Most of the episode was dedicated to the romance, so I first want to nitpick a bit: in what year is this series set in anyway? I ask this, because people know mobile phones and email addresses, yet haven’t heard of instant messaging software or computers at all. Is it common for Japanese households to not have a computer? And are instant messengers like MSN a lot less popular in Japan than what they are in the rest of the world?
Regarding the portrayal of the actual romance, it was actually starting to get pretty good, though I did not like how Miho suddenly started crying from out of nowhere: it lacked build-up and was a bit too much for that particular scene. But really: I’m now at the point at which I’m nitpicking at these tiny details: there’s a lot of stuff that this series did right. With the usual romance series I’m not even able to pick those details like that apart. This episode really served its purpose of developing the relationship between Moritaka and Miho, and I especially liked how this episode talked about their future and how they keep in contact after they graduate. The next step should be to de-wimpify them: give either of them some guts to actually talk to each other.
The end of the episode also properly introduced the new genius high school manga author. Standalone he’s pretty much what you’d expect, but the thing I’m interested in the most is how he will clash with Moritaka and Akito.
This episode also reminded me how completely pointless these copyright aversions are: Shounen Jump is censored to Shounen Jack, and yet the manga openly talks about Dragonball Z and One Piece. Is it okay for someone to use products of a company, but the name of the company itself is taboo or something? It’s still a comppletely ridiculous practice: these copyright laws are enforced because the companies in question don’t want their names dirtied, yet the way in which their names are modified (Shounen Jack, Deegle, WC Donalds) makes no attempt to hide what they’re referring to. Bloody legal system.
Rating: ** (Excellent)
Yeah you got me on the copyright laws. The Bakuman manga actually runs in Jump and they call it that in the manga so it makes no sense that they don’t in the anime.
Niizuma is one of the better characters and his rivalry with the two is a pretty interesting part of the series, but my favorite of the mangakas has yet to be introduced.
mmm. i think is..
Hikkikomori = pc
Other people = mobile
xD just a guess
The copyright talk? It blows my mind. Seriously.
Eiji is a very interesting character.Even from this point in the manga,I like him and find him much more interesting than the main pair. Actually to me,the whole manga is like this, most of the side characters are much more interesting than the main pair.But I guess for showing the manga making process,they are the most suitable.
@psgels: Concerning your question about computers and messengers, it’s basically like kuritos guessed.
The average single Japanese does not own a personal computer at home, they just use their mobiles to access the internet and communicate. It’s much quicker and because of often long distances to schools, universities or workplaces most of their ‘online time’ is on the train.
Of all the people I know over there, only people who work at home or are fairly well situated own a computer at home.
And because of that, of course messengers are by far not as popular. It’s easier to communicate through emails or over chatboards via mobile phones (many have very convenient flatrates).
For example to register on mixi (a Japanese social network) you have to own a Japanese mobile and register with that email-adress.
Concerning copyright issues. I think it’s also because Japanese publishers are rather strict when it comes to product placement, so most companies tend to avoid that by renaming famous brands.
It serves no purpose, but at least it’s funny to see them trying to obscure things like that.
I think the Shounen Jack thing’s supposed to be a parody that everyone would understand (since they’re reading this in Shounen Jump), but manga names can be more problematic. That might not be the case with Dragonball Z and One Piece, but some of the younger readers might not know about others like Ashita no Joe. I’m guessing they wanted to use parody names for everything, but realized that changing the names of actual manga can end up confusing the reader, so decided to just use the actual names. As for computer vs phone, people are constantly sending texts/mail on their phones in Taiwan, but seldom on their computers. It’s probably the same case in Japan. Cellphones as internet devices just isn’t as pervasive in the West as it is in the East. We’re getting there, but not yet.
I agree with everything you’ve said 🙂
Pretty much waht the other people said abotu instant messaging, hardly anyone uses it unless they are on facebook and have an Iphone
Personal PC-Email is still used, either people use their pcs at work to reply or the pc email is tied to their cellphone somehow.
Lots of people DO have PCs at home but, they arent home long enough to use it. . .either at *work* for 18 hours a day or at school, doing school activities untill late at night or drinking and partying at friends.
This is why Japanes Real Estate Companies can get away with small ass apartment rooms with high prices and houses in the Big City Area its worse than San Francisco Housing wise
If people stayed at home as much as people in the west did, the real estate companies would all go out of business.
Eiji is unique, just like L from Death Note. They both have different personalities though. It’s just that.. once you got to know Eiji and L, you can’t help liking them and their uniqueness somehow.
Ohba Tsugumi, Bakuman and Death Note author surely like rivalry things with weird but genius people. Their rivalry in Bakuman somehow like Death note but with manga as weapon and more humor and romance as addition.
To psgels:
You’re correct, Japanese only uses mobile phone and email (side note: most email were sent via mobile phone not your typical PCs, similar but it’s a differnt system to SMS). Yes, it’s uncommon for a household to own a PC, other then business usage or wealthier family (or geek). Entertainments that may require a PC in western culture is not common in Japan. For example PC game is rare, that’s why almost all video game console comes from Japan, and online games is only getting more common to the general public in recent years (when household PC getting common). If they need a PC, they go to a nearby net cafe.
As for the copyright thing, I think it’s because Bakuman is air on NHK, there’s this “you can’t advertise in the anime to get audience to buy the product(JUMP)”. If it’s air in another station, I guess they could have used JUMP. There’s no censore on other titles since it’s only a case study situation? I don’t know…
Psgels, mail is commonly associated with a mobile phone in japan, so they use that far more than any computer.
I really hate how they are emphasizing on the romance. For one, I don’t think its unrealistic for a girl Azuki age to cry for small reasons, but realistic or not, this isn’t what we are watching the anime for. The anime is really taking its time, its already episode 7, and they just introduced Eiji.
I hope this is going to have at least a 24 episode. And more seasons to come.
Spoilers below…
They probably gonna take another episode for Takagi/Kaya/Iwase romance.
They’re really putting the focus on the romance here much more than what I remember from reading those chapters, even though the events are the same. It’s a good thing you’re warming up to it otherwise I would not be surprised seeing you drop Bakuman.
GG said it right:
“JC Staff got the honey+clover guy cause they wanted to make an awkward middle schooler romance animu, not a hotblooded manga making animu”
So far it seems to be true…
We’ll see how they handle the later parts where the romance falls completely to the wayside.
@ Puran
I was going to write a long paragraph but GG says it best,it’s not that the staff is bad,it’s that they’re the wrong people for the job.
“We’ll see how they handle the later parts where the romance falls completely to the wayside.”
At the rate they’re going,are we even going to reach those part?at this pace we’ll only get to something around chapter 35 , and that’s when the romance starts to be really minor.