was a popular Japanese television drama by screenwriter

Kankuro Kudo is an old-fashioned Japanese given name rarely used in modern Japan. Real people * Kankurō Kudō, actor-screenwriter. *The kabuki actors known as Nakamura Kankurō, including: **Nakamura Kanzaburō XVIII, actor who previously known as Nakamura Ka ...

. Based on a novel by

Ira Ishida is a Japanese novelist and TV commentator. After graduating from Seikei University, he worked for a number of different advertising production companies and as a freelance copywriter. In 1997, he published his first short story collection, '' ...

, it initially aired on the

Tokyo Broadcasting System formerly is a Japanese media and licensed broadcasting holding company. It is the parent company of the television network and radio network . It has a 28-affiliate television network called JNN (Japan News Network), as well as a 34-affili ...

during the summer of 2000, and was directed by

Yukihiko Tsutsumi is a Japanese television and film director. He began directing commercials and music promotion videos as an employee of Nihon Television. After spending time abroad, he returned and started his own production company, ''Office Crescendo'', from w ...

. The success of the television series would launch a '' manga'' adaptation the following year. In a break from traditional Japanese programming, the series used edgy graphics and scene breaks to highlight a story involving themes drawn from the underbelly of modern Japanese society: hip-hop youth

gang warfare A gang is a group or society of associates, friends or members of a family with a defined leadership and internal organization that identifies with or claims control over territory in a community and engages, either individually or collectivel ...

, juvenile delinquency, prostitution, drug abuse, the

Yakuza , also known as , are members of transnational organized crime syndicates originating in Japan. The Japanese police and media, by request of the police, call them , while the ''yakuza'' call themselves . The English equivalent for the ter ...

, rape and murder. Notable among the cast are Tokio lead singer

Tomoya Nagase is a Japanese singer-songwriter, actor, and model. He was a member of Tokio, a Johnny & Associates musical group. He was the primary vocalist, in addition to playing the guitar alongside Tokio's leader, Shigeru Joshima. Career As an artis ...

, film star

Ken Watanabe is a Japanese actor. To English-speaking audiences, he is known for playing tragic hero characters, such as General Tadamichi Kuribayashi in '' Letters from Iwo Jima'' and Lord Katsumoto Moritsugu in ''The Last Samurai'', for which he was nomi ...

, and future stars

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, and

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of Johnny's Jimusho idol group

NEWS News is information about current events. This may be provided through many different media: word of mouth, printing, postal systems, broadcasting, electronic communication, or through the testimony of observers and witnesses to events. N ...

. The series is also credited for raising the profile of actor

Yōsuke Kubozuka is a Japanese actor and musician. Career Yosuke Kubozuka has been a model for many magazines and TV commercials before starting out his acting career where he debuted in a 1995 TV crime drama ''Kindaichi Case Files''. In 1998, he starred in the ...

Summary

Twenty-one-year-old Makoto, the former #1 ''waru'' of Ikebukuro in his high school years, hangs out at the bowling alley and in the eponymous park () of the series with best friend Masa on a repetitive nightly basis. Their world starts to change as Shun, Rika, and Hikaru enter their lives after chance meetings in the park. Soon after, Rika is found raped and murdered in a

love hotel A love hotel is a type of short-stay hotel found around the world operated primarily for the purpose of allowing guests privacy for sexual activities. The name originates from "Hotel Love" in Osaka, which was built in 1968 and had a rotating s ...

, bringing unwanted police attention and a new detective to Ikebukuro on the trail of a serial rapist. After being suspected, arrested, and detained by the police in classic Japanese style (beatings, coerced confessions), Makoto is released and vows to find justice for Rika. Enlisting the help of Takashi, an old school friend, and his gang, the G-Boys, Makoto starts his search and gains a reputation for getting problems solved in the underworld of Ikebukuro - much to the consternation of Yokoyama and the police. Things then begin to spiral out of control in Ikebukuro, as not everything is what it seems to be...

Characters

* Makoto Majima : Main character and primary protagonist of ''I.W.G.P.,'' Makoto is a 20-year-old former ''waru'' without an obvious direction in his life at the start of the series. He commonly complains that things are "''mendokusai''" (bothersome). He earns spending money through petty theft and by hustling people at the bowling alley where he, Masa, and later the G-Boys hang out; he wins a BMW from Yokoyama in this fashion. During the day, he helps out at his mother's fruit shop; at night, he hangs out on the streets of Ikebukuro. After Rika is found murdered, Makoto's actions earn him a reputation as the "mover and shaker of Ikebukuro" by both the police and the underworld. Running gags involving his character include: his love of ''yakisoba'' covered in mayonnaise, bowling, and his uncooperative erection during his interactions with the women of the series. * Masa : Makoto's best friend. Masa works at the bowling alley with Kaoru. Unlike Makoto, Masa eventually joins the G-Boys in order to retaliate against the Black Angels for their apparent murder of Shun. * Rika Nakamura : Makoto's girlfriend. Rika typically dressed in ganguro style. She and Hikaru first meets Makoto and crew when the girls notice Shun drawing in the park, then join them for a night on the town. After meeting Makoto, Rika breaks things off with her sugar daddy. During one of their nightly adventures, Rika and Makoto sneak off to a love hotel. Soon after, Rika is called out by the serial rapist, and later found murdered. * Hikaru Shibusawa : Rika's best friend. Her psychological issues underlie the dramatic action of the series, and form the critical plot that brings the series to its climax. * Takashi Ando : Eccentric schoolmate of Makoto and "King" of the G-Boys, an "Oriental-style Asian Gang" (per their business card) based out of a van-conversion who identify with the color yellow. Son of a senile

sentō is a type of Japanese communal bathhouse where customers pay for entrance. Traditionally these bathhouses have been quite utilitarian, with a tall barrier separating the sexes within one large room, a minimum of lined-up faucets on both sides ...

owner, he dates an older woman named "Jessie" who is fluent in Russian. While highly violent and skilled in close quarters combat, he does not allow drug use or sales within his gang. He constantly pesters Makoto to join the G-Boys, but continues to support Makoto's missions despite his rejection. * Black Angels : Rival gang, identified with the color black, started by the ballet-dancing Kyoichi Ozaki. * Shun Mizuno : A quiet artistic loner with a penchant for drawing disturbing images, he is initially approached by Makoto and Masa after they catch him shoplifting from a local bookstore. He later asks to join their group, offering '' Ikefukurō-zō'', the symbol of Ikebukuro that he had just lifted and becomes a critical member of their ingroup. Shun dates Kaoru, the girl who works at the bowling alley, during the latter part of the series. In the buildup to the final climax of the series, Shun is murdered by Yamai and the Black Angels as part of a wider plot. * Yamai : Nicknamed "Doberman" for his beating of a chained dog, Yamai was a schoolmate of Makoto and serves as a constant foil to Makoto and Takashi. He is easily beaten in a showdown with Takashi, after which he attempts revenge by trying to implicate Takashi in drug dealing. Yamai later joins the Black Angels, is critical to the plot that brings the series to its climax, and is responsible for the death of Shun. * Fujio Saitou : Nicknamed "Saru" ( monkey), Fujio is a former schoolmate of Makoto who joined the local Yakuza family because he was tired of being "weak". He was assigned to look over and protect the daughter of the Boss; his mistakes bring the Yakuza to ask for Makoto's help, but the results cost Saitou his pinky. He appears as an ally and contact for Makoto throughout the series. * Yokoyama : A hard-nosed, no-nonsense detective brought into Ikebukuro in response to the presence of a serial rapist and the growing presence of youth gangs in the ward. He orders the initial beating and questioning of Makoto after Rika is found dead, which ends only when locals are brought in to testify for Makoto's character. * Ritsuko Majima : Makoto's mother. A former snack bar hostess who raised Makoto as a single mother, she now runs a small fruit shop and tends to get involved in

get-rich-quick scheme A get-rich-quick scheme is a plan to obtain high rates of return for a small investment. The term "get rich quick" has been used to describe shady investments since at least the early 20th century. Most schemes create an impression that part ...

s. Often lying about her age, she dresses and acts younger than her 42 years. She is the love interest of the local detective. * Chiaki : Prostitute and former classmate of Makoto who works at Last Chance, the "

soapland Prostitution, as defined under modern Japanese law, is the illegal practice of sexual intercourse with an 'unspecified' (unacquainted) person in exchange for monetary compensation, which was criminalised in 1956 by the introduction of article 3 o ...

" across the street from the Majima's fruit shop - which she frequents to gossip. After Makoto gains a reputation for getting things done, she asked him to help out her client/boyfriend Ali, who found himself in trouble after attacking her drug dealer in an attempt to help her clean up. Ali reveals her real name is Emi. * Kana Matsui : A girl hired by Ritsuko to help out around the shop, she becomes a love interest for Makoto. After leaving the shop, he discovers her working as a nursery school teacher, and later as a prostitute for the local Yakuza boss. She ends up stabbed as part of the elaborate plot that works to the climax of the series.

Main cast

- Makoto Majima *

Ai Kato is a Japanese actress and idol. On November 14, 2013, she announced that she had married a non-celebrity. They registered their marriage on November 22. On September 14, 2015, she revealed that she gave birth to her first child, a girl, in Amer ...

- Hikaru Shibusawa *

- Takashi, G-Boys King *

- Shun Mizuno *

Ryuta Sato is a Japanese actor and ''tarento Television personalities in Japan, known as in Japanese, are celebrities who regularly appear in mass media in Japan, especially as panelists on variety shows. During the Golden Age of Hollywood, bankable ...

- Masa *

- Kana Matsui *

- Fujio Saitou * Issei Takahashi - Kazunori Morinaga *

Aiko Morishita is a Japanese actress who has appeared in a number of feature films and television series. Her real name is . Her husband is singer-songwriter Takuro Yoshida. Biography She was born in Musashino, Tokyo. She graduated from Kojimachi Gakuen Girls ...

- Ritsuko Majima *

- Detective Yokoyama *

Sadao Abe is a Japanese actor, stage actor and musician from Matsudo, Chiba Prefecture. He started his acting career after joining a theater company/talent agency, Otona Keikaku, in around 1992 and gained his popularity after the drama series '' Team Med ...

- Hamaguchi * Kazuhiro Nishijima - Kyoichi Ozaki * Kenji Sakaguchi - Yamai (Doberman) * Kitaro - Yoshioka * Shin Yazawa - Chiaki *

Wakana Sakai is a Japanese actress, writer, and former gravure idol. Her real and former stage name is . Sakai is represented with Moon the Child, and later A-team. She is left-handed. Filmography TV drama Other TV series Internet drama Films Advert ...

- Rika

Episodes

:''See List of Ikebukuro West Gate Park episodes''

Awards

Ikebukuro West Gate Park won 7 Television Drama Academy Prize (Best Drama, Ensemble Cast, Opening sequence, Supporting Actor, Theme Song, Scriptwriter, and Director) from Japanese

TV listings TV listings (television listings, also sometimes called a TV guide or program/programme guide) are a printed or electronic timetable of television programs. Often intended for consumer use, these provide information concerning programming sche ...

-Magazine The Television in 2000.

References

External links

*
IWGP on Jdorama.com
{{Yukihiko Tsutsumi Japanese drama television series 2000 Japanese television series debuts 2000 Japanese television series endings Television shows written by Kankurō Kudō Television shows based on Japanese novels TBS Television (Japan) dramas