Thechapters ofBakuman, a Japanesemanga series, are written byTsugumi Ohba and illustrated byTakeshi Obata.Bakuman has been serialized in theshōnenmanga magazineWeekly Shōnen Jump byShueisha since its premiere on August 11, 2008.[1] The series follows accomplished artistMoritaka Mashiro and aspiring writerAkito Takagi, two boys in ninth grade who wish to bemanga creators.
Since its premiere, more than one hundred chapters have been released in Japan. The individualtankōbon are released byShueisha. The first volume ofBakuman was released on January 5, 2009,[2][3] and the series has currently finished in Japan with the twentieth and final volume released in July 2012.[4]
The chapters were also released for a limited time in English, German and French on the Jumpland Manga Online website starting on August 19, 2008, and were available until August 31, 2009.Bakuman is the first manga released online by Shueisha in multiple languages before becoming available in print outside Japan.[5] The series has also been released in Korea byDaiwon C.I. and serialized in theirComic Champmanhwa magazine.[6] The series is available in North America fromViz Media.[7]
| No. | Title | Original release date | English release date | |
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| 1 | Dreams and Reality Yume to Genjitsu (夢と現実) | January 5, 2009[2] 978-4-08-874622-7 | August 3, 2010[8] 978-1-4215-3513-5 | |
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| 2 | Chocolate and Akamaru Choko to Akamaru (チョコと赤マル) | March 4, 2009[9] 978-4-08-874644-9 | November 2, 2010[10] 978-1-4215-3514-2 | |
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| At theShonen Jump offices, editorAkira Hattori tells Mashiro and Takagi that their work is "bronze-level" but looks forward to their next creation. A seating arrangement pairs Mashiro with Azuki, as he quietly shares his feelings. After their work misses the Tezuka award short list, Mashiro and Takagi work onThe Hundred Millionth, which does make the list but not enough to place for an award. Meanwhile,Eiji Nizuma, the 15-year-old winner, is invited to move to Tokyo. Takagi must also choose between Iwase and Miyoshi for his girlfriend. After Hattori reviews the evaluation forThe Hundred Millionth with the guys,Sasaki, the editor-in-chief (and Mashiro's uncle's former editor) encourages them. Under Hattori's advice that they make a cult hit, Mashiro and Takagi work onThe World is Made of Money and Intelligence for theAkamaru Jump publication, whose viability thrives on reader surveys. As they graduate from high school, Miyoshi tells the guys that Azuki is moving out of the region for high school, prompting Mashiro to reaffirm their promise to be together.The World finishes in third place in the surveys, the guys start anew to make a more mainstream manga. | ||||
| 3 | Debut and Impatience Debyū to Aseri (デビューと焦り) | June 4, 2009[11] 978-4-08-874677-7 | February 1, 2011[12] 978-1-4215-3515-9 | |
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| Mashiro practices drawing popular battle manga. While Mashiro and Takagi work out a deal to get serialized if their mainstream manga ranks high, Nizuma surprises his editor by drawingCrow instead ofYellow Hit. Mashiro, Takagai and Nizuma meet each other at Jump’s editor office. Mashiro and Takagi try a shonen battle series calledMy Angel and submit it for the Gold Future Cup, but it is rejected by the other editors. Azuki lands a small part in an anime show, and Miyoshi announces she wants to be acell phone novelist. When Mashiro notices Takagi is spending more time with Miyoshi, he accepts a job assisting Nizuma, where he meets aspiring manga artistShinta Fukuda and veteran assistantTakuro Nakai. Mashiro and Fukuda give advice to Nizuma on improving his chapter and how to make use of storyboards and editor meetings. After working two days, Mashiro quits when he is inspired to dig up his old sketchbooks of characters, and finds a character suitable for a mystery. While Takagi and Miyoshi spend time together on her cell phone novel, Mashiro gets impatient over waiting for Takagi’s storyboard. | ||||
| 4 | Phone Call and The Night Before Denwa to Zen'ya (電話と前夜) | August 4, 2009[13] 978-4-08-874719-4 | April 19, 2011[14] 978-1-4215-3793-1 | |
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| With Takagi’s storyboards not done, Mashiro and Takagi agree to part ways, with Mashiro focusing on making his own. However, both end up trying to make a mystery-themed storyboard, and while Hattori tries to keep them independently working, a month later Mashiro discovers they have the same idea, and collaborate to make eight chapters of storyboards in five months. Hattori enters them into the Gold Future Cup, which uses anapproval voting scheme, and has them do a new chapter final draft every two weeks. Mashiro and Takagi meetKo Aoki, a female manga artist who is a finalist in the Cup. When finalistKoji Makaino publicizes his celebrity status as the musician “Koogy” to garner votes, the others complain to the editor office, but decide they will try to beat him by making their own manga better. Fukuda and Ashirogi’s titles are both declared winners, with Aoki’s not far behind. Following an extensive serialization meeting, Mashiro and Takagi learn their title,Detective Trap, will be serialized. Azuki struggles with whether to do agravure idolphotobook. | ||||
| 5 | Yearbook and Photobook Bunshū to Shashinshū (文集と写真集) | November 4, 2009[15] 978-4-08-874753-8 | June 7, 2011[16] 978-1-4215-3794-8 | |
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| Mashiro and Takagi are assigned a new editor,Goro Miura, and three assistants:Ogawa,Kato, andTakahama. Mashiro and Takagi attend Jump’s corporate party where they meetKazuya Hiramaru, a former office worker who regrets that the manga artist lifestyle is so demanding. When Koogy announces that he is partnering with Aoki in Jump Square, Nakai desperately draws storyboards outside her apartment in the cold to win her back. As the rankings forDetective Trap fall into the middle of the pack, Mashiro and Takagi ponder changing the story. Miho and Mashiro agree to have Miho turn down the gravure photo shoot. Miura tells Mashiro and Takagi not to change the story, despite the serialization debuts of Fukuda and Aoki, and suggests they lighten it up by adding some comic elements. The advice helps asDetective Trap climbs in the rankings and they end up tied with Niizuma for third place. | ||||
| 6 | Reckless and Guts Mucha to Konjō (無茶と根性) | January 4, 2010[17] 978-4-08-874788-0 | August 2, 2011[18] 978-1-4215-3824-2 | |
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| Mashiro and Takagi prepare their firsttankōbon volume and color prints. Mashiro collapses from a weakened liver and is hospitalized. Against his doctor’s recommendations, Mashiro continues working. Miho tries to talk him out of it, revealing that she has liked him since their fourth grade, but he persists, so she decides to support him. When Sasaki puts the series on hiatus, Niizuma, Fukuda, Aiko / Sakai and Tanamaru go on strike, but theJump editors negotiate for them to resume when Mashiro is released from hospital, although Sasaki still wants to enforce Ashirogi's hiatus until April. When Mashiro gets out, he produces his storyboards and convinces Sasaki to resume running. New competition from a mystery-themed novelist’s one-shot putsDetective Trap near the bottom of the polls, causing Mashiro and Takagi to try desperate measures. | ||||
| 7 | Gag and Serious Gyagu to Shiriasu (ギャグとシリアス) | March 4, 2010[19] 978-4-08-870015-1 | October 4, 2011[20] 978-1-4215-3888-4 | |
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| 8 | Panty Shot and Savior Panchira to Kyūseishu (パンチラと救世主) | April 30, 2010[21] 978-4-08-870037-3 | December 6, 2011[22] 978-1-4215-3889-1 | |
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| 9 | Talent and Pride Sainō to Puraido (才能とプライド) | August 4, 2010[23] 978-4-08-870088-5 | February 7, 2012[24] 978-1-4215-3958-4 | |
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| 10 | Imagination and Presentation Hyōgenryoku to Sōzōryoku (表現力と想像力) | October 4, 2010[25] 978-4-08-870114-1 | April 3, 2012[26] 978-1-4215-3995-9 | |
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| 11 | Title and Character Design Taitoru to Kyaradeza (タイトルとキャラデザ) | December 29, 2010[27] 978-4-08-870164-6 | June 5, 2012[28] 978-1-4215-4103-7 | |
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| 12 | Artist and Manga Artist Gaka to Mangaka (画家と漫画家) | March 04, 2011[29] 978-4-08-870191-2 | July 3, 2012[30] 978-1-4215-4136-5 | |
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| 13 | Avid Readers and Love at First Sight Aidokusha to Hitomebore (愛読者と一目惚れ) | June 03, 2011[31] 978-4-08-870236-0 | August 7, 2012[32] 978-1-4215-4208-9 | |
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| 14 | Psychological Warfare and Catchphrases Shinrisen to Kimeserifu (心理戦と決め台詞) | August 04, 2011[33] 978-4-08-870273-5 | September 4, 2012[34] 978-1-4215-4290-4 | |
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| 15 | Encouragement and Feelings Hagemi to Omoi (励みと想い) | October 4, 2011[35] 978-4-08-870294-0 | October 2, 2012[36] 978-1-4215-4291-1 | |
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| 16 | Newcomers and Veterans Shinjin to Beteran (新人とベテラン) | January 4, 2012[37] 978-4-08-870316-9 | November 6, 2012[38] 978-1-4215-4292-8 | |
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| 17 | One-shot Deal and Complete Story Ippatsu Shōbu to Ichiwa Kanketsu (一発勝負と一話完結) | March 2, 2012[39] 978-4-08-870389-3 | December 4, 2012[40] 978-1-4215-4293-5 | |
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| 18 | Margins and Hell Yoyū to Shuraba (余裕と修羅場) | May 2, 2012[3] 978-4-08-870420-3 | March 5, 2013[41] 978-1-4215-4294-2 | |
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| 19 | Decision and Delight Kettei to Kanki (決定と歓喜) | June 4, 2012[42] 978-4-08-870461-6 | May 7, 2013[43] 978-1-4215-4295-9 | |
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| 20 | Dreams and Reality Yume to Genjitsu (夢と現実) | July 4, 2012[44] 978-4-08-870466-1 | August 6, 2013[45] 978-1-4215-5370-2 | |
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