Akito Takagi (commonly called Shujin) is one of the two main protagonists of Bakuman. He is an aspiring mangaka who is very smart and gets the top grades in his school. Akito is classmates with Mashiro and when he discovers Moritaka's drawing ability he proposes to Moritaka they create a manga together. After Mashiro visits Azuki Miho's house and the two make their promise Mashiro agrees to start creating manga together with Akito. The two later become very close friends. Tagaki is the second half of Ashirogi Muto, writing the stories.
Background
Takagi's father lost his job as banker when Takagi was in second or third grade. His mother wanted him to 'avenge' his father, and pushed him to study very hard, even before he was in elementary school. When he was in fifth grade Akito snapped and told his mother he would decide his own future. Since then his mother has said nothing to him of his choices. Takagi has an older brother who is in University.
Appearance
Akito is quite tall and skinny, he has longish blond hair, gold/yellowish eyes and wears glasses. He is quite often seen wearing a large pair of headphones around his neck. He often wears a red track sweater.
Personality
Akito is usually quite a happy and enthusiastic person, especially when it comes to manga. He gets along well with most people and is usually the one who does most of the talking for himself and Moritaka. He is very loyal and protective of his friends and he shows this when he punches someone who is insulting Moritaka and his art. Also, he deeply loves his girlfriend/wife Miyoshi Kaya but possibly has trouble showing it. That, or he just likes to tease her.
Relationships
Moritaka Mashiro
Moritaka and Akito start off not knowing each other that well but after Akito convinces Moritaka to write a manga with him they become best friends. Akito and Moritaka work very well together, they are both very determined and they almost always get along.
Kaya Miyoshi
Kaya is Akito's girlfriend and is also the best friend of Moritaka's girlfriend Miho Azuki. After they begin dating, they are rarely seen without each other. They become married later on in the series.
Akira Hattori
Hattori is Akito and Moritaka's former editor, and worked with them until the serialization of Detective Trap. His knowlegde of manga has been a key part of Akito and Moritaka's success.
Eiji Nizuma
Eiji is considered a high school genius and has prodigious ability for creating manga. Though Eiji is a major rival to Akito and Moritaka, they compete respectfully and have a friendly relationship.
Summary
Akamaru Jump
In Akamaru Jump, Akito and Moritaka created a manga called Money And Intelligence. Money and Intelligence was a one-shot story about a future where people's minds were bought and sold as commodities. The manga was published and highly praised, especially by Eiji
The manga Takagi made Money and Intelligence
Breaking Up
During the school holidays Akito promises to think up a story for the Golden Future Cup while Moritaka practices his drawings. Akito gets writers block and decides to help Kaya with her ambition to become a famous writer. Moritaka thinks that Akito doesn't care about making manga anymore and decides to split up with him and do manga on his own. Akito didn't really want to split up with Moritaka so he goes to Mr Hattori and asks him what he should do. Hattori tells Akito to keep working on his stories and then in a couple of years to go to Moritaka and ask him if they want to work together again. Akito agrees with this idea but then a couple of days later he talks to Moritaka and they find out they they were both having the same idea for a manga and they get back together again.
Golden Future Cup
For the Golden Future Cup, Akito and Moritaka both came up with the idea to do a mystery manga. They end up deciding on a story called Detective Trap. The manga is about a con artist who works for the police to help catch criminals. Their manga was very successful and ended up winning.
New Years Party
At the New Year's Party, Mashiro and Takagi are introduced to many mangakas. Some of them are new artists just like Mashiro , for example Hiyamaru and Arai (Who made Otters11 and Cheese Okaki respectively).
Detective Trap's Serialization
Moritaka has been working extremely hard while Detective Trap is being serialized. He has been getting less and less sleep and he finally collapses. He was taken to the hospital after that. He is diagnosed with a liver infection which requires surgery. Mashiro wants to keep working while he is in the hospital so that the Trap won't have to go on hiatus, whereas everyone else believes that his first priority should be to get better. Mashiro tries to convince Takagi to bring him his materials, but Takagi decides to call Azuki to see if she can convince him to stop working. Azuki goes to the hospital the next day and begins talking to Mashiro from outside his room.
Help from Aoki/ Marraige Proposal
In Chapter 60 (Men And Women) Takagi is trying to think about a story for his new manga, But his problem is that he can't write about women very well, he spent the night think about the story, and thought about adding an animal to the story, so the next morning he goes to the zoo, where he sees Aoki. Takagi and Aoki start to talk, and Aoki tells Takagi that she is having trouble writing from a male's Point of view, then Takagi realized that Aoki is having problems writing about the opposite sex too. Takagi tells Aoki that he is having problems writing about girls, so Aoki says that she will help him write about girls if he help her write about men, and he agrees. As they talk Takagi says that his girlfriend Kaya might not be able to see the difference between work and play, so Takagi told Aoki to keep it on the downlow and only talk on the phone do that Kaya won't get jealous, but he will tell Mashiro because he is his partner. He tells her that he will call her at 10 o'clock, which he does. They talk all night, and phone eachother more often and meet up again. When Kaya finds out Takagi is seeing her behind her ack she gets very angry, Takagi later convinces her to meet up with him at the zoo. However, when Takagi gets there Aoki is there too, and when Aoki tries to tell Takagi about her problems with Nakai, Kaya shows up and sees the two standing close together. Kaya starts running away, pushing Takagi down when he comes after her. Tagaki shouts to Miyoshi "Marry me!" Kaya first refuses, saying he can't get her back by copying Mashiro, Takagi refuses this and says he loves her. After hearing the whole story Kaya is happy to get married to Takagi.
Abilities
Quotes
- (To Moritaka Mashiro) "But.. I have one condition...I want yo(Tu to draw a manga with me."
- (To Iwase Aiko) "Before I started writing manga with Mashiro, I was just watching the days pass by, But now everyday is fun and I feel like I'am Really Living."
Refrences
- Bakuman Chapter 1, Page 17-18