Did someone call for a plot twist? After a pretty steady progression – well, slow but steady – in a uniform direction, we have one of our biggest tectonic shifts in episode 16. Some of the seeds planted in the last several episodes are finally being sown, and things are […] Read more

While no one would mistake Bakuman for an action series (ironic, given the current events in the series) last week’s episode was certainly the most fast-paced of the series so far. This week we return to a somewhat more leisurely mode, probably a comfort zone for the anime though somewhat […] Read more

Bakuman begins it’s “second season” with a truly excellent and (by its standards) fast-paced episode. We don’t get a new OP song, but “Blue Bird” is accompanied by a new set of visuals. The ED is all-new, and while the song is pleasant enough I loved the animation sequence. It […] Read more

The big news this week: Masahiro finally emailed Miho. I suppose in the world of Bakuman we have to consider this progress on the Masahiro/Azuki front. I’ve rarely seen an anime generate as many complaint posts as this one does. It makes me wonder – if you hate it that […] Read more

That was one of the stronger episodes of the recent run for me. Focused, well-paced and strictly on-topic, it packed a lot of good development into 22 minutes. The Masahiro/Azuki relationship seems to be pretty effectively splitting the fan base down the middle into love and hate camps. As so […] Read more

Things are heating up quite a bit this week in Bakuman – except between Masahiro and Azuki, of course. But other than that we had a pretty fast-paced episode with a nice mix of manga business and relationship stuff. We had our longest look yet at the mysterious Nizuma Eji […] Read more

Last week was romance, so this week must be manga. While Takagi and Miyoshi have a few moments in the sun this week, most of the episode is given over to the mechanics of trying to produce a successful manga. While there’s no question Hattori has the boys’ best interests […] Read more

The see-saw this week goes back to the romance side of the ledger, as manga creation takes a back seat to awkward middle-school courtship. And at that, it’s not Masahiro and Azuki but Takagi and Miyoshi who finally get center stage. Takagi has been suspended a week for the fighting […] Read more