Should you watch this at weekend movie ticket prices? Yes, especially if you like manga.
Should you watch this at weekday movie ticket prices? Of course!
Secret ending? The entire credits.
Running time: 120 minutes (2 hours)
“Bakuman” is a live-action adaptation of the manga and anime series of the same name. It revolves around the exploits of two high school boys as they attempt to write the top rated manga series in Japan. It stars Takeru Satoh (Moritaka Mashiro), Ryunosuke Kamiki (Akito Takagi), Nana Komatsu (Miho Azuki), Lily Franky (Sasaki), Shota Sometani (Eiji Niizuma), and Takayuki Yamada (Akira Hattori).
“Bakuman” is a story of friendship and brotherhood, and the bromance between the two leads is one of the biggest draws of the film. It strikes a fine balance between stylisation and fun, using traditional manga tropes visually and thematically to strengthen the story. Best of all, it actually teaches you something when you watch it – how manga is made!
Highlights
The manga making process
One of the most interesting things about “Bakuman” is that it takes a documentary style look at how manga is made. For novices, it’s an eye-opener to see the process of drawing a manga, and all the hard work and detail that goes into it. Without this context, you would never know how much the work the heroes have to put into their manga, and it incidentally highlights to you just how difficult it is to be a manga artist. Apart from serving these three purposes, the most important thing about the manga making segments is that it’s pretty entertaining as well.
The friendship between between Mashiro and Takagi
If the word bromance existed back then, or even in Japanese, it would definitely have been uttered in the course of the film. The relationship between the two boys remind us of the innocence of school friendships, and their support and care for each other is really touching. Even their conflict hardly puts a dent in their friendship, which shows you just how close they are to each other. It’s encouraging to see the two leads work together to achieve their dreams, and it gives us the hope that we can achieve our dreams as well too.
Schoolboy enthusiasm
Mashiko and Takagi’s enthusiasm is incredibly infectious. You can’t help but be on their side when you see how much effort and dedication they put into each of their projects. While they may encounter setbacks, they bounce back with a startling speed, borne of the zest of youth. This high energy works well with the bright, optimistic tone of the movie, and gives you the feel-good vibes as you leave the cinema.
Letdowns
Shaky camera style
The handheld style isn’t necessary for the film, and the problem comes in closeups. Whoever’s controlling the camera already doesn’t have the steadiest of hands, and when he zooms in, that shakiness is magnified to a vomit-inducing degree. Close-ups don’t require the gritty feel of a handheld camera because we need to focus on the character’s expressions. To maintain the same style dogmatically throughout the film hurts the variations in shot sizes, and distracts you from the story.
Feels like a Shōnen Jump advertisement
There’s nothing wrong in mentioning Shōnen Jump – after all, it serves as the setting for the movie. But it doesn’t necessitate repeating it every two minutes in the film, which is what the protagonists do. It’s almost as if they’re frightened that we will forget that Shōnen Jump is a huge, integral part of the movie. The overuse of the name just makes it feel far more commercialised than it really is, making you question the authenticity of its depiction.
“Bakuman” is an informative film that also shows us the value, power and meaning of friendship. It takes us back to more innocent times, and serves as a hopeful reminder to pursue our dreams.
“Bakuman” opens in cinemas 19 November, 2015 (Thursday).
This review was first published on Yahoo.
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