Bakuman. 2nd Season

They say you can measure how good a anime is by how fast time seems to fly by when watching it, if that's the case, Bakuman 2 is one amazing series. The first season of Bakuman was great, the story, the characters, the atmosphere fitted perfectly, though It did suffer from pacing problems and could of been adapted better. This time however, J.C Staff has stepped up their game, managing to fix those problems and make Bakuman 2 one hell of a enjoyable anime and probably the best slice-of-life series I've seen yet. = Story [9] = Bakuman starts exactly where it left off from the first season and gets right into the story. I won't say much to avoid spoiling it for people who happen to see this review before watching the first season but this season has a lot more drama and romance, which make for some very intense scenes and memorable moments. Something, that is unique to the story of Bakuman is how realistic it is. The two main characters aren't always successful and positive like you find in most shonen series and there isn't any shock twists which would be impossible to find in a real life situation, well maybe one. = Art [9] = I never get tired of the art in this series, It's amazing how J.C Staff can make the manga illustrations look so realistic and the amount of detail and effort they put into the backgrounds. The character designs are nothing special but they don't really need to be, If anything, the only character design I can fault is Shuujin's/Takagi's, It's just that he looked a lot different and a lot better in the manga, though I don't really mind the change. = Sound [8] = I have to admit, I didn't like any of the first seasons OP and ED's that much, though Bakuman 2 has some great ones which really suit the story-lines in this season. The OST remains nearly entirely the same in this season, which is a good thing since it doesn't feel overused yet and suits the anime perfectly. All of the VA's do a great job reprising their roles and the newcomers fit their parts perfectly in my opinion. = Character [8] = There's a lot more Character development this time around, which is welcomed especially for the minor characters such as Aoki and Nakai, who really annoyed me at first, but then actually became likeable. The romance side of Bakuman shines through a lot more this time around, which also helped character development a lot, though some of the relationships became a bit boring and repetitive during the the second half of the story. =Enjoyment [9]= Bakuman 2 is one addicting ride, the story and the characters really draw you in and makes you want to finish the whole series in one go, which not just any anime can emulate. If you're a fan of first season, you'll love this sequel, all the spirit and fun of the manga and prequel are maintained in Bakuman's second anime outing, which leaves us eagerly awaiting the third season. =Overall [9]= Overall, Bakuman 2 outdoes it's predecessor in every aspect, with faster pacing, a more 'tighter' and entertaining story, great character development with art and sound to top it off. If it wasn't for a slow down during the the latter episodes with the story and characters, I would've considered Bakuman 2 a masterpiece.

I had watched the first season along with a few episodes of the second season a while ago, but I had to stop for some reason I can't remember. So, I decided to go back and start the second season from the beginning. Bad idea... Now I know why I decided not to stick to watching the second season. Even as I'm typing this, I still can't grasp the stark difference between my thoughts on the show vs the majority's opinion. I felt betrayed by the score, so I thought I'll throw in a different perspective regarding the anime. The first season felt like an inoffensive story that was just okay to watch (from what little I remember), but this second season was a trudge to go through. I had to force myself to watch another episode with the idea that it'd get better eventually, but unfortunately it got worse. The entire season could be skipped, and nothing would change except a few set pieces. Near the end, I decided not to continue on with the third season since I realized that I lost my interest. Now the characters. The way I'd describe the majority of them would be: Obnoxious. They barely have any redeeming qualities. They are one dimensional and only serve as convenient devices to keep the story moving along. Romances are thrown in out of completely nowhere and only feel as though they are introduced and used for motivation. Character development consists of complete 180 degree changes in personality and character thought processes are indescribable. The story consists of a popularity contest between manga authors of the same publisher. It starts with them calling each other rivals, telling each other that they'll beat each other next time. Then, they come up with ideas haphazardly and start working on them, hoping it'll get NUMBER ONE IN THE RANKINGS!.... then if they get a good ranking they congratulate each other, if they don't then they say they'll beat each other next time. There are some stakes thrown in to each of these repetitions because the makers know if they don't include those in, then there would be nothing left of interest. But then the stakes are pummeled as soon as push comes to shove, and you start wondering why they were included in the first place. Artwork is okay, nothing special but it's decent. Actually, it was nice to see different manga authors with different drawing styles. Sound was okay too, serviceable enough for the show. It's difficult for me not to spoil stuff while talking about my experience watching this anime, so I feel that right here would be a good place for people to stop reading. But for those who've watched the show or don't care about spoilers, please continue... ------------------------ SPOILER WARNING ------------------------ I mentioned the characters being obnoxious. So let me expand on that... The main characters Mashiro and Takagi aka Ashirogi Muto stand true on that statement the most. They are childish, whiny, arrogant and stuck up, with these inflated but fragile egos. They are constantly bitching about being popular and getting the best rankings and would change their entire story they worked on to get ranked better. They feel like they only want to be manga authors for the sake of becoming famous, getting anime adaptations, and striking it big. Mashiro is especially guilty of this to the point where almost every word spoken out of his mouth made me go "oh just shut up" in my head. Mashiro's art is very good and never needs any polish. Takagi is just this genius who can think of a good story on the spot, but is otherwise really bland. Ah who am I kidding, everybody in this show is bland. But still they crapshoot everywhere because the season needs to stretch to 25 episodes and the makers need some form of progression throughout the series. Of course, every "rival" has this behavioural pattern as well, although not to the same degree. They're all different flavours of "I'll work hard and beat you next time!" and "I wont lose to you!". Niizuma Eiji is shown as this super genius with an eccentric personality, and serves as the main rival to Ashirogi Muto. Both as manga authors and being super annoying to look at. Sheesh, his screams still ring in my head. He has no "I'll work hard and beat you next time!" but he does have "I wont lose to you!". Fukuda is this angry man that rages at everything and is a hardass with a caring heart. He is the angry version of "I'll work hard and beat you next time!" and "I wont lose to you!". Hiramaru was a character that I found decent. His dynamic with his editor was predictable but okay to watch. His shtick is that he is forced to draw manga while he wants to do other stuff. He is the unwilling version of "I'll work hard and beat you next time!" and "I wont lose to you!". Nakai is just a plain creep with fragile self esteem. Iwase is an arrogant woman with too much time on her hands. A vindictive and narrow minded individual with the weirdest motivation. She is the vengeful version of "I'll work hard and beat you next time!" and "I wont lose to you!". Aoki is a manipulative, heartless and proper woman who does a 180 degree personality change into become a blank slate. She is the female version of "I'll work hard and beat you next time!" and "I wont lose to you!". Moving on with other characters, Azuki is Mashiro's girlfriend and nothing would change if she was replaced by cardboard. Their relationship makes no sense and makes you wonder how the hell they fell in love and decided to marry each other in the first place. Miyoshi is a convenience. Miura is just this loudmouthed, boisterous man who actually achieves nothing. NOTHING. His purpose is solely to act as an obstacle and he comes in to achieve only that, then to leave after he has been overcome. To me, it felt like he is the only reason the second season occurred. If you take out the portion of the anime from the point where Miura is introduced as Ashirogi's editor to where Miura is exchanged back to Hattori, then apart from Nakai leaving the picture and the serialization manga names changing, nothing happens. Oh I guess Takagi and Miyoshi get married? I don't even know how or why they decided to do that. Felt like it was just convenient to throw in because they're both best friends of the show's main romance. Hattori is a decent character. He's the only one that made me laugh once in a scene in the entire season, but still he seemed like a genuinely likeable and competent editor. Don't get me wrong though, still a bit bland. The chief editor is shown as this very competent and serious dude, but to me he seemed like a really indecisive prick. First, he says he'll put Ashirogi on hiatus for a whole year since Mashiro got sick due to overworking and for some reason was sick and needed to get surgery, so he needs rest to recover. But then he's like "naah jk". Second, he tells his editors to vote for Ashirogi's manga serialization to see if it can compete with Niizuma Eiji's work, since they're all incompetent and can't judge their own publications. The condition is that if it can't compete, then Ashirogi's contract would be terminated. The editors vote 4 to 3, saying that Ashirogi can't beat Eiji with this at the end of the episode. BUT NOOOOOOOO, since this show can't have that happen, just at the fucking start of the next episode, they editors are like "But sir! Ashirogi's career is at stake! Let's leave it in the hands of the readers to decide!" so the vote changes to 7-0 in favour of Ashirogi's serialization. Are you fucking kidding me?! Are you telling me that all that time spent into coming to these dilemmas was for nothing? Why can I see these predictable outcomes from a mile away! Things like these make for a very frustrating viewing experience and you're left thinking "What was the point?". Near the end, a conversation gets shoehorned in about manga authors focusing on story vs popularity and this is where I realize why there is such an obsession with rankings. Mashiro basical…

Sexist. The writers do not know how to write female characters. All of the female characters have serious problems with them and they are certainly not treated as equals. The female lead asks her boyfriend's permission regarding her career. Miyoshi is mistreated by Tagaki soooo many times yet she does everything she can for them, i.e., cooking, cleaning, looking after them, etc. There is a constant sexist tone throughout the whole series that ruins the show for me. For example, the "women cannot understand a man's dreams" line from season one. All of the female characters are either unreasonable or obedient to a male character, except Azuki's mother which is probably because she did not have screentime. The story itself is nice, a bit repetitive but doesn't bore you. I would enjoy the show if it wasn't this sexist.

Bakuman is both entertaining and educational. It shows that it's not so simple to write or draw something that people will appreciate. If you want to make something truly good, you might have to revise and redo it several times as they do in this series. I like that Bakuman shows how difficult it is; it makes it more realistic. It's still entertaining at an anime level, though, since the characters passionately aim for the top. * * * S T O R Y * * * It's rather original and is likely to draw in anyone with an interest in anime/manga. It has some pretty good drama and whatever in it. * * * A R T * * * I'd say the "typical anime faces" (such as oAo) they sometimes have kinda lowers the quality of this series. I like that they have some more original types of gag faces, though. The art and animation looks quite nice overall. Some of the parts where they showed storyboards/"names" were poorly drawn and dull to look at. I think they should've at least had more panels/actions shown so we could see the story, not just hear a narration. Manga is all about the visuals, after all. There were some good moments with the more elaborate manuscripts, though. * * * S O U N D * * * I think Mashiro sounds a little too wimpy. The music didn't stand out to me whatsoever. Their relaxed, "everyday" country-ish music is just pretty boring. They live in a city, so why the country bumpkin music? There's other music more appropriately fitting the anime, but none of it is memorable. * * * C H A R A C T E R S * * * Yes, yes, people hate Miura. I think Miura was another good display of what the world of manga can be like. He also developed into a decent editor after realizing his flaws. As an obstacle, he created more entertaining points in the series and made the end result all the more satisfying. Mashiro and Takagi are always developing and learning to see manga from different perspectives. They change in other ways, too, making unexpected decisions as the story progresses. Other characters develop, other characters stay the same. That's the way life is, including when it comes to a manga artist's aspirations (or lack of). * * * E N J O Y M E N T * * * Compared to the Bakuman manga, they cut out a lot of the more technical aspects of planning and writing manga. They kept the "Tanto arc" short and sweet, really. It also feels like they balanced things out so that Azuki would seem like she has more involvement in the series. I know people complained about how small her role was in the manga, so I think this is a good change. It was pretty easy to neglect and forget about her in the manga, but I think it's important to maintain this romantic aspect based on true love. One thing I didn't like is how they made it sound like panty shots are not only normal, but necessary in the world of manga. Honestly, things like that cause people to label all manga as bad. I think panty shots should've been treated as a cheap way to get votes from perverts, not something a female manga artist should strive to achieve. It's sad to think people would be unable to appreciate a good story unless it had softcore porn in every chapter. * * * O V E R A L L * * * Good story, nothing really disappointing (other than the panty thing), satisfying ending. I didn't find this too addicting, but maybe that's just because I read the manga already. This is some quality anime.

First of all let me begin by saying this Anime is written by Tsugumi Ohba and illustrated by Takeshi Obata who made Death Note and unlike some of the other works that have been produced since this anime has the special sauce too. MAYONNAIISEEE. Trying to find L? Sorry you'll have to look somewhere else. This is the sequel of the first Bakuman which continues the story of Takagi Akito and Mashiro Moritaka; two teenagers who aspire to be mangakas with a popular long running manga serialization that gets turned into an anime. Mashiro in particular wants their career to take off quickly because of a promise he made with Azuki Miho, the girl he'd been in love with since elementary school, that the two of them would marry once they accomplished their dreams as they try to make a name for themselves in the intense business world of manga publishing. Animation-wise with J.C. Staff at the helm of the much-anticipated anime adaptation, you’d expect some pretty damn good animation. Luckily, the studio delivers fluid movement and great attention to detail. The art was once again really well done and high quality like its predecessor. The art was quite good throughout each episode. The anime’s art shows a great amount of detail yet still maintaining that slice of life environment in the anime. Something which intrigued me the most, in terms of the art, was the displaying of the stories each manga artist made. By animating the storyline and having a narrator explaining the information in the manga, improved the anime. The character themselves were well illustrated and fluidly animated. The voice acting was very good for the characters. I felt that the character's representations through their vocal expressions suited them perfectly and portrayed their attitudes and personalities nicely. Then there's also the OPs and EDs. They're not terrible, but they are definitely boring and I skipped them nearly every time. Granted, it's not a big thing and has nothing to do with the actual story, but for a series that's all about creating stuff the public will like, they sure dropped the ball in this aspect. Overall I didn't find anything too annoying throughout the anime series regarding the soundtrack. It was well presented. It was nice to see the variety of characters, with their assortment of personalities. They definitely added depth to this anime. As with the story, this season of Bakuman only touches on its cast of characters and what we learn of them is only the tip of the metaphorical iceberg. That being said, the two central protagonists develop reasonably as they embark on their quest to become published mangaka. Whether it is Takigi's boldness, Moritaka's determination. the surprising feminess of tomboy Miyoshi, The eccentricness of ingenious mangaka Eiji Nizuma, and some others. almost all characters were well written and had great chemistry with each other. The two main characters go through development as their bonds and determination are tested. For anyone with an interest in the behind-the-scenes workings of a large manga publication, and particularly when it comes to the shounen genre, I can’t recommend Bakuman enough. Bakuman season two delivered the same type of feelings and emotions that the first season did. Following Saiko and Shujin through their life as they pursue one of my dreams has been wonderful.

I can distinguish this series from its prequel and sequel due to some powerful scenes (which I will not spoil). To me, that makes it special, but other people might think the real value is elsewhere. Story (10/10): What makes the story one of the few 10's out there is that it combines romance, comedy, a tale of growing up, and mixes it with what may be the greatest motivational shounen I have come to know. If i had to find one flaw, it would be that I could never amount to Ashirogi's (the main mangaka duo) drive to succeed. Art (7/10): The art's nothing special, except for the manga shown in the anime. It looked like it was drawn professionally and makes you want to read the fake series, even if you can't. One thing that always bothered me about Bakuman though, was random moments where the characters' faces would get a new design just to express an quick emotion with a comedic effect. Sound (8/10): I can replay the openings and endings just to remember this anime masterpiece, which is a plus. The ost though never really stood out, only puts in noise where it could have been awkwardly silent otherwise. This is only in Japanese, but they get so into the roles that you forget there are people speaking into a mic. It adds a lot. Character (10/10): Why another 10? Bakuman 2 does the most out of the 3 series to bring out the purpose of each character. After one series, you can really start to bond. Enjoyment (10/10) & Overall (9/10): I loved it so much, that I started collecting the manga just to relive the story. It is one of those series that everyone must see if they are at all into motivational stories that go above and beyond what they think shounen is.

Bakuman series is one of my favorites, I watched the anime couple of times and read the manga twice, the inner need to write a review about this amazing series is what made me write a review before on the S1 part. though that review was one of my firsts in MAL, when my english writing was very poor and was structured badly. yet going back to that review I realized that rewriting it will be a pain instead writing an entirely new review [on other anime]. writing new review on S1 didn’t occurred in my mind since that review already explained my opinions on S1 pretty well. so what I decided to do is writing a review for S2 with sort of renew my opinions on S1 and connecting them to S2, and ending up opening a path for S3 review. keep in mind that the review will have spoilers to S1 ending. as for S2 story, I won’t spoiler too much, but will have some hidden spoilers in a way that won’t be understood unless you watched the anime already. Bakuman in a sense is an odd story and genre. on one hand, it’s not exactly an action shounen - it doesn’t have fighters, power ups and epic battle scenes. yet its also not Slice of Life drama, it is very shounen story with normal shounen battle and sport traits of competitions and rivalry. the story is about Mashrio and Takagi, two students that have an ambition to make the most popular manga in Jack (Jump in the manga) so it will be adapted to anime. if its sound familiar to other anime with characters having similar dreams, because it is. the uniqueness comes from the form of the competition and rivalry - Ohba essentially looked at the weekly ranking of Shounen Weekly Jump, and built around it the realistic story of how to become a mangaka is not just requiring a lot of effort but also a gamble (and from here the series name “Bakuman” = gamble). essentially this is unique idea - a story about making manga, with a regular shounen anime traits. of course as a realistic story, the way the duo Ashirogi Muto (their pan name) entering the manga world is not easy but require a trial and error. this phase of the plot is S1 of the anime. since this part requiring concentrating quite a bit on the main characters growth, the manga added some Slice of Life elements to the mix, and the anime kinda exaggerated on that front. until the second half from episode 12 at least. from there S1 becomes more serious as it adds new characters that shall be reintroduced in S2 in full force, and ending where the duo finally succeeding getting their series serialized. in a way S1 had the beginning and efforts of the duo enter the world of the mangaka, where in the end they succeeds. S2 takes the helm from S1 ending, and entering the duo to the phase other sport/game anime calls it “the Pro world”. S2 is where the “real action” of the manga competition and rivalry actually starts. much like every other kind of those stories, the rivalry story moves the focus from Ashirogi Muto to the other mangaka characters. either they were introduced in S1 like Fukuda Nakai and Ko, and their main rival Nizuma Eiji. on the mash it adds even more mangaka characters like Hiramaru (that going to steal the comedy front of the story). all those characters is going to have their own focus and development. so where S1 lived and breathed from Mashiro and Takagi, S2 is living and breathing from the other mangaka and their rivalry with Ashirogi Muto. the characters and the plot going hand in hand with the competition of the weekly rank. to be able to gain higher place in the rank, ideas and stories to improve their manga will be needed. S2 is the embody of this competition and the meat of the series in that aspect, as the meeting with their new editor Miura will be a lot about how to improve their stories or the art to get higher place in the weekly rank. speaking of Miura, and it’s important to mention him, because he does change the plot of Ashirogi Muto a lot from his own point of view, that would take the anime story to a different kind of subplots and theme on the editing department. which will shake the main plot of the story to different points, that now the story entered the “Pro world”, the story is finally able to explore. which just makes the story of S1 pale in comparison. with the anime coming to its 2nd season, the art is improved quite a bit from S1. while I would say that - S2 is making the manga art justice, it needs to be clarified - from Hikaru no Go to Death Note, there wasn’t any studio that managed to really make Obata-san art shine. it’s just something that hard to put in an anime. the reason why Bakuman succeeds in it, is less to do with JC Staff production, and more the change in the art style of the manga. in comparison, if you will read even the firsts chapter of the manga compare to the late ones, you will see huge different in the tone and the seriousness. Obata changed his art in Bakuman greatly to become less serious and heavy to more light. it doesn’t make his art less good, but less heavy and more fitting the light drama Bakuman features compare to the like of Death Note. and for this reason, S2 art manages to bring Obata's art to a good place. less roundish and more strict and bold lines. the change in the art is not that big, but it’s an improvement that cannot be understated. animation wise, because the story is very Slice of Life wise that doesn’t have too much movement and action, didn’t changed much from S1. and maybe thanks to that the art is improved greatly. the thing that needs serious praise on S2 is the production value - planning wise, Bakuman is another Ohba heavy dialogue manga, much like Death Note. and much like that series there’s not much of a choice but to cut some dialogues to make the watching a better experience. an anime on TV is not a novel and would be hard on the viewer to feature way too much dialogues. thankfully S2 director knew how much important the editor meeting scenes and the like, so a lot important scenes from the manga had been kept and wasn’t touched. the pace is also much better than S1 - where S1 wanted to end with Ashirogi Muto succeeding to make their manga serialized, so it had to slow the pace and forced some Slice of Life elements. S2 wanted to go through the manga main arcs, so it went with much more stabilized pace. which is another thing I wanted to talk about earlier but decided to mention it when talking about production - S2 have one of the more slow burn parts of the manga with a lot of trial and error, the manga had kinda went too long on that, probably because Ohba's hesitations. thankfully the director saw this and paced it much better in the anime. all of what I wrote here, is to bring myself saying this - I believe that S2 is the best part of the anime from its tree seasons. while even the arcs in the manga weren’t perfect and flawed, thankfully the production did a good job adapting them and pacing them out much better. while S1 was more about the beginning of the story, S2 is the meat and flesh of the story and goes strong from start to finish. this doesn’t mean everything is perfect of course. while I think the opening theme is perfect, the endings are average and the OST sometimes didn’t do it too much for me. there’s also some changes to the manga source I am not fond so much - together with some other changes, they also removed an entire character from the manga. although I can see the reason to it due that character theme and the less affection that character arc have on the overall story, it’s one of the things that makes the anime version more narrowed from the manga instead of expanding on it. yet despite that S2 have an overall good adaption over the manga despite the changes, and is definitely better than S3 that went too far. but on that in S3 review. … since I began already writing the S3 review, here’s a tease: while reading Tsugumi Ohba other manga works like Death Note and Platinum End, a major flaw in his writing that come to mind is this - i…

Quote from Mashiro, slight spoiler from episode 25 but for a good reason. "Parents use to say "Manga will make you stupid." But manga gradually came to be recognized as having cultural value That's why I think you should draw a manga with content and quality that you wouldn't be ashamed to say has cultural value But since we don't have the ability to do that we have to draw it with popularity in mind. I think it's okay for anyone to draw manga like that in accordance with their abilities." Wow! that single quote made me drop the score from a 7 to a 4. I was thinking about giving it a 7 and giving it good reasons why. But after mashiro said this and with absolutely no protests from the other characters. I lost respect from him as a character and this series. I even lost respect for the manga author for writing something like that.. This could be a mis translation from the fansubbers so I don't know if its legit or not. I generally find nothing wrong with the main character doing commercial art, im fine with that. Its just the way he said it just reek of self-esteem issues. Why in the hell would I want to follow a story with a main lead not believing himself. In a way he is no different from another particular 30 something side character. Both just as equally pathetic. remember when that side character(Nakai I believe?) screamed "Im comfortable being a assistant." Yea... same thing, and yet he gets the most flak from everybody, while Mashiro gets ignored He never changed since season 1/episode 1. He still have inferiority complexes about his work and his rivals. always doubting, always rewriting(which may do more harm then good.). And when we finally witness some growth from him he shoots himself in the foot with his insecurities. I'll tell you this much, If a manga author in the real world said something like the quote above. would you read his/her manga? If you would then I feel sorry for you. I did however enjoy the growth from the the other characters especially from Aoki and Muto Ashirogi's Editor(who I believe received the most out all the characters.) The show can have its funny moments. I thought the parts with Izuma and Hattori was funny. I liked the first season even though its completely over the top and unrealistic at times. Its just that after what Mashiro said and the nonchalant attitudes afterwards, You just get the feeling that you're just wasting your time. They are never going learn that racing towards rankings and popularity is a dead end. Even though they spent the WHOLE DAMN SEASON trying to write the manga they want. And when the fail they blame talent not their attitude and contradictions they keep making over and over again. I guess its sort of realistic, since there are alot of aspiring artist like this. But trying to make this into a shounen about manga is just going to cause more tragedies since its coming from a big time manga author. You think that im going alittle to far from just one quote from a episode. But this quote is all you need if you want to watch/read this series or not. If dont mind this you will probably enjoy this. But Hattori was wrong, they are never going to surpass Nizuma.

Bakuman season 2 continues the realistic life of a manga artist. What they go through and how they have to deal with them. Just when things are getting good, something tragic happens and we get to see how the characters handle this situations. Bakuman 2 continues the story of Mashiro(Saiko) and Takagi's(Shujin) dream of becoming a manga artist. While in last season we find out their manga Detective Trap is getting serialized but now they have a new editor-- Muuta-san and Hattori is no longer helping them. At the New Year Party, we see everyone here XD but we find out there is a new manga artist Hiramaru Kazuya. He used to work for a business company but now got into manga and already has it serialized. His Manga Otters 11 is very popular. Saiko and Shujin has another rival they must defeat in order to reach their goal ( besides Nizuma Eiji, Shinta Fukuda, Ko Aoki.....)

Just finishing the first season I fell in love with this series and quickly moved onto the 2nd and folks.....it did not drop the ball in anyway bakuman the first season earned a 10 from me and the 2nd season does the same it did nothing wrong (in my opinion) and makes the series a must watch for any anime watcher the 2nd series adds a few new characters and some new hurdles for are 2 young manga artist to go through but just to go over a few select things that just made this series addicting to me was the addition of the new editor they got and how he was at ends with the protagonists and I myself could not decide if I liked him or disliked it changed so much! and then the growth of the relationships and romance im just a sucker for that stuff as well as great comedy from kazuya and me being a huge aoki fan now all this is to watch this series the 2nd season does not lose any spark that the first made and from what I see most people think it improves what the 1st did

*This review covers Season 2 with Minor Spoilers of Season 1 & 2 After getting their First Serialization in Shounen Jack, both Mashiro Moritaka and Takagi Akito were excited to continue their work with their Editor Hattori Akira until they found about their editor change. The Second Season of Bakuman continues the Story of Mashiro and Takagi and their struggle to continue their Serialized Manga. Story: 8.5 It’s hard to see Sequel these days continue with the same pace without declining its quality from the Prequel. But in terms of Bakuman, I would just say the Story got even better. After Mashiro and Takagi’s editor got changed, it was quite hard for them to understand each other as their editor was new and inexperienced and they were even more inexperienced. Which brought clashes between them quite often, and how they overcome this and progress to move forward is shown in this season. This Season was not just focused on the Protagonist but even showed the stories of other Mangakas which were also great. And the Romance between Mashiro and Azuki also got a better development as in the first season it got cringey at some points. This Season had a better Story than its previous season. Art & Animation: 7 Not much change, Animation was just the same as the First Season, pretty good. Same goes for the Art but again, which Art are we talking about? Because all of them are awesome. So, I won’t talk much about art as I don’t want to waste your time and let’s move on to next one. Sound: 7.5 Just the same as Art & Animation, nothing much has changed here either. The soundtrack is most likely the same, the new Opening was great and better than the first season, but I like both the ending of the first season. So yeah, pretty much the same. Characters: 9 Bakuman has always been great because of the characters. And this Season was flowing off with Character Development, almost every character got some sort of Development whether that was positive or negative. Mashiro Moritaka: Unlike Season 1, Mashiro was much more mature in this Season. He didn’t take decisions selfishly and gave a better thought on most of them. That doesn’t mean he was completely changed; he was acting childishly at some points but was a lot mature here. Takagi Akito: His Personality may seem just like the First Season; he still got his development and his romance with Miyoshi Kaya gets a lot stronger in this Season. And his Stories and plot got even better. Miura Gorou: The new editor of Mashiro and Takagi, he started off as someone who only cared about Mangaka’s Manga getting serialized to someone who understood that Manga should not be just fine it should be good and interesting. Hiramaru Kazuya: Probably the funniest character throughout the series. He makes the show really likable and never fails to bring a smile on the viewer’s face just like Niizuma Eiji. Aoki Yuriko: She seemed just another cold-hearted girl at the beginning of the show but she got the most character development throughout the series and became really likable and my favourite girl in this series. Enjoyment: 8.5 Bakuman Season 2 continued with the same pace but this time it was a much more enjoyable experience. This season progressed with Mashiro getting closer to fulfilling his dream and getting an Anime adaptation for his manga. Overall: 8 Though the score of both the Seasons are Same, I liked this season more than the previous which you guys would have figured out till now. There are much more inspirational moments in this season and much more funnier moments in this season as well. Just watch this show if you haven’t already

Bakuman 2 has proven to be an excellent story demonstrating the Tsugumi/Takeshi pair capability to handle another genre of manga/anime. Someone who hasn't done there background look on the creators may not have even noticed it was the same team that brought us the masterpiece, Death Note. The art is very bright and while some mangaka's style can be evidently recognised in all of their work (eg. Mitsuru Adachi), this team's art in Bakuman is much different from the previously produced Death Note. The story was adequately paced, not too fast or too slow and keeps the reader's interest. Sometimes, however, because it is not the traditional type of shounen anime, there is this feeling like they wanted to still create the tension of a battle in the plot. The battle between mangkas. At times the line "I am definitely not going to let you win" felt like an overused line. I began to get fed up of hearing it. I was only concerned about the "battle" between the leading protagonist and their antagonist, but the story had all these "side battles" that just felt over bearing as everyone never wanted the other to win. Significant character development can be seen in several of the main and supporting characters, which is always good. One particular value I appreciated that was resonated in season 2, was the conflict of wanting to share your own story as a mangaka but there was also the battle of producing what would sell, be popular and keep you serialised. As a designer I understand this struggle. I was disappointed at time as I felt that one of the supporting characters was insisting in the beginning that she would tell her story her way even if it meant loosing her contract but she seemed to change later on producing work that I did not expect her to. They claimed to want to "change Jack"...however I was not too sure if they indeed motivated change. What was the change that they wanted? However I continue to season 3 to see how the plot continues to unfold.

Normally, the second season always sucks or it's not as interesting as the first one but... They did it! nope, not what the characters did but what the Bakuman's author did. You'll have to find out. This anime is so amazing, it left me speechless. The art is the same as the first season but the story, enjoyment... IT'S A MASTERPIECE! Yaass! it truly deserves a 10/10 because it was perfect! I can honestly say I enjoyed every episode. You can ask my sister how much I laughed (and chocked T_T) but seriously! I can't believe a single person disagreeing with me. Throughout the whole story, the goal is the same. If you watched the first season you'll know what I mean. It made me even want to watch/read the manga they created e.e That's all. Shortest review ever! .-. it's so good. Its got that perfect balance I always enjoy in anime. Comedy, romance, seriousness, suspense, etc. It doesn't get you like "ughhh tired of the same thing over and over". I gotta admit it, I hated how they kept bringing up the surprises out of nowhere. Looking forward with HIGH expectations for season 3~ >:) It just leaves you wanting more...

I first started the Bakuman series because it sounded interesting and because it was rated highly; I'm an on and off manga fan, so I didn't think that it would appeal to me, but I was wrong. This led me onto the second series, which I found to be pretty much just as good as the first. The story is continued literally from the last minute of the first series, so there's no need to refresh your memory too much. A vast majority of the characters also appear again, with a few new characters that aren't too shabby, either. Okay, staring off with the story: The main thing that I respect about this story is that it's realistic - it's not always predictable, the heroes will not always win, and when they do, it's after a lot of sleepless nights, constant working, and a strict refusal to give up no matter what. Takagi and Mashiro are very inspiring individuals, so it's not difficult to get sucked into the story and root for them. The art is another aspect of this series that I thoroughly enjoyed - the characters are all very distinct-looking (I'm sure a lot of you have seen series' where every character essentially has the same face with a different eye-colour...), and their facial expressions, bodies etc are pleasing to the eye. The humour comes across exceedingly well with the character design; there are several instances where characters display exaggerated reactions that will make you laugh out loud. It's pretty much the same as it was in the first series, so no quality is lost. For some reason, the familiar soundtracks that would play behind some scenes made me feel comfortable. I'm not sure if it was because I like the anime so much, but the sound worked, and it fit really well with the general mood of the series. The opening and end themes didn't stand out to me, but I didn't dislike them either. There were only a couple of characters that bored me, and I really didn't like one character, but at the same time, that character's role was essential to the duo's evolution as manga creators. Also, it's interesting to see how characters from the first series have grown up, it almost feels like you've known them personally forever; you can see the subtle differences between how they were in high school compared to when they age a few years. The characters really bring the show together. When the pair got bad news, I would exclaim, "No!" despairingly, and if they did really well, I'd smile and sometimes go, "This anime...!!" The series is amazing at drawing people in, even people like me who - as I mentioned - have no serious interest in manga. It fired me up and I often couldn't wait to see the next episode, so I managed to finish it all in three days. Watch the second series, you won't regret it.

"More of the same" has never rung so true, and yet have been so fulfilling. This season is very much alike the first season, both in content and quality. They are so alike that I think some people will complain that it's TOO alike. I am not one of those people.I loved the first season, and I loved the second season just as much. I marathoned it in two days and I never got sick of it. In fact, despite having a very satisfying conclusion, it left me wanting more. The biggest minus is that it can at times be a bit childish and cheesy. Mainly how some "inspirational" speeches are handled. It's because of those sort of scenes and sequences that make me unable to recommend this to anyone who isn't already an anime fan. 8/10 Full review here: http://kenikkiscorner.blogspot.se/2012/10/bakuman-2.html

I am not good at reviews but I will make this short and try not to put spoilers into it. This series really gets me going it's a wonderful anime and it doesn't matter how long it is either. Now the story is a good story and I can see that is has gotta better since season 1 in the way that they added more to it and more characters but then again there was those embarrassing lovey dovey moments but since they also go with the main story plot it's ok. I give art a 8 because it isn't the best i have seen but I do like how in some part of the story when the characters get serious or excited the art will change. I think the sound was good and even for the little laughing senses in the ending episodes were on point. The characters were very good my favorite new characters would have to be Kazuya Hiramaru and his editor. These two were very good since they both are pretty funny also Hiramaru is very lazy but jumps everywhere in the story so it's good to see a new character move around in the story. But yes I really liked this anime and if you have seen the first season I would suggest you see this one. On a side note I liked how they finish this anime every season and leave it where you fell like its complete. On another side note I think it would be nice if they could also do the manga that they mention or that they were doing in the anime in real life because I feel myself wanting to see how some of these turnout but anyways hopefully this review wasn't too bad. hope you like this anime. ^_^

Bakuman, the manga series written by Tsugumi Ohba and draw by Takeshi Obata, the same creator of Death Note, has the metalanguage as the central idea, in other words, the mangá talking about mangá, the cinema talking about cinema, the language talking about language. The main discussion that can been about this (and the positivest too) is it's not resume only in a autoavaliation like art work, with discussions about composition and narrative like citations in mangá, but a autoavaliation like media product in a big mass cultural industry (japonese editorial market, in this case), that work in a hierarquic and hard system positions and excessive quality control in all work maded. The metalanguage in Bakuman, knowing the anime serie has mangá like main theme and central approach, is caracterizated by the legacy of the biggest classics of Weekly Shounen Jump, magazine where Ohba and Obata work and other famous mangás like Naruto, One Piece and Slum Dunk was published. It's clear the Mashiro love for Ashita no Joe and Takagi for Dragon Ball, that is artistic and personal inspiration for the pair. They, working hard to produze a work that comes to the first places in Shonen Jack classifications, the ficticial magazine of the anime, search inspirations not only in the mangás, but in games, books, movies too, like when Takagi read and watch many thriller movies and books to create "Detective Trap". It's shows japaneses mangás has many influencies in other media products, main american movies of Hollywood and Walt Disney animations, and its metalanguage can be used and interpretate not only in mangas, but in all types of art. In same time that Bakuman metalanguage shows the influencys both in own work and in characters development, it has many problems in add something to the manga creation process. It, basically, take the same clichês already worked in many classics Jump battle shounen mangás and repete all of this in Bakuman. If in the beginnig of story Ashirogi Muto was creating works like "Money and Inteligence", a which, constantly, were pointed out as differentiators compared to what is normally published in Shounen Jack (something that happen with Death Note in Shounen Jump too), the own mangá, in its development, is transformed less in a "Money and Inteligence" to be more a generic battle shounen that Shounen Jump normally publish, where Mashiro and Takagi has the same posture and behavior of any other shounen protagonist like Naruto, Luffy or Midoroya, with empty and repetitive speeches like meritocracy, "power of friendship", "fight for your dream", individualism, non-sense rivalities, family and romance as motivations, etc. The main problem of this approach in Bakuman is not the fact all of this is cliches and ready-made formulas, but the fact Bakuman was showed as something different of all this, like a work with a mission of "show to readers how is made the stories that everybody loves and what is the process behind this", but Bakuman fail with this "mission". The story of Ashirogi Muto in mangaka career is a overcoming story with difficulties and changellens, and one of this many changellens don't only frightens PCP and Reversi creators, but editors and other artistas as Fukuda and Hatorri, which is the authoritarianism of magazine superior positions, that follows the instructions of the command of publishing company and keep all the status quo. Bakuman, however, contains a certain fear of making direct and explicit criticisms of the Japanese publishing market, trying to be the most neutral possible about it to don't displease who pain their payment, that is the biggest and most important Japan mangá magazine. It was just this fear to be subversvive that Bakuman didn't make any development to be a different mangá, transforming in a Weekly Shounen Jump generic work. To not be unfair to anime serie and say it didn't any development about it, some episodies and moments shows actors revolting against some actions and decisions of Shounen Jack magazine, like Fukuda and him group with Ashirogi and Nakai to opposite the participation of Koogy in the concourse, like when Niizuma, Fukuda, Nakai, Hiramaru, Aoki and others protest against the interruption of Detective Trap while Mashiro was in hospital, like when Ashirogi want to create a work with their preferences, when Niizuma want to finish Crow and many other examples. But all of this cases all these examples are just brief manifestations with short-term consequences, as this, at no time, changed anything in the structure and organization of the magazine. Niizuma finish Crow, but he must to produce Zombie Gun with the same requirements. Ashirogi Muto created the manga style that want, but must to made stories and characters that editor require. The "Fukuda team" to overcome with its works the mediocre work of Koogy, but nothing prevents the magazine from doing the same thing again in the future with another subcelebrity. All of this are behaviors that showed as "revolucionary" does not affect the status quo of Shounen Jack at all. The mangakas characters, in all anime serie, uttering slogans and cute little speeches such as “change Jack”, “make unorthodox fight manga” and “defending the authors' position vis-à-vis the magazine/publisher”, attributed to Fukuda, Ashirogi and Hattori, respectively, but which almost cause consequences serious and irreversible to itself, as in the arc where Ashirogi Muto was almost expelled from the magazine. The scenare and context of mangá takes turn between profissional life of artists in mangaka career and their personal lifes with friends, boy/girlfriends and, mainly, as society members. Bakuman fail in show the anguish and tiredness of artistas in rotine (romantizaded every time), but it's very competent to show their personal lifes as Japaneses young adults. The main motivation of characters in mangaka career is the idead mangás are a way out of the monotonous, depressive, and boring lives imposed by conventional society careers as a lawyer, doctor, teacher, or someone who works daily in an office. Mashiro and Takagi, for example, has in beginning a dream of life besides college study or office work. Kanai-san feels like a failure without social or love life and see mangas like the only end for this. Hiramaruhe bets on mangaka's career as an alternative to his tiring and conventional work, even if his new routine as an artist is not very different from that (this disillusionment of the character is precisely the main comic relief of the work). All this examples has the idea of mangá as hope to a "better life", even the own serie shows mangaka life so stressing than any other job and Japanese editorial market is so perverse and authoritary than any other industry, but it, obvious, can't be showed explicity. Any critic that Bakuman cound make to Japanese industry mangás (basicly it object of analysis) is totally destructed by ready-made formulas that only likes this industry and stupidies romatizations of any problem (of health, personal, psychologial, etc) of mangakas. One of the main examples of this (and possibly one of the most absurd) is how the obssesion of Niizuma Eiji for mangás is retrated like "genius trait" and, main, self effort, something saw as childish and sickly to any person in real life. Bakuman is a great experience to who wants explore varying a little visual elements and sets already wearily seen in samurai, vampire and demon stories in isekais and shounens, but not also want the approach to be different from what is put in the mainstream. It has a original and excellent idea, but thrown away when it story ins't also good. Bakuman born with the "mission" of explain manga industry, but the result is the same of a making-off movie: marketing, propaganda and absence of taking a critical position on the studied object.

Part 1 English Part 2 Bahasa Indonesia -------------------------------------- Well, well, well, what do we have here? It's Bakuman, the anime about making manga. And let me tell you, this show is about as exciting as a bag of hammers. Don't get me wrong, there are some interesting moments, but most of the time it feels like you're watching paint dry. The characters are all a bunch of nerds who take themselves way too seriously, and the animation is about as dynamic as a bowl of oatmeal. Now, I know some people love this kind of stuff. They like to nerd out over the intricacies of manga creation and the struggles of the industry. But for the rest of us, it's about as thrilling as watching grass grow. That being said, the show does have its moments. The characters are well-developed and the story is engaging at times. And if you're a fan of slow-burn dramas, this might be right up your alley. Overall, I'd give this season like its prequel 6.7/10. It's not my cup of tea, but if you're into manga and don't mind a slow pace, it might be worth checking out. Just don't expect any car chases or explosions. -------------------------------------- Baiklah, kita bicara tentang Bakuman, anime tentang membuat manga. Dan izinkan saya mengatakan, acara ini sebosan pukulan. Jangan salah paham, ada beberapa momen menarik, tetapi sebagian besar waktu terasa seperti menonton cat kering. Karakter-karakternya semua konyol yang terlalu serius, dan animasinya se-berdinamis seperti mangkuk bubur. Saya tahu beberapa orang menyukai hal semacam ini. Mereka suka mendalami kecermatan pembuatan manga dan perjuangan industri. Namun bagi kita yang lain, ini sebosan menonton rumput tumbuh. Namun, acara ini memiliki momen-momen yang menarik. Karakter-karakternya terasa berkembang dengan baik dan ceritanya menarik di beberapa bagian. Dan jika Anda penggemar drama lambat, ini mungkin cocok untuk Anda. Secara keseluruhan, saya memberikan nilai 6,7 / 10 untuk season ini sama seperti prekuelnya. Ini bukan minuman kesukaan saya, tetapi jika Anda tertarik dengan manga dan tidak keberatan dengan kecepatan lambat, itu mungkin layak untuk dilihat. Hanya saja jangan berharap akan ada kejar-kejaran mobil atau ledakan.

[This is some extra thought to my already-written Bakuman S1 review. ] As I said, this anime's central plot about the lives of mangakas is really good. EVEN BETTER THIS SEASON, I'd say! However, some elements haven't improved, rather I feel like I should bring them up again with emphasis. Oh yes, the romance between Miho and Mashiro is less creepy and whacky now that they're talking on the phone. Anyhow. Writing female characters is Ohba's Achilles heel. 1. The show is obsessed with Miho's "purity". 2. Aiko - that could've been an amazing character, was written to be snobby, uptight, and prideful. Not only that. Her entire story could've been about being a mangaka like the other important side characters. But nope, she's female. She HAD to be involved in SOME sort of romantic setting. (or sexual - one or both of these two things are inescapably attached to female characters in 60-70% anime) She was given a 30-year-old simp. She's put into a convoluted love-triange (a whole other complaint). She's the only one involved in the ecchi genre. [Minor spoilers regarding Nakai] He sits out in freezing snow outside her apartment working extra hours so that she'll consider him back. During the duration of the whole show, they keep bringing up his romantic obsession with her. But just to excuse his behavior this time, they suddenly start redirecting the spotlight to his passion for manga. In the real world, what happened to Aoki-san was that she was guilt-tripped and manipulated. People who have experience with stalkers and being guilt-tripped would know. Oh, did I mention he's 30 and not a high schooler. Yeah. 3. Tagaki and Miyoshi's relationship is so forced. He only says he likes her while putting virtually nothing into their relationship. In fact, he's extremely dismissive of her, her feelings, and rude most of their screentime together. This leading to marriage as a plot tool to 'fix' a forced love triangle is a cop-out. But at least we get a conclusion to the romance.

It's been a long time since I've hated a character that's supposed to be "good" this much and I don't even remember if it has ruined a show as much as this one before. I absolutely loathed President Laura Roslin from Battlestar Galactica, but the show actually made something out of her even though she's a terrible human being. Miura however might be the worst character in Anime. He's the villain of the second season, but everyone acts like he's a perfectly nice guy. He's incredibly selfish, he's not in touch with his authors will or strengths at all and everything he touches turns to shit but he and everyone else just keeps saying that he should be trusted. He alone brings my score of this season down by like 2 points, which is quite a feat. In fact, now that I think about it, the characters in this season is a lot worse than in the first one. Azuki Miho and Kayo basically disappeared (not that I loved them before but they were alright). Nakai turned from somewhat pathetic but likeable, to absolutely wretched. Hattori is only there a few times and when he is he absolutely brightens the show. The art continues to be great and the soundtrack is pumping at times. The story is so-so because of the forementioned character.