2012-04-19, 12:12 | Link #2961 | |
Romanticist
Join Date: Aug 2009
Age: 33
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So yeah. I can see where the criticisms are coming from. On the actual finale itself though, I felt that it lacked impact, or at least something memorable for me to remember this series by. Purely subjective rant, of course.
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2012-04-19, 14:18 | Link #2964 |
H.A.M.
Join Date: Nov 2010
Location: somewhere on this planet
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that was a weak ending imo. Its nice that we get to see them kiss and all that but what about the other characters? Hopefully an epilogue or something shows up in a few weeks. Oh yea that was pretty awkward to read lol. 9/10
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2012-04-19, 17:24 | Link #2965 |
Senior Member
Join Date: Jul 2008
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Thanks for all the good memories, Bakuman.
I think the bottom left panel of page 14, chapter 173 hinted that we wouldn't get a wedding ceremony. Looking back, 173 was Takagi's last chance to shine, 174 was Hattori, and 175 was Kaya, Eiji, + the other mangaka, and of course 176 was Mashiro and Azuki. If you read all those chapters again, you'll feel more like every character got their proper due in the end. I do agree though that they could have included to birth of Takagi's child to wrap him up a bit better, as he was the co-protagonist after all. I'm still looking forward to an extra chapter in the final volume though, but not expecting one. Bakuman's also been a monster in terms of words per chapter, nearly double that of other series, and I greatly appreciate the groups that took the time to do it. |
2012-04-19, 21:42 | Link #2966 |
Senior Member
Join Date: Jul 2010
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This series has its ups and downs but overall, I'd say this has been a pretty enjoyable and interesting series.
The first chapters up till the end of Trap arc had been refreshing, gave a lot of interesting information about manga, and had kept me on the edge several times with its nice cliffhangers. Subsequently however, things started becoming less novel, probably because we already know most of what is to know about manga making. The 2nd serialization (the gag manga whose name I can't remember) was relatively boring for me, but it did provide an important plotline for them to gain experience. The worst however, was Nanamine part 2. Part 1 was still ok but the return of Nanamine was unbelievable and overdone. As for the romance part, I think it's a matter of taste and preference. I personally would like more romance sub-chapters and more of Azuki after Trap, as well as a little more development between Hiramaru and Aoki, but judging from what we have so far, I suspect Ouba may not have the necessary skill and experience to execute that well. However, I like the idea of using a seiyuu as a heroine, even though she doesn't have a strong heroine presence at all. And of course, my favorite character is Hiramaru, and the antics between Yoshida and Hiramaru are pure gold. The other thing I really like about this series is how sometimes it seems to be making digs at the editorial department, WSJ itself and other manga. As for the ending, I think the ending closes things well, though I find it overly abrupt and the last page as the last page was pretty jarring. It would have been better if it had a 40-50 page ending chapter to round things better. I'm sure the fans in Japan will be dissatisfied as well, so hopefully, we do get an epilogue chapter in the tankoubon as well. And finally, while I'm no expert in art, I find that Obata's art is really getting more and more amazing over the years. Drawing realistic manga manuscripts within a manga, and the amount of details he has in the panels, I can only say 'wow' to that. He has definitely leveled up again from Bakuman. To sum up, Bakuman is really a refreshing manga which is something 'never done before'. Considering the genre and story type, I won't go so far as to call them mediocre compared to other WSJ series, and I would have to say 'kudos' to Ouba and Obata to have been able to make such a genre interesting to read. I think it's not easy to do what they have done. The question is, will some other mangaka be able to write a more interesting 'manga about manga' than them? Frankly speaking, I don't know if someone can do this better than Ouba, but if someone else is going to try it, it would no longer be something novel anymore. And I have to add that Ouba has guts to try out a different genre from what he has done. Another fact is without a doubt, for a non-mainstream series with mainstream elements, to quote Takagi himself, it is popular and among the top 1/3 of the series in WSJ. Well, now that this has ended, I really look forward to the their next series. As proven again in the 'Classroom of Truth', which seems like a dig to Enigma saying 'we can do better than you', I hope Ouba brings us something of that kind of genre again. |
2012-04-19, 22:08 | Link #2967 |
Raging Ami-chan Fanboy
Join Date: Jan 2012
Location: Cailfornia
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WAIT THAT BLINDSIDED ME. I wasn't really paying attention to anything that might have tipped me off that the series was ending. *sigh*
Well, I was hoping we'd get to a see a flash forward of the married couple, but I guess we don't get that...
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2012-04-20, 00:57 | Link #2969 |
iceman
Scanlator
Join Date: Sep 2008
Location: CO, USA
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Um. What? That was a totally unexpected ending. Considering the material though, I guess I should applaud them for taking the story to this length, without boring me too much. I feel like this could've been better if it was fit into 10 volumes, but that's just me. Overall, I'm glad that this series is finally over, and I just hope that their next project will be something more... stimulating for the mind.
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2012-04-20, 06:30 | Link #2972 |
The Shermain
Join Date: Aug 2009
Location: NY
Age: 44
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I dropped this shortly after Eiji stopped Crow. That always rubbed me the wrong way and felt like a cop out to me. Things really started to drag for me after a while and it looks like it dragged on to the very end, before rushing to an abrupt finish. Not sure if I'll pick it back up to finish it off or not.
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2012-04-20, 08:59 | Link #2974 | |
Romanticist
Join Date: Aug 2009
Age: 33
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That said, I'm still looking forward to their next work.
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manga, shounen |
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