History YMMV / Bakuman

** The anime's second opening, ''" [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kkEQ58iMmNg Dream of Life]]''" the second opening of the anime, is no slouch either. The awesome instrumentation and vocals are backed up by lyrics that uncannily match the show.

* {{Anvilicious}}: When Mashiro and Takagi end up [[PanderingToTheBase writing their story according to reader suggestions]] due to understandably being desperate to keep Detective Trap going, [[DumbassHasAPoint Miura, of all people, notices something's off and calls them out on it]]. He then points out that the fan mail doesn't represent the majority of the readers, and the readers are there for Mashiro and Takagi's story. It's not exactly subtle that it's a message against merely pandering in an attempt to gain popularity.

** "''[[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LIlZCmETvsY Shin-Takarajima]]''" (New Treasure Island), the optimistic alternative-punk ending theme for 2015 live-action adaptation of ''Bakuman'' by a Japanese group ''{{Music/Sakanaction}}''.

** Toward the end of Hideout Door's serialization, Nakai becomes desperate to stay serialized, while Aoki refuses to compromise her vision. Is Aoki self-centered and inconsiderate of Nakai(especially given his long struggle to get serialized), or is she simply staying true to herself like a good artist should? Is Nakai's concern understandable, or is he so desperate to stay in the magazine (not to mention work together with Aoki) that he disregards her wishes?

* WhatAnIdiot:
** Takagi doesn't tell Miyoshi about his seeing Aoki for ideas on his manga, and meeting Iwase while he's there, claiming that she'll get jealous if he goes to other women for help. As a result, when she finds Iwase's book, with a letter to him in it, while cleaning, she assumes [[MistakenForCheating he's cheating on her]].
** [[spoiler:Nakai]] tries to salvage the situation with [[spoiler:Nanamine's]] manga by telling his contributors that the ranking has fallen to 16th and they need to work hard to reverse it. The few left over then desert [[spoiler:Nanamine]] after knowing for certain that he lied, and he gets fired for this.

* SomeAnvilsNeedToBeDropped: When Mashiro and Takagi end up [[PanderingToTheBase writing their story according to reader suggestions]] due to understandably being desperate to keep Detective Trap going, [[DumbassHasAPoint Miura, of all people, notices something's off and calls them out on it]]. He then points out that the fan mail doesn't represent the majority of the readers, and the readers are there for Mashiro and Takagi's story. It's not exactly subtle, but it's an effective message against merely pandering in an attempt to gain popularity.

* DesignatedVillain: Iwase, to [[BrokenBase some of the base]] that believe that her portrayal as a snobby bitch because she's smart and talented is sexist. On the other hand, Takagi later accepts her as a rival, which could indicate that we are not meant to agree with his initial reactions. All of this, however, becomes a moot point as Nakai grows more and more despicable, and even more so when Nanamine is revealed as the true villain of the series.

** Hattori is the best.

* FanPreferredCouple: Aoki with either [[BirdsOfAFeather Takagi]] or especially [[spoiler:[[OppositesAttract Shinda]] [[RescueRomance Fukuda]].]] In the end, [[spoiler:Takagi ends up married to Miyoshi, while Aoki is in a relationship wtih Hiramaru, and is ultimattely engaged to him]].

* FamilyUnfriendlyAesop:
** It's OK to lie to and manipulate a lonely, and quite possible depressed man, if you need him to write more manga. {{Played for laughs}} with Kazuya Hiramaru and his editor.
** Yoshida's manipulations become less effective and more obvious to Hiramaru over time, until [[spoiler:Aoki becomes Hiramaru's motivation to keep writing manga]].
** Mashiro getting bed-ridden eventually teaches the audience that "Your dreams are more important than your physical health." Although it should be noted that [[spoiler:Detective Trap ultimately ends up being cancelled, possibly even ''because'' of Mashiro getting hospitalized by overextending himself while in school]].

* EarWorm: "''[[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5W3DSRRwqOs Blue Bird]]''" the first opening of the anime, definitely qualifies.
** Especially the version that ran in the first season's last episode, which had the entire song played over the final scene.

* CounterpartComparison: Shun Shiratori has some similarities with Tsubasa Katsuki of ''Manga/ComicGirls''. Both are the younger children of very wealthy families, who eagerly pursue manga in spite of their mothers' opposition to it.

** Azuma. He's been out of work for some time, and it has obviously taken its toll on him emotionally. [[spoiler:As such, he turns to Nanamine, only to get cast aside when he's deemed to be not good enough. This makes it considerably more [[CrowningMomentOfAwesome awesome]] and [[CrowningMomentOfHeartwarming heartwarming]] when he does actually succeed on his own]].

* AwesomeMusic: "''[[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LIlZCmETvsY Shin-Takarajima]]''" (New Treasure Island), the optimistic alternative-punk ending theme for 2015 live-action adaptation of ''Bakuman'' by a Japanese group ''{{Music/Sakanaction}}''.

** While the editor in chief is largely seen as unreasonable for putting Detective Trap on hiatus while Mashiro is hospitalized, it's possible to conclude that he's the OnlySaneMan concerned about Mashiro's health but unwilling to end his career over this, like his mother wants. Considering that the main characters realize that the editor has valid points later on, it's possible that the story even intended for him to be seen this way.

** Same goes for Kayoko Mashiro, for not only being a nagging mother, but for being very strict and hardly supportive of her son's dream to become a manga artist (especially considering the circumstances that inspire him to do so).

** Miura, especially in the later chapters, though the authors seem to be trying to avert it as of chapter seventy.

** Iwase, too, gets treated as this from time to time, though it's been softened by CharacterDevelopment. [[BrokenBase Other circles]] of the fandom [[EnsembleDarkhorse like her]] and consider her a victim of [[UnfortunateImplications author sexism.]] Ironically, Ohba appears to be fond of her.

** The anime's second opening, "Dream of Life" is no slouch either. The awesome instrumentation and vocals are backed up by lyrics that uncannily match the show.

* Ear Worm: "Blue Bird", the first opening of the show, definitely qualifies.

** Azuki has her fair share of people (including WebVideo/RolloT of ''Weekly Manga Recap'') who find her relationship with Mashiro to be completely ridiculous and unbelievable, and [[SatelliteLoveInterest that she isn't defined as a character beyond that.]]

* FanPreferredCouple: Aoki with either [[BirdsOfAFeather Takagi]] or especially [[spoiler:[[OppositesAttract Shinda]] [[RescueRomance Fukuda]].]] In the end, [[spoiler:Takagi ends up married to Miyoshi, while Aoki is in a relationship wtih Hiramaru, and is ultimatrely engaged to him]].
* FoeYay

* [[HilariousInHindsight Ironic In Hindsight]]: The third chapter has Mashiro forcing Takagi into making a name, with Takagi complaining that he could just give Mashiro a script. [[spoiler: Guess how Eiji and Iwase make +Natural work, and how Mashiro and Takagi start taking the lead with PCP?]]

* AwesomeMusic: "''[[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LIlZCmETvsY Shin-Takarajima]]''" (New Treasure Island), the optimistic alternative-punk ending theme for 2015 live-action adaptation of ''Bakuman'' by a Japanese group ''Sakanaaction''.

* AwesomeMusic: "''[[https://youtu.be/LIlZCmETvsY?list=RDoPuuBHr35iI Shin-Takarajima]]''" (New Treasure Island), the optimistic alternative-punk ending theme for 2015 live-action adaptation of ''Bakuman'' by a Japanese group ''Sakanaaction''.

* AwesomeMusic: "''[[https://youtu.be/LIlZCmETvsY?list=RDoPuuBHr35iI Shin-Takarajima]]''" (New Treasure Island), the optimistic alternative-punk ending theme to the live-action adaptation of ''Bakuman'' by a Japanese group ''Sakanaaction''.

* DesignatedVillain: Iwase, to [[BrokenBase some of the base]] that believe that her portrayal as a snobby bitch because she's smart and talented is sexist. On the other hand, Takagi later accepts her as a rival, which could indicate that we are not meant to agree with his initial reactions. Well, this is mostly until Nanamine comes into the picture and becomes the true villain of the series.

* DesignatedVillain: Iwase, to [[BrokenBase some of the base]] that believe that her portrayal as a snobby bitch because she's smart and talented is sexist. On the other hand, Takagi later accepts her as a rival, which could indicate that we are not meant to agree with his initial reactions.

** One can argue that Nakai never quite TookALevelInJerkass, and was mainly repressing the less admirable aspects of his personality, as he never admits how much Fukuda's reminding him that his career is going nowhere upsets him to his face. Over time, he does so less often, such as when he loses his temper at an assistant when Hideout Door is doing poorly.

* BaseBreaker:

* BaseBreaker: Iwase. How sympathetic is she, and how does this compare to how she is intended to be seen?