Review : Bakuman.

Ever wanted to draw a manga? It's a lot more complicated than you may think. Follow the story of Mashiro (Artist) and Takagi (Writer), aspiring high school aged mangaka, on their journey to make a manga.

Mashiro likes to draw and he draws quite well, but he isn't overly keen about becoming a mangaka, a hard to get into and not overly well paid profession. Takagi a student in the same class, finds out about Mashiro's artistic abilities and attempts to push him into the idea of becoming a mangaka with him.

Mashiro also has a love interest named Miho, after finding out that she wants to be a voice actress, he accidentally proposes to her and she agrees to marry him if they can achieve their own goals but until then they can't see each other. So Mashiro and Takagi start the onerous task of creating a manga so popular that an anime adaption will be made so that Miho can star as voice actor in it.

Bakuman focuses on the production of the duo's varying manga titles. Including how it's planned, drawn and published as well as the loopholes, problems and competition that they have to deal with along the way. It's interesting to see how the manga creation is done, it's may also serve as huge wake up call as to just how hard and competitive the industry is, being able to draw well and write a good story aren't always enough.

Bakuman is written by Tsugumi Ohba and Takeshi Obata, the team behind the hugely popular Death Note title and as expected, is well written and drawn in Obata's usual top-notch style. Obviously the mangaka plot within their book is written with a degree of experience. There is no action, gore or smut, making the title widely accessible for any audience interested in the creation of manga.

Bakuman is a rather original title, with a perfect mix of seriousness, comedy and romance that will appeal to anyone who likes manga.