Bakuman?Complete Box Set (Bakuman?Complete Box Set (Volumes 1-20 with premium))

Moritaka Mashiro is a normal Jr High student who is suffering from a lack of direction in life. Fortunately for him, fellow schoolmate Akito Takagi has a plan to change that. He wants Mashiro to team up with him to become a mangaka. With Takagi writing the stories and Mashiro handling the art, it is their goal to climb their way to the top! For extra motivation, Mashiro intends to marry the girl of his dreams once their goals are achieved. Bakuman is an awesome series. I had never given much thought to the manga industry (though I do read lots of manga), but it was absolutely fascinating to learn about. The business side, the creative process, the sheer luck - so much fun. But of course, if this were just a textbook for learning about manga it wouldn't be very entertaining. But the characters, their interactions, friendships, and rivalries were so much fun. Bakuman is definitely in my top 5 favorite manga series. The volumes are really dense, so even though it is 20 volumes, it has about twice the amount of text as a normal Jump series of similar lengths. Seriously, I normally read a volume of manga in 20-30 minutes, but Bakuman took a full hour for each one. And they were never boring. Several nights in a row I would stay up late finishing a volume, or starting a new one because i just had to know what happened next. This box set is really nice. This is my first time buying a manga box set and I am very pleased. Not only was it much cheaper than buying the individual volumes, it comes in a cardboard box that opens up to show all 20 volumes nicely lined up. Even better, it comes with a bonus comic (a short Otter Man Num 11 story) and a small poster (revisable).

I'm starting to wonder if Ohba and Obata obtain some sort of magical powers when they collaborate--not really, because that would mean minimizing their awesome talent as individuals. But it is seriously impressive that they've already got Death Note and Bakuman to their credit, and the newer Platinum End seems to be on track to be yet another great series. As for this box set, the box itself is nice, with gorgeous, vivid artwork. The manga is great. Storyline, characters, the fact that it's "wordy" enough to keep me busy awhile. I'm a really fast reader, which can be a plus if I'm reading something like War and Peace, but a minus with a lot of manga because it's over too soon. To make it last longer, I usually go back through and take my time studying the artwork. I didn't need to do that with Bakuman, but wanted to anyway because the artwork's just nice to take in. I think almost any manga fan should enjoy this series, and for those who haven't been fans prior, there's a good chance it'll win you over.

After their runaway success with Death Note, author Tsugumi Ohba and artist Takeshi Obata collaborated again to create this masterpiece. Bakuman follows the career of two middle-schoolers who partner up and aspire to become famous manga artists. What unfolds, over a period of ten years, is a blow-by-blow account of their rise to the top of the industry, replete with personal setbacks, rivalries with other creators, artistic differences with editors and publishers, and cancelled series along the way. I was dumbfounded at how the creators could take what sounds like such a mundane premise and turn it into such a riveting and compelling story. The manga was published in the same publication the fictional characters in the story work for (namely Weekly Shonen Jump), and features real editors who work for the magazine, which makes for a fun self-referential treatment of the manga industry, combining realism and deep insight with fanciful "what-if" arcs. The nature of the story also allows Obata to show off his ability to illustrate in a myriad different manga styles, with aplomb. The main take-away from the story, for me, was that if one wants to pursue one's dream job one has to be willing to make costly sacrifices time and again, because in the end the satisfaction of doing the work will have to be its own reward. Also, that there is no such thing as a "self-made man", as the success the characters enjoy comes as the result of a balance of an insane work ethic, talent, luck and support from a myriad people, all working together at the right time. The box set is beautifully designed, and ergonomically sound, making for a great user experience. Spaces are left between the top of the books and the box to make them easy to take out; the volumes fit together snugly, but not too tightly to put them back easily; and the box is sturdy with a plastic handle on top, making it easy to transport. As with other Viz Media box sets the artwork on the spines doesn't quite line up, making the set look a little untidy. The artwork, reading from right to left (as in the original language), is reproduced in surprisingly crisp and clear quality (the paper looks a little cheap), and each chapter concludes with a bonus page, showing off one storyboard from each of the contributors for one of the spreads in the chapter. The translation work is excellent - I have to commend Viz for the attention to detail here - making the reading of the text in the manga as pleasurable as the artwork. The box set contains all 176 chapters of the series in 20 volumes (at roughly 200 pages each), plus a double-sided colour poster and a one-shot of Otter No. 11, one of the fictional series featured in Bakuman (it is published as the work of Kazuya Hiramaru, the creator of Otter No. 11 in the manga). I was very pleased to get this box set for the price I did, and even though I had read the series before I couldn't put the books down until I had read the whole thing again.

Excellent box, excellent condition. This text heavy series is the best when read on print.

One of the best Manga I have ever read

Bakuman is by far my most favorite series. And this box set gives the fan a beautiful collectible and storage case for all 20 manga as well as a bonus Otter No.11 mini manga and two-sided poster. The best deal I've seen since the Death Note box set - the pre-order was worth it and well worth the wait. I pre-ordered the set in September before it's release on October 1st - was set to deliver in early October but didn't receive the product till the 22nd. As I said before, well worth the wait! Amazon was courteous, prompt, and polite when I asked where/why it hasn't shipped and they surprised me with an upgrade to One day shipping: Amazon staff/company - you guys/gals are awesome! In short, the product was beautiful, sturdy, and an awesome online deal. When posed with a question, customer service was quick and to the point. I would recommend this set to any fan, collector or newcomers to the series~ Oh, and buying from Amazon as well just cause my experience was pretty darn positive.

I got this series eithout expecting much from it as it wasnt very popular. However, it actually turned out to be one of my favourite series!The art,story and characters were amazing! This series described perfectly how the manga industry works.

The manga is amazing, the box art itself is amazing , the poster is pretty good, such a good series, finally finished it yesterday, and man was it amazing, definitely would recommend.