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... on Ichigo's pursuit of her dream. ⏎Bakuman ⏎ Rating: 3.5 ⏎ A writer/illustrator team of manga-ka created a story about an aspiring writer/illustrator team of manga-ka? …Well, they do say to write what you know! ⏎ Well, after getting its obligatory wink n’ smile cameos of Hikaru no Go and Death Note across the screen a few times, (previous projects by the Ohba/Obata team,) Bakuman proves that, yes, it does have a story to tell, and it's immediately compelling for anyone who's felt the sting of ambitious ion at a too-young age, or the slump of resignation instead. Moritaka Mashiro is a decent student overcome with ennui and embittered by the fate of his beloved uncle. He has an incredible artistic talent for but has long since abandoned his childhood dreams of becoming a manga artist for a cushy, safe desk job instead. Akito Takagi is aghast at this, telling Mashiro that he's an aspiring writer in need of an artist and together they could be legendary mangaka and make something of themselves. (Although we're not sure yet that Akito has any talent.) ⏎ It's unfortunately the delivery of this cute idea could use a little animation of its own. Like Mashiro, Bakuman is an unenthusiastic creature, content to play out in as flat and conventional a manner as possible, in striking contrast to the Death Note anime which took a manga entirely composed of long monologues and exploded every frame, relished every line, and applied a shocking amount of cinematic creativity to a shonen series, determined to entertain in every single moment. Bakuman doesn't even conjure the energy and heart of MM! Ouch. ⏎ Maybe it doesn't have to, however, because the writing here is solid. The story is great, not revolutionary, but not derivative, either. It has an air of classic “win the dream” tales while not appearing predictable, and that's a breath of fresh air for the shonen pool. The director just needs to step it up and breathe a little more life into this otherwise very nice premiere, because it barely feels like an anime, and more like colored s with overlaid voices…a cash-in, perhaps? ⏎ But yeah, the end of the episode, introducing a bizarre love interest and an even nuttier contract between the leads, is completely ridiculous. It begs for a second or third episode to get its footing and prove itself; it more than deserves a few episodes of attention for what it has to offer. ⏎ MM! ⏎ Rating: 2 ⏎ It's...