Cultural References in Bakuman

This is an ongoing list of the cultural references found in Bakuman has contributed to.

Anime and manga

• Moritaka states that his favorite manga is Ashita no Joe.
• There are several Death Note references.
  • Takagi bears a slight resemblance to Light Yagami from Death Note, another manga created by Takeshi Obata and Tsugumi Ohba.
  • Moritaka occasionally sits in the same position as L Lawliet, a character from the manga Death Note, which was also created by Takeshi Obata and Tsugumi Ohba.
  • Shun Shiratori bears a resemblance to Near from Death Note.
  • Iwase resembles Kiyomi Takada from Death Note,? another manga by Tsugumi Ohba and Takeshi Obata.
  • Hattori Akira resembles Ryuk  from Death Note.
• Dragon Ball, by Akira Toriyama, is Shuujin's favorite manga.
• Shinta Fukuda's favorite manga is To-Love-Ru.
• Yuriko Aoki's favourite manga is Kimi ni Todoke.
• Kaya Takagi 's favourite manga is One Piece
• The first of Nanamine's buddies to leave are "pai", "LL", "e231", and "osaru".
  • "LL" seems to refer to L, the most intelligent detective in Death Note.
  • "Osaru" seems to refer to the giant monkey form in the Dragon Ball series.

People

• Ashirogi Muto appear to be based on Tsugumi Ohba and Takeshi Obata.
• It's speculated that Niizuma Eiji is based on Eiichiro Oda.
  • Eiji's penchant and talent for mainstream, and the eventual serialization of his former assistants, Fukuda Shinta and Nakai Takuro, draw a comparison between him and Masashi Kishimoto, mangaka of Naruto. Also of note is that his preparation for the ending of Crow concurs with Kishimoto's supposedly final Fourth Shinobi War Arc in Naruto.
• Hiramaru's comic tendencies with animals, exasperation at his editor, and laziness draw a parallel to Sorachi Hideaki, mangaka of Gintama.
• The editors of Bakuman appear to be based on real-life editors.
• Nobuhiro could be compared to Hiroshi Gamo, a real-life mangaka famous for his gag manga and speculated to be Tsugumi Ohba.
• Aoki's specialization in romance manga, along with her experience and popularity with the series, draw a parallel to Kawashita Mizuki, mangaka of Ichigo 100%, Hatsukoi Limited, and Ane Doki.

Video games

• Mashiro owns a Play Station Portable.

Other

• Moritaka wears Nike brand sneakers. He wears the Air Force 1 model
• Takagi wears Converse brand shoes (He wears the All Star Model) and Sony brand headphones.