Bakuman – 25 (Final)

Episode 25 Final – Yes and No – ありとなし (Ari to Nashi)

Similar to the another series that was airing this season, Bakuman doesn’t really wrap up everything in this final episode, but it doesn’t really have to. Instead, we actually got buildup towards the next season of this anime, as opposed to proper closure. Truth be told, it is probably much better ending it off this way, rather than forcing a lot into this finale.

There isn’t really much to say here, with Mashiro and Takagi getting their results saying they’ve been serialized, and the rest of the Bakuman cast getting their own appearances as well. The focus on the shoujo is much more apparent here, with the typical Miho x Mashiro moments, along with some other final appearances from Eiji, Nakai, Aoki, and Fukuda. While you do get a sense of satisfaction for finally seeing Mashiro and Takagi’s hard work pay off, at the same time the episode makes you realize that there is a lot more ahead of all of this in the story. The introduction of a new editor here was a bit odd, but it does leave some food for thought.

The open ended nature of this episode makes it feel like your typical transition episode, with nothing really worth noting happening. Considering how this is the final episode for this season, this does take me with a bit of surprise, but it’s probably better off this way.

Overall Enjoyment: 3.3/5

Final Impressions:

Bakuman turned out to be a rather odd Shounen Jump anime adaptation. Knowing the Shounen nature of the magazine, this series contrasts it with it’s rather slice of life, more laid back nature. The premise of showing how two guys try to accomplish their dream of becoming manga writers was a rather unique idea, and while the pacing for this show was show, it had a solid foundation. The series itself isn’t exactly eventful though, which would be the major flaw to the first half of this series.

The characters are definitely the standout trait for this series, with their enthusiasm really doing a good job at creating a charming set of protagonists. The main characters are a bit on the generic side, but others such as Eiji, Hattori, Fukuda, and Nakai, all serve to create a rather dynamic cast that is enjoyable to watch.

Bakuman’s pacing, for most of the series, is extremely slow. The episodes themselves are build properly, with decent buildup and a constantly building story, but the sheer slowness of the pacing definitely could have been improved on. The slow pacing did allow us to get a good idea of the characters, but really, a majority of the important characters weren’t introduced until the final few epiosodes of the series.

Plot wise, the story had it’s fair share of predictabilities and quirks, but the story did a good job at fleshing out the characters. Character development itself, though, was also slow paced, making it tough to get into the series right away. There are a ton of those typical shounen traits in this show, yet at the same time there are instances of Bakuman having a bit more emotional complexity that you would think.

This laid back series has a slow pacing that probably isn’t for everybody, but it does have it’s fair share of genuine moments and a nice cast that can keep things interesting.

Animation/Art: 8.0/10

Music: 7.0/10

Characters: 8.5/10

Story/setting: 7.5/10

Overall Enjoyment: 7.8/10

Screenshots are later in the post.

Season 2 Announcement: