is a

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

Mihona Fujii is a Japanese shōjo manga artist. She is best known for her manga ''GALS!'', which was published in '' Ribon'' magazine, and adapted into an anime television series under the name ''Super GALS! Kotobuki Ran''. Her debut work was ''Mujaki na ...

. It was published 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 ...

and serialized in '' Ribon'' ''shōjo'' manga magazine from 1998 to 2002. The manga was also published in the U.S. by CMX. In 2019, Mihona Fujii announced that the series will continue from November 5 on Shueisha's Manga Mee app, taking off from the manga's ending. An

anime is Traditional animation, hand-drawn and computer animation, computer-generated animation originating from Japan. Outside of Japan and in English, ''anime'' refers specifically to animation produced in Japan. However, in Japan and in Japane ...

television series adaptation produced 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 ...

titled aired in Japan on

TV Tokyo JOTX-DTV (channel 7), branded as and known colloquially as , is a television station headquartered in the Sumitomo Fudosan Roppongi Grand Tower in Roppongi, Minato, Tokyo, Japan, owned and operated by the subsidiary of listed certified b ...

between April 1, 2001 and March 31, 2002, running a length of 52 episodes. The first 26 episodes had been licensed and dubbed for

North America North America is a continent in the Northern Hemisphere and almost entirely within the Western Hemisphere. It is bordered to the north by the Arctic Ocean, to the east by the Atlantic Ocean, to the southeast by South America and the Car ...

n distribution 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 ...

under the name ''Super Gals!'' and was distributed on DVD from 2003 to 2004.

The Right Stuf International Right Stuf Inc. (formerly known as The Right Stuf International Inc.) is an American video publisher and distributor of video programming that specializes in Asian entertainment (anime and live action films). The company since 2022 is owned by ...

announced at

Anime Expo Anime Expo, abbreviated AX, is an American anime convention held in Los Angeles, California and organized by the non-profit Society for the Promotion of Japanese Animation (SPJA). The convention is traditionally held annually on the first we ...

2006 that they had licensed all the episodes, including 27-52 and released a subtitled boxset containing the remaining 26 episodes on January 16, 2007. A box set containing all 52 episodes was also released in 2010.

Plot

The series revolves around the ''

kogal is a Japanese fashion culture that involves schoolgirls wearing an outfit based on Japanese school uniforms (or their actual uniforms) but with very short skirts. The short skirts are worn irrespective of the season. The girls may also wear l ...

'' (generally known as ''

gyaru ( ja, ギャル) , is a Japanese fashion subculture. The term ''gyaru'' is a Japanese transliteration of the English slang word . The term for was introduced in Japan by the American jeans company ''Lee'', who introduced a new line of je ...

'', or "gal")

subculture A subculture is a group of people within a culture that differentiates itself from the parent culture to which it belongs, often maintaining some of its founding principles. Subcultures develop their own norms and values regarding cultural, poli ...

in Japan. The title character, Ran Kotobuki is the self-proclaimed "world's greatest gal." As a teenager in

Shibuya Shibuya ( 渋谷区 ''Shibuya-ku'') is a special ward in Tokyo, Japan. As a major commercial and finance center, it houses two of the busiest railway stations in the world, Shinjuku Station (southern half) and Shibuya Station. As of April 1 ...

, she is determined to live out the gal lifestyle for the rest of her life, and she has gained a reputation as the most respected gal in all of Shibuya. However, she comes from a family of police officers—her grandparents, her parents, and her older brother are all officers, and her younger sister is set on following in their footsteps. Ran has other dreams for her future, but as frequently shown, she has acquired the family's sense of justice and spirit. Her two friends, Miyu and Aya, also have their own problems and circumstances. The sequel manga follows the original manga's ending storyline. Ran, Miyu, Aya, and their friends still hangout in Shibuya after they graduate. Ran is still deciding her career, Miyu is now part of Kotobuki family after she marries Yamato. Miyu decides to search for her missing mother along with her friends, Yamato and his family so she can tell her that Miyu will always love her and showing her new life. Aya is now a university student alongside Rei as they attend the same campus.

Characters

The first nine volumes of the CMX translation have the family name first.

Main

; : :Ran Kotobuki is a strong-willed, athletic, and attractive gal with

orange Orange most often refers to: *Orange (fruit), the fruit of the tree species '' Citrus'' × ''sinensis'' ** Orange blossom, its fragrant flower *Orange (colour), from the color of an orange, occurs between red and yellow in the visible spectrum * ...

hair with a

red Red is the color at the long wavelength end of the visible spectrum of light, next to orange and opposite violet. It has a dominant wavelength of approximately 625–740 nanometres. It is a primary color in the RGB color model and a secondar ...

streak who rules the streets of

. Although she comes from a long line of police officers, she is ditzy and absent-minded when it comes to school and the only subject she gets good grades on is

physical education Physical education, often abbreviated to Phys Ed. or P.E., is a subject taught in schools around the world. It is usually taught during primary and secondary education, and encourages psychomotor learning by using a play and movement explorati ...

and her poorest subjects are

mathematics Mathematics is an area of knowledge that includes the topics of numbers, formulas and related structures, shapes and the spaces in which they are contained, and quantities and their changes. These topics are represented in modern mathematics ...

and

literature Literature is any collection of written work, but it is also used more narrowly for writings specifically considered to be an art form, especially prose fiction, drama, and poetry. In recent centuries, the definition has expanded to include ...

. When she was in elementary school, she was enthusiastic about becoming a police officer, but quit the ambition after learning that she won't be able to dye her hair or wear her favorite accessories. She is usually obsessed with anything that is trendy or catches her eye, usually brown-nosing guys who find her cute to buy them, and is also quite gluttonous. But inside her heart, she has a strong sense of justice that runs in her blood and is extremely intimidating and tough when she's in combat mode. She is a role model to the junior students at Hounan High for her social status as a magnificent gal for justice and her very understanding nature for teens who are learning to cope, but some look upon her with jealousy and anger. Despite being an underachiever, Ran is smart and has a good memory on what she is interested in (such as shopping). There is a running gag in the manga that some of her friends say that if only she used that (memory, concentration, etc.) on studying, she'd get somewhere in life. She also has a foreign friend, Vivian Lin, a Taiwanese celebrity who looks amazingly like her, whom she met during a school trip to

Taiwan Taiwan, officially the Republic of China (ROC), is a country in East Asia, at the junction of the East and South China Seas in the northwestern Pacific Ocean, with the People's Republic of China (PRC) to the northwest, Japan to the nort ...

(only shown in two stories of the manga). Ran wishes that she has soft hair, but according to Rui Otahata, Rei Otohata's cousin, her hair is damaged and dry due to the amount of bleach she pours on it. Her favorite color of her silhouette is

. ; : :Miyu is an independent, headstrong, and kind-hearted classmate with

blond Blond (male) or blonde (female), also referred to as fair hair, is a hair color characterized by low levels of the dark pigment eumelanin. The resultant visible hue depends on various factors, but always has some yellowish color. The color can ...

e hair with an

ombre of Ran and one of her closest friends. However, behind her romantic and cute cover lies a dark past. When she was in third grade, her parents divorced (her father is currently remarried) and she lived with her mother, who paid more attention to looking for a new man rather than to see Miyu grow up (she despised Miyu because she reminded her of her divorced husband). She once was the leader of a street gang called the "Resistance", often wreaking mayhem and irritation during middle school and had a rough-mannered and threatening personality that Ran despised. One day, Yamato (by then a rookie cop) saved her from a tough situation, and his dedication to helping with Miyu's problems made her fall in love with him. Because of that, she left the life of crime and became more polite after Yamato told her his wish for her to be good and eventually became great friends with Ran. However, she remains an incredible fighter and can get back to her previous violent self when someone completely upsets her and when she becomes uncharacteristically furious. In conversation, she has a habit of referring to herself in the third person, though occasionally uses first person in more serious situations. Ran often remarks how Miyu is "lovey-dovey" with Yamato and there is a running gag on both series when they are interrupted when they are trying to kiss, usually by Ran. When her mom eventually moved out, she moved into a new apartment and married Yamato in

Hawaii Hawaii ( ; haw, Hawaii or ) is a state in the Western United States, located in the Pacific Ocean about from the U.S. mainland. It is the only U.S. state outside North America, the only state that is an archipelago, and the only stat ...

in the manga. Her favorite color of her silhouette is

yellow Yellow is the color between green and orange on the spectrum of light. It is evoked by light with a dominant wavelength of roughly 575585 nm. It is a primary color in subtractive color systems, used in painting or color printing. In the R ...

. ; : :Aya is one of the top students with

black Black is a color which results from the absence or complete absorption of visible light. It is an achromatic color, without hue, like white and grey. It is often used symbolically or figuratively to represent darkness. Black and white have o ...

hair in Ran's class, but she was secretly doing

enjo kōsai is a type of transactional relationship similar to the western equivalent being a call girl of Sugaring. It is the Japanese language term for the practice of older men giving money and/or luxury gifts to attractive young women for sexual favors ...

to earn money according to the first chapter/episode, since her parents were very strict about her being in number one in academics and wouldn't let her do any part-time jobs or go out. Ran found out and confronted her about it, fortunately making her realize that she was doing the wrong thing before Aya could actually "do it" with somebody. Since then, Aya became good friends with Ran and Miyu. She is a shy but honest and studious individual who enjoys academics while also longing for excitement every now and then, which is thankfully provided by Ran. Aya strengthens and changes during course of the series. She's usually a crybaby when it comes to sad or happy moments, but she grows braver and learns to stand on her own. She has deep feelings for Rei Otohata but her shyness leads to complications in their relationship, especially as Otohata initially dates her due to pity rather than affection, but the two eventually manage to establish a genuine relationship by the end of the series. Her favorite color of her silhouette is

blue Blue is one of the three primary colours in the RYB colour model (traditional colour theory), as well as in the RGB (additive) colour model. It lies between violet and cyan on the spectrum of visible light. The eye perceives blue when obs ...

. ; : :Rei Otohata is a student at Meisho Daichi High School (Champion High School in ADV's dub). He is also known as "#1", because he was featured in a magazine as being the coolest and most handsome teenage guy in the area. He rides a

motorcycle A motorcycle (motorbike, bike, or trike (if three-wheeled)) is a two or three-wheeled motor vehicle steered by a handlebar. Motorcycle design varies greatly to suit a range of different purposes: long-distance travel, commuting, cruising ...

and is good friends with Yuya. He has a cold and detached demeanor, and is constantly annoyed by Ran. He has trouble expressing his feelings towards others. He initially likes Ran but tends to hide this well, but later reciprocate Aya's feelings for him by the end of the series. ; : :Yuya is also a student at Meisho Daichi High School, and he is known as "#2" or "Second Place", as he was the runner-up to Rei in a popularity magazine poll. He and Rei are friends. Early in the series, he develops a crush on Ran, even role-playing how it would be nice to date her, but Ran is oblivious to the fact. The crush gets worse when Tatsuki joins in and confesses successfully to Ran. As time passes, he helps Mami Honda out to the point that Mami starts falling for him, even though he still has a crush on Ran. Near the end of the series, he gets over Ran, and ends up dating Mami. ; : :Tatsuki Kuroi (also nicknamed Tatsukichi) is a wild and kind student at Machida West High School, and he calls himself "the parapara king of Machida" (also known as "Machida Black", since the "kuro" in his last name means "black"). In the manga he is also called Blackwell (the literal translation of his surname). He is often nicknamed "Monkey Boy" since his personality is very similar to that of a monkey. He becomes Ran's boyfriend, although she studiously avoids anything remotely approaching intimacy other than hugging or holding hands, thus calming him. He likes to use English words and phrases in his conversations. Sometimes he says a phrase in English then he will say then same phrase in Japanese, or he will say a phrase beginning in Japanese and ending in English, and then he will say the same phrase again, switching the Japanese and English parts (example: "Black ''nichiyōbi''", "Black Sunday", and then "Kuroi Sunday"). He also likes to call Yuya "brother" in English.

Supporting

; : :Ran's and Sayo's older brother. Unlike Ran, he has a sensitive and passionate personality that shows through his job as a cop, and is usually on duty at the

" koban". The only thing that annoys him is when Ran causes trouble in Shibuya and he has to bring her to the police station. His love interest is Ran's best friend, the much-younger Miyu Yamazaki, whom he first met when he was a rookie cop and when Miyu was a troublesome and violent gangster. It was he that helped her to be good, since he was the only one who believed in her. In the end, he helped Miyu move into her new apartment and married her after she finished high school. ; : :Ran's and Yamato's younger sister. She dreams of being a detective like her father has. Sayo and her boyfriend, Masato Iwai, often

roleplay Role-playing or roleplaying is the changing of one's behaviour to assume a role, either unconsciously to fill a social role, or consciously to act out an adopted role. While the ''Oxford English Dictionary'' offers a definition of role-playing a ...

as conspicuous detectives, drawing the attention of onlookers and inciting frustration from Ran who is bothered by their antics. She is very energetic and enthusiastic about everything she does - however, she is slightly accident prone and often falls face down when she tries to run away or exit in a dramatic fashion. She ends her sentences with the phrase . In the end of the series she is still with Masato and they both go the same high school that Ran goes to. ; : :Ran's father is the local Chief of Detectives. He disapproves of his daughter's lifestyle. He tries his best to make Ran say that she wants to be a police officer, and often tries various tactics to get her to do various jobs helping the people (like refusing to giving her money). He is also famous for employing a technique called ''"Taizo's Giant Swing of Fury"'' on Ran when he loses patience with her and once on Sayo. ; : :Ran's mother who is also a police officer. It is a running gag throughout the series about her mysterious age, as she appears to be much younger than her husband. She is much more patient with Ran and the entire family in general- she never seems upset by Ran's choice to be a Gal as is very supportive of her children. Towards the end of the manga, she tells Miyu that she considers Miyu her daughter, showing just how nurturing she can be. ; : :Mami is a gal from the neighboring

Ikebukuro is a commercial and entertainment district in Toshima, Tokyo, Japan. Toshima ward offices, Ikebukuro station, and several shops, restaurants, and enormous department stores are located within city limits. It is considered the second largest ...

district where she is known as the "Queen of Ikebukuro". She has a fierce rivalry with Ran and participates in several competitions with her. She develops feelings for Yuya after he comforts her during some of the matches. She later forms a truce with Ran. In the anime, she comes from a very rich family. ; : :Harue is Mami's best friend. She was once a member of a gang called the "Eagles", which was broken up by Miyu's "Resistance" gang. She once sent in a nasty email to everyone in school about Miyu and her past. ; : :Masato is Sayo's boyfriend since the beginning of junior high. He fell in love with her as "the cute girl who always wore a hat" (which she only wore because she cut her bangs too short). From then on, they were a steady couple. He's a bit fun-loving and kind of weird like Sayo and imitates as a junior cop with her, but very just and gallant, especially to Sayo. At the end of the series, he goes to the same high school as Sayo, and they are still a couple. ; : :Naoki Kuroi is Tatsuki's little brother. He's a street-smart, outgoing, but good-hearted boy who, like his brother, thinks of himself as a ladies man, but ends up having crushes on every girl he meets, including Ran, Miyu, Aya, Sayo, and, at the end of the TV series, he has a crush on Kasumi. He enjoys riding a

skateboard A skateboard is a type of sports equipment used for skateboarding. They are usually made of a specially designed 7-8 ply maple plywood deck and polyurethane wheels attached to the underside by a pair of skateboarding trucks. The skateboarde ...

. He works at their father's

ramen is a Japanese dish, Japanese noodle dish. It consists of served in a broth; common flavors are soy sauce and miso, with typical toppings including , nori (dried seaweed), menma (bamboo shoots), and scallions. Ramen has its roots in Chinese ...

shop every now and then, and someday wants to run the business. At first Naoki is upset that Tatsuki does not want to take over the family business, but Tatsuki tells Naoki that he wants to do what he wants. ; : :Ran's teacher. He is very annoyed whenever Ran arrives late or comes up with a pathetic excuse for not having her homework. He is called "Naka-Teach" by Ran. Nakanishi tries to help Ran to do better in school by making her go to his after school classes and always has to scold her. ; and :Satsuki :Rie :Satsuki and Rie are Ran's schoolmates since elementary school. Satsuki has blonde hair in a short ponytail, and Rie has black hair. ; :Red :Yellow :Blue :The three

ganguro is a fashion trend among young Japanese women that started in the mid-1990s, distinguished by a dark tan and contrasting make-up liberally applied by fashionistas. The Shibuya and Ikebukuro districts of Tokyo were the centres of ''ganguro'' fash ...

girls who enjoy bugging Ran. They are identified by the colors red, yellow, blue. They spend much of their time in "sun-salos". ; : :Kazuki is a boy who befriends Aya. He acts nice to Aya but disapproves Aya hanging around non-academic friends. He becomes angry at Rei for the way he treats Aya, and confesses to Aya.

Anime-only

; : :A country girl who wants to be Ran's disciple. ; : :Kasumi is a glasses girl whose dream is to be the number one gal in Shibuya and overthrow Ran. Her reasons for becoming a gal is because, when she was younger, she was picked on by some guys. A gal (who appears to have been Towa) saves her from being bullied. Her and Ran have a strong rivalry and she tries her hardest to do something that would cause Ran to lose her title as number 1. This usually involves using a disguise. However all of her plans against Ran usually fail, and either she says who she is, or Ran and her friends figure out her disguise. She also finds out Ran's secret from Towa, although it's never revealed what Ran's secret is. She also has a strong sense of right, when needed. When her and Ran where trying to save up enough money to buy a jacket that each of them want badly. Kasumi sells items at a flea market in order to raise money, but when a boy wants a refund for a toy that does not work, she gives back the money to the boy. In the end she goes to the same High School as Ran, and Naoki falls for her when she tells him not to cry. ; : :Towa is a young woman who runs the Palm Tree Cafe. She is friends with Yamato and the actor who plays Detective Kudoh. She has known Ran since Ran was just a little girl, and they used to play together. Towa was one of the first gals in Shibuya, and was the number one gal back in the day, before Towa passed the title to Ran. She overreacts at times, and when Ran upsets her, she says that she will tell her friends her secret (which is never revealed). She also has a black belt in

Karate (; ; Okinawan language, Okinawan pronunciation: ) is a martial arts, martial art developed in the Ryukyu Kingdom. It developed from the Okinawan martial arts, indigenous Ryukyuan martial arts (called , "hand"; ''tii'' in Okinawan) under the ...

, and is also kind hearted. When Miyu needs a place to stay, she lives in the empty room at the Palm Tree Cafe. At the end of the series she gives the manager job to the actor who plays "Detective Kudoh", as she quits her job. ; and :Minigal Tan :Minigal White :These chibi gals introduce the various gal-terminology throughout the series.

Chapters

;Original ;Reprint

Theme songs

*Opening # #*Lyricist: Kana / Composer: Kana / Arranger: Akio Noyama / Singers:

dicot The dicotyledons, also known as dicots (or, more rarely, dicotyls), are one of the two groups into which all the flowering plants (angiosperms) were formerly divided. The name refers to one of the typical characteristics of the group: namely, t ...

*Ending # #*Lyricist: Ikuno Takagi / Composer: Isao Yoshida / Arranger: Isao Yoshida / Singers: Jungle Smile

Episode list

Episodes are numbered as streets, such as "1st street", "2nd street", and so forth. They are also stylized with heart symbols and right arrows. the English titles are generally from the RightStuf version.

Season 1

Season 2: ''The Heart of Shibuya''

In North America, the episodes were not dubbed into English, but were presented as Japanese with English subtitles.

Video games

Three video games have been created by

Konami , is a Japanese Multinational corporation, multinational video game company, video game and entertainment company headquartered in Chūō, Tokyo, Chūō, Tokyo, it also produces and distributes trading cards, anime, tokusatsu, pachinko machin ...

. The first video game has the same title as the anime and was released on July 26, 2001. The second video game was titled and was released on February 7, 2002. The third video game was titled and was released on August 8, 2002.

Other appearances

Several ''Gals!'' character make their appearances outside their series in ''

Kochira Katsushika-ku Kameari Kōen-mae Hashutsujo , often shortened to , and known in English as ''KochiKame: Tokyo Beat Cops'', is a Japanese comedy manga series written and illustrated by Osamu Akimoto. It takes place in the present day, in and around a neighborhood police station ( k� ...

'' crossover manga named ''Shin Kochikame''

Reception

T.H.E.M. Anime reviews gave the anime series five stars out of five, calling it one of the "most bright, well-animated titles to come out of fiscally-challenged Pierrot in quite some time". Chris Beveridge gave the complete DVD set an overall positive review, saying it is "ten discs of excellent anime at a fantastic price point that needs to be seen, enjoyed and treasured". Erin Finnegan of Anime News Network recommended the series to anyone who is a fan of hyperactivity or Shibuya street culture. Bamboo Dong of Anime News Network gave the anime the complete DVD set an A for the Japanese voice acting, a B+ for the English voice acting, a B+ for story, a C for Animation, an A− for art and a B for music.

References

External links

Official Pierrot Webpage

Official TV Tokyo webpage

Official Right Stuf webpage

Official Enoki Films webpage
* {{Tsuneo Kobayashi 1998 manga 2001 Japanese television series debuts 2001 anime television series debuts 2001 video games 2002 Japanese television series endings 2002 video games ADV Films Animated television series about teenagers Comedy anime and manga CMX (comics) titles Falling block puzzle games Game Boy Color games Gyaru in fiction Japanese high school television series Konami games Pierrot (company) PlayStation (console) games School life in anime and manga Shueisha franchises Shueisha manga Shōjo manga TV Tokyo original programming