The first chapter of Bakuman was released in Japan on August 11, 2008, serialized in the magazine Weekly Shōnen Jump
. The first volume was released on January 5, 2009, and fourteen volumes have been released . During the first two weeks of its release, the first volume placed fourth and ninth in manga sales in Japan. It is also the first manga released online by Shueisha
in multiple languages before becoming available in print outside of Japan. At San Diego Comic-Con International 2009, Viz Media
announced they had licensed the series for their Shonen Jump imprint.
artist to his stories. Mashiro declines, citing his late uncle, a mangaka
, who died from overwork
. Takagi incites Mashiro to meet with Miho Azuki, Mashiro's crush, and tells her the two plan to become mangaka. In response, Azuki reveals her plans to be a voice actress. Mashiro proposes to her that they should both marry when Azuki becomes a voice actress for the anime
adaptation of their manga. The two then start creating their manga, under the pen name Muto Ashirogi, in hopes of getting serialized in Weekly Shōnen Jump.
After submitting many one-shots to Shueisha, Ashirogi begin with their first published series in Weekly Shōnen Jump, Detective Trap, which is eventually canceled due to its declining popularity. Their next series is the gag manga Run, Daihatsu Tanto!, which they gave up on realizing it would never be popular. Their current series, Perfect Crime Party, has been met with considerable popularity but due to its theme, is unfit for an anime series. When their rival, Eiji Nizuma, submits a one-shot for serialization, Ashirogi competes by submitting Reversi which replaces Perfect Crime Party while the latter is moved to Shueisha's fictional monthly magazine, Hisshou Jump.
and drawn by Takeshi Obata
, the chapters of the Bakuman series have been in Shueisha's Weekly Shōnen Jump magazine. Since its premiere on August 11, 2008, over one hundred chapters have been released in Japan. The first volume of Bakuman was released on January 5, 2009, and , fourteen volumes have been released. Several chapters of the series have been released on Jumpland's official website in Japanese, English, French, and German; the first chapter was released on August 19, 2008. It is the first manga released online by Shueisha in multiple languages before becoming available in print outside of Japan.
In addition to the success of Bakuman in Japan, the series has also been licensed in Korea by Daiwon C.I.
and serialized in their Comic Champ
manhwa
magazine, by Tong Li Publishing in Taiwan, Kana
in France, Norma
in Spain, Tokyopop
in Germany, Comics House
in Malaysia and Kim Dong Publishing House
in Vietnam. It has been licensed by Viz Media for English release in the US and Canada with the first volume being released on 3 August 2010, so far seven volumes have been released.
on October 2, 2010. In December 2010, Weekly Shonen Jump announced that a second season will air in October 2011. Media Blasters
has licensed the first season and will be released on DVD in November 2011. A day later, Media Blasters confirmed license to the upcoming second season.
praises the conflicting viewpoints of the protagonists and is surprised that the series succeeds, not only as a manga about manga, but as slice-of-life series about the dreams of youth. However, Santos comments that this series could learn from Ohba and Obata's previous series Death Note
; the beginning is not as gripping and the plot twists are "pretty weak" and "seem like petty contrivances". Despite this, he believes that the series is "another hit".
Christopher Butcher gave the first volume 3 out of 5 stars and complimented that he "really liked Bakuman" but felt he would find it hard to recommend. He states that the series is "horribly sexist" and that "the characters inhabit a world of Men; women's concerns are dismissed, their motives reduced to cliché, their very beings judged solely on how attractive—physically and personality-wise—they make themselves to males". Regardless of this he praises the series of being "extremely polished, consistent, and gorgeously illustrated" and that "the trials and tribulations of [the characters] are compelling".
The first volume of the series placed fourth out of thirty in manga sales in Japan for the week of January 6–12, 2009, selling 154,675 copies during that time. The week after, January 13–19, the volume fell to ninth place selling 38,176 copies. The second volume followed suit placing second during the week of March 2–9, selling 228,056 copies, and falling to seventh during the following week of March 10–16, selling an additional 62,947 copies. The third volume continued the trend and placed fourth during the week of June 1–7, 2009, selling 200,369 copies and placed sixth during the next week of June 8–14, selling 67,541 copies. During the first half of 2009, the first volume placed twenty-eighth and the second volume placed twenty-seventh of fifty top-selling manga in Japan, selling 381,633 and 394,567 copies respectively.
In the United States, volume one debuted at number 6 on the New York Times Manga Graphic Books list for the week of August 12 and remained on the list for eight weeks straight.
Manga
Manga is the Japanese word for "comics" and consists of comics and print cartoons . In the West, the term "manga" has been appropriated to refer specifically to comics created in Japan, or by Japanese authors, in the Japanese language and conforming to the style developed in Japan in the late 19th...
written by Tsugumi Ohba
Tsugumi Ohba
is a writer best known for the manga Death Note. His real identity is a closely guarded secret. As stated by the profile placed at the beginning of each Death Note manga, Ohba collects teacups and develops manga plots while holding his knees on a chair, similar to a habit of L, one of the main...
and illustrated by Takeshi Obata
Takeshi Obata
is a Japanese manga artist. He works as the artist in collaboration with a writer. He has also mentored several manga artists, including Kentaro Yabuki of Black Cat fame, Nobuhiro Watsuki of Rurouni Kenshin and Busou Renkin, and Yusuke Murata of Eyeshield 21.He originally became noticed in 1985...
, the same creative team responsible for Death Note
Death Note
is a manga created by writer Tsugumi Ohba and manga artist Takeshi Obata. The main character is Light Yagami, a high school student who discovers a supernatural notebook, the "Death Note", dropped on Earth by a god of death, or a shinigami, named Ryuk...
. The series follows talented artist Moritaka Mashiro and aspiring writer Akito Takagi, two ninth grade boys who wish to become manga artists
Mangaka
is the Japanese word for a comic artist or cartoonist. Outside of Japan, manga usually refers to a Japanese comic book and mangaka refers to the author of the manga, who is usually Japanese...
.
The first chapter of Bakuman was released in Japan on August 11, 2008, serialized in the magazine Weekly Shōnen Jump
Weekly Shonen Jump
is a weekly shōnen manga anthology published in Japan by Shueisha under the Jump line of magazines. The first issue was released with a cover date of July 2, 1968, and it is still circulating. One of the longest-running manga magazines in Japan, it has a circulation of 2.8 million copies...
. The first volume was released on January 5, 2009, and fourteen volumes have been released . During the first two weeks of its release, the first volume placed fourth and ninth in manga sales in Japan. It is also the first manga released online by Shueisha
Shueisha
is a major publisher in Japan. The company was founded in 1925 as the entertainment-related publishing division of Japanese publisher Shogakukan. The following year, Shueisha became a separate, independent company. Magazines published by Shueisha include Weekly Shōnen Jump, Weekly Young Jump,...
in multiple languages before becoming available in print outside of Japan. At San Diego Comic-Con International 2009, Viz Media
VIZ Media
VIZ Media, LLC, headquartered in San Francisco, is an anime, manga, and Japanese entertainment company. It was founded in 1986 as VIZ LLC. In 2005, VIZ LLC and ShoPro Entertainment merged to form the current VIZ Media LLC, which is jointly owned by Japanese publishers Shogakukan and Shueisha, and...
announced they had licensed the series for their Shonen Jump imprint.
Plot
The plot begins when Moritaka Mashiro, a junior high student, forgets his notebook in class. His classmate, Akito Takagi, notes Mashiro's drawings in it and asks him to become a mangaManga
Manga is the Japanese word for "comics" and consists of comics and print cartoons . In the West, the term "manga" has been appropriated to refer specifically to comics created in Japan, or by Japanese authors, in the Japanese language and conforming to the style developed in Japan in the late 19th...
artist to his stories. Mashiro declines, citing his late uncle, a mangaka
Mangaka
is the Japanese word for a comic artist or cartoonist. Outside of Japan, manga usually refers to a Japanese comic book and mangaka refers to the author of the manga, who is usually Japanese...
, who died from overwork
Karoshi
, which can be translated literally from Japanese as "death from overwork", is occupational sudden death. Although this category has a significant count, Japan is one of the few countries that reports it in the statistics as a separate category...
. Takagi incites Mashiro to meet with Miho Azuki, Mashiro's crush, and tells her the two plan to become mangaka. In response, Azuki reveals her plans to be a voice actress. Mashiro proposes to her that they should both marry when Azuki becomes a voice actress for the anime
Anime
is the Japanese abbreviated pronunciation of "animation". The definition sometimes changes depending on the context. In English-speaking countries, the term most commonly refers to Japanese animated cartoons....
adaptation of their manga. The two then start creating their manga, under the pen name Muto Ashirogi, in hopes of getting serialized in Weekly Shōnen Jump.
After submitting many one-shots to Shueisha, Ashirogi begin with their first published series in Weekly Shōnen Jump, Detective Trap, which is eventually canceled due to its declining popularity. Their next series is the gag manga Run, Daihatsu Tanto!, which they gave up on realizing it would never be popular. Their current series, Perfect Crime Party, has been met with considerable popularity but due to its theme, is unfit for an anime series. When their rival, Eiji Nizuma, submits a one-shot for serialization, Ashirogi competes by submitting Reversi which replaces Perfect Crime Party while the latter is moved to Shueisha's fictional monthly magazine, Hisshou Jump.
Manga
Written by Tsugumi OhbaTsugumi Ohba
is a writer best known for the manga Death Note. His real identity is a closely guarded secret. As stated by the profile placed at the beginning of each Death Note manga, Ohba collects teacups and develops manga plots while holding his knees on a chair, similar to a habit of L, one of the main...
and drawn by Takeshi Obata
Takeshi Obata
is a Japanese manga artist. He works as the artist in collaboration with a writer. He has also mentored several manga artists, including Kentaro Yabuki of Black Cat fame, Nobuhiro Watsuki of Rurouni Kenshin and Busou Renkin, and Yusuke Murata of Eyeshield 21.He originally became noticed in 1985...
, the chapters of the Bakuman series have been in Shueisha's Weekly Shōnen Jump magazine. Since its premiere on August 11, 2008, over one hundred chapters have been released in Japan. The first volume of Bakuman was released on January 5, 2009, and , fourteen volumes have been released. Several chapters of the series have been released on Jumpland's official website in Japanese, English, French, and German; the first chapter was released on August 19, 2008. It is the first manga released online by Shueisha in multiple languages before becoming available in print outside of Japan.
In addition to the success of Bakuman in Japan, the series has also been licensed in Korea by Daiwon C.I.
Daiwon C.I.
Daewon C.I. , short for Daewon Culture Industry, is a subsidiary of Daewon Media founded in 1991. This South Korean publisher releases domestic and imported comics, Newtype Korea Magazine, children's books, and light novels. With Haksan Culture Company and Seoul Cultural Publishers, Daewon C.I...
and serialized in their Comic Champ
Comic Champ
is a biweekly magazine published in South Korea by Daiwon C.I.. It specializes in serializations of domestic Korean and imported Japanese comics. Titles serialized in Comic Champ are collected into volumes and published under the Champ Comics imprint....
manhwa
Manhwa
Manhwa is the general Korean term for comics and print cartoons . Outside of Korea, the term usually refers specifically to South Korean comics. The term, along with manga, is a cognate of the Chinese manhua...
magazine, by Tong Li Publishing in Taiwan, Kana
Kana (publisher)
Kana is a French publisher affiliated with Les Éditions Dargaud. Kana was founded in 1996 by Yves Schlirf. The company publishes manga in French and Dutch. Its headquarters are in the Dargaud offices in the 18th arrondissement of Paris.-External links:*...
in France, Norma
Norma Editorial
Norma Editorial is a Spanish comics publisher, with its headquarters in Barcelona.Founded in 1977 by Rafael Martínez, it publishes both original Spanish comics , Spanish translations of Japanese manga as well as Spanish translations of American or European comics and...
in Spain, Tokyopop
Tokyopop
Tokyopop, styled TOKYOPOP, and formerly known as Mixx, is a distributor, licensor, and publisher of anime, manga, manhwa, and Western manga-style works. The existing German publishing division produces German translations of licensed Japanese properties and original English-language manga, as well...
in Germany, Comics House
Comics House
Comics House is one of the major manga publishing companies in Malaysia. Comics House translates manga mainly into Malay, as well as a lesser number in Chinese...
in Malaysia and Kim Dong Publishing House
Kim Dong Publishing House
Kim Đồng Publishing House is the largest book producer and publisher for Vietnamese children. With more than 1,000 titles of books published yearly, its books offered to children from toddlers to teenagers a wide ranges of collections and genres from literature, science, art, history to comics,...
in Vietnam. It has been licensed by Viz Media for English release in the US and Canada with the first volume being released on 3 August 2010, so far seven volumes have been released.
Anime
A 25-episode anime television series based on the manga began broadcasting on NHKNHK
NHK is Japan's national public broadcasting organization. NHK, which has always identified itself to its audiences by the English pronunciation of its initials, is a publicly owned corporation funded by viewers' payments of a television license fee....
on October 2, 2010. In December 2010, Weekly Shonen Jump announced that a second season will air in October 2011. Media Blasters
Media Blasters
Media Blasters is an entertainment corporation founded by John Sirabella and Sam Liebowitz, based in New York City. They are in the business of licensing, translating, and releasing to the North American market manga compilations and anime and live-action movies and television series to home-video...
has licensed the first season and will be released on DVD in November 2011. A day later, Media Blasters confirmed license to the upcoming second season.
Reception
Carlo Santos of Anime News NetworkAnime News Network
Anime News Network is an anime industry news website that reports on the status of anime, manga, Japanese popular music and other otaku-related culture within North America, Australia and Japan. Additionally, it sometimes features similar happenings throughout the Anglosphere and elsewhere in the...
praises the conflicting viewpoints of the protagonists and is surprised that the series succeeds, not only as a manga about manga, but as slice-of-life series about the dreams of youth. However, Santos comments that this series could learn from Ohba and Obata's previous series Death Note
Death Note
is a manga created by writer Tsugumi Ohba and manga artist Takeshi Obata. The main character is Light Yagami, a high school student who discovers a supernatural notebook, the "Death Note", dropped on Earth by a god of death, or a shinigami, named Ryuk...
; the beginning is not as gripping and the plot twists are "pretty weak" and "seem like petty contrivances". Despite this, he believes that the series is "another hit".
Christopher Butcher gave the first volume 3 out of 5 stars and complimented that he "really liked Bakuman" but felt he would find it hard to recommend. He states that the series is "horribly sexist" and that "the characters inhabit a world of Men; women's concerns are dismissed, their motives reduced to cliché, their very beings judged solely on how attractive—physically and personality-wise—they make themselves to males". Regardless of this he praises the series of being "extremely polished, consistent, and gorgeously illustrated" and that "the trials and tribulations of [the characters] are compelling".
The first volume of the series placed fourth out of thirty in manga sales in Japan for the week of January 6–12, 2009, selling 154,675 copies during that time. The week after, January 13–19, the volume fell to ninth place selling 38,176 copies. The second volume followed suit placing second during the week of March 2–9, selling 228,056 copies, and falling to seventh during the following week of March 10–16, selling an additional 62,947 copies. The third volume continued the trend and placed fourth during the week of June 1–7, 2009, selling 200,369 copies and placed sixth during the next week of June 8–14, selling 67,541 copies. During the first half of 2009, the first volume placed twenty-eighth and the second volume placed twenty-seventh of fifty top-selling manga in Japan, selling 381,633 and 394,567 copies respectively.
In the United States, volume one debuted at number 6 on the New York Times Manga Graphic Books list for the week of August 12 and remained on the list for eight weeks straight.