Bakuman?, Vol. 1 (Bakuman, #1)

by Tsugumi Ohba

[celinenyx]

Bakuman is a contemporary manga series written by Tsugumi Ohba, of Death Note fame. Although it took me a second to adjust to the fact that this series does not contain shinigami death gods, I was quite excited to see how Ohba would handle a non-supernatural storyline.

Moritaka and Akito are two high school boys, both incredibly clever. Doing well in school is Moritaka's plan - good school, good job. But then Akito proposes to write a manga together, and it forces him to reconsider his life goals. What does he really want?

Just like Death Note, Bakuman is filled with gorgeous tight art. The mangaka has an excellent sense of space and the points of view make this manga an absolute pleasure to read. The characters look like individuals without being clownesque and the dialogue does not take away from the visuals. To me, this might be the best looking manga I have read so far - there is something about those clean lines that appeals to me.

As for the content of the story, I am not entirely convinced. For me the largest barrier in enjoying Bakuman is a cultural one. Everything in this manga oozes competitiveness and a drive to perform within the work atmosphere. They have to study! They have to get into a good school! They have to get a good job! If they don't, their lives might as well be over! Their single-minded obsession with having a successful career was hard for me to stomach. In Dutch culture, it is hard work that is deemed praiseworthy, not being able to get to a certain level. The constant teleology of having to "make it" felt alien to me and made it hard to relate to the story in a meaningful way.

In the same line, Bakuman expresses some ideas on strength and weakness that I fundamentally disagree with. While not necessarily the opinion of the author, one character implies that committing suicide is a sign of "weakness". Japan is still very traditional in their gender roles, which again, found its expression in this manga, where a girl is apparently considered unattractive because she's proud of being smart. Overall, all these elements made me feel pretty blah about the story.

On the upside, I really did like the two main characters (though I did find it rather questionable that they are such boy geniuses). Their journey to becoming mangakas is fascinating, and their antics made me laugh several times. Right now I feel like this manga can go either way for me - either I'll turn to love it, or the cultural barrier will prevent me from ever becoming truly attached to the story.