''D-Live!!'' (stylized as ''D-LIVE!!'') is a Japanese

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 written and illustrated by

Ryōji Minagawa is a Japanese manga artist born in Sumida, Tokyo. He was invited with ''Spriggan'' story writer Hiroshi Takashige to go to a comic convention in Portugal in 1996 as a guest of honor due to his work on ''Spriggan''. He worked on other manga co ...

. It was serialized in

Shogakukan is a Japanese publisher of dictionaries, literature, comics (manga), non-fiction, DVDs, and other media in Japan. Shogakukan founded Shueisha, which also founded Hakusensha. These are three separate companies, but are together called the Hit ...

's ''

Weekly Shōnen Sunday is a weekly ''shōnen'' manga magazine published in Japan by Shogakukan since March 1959. Contrary to its title, ''Weekly Shōnen Sunday'' issues are released on Wednesdays. ''Weekly Shōnen Sunday'' has sold over 1.8billion copies since 1986, ...

'' magazine from 2002 to 2006. The manga tells the story of Satoru Ikaruga, a high schooler nicknamed "genius driver" who can operate almost any vehicle and works for a multinational specialist company called the Almighty Support Enterprise (ASE). Ikaruga is called whenever ASE is hired to solve a case which involves vehicle driving, most of the time working with other ASE agents to resolve situations assigned to them by various clients.

Plot

Satoru Ikaruga is just an ordinary high school student who enjoys eating food. Unknown to most of his classmates and teachers, he is an operative of the Almighty Support Enterprise as a vehicle driving specialist. He is deployed worldwide while being supported by various ASE agents in accomplishing cases assigned to them by their clients.

Characters

; :A high school boy who does part-time jobs with ASE Japan Branch as a vehicle driver specialist. His father was a friend of Hajime Mozu and also an ASE driver who died in doing his job. ; :A high school girl, the mechanic specialist of ASE Japan Branch. Her dream is to make her late father's motorcycle racing team win the

Suzuka 8 Hours The is a motorcycle endurance race held at the Suzuka Circuit in Japan each year. The race runs for eight hours consecutively and entrants are composed of two or more riders who alternate during pitstops. History The race began in 1978 as a ...

endurance race. She almost made it with Satoru riding her bike, but an accident happened that made Satoru did not finish the race. ; :Chief of ASE Japan branch. He is an ex-ASE vehicle driver specialist, Satoru was trained by him. He is sometimes cruel to Satoru by cutting his payment if Satoru made any mistake in doing his job. ; :He is ASE USA branch's specialist in spying and infiltrating. He is also a playboy and thinks that he is the next

James Bond The ''James Bond'' series focuses on a fictional British Secret Service agent created in 1953 by writer Ian Fleming, who featured him in twelve novels and two short-story collections. Since Fleming's death in 1964, eight other authors have ...

. He always gets sick if traveling in a vehicle, especially if the driver is Satoru. Only Mozu can make him not sick in a vehicle. ; :ASE Japan Branch's specialist of geology. She is lecturer in a university in Japan. ; :He is ASE USA branch's specialist in detonating bomb and CQB. An ex-SWAT Team member. Joined ASE after Satoru saved him from an exploded building he was trapped.

Publication

''D-Live!!'', written and illustrated by

, was serialized in

's ''shōnen'' manga magazine ''

'' from October 16, 2002, to April 19, 2006. Shogakukan collected its chapters in fifteen ''

tankōbon is the Japanese Japanese may refer to: * Something from or related to Japan, an island country in East Asia * Japanese language, spoken mainly in Japan * Japanese people, the ethnic group that identifies with Japan through ancestry or cultur ...

'' volumes, released from March 18, 2003, to August 11, 2006. In France it was published by Editions Kabuto with five volumes published prior to its termination. In Hong Kong,

Jonesky Jonesky Limited (天下出版有限公司) is a Hong Kong publisher of domestic Chinese manhua and translated, imported comics from Japan. Several of their titles have been translated and released in English. It was founded in 1989 by comics cr ...

published all of its volumes in Chinese. Planet Manga published four volumes of ''D-Live!!'' in Italian prior to its termination. It is published in South Korea by Samyang Comics. Tong Li published the manga in Taiwan.

Reception

''D-Live!!'' had been selected among the most recommended manga to read at the 9th Japan Media Arts Festival in 2005.

References

External links

* {{Weekly Shōnen Sunday - 2000–2009 2002 manga Adventure anime and manga Ryōji Minagawa Shogakukan manga Shōnen manga