As I suspected, Bakuman veered slightly off the path of manga 101 this week, turning its attention to the “romance” between Masahiro and Azuki. I don’t use those parenthesis to indicate disdain – it’s just that this may be one of the most innocent and low-key romances you’ll ever see. […] Read more

I guess things are a little bit different in the world of mangaka than they are for aspiring writers in the States. I’m not an artist and I can’t speak for aspiring comic book authors, but as someone who’s submitted written work for publication many times I can tell you […] Read more

I can already hear the chorus of criticism for this episode – “too slow”. And I admit – things are developing at a pretty deliberate pace. But that’s just fine by me – it suits the mood of the piece. The fourth episode was pretty much a “how-to” series on […] Read more

What’s in a name? Bakuman continues to unwind at a deliberate pace, with roughly the entire episode taking place during the boys’ late night visit to Nobuhiro’s studio. The boys, flush with the enthusiasm of youth, pick through Uncle Nobuhiro’s things until 1:30 AM – pissing off Masahiro’s mom, but […] Read more

If you’ll permit me a moment of chauvinism, I’m strongly of the opinion that Bakuman is a series that’s going to appeal to males a lot more than females. To quote Moritaka’s father, “There are dreams men have that women just can’t understand.” Now, I don’t know if that’s true […] Read more