Bakuman is interesting from the perspective that we get to see how mangaka work. It's amazing how they manage to actually hand draw all these pages!! The story showcases the struggles of mangaka to finish their work, to get noticed and to get read.
The other part of the story, however, was kind of weak. The love story can't even called a love story, the hero's past about his uncle was properly shown and his condition was roughly managed. Therefore, the story was a bit boring at times.
Other than that, the performances were really good and the presentation of the manga well executed.
6 Reviews
I have a newfound respect for Mangaka's and the turmoil they endure for their art
manuelasaez6 September 2016
I have been a fan of Manga for close to 20 years, and I have always had a great respect for the medium. There are so many series and artists that I love and that have helped inspire my own art style, from Kishiro Yukito to CLAMP, and I love the incredible variety that the medium provides for every type of reader imaginable. As a fan, I have never questioned the amount of effort it takes to be a Mangaka, and I actually took for granted how a single person could be responsible for a story, script, layout, art and colors. I mean, how do these people do it week after week, month after month, year after year for little to no real pay until you make it "big"? That's essentially what this movie aims to achieve; to create a window to the blood, sweat and tears of an artistic savant, and how much they love their craft to even sacrifice their own health and well-being. The film was wonderfully acted, directed, and the SFX was very beautifully implement. All of the technical details are top notch. But it's the message behind the film that is most important; do what you love simply because you love it. If you love what you do, things will ultimately fall into place. Creating Manga takes tremendous effort and talent, and only the Japanese are capable of focusing their efforts to create something so cohesive and indicative of the society. The film is wonderful and any fan of Manga and Japan will love everything about it. Fascinating is an understatement.
Cool movie
mister_bateman23 August 2020
I'm not a manga or anime fan, in fact that stuff is way too colorful, childish and weird for me, but I can definitely appreciate the skill and creativity that goes into making it. This movie is all about the craft and the struggle to make it big and it's very well made and inspiring. I liked it.
The manga business is less desirable than you might think.
ebossert5 June 2016
Note: Check me out as the "Asian Movie Enthusiast" on YouTube, where I review tons of Asian movies.
An amateur artist teams up with an amateur scriptwriter (both of which are still in high school) to create manga and break into the business at Weekly Shonen Jump, but the demands and stress of the industry may derail their plans. The stress of working in this particular industry is a major theme here, and it's communicated in multiple ways.
First, there's the competitive aspect. Our protagonists are very quickly roped into the cut-throat nature of business and almost immediately create rivalries with other manga artists. Success at this particular company is dependent on sales of the manga you're drawing, so every week a Top 10 list is posted in the office, which gives everyone a gauge as to how well their manga is doing. That creates rivalry, because you need to perform better than the other manga artists to stay on that list.
Second, there's the survival aspect. If your manga does not sell well, it is discontinued and you will have to go back to the drawing board to produce something else. But you're not a permanent employee of the company, so if your manga fails, you may never get another one of your works published ever again. It all depends on whether or not they like your stuff. It would seem to me that the job security of this profession is not good at all because you're constantly fighting to keep your job.
Third, the weekly deadlines result in very long working hours. It seemed like these guys were working about 80 hours per week, at least. In fact, it's probably more because at times they had difficulty finding enough time to sleep. That's just insane. I previously worked at a Big 4 accounting firm for 5 years, so I know what working long hours is like. But even I was horrified at what our protagonists were going through in this movie. It almost makes the profession of manga drawing seem undesirable. This is not a film that glorifies the industry, and I like that.
Bakuman has a fantastic cast of young acting talent. Start with Takeru Satoh, who recently starred in the awesome Rurouni Kenshin trilogy. Then we have Ryunosuke Kamiki, who starred in Poison Berry In My Brain, The Kirishima Thing and has appeared as a villain in films like As the Gods Will and the second and third Rurouni Kenshin films. Then we have Shota Sometani, who is practically everywhere recently. He was in the Parasyte movies, Tokyo Tribe, Wood Job, As the Gods Will, etc. Finally we have Takayuki Yamada, who had a lead role in the Crows Zero movies, and has appeared in Lesson of the Evil, 13 Assassins, and many others. So we have solid core of young acting talent that helps to establish a foundation for Bakuman to build on.
Another big positive is the rhythm and pacing, which will keep the viewer glued to their screens throughout the entire runtime. The film keeps moving and it maintains interest. The story plays out very naturalistically; even the romantic subplot is nicely portrayed and really like how it concluded. There's a nice dramatic impact to everything and the protagonists have very likable personas. There are also some very funny scenes along the way, which always helps to humanize the characters and make them even more relatable.
Stylistically, there are a few creative sequences that use manga drawing special effects that are blended with the live action shots – and it works really well. It's something a bit different, but I liked it. One final surprise, for me at least, was the scoring and soundtrack, which are really good and were apparently performed by a Japanese band by the name of Sakanaction. I may have to check out some of their stuff.
I definitely recommend Bakuman, and I can't really think of any big flaws to complain about. This is a solid movie.
An amateur artist teams up with an amateur scriptwriter (both of which are still in high school) to create manga and break into the business at Weekly Shonen Jump, but the demands and stress of the industry may derail their plans. The stress of working in this particular industry is a major theme here, and it's communicated in multiple ways.
First, there's the competitive aspect. Our protagonists are very quickly roped into the cut-throat nature of business and almost immediately create rivalries with other manga artists. Success at this particular company is dependent on sales of the manga you're drawing, so every week a Top 10 list is posted in the office, which gives everyone a gauge as to how well their manga is doing. That creates rivalry, because you need to perform better than the other manga artists to stay on that list.
Second, there's the survival aspect. If your manga does not sell well, it is discontinued and you will have to go back to the drawing board to produce something else. But you're not a permanent employee of the company, so if your manga fails, you may never get another one of your works published ever again. It all depends on whether or not they like your stuff. It would seem to me that the job security of this profession is not good at all because you're constantly fighting to keep your job.
Third, the weekly deadlines result in very long working hours. It seemed like these guys were working about 80 hours per week, at least. In fact, it's probably more because at times they had difficulty finding enough time to sleep. That's just insane. I previously worked at a Big 4 accounting firm for 5 years, so I know what working long hours is like. But even I was horrified at what our protagonists were going through in this movie. It almost makes the profession of manga drawing seem undesirable. This is not a film that glorifies the industry, and I like that.
Bakuman has a fantastic cast of young acting talent. Start with Takeru Satoh, who recently starred in the awesome Rurouni Kenshin trilogy. Then we have Ryunosuke Kamiki, who starred in Poison Berry In My Brain, The Kirishima Thing and has appeared as a villain in films like As the Gods Will and the second and third Rurouni Kenshin films. Then we have Shota Sometani, who is practically everywhere recently. He was in the Parasyte movies, Tokyo Tribe, Wood Job, As the Gods Will, etc. Finally we have Takayuki Yamada, who had a lead role in the Crows Zero movies, and has appeared in Lesson of the Evil, 13 Assassins, and many others. So we have solid core of young acting talent that helps to establish a foundation for Bakuman to build on.
Another big positive is the rhythm and pacing, which will keep the viewer glued to their screens throughout the entire runtime. The film keeps moving and it maintains interest. The story plays out very naturalistically; even the romantic subplot is nicely portrayed and really like how it concluded. There's a nice dramatic impact to everything and the protagonists have very likable personas. There are also some very funny scenes along the way, which always helps to humanize the characters and make them even more relatable.
Stylistically, there are a few creative sequences that use manga drawing special effects that are blended with the live action shots – and it works really well. It's something a bit different, but I liked it. One final surprise, for me at least, was the scoring and soundtrack, which are really good and were apparently performed by a Japanese band by the name of Sakanaction. I may have to check out some of their stuff.
I definitely recommend Bakuman, and I can't really think of any big flaws to complain about. This is a solid movie.
To all the artists trying to make it in the industry, we salute you!
ketsui_ip1 October 2018
I read a few volumes of the manga years ago and everything amazed me to no end.
As an artist myself, I know how cruel this world can be to someone. From family who disapproves your choices to publishing companies closing their doors on your face, maybe one day you'll get a yes. But one yes differs from infinite success. You're in today and out tomorrow if you let it go to your head.
However, Bakuman won't keep you down. Don't give up on the things you love, make good friends, be honest and things will be fine.
The actors are good at pretending to draw. You can see they are drawing on top of a pre made artwork instead of mimicking. This is such a nice touch. Many American movies with painting scenes have an actor either waving their brushes in the air, far away from the canvas or a brush without ink. If you haven't noticed that, pay attention next time and you will see.
To me, things seemed a bit rushed in the beginning (the villain and the girl deserved extra screen time), but still, special effects, songs and photography made it worth watching. The director scrapped many things, but a two-hour movie needs concision.
As an artist myself, I know how cruel this world can be to someone. From family who disapproves your choices to publishing companies closing their doors on your face, maybe one day you'll get a yes. But one yes differs from infinite success. You're in today and out tomorrow if you let it go to your head.
However, Bakuman won't keep you down. Don't give up on the things you love, make good friends, be honest and things will be fine.
The actors are good at pretending to draw. You can see they are drawing on top of a pre made artwork instead of mimicking. This is such a nice touch. Many American movies with painting scenes have an actor either waving their brushes in the air, far away from the canvas or a brush without ink. If you haven't noticed that, pay attention next time and you will see.
To me, things seemed a bit rushed in the beginning (the villain and the girl deserved extra screen time), but still, special effects, songs and photography made it worth watching. The director scrapped many things, but a two-hour movie needs concision.
Not as good as Anime including plot
archiebrown-1097330 July 2020
3 starts only for the actors...otherwise i don't see any good setup in this movie...The Bakuman movie was released after Bakuman Anime and manga completed...This should have been a better movie if they didn't excluded too many good parts of the Bakuman storyline and added simple structure for a 2 hours movie...I wonder why this incomplete and completely different movie was created...
Takagi is not shorter than Mashiro... Takagi also have love interest in Anime and Manga There are many female characters missing Mashiro did not meet everyone just in one day Hattori dosen't sit with them while they are with others Hattori does not look like that... and so on...though the actor was fine...i have only complaints because i have watched the Anime and i know in manga too there aren't as many differences as in this movie... Guess can't help it as story was re-reitten by someone else for this movie...just like how they mentioned in the Anime how other people can work on their manga if the Author gives permission...
THIS MOVIE IS OK...LOOKS GOOD...BUT AFTER SEEING THE COMPLETE ANIME I CAN'T DIGEST THIS...I CAN'T COMPREHEND THE DIFFERENCE...
Takagi is not shorter than Mashiro... Takagi also have love interest in Anime and Manga There are many female characters missing Mashiro did not meet everyone just in one day Hattori dosen't sit with them while they are with others Hattori does not look like that... and so on...though the actor was fine...i have only complaints because i have watched the Anime and i know in manga too there aren't as many differences as in this movie... Guess can't help it as story was re-reitten by someone else for this movie...just like how they mentioned in the Anime how other people can work on their manga if the Author gives permission...
THIS MOVIE IS OK...LOOKS GOOD...BUT AFTER SEEING THE COMPLETE ANIME I CAN'T DIGEST THIS...I CAN'T COMPREHEND THE DIFFERENCE...
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