[Bakuman] Differences between the Live Action Movie and the Manga

[I wrote this in Feb 2016. It was published at mangaliterature.wordpress.com ]

[MAJOR SPOILERS for both anime and live action movie]

The live action adaptation of Bakuman is an excellent stand alone movie in and of itself, and is also a great exemplar on how to adapt a 20-volume manga into a 2 hour movie. However, those who are familiar with the manga will find several notable plot differences between the two, and I will like to discuss at least two such differences which I feel are significant:

Team Fukuda assists Moritaka during his health crisis

The climax of the live action movie was Moritaka’s health crisis, and in the movie his buddies (often referred to as “Team Fukuda” in the manga) rallied to help him complete his manuscript even though they had their own manuscripts to draw. In the manga, his buddies expressed solidarity by boycotting the company, but Moritaka drew all the manuscripts himself in his hospital bed with Miho by his side (this detail is significant).

In the trailer of the live action, we see that it focuses clearly on the theme of “friendship, effort, victory” (yujyo, doryoku, shori), which can perhaps be regarded as the central tenants of shonen manga. To my knowledge, this phrase was never used in the manga, but is explicitly mentioned in the live action several times, and Moritaka being able to complete his manuscript despite his health setbacks was depicted as his “victory”, only made possible through his friendships and his indubitable effort.

This appears to be the central theme of the movie: that shonen manga, despite their fantastical depictions, carry some transcendental truth (in particular the power of friendships and individual strength of will), and therein lies the true value of shonen manga. The original manga itself does carry some elements of this theme, but not as explicit or as centrally depicted as the movie. Thus, narrative elements were modified to emphasize this in the movie

Wait…did Miho just dump Moritaka?

Perhaps the most major difference between the manga and the movie was the treatment of Miho. One line which Miho says in both the manga and the movie is “I’ll wait forever” (zutto matteimasu) referring to Miho being willing to wait until Moritaka’s manga becomes serialized and getting an anime adaption before marrying him. In the manga Miho keeps her promise and waits for over a decade before they get married, but in the movie Miho does an about-turn and tells Moritaka “I cannot wait forever. I will move on ahead first” when her manager finds out about him. This line is specially emphasized in the movie because its the exact same words said by the female protagonist in Moritaka’s fictitious manga “The World of Money and Intelligence” (this plot device is absent in the original manga).

This would be shocking to many readers of the manga, because Moritaka’s romance with Miho, while not the central emphasis of Bakuman, are the bookends of the entire story – Moritaka started his mangaka journey because of his promise with Miho, and at the end of the story he finally fulfills his promise after a long and arduous journey. I do not know how much creative control Tsugumi Ohba (the original author of Bakuman) had over the screenwriting for the movie, but it would be very interesting indeed if he personally endorsed this change.

Perhaps the best explanation for this is that shonen-style romance is not well suited for a live action adaption. Indeed, even by shonen manga standards, the romance between Moritaka and Miho appears to be on the fantastical and unrealistic side. While this may barely fall within the permissible confines of a shonen manga, it is probably too manufactured and jarring for a live-action setting. It is worth noting however, at the very end of the ending credits of the movie, the screen shifts to another manga panel of “The World of Money and Intelligence“, this time with the female protagonist saying “zutto matteimasu” (I will wait for you forever). I personally think this is a nod towards the original manga’s ending, as well as to reiterate the point that not all romances in real life will play out like in a manga.

Conclusion: Real life vs Shonen Manga

I find it very interesting that in some ways the movie tries to be more shonen (Team Fukuda’s efforts) and in some ways less shonen (romance) than the manga. Perhaps this “real life is sometimes more like shonen manga than you think; real life is sometimes less like shonen manga than you think” suits the overall tone of the Bakuman manga, which has always ride a careful balance between optimism and pessimism. Or perhaps more crudely put, you read shonen manga to learn about friendship, determination and effort, but you don’t read shonen manga to learn about romance.