Bakuman follows Moritaka Mashiro, a quiet middle school student who once dreamed of becoming a mangaka like his uncle, Tarou Kawaguchi, the creator of a popular gag manga. After a personal tragedy, he gives up on that ambition and spends his school days focusing on exams, determined to build a safe future as a salaryman instead.
That changes when his classmate Akito Takagi, the school's top student and an aspiring writer, notices the detailed drawings in Moritaka's notebook. Akito quickly sees the artistic talent Moritaka has been hiding, and he persuades him to team up and pursue manga creation together. The pair begins working under the pen name Muto Ashirogi, taking on the hard road of breaking into Japan's fiercely competitive manga industry.
Moritaka's resolve is also tied to his crush, Miho Azuki, who dreams of becoming a voice actor in the anime adaptation of a manga she believes in. If Moritaka and Akito succeed, he may finally get the chance to share that future with her. From there, Bakuman tracks their ambition, setbacks, and growing determination as they aim to create a hit series and become the greatest mangaka in Japan.
