manga
Manga (Japanese: 漫画 ) are comics or graphic novels originating from Japan. Most manga conform to a style developed in Japan in the late 19th century, and the form has a long prehistory in earlier Japanese art. The term ''manga'' is u ...
series created by
Go Nagai
, better known by the pen name , is a Japanese manga artist and a prolific author of science fiction, fantasy, horror and erotica. He made his professional debut in 1967 with ''Meakashi Polikichi'', but is best known for creating popular 1970s ...
that originally ran in the magazine ''
Weekly Shōnen Champion
is a Japanese ''shōnen'' manga magazine published by Akita Shoten.
History
''Shōnen Champion'' was first published on July 15, 1969. It has had numerous popular series by manga artists such as Osamu Tezuka, Go Nagai, Shinji Mizushima, Masami ...
''. Some of its characters returned with different names as part of other series, such as ''
Cutie Honey
is a Japanese shōnen manga series written and illustrated by Go Nagai. First appearing in ''Weekly Shōnen Champions 41st issue of 1973, the series ran until April 1974. It follows an android girl named Honey Kisaragi, who trans ...
'', ''
UFO Robot Grendizer
, known as '' Grandizer'' in the United States, is a Japanese Super Robot anime television series and manga created by manga artist Go Nagai. It is the third entry in the ''Mazinger'' series, however it is non-canon due to '' Mazinger Z: ...
'' and ''
Mazinger Angels Z
is a long-running series of manga and anime featuring giant robots or mecha.
Series
The series in order:
''God Mazinger'' is related by name only and ''Mazinkaiser'' is an OVA retelling of earlier ''Mazinger'' stories, based partly on desi ...
'' among others.
Some of the first stories were adapted into an
original video animation
, abbreviated as OVA and sometimes as OAV (original animation video), are Japanese animated films and series made specially for release in home video formats without prior showings on television or in theaters, though the first part of an OVA s ...
by
Studio Pierrot
is a Japanese animation studio established in May 1979 by former employees of both Tatsunoko Production and Mushi Production. Its headquarters are located in Mitaka, Tokyo. Pierrot is renowned for several worldwide popular anime series, such as ...
in 1991, distributed by
Pony Canyon
, also known by the shorthand form , is a Japanese mass media publishing company founded on October 1, 1966. The company publishes mainly physical home media on compact discs, including music, films and TV shows and video games. It is affiliate ...
in four installments as part of ''Anime V Comic Rentaman'', and later released as a standalone VHS and LaserDisc on , also by Pony Canyon. The OVA was brought to North America by
ADV Films
A.D. Vision Holdings, Inc. (known simply as ADV and also referred to as ADV Films) was an American multimedia entertainment distributor headquartered in Houston, Texas, and founded in 1992 by video game fan John Ledford and anime fans Matt Gre ...
in 1995.
The manga was also adapted into a
live-action
Live action (or live-action) is a form of cinematography or videography that uses photography instead of animation. Some works combine live-action with animation to create a live-action animated film. Live-action is used to define film, video ga ...
film released in 2009.
Plot
The series deals with the adventures of the Abashiri family, a clan of criminals who are feared by the police and other criminals alike, as they are a destructive force to be reckoned with. Although they are virtually unstoppable, they do not have great desires and many of their plans are normally minor and sometimes get undone by their own foolishness. That is unless they are attacked, at which point they will retaliate with full force, normally with deadly consequences for their enemies.
As the series progress the tone of the series becomes less crime-focused and becomes more a gag comedy with strong touches of eroticism. The series was originally conceived by Nagai as a form of protest and parody of the controversy that arose with ''
Harenchi Gakuen
is a Japanese manga series written and illustrated by Go Nagai. The manga was one of the first to be serialized in Shueisha's ''shōnen'' manga magazine ''Weekly Shōnen Jump'', where it ran from 1968 to 1972, with its chapters col ...
''. While having a grim tone at the beginning, the series lightens up as it progresses, although the graphic violence remains through most of it but becoming less frequent.
The series remained popular in its original run until Nagai decided to drop it along with other series that he was doing at the time in order to concentrate on the ''
Devilman
is a Japanese manga series written and illustrated by Go Nagai. The manga focuses on a high school student named Akira Fudo who absorbs the powers of the demon called "Amon" with help of his friend Ryo Asuka in order to battle ...
'' manga. Years later, a single
one-shot
One shot may refer to:
Film and television
* One-shot film, a feature film shot in one long take with no edits, or manufactured to look like so
* ''One Shot'' (2005 film), a Sri Lankan action film directed by Ranjan Ramanayake
* ''One Shot'' (2 ...
story was published and has since been included in all new tankōbon series. A special crossover one-shot with ''
Cutie Honey
is a Japanese shōnen manga series written and illustrated by Go Nagai. First appearing in ''Weekly Shōnen Champions 41st issue of 1973, the series ran until April 1974. It follows an android girl named Honey Kisaragi, who trans ...
'' was also published in 2009, in commemoration of the 40 years anniversary of the magazine ''Shōnen Champion'', where both series debuted in manga.
Characters
*
: The head of the family. An old and small man, father of the other four, each one of them from a different mother (each one with a similar appearance to the sons). He acts as the leader and is the most powerful of them, though he normally only displays his true power when his sons and daughter are in danger.
*
: The daughter of the family. She is the most adept to close combat fights and the one that normally loses her clothes during the series. Stories in the series often revolve around her.
*
: The expert thief of the family and the oldest son. His main hobby is doing lecherous things and peeping at women, particularly at his sister. Later in the manga, he adopts a pseudo-heroic identity disguised with a mask and a horn on his crotch. He was modeled after Go Nagai's former assistant,
Ken Ishikawa
was a Japanese manga artist. He is renowned as the co-creator (with Go Nagai) of the ''Getter Robo'' anime series, as well as four of their subsequent manga continuations. According to Nagai, he considered Ishikawa his greatest friend and ally ...
.
*
: The second oldest son and the powerhouse of the family. He's the most physically powerful of the family as well as the biggest, being a cyborg. In the first chapters he was depicted as a gangster with a prosthetic right leg. It was later shown that he is actually a cyborg whose every limb can be detached to use guns. Later in the manga, he is no longer depicted as a gangster with a prosthetic limb and rarely depicted as a cyborg; instead he is shown more like a typical strongman.
*
: The youngest member of the family, a small kid with a mean look. While not a fighter like Kikunosuke or Naojiro, he is an expert in explosives, using mostly his special disguise.
Manga
The original manga was published in the magazine ''
Weekly Shōnen Champion
is a Japanese ''shōnen'' manga magazine published by Akita Shoten.
History
''Shōnen Champion'' was first published on July 15, 1969. It has had numerous popular series by manga artists such as Osamu Tezuka, Go Nagai, Shinji Mizushima, Masami ...
'' (at the time only ''Shōnen Champion'') published by
Akita Shoten
is a Japanese publishing company headquartered in Chiyoda, Tokyo. It was founded by Teio Akita on 10 August 1948. As of 2020, the company's president is Shigeru Higuchi.
Magazines Male-oriented manga magazines ''Shōnen'' magazines
* – Bimo ...
, from (first number of the magazine) to (cover dates). It has since then been republished in tankōbon format several times.
*Akita Shoten (''Shōnen Champion Comics'', 1970–1973, reprinted in 1997)
*Akita Shoten (''Akita Manga Bunko'', 1977–1978, reprinted in 1990)
*Akita Shoten (''Akita Comics Selection'', 1985–1987)
*Kadokawa Bunko (''Kadokawa Shoten'', 1997)
*King Series Manga Super Wide (''Koike Shoin'', 2009)
Additionally, the series is also available in
ebook
An ebook (short for electronic book), also known as an e-book or eBook, is a book publication made available in digital form, consisting of text, images, or both, readable on the flat-panel display of computers or other electronic devices. Alt ...
short story
A short story is a piece of prose fiction that typically can be read in one sitting and focuses on a self-contained incident or series of linked incidents, with the intent of evoking a single effect or mood. The short story is one of the oldest ...
titled was published in Akita Shoten's ''
Play Comic
Play most commonly refers to:
* Play (activity), an activity done for enjoyment
* Play (theatre), a work of drama
Play may refer also to:
Computers and technology
* Google Play, a digital content service
* Play Framework, a Java framework
* Pl ...
'' in . It has since then been included in most compilations as the last story.
The short
crossover
Crossover may refer to:
Entertainment
Albums and songs
* ''Cross Over'' (Dan Peek album)
* ''Crossover'' (Dirty Rotten Imbeciles album), 1987
* ''Crossover'' (Intrigue album)
* ''Crossover'' (Hitomi Shimatani album)
* ''Crossover'' (Yoshino ...
story titled was published in the Akita Shoten's magazine ''Weekly Shōnen Champion'' in (#20) and (#21+22). As the title implies, characters of both series interact with each other and the relationship of Daemon with both series is central to the plot. This one-shot was published as part of the 40th anniversary of the magazine, which was the same where both series were originally published. It has been compiled in the tankōbon , published in by Akita Shoten with .
OVA
Plot
The four Abashiri prepare to rob a large bank as their last work. This bank, however, is in reality a trap by the police, which is ready to expend every necessary resource to end with the Abashiri. Although apparently cornered, the Abashiri overwhelm the police and kill or badly injure several of the policemen. They use so much power that they also destroy a large part of their loot.
After they return to their home, Daemon informs them the reason behind their retirement. Kikunosuke, whom the rest her brothers considered a boy, is actually a girl. For generations the Abashiri believed to have been cursed because no female child had been in the family until the arrival of Kikunosuke. This prompts her mother to request Daemon to stop the criminal activities of the family after Kikunosuke reaches a certain age. Her brothers are surprised by this revelation and the lecherous Goemon takes a special interest in her sister. Daemon intends to send her to a private school where she can become a proper lady. Although Kikunosuke originally refuses, Daemon tricks her into saying that she would try it and forces her to go, under the identity of Shiratori.
The Paradise school, however, turns out to be a criminal school where students have to fight for their survival. Thanks to her strength, she manages to overcome the teachers. At the same time, her brother Goemon is so fixated with seeing her naked that he decides to secretly look for her at her new school. Kikunosuke is able to make a new friend, Yukiko, another girl, who, unlike Kikunosuke, is completely defenseless against the teachers and other students.
For standing up against the teachers, one of them plans to kill Kikunosuke but she easily kills him. He's able however to recognize her true identity and pass the message among the other teachers. As she runs to rescue Yukiko, she realizes that she won't be able to beat all the teachers by herself and ask for help. With the help of the leader of the students, a revolt is formed and the school director orders to kill them all.
Daemon realizes the danger in which Kikunosuke is and with his sons goes to save her. Meanwhile, Goemon manages to arrive to her school only to find Yukiko captive and get himself caught. The students and Kikunosuke (despite being injured) fight all opposition and despite losing several students, are holding on. It's revealed then that the student's leader has been preparing to take the school for himself. The rest of the Abashiri also enter the fight and Daemon recognizes the true identity of the director, Danjuro Namakubi, whom he has fought already two times in the past. The director is able to easily defeat Naojiro. By this point, the students' leader has already betrayed Kikunosuke and uses Goemon and Yukiko as hostages in order to subdue her. Daemon is able to kill the director, but has to surrender to the students leader because he holds Kikunosuke and Goemon while killing Yukiko, who tried to free Kikunosuke.
As the Abashiri are about to be executed, the remaining Abashiri, Kichiza, enters abruptly and with his special explosive costume manages to kill most of the leader's gang and free Kikunosuke, but leaves alive the leader in order to let Kikunosuke deal with him. An enraged Kikunosuke shows no mercy and uses her most powerful technique, the Abashiri 8 God attack, with which she kills the leader in the most painful way. The experience lived makes Kikunosuke cry and Daemon consoles her.
Years later, and old Daemon is shown watching his grandson (named also Kikunosuke) practice the Abashiri 8 God attack while her mother, Kikunosuke arrives, now being a normal woman and thus fulfilling Daemon's wish of her having a peaceful normal life.
Episodes
Releases
''Anime V Comic Rentaman''
The OVA was originally released as part of
Studio Pierrot
is a Japanese animation studio established in May 1979 by former employees of both Tatsunoko Production and Mushi Production. Its headquarters are located in Mitaka, Tokyo. Pierrot is renowned for several worldwide popular anime series, such as ...
Eguchi Hisashi no Kotobuki Goro Show Eguchi (written: 江口) is a Japanese surname. Notable people with the surname include:
*Akira Eguchi, pianist
*, Japanese table tennis player
* Hisashi Eguchi, manga artist
*Katsuya Eguchi, video game designer
* Takahito Eguchi, video game compos ...
'' and '' Akai Hayate''. The ''Rentaman'' experimental concept consisted of these anime divided in episodic short serials. For this reason, the running time of each episode varies greatly. ''Rentaman'' was only released on VHS format and published under the Nextart label (
Pony Canyon
, also known by the shorthand form , is a Japanese mass media publishing company founded on October 1, 1966. The company publishes mainly physical home media on compact discs, including music, films and TV shows and video games. It is affiliate ...
).
Additional releases in Japan
After the release of ''Rentaman'', Abashiri Ikka was released separately in both VHS (PCVF-30022) and
LaserDisc
The LaserDisc (LD) is a home video format and the first commercial optical disc storage medium, initially licensed, sold and marketed as DiscoVision, MCA DiscoVision (also known simply as "DiscoVision") in the United States in 1978. Its diam ...
(PCLP-00279) format, also by Nextart, on .
Releases outside Japan
The OVA was released in the United States in by
ADV Films
A.D. Vision Holdings, Inc. (known simply as ADV and also referred to as ADV Films) was an American multimedia entertainment distributor headquartered in Houston, Texas, and founded in 1992 by video game fan John Ledford and anime fans Matt Gre ...
, subtitled and in VHS format.HS- Amazon.com">
Staff and cast
*Distributor: Nextart (
Pony Canyon
, also known by the shorthand form , is a Japanese mass media publishing company founded on October 1, 1966. The company publishes mainly physical home media on compact discs, including music, films and TV shows and video games. It is affiliate ...
)
*Original work: Go Nagai
*Director/storyboards:
Takashi Watanabe
is a Japanese animator, storyboard artist, and director. He is best known for directing the anime series ''Slayers'', '' Boogiepop Phantom'', and '' Shakugan no Shana''.
Filmography
Director
*''Aria the Scarlet Ammo''
*'' Boogiepop Phantom''
*' ...
Takeo Miratsu
was a Japanese music composer for video games and anime. He was a member of Twin Amadeus, who composed songs for the ''Beatmania IIDX'' series of music video games. He died in September 2006 due to liver cancer, at the age of forty-six years.
Co ...
*Producer: Yukina Hiiro, Shigenori Kurii
*Production: Dynamic Planning, Studio Pierrot
*Theme song: (lyrics by Yumi Morita, composition by Daijiro Nozawa, arrangement by Satoru Osanai, song by Kyoko Tongu)
*Cast:
Kyoko Tongu
is a very common feminine Japanese given name. Not to be confused with Kiyoko.
Possible writings
The final syllable "ko" is typically written with the kanji character for child, 子. It is a common suffix to female names in Japan.
The first sy ...
Shigeru Chiba
, known by the stage name , is a Japanese actor, voice actor, talent and sound director from Kikuchi, Kumamoto. He is affiliated with the talent management firm 81 Produce.
He is most known for the roles of Yoshihiro Kira from '' JoJo's Bizarre ...
(Goemon),
Taiki Matsuno
Taiki Matsuno ( ja, 松野 太紀, Matsuno Taiki, born October 16, 1967) is a Japanese actor and voice actor from Shinagawa, Tokyo. He is attached to Aoni Production. His real name, as well as his former stage name, is Tatsuya Matsuno ( ja, 松 ...
Erika Tonooka
Erika may refer to:
Arts and Entertainment
* Hayasaka Erika (''Megatokyo)''
* Erika (''Friends'')
* Erika (''Pokémon'')
* Erika (''Underworld'')
* Erika Itsumi ''(Girls und Panzer)''
* ''Erika'' (film), a 1971 Italian thriller film
* "E ...
(member of the group
Idoling!!!
was a Japanese TV show with attached female idol group created by Fuji TV. The concept of the group was to watch as the girls grow as idols and experience various things. Idoling's main source of exposure was their TV show, which aired several ...
) and directed by
Teruyoshi Ishii
is a Japanese film and television director.
Works
* '' Psychic Vision: Jaganrei '' (film, 1988)
*'' Oira Sukeban: Kessen! Pansutō'' (film, 1992)
*''Gridman the Hyper Agent'' (TV series, 1993–1994)
*''Kuchisake-onna'' (film, 1996)
*''Kyōfu ...
, was released in Tokyo on November 21, 2009.
Staff and cast
*Studio:
Total Media Corporation
Total may refer to:
Mathematics
* Total, the summation of a set of numbers
* Total order, a partial order without incomparable pairs
* Total relation, which may also mean
** connected relation (a binary relation in which any two elements are compa ...
(TMC), Oscar
*Director:
Teruyoshi Ishii
is a Japanese film and television director.
Works
* '' Psychic Vision: Jaganrei '' (film, 1988)
*'' Oira Sukeban: Kessen! Pansutō'' (film, 1992)
*''Gridman the Hyper Agent'' (TV series, 1993–1994)
*''Kuchisake-onna'' (film, 1996)
*''Kyōfu ...
*Action director: Shingo Nishida
*Producer: Seiji Nanba, Hideo Iwashita
*Co-producer: Akio Motojima
*Assistant producer: Eisuke Ito, Shinichiro Yamaguchi
*Executive adviser: Jun Mimae
*Executive producer: Akihiko Yahata, Tsuguo Oikawa
*Planning: Takashi Shiotsuki
*Original work: Go Nagai
*Script: Sadayuki Murai
*Photography: Takehiro Kuramochi
*Editor: Hiroaki Niizuma
*Art: Nori Fukuda
*Lighting: Koji Hara
*Audio recording: Manabu Otsuka
*Production: Abashiri Family Production Committee
*Theme song: string (performed by eroica)
*Cast:
Erica Tonooka
is a Japanese actress and a member of the Japanese idol group Idoling!!!. While the pronunciation is the same, her former professional name used to be written as 外岡 枝里香. She is a graduate of Hosei University.
Filmography
Movies
* ...
(Kikunosuke),
Shun Sugata
is a Japanese actor.
Career
Sugata was born in Yamanashi Prefecture. He starred in the 2006 film ''Confessions of a Dog''.
He appeared in Amir Naderi's 2011 film ''Cut''.
Filmography Film
* ''Seiha'' (1982) as Nakahara
* ''Kita no hotaru'' ...
(Daemon),
Ijiri Okada
, born is a Japanese comedian, impressionist, and television host. His hosting credits include ''Gilgamesh LIGHT'', a revival of the 90s show ''Gilgamesh Night'', and the Nogizaka46 variety show ''NogiBingo!''
Okada is represented by Horipro. He ...
Jiro Sato
was a Japanese tennis player. He was ranked World No. 3 in 1933, but committed suicide in the Strait of Malacca during his trip to the Davis Cup in 1934.
He received worldwide fame in Wimbledon 1932, when he beat the defending champion Sidney ...
Maria Yoshikawa
Maria may refer to:
People
* Mary, mother of Jesus
* Maria (given name), a popular given name in many languages
Place names Extraterrestrial
*170 Maria, a Main belt S-type asteroid discovered in 1877
*Lunar maria (plural of ''mare''), large, da ...
(Yuki),
Mai Endo
is a Japanese idol, singer and talent from Tokyo. She was a member and former leader of the Japanese idol group Idoling!!!.
Legacy
The characters Daemon, Goemon, Kichiza, and Naojiro would all appear in Go Nagai's later series ''
Cutie Honey
is a Japanese shōnen manga series written and illustrated by Go Nagai. First appearing in ''Weekly Shōnen Champions 41st issue of 1973, the series ran until April 1974. It follows an android girl named Honey Kisaragi, who trans ...
''. In it, Daemon became Hayami Danbei and Kichiza became Hayami Junpei. Naojiro later appeared as Danbei's nephew, and boss of Paradise School. Goemon appeared with Naojiro as a teacher of Paradise School.
Kikunosuke is in the ''
Mazinger Angels
is a manga series which began in 2004 and chronicles the adventures of four women who pilot giant robots in the Mazinger vein. The concept is a spoof on the late 1970s and early 1980s popular TV series Charlie's Angels. It was originally publi ...
'' manga as the pilot for Iron Z (which is in fact a new name for Energer Z, the Mazinger Z prototype). As well as traditional ''
Mazinger
is a long-running series of manga and anime featuring giant robots or mecha.
Series
The series in order:
''God Mazinger'' is related by name only and ''Mazinkaiser'' is an OVA retelling of earlier ''Mazinger'' stories, based partly on desi ...
'' and ''
Grendizer
, known as '' Grandizer'' in the United States, is a Japanese Super Robot anime television series and manga created by manga artist Go Nagai. It is the third entry in the ''Mazinger'' series, however it is non-canon due to '' Mazinger Z: ...
'' characters
Sayaka Yumi
This is a list of characters from the anime and manga series ''Mazinger Z'', ''Great Mazinger'', ''Grendizer'', and ''Mazinkaiser'', as well as the '' Shin Mazinger'' reboot. It lists the main players of the plots as well as minor characters or ...
, Grace Maria Fleed, Hikaru Makiba and Jun Hono, as they fight Dr. Hell's forces and the Vegan Empire, respectively, Daemon also materializes under his Hayami Danbei alias in ''Grendizer''. In '' Shin Mazinger'', Cross, a cyborg similar to Naojiro, and his 'robot' form, have the same physical look to that of Naojiro.