Bleach (ブリーチ, Burīchi?, Romanized as BLEACH in Japan) is a Japanese manga series written and illustrated by Noriaki "Tite" Kubo. Bleach follows the adventures of Ichigo Kurosaki after he obtains the powers of a Soul Reaper (死神, Shinigami?, literally, "Death God") - a death personification similar to the Grim Reaper - from Rukia Kuchiki. His newfound powers force him to take on the duties of defending humans from evil spirits and guiding departed souls to the afterlife.
Bleach has been serialized in the Japanese manga anthology Weekly Shōnen Jump since August 2001, and has been collected into 46 tankōbon volumes as of August 2010[update]. Since its publication, Bleach has spawned a substantial media franchise that includes an ongoing animated television series that is produced by Studio Pierrot in Japan, two original video animations, three animated feature films, seven rock musicals, and numerous video games, as well as many types of Bleach-related merchandise.
Viz Media obtained foreign television and home video distribution rights to the Bleach anime on March 15, 2006.[1] Cartoon Network began airing Bleach in the United States as part of its Adult Swim block on September 9, 2006. Viz Media has licensed the manga for English-language publication in the United States and Canada, and has released 32 bound volumes as of September 2010[update] as well as published chapters of Bleach in its Shonen Jump magazine since November 2007. Viz Media released the first Bleach film, Bleach: Memories of Nobody, on DVD in North America on October 14, 2008. The second film, Bleach: The DiamondDust Rebellion, was released on September 15, 2009.
Volumes of the manga have sold over 61 million copies in Japan, and have reached the top of manga sales in the United States.[citation needed] The anime adaptation has been similarly received; it was rated as the fourth most popular anime television series in Japan in 2006 and held a position amongst the top ten anime in the United States from 2006 to 2008. The series received the Shogakukan Manga Award for the shōnen demographic in 2005, and is among the best-selling manga properties in both Japan and the United States.
Plot See also: List of Bleach characters
Ichigo Kurosaki is a teenager gifted with the ability to see spirits. His life is drastically changed by the sudden appearance of a Soul Reaper (死神, Shinigami?, literally, "Death god") - one who governs the flow of souls between the human world and the afterlife - named Rukia Kuchiki, who arrives in search of a Hollow, a dangerous lost soul. When Rukia is severely wounded while trying to defeat the Hollow, she attempts to transfer half of her reiatsu (霊圧?, literally, "spiritual pressure") energy to Ichigo so that he can defeat the Hollow. However, Ichigo takes almost all of her energy, transforming into a Soul Reaper and allowing him to defeat the Hollow with ease. With her powers diminished, Rukia is left stranded in the human world until she can recover her strength. In the meantime, Ichigo must take over Rukia's role as a Soul Reaper, battling Hollows and guiding souls to the afterlife realm known as the Soul Society (尸魂界 (ソウル·ソサエティ), Sōru Sosaeti?).
As time passes and Rukia has yet to return to the Soul Society, her Soul Reaper superiors learn about her whereabouts and actions and sentence her to death for performing the illegal act of transferring her powers. Although he is unable to stop Rukia's departure to the Soul Society, Ichigo resolves to rescue her with the aid of several of his spiritually aware classmates, Yoruichi Shihōin, and ex-Soul Reaper Kisuke Urahara. Once at the Soul Society, Ichigo and company battle against the elites of the Soul Reaper military and strive to reach Rukia before her execution.
It is revealed that both Rukia's execution and Ichigo's rescue attempt were manipulated by Sōsuke Aizen, a high-ranking Soul Reaper previously believed to have been murdered, as part of a far-reaching plot to take control of the Soul Society. Aizen betrays his fellow Soul Reapers and allies himself with the strongest of the Hollows, the Espadas - the elite few of the Arrancars. Aizen thus becomes the main antagonist of the series and the Soul Reapers form an alliance with Ichigo. At this point, Bleach chronicles the war between the Soul Reapers and Aizen, who intends to garner souls from Ichigo's hometown in order to create the Ôken, a device able to open a portal to the location of the king of the Soul Society.
The plotline has yet to be resolved, and, according an interview with Tite Kubo in 2008, the ending of the series had not been planned out or written in advance.[2]
Rurouni Kenshin: Meiji Swordsman Romantic Story (るろうに剣心 -明治剣客浪漫譚-, Rurōni Kenshin Meiji Kenkaku Rōmantan?),[1] also known as Rurouni Kenshin and Samurai X, is a Japanese manga series written and illustrated by Nobuhiro Watsuki. The fictional setting takes place during the early Meiji period in Japan. The story is about a fictional assassin named Himura Kenshin, from the Bakumatsu who becomes a wanderer to protect the people of Japan. Watsuki wrote this series upon his desire of making a shōnen manga different from the other ones that were published in that time, with Kenshin being a former assassin and the story taking a more serious tone as it continued. Although the tragic tone was highly expanded as the manga advanced, Watsuki became determined to give it a happy ending as it was aimed at teenagers.
The manga initially appeared in Shueisha's Weekly Shōnen Jump from September 2, 1994, to November 4, 1999. The complete work consists of 28 tankōbon volumes, while years later it was reprinted into twenty-two kanzenban volumes. Studio Gallop, Studio Deen and SPE Visual Works adapted the manga into an anime series which aired in Japan from January 10, 1996 to September 8, 1998. Seasons 1 and 2 cover the first 151 chapters of the manga, however Season 3 is an original storyline. Besides an animated film, two series of original video animations (OVAs) were also produced. The first adapted stories from the manga that were not featured in the anime, while the second was also a sequel of the manga. Writer Kaoru Shizuka has authored three official Rurouni Kenshin light novels which were published by Shueisha. Several video games have also been released for the PlayStation and PlayStation 2 consoles.
The United States release of the manga has been completed by Viz Media. Rurouni Kenshin is subtitled "Wandering Samurai" in some English releases, as a rough translation of "Rurō ni" (流浪に, lit. "Wandering"?). The TV series later licensed in North America and released on DVD by Media Blasters. The first two seasons aired on the United States Cartoon Network as a part of the Toonami Block, while the third season was only featured in DVD . The English-language versions of the OVAs as well the film is released as Samurai X, although the original title was included in the DVD releases. The first light novel has been translated by Viz and distributed in the United States and Canada. None of the video games of the series have been released in North America.
The series has been highly popular in Japan, the United States, Brazil and Europe. The manga has sold over 47 million copies in Japan as of 2007 while the anime has ranked between the 100 most watched series in Japan multiple times. The anime and manga have received praise and criticism from various publications for anime, manga and other media, with both having received good response on the characters' designs and the historical setting. The OVAs have also received praise due to their animation and music.
Plot See also: List of Rurouni Kenshin characters
The story of Rurouni Kenshin takes place during the early Meiji era in Japan. It tells the story of a peaceful wanderer named Himura Kenshin, formerly known as the assassin "Hitokiri Battōsai". After participating during the Bakumatsu war, Kenshin wanders the countryside of Japan offering protection and aid to those in need as atonement for the murders he once committed as an assassin. When arriving in Tokyo in the 11th year of Meiji (1878), he meets a young woman named Kamiya Kaoru, who was in the middle of a fight with a murderer who claims to be the Hitokiri Battōsai from her swordmanship school. Kenshin decides to help her and defeats the fake Battōsai. After discovering that Kenshin is the real Battōsai, she offers him a place to stay at her dojo as she notes Kenshin is a gentle person instead. Kenshin accepts and begins to establish lifelong relationships with many people such as Sagara Sanosuke, a former Sekihō Army member; Myōjin Yahiko, an orphan from a samurai family; and a doctor named Takani Megumi. However, he also deals with his fair share of enemies, new and old, including the former leader from the Oniwabanshū, Shinomori Aoshi and his rival from the Bakumatsu Saitō Hajime.
After several months of living in the dojo, Kenshin discovers that his successor as assassin of the shadows, Shishio Makoto, plans to conquer Japan by destroying the Meiji Government, starting with Kyoto. Feeling that his friends may be attacked by Shishio's faction, Kenshin goes to meet Shishio alone in order to defeat him. However, many of his friends, including a young Oniwabanshū named Makimachi Misao, decide to help him in his fight. He decides to accept their help and defeats Shishio in a fight, who dies in the process due to the rise in body temperature caused by his burns. The anime adapts the manga until this part, later featuring new story arcs which were not featured in the manga.[2]
When Kenshin and his friends return to Tokyo, Kenshin finds Yukishiro Enishi, who plans to take revenge by killing his friends. At this point it is revealed that, during the Bakumatsu, Kenshin used to be married to a woman called Yukishiro Tomoe, who initially wanted to avenge the death of her fiancé, whom Kenshin had killed, but instead both fell in love and got married. It is then discovered that Tomoe was part of a group of assassins that wanted to kill Kenshin, and Tomoe is betrayed by them and captured to use as bait. Kenshin rushes in to rescue her, killing both his assailant and accidentally Tomoe, who jumps in at the last minute to save Kenshin from a fatal attack. Wanting to take revenge for the death of his sister, Enishi kidnaps Kaoru and leaves behind a tortured figure bearing a stunning resemblance of Kaoru for Kenshin to find and momentarily grieve over. Once discovering that Kaoru is alive, Kenshin and his friends set to rescue her. A battle between Kenshin and Enishi follows and when Kenshin wins, he and Kaoru return home. Five years later, Kenshin has found true peace; he is married to Kaoru and has a son named Himura Kenji.
AKIRA (アキラ?) is a 1988 Japanese animated action film written and directed by Katsuhiro Otomo based on his hit manga. The film is set in a futuristic and post-war city, Neo-Tokyo, in 2019. While most of the character designs and basic settings were adapted from the original 2182-page manga epic, the restructured plot of the movie differs considerably from the print version, pruning much of the last half of the manga. The film became a hugely popular cult film and is widely considered to be a landmark in Japanese animation and film.
Plot
On July 16, 1988, Tokyo is destroyed by an apparent nuclear explosion, leading to the start of World War III. Thirty-one years after Tokyo's destruction, Neo-Tokyo, a new megalopolis built on an artificial island in Tokyo Bay, is gripped by political strife, anti-government terrorism, and gang violence. Shotaro Kaneda leads his bōsōzoku gang, the Capsules, which find themselves in a gang war with another group called the Clowns. As Kaneda and his best friend, Tetsuo, battle a pair of Clowns on a highway, the latter almost runs into a child with wizened features and is injured when his bike suddenly explodes. Tetsuo and the child, Takashi, are captured by armed soldiers. Kaneda and his gang are taken in for questioning, where Kaneda unsuccessfully flirts with a young woman named Kei, a member of the terrorist Resistance. Kaneda, Kei, and the remaining Capsules are later released.
Colonel Shikishima and Doctor Onishi, two members of a secret government project, discover that Tetsuo possesses mental frequencies similar to Akira, a little boy with essentially god-like mental abilities who destroyed Tokyo decades before. Because Kiyoko, another one of supernatural children called the Espers, has had visions of a similar destruction of Neo-Tokyo, the Colonel orders the Doctor to kill Tetsuo should his power escalate beyond their control. Tetsuo escapes, meeting up with his girlfriend, Kaori, and stealing Kaneda's motorcycle. As they attempt to leave the city, they are attacked by Clowns, whom Kaneda and the gang defeat upon their arrival. As Kaneda helps the couple recover, Tetsuo begins to suffer a painful headache. On the Doctor's orders, a government van arrives and takes Tetsuo away. That night, Kaneda sees Kei at the scene of a terrorist attack, helps her avoid arrest, and accompanies her to the Resistance headquarters. Kaneda offers to help after the terrorists unintentionally reveal their plan to infiltrate a high-security hospital to rescue Tetsuo.
That night, the Espers – Takashi, Kiyoko and Masaru – attempt to kill Tetsuo before he grows accustomed to his new powers. This attempt on his life, however, only makes Tetsuo more powerful. He goes on a violent rampage through the hospital to the Espers' hospital room, where he learns that Akira is now in cryogenic storage below Neo-Tokyo's new Olympic Stadium. The Colonel, Kei, and Kaneda, arrive too late at the Espers' room, learning that Tetsuo is heading for the Stadium to meet Akira in the hopes he can give Tetsuo more information about his powers. Kei and Kaneda are detained, but Kiyoko – speaking through Kei as a medium – explains that Tetsuo must be stopped and helps them escape. Meanwhile, Tetsuo encounters Yamagata, Kaneda's right-hand man, and kills him. Another capsule named Kai is also there to witness Yamagata's death but is spared. Tetsuo travels to the Stadium, brutally dispatching soldiers who attack him. Arriving at the Stadium, Tetsuo battles and defeats Kei, who is voluntarily being used by the Espers.
Tetsuo finally unearths Akira's cryogenic chamber, only to discover Akira's organs, stored inside glass jars. The Colonel – who by now has taken over Neo-Tokyo and declared martial law – tells Tetsuo that Akira's remains had been meticulously analyzed after Tokyo's destruction and that he's been dead the entire time. Kaneda, having learned of Yamagata's death from Kai, uses Tetsuo's moment of confusion to fire on him with a laser rifle, but Tetsuo is able to block almost all the attacks but the initial one which manages to cut his arm badly. While Tetsuo is distracted by Kaneda, the Colonel tries to destroy Tetsuo using an orbital laser weapon but manages only to sever his right arm. Tetsuo takes off into orbit and destroys the weapon, then spends the night recovering at the Stadium, psychically forging himself a new arm from inorganic material while studying Akira's organs. His girlfriend Kaori arrives and tries to calm him down as his powers create immense physical pain.
The Colonel pleads with Tetsuo to return to the lab, but Tetsuo attacks the Colonel. When the Colonel fires back, with Kaneda (protected by the Espers) joining the fight, Tetsuo is unable to keep control any longer, and his body begins to transform into a gigantic cyborg-like monster that crushes and kills Kaori. The Espers, watching from afar, realize the only way to stop Tetsuo is to call forth Akira, his life force contained in the body parts in the glass jars. Akira's manifestation causes another explosion, and the Espers teleport the Colonel to safety. In spite of Kiyoko and Masaru's insistence that trying to save Kaneda alone would be futile, Takashi jumps into the ever-expanding psychic field. Kiyoko and Masaru agree to join Takashi, aware they likely will not be able to return, and help save Kaneda. Kaneda experiences Tetsuo's and the Espers' memories, including how much Tetsuo trusted Kaneda as a friend and how the children obtained their powers.
The Espers remove Kaneda from the field and tell him that Akira will be taking Tetsuo "away" and to find somewhere safe to ride out the explosion. The explosion engulfs much of Neo-Tokyo, and when it shrinks and, finally, vanishes, leaves a void that is quickly filled by the nearby ocean. Doctor Onishi is caught in the implosion this causes, crushing his van and killing him. Kaneda wakes up to find that Kei and Kai are safe, and they drive away from the ruined stadium into the city. The Colonel walks out of the tunnel The Espers teleported him to and watches the sun rising over the destroyed city. The credits begin with a Big Bang with Tetsuo saying, "I am Tetsuo."
Characters
Akira (アキラ) – The eponymous, principal subject of the story. Akira was a young boy who developed transcendent psionic, god-like abilities when serving as a test subject for secret government ESP experiments in the 1980s. He subsequently lost control of this power and the ensuing blast completely annihilated Tokyo in a horrifying explosion in 1988. After the apocalyptic event, Akira was recovered and subjected to every test known to modern science, which proved unable to solve the mystery. He was placed within a cryonic chamber underneath the Neo-Tokyo Olympic Stadium.
Shotaro Kaneda (金田 正太郎 Kaneda Shōtarō) – The anthology's main protagonist, Kaneda is a carefree gang-leader who boasts a custom-modified motorcycle. He and Tetsuo have been best friends since early childhood. He is brash and not above teasing Tetsuo despite feeling affection for him as a younger brother. Upon rescuing Kei, Kaneda becomes involved in the activities of her group of anti-government guerrillas in hopes of locating Tetsuo.
Tetsuo Shima (島 鉄雄 Shima Tetsuo) – Kaneda's best friend since preschool and the second principal subject of the story's theme. Tetsuo is shown as a black sheep in the gang he and Kaneda are part of, and quietly suffers from a deeply rooted inferiority complex. He admires his friend yet at the same time strongly resents his own reliance upon him. After his psychokinetic abilities manifest, Tetsuo quickly becomes Kaneda's nemesis; he desires Kaneda's motorcycle (a symbol of status and power) and seeks to prove himself supremely powerful, without need of protection. Eventually, his power overwhelms him.
Kei (ケイ) – A young female revolutionary whom Kaneda meets and becomes enamoured with on his quest to find Tetsuo. She is a member of an anti-government faction that Ryu and Nezu are also involved in. Although she does not possess preternatural abilities, Kei is used by the Espers as a type of medium on several occasions.
Colonel Shikishima (敷島大佐), also known as simply The Colonel – The head of the ongoing government project which was responsible for inadvertently unleashing Akira's power thirty years earlier. Appearing tough and ruthless, he is nevertheless pragmatic enough to recognize the danger Tetsuo's fledging powers pose and cares for the three Espers under his supervision. Amongst the other government figures depicted in the film, he is shown to be the most principled, eschewing the corruption and hedonism that typifies Neo-Tokyo.
The Espers – Masaru (マサル, codename #27), Takashi (タカシ, codename #26) and Kiyoko (キヨコ, codename #25) – Akira's fellow psychic test subjects. They exhibit a variety of paranormal powers which they use to influence the course of events to the best of their ability. While individually of lesser strength than Akira or Tetsuo, their combined effort proves decisive in the story's final confrontation.
Nezu (根津) – A government mole responsible for Takashi's kidnapping.
Yamagata (山形) – One of the most prominent members of Kaneda's gang. He often derides Tetsuo, which ultimately leads to his death at Tetsuo's hands.
Kai (甲斐) – Another member of Kaneda's gang, Kai plays an important supporting role in the eventual battle against Tetsuo. He is close friends with Yamagata and they remain together when the gang breaks up, being one of the only members to survive.
Kaori (カオリ) – Tetsuo's girlfriend. She stands by Tetsuo even though he treats her rather harshly sometimes, which ultimately leads to her death.
Live action film
In the early 1990s, Kodansha Ltd. was in negotiation with Sony Pictures to produce a live-action remake of the film. Talk circulated again a decade later,[16] but the project has yet to materialize. Rumors circulated that the project was canceled in both instances when the projected budget for the film was upwards of $300 million.[citation needed]
Talks began again as Warner Brothers signed on to produce the movie with Stephen Norrington (writer) and Jon Peters (producer). Akira was to be developed into two live action films; the first was to be scheduled for a summer 2009 release.
Warner Brothers and Appian Way planned to adapt the two movies from the manga, with each one covering three volumes. Ruairi Robinson signed on as director, Gary Whitta wrote the script and Andrew Lazar, Leonardo DiCaprio, and Jennifer Davisson were to produce the film.[citation needed]
Andrew Lazar has stated that the film is not dead and is in fact a priority project for Warner Bros. Pictures and when it does go into production, it will be very high budgeted.[19] Screenwriters Mark Fergus and Hawk Ostby are currently working on the script. Gary Whitta has revealed that he has no idea whether they are re-working his script or starting from scratch.[20] The film is still on course to be released in 2011.[21]
NY Magazine has recently stated that Warner Brothers is in negotiations with the Hughes Brothers to direct the film.
On June 17, 2010, Lazar said that a new writer had been hired and that the movie was being fast tracked. He also stated that the first movie would be based on volumes 1–3 and a second movie would be based on volumes 4–6.
Trivia
Ranked #51 in Empire magazines "The 100 Best Films Of World Cinema" in 2010.
Great Teacher Onizuka (グレート・ティーチャー・オニズカ Gurēto Tīchā Onizuka?), officially abbreviated as GTO, is a Japanese shōnen manga written and illustrated by Tohru Fujisawa. It was originally serialized in Weekly Shōnen Magazine from May 1997 to April 2002. The story focuses on 22 year-old ex-bōsōzoku member Eikichi Onizuka, who becomes a teacher at the private high school, Holy Forest Academy, in Tokyo, Japan. It won the 1998 Kodansha Manga Award for shōnen,[1] and is a continuation of Tohru Fujisawa's other manga series Shonan Junai Gumi (lit. "Shōnan True Love Group") and Bad Company, both of which focus on the life of Onizuka before he becomes a teacher in Great Teacher Onizuka. As of 9 June 2009, a sequel to the GTO manga was released in Kodansha's Weekly Shōnen Magazine under the title GTO - Shonan 14 Days.
Due to the popularity of the manga, several adaptations of GTO were made. These adaptations include a twelve episode Japanese television drama running from July to September 1998; a live action film directed by Masayuki Suzuki and released in 1999; and a 43 episode anime television series, aired in Japan by Fuji Television and Animax from June 1999 to September 2000. Both the anime and manga have been licensed in North America by Tokyopop.[2] The Tokyopop version of the manga is out of print as of August 31, 2009
Plot
Main article: List of Great Teacher Onizuka characters
Eikichi Onizuka is a 22-years-old ex gang member and a virgin. While peeping up girls' skirts at a local shopping mall, Onizuka meets a girl who agrees to go out on a date with him. Onizuka's attempt to sleep with her fails when her current "boyfriend", her teacher, shows up at the love hotel they are in and asks her to return to him. The teacher is old and unattractive, but has sufficient influence over her that she leaps from a second story window and lands in his arms.
Onizuka, seeing this display of a teacher's power over girls, decides to become a teacher himself. In his quest, he discovers two important things: He has a conscience and a sense of morality. This means taking advantage of impressionable schoolgirls is out; but their unusually attractive mothers are a different matter; He enjoys teaching and most of the time, he teaches life lessons rather than the routine schoolwork; He hates the systems of traditional education, especially when they have grown ignorant and condescending to students and their needs.
With these realizations, he sets out to become the greatest teacher ever, using his own brand of philosophy and the ability to do nearly anything even when under enough pressure. He is hired as a long-shot teacher by a privately operated school to tame a class that has driven one teacher to a mysterious death, one to nervous breakdown, and one to joining a cult. He embarks on a mission of self-discovery by breaking through to each student one by one, and helping each student to overcome their problems and learn to genuinely enjoy life.
Media information
Main article: List of Great Teacher Onizuka media
Live-action
A 12-episode live-action Japanese television drama was aired, based loosely on the manga. Takashi Sorimachi stars as Onizuka, and Nanako Matsushima as Azusa Fuyutsuki. It is directed by Masayuki Suzuki, with music composed by Takayuki Hattori and the opening song, "Poison", sung by Sorimachi himself. There are several drastic changes from the manga to fit the 12-hour format of the live-action series, such as the following:
Nanako Mizuki also studies at the Holy Forest Academy.
Uehara Anko does not appear in the live-action; instead, her characteristics are merged into Miyabi Aizawa's character, thus making Miyabi the daughter of the PTA President. Most notably about Miyabi is that she is not nearly as vicious an antagonist to Onizuka as she was in the manga and anime.
Ryuji Danma does not appear in the live-action, but rather is combined with Onizuka's police friend, Toshiyuki Saejima, and becomes Ryuji Saejima.
Julia Murai, Kunio's mother, conceived Kunio at age 17, instead of 13.
Onizuka has his own apartment away from the school, but chooses to sleep at the school during the summer (he states his home has no air conditioning)
Yoshiko Uchiyamada, the daughter of Vice-Principal Hiroshi Uchiyamada, has a serious love interest in Onizuka (though not reciprocated).
Many of the events in the live-action appear out of sequence to the manga and anime adaptations
Nevertheless, the changes in the live-action accomplishes to capture the spirit of GTO very well. According to Tokyopop, the final episode was the most watched television program ever in Japan.[4]
Thanks to the series, Matsushima is now married to Sorimachi. They first met on the set of GTO. After a long-term relationship, they married in 2001, and in May 2004, she gave birth to their first daughter.
A two-hour television special followed in August 1999, and a theatrical movie in January 2000. The comic GTO (Grand Teacher Onizuka), about an ex-delinquent who teaches delinquents, became a popular drama series in Hong Kong and Taiwan in 1999.
Anime
Main article: List of Great Teacher Onizuka episodes
This section may contain original research. Please improve it by verifying the claims made and adding references. Statements consisting only of original research may be removed. More details may be available on the talk page. (February 2008)
As a result of the popularity of the manga and live-action series, an animated adaptation was developed. It was directed by Noriyuki Abe and Naoyasu Hanyu of Studio Pierrot.
The anime closely follows the manga plot up to volume 14. However, it ran past the story arc of the manga, resulting in a new ending. The main characters are similar to their manga counterparts, but side characters become underdeveloped; some did not appear in the anime at all. Nudity, violence, and perversion were toned down for the anime. Music
Two volumes of the original soundtrack were released.
Song Title Artist
Opening "Driver's High" L'Arc~en~Ciel
Closing "Last Piece" Kirari
Opening "Hitori No Yoru" Porno Graffitti
Closing "Shizuku" Miwako Okuda
Closing "Cherished Memories" Hong Kong Knife
Original run: 30 June 1999 – 24 September 2000
Author: Tohru Fujisawa
Resolution: 640 x 480
Duration: 25:49
Fansub Group: Anime-4ever
Aired Status: Complete
Fansub Status: Complete (43/43)
Files Type: DVD - Dual Audio - English Sub
BECK is a manga by Harold Sakuishi published by Kodansha in Monthly Shōnen Magazine. It was adapted as an anime television series with the title BECK: Mongolian Chop Squad (the subtitle being the name by which the band is known in the United States, in the story, possibly to avoid confusion with Beck Hansen despite being named after the guitarists dog). It tells the story of a group of Japanese teenagers who form a rock band. The manga was licensed in North America by Tokyopop, but after the release of the 12th volume in June 2008, the manga went on a hiatus.The series has also spawned three guidebooks. The manga won the 2002 Kodansha Manga Award for shōnen[1].
The 26-episode anime television series was aired on Japan's TV Tokyo from October 2004 to March 2005. It was directed by Osamu Kobayashi, animated by Madhouse and produced by Takeshi Shukuri and Yoshimi Nakajima.
A live-action film adaptation will be released in 2010. The film stars Hiro Mizushima as Ryusuke and Takeru Satoh as Koyuki.[2]
Main article: List of BECK: Mongolian Chop Squad episodes
Yukio, known by his friends as "Koyuki", is a regular 14-year-old Japanese boy who enters junior high school with two childhood acquaintances. One is a pervert, and ironically the other is a highly sought after female student. Koyuki's boring life is changed when he saves an odd-looking dog, named Beck, from some kids. Beck's owner turns out to be an emerging rock musician, Ryūsuke Minami, who soon influences Koyuki to start playing the guitar, and even gives one to him. The story focuses on the trials and tribulations of their rock band named BECK, and Koyuki's relationships with the members of the band, in particular Ryûsuke Minami and his sister, Maho Minami.
Characters
Main article: List of BECK: Mongolian Chop Squad characters
Yukio "Koyuki" Tanaka (田中 幸雄 Tanaka Yukio?)
The main character; the series follows his rapid development from living an average life to becoming an outstanding guitarist. He is the fourth member recruited into BECK, playing rhythm guitar and singing slower songs. He also seems like a person that doesn't know much about life.
Ryūsuke "Ray" Minami (南 竜介 Minami Ryūsuke?)
A slacker, but incredibly talented guitarist, he inspires Koyuki to begin playing guitar. He is the lead guitarist of BECK as well as its founding member. A large amount of the story revolves around him and his Gibson Les Paul guitar, named Prudence (Lucille in the original version, which is the same name of B.B. King's famous black Gibson), that has a somewhat dark history.
Maho Minami (南 真帆 Minami Maho?)
Maho is Ryûsuke's younger sister and a talented singer. She is brash but emotionally fragile, and gradually builds a romantic relationship with Koyuki.
Ken'ichi Saitou (斉藤 研一 Saitō Ken'ichi?)
Saitou teaches Koyuki both guitar and swimming. Though he can be a demanding instructor, he opens up to Koyuki, even asking him for relationship advice on occasion.
Yoshiyuki Taira (平 義行 Taira Yoshiyuki?)
BECK's bassist, Taira is the first member recruited by Ryûsuke. Although he can sometimes seem uncaring or apathetic, he is actually the most mature of the band members and often offers helpful advice. He usually performs shirtless, much like the character he is based on: Flea of RHCP.[citation needed]
Tsunemi Chiba (千葉 恒美 Chiba Tsunemi?)
The main vocalist for BECK, Chiba's vocals are more punk- and rap-oriented than Koyuki's and thus more fitting for the majority of Beck's songs. Chiba's inclusion in the band was that originally during a baseball game early in the series it was brought to Ryusuke's attention that he was a vocalist with a great presence on stage.
Yuji "Saku" Sakurai (桜井 裕志 Sakurai Yūji?)
Saku is BECK's drummer and last member to join but for Koyuki. He and Koyuki are good friends and classmates; Saku was the first person to talk to Koyuki after school bullies impose a school-wide silent treatment.
Musical influence
Harold Sakushi, the author of the original manga, has confirmed in an interview with Tokyopop, that Chiba's attitude, style, and appearance was based on Zack De La Rocha from Rage Against the Machine, and the way Koyuki holds his guitar is based on Tom Morello of the same band. Also, the band's first song, "Spice of Life", has a guitar riff similar to that of Rage's "Bulls on Parade", except that the notes' tones progressively ascend instead of descending. Ryuusuke is based on Led Zeppelin's Jimmy Page (he is even acknowledged by some as "the Japanese Jimmy Page"), though also resembles Tom Morello in some of his playing — though, at times, he can be cocky (as seen when he tries to name the band after himself), like Yngwie Malmsteen or Noel Gallagher. Also, his attitude towards guitar playing and his playing style can be seen as similar to John Frusciante.
The manga contains many references and tributes to classic rock and popular culture. Nearly every other chapter has a mock cover of a popular rock album with characters from the manga in place of the people usually pictured, including Radiohead's The Bends, The Beatles' Rubber Soul, Oasis' Definitely Maybe and many many more. Other artworks contain parodies of famous moments within music, including one moment lifted from the music video for "Karma Police" by Radiohead, which shows Saito running away from the car instead. A particular dream sequence of Koyuki's in the manga (seen in episode 14 of the anime as well) features various deceased rock idols such as Kurt Cobain, Jimi Hendrix, John Lennon, Bob Marley, Sid Vicious and Freddie Mercury picking up garbage, meaning they were there "to clean up after Beck". In more recent volumes a character named George Graham, dubbed the "king of funk", shows a huge resemblance to George Clinton of Parliament Funkadelic and shares the last name of Larry Graham, one of the innovators of slap bass. He comments on the band that he never heard such an amazing groove as when he heard Beck/MCS play. The manga also contains hundreds of references to rock culture, and existing bands. Throughout the series, references to real albums, including one sequence where Koyuki has a pile of albums lying on his bedroom floor that include Radiohead's Kid A and Sigur Rós' Takk....
Even in the anime, lots of musical influences can be seen, not only on the characters themselves: some of Koyuki's shirts have altered names for real bands, like "Ramonne" (subtitled "Johnny"), "Radiohead" changed to Rodiohead and Radioheat, and "Pixis" and a fictional band called Long Boy has a similar banana looking logo to the iconic cover art of The Velvet Underground and Nico. Koyuki's pose when he is singing without playing guitar is an homage to Oasis frontman Liam Gallagher, who puts his hands behind his back while singing. In the ending sequence, some rock icons like Freddie Mercury, Sid Vicious, The Residents, The Beatles, Bob Marley and Kurt Cobain (who closes the slideshow) can be seen sketched on the slideshow. Also, some of the names Ryuusuke suggests for the band (before they decide to settle on "Beck") include R.E.M. (standing for "Ryuusuke Excellent Minami" instead of "Rapid Eye Movement"), Ryuusuke's Snake Pit, Minami Ryuusuke Orchestra (may be a take on Electric Light Orchestra as well) and Minami Ryuusuke and Family. Also, in episode 5 titled "BECK", The Hives' appearance is clearly parodied on the cover of an early CD by the Rocket Boys, a 1960s rock band and Saitou's favorite band ("Follow Me" By the Rocketboys is sung by Koyuki and Maho at a summer Festival at one point in the series). "Bomb the World" can be heard at the Grateful Sound, and The Who's "Sparks" is also heard in episode one. In the seventeenth episode Koyuki can be heard playing the main riff from Rage Against the Machine's "Bombtrack". Female indie-singer Jewel also makes an appearance at Grateful Sound in the 23rd episode (Koyuki borrows her acoustic guitar to step up on stage later on). An acquaintance of Ryuusuke, Erica Blige, a successful pop/R&B American singer of whom he receives news of the death, possibly had her name inspired by two real-life pop singers, Erykah Badu and Mary J. Blige (as well as other characters mentioned by Sykes in he manga, like "P. Dre" and "Missy Timberland"). It should be noted here that the character Tetsuo Kuroki, vocalist for the band Room 13, wears a Converge t-shirt on his first appearance. This character is also known for being a howler, and Room 13 is probably, judging from both this and the "illogical" playing style, a mathcore band.
Harold Sakuishi himself has admitted that the band is inspired in part by the Red Hot Chili Peppers. Sakuishi admits that they are his favorite band; their music, specifically the song "Under the Bridge", helped him through a difficult time in his life. A one-shot manga also called Under the Bridge was written by Sakuishi and narrates his first meeting with the band. This influence is widely seen in Beck, not only in the band's musical style, but also in the fact that Taira heavily resembles a younger version of Flea, the Chili Peppers' own bassist, both in looks (he is mostly seen playing shirtless and has his hair bleached blonde, as Flea used to have his own) and in playing style. The band that Taira joins in the final episode is The Pillows, who are mostly famous in America for their FLCL soundtrack work. Later in the episode a roadie tells Taira that their guitarist, Yoshiaki Manabe, is looking for him, proving that Taira is supposed to be playing with the actual Pillows.
Alt-rock band Boys Night Out also makes an appearance. During Koyuki's slideshow in the same episode, pictures from a live at CBGB's reveal men that resemble Joey Ramone and Iggy Pop, where Maho would ask curiously who they are, but Koyuki would answer with "some New York punks".
Music
Main article: Beck: Soundtracks
English adaptation
On Saturday, May 27 at Anime Boston 2006, U.S.-based anime distributor FUNimation Entertainment announced that they have acquired the license for the BECK anime series. Taliesin Jaffe (known for directing the dub of Hellsing) and Christopher Bevins (known for directing the dubs of Speed Grapher and Samurai 7) are the directors of the English version. The first DVD was released in 2007[3]. The English dub will be released by Revelation films in the UK and Madman Entertainment in Australia and New Zealand.
BECK made its North American television debut on Canadian music channel, MuchMusic, on March 9, 2007. The series finished on June 3. Despite the fact that this is a shōnen series, the show was rated TV-14 for its language and violence, but the DVD edition is rated TV-MA for strong language, including near-constant use of the word fuck in the first episode and frequently in subsequent episodes.
In the English adaptation, many songs were re-recorded with English lyrics. The sung lyrics of some English songs in the anime, such as Moon on the Water and Follow Me, were slightly altered to correct grammar, although the incorrect grammar still appears in the English subtitles[4][5].
The Beatles' song "I've Got a Feeling" has the lyrics replaced in the American DVDs.
Live action film
A live action film is being produced and directed by Yukihiko Tsutsumi who has directed manga to film adaptations in the past. Hiro Mizushima and Takeru Satoh headline the film as Ryusuke and Koyuki respectively. Kenta Kiritani portrays Chiba, Aoi Nakamura portrays Saku, and Osamu Mukai portrays Taira. Up to 30 new songs will be performed by the actors.[2]
On the 4th of September 2010, it was premiered in Japanese Cinemas.
Signature guitars
Fender Japan are producing two BECK signature guitars so far. Fender Telecaster, and Fender Mustang which were played by Tanaka Yukio. The signature are illustrated back of these guitars' machine head.
Original run: 6 October 2004 – 30 March 2005
Author: Harold Sakuishi
Resolution: 640 x 480
Duration: +/- 24:30
Fansub Group: Anime-Empire
Aired Status: Complete
Fansub Status: Complete (26/26)
Files Type: TV - Japanese Audio - English Sub
