Bakuman?Complete Box Set: Volumes 1-20 with Premium Paperback – October 1, 2013

This is a must have for any true manga fan. Makes a wonderful gift for teens or young adults manga fans.

It came in perfect condition, nothing missing in the box and considering I live in a far county the package came without bruises

My son had me get this for his birthday, I swore I’d never read anime, alas I am hooked. I have almost finished the series. The box is very durable and aesthetically pleasing, it moves from room to room and is still in perfect condition. Oh, I think he said there were some little surprises in it too, I can’t remember what they were but he was stoked.

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.

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.

Came with great condition, and was a fun read for the last 3 weeks. Would highly recomand for anyone who like drawing and the proces of creating and following your passion.

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).

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.