Characters
Main
;Suekichi Terayama :A student who takes part in an acting troupe, Bondage Horse. Originally from a small island, his parents are lighthouse keepers. His life is changed dramatically when he finds out he has been left a secret inheritance from his great-grandfather: a stamp collection worth millions of yen. However, he can only claim the inheritance on condition that he graduates from college, marries and establishes a career. ;Aya Hibino :A kindergarten teacher lacking modesty and propriety who left her husband. She accidentally stumbles in Suekichi's life at his grandfather's funeral and learns of his secret inheritance, and quickly begins a sexual relationship with him. ;Miyuki Fukagawa :Originally hired by Suekichi's lawyer to break up Aya and Suekichi. Miyuki needed money to prevent her family home from being repossessed. She orchestrates an "accidental" meeting with Suekichi and joins his acting troupe, eventually starting a sexual relationship with her, and convincing him that she is pregnant. Although Suekichi learns that Miyuki was hired by his lawyer, he still professes his love for her and agrees to marry her. Before the wedding Miyuki realizes that this was a sham and cancels the wedding. She finally takes on a job as Tachima's personal assistant.Other
;Naruhito Munakata :Aya's husband, who works for the National Mint. Aya leaves him a few months after their wedding, and he is determined to get back together with her. Later in the series, he wins an award for the diaries he kept concerning his feelings towards Aya, which were edited and published by Suekichi's nosy cousin Sue. ;Ikezu :The lead actor of the drama troupe. A slacker-type who works at a convenience store, he is often involved in affairs with various women. ;Masami Shimomura :She is the leader of the drama troupe, and Suekichi has a crush on her in the beginning of the series. She has been friends with Ikezu for a long time, and according to him, she is a twenty-seven-year-old virgin. ;Mr. Tachimi :Suekichi's lawyer and the manager of his trust fund. He is always looking out for Suekichi's best interests, and is convinced that Aya is after him only for the inheritance. He looks upon marriage as a form of prostitution. ;Freddy :A Southeast Asian man who Aya brings home one day to live with Suekichi. For most of the series he knows very little Japanese, and is often used as a comic-relief character. At the end of the series, after learning proper Japanese and establishing a career as a gameshow host, he goes back to his home country and returns ten years later at Genichiro's funeral. He is known for shouting the word "pussy" as a greeting, since when he arrived in Japan Aya told him that that was the way to greet people in Japanese. ;The Reasonable Yakuza :A gangster whose office is located above the Bondage Horse theater troupe. He becomes a regular patron of the troupe after they sell him tickets half-price to their show to make up for the noise they made while practicing. Later on, he asks Suekichi to hold on to a handgun that the police are looking for. He even hides out at Suekichi's apartment, and Aya paints his skin so that he resembles Freddy. During this time, he works for Bondage Horse for a brief period of time, using scare tactics to sell tickets for their show. ;Daikichi Terayama :Suekichi's deceased great-grandfather, who left him the inheritance. But even in death he does not rest: He has too much fun haunting Suekichi at the most inopportune moments and peeping on or possessing people. ;Genichiro :A wealthy old man that Aya meets while working at a nightclub. She ends up marrying him so that she can live off of his money. Though he considers himself a sickly old man about to die, his death does not occur until 10 years later.Production
''Dance till Tomorrow'' was described as "boy-meets-girl-story" by Yamamoto, who created it just following a trend among young-adult comic magazines. He declared, "I must have unconsciously put myself inside some boundary, thinking I had to do some thing like that." Nevertheless, he tried to have an alternative to the common place "mediocre happy ending" and the "tearjerker separation" on its conclusion. After ending it, " efelt like ed done enough in a commercial genre". The character of Aya Hibino was not based on any real person, although her thick eyebrowns were inspired byMedia
Manga
''Dance till Tomorrow'' was originally serialized inAdaptations
It was adapted into a two-episode original video animation (OVA) by Knack Productions that was directed by Teruo Kogure and Masamune Ochiai. The first part, produced in 1990, was released on VHS on July 25, 1991 while the second video was released at an unknown month in 1991. In 1991, studioReception
Adam Arnold, writing for ''Animefringe'' magazine, described it as "a sex comedy that puts anything on TV to shame." Jason Thompson, author of book '' Manga: The Complete Guide'', wrote "Yamamoto's art has a gangly, hand-drawn look, and the whimsical, self-referential story provides opportunities for surreal, artsy humor." Thompson concluded calling it "loosely plotted but enjoyable and unpredictable." Author Shaenon K. Garrity declared it is "almost too smart to be a manga: it's cheerfully cynical, it's self-aware, there's real sex… and the characters feel real and unforced." Garrity praised the first two volumes as "especially amazing, a comedy balancing act of money, sex, and power" and how Yamamoto developed and its characters. Inside Pulse's Jimmy Lin praised its characterization, as Yamamoto created "wackos, weirdos, and other kooks", and said it "hits an emotional key… when it takes on its soap-opera notes." Lin commented that "even at his most cogent, Yamamoto draws you in and keeps you in with his strong sense of character and weird sense of humor and story."References
External links
* * * {{Pulp Manga 1989 manga Romantic comedy anime and manga Seinen manga Sex comedy anime and manga Shogakukan manga Viz Media manga Japanese romantic comedy films Japanese sex comedy films