Some thing, or rather many things, or rather everything, about Bakuman makes it seem like it’s from another era of anime. I can’t speak for the feel of the manga, but I know what I see when I turn this show on each week. I see a flashback to the 90s!
What first alerted me to this other-time feeling in Bakuman was the opening song. “Blue Bird”‘s lilting quality and sweet sound strikes me as unexpected for this shonen series. The character designs, especially Miho, the female lead, and her mother feel very much informed by Masakazu Katsura of Video Girl Ai fame (which also ran in Weekly Shonen Jump). In any case, they aren’t pulling from what is a modern and currently popular aesthetic. More than anything else though, it is the hopeful, sweet, and endearing pursuit of their dreams (and loves) that makes Bakuman seem nostalgic.
If you were a fan before the late-90’s, there is no need to introduce these ladies; it was pretty hard not to see at least one of the Dirty Pair titles that were released in the U.S during those days. 
The are some shows that define a genre. They are not necessarily the first show or even the best show in the category but for one reason or another they capture the imagination of the public and become intimately linked with the genre. Whenever you mention 
Reverse Thieves 