Bakuman

Well, I think the "genius" part was more about the fact that he didn't have any exposure to manga at all until very recently. Plus, he's got an anime. Which, of all the other main characters, only Eiji has, right? That's got to count for something.

Hiramaru certainly holds the #2 spot for 'currently best mangaka'. Too bad his character is just so......unappealing.

Well, at least he's entertaining.

Going back to the subject of Tanto's success, I agree that usually gag mangas are just for short bursts of entertainment, but doesn't the existence of Doraemon show that gag mangas can be considered "great" as well? True Art doesn't always have to be drama, after all.

Though I personally think that Tanto doesn't really seem to have a chance at all against Natural. Especially with Takagi like that.

I wonder what the rankings will be like.

They CAN be great, but they will usually lose against stories that actually tug at the strings of your emotions when it comes to greatness.

And yeah, Tanto will fail, unless Takagi suddenly gets the brain of John Cleese implanted. He just doesn't have it for genre.

The problem isn't Tanto is comedy, the problem is that its for kids.

^That too might be a problem.

I find the the editors going ballistic over Eiji getting two series at once to be both hilarious... and petty.

Read the page for the RPG Genius The Transgression. Cerebus Syndrome is not only possible, it has an extremely high potential for drama and Comedy.

Yes, but they will not simply implement a few dramatic situations in a slightly silly plot. They would have to do a complete 180 in tone and color from the first 3 chapters to get near Takagi's area of expertise. The editors will not be pleased (and quite a few readers as well).

Are we discussing the merits of a fictional series?

edited 20th Feb '10 2:10:19 AM by Kayeka

This Is Tv Tropes Bitch, of course we are. (I'm outta here... again...

Yes, apparently we are.

Anyway, I still think that Cerebus Syndrome is a viable option. Look at Mahou Sensei Negima for example. Compare its first volume to its latest volume. The difference in style and tone is immense. The changes in tone only started happening with the introduction of a threatening antagonist (Evangeline) and then the storyline simply escalated from there with the introduction of more characters, secrets, and so on. There's no reason why Tanto couldn't pull off something like that. The trick is to build the shift in subtly so that the change feels natural, and not just a gimmick.

Doesn't Tanto have a rival inventor or something of the sort? There's a lot of potential there for more conflict. Maybe another antagonist individual or faction shows up that threatens both of them. Maybe one of the inventions has consequences that seem humorous at first but has unforeseen circumstances. Maybe someone else gets their hand on one of the (initially used for humorous purposes) inventions and puts it to more sinister uses.

The story seems to be serializing on an episodic basis. If they slightly tweak the one-episode-one-invention format, and start having mini story arcs over two chapters, it could still be humorous but with a bit more depth, perhaps suspense with cliffhangers at the end of the first chapter. And then from there, develop into story arcs with multiple chapters. And then from there, epic Negima style multi-volume story arcs. I think it could definitely work, as long Takagi puts some thought into it.

I would think that they should milk the humor format for at least one tankoubon before making the shift. That gives them time to do some foreshadowing as well.

The premise IS silly, but if the creators look at it with a deconstructivist mindset, there could be a lot of comedy tropes to dissect and play with and put to dramatic purposes.

edited 20th Feb '10 9:29:49 AM by Yuen

Raw Power was right... TV Tropes Will Ruin Your Life, and it's awesome!

Bakuman is...odd.

When you're not in a fighting setting, character archetypes become slightly more blurry.

Also, I find that the authors of Bakuman seem to be making EVERY CHARACTER EXCEPT THE MAIN CHARACTERS extremely likable. Tanto? Who cares! We have sci fi!Pokemon, shonen!shojo, Cool!Drawings, Talking!Otters, and Superedgy!Adultbuttotallynot manga!

Yes. I find side characters like Niizuma, Fukuda, and Hattori to be more interesting/appealing compared to the main characters. Even that otaku guy. I find his pissedoff!eyes to be slightly reminiscent of Papillon's eyes when he's going crazy.

edited 23rd Feb '10 4:41:15 PM by Yuen

Fukuda sold me on character design alone. One thing I can give credit for, those two guys OWN at creating distinctive and interesting looking characters without going into the typical japanese weirdness factor.

Oh gawd, please not the Japanese weirdness thing again. Eurocentrism rearing its ugly head - foreigners very likely find at least some of your country's cultural norms weird too. Fukuda's design is no more or less weird than many other shonen manga designs out there.

Whoah, chillax man. I'm a fan of One Piece first and foremost. I love the japanese weirdness. It's just that sometimes Only Six Faces makes it a requirement to have ANY distinction at all. Plus, even without Only Six Faces, it can be REALLY hard to draw subtle yet different styles when most people just wear t shirts and jeans.

WJT derail? Here, read this weird American thing and kindly let it die.

I already read that a long time ago. I cried from sheer horror. Back on Bakuman, uhm...

... ... ... I HEAR HATTORI LOOKS LIKE RYUK GAIZ. -.-

It's the WORD "weirdness" that bugs me. Even if you like the "Japanese weirdness", it's like saying you like girls because they're slutty. In case you hadn't noticed, weird is a derogatory term. And isn't particularly informative either. I mean, "weirdness" is rather vague. What do you mean, "weird"? In what way? How?

If you mean, unusual hairstyles/clothes/eyes/color schemes in order to differentiate characters, then by all means say so instead of "weird".

But I do agree, the way Fukuda's hair and face is drawn subtly sets him apart from others without having to resort to, say, Yu Gi Oh style hair.

That article scares me.

And I'ma shut up now.

...

Oh god. Hattori does look like Ryuk. Kinda?

edited 23rd Feb '10 4:56:25 PM by Yuen

Ah. O.k. Then we have run into a simple slang barrier.

For me, weirdness ain't bad. I just use it as a rather generic term, mostly because I'm considered weird by many, and use that word with, not necessarily pride since the people who use it with pride are usually overcompensating, but general acceptance and confidence about it.

By 'weirdness' I simply meant 'sometimes characters will wear outfits that look like were stolen from a rock show (such as Yu Gi Oh )' not necessarily 'WHY DO THESE CHARACTERS KEEP DOING SUCH THINGS THAT ARE NOT USUALLY SEEN IN THE SOCIAL NORM?!?!'

My apologies. :)

edited 23rd Feb '10 4:58:07 PM by A_H_R

Ah. I'm sorry for overreacting then. The way I use weird is obviously different from the way you use it. Sorry for blowing up at you.

edited 23rd Feb '10 5:01:38 PM by Yuen

Hooray! Crisis averted!

But yes, Hattori does look like Ryuk. I noticed this, oddly enough, when seeing a fan colored version of him. It's the eyes. Frankly, I just hope that means we'll see random characters who will look like Light, L and Matsuda.

Although, the Otter guy KINDA SORTA looks like Matsuda. Kinda. :D

Hiramaru, you mean? No, I think the eyes are extremely different. A closer match might be the "Sakujo!!" guy.

That seems more accurate. I made that assumption based off of memory. Although, Iwase looks a bit like Takada, but that is probably because girls tend to fall back on more simplistic designs in order to be prettier.