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

Kozueko Morimoto is a Japanese manga series written and illustrated by Kozueko Morimoto. It was serialized in Shueisha's ''You'' from 2000 to 2007, with its chapters collected in fifteen '' wideban'' volumes. The story follows Kumiko Yamaguchi, the grandd ...

. It was serialized in Japan by

Shueisha (lit. "Gathering of Intellect Publishing Co., Ltd.") is a Japanese company headquartered in Chiyoda, Tokyo, Japan. The company was established in 1925 as the entertainment-related publishing division of Japanese publisher Shogakukan. The foll ...

in the magazine ''

You In Modern English, ''you'' is the second-person pronoun. It is grammatically plural, and was historically used only for the dative case, but in most modern dialects is used for all cases and numbers. History ''You'' comes from the Proto- ...

'' and was collected in 12 ''

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. The series follows the adventures of Ichiko Hanamori, a young woman who, while always dressing in

lolita fashion is a subculture from Japan that is highly influenced by Victorian clothing and styles from the Rococo period. A very distinctive property of Lolita fashion is the aesthetic of cuteness. This clothing subculture can be categorized into thre ...

, is also a

homicide detective Homicide occurs when a person kills another person. A homicide requires only a volitional act or omission that causes the death of another, and thus a homicide may result from accidental, reckless, or negligent acts even if there is no inten ...

for the

Tokyo Metropolitan Police The serves as the prefectural police department of Tokyo Metropolis. Founded in 1874, it is headed by a Superintendent-General, who is appointed by the National Public Safety Commission, and approved by the Prime Minister. The Tokyo Metro ...

. While inexperienced and often bumbling, she solves crimes using her sense of smell, which surpasses that of the best police dog. The title refers first, to 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 culture ** Japanese diaspor ...

slang term for police detective (''deka''), and second, to a word play on Ichiko's name. Her name in

kanji are the logographic Chinese characters taken from the Chinese family of scripts, Chinese script and used in the writing of Japanese language, Japanese. They were made a major part of the Japanese writing system during the time of Old Japanese ...

is , meaning "one child", but her colleagues give her the nickname "Wanko", which both combines the Japanese pronunciation of the English word "one" with "ko", and is also an affectionate term for a dog in Japanese as "wan" is also the bark of a dog. The series has been adapted into a television series starring

Mikako Tabe is a Japanese actress from Tokyo. Starting acting in her teens with a role in the Sailor Moon musicals, she has developed into a lead actress in film and television, playing the heroine in the Asadora ''Tsubasa'', starring in TV comedy series s ...

as Ichiko that aired in 2011, and which was followed by several TV specials, one of which was set in

Paris Paris () is the capital and most populous city of France, with an estimated population of 2,165,423 residents in 2019 in an area of more than 105 km² (41 sq mi), making it the 30th most densely populated city in the world in 2020. S ...

Television series

as Ichiko Hanamori ("Wanko") *

Ikki Sawamura is a Japanese model, film and television actor, and television presenter signed to Ken-On. His second son, Kōta Nomura is also an actor. Biography Ikki Sawamura was born in Kagoshima in 1967. After graduating from the local high school, he mo ...

as Kan'ichi Shigemura ("Shige") * Yūya Tegoshi as Ryūta Kirishima ("Kiri") *

Mitsuru Fukikoshi is a Japanese actor. Career Born in Aomori Prefecture, Fukikoshi moved to Tokyo at age 19 and joined the Wahaha Honpo theater troupe. Since leaving Wahaha in 1999, he has appeared in many films and television dramas, while continuing to act on ...

as Yūki Komatsubara ("Koma") *

Takeshi Masu is a Japanese actor. He appeared in more than 80 films since 1981. Filmography Film Television References External links Official profile * 1955 births Living people People from Tokyo Japanese male film actors Japanese male te ...

as Jirō Monma ("Boss") * Kōji Ōkura as Seishirō Yanagi ("Yana") * Hidehiko Ishizuka as Jun Wada ("Chanko") *

Kensei Mikami is a Japanese actor. After being active as a fashion model in Japan, he went to New York at the age of 18. After returning home, he started work as an actor. While he has appeared in numerous television dramas and films, he was also appointed to ...

as Duke Tanaka *

Shirō Sano is a Japanese actor. Career Born in Yamanashi Prefecture, Sano lived in Tokyo and Matsue, Shimane as a child, before returning to Tokyo to enter art school. He joined several theatrical troupes, including Jurō Kara's Jōkyō Gekijō. He had h ...

as Taiichi Igarashi ("Gara") *

Tomorō Taguchi is a Japanese actor, film director and musician. After leaving Dokkyo University without graduating, he started to earn his living as an illustrator, writer and pornographic cartoonist. He joined a theatre called Hakken no Kai in 1978 and he ma ...

as Kazumasa Taguchi *

Shirō Itō is a Japanese actor and comedian. Filmography Film * ''Zatoichi and the One-Armed Swordsman'' (1971) * '' Lupin III: Strange Psychokinetic Strategy'' (1974) * ''Princess from the Moon'' (1987) * ''A Taxing Woman'' (1987) * ''Minbo'' (1992) * ' ...

as Police Commissioner Matsuda *

Naomi Watanabe is a Japanese comedian, actress, and fashion designer. She rose to fame in 2008 for her imitation of Beyoncé, after which she was given the title “the Japanese Beyoncé”. Career Watanabe does impersonations of popular artists in Japanese c ...

as Kotomi Aoki

References

External links

* {{in lang, ja 2008 manga Japanese television dramas based on manga Japanese drama television series Josei manga Television shows set in France 2011 Japanese television series debuts 2011 Japanese television series endings Nippon TV dramas Lolita fashion Television shows written by Kazuhiko Ban Shueisha franchises