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| Weekly Shonen Magazine |
Weekly Shonen MagazineWeekly Shonen Magazine (週刊少年マガジン Shūkan Shōnen Magajin), also known as Shonen Magazine, is a manga magazine published by Kodansha. Despite some strange censorship policies (it's one of the only shounen magazines to forbid the depiction of female nipples), its audience tends to skew older with some more mature works and a large portion of its readership falling under the male high school or college student demographic.
- AI ga Tomaranai
- Air Gear
- Detective Academy Q
- Devilman
- Ge Ge Ge no Kitarō (1966-1971)
- GetBackers
- Girls Bravo (moved to Magazine Special)
- GTO
- Hajime no Ippo
- Kamen Rider
- Koma Koma
- Love Hina
- Mahō Sensei Negima
- Pastel
- Samurai Deeper Kyo
- School Rumble
- Suzuka
- Tensai Bakabon
- Tsubasa: RESERVoir CHRoNiCLE
See also
- List of manga magazines
External links
- [http://www.shonenmagazine.com/ Magazine Website (in Japanese)]
ja:週刊少年マガジン
Shonen Magazine
Manga magazineThis is a listing, by country of publication and target audience, of manga magazines.
Japanese magazines
Alternative magazines
- Ax
- Comics Cue
- COM (now defunct)
- Erotics F
- Garo (now defunct)
- CUTIE
- Be-Love
- Feel Young
- Judi
- You
- Young Rose
- CoroCoro Comic
- Big Comic
- Big Gold
- Big Comic Ikki (could also be under alternative)
- Big Comic Original
- Big Comic Spirits
- Big Comic Superior
- Business Jump
- Manga Action
- Ultra Jump
- Young Animal
- Young Jump
- Young Magazine
- Weekly Morning
- Monthly Afternoon
- Evening
- Dengeki Daioh
- Shonen Ace
- Shonen Champion
- Shonen Jump
- Shonen Magazine - weekly
- Shonen Magazine Wonder - monthly
- Magazine SPECIAL - quarterly
- Shonen Sunday
- Monthly Shonen Gangan
- Hana to Yume (translates to "Flowers and Dreams")
- Nakayoshi
- Margaret
- Shojo Comic
- Ribon
- Cookie
- Ciao
Special interest magazines
- Manga Pachinker
- Pachinker World
- Bessatsu Kindai Mahjong
- Kindai Mahjong Gold
- Kindai Mahjong Original
Erotic magazines
- Comic Amour (erotica for women)
- June (yaoi for female readers)
Other magazines
- Combat Comic (war comics)
- Yan Mama Comic (comics for young mothers)
Magazines published in the United States
These are not ordered by target audience because of the small number of publications.
Manga Anthologies
- RumblePakk (US artists, shōnen emphasis, [http://s95330819.onlinehome.us/manga/rumble.htm link])
- SakuraPakk (US artists, shōjo emphasis, [http://s95330819.onlinehome.us/sakurapakk/ link])
- Shojo Beat (shōjo emphasis)
- Shonen Jump (shōnen emphasis)
- Super Manga Blast!
No longer published
- AmeriManga (US artists, no longer published)
- Animerica Extra (shōjo emphasis, no longer published)
- Mangajin (for learning Japanese, no longer published, [http://www.mangajin.com/ link])
- Pulp (seinen emphasis, no longer published)
- Raijin Comics (seinen emphasis, no longer published)
- SMILE (shōjo emphasis, no longer published)
- TOKYOPOP magazine, formerly MixxZine (no longer published)
- Unimaga (US artists, on hiatus, [http://www.unimaga.com/ link])
Other magazines that have published manga
- Animerica
- The Comics Journal (alternative manga)
- Drawn and Quarterly Anthology (one gekiga)
- Newtype USA
Magazines published in Germany
- BANZAI! (shōnen) - German edition of Shonen Jump.
- Daisuki (shōjo)
- Manga Power
- Manga Twister
Magazines published in Denmark
- DragonBall
- One Piece
Magazines published in Norway
- Shonen Jump
Magazines published in Sweden
- Shonen Jump
Magazines published in Indonesia
- Shonen Magz (shōnen)
- Shonen Star (shōnen)
- Nakayoshi (shōjo) (Indonesian version)
- Champ - manhwa
Magazines published in Australia
- [http://www.oztaku.com OzTAKU] (Australian artists) - Available internationally from Nov 2005
- [http://members.iinet.net.au/~chandler/XuanXuan Xuan Xuan] (Australian artists)
- [http://www.boychildproductions.co.uk/mm.html Manga Mover] (Half international, half japanese artists)
Manga magazines
ja:漫画雑誌
Serial
Serial is a term, originating in literature, for a format by which a story is told in contiguous installments in sequential issues of a single periodical publication.
More generally, serial is applied in library and information science to materials "in any medium issued under the same title in a succession of discrete parts, usually numbered (or dated) and appearing at regular or irregular intervals with no predetermined conclusion." [http://lu.com/odlis/odlis_s.cfm] Also see serials, periodicals and journals.
By extension, serial also came to apply to a film issued in the same installment manner over a period of sequential weeks at a single movie house.
In recent times, the term has been used for a radio or television production with a continuously evolving, unified plot and set of characters spread over multiple episodes and sometimes years (see, e.g., soap opera). The unity of plot and contiguity across numerous episodes distinguishes a radio or television serial from a radio or television series.
Print
During the 19th century, many popular writers earned a living from writing stories in serial form for popular magazines of the day. Many of Charles Dickens' novels were originally published in this manner, for example, and this is the reason many of them are so long - the more chapters he wrote, the longer the serial continued in the magazine and the more money he was paid. Other famous writers who wrote serial literature for popular magazines include Sir Arthur Conan Doyle, who created the Sherlock Holmes stories originally for serialisation in The Strand magazine.
Film
The Strand
A serial, or cliffhanger, was a popular form of movie entertainment that dated back to Edison's What Happened to Mary? of 1912. Usually filmed with low budgets, serials were action-packed stories that usually involved a hero (or heroes) battling an evil villain and rescuing a damsel in distress. The villain would continually place the hero into inescapable deathtraps and situations, or the heroine would be placed into a deathtrap and the hero would bravely come to her rescue, usually pulling her away from certain death only instants before she met her doom. The hero and heroine would face one trap after another, battling countless thugs and lackeys, before finally defeating the villain "once and for all"...even though the villain would almost always get away at the end, to return at a future date.
Many famous cliches of action-adventure movies had their origins in the serials. The popular term cliffhanger was developed as a plot device in film serials (though its origins have been traced by some historians to the Sherlock Holmes stories of Arthur Conan Doyle), and it comes from the many times that the hero or heroine would end up hanging over a cliff, usually as the villain gloated above and waited for them to plummet thousands of feet to their deaths. Other popular cliches included the heroine being tied to a railroad track; being lashed to a log in a sawmill, lying on a conveyor belt and approaching a gigantic whirling sawblade; or being trapped in an abandoned mine shaft, watching as the burning fuse of a nearby bundle of dynamite sparked and sputtered its way towards the deadly explosive. The popular Indiana Jones movies are a well-known, romantic pastiche of the serials' clichéd plot elements and devices.
The serials were filmed in separate parts, and each chapter (a typical serial usually had fifteen of them) would be screened at the same theater for one week. The serial would end with a cliffhanger, as the hero and heroine would find themselves in the latest perilous situation from which there could be no escape. The audience would have to return the next week (and pay admission) to find out how the hero and heroine would escape and battle the villain once again. Serials were especially popular with children, and for many youths in the first half of the 20th century, a typical Saturday at the movies included a chapter of at least one serial, along with cartoons, newsreels, and two feature films.
Silent era
Famous American serials of the silent era include The Perils of Pauline and The Exploits of Elaine made by Pathé Frères and starring Pearl White. Another popular serial emerged that year, the 119 episode The Hazards of Helen made by Kalem Studios and starring Helen Holmes for the first forty-eight episodes then Helen Gibson for the remainder. Other major studios of the silent era produced them, such as Vitagraph and Essanay, as did Warner Brothers, Fox, and Universal. Several independent companies (for example, Mascot Pictures) made Western serials. A serial version of Tarzan was also made by a minor studio. Europe had its own serials, notably the French Judex and the German Homonculus.
Sound era
The arrival of sound technology made it costlier to produce serials, so that they were no longer as profitable on a flat rental basis. Further, the Great Depression made it impossible for many of the smaller companies which had turned out serials to upgrade to sound, and they therefore went out of business. Only one serial specialty company, Mascot Pictures was in fact able to make the transition from silent to sound filmmaking: Universal Pictures also kept its serial unit alive through the transition.
In the early 1930s a handful of independent companies tried their hand at making serials, but managed only two or three, including the once-prolific Weiss Brothers. The Weisses bought a little time when Columbia Pictures decided to take a try at serials, and contracted with them (as Adventure Serials Inc.) to make three chapterplays. They were successful enough that Columbia then established its own serial unit and the Weisses essentially disappeared from the serial scene. This was in 1937, and Columbia was probably inspired by the previous year's serial blockbuster success at Universal, Flash Gordon, the first serial ever to play at a major theater on Broadway; and by the success of that same year of the newly-created Republic Pictures, which dedicated itself to a program of serials and westerns, eschewing major productions in their favor. The creation of Republic involved the absorption of Mascot Pictures, so that by 1937, serial production was now in the hands of three companies only - Universal, Columbia and Republic, with Republic quickly becoming the acknowledged leader in quality serial product. Each company turned out four to five serials per year, of 12 to 15 episodes each, a pace which they all kept up until the end of World War II when, in 1946, Universal dropped its serial unit along with its b-picture unit and renamed its production department Universal-International Pictures. Republic and Columbia continued unchallenged, with about 4 serials per year each, Republic fixing theirs at 12 chapters each while Columbia fixed at fifteen.
By the mid-50s, however, episode television series and the sale of older serials to TV syndicators by all the current and past major sound serial producers, together with the loss of audience attendance at Saturday matinees in general, made serial-making a losing proposition.
Early serial films
Peak form
The classic sound serial has a first episode of about 30 minutes (approximately three reels in length, and begins with reports of a masked, secret, or unsuspected villain menacing an unspecific part of America. This episode traditionally has the most detailed credits at the beginning, often with pictures of the actors with their names and that of the character they play. Often there follows a montage of scenes lifted from the cliffhangers of previous serials to depict the ways in which the master criminal was a serial killer with a motive. In the first episode, various suspects or "candidates" who may, in secret, be this villain are presented, and the viewer often hears the voice but does not see the face of this mastermind commanding his "spearpoint villain," similar to a sergeant, whom the viewer will see in just about every episode.
In the succeeding weeks (usually eleven to fourteen) thereafter, an episode nearer 20 minutes (approximately two reels) in length was presented, in which the "spearpoint villain" and lesser thugs commit crimes in various places, fight the hero, and trap someone to make the ending a cliffhanger. Many of the episodes have clues, dialogue, and events to lead the viewer to think that any of the candidates were the mastermind. As serials were made by writing the whole script first and then slicing it into portions filmed at various sites, often the same location would be used several times in the serial, often given different signage, or none at all, just being referred to differently. There would often be a female love interest of the male hero, or a female hero herself, but as the audience was mainly children, there was no hugging and kissing.
One episode, near the end of this run, was often an "economy episode" in which the characters reminisce about their adventures so as to introduce showing those scenes again. This type of episode usually had a cheap, mechanical cliffhanger, like a time bomb rather than being unconscious in a runaway vehicle.
The last episode was sometimes a bit longer than most, for its tasks were to unmask the head villain (who usually was someone completely unsuspected), wrap up the loose ends, and end with a triumphal proclamation, followed by a joke -- and sometimes a kiss (provided that the story supplied a heroine to receive it).
Production practices
The firms saved money by reusing the same cliffhangers over the years. Mines or tunnels flooded often, even in Flash Gordon, and the same model cars and trains went off the same cliffs and bridges. Republic had a Packard limousine and a Ford Woodie station wagon used in serial after serial so they could match the shots with the stock footage from the model or previous stunt driving. Three different serials had them chasing the Art Deco sound truck, required for location shooting, for various reasons. Male fistfighters all wore hats so that the change from actor to stunt double would not be caught so easily.
Exposition of what led up to the previous episode's cliffhanger was usually displayed on placards with a photograph of one of the characters on it. In 1939, Universal brought the first "scrolling text" exposition to the serial, which George Lucas used in Star Wars in 1977. As this would have required subcontracting the optical effects, Republic saved money by not using it.
Stylistic differences between the studios
The major difference between the serials made by the various firms lay in that the minor studios had their own retinue of actors and writers, their own prop department, existing sets, stock footage, and music library. The early independent studios had none of these, except for being able to rent the sets of independent Western features. As the serials were bought sight-unseen by the lesser theaters for an audience of children, their product often had the worst acting and scripts, the least capable direction, and the most monotonous music ever screened: worse than any film that got reviewed in print.
1977
Although Republic was not even a minor studio, the serials they produced have been hailed as some of the best, especially those directed by John English and William Witney who are widely considered among the most talented directors in the form. In addition to screenwriting many critics thought was quite capable, the firm also introduced choreographed fistfights which often included their stuntmen throwing things in desperation at one another in every fight to heighten the action. In addition, their productions were praised for their production values such as convincing explosions and other disasters as well as more fantastic visuals such as Captain Marvel flying. However, they were also somewhat hampered with limited shooting facilities, such as lacking their own backlot and props. This often prompted repeated use of familiar cars and locations from generic settings like identical warehouses, stairwells, offices and specialized locations like a certain speedboat rental pier. They were able to get the rights to the newspaper comic character Dick Tracy, the radio character The Lone Ranger, and the comic book characters Captain America, Captain Marvel, and Spy Smasher.
Columbia was the firm that got the most of these name-brand heroes. From newspaper comics, they got Brenda Starr, Terry and the Pirates, Mandrake the Magician, and The Phantom; from the comic books, Blackhawk, Congo Bill, a time traveller named Brick Bradford, and Batman and Superman; from radio, Jack Armstrong, Hop Harrigan, and The Shadow; from the British novelist, Edgar Wallace, the first archer superhero: The Green Archer; and even from television: Captain Video. Columbia substituted animation for more expensive special effects and showed the audience that the cliffhanger would not kill the hero by having a reassuring announcer pose the next episode's menace at the end of the episode. Their scripts had more humor than the others, often to the point of being far more absurd. And even though this was an important studio in comparison to the independent ones, it merely released serials which were subcontacted out to units outside their main production system.
Universal was the studio with the most available resources. It had the best writing, so they made the best use of their contracted actors. The start of some of their episodes has the exposition of the cliffhanger given in conversation, rather than appearing on placard stills. They were able to get the characters Green Hornet and Ace Drummond from radio, and Smilin' Jack, Buck Rogers and Flash Gordon from newspaper comics.
Universal also signed on four of Warner Brothers' Dead End Kids to star in three serials. Although Bela Lugosi started working for Universal, his frustration at the greater celebrity of Boris Karloff made him act in several independent serials, but only one for Universal.
Radio and television
With the advent of television and the decline of the moviegoing audience, production of serials ceased due to the decreasing audience (and revenues). But the serial lived on, moving instead to the small screen and the world of TV reruns.
The television serial format as we know it today actually originated in radio, in the form of daily 15-minute programs known as soap operas (so-called because many of these shows were sponsored by soap companies, such as Colgate-Palmolive and Procter & Gamble), and children's adventure shows. Soap operas were specifically engineered to appeal to women (clearly to entice them to buy more soap). They usually ran from Monday through Friday at exactly the same time every day. A show called "The Smith Family" which ran only one night a week on WENR in Chicago during the early 1930's was credited as the "great-granddaddy of the soap operas" by radio historian Francis Chase, Jr. One of the other shows that helped pioneer the daytime soap opera/serial was The Guiding Light, which debuted on NBC radio in 1937, and is still airing today on CBS Television (where "Guiding Light" has been since 1952). Some of the characters in soap operas have been portrayed as long-suffering (a common theme even in some of today's serials along with the social and economical issues of the day). Children's adventure serials were more like film serials, with continuing characters involved in exploits with episodes that often ended in a cliffhanger situation.
Guiding Light and such other daytime serials such as As the World Turns (premiered in 1956), General Hospital (premiered in 1963), Days of Our Lives (premiered in 1965), One Life to Live (premiered in 1968), All My Children (premiered in 1970), and The Young and the Restless (premiered in 1973) were popular in the Golden and Silver Ages of television and still are today.
Aside from the social issues, the style and presentation of these shows have changed. Whereas in the 1950s and 1960s the drama was underscored with traditional organ music, and in the 1970s and the 1980s a full orchestra provided the score, the daytime dramas of today use cutting-edged synth-driven music (in a way, music for soaps has come full-circle, from the keyboard to the keyboard).
The nighttime serials are a different story, though the concept is also nothing new. In the 1960s, ABC aired the first real breakthrough nighttime serial, Peyton Place, inspired by the novel and theatrical film of the same name. After its cancellation, the format went somewhat dormant until the mid-1970s when ABC themselves brought it back with, of all things, a comedy soap (aptly called Soap). Although the show was controversial for its time (with a homosexual character among its cast roster), it was (and still is today) a cult classic.
The era of "primetime soaps" (as they are often called) really began to reach its peak when CBS began to air Dallas (which propelled Larry Hagman to stardom) in 1978. It was with this show that defined the end-of-season cliffhanger (with its "Who Shot J.R.?" and "Bobby In The Shower?" storylines) that is still utilized in today's series (whether it is a serial or not).
In the 1980s, you could find other nighttime soaps as Dynasty (ABC's answer to Dallas), Knots Landing, The Yellow Rose, and Falcon Crest. There were some serial shows such as Hill Street Blues and St. Elsewhere that did not officially fit into this category, but were nonetheless ratings hits season after season. As the 1990s came to a close, the primetime soap as an official format slowly passed into the sunset.
But the primetime serial constructure can still be seen today in such shows as E.R., The West Wing, 24 and Alias. The term "serial" has become outdated, however, and viewers now speak in terms of these shows making use of "story arcs." In addition, it has been noted that the use of cliffhangers is still prevalent in adventure shows, its just that they are now typically used just before a commercial break and the viewer need only wait a few minutes to see its resolution. In addition, 24 and Alias, as well as other series such as Star Trek: Enterprise have also extensively made use of the traditional end-of-episode cliffhanger format. This often applies to their season finales which often end in a cliffhanger that would only be resolved in the next season's premiere.
In British television, the term 'serial' is usually used to cover what American audiences would more commonly call a 'miniseries'. Many British television serials tend to be high-profile dramas, either costume drama such as Pride and Prejudice (BBC One, 1995) or contemporary social drama such as Our Friends in the North (BBC Two, 1996). In addition, Doctor Whos stories have a limited serial format with the typical episode running around four parts, though some stories like "The Dalek Master Plan" ran as long as twelve. However, the revived series has abandoned the format for standard self-contained episodes with some two-parters along with an overall plot arc.
External links
- [http://www.serialexperience.com/ The Serial Experience]
See also
- Pulp magazine
Category:Narratology
Category:Literature
Category:Publishing
Category:Narrative forms
Detective Academy QDetective Academy Q (探偵学園Q; Tantei Gakuen Q) is a manga, later adapted into an anime series, about a boy called Kyu, who was kidnapped as a young boy and rescued by a detective, which inspired him to become one. The story is based on Kyu and his friends as they go to a Detective Academy, and solve mysteries. The viewer is encouraged to try and solve them before the characters do. The manga was serialized in Kodansha's Weekly Shonen Magazine. The anime aired on TBS.
About Dan Detective School
Dan Detective School (DDS) was founded by Morihiko Dan, a famous detective who has solved many cases, except for the crime organization known as Pluto. This eventually led to Mr. Dan being in a wheelchair the rest of his life. Morihiko Dan is also the only private detective in Japan who is licensed to hold a gun.
Class Q
Kyu
A bright, and optimistic boy who can sometimes say the wrong thing. Otherwise, he is considered to be the team's leader and is known for his logical explinations of cases. He has a good sense of judgement but often says things that infuriate Megumi (one of the series's running jokes is the he glimpses the pattern of Megumi's underwear and announces it out aloud for all to hear). Kyu is romantically conected to Megumi and (if your openminded) Ryu. When he was small and kidnapped, his mentor rescued him. He was Kyu's father (Satoru Renjo, Morihiko Dan's very best partner) and married his mother in secret wedding.
Minami "Megu" Megumi
Megu has a unique talent that she has a photographic memory, allowing her to memorize a scene instantly. This allows her to notice if a piece of evidence has been moved or is missing. It is believed that she has a crush on Ryu, but it is also known that she has taken a liking to Kyu as well. She studied in the Tokyo Development and Research Center alongside Kinta. Her family is two parents who work abroad and a sister in university.
Narusawa Kazuma
Kazuma is a rich, well known computer games programmer. He often helps find information on his computer which he carries around with him all the time. After first learning that he was a member of Q class (which at the time was believed to be the lowest) he tried to get transfered in A class. However, when his classmates came to his aid when he was in trouble he changed his mind prefering to stay with his friends. Kazuma has a friendly rivalry with Kinta due to their different approaches to detective work. Kazuma and Kinta are often the butt of each others jokes. He is a very smart prodigy but he can't get right answers without his "lucky" hat as implied in episode 2. Kazuma comes from a very wealthy background.
Touyama "Kinta" Kintarou
Kinta is the son of a well respected police officer, but moved out due to a family dispute. He now lives alone and works part-time as a mascot on the seafront. Kinta is the strongest member of the class, having had lessons in judo, kendo and karate. He also has superb senses, especially his eyesight and sense of smell. Kinta often mocks Kazuma's high tech approach to detective work prefering to rely on his "instinct". His tough personality as well as his excellent senses have been very useful at times. He is very strong and sometimes hits either Kazuma or Kyu. He also constantly tries to pick up girls (with little sucess).
Amakusa Ryu
Ryu is very intelligent, and his dark background somehow links him to the organization known as Pluto. When his parents died Pluto took care of him. As a child he was never allowed to socialize with others. He often viewed his house as more of a prison than a home. Even with his cold personality he is still friendly with the other members of Class Q.
Class A
Yutaka Saburomaru
With an IQ of 180, he studied at Tokyo University. He is calm, witty and he thinks he will be the qualified detective. He is in Class A. He knows Megumi Minami via the Tokyo Development Research Center & has feelings for Megumi's sister alongside Kinta in one episode.
Sakurako Yukihara
The nephew of Morihiko Dan. She didn't want to be a detective at all, because she wanted to be a mystery novel writer. She's in 2nd grade in Senior High School as well as in DDS. She received her first award from the police at 3rd grade in elemetary school.
Hayato Shiramine
Also has an ability in magic. He says that those who master magic is a great detective.
Shisido Takeshi
Went to Harvard University to do a doctorate before he stoped to join DDS. He is pretty calm and cares for his friends but he is merciless with Q class members.
Gouda Kyousuke
A puzzle master and a mathematical olympian. His abilities in maths in unsurpassed, even Kazuma got lost when A vs Q class in 4th manga.
Kuniko Touya
This girl is a transfered student from Shibusawa College. She changed her appearance when she entered DDS. Her hobby is collecting spooky pictures.
Meiosei (Pluto)
An organization where its members will plot the perfect murder for its clients, but the organization will not actually perform the murder themselves. In order to keep their indetity a secret, hypnotism will be carried out on the approachers if the murder case is solved. They "disguise" themselves using plastic surgery, wigs and make-up. The leader of the organisation is King Hades. In 2nd place in this organization is Ryu, Q class student but he refuses to be part of that evil organization. In third place, Meiosei have a named Sir Charon that wears a mask and is always with Hades to watch him.
Other improtant top members are Kelberos, the genius criminal who directly studied hypnotism from King Hades and Thanatos, who was send as the spy in DDS.
Takumi Kuzuryu (Nine-Tailed Dragon)
The person who designed the building for Class Q. He has created many priceless items like Testa Dorigo(Violin), a vase with the outline of 2 person. In the later part of the manga, it is know that he is the father of the leader in Pluto.
Dan's Righthand Men
Shino Katagiri
The loyal assistant of Morihiko Dan, she told Megumi and Kyu she was from DDS during a murder. On the DDSunset, the cruise of DDS, someone from Pluto disguised as her said they were a bunch of amateurs when she first saw them. Kyu said the real Ms. Katagiri would never say that and it was true.
Category: Anime
ja:探偵学園Q
th:โรงเรียนนักสืบ Q
DevilmanDevilman (デビルマン Debiruman) is a manga and anime character.
Devilman is one of Go Nagai's most popular creations. Devilman was first produced as a manga in 1972, and consists of 5 volumes. The manga's extreme violence and excellent story line made it an instant hit. It was so popular that an anime series was released the same year. The series was 39 episodes long and ran from July 1972 to March 1973. The series sported some differences from the manga, but was still very popular. Two OVAs (Original Video Animation) were released in 1987 and 1990. These videos were what Go Nagai originally intended the first anime series to be like, since the censors made him tone the series down back in 1972 because of its extreme violence. The videos revolve around Akira's transformation into Devilman up until his battle with Silene (also called: Sirene,Siron or Shienru). The OVAs are well animated and, other than a few minor alterations, are faithful to the original manga, and were released in the U.S. during the mid 1990s on video and then on DVD in 2000. Also in 2000, Amon: Apocalypse of Devilman was released as a pay-per-view event in Japan and later released on video and DVD. It covers the period between the humans becoming aware of demons and the final battle between Devilman and Satan. It has even spawned a video game for the PlayStation.
Many other manga titles were created later on including Shin Devilman, Neo Devilman and Amon: The Darkside of the Devilman. Also a very popular artbook entitled Devilman Illustrations was published.
In 2004, a tokusatsu Devilman movie using CGI effects was released. Unfortunately, it was universally rejected in Japan, even by Devilman fans. As a consequence, it won Grand Prize in Japan's Bunshun Kiichigo Awards (the Japanese version of the Razzie Awards, which are given to the worst movie of the year).
Storyline
The story line in Devilman really makes it stand out as one of the greatest manga titles of all time. However, its extreme violence made it a major target of protest for the PTA and other groups. Still, the story has become a classic in Japan and has even been working its way through the U.S. over the past decade or so.
A long time ago, the Earth was ruled by demons. The demons constantly fought each other for survival. They soon found themselves fighting a new race of beings. These beings were the first humans. The demons then became imprisoned in ice after a great cataclysm. They would remain there until the ice melted. Satan would then rise up and lead them in Armageddon. That time has come in Go Nagai's Devilman.
Devilman is about a teenager named Akira Fudo. At first, Akira is very modest and avoids conflict. When his parents go away on a business trip, Akira goes to stay with his childhood friend Miki Makimura (both soon form a close relationship as the story progresses). Miki loves Akira but wishes that he would stand up for himself when he gets pushed around.
One day, Akira's best friend, Ryo Asuka, shows up and completely changes Akira's life. Ryo's father had discovered the existence of demons when he found a mask during an excavation of the ruins of an ancient Mayan temple. This mask turned out to be a fossilized demon skull which showed whom ever wore it what the world was like when demons ruled over it. Ryo shows Akira how the world was and informs him about the demons' revival. Akira then sees Ryo's plan, "To fight a demon, one must become a demon."
Demons have the ability to possess and control humans. However, Ryo believes that Akira may be able to harness a demon's powers when possessed due to the fact that Akira has a pure heart. Ryo takes Akira to a demonic nightclub and begins to bring out the demons in the club. The demons begin to attack Akira until he becomes possessed by Amon. Amon is the Lord of War and also one of the strongest demons. His possession of Akira causes Akira to transform into Devilman. Devilman contains the strength and power of the demon Amon, as well as the heart and soul of the human Akira Fudo, giving Akira complete control. After he becomes Devilman, Akira is no longer timid and shy. He becomes very aggressive and no longer lets anyone push him around. This new change pleases Miki, although she is unaware of Akira's new found powers.
Throughout the manga and anime, Devilman has many battles with the demon hordes. He encounters many foes such as Silene (Sirene, Siron and Shinru) the demon bird (she was also Amon's lover before he possessed Akira), the water demon Geruma (also called Gelmer), a large turtle-like demon called Jinmen, Welvath, Kaim, Zannin, Zan, Zenon (Zenon is basically Satan's right-hand, and strongest, demon), Psycho Jenny, and Saylos (Saylos is one of the main villians in the movie Amon: Apocalypse of Devilman).
The story ends with Akira discovering that his friend Ryo is really Satan in a dormant state. After Miki and her whole family are brutally slain by a horde (in a particularly famous scene, Akira retrieves Miki's dismembered body from her burned house and later is seen holding her head in his arms), the final fight between Devilman and Satan ensues.
Related series
Go Nagai also released a manga series called Violence Jack. The series takes place during the aftermath of Armageddon and the battle between Satan and Devilman. This series soon became an anime series, and was released in the U.S. sometime during the 1990s.
In 1997, Go Nagai revamped the series and created Devilman Lady (Devil Lady in the U.S.). Devil Lady is based on Go Nagai's idea of "What if the main character was a woman?" The story is very good and has a very different approach than its Devilman counterpart. In Devil Lady, a woman named Jun Fudo learns that she has the power to transform into a being known as a "devilman" or "Devil Beast". A woman named Ran Asuka shows up and explains to her that her "powers" or "gifts" are actually believed to be somewhat of a disease known as the "Devil Beast Syndrome". It is even stated that these "devilmen" are actually the next step in human evolution as a means of survival. The story became very popular and was made into an anime series in 1998. The series consists of 26 episodes and was released in the U.S. during late 2002 and early 2003. The Devil Lady series is very popular and contains its own original story that stands out from the Devilman series.
Category:Japanese Superheroes
Category:Manga
Category:Anime
Category:Tokusatsu
ja:デビルマン
GetBackersGet Backers (Japanese: ゲットバッカーズ) is a manga series written by Yuya Aoki and illustrated by Rando Ayamine. It was published by Kodansha and was serialized in Shonen Magazine. The series has lasted for 32 volumes and is still running in Japan; currently, the first 12 volumes have been released in English by Tokyopop.
In 2002, the series was adapted into an anime series, produced by Studio DEEN, which aired from 2002 to 2003 and ran for 49 episodes. The series has been licensed in North America by ADV Films and given a 10-volume DVD release.
Although a shounen series, Getbackers is also notable for its direct appeal to its subset of yaoi fans, mostly via suggestive merchadise and production art - something generally limited to the anime and its merchandising, not especially present in the manga.
Story
The manga tells the story of the pair known as the GetBackers, consisting of both Midou Ban and Amano Ginji, who live in one of the seedier areas of Shinjuku in Tokyo. Ban and Ginji operate what may be described as a freelance repossession service; for a fee, they will recover any item stolen from or lost by a client. The two boast of a 100% success rate, refusing to openly admit that their success is, to a certain extent, less than perfect.
But Ban and Ginji are not ordinary human beings; they each possess mysterious abilities which they use to carry out their many recovery missions. Ban's powers include the Snakebite, a skill which gives his hands a grip of 200 kilograms of force, and the Jagan (a Japanese term roughly meaning "evil eye"), an ability to induce minute-long hallucinations of Ban's choosing in whomever he makes direct eye contact with. Ginji, on the other hand, can generate enormous amounts of electric energy in his body for tasks such as attacking opponents or overloading electronic systems; this has earned him the moniker of "Raitei" (a Japanese term variously translated as "Lightning Emperor," "Lightning Lord," and the like).
Despite the simplicity of their job's description, Ban and Ginji's profession often thrusts them into bizarre and dangerous situations in order to obtain the objects they must find. Their targets range from everyday objects such as a video game a school kid has lost to a specific person who has been abducted by the yakuza or even a much more dangerous object which might just affect the safety of the nation (such as a vital part of a nuclear bomb). As such, the plot mostly revolves around the dangerous (yet sometimes silly) adventures they both go through, which is often complicated by connections to the pair's dark and twisted pasts, and a mysterious place called the Mugenjou (a Japanese term translated "Limitless Fortress" in the English-language release of anime and as "Infinite Castle" or "Infinity Fortress" in the English-language release of the manga).
There are numerous "acts" in the story. Each act, divided into a number of chapters, describes a different recovery task taken on by the GetBackers. As the story develops, new characters and their past relationships with Ban and Ginji are revealed, and details of a shadowy conspiracy involving the GetBackers slowly rise to the surface.
Ban drives a Subaru 360 that is constantly being towed away due to Ban's refusal (and inability) to pay parking fees coupled with his tendency to constantly "invent" parking spots. This causes the two to not only temporarily lose their car, but they often lose their money. At that point they go to the "Honkey Tonk", a bar that they go to cadge free food and run up their tab. Their little car would not normally be a powerhouse, but this particular 360 has a 1200 cc engine tuned to 195 horsepower (145 kW) with nitrous. The car, in real life, only weighs 900 pounds, thus making it extremely fast. The car also features a soft top, which is used mainly to make their jobs easier. Ban drives his car like a madman, with many scenes of him sliding the car around corners, or going down the sidewalk on two wheels. He claims to have an extremely good driving technique.
The plotline of the anime is initially similar to that of the manga, but diverges sharply after the 25th episode as the anime attempted to compress the ongoing story arcs into a manageable anime arc with a reasonable ending. It should be noted that the second Mugenjou arc is not in anyway connected to the one in the Manga.
Main Characters
The following character bios are derived from the anime (later edited to fit manga canon.)
- Midou Ban - First impressions of Ban are generally that he is a rude person and has a great sense of pride. With his unrully hair and sunglasses, people already judge him poorly. But he is actually a great guy with a strong sense of leadership and a very talented person. He is one quarter German and he's the grandchild of the "Last Witch of the 20th Century". It was also his grandmother who was the one that passed on the powers that Ban has today. His powers are called "Evil Eye" ("Jagan") that allows him to make his opponents see illusions for one minute, and "Snake Bite," a 200 kilogram-force grip. Possessing the battle sense of a genius, he has gone through many battles and has gathered a lot of experience. At one hundred percent power his "Snake Bite" materializes into reality, transforming his right hand into a serpents claw. At this level he was able to hand defeat to the all powerful "Raitei" thus, indirectly, ending the era of the Volts.
- Amano Ginji - He is the partner of Mido Ban and he was once the fearsome "Lightning Lord" and the leader of a gang called "Volts" in the Infinity Fortress. He got the title "Lightning Lord" because of his ability to control electricity. This control grants him several unique abilities such as amazing regenerative power as well as the ability to become a human magnet and battery. Despite Ginji's dark past, his demeanor is one of an unassuming, energetic, and friendly boy with a strong sense of justice. He makes friends easily, often without trying - and is trusting and open to an almost naive extent. But when exposed to remnants of his past, he has a tendency to revert to his darker "Lightning Lord" ("Raitei") persona.
- Raitei - Although sharing the same body as that of Amano Ginji, Raitei is the complete opposite of the happy go lucky Ginji. He first came into being when Ginji was a young boy, as the Beltline Monsters invaded the lower levels of Mugenjou. It took less than the time it takes to blink, but the enter invasion force was annihilated in an instant. From that point on, whenever Ginji is confronted with a difficult situation, emotionally or physically, Raitei appears to make everything that troubles Ginji disappear. However, this ultimately causes more pain for the peaceful Ginji as death is that last thing he ever wants. The source of Raitei's power is actually the limitless energy currents flowing through Mugenjou and as such he draws as much power from them as he needs. Sometimes though, this can put the Infinity Fortess in a sticky situation if Raitei calls for more power in an single instant than the tower is capable of outputing. For this reason he is dangerous to the "Brain Trust" in Babylon City who posses the "Archive" (the sum total of human knowledge, past present and future) as he could potentially erase the "Archive" if he blacked out Mugenjou. During the era of the Volts, only one man was known to have handed Raitei defeat, Midou Ban.
- Hevn - A buxom and enterprising woman who is at times an ally to the GetBackers - and sometimes at odds with them. She is a negotiator, a person who mediates jobs between high-paying clients and retrievers (such as the Getbackers or Shido). In the manga, she is most-known for her excessively revealing outfits (which Ban tends to take advantage of to cop a feel) and her sly, working-woman attitude. In the anime, she is gratuitously more clothed.
- Wan Paul - He is the owner of Honkey Tonk. While he seems to be mostly retired, Paul has a large source of connections and access to hard-to-get information - which only Hevn and a select few others seem to know about. He seems friendly toward Ban and Ginji, but gets upset that they are never able to pay their tab. He is sort of a philosophical father-figure in the series. Later in the manga, it is revealed that Paul, along with Ban's father, were the first generation of Getbackers and they had, in their time, ascended to the top of Mugenjou, even entering Babylon City. However, neither can remember their time there as a result of the seal that the "stigma" eye gained at that time, places on the memories of that time. Paul controls the winds and this ability, along with his great speed earned him the nickname, "Gale Emperor".
- Der Kaiser - As Ban's father he occupies a unique place in the manga (he never showed up in the anime). While being a major antagonist in the current arc and supposed last arc "Get Back the Lost Time", he is also an enemy of the Brain Trust, seeking to restle the control of Mugenjou from their grasp and get back his "lost time" . He has made several attempts at this, both by taking control of the Beltline, as it's current ruler, and by attempting to force Raitei to overload the towers circuits by asking for too much power in a single instant then the Fortress was capable of generating (and that's a heck of a lot). In addition, he was formerly a member of the first generation of Get Backers along with Wan Paul, the two of them having a similar relationship to that of Ban and Ginji. However, after entering the upper limits of Mugenjou the two split for unknown reasons. Der Kaiser's fighting abilities are noted as being in a place even the "Gale Emperor" cannot reach. At this moment the current Getbackers, Ban and Ginji, can touch neither the speed nor strength of the "Gale Emperor".
- Mizuki Natsumi - She was the first client for Ban and Ginji at the beginning of the anime. Then she came to work at Honkey Tonk as a waitress. In the anime, she has amazing ping-pong skills and even once takes on one of the GetBackers' clients while they are busy with another case (despite her lack of skill at anything aside from ping-pong). Notable here is that she chose to wear an outfit consisting of Ban's shirt and glasses, and Ginji's pants and gloves for the case.
- Shido Fuyuki - First introduced as the Beastmaster, one of the Volts' "Four Kings", he has the ability to control animals, although perhaps it should be better stated that he asks them for favors as he views animals as his friends. Once the Volts disbanded, Shido left the Infinity Fortress to make a living outside, like Ginji. After reconciling with the Ginji (whom he felt had betrayed the Volts), Shido took a cue from the GetBackers and started his own retrieval service - occasionally aided by Emishi. He is very independent and cold to others. Even though his powers allow him to control animals, he considers them friends, and tries to protect them as they do him. As he is also a Maryuudo (a fictional ancient clan of aboriginals who communed with animals), he has the ability to take on the characteristics of about 100 different types of animals, such as a bat's echolocation abilities, or a wolf's stength and claws. He eventually ends up living with Otowa Madoka, and he has an ongoing rivalry with Ban. As the last survivor of the Maryuudo, his Chimera form is one of the three "keys" to opening the sealed gates of Babylon City which Ban's grandmother sealed long ago.
- Fuuchouin Kazuki - One of the Four Kings of the Volts, he uses koto strings (in the manga's English translation, they were described as harp strings) in battle; the strings also have other uses such as listening in on distant conversations. Because of these skills, he is often called "Ito no Kazuki", or Kazuki of the Strings. Kazuki is the scion of the noble Fuuchouin family, and his fighting abilites derive from the family school. He is graceful and charming, and is often mistaken for a woman because of his long hair and feminine face. His family house was destroyed, and his family killed, in a mysterious fire when Kazuki was in his early teens; he subsequently fled to Infinity Fortress with Kakei Juubei and Kakei Sakura, where he led a gang known as 'Fuuga' (translation: 'Elegance') until joining the Volts beneath the Lightning Lord. He left the Infinity Fortress after the departure as Ginji and Shido, leaving Juubei behind. However, the IL retrieval brought them back together. Kazuki is usually an ally of the GetBackers, due to his friendship with Ginji. He and Ban tolerate each other, but are not close. As the leader of Fuuga he once ascended into the beltline to test his strength. At that time he was only able to survive for a week but during that time he gained the nickname the "Terrible Prince" due to the cruelty he exbited in order to survive. It should be noted that the cruelty was induced by the "Stigma" his left eye carries as a sign of time lost to the beltline.
- Akabane Kurodo (Dr.Jackal) - Akabane works as a "Transporter" ("hakobiya" in Japanese), a job where he is paid to escort things to a certain location. He uses lots of scalpels as his primary weapon, and while it was first thought that he simply hid them under his long coat, it was later revealed that he actually hides them inside his body. Entertainment is his main goal, not money, and the jobs he takes are chosen exclusively for amusement purposes. He likes to decapitate his enemies while engaging them in battle, a practice that many of the other characters see as going too far. His first encounter with the GetBackers was when he was on duty. He fought with Amano Ginji and lost to him. Since then, he has shown a lot of interest in fighting again with Amano Ginji and Midou Ban. Later Kagami refers to Jackal as "Babylon City's Akabane Kurodo" so it is safe to assume he was, at one point, a resident of the upper towers. His reason for leaving is currently unknown but it may be that he was bored. Akabane states that his motives are to find someone who can test his martial limits - something he himself has never seen.
- Kudo Himiko - Known as "Lady Poison", Himiko is a transporter whose job it is to ensure that an object or person makes it to its destination unhindered. She is trained in the use of various perfumes which have a wide range of effects from causing sleep, to burning internal organs, to causing a person to revert to a more primal state, etc. She once worked with Ban as a thief in the pre-GetBackers days, along with her older brother Yamato. Due to mysterious circumstances, Ban killed Himiko's older brother and Himiko has held a grudge ever since. Occasionally an enemy, but more frequently an ally, Himiko has mixed feelings for Ban, whom she sees is a good person, but cannot reconcile this with her brother's killer. She is also a "Voodoo Child"--a victim of a mysterious curse set to activate on her seventeenth birthday. The reason behind the curse is that she is a cursed child who should have died at birth, however due to the interference of Ban's grandmother, she lives on as one of the three keys to unlock the mysterious city known as Babylon that Ban's grandmother sealed shut.
- Emishi Haruki- One of the followers of the Volts in Infinity Fortress. He was known as "Joker" because he was always trying to make jokes and make other people laugh (many times unsuccessfully). Emishi's weapon is a long whip woven from the hair of the women of his people, which he handles very well. He went under the rule of Makubex after the Volts broke up and fought the retrievers of IL in the Infinity Fortress. He is the only descendant from the land of Rouran.
- Kakei Juubei - The heir to a clan that has served the Fuuchouins since time immemorial, he and Kazuki were childhood friends. When Kazuki left Infinity Fortress, Juubei remained, and they eventually met in battle during the IL retrieval, at which point Juubei lost his eyesight. However, in the aftermath of the battle they were reconciled and have remained close ever since. It is often speculated (both by fans and characters) that the two are lovers, and Aoki has spoken positively of this idea in his "freetalks". Juubei is sometimes called "Tobari no Juubei", or "Juubei of the Flying Needles", because he fights using long needles. He is also skilled in acupuncture and understands the flow of chi. These skills were passed down in his family. Kakei Sakura is his older sister. He uses Shinjutsu or needle techniques.
- Kakei Sakura - The older sister of Kakei Juubei, and perhaps Makubex's most loyal follower. She remained in Infinity Fortress after the breakup of the Volts, where she assisted Makubex to restore order and bring the IL to fruition. Sakura fights using cloth, which she seems to control via telekinesis; although she is a skilled fighter, she does not often use her skills violently, preferring diplomacy to force.
- Kagami Kyoji- A resident of Babylon City (the topmost tower) of the Infinity Fortress. He came down to the lower town to "observe" the retrievers of "IL." He's a master of mirrors and he seems like he has enough power to match that of Dr. Jackal. Currently, he is in possesion of Himiko and is awaiting her seventeenth birthday when she will become a key he can use to re-enter the uppermost limits Mugenjou, Babylon City.
- Otowa Madoka- A child prodigy and extremely talented violinist. Though she is blind, she has amazing hearing abilities. She hired the GetBackers for a job once to get back her stolen Stradivarius violin. She has a seeing eye dog named Mozart that also protects her when she's in danger. She eventually becomes Shido's girlfriend.
- Clayman-An art collector (or art thief, depending on who you talk to). She is a great fan of art masterpieces and she opened a gallary where the public can view beautiful paintings that seem to have been drawn after the artists' deaths. Clayman sometimes gives retrieval jobs to the Get Backers.
- Makubex- One of the former Four Kings of the Volts. Found in a sack as a child, only his last name, "Makube," is known (it was written on the bag). As time went on, he was discovered to be somewhat of a genius, capable of manipulating computers to do whatever he pleased. After a while, he was rechristened MakubeX, the 'x' symbolizing an unknown variable. During the 'Infinity Fortress' arc, the GetBackers are hired to retrieve the mysterious 'IL' from him. It is later discovered that IL is in fact an implosion lens, one of the most crucial parts of a nuclear weapon. At a young age, MakubeX had discovered that all actions in Infinity Fortress were in fact controlled by the 'god' of Babylon Tower, the top area of the fortress. Realizing this, MakubeX decided to give the god an edict: Turn back time to the time of the rule of the Volts, or Infinity Fortress will be destroyed. MakubeX worked together with Kakei Sakura very closely to create his bomb.
- Kurusu Masaki - He is the last member of those who were known as the four kings during the era of the Volts. His techniques allow him to control light, bypassing any physical defense and inflicting internal damage. He is also able to use light to blind his opponents senses. Kagami refers to him as the "Brain Trust's Kurusu Masaki" so it is safe to assume that he too was a resident of Babylon City and hopes to re-enter his home with the help of the three keys.
Category:Anime
Category:Manga
ja:GetBackers-奪還屋-
Hajime no IppoFighting Spirit, known in Japan as Hajime no Ippo (はじめの一歩) is a boxing anime and manga series created by Jyoji "George" Morikawa (森川 ジョージ Morikawa Jōji) which is serialized by Kodansha in Weekly Shonen Magazine.
The manga has been running since 1989 and currently spans 74 tankōbon. A 76-episode anime version was produced by Madhouse Production and ran on the Nippon TV Network from October 2000 to March 2002. The anime is licensed in North America by Geneon as Fighting Spirit.
Ippo Makunouchi (幕之内一歩 Makunouchi Ippo) is a very shy high school student who never had the time to make friends because he was always busy helping his mother with the family fishing boat business. Because he kept to himself a group of bullies got into the habit of picking on him. On one particular day these bullies decided to give him a rather serious beating. A middle-weight professional boxer who was passing by stopped the bullies and took Ippo to the Kamogawa Gym (鴨川ボクシングジム) owned by a retired boxer Genji Kamogawa (鴨川源二 Kamogawa Genji) to treat his injuries. After Ippo awoke to the sounds of boxers training, the boxer who saved him, Mamoru Takamura, tried to cheer Ippo up by letting him vent his frustrations on a sandbag. It was then that they had their first glimpse into Ippo's talent for boxing.
After that incident, Ippo started his regular training and began on the path of Japan's professional boxing.
The series has two spin-off movies - Kimura Vs. Mashiba, which pits one of Ippo's senpai (upper classmen) against the Japanese lightweight champion (who happens to be Ippo's girlfriend's brother) and Champion Road which provides further development for the characters as Ippo reaches ever higher.
A few video games based on the series have also been produced.
Characters
Kamogawa Gym (鴨川ボクシングジム)
- Ippo Makunouchi (幕之内一歩 Makunouchi Ippo) - The kind and easily intimidated titular hero of the series, Ippo wishes to become stronger, both physically and mentally, by becoming a pro boxer. As a boxer, Ippo's greatest strength lies in his natural physical strengths, the greatest of which is his monstrous stamina and capacity to withstand damage. As results of Ippo's complete trust in Coach Kamogawa's teachings, he has mastered several techniques which he has combined into several knockout combinations, the deadliest being variations of the vaunted Dempsey Roll. Whenever he can, he helps his mother at home with the family occupation of renting out fishing boats. He seems to be romantically linked to Kumi Mashiba. His current record as Japan's featherweight champion is 19-1-0, with 19 KO.
- Mamoru Takamura (鷹村守 Takamura Mamoru) - A veteran boxer who introduces Ippo to the sport. Gifted with monstrous physical ability, Takamura has an equally large ego and is not above bad-mouthing his enemies, teammates, and even Coach Kamogawa. But in fact, his strong will enables him to endure pain beyond human limits in his training and even allowed him to take down a fully grown bear with several counters. He is the estranged son of a family that runs a large line of successful hotels and resorts. Currently, Takamura has a record of 19-0-0, 19 KO and is the reigning WBC Middleweight Champion. His current aspiration is to conquer the next 4 classes up through heavyweight.
- Masaru Aoki (青木勝 Aoki Masaru) - Ippo's senpai and Kimura's best friend. Aoki provides much of the gym's comic relief -- for some reason, he has a fetish for women with unattractive faces -- and exercises one of the world's most unique fighting styles. A few of his signature techniques include the fan-favorite Frog Punch, double punch, an untorqued (ineffective) corkscrew punch, and the utterly ridiculous Lookaway (which has also been adopted by Takamura). In the past, he and Kimura were the toughest high-school thugs around, but now Aoki's real job is at a ramen restaurant. He has fought for the Japanese lightweight championship and shares an apartment with his girlfriend. His current record stands at 10-6-4, 6 KO.
- Tatsuya Kimura (木村達也 Kimura Tatsuya) - Ippo's senpai and Aoki's best friend. He is the smooth, collected type and a romantic at heart, but trains as hard as anyone. His style incorporates a fast left and faster footwork. In training for his bid for the Japanese junior lightweight championship against Ryo Mashiba, he developed a devastating vertical combination known as the Dragon Fish Blow. In the past, he and Aoki were the toughest high-school thugs around, but now Tatsuya's real job is at his family's flower shop. His current record stands at 13-5-3, 8 KO.
- Manabu Itagaki (板垣学 Itagaki Manabu) - The most recent addition to the roster, the charming Manabu has a prodigy's talent and was the captain of his high school's boxing team. Cheerful and a lover of bad puns (as are the rest of his family), Manabu is a fierce outboxer whose fighting style is uncanny in its resemblance to Miyata's. His most powerful technique is a furious hail of mid-power blows known as the Hedgehog, which was employed in a Rookie Kings showdown with his longtime nemesis, Kyosuke Imai. Outside of boxing, Manabu is employed as an assitant at the Makounouchi family's fishing business. His current record as the Rookie King of his class stands at 6-1-0, 5 KO.
- Genji Kamogawa (鴨川源二 Kamogawa Genji) - Head coach and founder of the Kamogawa gym. He fought as a prizefighter in Japan shortly after the end of the Second World War. Along with his friends, Ginpachi Nekota and Dankichi Hama, Kamogawa developed a style of fighting that both presumably became the forerunner of boxing in Japan and emphasized scientific theory in its techniques. In his prime, Kamogawa's talents included the fearsome, yet self-destructive, Tekken (Iron Fist) blow and an unyielding spirit which has been passed onto his students. As a coach, Kamogawa's wealth of knowledge and experience has been tapped into on multiple occassions during training as well as in matches. He may seem to be a bit gruff towards his boxers, but maintains very strong relationships based on trust and spirit.
- Haruhiko Yagi (八木晴彦 Yagi Haruhiko) - The manager of Kamogawa Gym and a part-time trainer. Friendly and knowledgeable, Yagi-chan is also in charge of securing match posters, selling tickets, and anything else involving the gym's finances. He knows a great deal about boxing himself, having been a boxer at Kamogawa Gym once. Additionally, it seems as if Yagi was once a master fisherman before joining the Kamogawa gym.
Kawahara Gym (川原ボクシングジム)
- Ichiro Miyata (宮田一郎 Miyata Ichirō) - Ippo's greatest rival. Not only is the taciturn Miyata a boxing prodigy, but he's also blessed with good looks, amazing reflexes, and nearly unmatched speed. Miyata's chosen weapons, counter punches, was inherited from the boxing style his father used to reach the Oriental-Pacific Boxing Federation's title match. He began at Kamogawa Gym with Takamura as his senpai, but later transferred to Kawahara Gym in hopes of one day facing Ippo in an official match. Miyata has trained all across the Pacific and eventually returned to the mainstream boxing scene as the main contender to the OPBF featherweight title. Together with the Jolt Counter, a full-body powered blow, Miyata KO'd Arnie Gregory to become the current regional champion. He is currently waiting for Ippo to ascend the ranks of the OPBF with a record of 22-1-1, 20 KO.
Naniwa Gym なにわ拳闘会
- Takeshi Sendou (千堂武士 Sendō Takeshi) - Brash and fearless, Sendou is the hero of Osaka's boxing fans, to whom he is known as "Rocky" or the "Naniwa Tiger." Ippo and Sendou have considered each other national rivals ever since their matches for the Rookie King and Japanese Featherweight titles. Considered to be a superior infighter to Ippo at mid-range, Sendou employs a devastating series of hybrid uppercut/hook blows known as Smashes and an incredible dash that rivals Ippo's instep. Sendou is nicknamed for Rocky Marciano, the only heavyweight champ to retire undefeated. He has held the Japanese featherweight championship once and has a record of 16-2-0, 15 KO.
Toho Gym (東邦ボクシングジム)
- Ryo Mashiba (間柴了 Mashiba Ryō) - Known by ringnames such as the "Executioner" or "Shinigami (God of Death)" by those who watch his matches, Mashiba is one of the most intimidating boxers in the series. He effectively combines an inhuman reach and the offensive Detroit version of the Hitman stance to create a devastating whiplike technique known as the Flicker Jab to eat away at his opponent's guard and resolve. Those fortunate and/or skilled enough to make it through his barrier-like Flicker still have to deal with his power-packed Chopping Right, which cuts down those who would deal damage up-close. Outside of the ring, Mashiba is a quiet, if unnerving figure, who is spurred on to earn wages and box for prize money all to support both himself and his younger sister, Kumi. He is a former Japanese junior lightweight champion and holds a record of 17-2-0, 13 KO.
Ohtaki Gym 大滝ボクシングジム
- Kenta Kobashi (小橋健太 Kobashi Kenta) - Kobashi stands as one of the lower key boxers, having entered boxing in the same class and year as Ippo. While both are openly shy and mellow in temperament, Kobashi does not share Ippo's skill as a boxer and resorts to duller tactics to attain victory in the ring. In matches, he is known to throw together simple jabs, footwork, and clinching in a defensive style designed to win on points. Lacking destructive power in his punches, Kobashi has focused on less aggressive boxing and even utilizes a strong cross-arm block to hold superior attackers at bay. He is a former junior featherweight champion of Japan (defeating Ryuichi Hayami and ending his career), but has since retired without defending once to become a trainer.
Kinoshita Gym 木下ボクシングジム
- Kazuki Sanada (真田一機 Sanada Kazuki) - Handsome and highly intelligent, Sanada's full-time job is as a doctor at the same hospital in which Kumi works. He is the pupil of Genji Kamogawa's old nemesis, Hama Dankichi, and in a fight, he uses his immense knowledge of human physical capabilities to predict his opponents' moves.
- Takuzo Karasawa (唐沢拓三 Karasawa Takuzō) - Sanada's kōhai (後輩). After Sanada's retirement from boxing, Karasawa wanted to bring glory back to their gym, and so challenged Ippo for the featherweight championship title.
Hachinohe Gym 八戸拳闘会
- Jason Ozuma (ジェイソン・尾妻 Jeison Ozuma, United States Army) - An American soldier stationed in Japan, Ozuma proves a difficult opponent for Ippo in the first round of the Rookie King Tournament. While fearsome in fights, Ozuma's usual personality is almost unnervingly polite and outgoing. He boxes in order to earn money for his gym, his coach and his training partners, whom he treats like his own family. Ozuma wields an explosive hook equal even to, if not better than, Takamura's.
- Naomichi Yamada (山田直道 Yamada Naomichi) - A bashful young man who first joined the Kamogawa Gym as Ippo's follower. While in public he is awkward and uncomfortable, Naomichi puts everything into his training for his hope for strength and self-confidence. Having had to move away, Naomichi now boxes for a different gym under the alias "Hammer Nao." His speciality, a solar-plexus blow, was his main weapon when he challenged his former senpai and current Japanese featherweight champion, Ippo Makounouchi.
Okinawa Seaside Gym めんそ～れ沖縄
- Shimabukuro Iwao (島袋岩男 Iwao Shimabukuro) - Known as the "Ryukyu Warrior", Shimabukuro hails from a small fishing village in Okinawa. Though diminutive, his body is like a steel fortress, bulky and cabled with muscle. He longs to fight with Ippo in a great battle between men of the sea. His strong lungs enable him to fight without having to breathe for many minutes.
Karil Gym 鬼槍留ボクシングジム
- Ryuhei Sawamura (沢村竜平 Sawamura Ryuhei) - A boxer from Nagoya, Sawamura was introduced to boxing by one of his high school teachers. As a child, he was abandoned by his mother after he attacked her abusive boyfriend with a knife. Sawamura is very lax about rules in the ring, and will perform illegal moves even if he has an advantage over the other boxer.
Nakadai Gym
- Eiji Date(伊達英二 Date Eiji) - At an age swiftly approaching thirty, Date is an old-timer for a boxer, but is nevertheless the man that Ippo looks up to. Years ago, he lost his World Title Match to the champion, Ricardo Martinez. He gave up boxing after that in order to settle down with his wife Aiko and raise a family. But Date is a born boxer -- he found he could not contain his combative nature for long, and picked his career back up. Date is strong in every way, but his greatest weapon is the Heartbreak Shot, a blow to the heart that immobilizes the opponent.
Other gyms
- Yoshio Fujiwara (藤原義男 Fujiwara Yoshio) - Fujiwara, an arrogant boxer with a body like a Mack truck and a forehead of stone, is Ippo's second opponent. When he realizes that Ippo is too much for him, he resorts to illegal headbutting to stun the young fighter.
- Ricardo Martinez - The longtime WBA featherweight champion. Having made quick work of Ippo, Date and sixty other unlucky opponents, Martinez is undefeated and seemingly invincible. His strength, speed, ability, and reflexes are almost otherworldly. Though he rarely deigns to speak to his opponents, Martinez respects boxers who manage to last more than a round or two against him.
- Bryan Hawk - The WBC junior middleweight champion. An fighter of enormous build, Hawk is detested throughout Japan for his contemptuous attitude towards boxing, often bringing his personal entourage of "Hawk Girls" along to matches and other events. Raised in the toughest parts of New York, Hawk survived with his incredible talent for hand-to-hand violence. He apparently derives sexual pleasure from this violence. Takamura once fought him for the title belt.
Other characters
- Kumi Mashiba (間柴久美 Mashiba Kumi) - Kumi is Ryo Mashiba's sweet-natured younger sister, and as such understands him better than anyone else. She will do almost anything to make her brother happy, including going to his matches even though she doesn't like to see him get hurt. Ippo becomes infatuated with her early on, but their relationship tends to suffer from their friends' and relatives' constant interference. She tends to be modest and shy, but will stand up for Ryo in an instant if she hears someone bad-mouthing him.
- Ginpachi Nekota (Nekota Ginpachi) - Making his home a lonely shack up in the mountain forests, Nekota is Kamogawa's best friend of over fifty years. While a meddling old geezer who tends to overstay his welcome, he is nonetheless loyal, good-hearted and trustworthy to the boys at the Kamogawa Gym. When he was younger, Nekota received a rabbit punch from an opponent, which resulted in permanent mid-brain damage.
External links
- [http://www.fightingspiritdvd.com/ Geneon's Fighting Spirit Website] (English)
- [http://www.vap.co.jp/ippo/ Official Hajime no Ippo Website] (Japanese)
- [http://www.hajime-no-ippo.net/pages/index.php?p=episodes Les épisodes d'Hajime no Ippo] (French)
- [http://www.japimpact.com/anime/H/hajime_no_ippo.php Japimpact | Hajime no Ippo : Anime] (French)
- [http://www.webotaku.com/pages/manga/article.php?id_test=164 Hajime no Ippo] (French)
- [http://www.wangazine.it/anime/VR_hajimenoippo.php Hajime no Ippo] (Italian)
- [http://www.h3.dion.ne.jp/~fakefish/txt/nenpyou.html はじめの一歩年表] (Japanese)
- [http://ippo.confusticated.com Jolt!: The Hajime no Ippo Resource Center] (English)
- [http://www.dynamiteglove.com Dynamite Glove - A Hajime no Ippo Guide] (English)
ja:はじめの一歩
Category:Manga
Category:Anime
NegimaNegima: Magister Negi Magi (魔法先生ネギま! Mahō Sensei Negima, tr. Magical Teacher Negima) is a manga and anime series by Ken Akamatsu, known for his best selling ecchi titles, specifically Love Hina. The manga is currently being published by Kodansha and serialized in Shonen Magazine in Japan. In America, the manga is licensed and published in English by Del Rey Manga, with translations of unreleased chapters (scanlations) being released over at [http://s4.invisionfree.com/aquastar/index.php]. Additionally, it is published by dong li in Hong Kong, Chuang Yi in Singapore, Play Press Publishing in Italy, Pika Édition in France, EMA in Germany and Glénat in Spain. The anime, produced by Xebec, has aired in the first half of 2005. Funimation announced October 30, 2005 that it has licensed the series for production in America. The series has spawned many merchandise, including Character CDs, Drama CDs, OSTs, two PlayStation 2 video games, as well as one Game Boy Advance title.
Overview
Negi Springfield is a 10-year-old wizard from Wales in the United Kingdom who dreams of becoming a Magister Magi, special wizards who uses their powers to help people. One example mentioned used a NGO job as a cover. Negi's reason for becoming a Magister is to find his father, Nagi Springfield, the legendary mage also as the Thousand Master who many believe to be dead.
After graduating from the Merdiana Magic Academy in Wales, he is given a duty as a cover in the real world, and training, before he actually becomes a Magister Magi. That duty is to become an English teacher at Mahora Academy in Japan. However, the task will not be easy as Negi will become a teacher to a middle school class of 31 older girls, each very special in their own way. The series details his time and adventures in Japan as he gains acceptance and respect from his students, helps them in their problems, and faces magical threats from within and without Mahora Academy. His main relationship is with Asuna Kagurazaka, his student and roommate who dislikes him initially but later accepts him as a friend and becomes his guardian, helping find clues about his father and his life.
During initial press releases, some criticized the premise of the series, noting an extremely large cast for a bishōjo series and fears Negi himself (who appeared to be the standard male lead in a harem comedy) would be a fairly forgettable character.
The series, while initially appearing to be another bishōjo work like Love Hina, has progressed into a fine mix of bishōjo, shonen action, romance and comedy. This coupled with the initial comments of Akamatsu that he specifically wanted to do something "different" than Love Hina has fueled fan speculation. Some feel the current turn in mood for the manga reflects Akamatsu's 'real' vision of the series, and the initial setup was just a ruse to placate the publishers expecting a bishōjo series (Similarly, Love Hina took a turn for the surreal during its later run). Others point to the set up of the series making the classic 'shipping' tendencies within such manga moot. Negi himself is prepubscent, and many of his scenes with Asuna are specific subversions of the 'awkward romantic scene' tendency of bishōjo manga, quickly diffused and only played for laughs. In addition many of the girls are able to fawn over him in a childish sense without any romantic expection from the reader.
Ironically, Negi himself is seen as a subversion to leads like Keitaro and other bishōjo males. He is hardworking, capable, and treated kindly, but due to his appearance and age (well below most of his students), he feels completely non-threatening and finds it difficult to be taken seriously as a teacher; many of his students treat him as a cute little kid, or, a playmate.
This title was also involved in a controversy surrounding the censorship of the English-translated manga in North America, typical of Akamatsu's penchant for fanservice and risque humor. Fans fell upon initial rumors of potential edits by Del Rey, and upon receiving news of this, immediately began fighting against the changes. The compromise reached was to release the book uncensored but shrinkwrapped, which some collectors feel can cause damage to the books.
Characters
The Class of 2A/3A
| Teacher: Negi Springfield (ネギ・スプリングフィールド), is the homeroom and English teacher of Class 3-A (formerly 2-A) of Mahora Academy Middle School. Negi is never without the large staff he inherited from his father, Nagi Springfield. Negi specializes in wind-based spells and light magic. His control over lightning spells are growing as well. After the Kyoto incident, Negi felt that he was still lacking in the strength to protect those who are important to him. To improve himself, he enters an apprenticeship under Evangeline in order to learn magical combat skills, and becomes Ku Fei's martial art student. As a child prodigy with a driven work ethic, his growth is unmatched in the series. His greatest wish is to be reunited with his long-lost father.(VA: Rina Satou) |
Trivia
Negi's name is actually a pun; Negi in Japanese means scallion, also known as green onions, spring onions or, vitally, Welsh Onions, and are also in the same family as the leek which is a national symbol of Wales. His nickname, "Negi Bōzu", is another pun since while "Bōzu" can be translated as "brat", "Negi Bōzu" literally means "Onion Head". Evangeline hates green onions.
Most notable is the series' enormous cast of 31 students. They are all girls, whom Akamatsu intended to be attractive each in their own way, with their own distinctive personalities. Many are parodies of stock characters.
| center | Student Number 1: Sayo Aisaka (相坂さよ), the hapless and meek yurei. More often frightened than frightening, she is invisible to virtually everyone, and her presence goes unnoticed until Negi absentmindedly counts her during a class vote. Sayo has been friendless and lonely for around 60 years since her death, which made her very desperate for a friend. This led a series of hilarious events during the preparations for the School Festival, which led to everyone mistaking her for an evil spirit. She nearly ended up being exorcised by Mana and Setsuna, but Negi and Kazumi, having caught a photo of her crying and realised what was really happening, came to the rescue and offered to be her friends. She currently hangs around (haunts?) Kazumi, who sits beside her in class. (VA: Yuri Shiratori)
| | center | Student Number 2: Yūna Akashi (明石 裕奈), an athletic girl who plays basketball and is often seen together with Makie, Ako, and Akira (i.e. the sports clubs group). Her father happens to be a professor, but it is unclear if he works at the Mahora Academy. She is the most mischievous one amongst the sports girls. (VA: Madoka Kimura)
| | Student Number 3: Kazumi Asakura (朝倉 和美), the resident class reporter with a camera always on hand. She likes to get the inside scoop on everything that goes on. She was one of the first girls in the class to learn Negi's secret, which she found out in Kyoto while investigating the rumor that someone had proclaimed her love to Negi. She is currently keeping quiet about it, and is occasionally seen plotting with Chamo. Kazumi sports the fourth largest breasts in the class.
Kazumi bears some similarities to Mitsune from Love Hina. (VA: Ayana Sasagawa)
| | center | Student Number 4: Yue Ayase (綾瀬 夕映), the cool slacker. Despite being talented, she hates studying and is amongst those with the lowest grades in the class, and hence is a member of the "Baka Rangers" study group ("Baka Black", and considered to be team's leader). Yue is also a member of the Library Exploration Group, often hanging around with Nodoka Miyazaki and Haruna Saotome, who calls her "Yuecchi". She is a strong supporter of Nodoka, and encourages her to develop a relationship with Negi, but later she also develops feelings for Negi but keeps it a secret for Nodoka's sake. She guessed Negi's secret after the Kyoto trip, having witnessed the attack on the Kansai Magic Association headquarters. One line in the Del Rey translation implied that she may is Konoka's cousin but this was a misprint (the wording on the bubble that was directed at her was supposed to be for Konoka). She is often seen drinking unusual beverages (e.g. in Volume 6 of the manga, she had the Last Elixir from the RPG series Final Fantasy.)
Yue resembles a smaller and less atheletic version of Love Hina's Kanako Urashima. (VA: Natsuko Kuwatani)
| | center | Student Number 5: Ako Izumi (和泉 亜子), a shy athletic girl who works as a school nurse's assistant. She has a scar on the back of her waist. She is usually seen with Makie (her roommate), Yūna, and Akira. She is also the manager of the boy's soccer club. Ako is one of the more well-behaved ones in the class, and can be considered to be a contrast to the more mischievous Yūna amongst the sports girls. (VA: Kotomi Yamakawa)
| | center | Student Number 6: Akira Ookōchi (大河内 アキラ), a very quiet and athletic girl in the swimming club. She is so good in swimming that the Mahora High School swimming clubs are already hot on her trail. She is a friends with Makie, Ako, and Yūna.
Akira physically resembles Motoko Aoyama of Love Hina. (VA: Azumi Yamamoto)
| | center | Student Number 7: Misa Kakizaki (柿崎 美砂) is the leader of the class's cheerleaders. The other members are her friends, Madoka and Sakurako. She loves shopping and hates carbonated drinks. Misa also has some "adult" tendencies, far more than any of the other girls in the class. She also uses the term "onee-san" when she talks about herself, if Negi is around. (VA: Shizuka Itou)
| | center | Student Number 8: Asuna Kagurazaka (神楽坂 明日菜), the irascible dunce, incredible runner and physically-powerful lead female heroine. She is also often in conflict with other people, especially Ayaka. Asuna has a crush on her former homeroom teacher, Takahata, whom Negi replaces. Asuna is an orphan who was allowed into the school for free by the school dean, yet still tries to pay towards her schooling with her wages earned delivering newspapers. Much to her chagrin, she is "Baka Red" of the Baka Rangers. She has Heterochromia; one of her eyes is blue and the other is green.
Negi and Asuna had a very shaky relationship from the start, but later improved. Negi is like a little brother to Asuna, and she is like a big sister/guardian to him; their relationship seems to, very occasionally, show hints at eventually developing into a less platonic one. Asuna was the first to find out about Negi's secret when she saw him saving Nodoka from falling down some steps and was the first person that Negi made a probationary contract with. Her artifact is a giant sword, but usually manifests as a metal harisen (fan) instead; she nevertheless wields it with gusto and effectiveness. The sword form first appeared when Asuna tried to save Negi from the sharks in Chapter 61 (other later appearances included the time Negi kissed her on the first day of the Mahora Festival, as well as during her duel with Setsuna in the Tournament, when she briefly remembered the death of Gatō Kagura and went momentarily berserk), which means that emotions play a role in its summoning. She has partial immunity to most magic used against her, such as love potions or petrification spells. Asuna met the Thousand Master as a child and travelled with the members of his group both before and after his disappearance but retains no memories from this period in her life. She has also demonstrated something of a fetish for older men, judging from both her crush on Takahata, her reaction to meeting Konoka's father (although this may be related to her dormant memories of them from the past), and her wish to go back in time when the Prohibition era of the United States was still going on (due to Asuna's belief that a lot of dandy old men existed in that time period) after learning that Negi has Cassiopeia, a time machine.
Asuna bears a resemblance to Naru Narusegawa of Love Hina (VA: Akemi Kanda)
| | center | Student Number 9: Misora Kasuga (春日 美空), a hyperactive tomboy in the track and field club, who had rivalled Asuna in the class sprint runs. She always wears a crucifix and is sometimes seen wearing a nun's habit. Later in the manga she is revealed as a mage-in-training (a member of the Mahora "mahō shōjo team") as well as a Ministra Magi. Her artifact is a pair of sneakers that allow her to run and jump with superhuman ability. (VA: Ai Bandou)
| | center | Student Number 10: Chachamaru Karakuri (絡繰 茶々丸), a robot created by Satomi and Chao for Evangeline, who is powered both mechanically and by magic. Despite her robotic parts showing very clearly, only a select few actually seem to have noticed; to date, only Chamo and Chisame Hasegawa seem to have realised without having it pointed out to them. As well as being Evangeline's Ministra Magi, she performs maid duties at the cottage they share on the Mahora campus. While Chachamaru behaves emotionlessly most of the time, she spends most of her free time helping people and rescuing stray animals, including regularly taking care of a pack of stray cats. She is also in the Go and Tea Ceremony clubs, but only because Evangeline is in those clubs as well. She developed a liking for Negi when he found himself unable to attack her when undefended, and while still obedient to her Master's will, does not like opposing him. She eventually develops love and human emotions towards him, much to the astonishment of her creator, Hakase. (VA: Akeno Watanabe)
Trivia
Karakuri means mechanism in Japanese.
| | center | Student Number 11: Madoka Kugimiya (釘宮 円), the serious one of the three cheerleaders in the class. She makes sure that the other cheerleaders (especially Sakurako) do not get into any trouble. She likes Gyuudon noodles and silver accessories and is a fan of Avril Lavigne, but hates playboys and is mildly obsessed with her husky voice.
Madoka resembles Motoko Aoyama of Love Hina with short hair. (VA: Mami Deguchi)
| | center | Student Number 12: Ku Fei (古 菲), the energetic and joyful kung-fu fighting Chinese girl. She is "Baka Yellow" of the "Baka Rangers" study group, her excuse being that she can't concentrate much on her English studies as she is still learning Japanese, an excuse supported by her pronounced Chinese accent. She hates being used as a test subject for Chao's and Satomi's inventions. She learns of Negi's secret when she, Mana and Kaede helped Negi, Asuna and Setsuna rescue Konoka at Kyoto. After the Kyoto arc, she becomes Negi's martial arts instructor at the latter's request. Ku Fei works at Chao's nikuman (meat bun) shop and is respected and idolized by the members of the fighting clubs.
Ku Fei is much like Love Hina's Kaolla Suu (though less childish). (VA: Hazuki Tanaka)
| | center | Student Number 13: Konoka Konoe (近衛 木乃香), a cheerful and caring girl who lives with Asuna and Negi. If anything, she is the mediator of the group, being both Asuna's best friend and Negi's biggest supporter. She is also the school headmaster's granddaughter. A fan of fortune telling, she has much magical potential, having come from a family of powerful mages. Her father is the chief of the Kansai Magic Association, who married her mother, the school headmaster's daughter, in an arranged marriage in order to ease tension between the Kansai and Kantō (where Mahora Academy is located) Magic Associations. She is a member of the Konoe family of the Fujiwara clan, the source for all imperial brides from the 8th through 19th centuries.
She was the fourth person that Negi made a probationary contract with and has the power to heal. It was mentioned in the anime series that her powers are comparable to those of the Thousand Master, while in the manga, it said that she has the power to heal those petrified by Wilhelm during his attack on the village where Negi and his sister grew up. She has strong affection for Setsuna, and this often makes their friendship seem more akin to a romantic relationship (but some doubt has been cast on this, as Setsuna showed that she is attracted to Negi). She is sometimes shown in the manga as a Final Fantasy white mage, probably a reference to her healing abilities.
All in all, she is a clueless girl who is quite dense, a trait probably borrowed from Love Hina's Mutsumi Otohime. Also, Konoka resembles Tomoyo Daidouji from Cardcaptor Sakura. (VA: Ai Nonaka)
| | center | Student Number 14: Haruna Saotome (早乙女 ハルナ), the local rumormonger and a frequent companion of Yue Ayase and Nodoka Miyazaki. If there is a rumor going around in the class, she is almost always at the root of it all. It is said that her rumor-spreading abilities are so well-developed that she can spread them to the other end of the school in 2 hours. Because of that, she is never told about Negi's secret by her friends. As a member of the Library Exploration Club, she seems to have made it her mission to get Nodoka together with Negi, whether Nodoka wants her help or not. She also draws manga and goes by the nickname "Haru or "Pal" (see below).
Haruna resembles a healthier-looking and more self-confident Ema Maeda. (VA: Sawa Ishige)
| | center | Student Number 15: Setsuna Sakurazaki (桜咲 刹那), a kendo expert trained in the Kyoto Shinmei ("God's Cry") Style and some onmyou-jutsu. Originally from Kyoto, she is a childhood friend of Konoka and acts as her protector. At times, her devotion to Konoka and Konoka's open affection towards her is suggestive of a more romantic relationship, however she rarely communicates with Konoka, as she believes that she should be her "protector from the shadows" so to speak. She is actually a half human, half bird demon with white wings who was taken in by Eishun after being exiled from her tribe who believe white wings to be bad luck. She kept this a secret from Konoka as she was afraid her friend would hate her for it, but Konoka accepted her for who she is after being forced to reveal her true appearance in Kyoto. A comment made by Evangeline suggests that she dyes her hair and wears colored contacts so she may also have the white hair and pink eyes of an albino. She is the third person that Negi made a probationary contract with.
Later on in the story Setsuna indirectly confessed that to liking Negi, although after this stated that she likes Konoka more, leaving that relationship a possibility. The kendo style that Setsuna uses is the same style used by Motoko Aoyama of Love Hina, which has led fans to believe there might be a possible crossover between the series. After her character development started, she beat Makie Sasaki for first place in the official character polls. Occasionally goes on exorcisms with Mana.
Setsuna's nodachi is named "Yuunagi", meaning "evening calm".(VA: Yu Kobayashi)
| | center | Student Number 16: Makie Sasaki (佐々木 まき絵), the delicate and feminine rhythmic gymnast. She strongly likes Negi and is friends with Yūna, Ako, and Akira, who are also in sports clubs. She is "Baka Pink" of the "Baka Rangers" study group, standing out as the second lowest scorer (with Asuna performing more poorly than she does). (VA: Yui Horie)
| | center | Student Number 17: Sakurako Shīna (椎名 桜子), the most cheerful of the three cheerleaders in the class. She also strongly likes Negi. She loves karaoke and her pet cats, Cookie and Biscuit, but hates black stuff that appears in the kitchen, especially what the cats bring in. She is also in the Lacrosse club. As a hobby, Sakurako gambles a lot. However, she wins her bets most of the time, with gr |
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