kochira katsushika-ku.
Kochira Katsushika-ku Kameari Kōen Mae Hashutsujo (こちら葛飾区亀有公園前派出所 ?),
nicknamed Kochikame (こち亀 ?), is a manga by Osamu Akimoto, serialized in Weekly Shōnen Jump, which was adapted into an anime series, produced by Studio Gallop, which was broadcast across Japan by the anime satellite television network Animax, and Fuji Television. The title literally translates to This Is the Police Station in Front of Kameari Park in Katsushika Ward. In continuous publication since 1976 with over 1400 chapters, Kochikame is the longest-running manga series in history (Golgo 13 and Doraemon have been around longer, but neither has been in continuous publication). As of volume 158 the series has sold over 135 million copies[1]
Kochikame takes place in the present day, in and around a neighborhood police station (kōban) in the downtown part of Tokyo, and revolves around the misadventures of a middle-aged cop, Kankichi Ryotsu (Ryo-san).
Plot
The typical Kochikame plot involves Ryo-san coming up with a money-making scheme by inventing a new gadget or capitalizing on a fad, achieving great success, calling on Nakagawa's help as things turn sour, and finally losing it all as the fad runs out of steam or out of control. While the plots are gag-driven, much of the humor comes from the combination of mundane characters with the bizarrely out of place characters as Nakagawa who has wealth and Maria who has appeal. What they have in common is that everyone's lack of actual police work, most of which is never explained or rationalized in the slightest. **( it is explained in jump that ryo san is one of the best officers in catching criminals) Reiko and Nakagawa have special licences from police headquarters because of their skills in linguistics
Kochikame has a broad audience, ranging from adolescent boys to middle-aged salarymen. Much like Homer Simpson, Ryo-san's antics appeal to children who can laugh at an old buffoon and to men fearing that they are becoming old buffoons themselves. The stories are generally innocent in content, and what little violence appears is comical, while the occasional risqué subjects are included strictly for laughs rather than to titillate. In another parallel to The Simpsons, Kochikame's immense popularity has led to guest appearances in the strip by Japanese celebrities such as Tetsuya Komuro.
For creator Osamu Akimoto, Kochikame is an ongoing homage to the working-class people and districts of old Tokyo, and most episodes open with an elaborate full-page illustration of a Shitamachi (down-town) street scene, typically with old wooden buildings and boys playing in the streets.
Tankōbon
Main article: List of Kochira Katsushika-ku Kameari Kōen-mae Hashutsujo Tankō
Kankichi Ryotsu (両津 勘吉 , Ryōtsu Kankichi?)
* Voiced by: LaSalle Ishii (TV), Kenji Utsumi ('85 Jump Festival Anime)
Born March 3. The Head Patrol Officer of Katsushika, stationed at the police box in front of Kameari Park. Hails from Asakusa, Taitō, Tokyo. "Ryo-san" is a thirty-six year old police officer with the personality of a twelve-year old. His laziness when it comes to work is matched only by his zeal and cleverness in hatching money-making schemes, the fruits of which are invariably squandered on toys, gadgets, and cheap entertainment. He is the stereotypical street-smart "shitamachi" type, sporting a Crew cut and stomping about in ratty sandals (even in uniform), and narrow-minded towards the outside world, as he makes his rounds on a creaky old bicycle. At the same time, he is a super-otaku, up on all the latest fads in popular culture and consumer technology. While most of his interests are of the juvenile sort (such as videogames and collectibles), he also indulges in more typically salaryman-type pastimes such as drinking, pachinko, and gambling (especially horse-racing). Despite his undisciplined lifestyle, he possesses superhuman strength and stamina, which he is forced to depend on at times. Ryotsu is a bachelor and seems relatively uninterested in women, yet occasionally attracts the attention of naïve young female acquaintances, though never with any eventual success. He comes to hasyutsujyo by his bicycle named chidori.
Keiichi Nakagawa (中川 圭一 ,Nakagawa Keiichi?)
* Voiced by: Mitsuru Miyamoto (TV), Toshiyuki Morikawa (SP), Akira Kamiya ('85 Jump Festival Anime))
Born December 24. A young, handsome patrol cop who serves as Ryo's comic foil. While holding down a day job in the police box in front of Kameari Park, Nakagawa is the son of Nakagawa Zaibatsu, and often has to zip off to board meetings in his exotic sports cars and private helicopters. He is quite handsome, an expert driver and marksman, and popular with all the lady cops. However, as a rich heir, he is also quite naive to the ways of the world. His policeman's uniform is an ¥300,000 yellow pinstripe suit made by Pierre Cardin. Though constantly surrounded by beautiful women throughout his duties, Nakagawa appears indifferent and his tendencies are somewhat ambiguous. He hates natto and his favorite car is his Ferrari.
Reiko Catherine Akimoto (秋本･カトリーヌ･麗子 , Akimoto Katorīnu Reiko?)
* Voiced by: Yumi Morio (TV), Mika Doi ('85 Jump Festival Anime)
Born July 7. A female counterpart to Nakagawa, Reiko's wealth is inherited from European nobility and she juggles her commitments to the police job with those of high society. The daughter of the Kobe based Akimoto Trading Zaibatsu, Reiko is half French, raised in the U.S., and is multilingual. With her flowing blonde hair and stunningly large breasts (which have enlarged as the series has progressed due to breast implants she wanted to have), Reiko is often courted by the rich and famous, but has never found the right man. She works in the transportation department and drives a Porsche.
Daijiro Ohara (大原 大次郎 ,Ōhara Daijirō?)
* Voiced by: Kouji Hishiya (TV, eps. 1-19), Haruki Sayama (TV, eps. 20~), Ryouichi Tanaka (SP), Kouichi Kitamura ('85 Jump Festival Anime)
The Chief Patrol Officer of Katsushika, in charge of the police box in front of Kameari Park. He usually called "Buchō" or "Division Head" (部長) and is Ryotsu's boss. He is a typical grizzled middle manager senior cop. Sporting a small trimmed mustache, Bucho is often out of touch or exasperated with his younger staff, but always ready to give out punishment to Ryo-san for his laziness. He is father-like figure for Ryoutsu, Reiko, and Nakagawa. His many hobbies include Judo, Kendo, Sado, Bonsai, and calligraphy. He comes to hashutsujho by bus and train.
Ai Asato (麻里愛 , Asato Ai?)
* Voiced by: Kaori Asoh
Reiko’s occasional partner on the force, who pet name is "Maria" (an ateji reading of her full name's kanji). Like Reiko, Maria is tall, sexy, and buxom. Unlike Reiko, Maria is a) a brunette and b) a man. He is in love with Ryotsu and becomes jealous whenever another girl comes near him. He was a Muay Thai (kickboxing) champion and generally excels at all martial arts. After one magical incidence, he became a female at last. (See also the real TS kickboxing champion Parinya Kiatbusaba)
Hayato Honda (本田速人 , Honda Hayato?)
* Voiced by: Hiroshi Yanaka
The station's motorcycle policeman, and Ryotsu's underling, often reluctantly dragged into his schemes. A shy young man who still sports a pompadour from his teenage motorcycle gang days, immediately turning into an aggressive man with a deeper voice and a very intimidating face when he mounts a motorcycle. No motor gangster is a match against him, as he was once a bike gangster(and still thinks like one). He is also an otaku who loves shōjo manga and Japanese idols. Honda's father runs a garage specializing in Kawasaki cycles named Honda Ringyo. His brother-in-law Kawasaki rides only Honda cycles.
Yōichi Terai (寺井洋一 ,Terai Yōichi?)
* Voiced by: Chafūrin (TV, eps. 1~97), Kobuhei Hayashiya (TV, eps. 98~)
A plump cop stationed at the police box in front of Kameari Park in Katsushika. He wants to live his life as an "ordinary policeman" but is rather poor and unintelligent though sensible. Every attempt he makes to buy a house or car ends with tragic results. He is usually seen with Buchō.
Neruo Higurashi (日暮熟睡男 ,Higurashi Neruo?)
* Voiced by: Shigeru Ushiyama (Ep. 7~125), Atsushi Imai (Ep. 126~)
A policeman who only works one day every four years (coinciding with the Olympics) and does nothing but sleep even then. He is able to keep his job because his precognition and nensha abilities come in handy during investigations.
Kinji Totsuka (戸塚金次 ,Totsuka Kinji?)
* Voiced by: Eiji Takemoto
Other Katsushika Stationed Cops
Gomesu Tonda (屯田五目須 ,Tonda Gomesu?)
* Voiced by: Eimei Esumi→Eiji Takemoto
Head of the new Katsushika station. A rather kind and gentle man, he met and eloped with his wife during his patrol officer days. He has 3 children, and six grandchildren whom he spends his days off babysitting. His estimated age is 58 years old.
Matoi Giboshi (擬宝珠纏 , Giboshi Matoi?)
* Voiced by: Yūko Doi
* The grandchild of Geparuto, who works in a traffic division. She was born in Kanda, Tokyo and is an efficient Edokko. Her shitamachi knowledge is almost on par with Ryo-san. She is a bit of a tomboy and is fearsome in a quarrel. Her family runs the high class sushi restaurant Chō Kanda Sushi (超神田寿司 ,Super Kanda Sushi?).
Haya Isowashi (磯鷲早矢 , Isowashi Haya?)
Works in the traffic division. Born as the eldest daughter of a distinguished Bushido house in Kyoto, and is well versed in all such arts. She is attractive and very honest. She is popular with the other policewomen and greatly admires Buchō. Because his voice resembles her father's, she has fallen for Ryotsu and is very jealous of Maria. In addition, her name is a kyūdō term. Haya is 21 years old.
Nana Otohime (乙姫菜々 ,Otohime Nana?)
* Voiced by: Masami Suzuki
Honda's fellow motorcycle cop underling and later girlfriend. She is a delicate young lady and a bit of a crybaby. She also has a side job as popular shōjo manga author Miko Aino (愛野神女 ,Aino Miko?).
Volvo Saigo (ボルボ西郷 ,Borubo Saigō?)
* Voiced by: Yuuji Kishi
A policeman who works for the new Katsushika station. He used to be a mercenary in America.He conceals weapons of all kinds throughout his body, and doesn't remove them during bathing or sleep. He has the habit of firing indiscriminately when danger is sensed. He is unaccustomed to woman and surprisingly cowardly without his guns. His ancestors in Kyūshū were ninja.
Tatsunosuke Sakonji (左近寺竜之介 ,Sakonji Tatsunosuke?)
* Voiced by: Masami Iwasaki
A policeman who works for new Katsushika station. He is excellent at all combat sports, especially, judo. He tries to appear to have no interest in women, but spends a lot of money on dating sims and later even starts meeting girls online.
Rika Saotome (早乙女リカ , Saotome Rika?)
* Voiced by: Yuu Sugimoto
One of the many young policewomen of the district, and Ryotsu's arch-enemy. Saotome thinks Ryotsu is a disgusting, rude, hooligan. Ryotsu thinks Saotome and her colleagues are pampered weaklings and a waste of the force's budget. Saotome and her fellow bachelorettes live in a luxury dormitory resembling a French chateau.
Masayoshi Hōjō (法条正義 ,Hōjō Masayoshi?)
* Voiced by: Daisuke Fukagai
An elite police officer and graduate of Tokyo University. He is cool and intelligent, but because his face looks more like that of a Yakuza thug he carries his diploma around as proof that he is as smart as he says he is. His specialty is debate, but he still always loses when it comes to looks.
Jūzō Gorugo (後流悟十三 ,Gorugo Jūzō?)
Tetsuo Ishizu (石頭鉄岩 ,Ishizu Tetsuo?)
* Voiced by: Tōta Tawaragi
Ebichan Ebisu (恵比須海老茶 ,Ebisu Ebichan?)
* Voiced by: Katashi Ishizuka
Other recurring characters
Haru Mido (御堂春 ,Midō Haru?)
She works in the Osaka Prefectural Police traffic division. She is unyielding. She is short in stature, but is allowed the job because of her ability to make arrests. She has a bronze medal for Olympic shooting. She is 20 years old. She has six younger brothers and her family runs a kushikatsu shop. She views Ryotsu as her "Enemy from Tokyo", but she is a fan of Nakagawa and humbles herself in his presence.
Jodie Bakuryū-Karen (ジョディー・爆竜・カレン ?)
* Voiced by: Rei Saitō
A soldier in the United States Navy and old friend of Volvo's. She is a pilot on the aircraft carrier Carl Vinson. She is blonde, beautiful, and buxom and poison in the eyes of Volvo who is weak around women. She is said to be strong enough to defeat 10 Marine Corps soldiers in a row. In order to open up a sushi bar on her aircraft carrier, she received training as a sushi chef for a month at Chō Kanda Sushi.
Korosuke Ezaki (絵崎コロ助 ,Ezaki Korosuke?)
* Voiced by: Takashi Matsuyama
Rika Hanayama (花山理香 ,Hanayama Rika?)
* Voiced by: Akira Sakamoto
Tōden Hoshi (星逃田 ,Hoshi Tōden?)
* Voiced by: Shirō Shimomoto
Komachi Ono (小野小町 ,Ono Komachi?) & Naoko Seishō (清正奈緒子 ,Seishō Naoko?)
* Voiced by (Ono): Maya Okamoto (Eps. 2~92), Rieko Miura (Eps. 93~), Kanako Mitsuhashi (Ep. 1)
* Voiced by (Naoko): Kanako Mitsuhashi, Maya Okamoto (Ep. 1)
Two anime original female cops who love to tease and ridicule Ryotsu. Ono is Naoko's senpai. A (behind the scenes) misunderstanding led to them accidentally having each other's voice actress in the first episode.
Chou Kanda Sushi
Geparuto Giboshi (擬宝珠夏春都 ,Giboshi Geparuto?)
* Voiced by: Takayasu Komiya
Ryo-san's grand-aunt and Matoi's grandmother. She is the hostess of Chō Kanda Sushi. She is a stubborn and obstinate woman with a frightening memory, but she is very warm by nature. Since Ryo-san taught her how to use a computer, she has begun using all sorts of high tech gadgets. She wishes for Ryo-san to marry Matoi.
Remon (Lemon) Giboshi (擬宝珠檸檬 ,Giboshi Remon?)
* Voiced by: Ayaka Saito
The younger sister of Matoi. Kindergartener. She likes historical things such as "Mito Komon", shogi, Ojarumaru. Her taste is excellent. She is unyielding like her elder sister Matoi. She is 4 years old. Her birthday is on December 11. She originally hates toast but later grows to like it. She has a crush on Ryotsu, much to her grandmother's dismay.
Mikan Giboshi (擬宝珠蜜柑 ,Giboshi Mikan?)
* Voiced by: Mika Sakenobe
Yuutsu Giboshi (擬宝珠憂鬱 ,Giboshi Yuutsu?)
Special Detective Squad
Detective Kaipan (海パン刑事 ,Kaipan-Deka?)
* Voiced by: Ryō Arakawa
Real name Takeshi Kitano (汚野たけし ,Kitano Takeshi?). The leader of the Special Detective Squad (特殊刑事課 ,Tokushu Keiji-ka?), he is always seen wearing just a speedo and neck tie (with the neck tie appearing to be the source of his "powers"). He often pulls items such as cell phones and bananas from his speedo. His codename is short for Kaisui-pantsu (海水パンツ ,speedo?), while his real name comes from comedian Beat Takeshi.
Detective Moonlight (月光刑事 ,Gekkō-deka?)
* Voiced by: Bunmei Tobayama
Real name Mun Seira (聖羅無々 ,Seira Mun?).
Detective Venus (美茄子刑事 ,Bīnasu-deka?)
* Voiced by: Manta Yamamoto
Real name Bīnaus Seira (聖羅美茄子 ,Seira Bīnasu?).
Detective Dolphin (ドルフィン刑事 ,Dorufin-deka?)
* Voiced by: Shōichirō Akaboshi
Real name Dozaemon Umino (海野土佐ェ門 ,Umino Dozaemon?).
Detective Bishōjo (美少女刑事 ,Bishōjo-deka?)
Voiced by: Yōichi Kohiyama
Real name Rurika Asato (麻生瑠璃華 ,Asato Rurika?).
Notable Family Members
Kanbei Ryotsu (両津 勘兵衛 ,Ryōtsu Kanbee?)
* Voiced by: Kōichi Kitamura
Ban Asato (麻里晩 ,Asato Ban?)
* Voiced by: Tadashi Miyazawa
Lin Asato (麻里稟 ,Asato Rin?)
* Voiced by: Kaori Asoh
Onitora Bakuryū (爆竜鬼虎 ,Bakuryū Onitora?)
* Voiced by: Tetsuo Komura
Kōme Hanayama (花山小梅 ,Hanayama Kōme?)
* Voiced by: Harumi Ikoma
Adaptations and alternate media
The manga has spawned an animated television series, two animated movies, a live-action movie, and several stage adaptations. In addition, various toys and collectibles have been created, including some items that first appeared in the manga as creations of Ryo-san.
Several of the characters in Kochikame also appear in the Nintendo DS crossover fighting game Jump Superstars and its sequel, Jump Ultimate Stars.
Theme music
* Opening Themes
1. Natsu ga Kita Diamond Head! ~Nagisa no Ojou-sama yori~ (夏が来た!(Diamond Head) - 「渚の女王様」より ,Summer is Here (Diamond Head) - From [The Shores of Ojou-sama]?) by Ojou-sama (eps 1-12)
2. Everybody Can Do! by TOKIO (eps 13-38)
3. Katsushika Rhapsody (葛飾ラプソディー ?) by Kōhei Dōjima (eps 39-145)
4. Kochira Kameza no Onna (こちら亀座の女 ,This is the Pisces Woman?) by Shu Yamada and Hello Nights (eps 146-154)
5. Oide yo Kameari (おいでよ亀有 ?, Come to Kameari) by Kankichi Ryotsu (LaSalle Ishii) and the Kochikame Chorus (eps 155-206)
6. Damatte Ore ni Tsuite koi (だまって俺についてこい ?) by Yoshimi Tendo (eps 207-324)
7. Katsushika Rhapsody ~Yum Yum version~ (葛飾ラプソディー～ヤムヤムversion～ ?) by Yum!Yum!ORANGE (eps. 325-367)
* Ending Themes
1. Smile (スマイル ?) by Hoff Dylan (eps 1-12)
2. Ii koto aru sa (いいことあるさ ?) by The Collectors (eps 13-38)
3. Lady no Yume wa Mangekyō (淑女(レディー)の夢は万華鏡 ,A Lady's Dream is a Kaleidoscope?) by Megumi Okina (eps 39-72)
4. Buway no Biya Biya (ブウェーのビヤビヤ ?) by George Tokoro (eps 73-124)
5. Kyun by Kanae (eps 125-145)
6. Kimi to Boku (君と僕 ,You and Me?) by The LOVE (eps 146-153)
7. Kimochi Dayo (気持ちだよ ,A Feeling!?) by Takuro Yoshida (eps. 154-163)
8. Mainichi, No Problem (毎日、ノープロブレム ,Everday, No Problem?) by Ono (Rieko Miura) & Naoko (Kanako Mitsuhashi) (eps. 164-176; 178-208)
9. Robo Keiji Banchou no Uta (ロボ刑事番長の歌 ,Robot Detective Boss' Song?) by Kankichi Ryotsu (LaSalle Ishii) (ep. 177)
10. Oide yo Kameari (おいでよ亀有 ,Come to Kameari?) by Kankichi Ryotsu and The Kochikame Chorus (eps. 209-247)
11. Nice na Kokoroiki (ナイスな心意気 ,Nice Disposition?) by Arashi (eps. 248-274; 282-293, 335-353)
12. Natsu ga Kita! (Diamond Head) - [Nagisa no Ojou-sama] yori (夏が来た!(Diamond Head) - 「渚の女王様」より ,Summer is Here! (Diamond Head) - From [The Shores of Ojou-sama]?) by Ojou-sama (eps. 275-281)
13. Tetsu and Tomo's Nandedarō ~Ryō-san version~ (テツandトモのなんでだろう～両さんバージョン～ ?) by Tetsu and Tomo (eps. 294-305)
14. Tetsu and Tomo's Nandedarō ~Kochikame version~ (テツandトモのなんでだろう～こち亀バージョン～ ?) by Tetsu and Tomo (eps. 306-315)
15. Hai, Irasshai (Yes, Welcome) by Nice Guy Jin (eps. 316-325)
16. Katare! Namida! (語れ! 涙! ,Speak! Cry!?) by Sex Machinegun (Anchang)(eps. 326-334)
17. Jugemu ~Kochikame Version~ (ジュゲム～こち亀バージョン～ ?) by Kankichi Ryotsu & Oh-Edo Typhoon (eps. 354-366)
The real-life Kochikame
Kameari Koen is an actual park in Tokyo's Katsushika ward; the police box is fictional but modeled after a real one located on the north side of Kameari railway station. The manga has brought considerable fame to the neighborhood, and draws sightseers from all over Japan to a (usually vacant) police box in a nondescript residential neighborhood. There is only a vacant lot where the police station is actually supposed to be located.
In February 2006, a life-size bronze statue of Ryo-san was erected in front of Kameari station.
September, 2006: Kochikame Anniversary
On the 30th anniversary of Kochikame's serialization in September, 2006, Ryo-san made a cameo in every serialized manga currently in Weekly Jump; most notably, he had a full appearance as a marine in One Piece (chapter 427), as a spectator of the Taiyo/Hakushuu football game in Eyeshield 21, as a crazed citizen in Majin Tantei Nougami Neuro, as a zombie in Gintama (also emphasized in the animated version of the chapter) and drinking alongside Don Patch in Bobobo-bo Bo-bobo. At the same time, a special manga known as Super Kochikame (超こち亀, ,Chō Kochikame?) was published featuring the Kochikame characters in special chapters of series such as Golgo 13, Lupin III, Kinnikuman and Dragon Ball, as well as congratulatory pics from over 80 mangaka, many from Weekly Jump authors past and present, but also from other Shueisha mangaka and even from manga artists not associated with Shueisha such as Hiromu Arakawa (Fullmetal Alchemist) and Jyoji Morikawa (Hajime no Ippo). Notable congratulatory drawings include a Bankai challenge with Ichigo in Bleach (saying his pistol is his Bankai because of the "BANG!!" sound of his pistol), having his face on the Hokage Mountain of Leaf Village in Naruto and even solving the "Kira" crisis in Death Note.
Special Chapters
* 1. Golgo 13 (The Holiday Runner) - Ryo-san and Nakagawa are on vacation in France when Ryo-san's luggage gets mixed up with Golgo 13's. So they chase after him in order to retrieve it.
* 2. Lupin III (Kankichi Ryotsu vs. Lupin III) - Ryo-san, Nakagawa, Reiko, and Bucho must prevent Lupin and the gang from stealing a diamond from a museum.
* 3. Kinnikuman (Seigi Choujin's Great Rendezvous in Kameari) - Kinnikuman and the Idol Choujins head to Kameari in order to fight Akuma Choujins, but each end up getting arrested for various reason.
* 4. Dragon Ball (Kochira Namek-Sei Dragon Kōen-mae Hashutsujo) - Ryo-san, having been reassigned to Planet Namek, runs across Freeza and tries to arrest him for parking his UFO illegally. Vegeta and Goku make appearances as well.
* 5. Shinsetsu Bobobo-bo Bo-bobo, Pyuu to Fuku! Jaguar, Taizo Mote King Saga, Maison de Penguin (Ryo-san vs. Don Patch!! Jump Gag All Stars' Great Panic in Katsushika) - Don Patch, jealous of the attention Ryo-san is getting during the 30th Anniversary Celebration, tries to steal Ryo-san's statue. So Bo-bobo, Jaguar, and Taizo help Ryo-san stop him.
Rabu, 25 Maret 2009
Resident Evil
Scenarios
The player chooses a scenario, difficulty level and a character. The difficulty level is tied to what enemies and items the player encounters as they progress through the scenario. The game has five scenarios, each of which has an event checklist consisting of special actions that the player must perform to reach 100% completion. Upon doing so the player will unlock "Infinity Mode" in which all the player's weapons never break or run out of ammunition.
Each scenario also has "SP" items. These are invisible items hidden throughout the level, and are randomly generated on two paths. There are twenty scenario items for each scenario, and twenty items specific to each character hidden across the five scenarios. If acquired, these items unlock new costumes and the option to listen to their ad-libs.
Controls
The ad-lib driven communication system used in Outbreak was retained and improved on. Rather than using USB headphones or a computer keyboard, players use a command "ad-lib" system which consists of ten key command phrases, used with the right joystick on the PlayStation controller, and a button which selected lines depending on the situation (e.g. Announce the status of the player). The player can select items from their teammate's inventory and request it, or ask them to use it. The new additions included the ad-lib phrase "Sorry", and the ability to say comments based on what players were looking at on the Map and File screens.
The sequel also boasted a new difficulty feature and some changes to the game's balance. These include a new "Nightmare Mode" and several alterations to previous damage charts.
Regional differences
In the American version of the game, the 'ad-libs' from the first game have been removed. Subsequently only when a character uses the analog stick or makes a request do they make a noise. If context ad-libbing is attempted no sounds are made, negatively affecting gameplay. If a player attempts to tell another that they are poisoned the chances the message will be noticed are low if they are in the middle of combat. The Japanese release features full voices, while the European features only voices and no text.
The Japanese version features Japanese subtitles for the cutscenes while all characters speak English, like previous Biohazard games. Because of the character variety, this leads to a strange continuation where the Japanese subtitles read as having all characters saying the same thing in some situations.
Linda is called Rinda in the Japanese version. Although the characters still say her name as Linda during cutscenes, the NPC select screen shows her name beginning with an R, similar to her NPC name in the original Outbreak. This may have been accidental.
In Japan the game ran on the KDDI MMBB service. In America, this service was swapped out for the Sega Network Application Package. Because of this change, several features were removed from the NTSC/PAL versions, including private messaging, advance search options, and special options to limit the rankings to find specific ranks.
Multiplayer mode
On March 31, 2007, Capcom closed their PAL and US servers for File #2.[1].
Online Play was given a major overhaul from that of the previous game. File #2 had a new lobby system, new event system, and an increase in options and modes of play.
Capcom ran events from April to late May 2005 that were sponsored by various gaming magazines. This included events from PSM and EGM, amongst others. Clearing these events rewarded the players with characters and costumes. Some events took place in standard levels on set difficulties, while others placed the player in selected levels with Infinite and Nightmare options activated, before the two options were available for free use. After all sponsored events ended, Capcom ran two events in circulation, a point bonus event, and an SP item hunt.
The lobby system was revamped to include ten areas with different options in each one, however this change made it harder to join games with friends. In order for a player to join a friend in their hosted or current game the player needed to enter a menu to search for their name, then exit that menu, choose the area they are in, and find the game. This menu did not mention the amount of players in the game when searched for, meaning a game could be full before the player joined.
In early July Capcom closed an alternate server, leaving only one choice for the player when they connected. Months after, Nightmare Mode, Infinite Mode, and changes to the Area system were made. HDD Support was dropped from the Area Screen, but players could still host games with HDD mode turned on by activating it offline.
From within the game, or by a link on the official Capcom sales page of their US site, players could look and see their position on the ranking boards.
Reception
Outbreak: File #2 game received mixed reviews. There was praise on the story and the improved scenarios, as well as the music and characters. There were mixed feelings on the gameplay, many critics complained that there was no effort made into making the puzzles more integrated or simpler than its proceeder. The game was heavily criticized for the item system and AI, many felt that the game was still too long and that the graphics were sub-par quality.
The player chooses a scenario, difficulty level and a character. The difficulty level is tied to what enemies and items the player encounters as they progress through the scenario. The game has five scenarios, each of which has an event checklist consisting of special actions that the player must perform to reach 100% completion. Upon doing so the player will unlock "Infinity Mode" in which all the player's weapons never break or run out of ammunition.
Each scenario also has "SP" items. These are invisible items hidden throughout the level, and are randomly generated on two paths. There are twenty scenario items for each scenario, and twenty items specific to each character hidden across the five scenarios. If acquired, these items unlock new costumes and the option to listen to their ad-libs.
Controls
The ad-lib driven communication system used in Outbreak was retained and improved on. Rather than using USB headphones or a computer keyboard, players use a command "ad-lib" system which consists of ten key command phrases, used with the right joystick on the PlayStation controller, and a button which selected lines depending on the situation (e.g. Announce the status of the player). The player can select items from their teammate's inventory and request it, or ask them to use it. The new additions included the ad-lib phrase "Sorry", and the ability to say comments based on what players were looking at on the Map and File screens.
The sequel also boasted a new difficulty feature and some changes to the game's balance. These include a new "Nightmare Mode" and several alterations to previous damage charts.
Regional differences
In the American version of the game, the 'ad-libs' from the first game have been removed. Subsequently only when a character uses the analog stick or makes a request do they make a noise. If context ad-libbing is attempted no sounds are made, negatively affecting gameplay. If a player attempts to tell another that they are poisoned the chances the message will be noticed are low if they are in the middle of combat. The Japanese release features full voices, while the European features only voices and no text.
The Japanese version features Japanese subtitles for the cutscenes while all characters speak English, like previous Biohazard games. Because of the character variety, this leads to a strange continuation where the Japanese subtitles read as having all characters saying the same thing in some situations.
Linda is called Rinda in the Japanese version. Although the characters still say her name as Linda during cutscenes, the NPC select screen shows her name beginning with an R, similar to her NPC name in the original Outbreak. This may have been accidental.
In Japan the game ran on the KDDI MMBB service. In America, this service was swapped out for the Sega Network Application Package. Because of this change, several features were removed from the NTSC/PAL versions, including private messaging, advance search options, and special options to limit the rankings to find specific ranks.
Multiplayer mode
On March 31, 2007, Capcom closed their PAL and US servers for File #2.[1].
Online Play was given a major overhaul from that of the previous game. File #2 had a new lobby system, new event system, and an increase in options and modes of play.
Capcom ran events from April to late May 2005 that were sponsored by various gaming magazines. This included events from PSM and EGM, amongst others. Clearing these events rewarded the players with characters and costumes. Some events took place in standard levels on set difficulties, while others placed the player in selected levels with Infinite and Nightmare options activated, before the two options were available for free use. After all sponsored events ended, Capcom ran two events in circulation, a point bonus event, and an SP item hunt.
The lobby system was revamped to include ten areas with different options in each one, however this change made it harder to join games with friends. In order for a player to join a friend in their hosted or current game the player needed to enter a menu to search for their name, then exit that menu, choose the area they are in, and find the game. This menu did not mention the amount of players in the game when searched for, meaning a game could be full before the player joined.
In early July Capcom closed an alternate server, leaving only one choice for the player when they connected. Months after, Nightmare Mode, Infinite Mode, and changes to the Area system were made. HDD Support was dropped from the Area Screen, but players could still host games with HDD mode turned on by activating it offline.
From within the game, or by a link on the official Capcom sales page of their US site, players could look and see their position on the ranking boards.
Reception
Outbreak: File #2 game received mixed reviews. There was praise on the story and the improved scenarios, as well as the music and characters. There were mixed feelings on the gameplay, many critics complained that there was no effort made into making the puzzles more integrated or simpler than its proceeder. The game was heavily criticized for the item system and AI, many felt that the game was still too long and that the graphics were sub-par quality.
idaten jump
Story
Sho Yamato enjoys MTB (mountain biking) a whole lot, he's always practiced at the "X-Zone" with his friends, Kakeru and Makoto, on a bike his dad has built, called "Flame Kaiser". One day, he was challenged to a race by a MTB team called Shark Tooth and whoever won the race got the X-Zone. For Sho, the X-Zone had always been a place of happy memories. He had spent many days there with his father who had disappeared, so he couldn’t lose the game. During the race with the leader of Shark Tooth, black smoke suddenly covered the ground around them, and they were sent to another world that's also called the X-Zone. When Sho woke up, he found Kakeru, Makoto, and his MTB Flame Kaiser, were also there. Of course, they didn't know where they were... While they were wondering what had happened, MTB riders came. They challenged Sho to a Idaten battle, a form of MTB race in X-Zone. They said the only way for Sho to return is by collecting 10 emblems by winning Idaten battles. This is how Sho came down to compete in Idaten Battles at various courses, such as ghost towns, volcanoes, ancient ruins, deserts, and snow-topped mountains. Now Sho must Idaten Battle for the sake of returning home.
After returning home, Sho returned to X-Zone to find his lost father, Takeshi while taking on the mysterious Team X.
[edit] Characters
[edit] Protagonists (Sho and Co.)
* Sho Yamato (山登翔(やまと しょう)): The main character of the story, he is an excellent MTB rider and can do amazing tricks. He later defeats Gabu for the control of X City with the assistance of Koei, Kyoichi and Makoto, then Arthur. After defeating his father (who was under the control of an ancient evil), Sho chose to leave behind his friends to stay in X-Zone, but with the help of Hosuke, Sho was able to travel freely between Earth and X-Zone and reunite with his friends in the X-Zone MTB course. His MTB is Flame Kaiser.
* Makoto Shido (獅堂まこと(しどう まこと)): She is a girl MTB rider and is Sho's childhood friend. She later realizes that her MTB is a legendary Idaten Bike called Neptune Emperor.
* Kakeru Sakamaki (坂巻駆(さかまき かける)): Kakeru is a very skilled mechanic and helps Sho fix his bike a lot. He is also one of Sho's best friends.
* Hosuke (ホースケ): A talking owl that accompanies Sho on his journeys. Hosuke followed Sho during a prison break attempt to rescue Sho, Makoto, and Kakeru. After Sho had defeated his father, it was revealed that Hosuke is Yuki's grandfather disguised as an owl. After his brother Takeshi had been transported to Earth, Hosuke became the king of X-Zone. However, time moves much faster in X-Zone than it is on Earth, so Hosuke became an old man when Takeshi finally returned to X-Zone. Plotting to stop the ancient evil, Hosuke secretly became the talking owl, but without the memory of his former identity until he returned to his human form. In the end, Hosuke managed to help Sho get to Earth.
[edit] Supporting characters
* Kyoichi Shido (獅堂京一(しどう きょういち))：Makoto's older brother, and a trial bike champion. He appeared in masked form in early episodes up to episode 5 when his identity was revealed. He was captured by Mr. Teacher when trying to find out more about Team ST. He later helps Sho fight Gabu. When it came to Team X, he ended up under the control of them and is trying to fight the Dark Emblem's control. Sho managed to defeat him. His MTB is Thunder Emperor (Thunder King in the English anime), but rode Imperial Tiger when under the control of Team X.
* Yuki (ユウキ): An expert mechanic. She helps Sho and Co. on different occasions. After Gabu's defeat, it was revealed that Yuki is a princess of a royal family and part of a group who protects the X-Zone and the secrets of the X-Zone.
* Koei (孤影(こえい)): A ninja biker hired by Gabu. He first appeared to take on Sho and Kyoichi. He injured Kyoichi and broke his MTB Thunder King, and took out the Four Kings that were battling Makoto. When he battled Sho, it ended up a draw when the Four Kings interfered. He thwarted another plot by the Four Kings when they tried to "assist" him when he thought of it as dishonorable. In his battle against Arthur, the Four Kings successfully interfered causing Arthur to lose. It is later revealed that Koei works for Gabu because he couldn't afford a doctor for his sister Kiku. Once she was rescued from Gabu's clutches, Sho and Koei battled again and he lost. Afterwards, he stopped serving Gabu and aided Sho in defeating him as he took out the adult members of Team ST. Later, he ends up under the control of Team X and was freed by Sho. He has Taiga watch over X-City while he is away. His Idaten Bike is called Aero Scissors.
* Arthur (アーサー): Nicknamed "The Painter," Arthur is a knight biker. He first appeared in Gabu's tournament where he beats Taiga. Prior to his battle against Koei, he stumbled onto a plot by the Four Kings only for them to be thwarted by Koei. In Gabu's tournament, he lost to Koei due to interference by the Four Kings. It's later revealed that he worked alongside Yuki to help protect the secrets of the X-Tower and heal the X-Zone. His Idaten Bike is called Hammer Head (Iron Hammer in the English anime).
* Ayumu Yamato (山登あゆむ(やまと あゆむ)): Sho's younger brother. He later joins Sho in his search for their father. Ayumu was forbidden to ride on bike because he became maniacal whenever riding one.
* Takeshi Yamato (山登猛(たけし))/ Takeru Yamato: Sho Yamato's father. When he was falling during a bike accident, he was brought into the X-Zone to repair Imperial X during a power crisis. When he tried to return to the his home world, he disappeared alongside Yuki's father and was never seen again. During his disappearance, he had also built Thunder Emperor, Neptune Emperor, Imperial Tiger, and Imperial Dragon while struggling against the power of Dark Emblem, and also seen by Kyoichi in hooded form. He was later reappear in Imperial Island as Team X leader, possessed by the ancient evil of the X-Zone, to challenge Sho and destroy both worlds. After Sho had defeated his father, it was revealed Takeshi was an X-Zone native that had been transported from Imperial Island to Earth, then he subsequently started a family, built Flame Kaiser and X-Zone MTB course before the accident. At the end of the series, he chose to stay in X-Zone to train Sho as the new guardian.
[edit] Team Shark Tooth
A group of bikers that serve as the first antagonists of the first half of the series. Upon their invasion on X-City, they went by the name of Team ST (チームＳＴ) and gained some followers in the process. Besides a substantial number of unnamed grunts, the members of Team ST are:
* Gabu Samejima (鮫島牙舞(さめじま がぶ)): Leader of the Shark Tooth MTB team. Upon his arrival in the X-Zone one year ago. he became dictator of X-City after overthrowing its mayor. He was said to have lured many MTB Riders to his team. In episode 10, Revelations, it is revealed that although he is the leader of the Shark Tooth gang, he is actually the younger Samejima brother and that his team arrived earlier. He was also in Kakeru's algebra class. He was defeated by Sho in X-City, but later returns to help fight Team X. His bike is called Bloody Fang (changed to Poison Fang in the English anime).
* Taiga Samejima (鮫島大牙(さめじま たいが)): The oldest Samejima brother and second in command of Shark Tooth. When confronted in the cave and defeated in an Idaten battle with Sho, he revealed that the Shark Tooth MTB team came to the X-Zone one year ago. In his brother's tournament, he lost to Arthur resulting in him being kicked out until Gabu's defeat. When Team X later came to power, he became X-City's protector while Koei is away.
* The Four Kings: Made up of Kiyoshi, Mitsuru, Sayji, and Mantaro, The Four Kings are four MTB Riders who are members of the Shark Tooth MTB team. Though they are unskilled riders, they are often a cause problems by interfering through their underhanded tricks.
* Captain Jackal: Member of Team ST. He and his crewmen challenged Sho when Sho was on a ship to X-City. They did get away with some of Sho's Emblems and handed them to Gabu and Taiga. He also helped the other adult members of Team ST into preventing Sho from reaching Gabu. He was defeated by Koei and arrested by the X-Zone Police Captain prior to the black smoke returning him to Earth.
* Yoko & Rika: Two sisters who are resort tycoons and members of Team ST. They turned a local village into a slum when they used the villager's money to build their resorts in Gold Celebresort City and ended up making everything in their resorts expensive. While Yoko does the MTB battles, Rika uses parts of MTBs to build Yoko's MTB rider. They defeated the villagers to gain their money. When their men captured Yuki, Sho had to Idaten Battle Yoko for her freedom. Despite the difficulty on the sand dunes, Sho beat Yoko when her bike, overlaid with expensive jewels, fell apart. They reappeared to help the other adult members of Team ST into preventing Sho from reaching Gabu. They were defeated by Koei and arrested by the X-Zone Police Captain prior to the black smoke sending them to Earth.
* Mr. Teacher (ミスターティーチャー): A biker in a school theme park and member of Team ST. He captured Kyoichi and Sho had to beat him in order to rescue him. He reappeared to help the other adult members of Team ST into preventing Sho from getting to Gabu. He was defeated by Koei and arrested by the X-Zone Police Captain prior to the black smoke returning him to Earth.
* Prince Ryota: Ruler of a kingdom in the middle of a lake and member of Team ST (despite this, he isn't like the other members of that group). To get info on how to get to X-City, Makoto challenged him to an Idaten Battle. The reason why Ryota was winning is because his butler Sebastian has been secretly sabotaging the wooden bridges on the courses without the Prince knowing.
* Pete & Danny: Members of Team ST. They sabotaged Sho's bike trailer and framed Makoto causing them to get into a fight. They challenged Sho to an Idaten Battle in the rain since they knew that they would have the advantage after stealing Flame Kaiser's pedal from the sabotage. When Sho and Flame Kaiser are sidelined, Makoto ended up defeating them, realizing that her bike is a legendary Idaten Bike that specializes in water. They reappeared to help the other adult members of Team ST to prevent Sho from reaching Gabu. They were defeated by Koei and arrested by the X-Zone Police Captain prior to the black smoke returning them to Earth.
* Jiro: Nicknamed "The Leopard," he worked for his father's mattress store in X-City until he joined Team Shark Tooth. When Gabu gave him an MTB that has a motor engine, he didn't use it until Gabu took control of the bike. After that and being defeated by Sho, he quit the Shark Tooth team. He later ended up under the control of Team X and Idaten Battled Sho on Earth and was defeated again. He was sucked back into the X-Zone for his failure.
* Shadow: An MTB Rider who specializes in MTB Battles in dark places. In Gabu's tournament in X-City, Sho Idaten Battled him in the subway where he was defeated. He seems to be working for Gabu since he is seen helping the other adult members of Team ST into preventing Sho and Co. from getting to Gabu. He and the others end up fighting and defeated by Koei and are arrested by the X-Zone Police Captain prior to the black smoke returning him to Earth.
[edit] Team X (チームX)
A team of bikers that invaded X-City and turned everyone they defeated into their slaves with the Dark Emblems they placed on their MTBs. There base is on Imperial Island and have served as the secondary antagonists of the second half of the series. Among the known victims are:
* Fisherman Masagi: A fisherman MTB Rider and his fellow villagers who ended up under the control of Team X. A disguised Kyoichi under the control of Team X had given orders to Masagi to capture Ayumu and defeat Sho. Ayumu was challenged to an Idaten Battle by him and fell into the fisherman's trap. Sho Idaten Battled him where Masagi anticipated that Sho would get caught in the high tide. Ayumu escaped and tried to help Sho before the high tide occurred. Once Masagi was defeated, the rest of the villagers were free from the Dark Emblem.
* Count Freddy: A vampire-like MTB Rider under the control of Team X who resides in a haunted mansion. He was the one who infected Makoto, Kakeru, Ayumu, Hosuke, and many of the mansion's inhabitants with Dark Emblems that gave them zombie-like personalities. When Sho encountered him, he Idaten Battled Count Freddy in the mansion with the windows shut. Once he was defeated, the victims were freed.
* Spike and Whip: The male and female MTB Rider duo. They lost against Sho Yamato and Gabu Samejima in an Idaten Battle.
* Imperial Knights: The white-suited MTB riders that appear in large groups in Imperial Island. They serve as the foot soldiers to Team X. In the final battle with Team X, all of them were defeated by Ayumu.
[edit] Minor Characters
* Masumi: Sho Yamato's mother.
* Rogue MTB Riders Leader (町のボス): His real name is unknown, but is referred to as "The Boss." He is an outlaw biker who challenged Sho immediately after Sho had entered X-Zone. After he was defeated, the biker help saved Sho and Hosuke from the local X-Zone Police.
* X-Zone Police Captain (警備隊長): A police officer and captain of the northern guard who arrests unsanctioned Idaten Battlers. Sho beat him to prove that he is not associated with the Rogue MTB Boss. He reappeared to help protect the citizens of X-City from danger. He later ends up under the control of Team X and Idaten Battled Sho on Earth only to end up being defeated and freed from the Dark Emblem, then he was pulled back into the X-Zone. He later returns to help fight Team X when Sho is on Imperial Island.
* Shin the Shadow (シン): A cowboy biker. His winning secret is that he has a twin brother taking over the course in the middle of Idaten battle. He used that cheating move to defeat Sho, but Shin the Shadow was defeated by Kyoichi who exposed Shin's winning secret.
* Terry the Megaton (テリー): A heavyset MTB Rider in a bear-skinned cape who is the leader of Team Bandits (チーム・バンディッツ). They uses traps to steal MTBs. Sho had to beat him in order to get his bike back. Once he was defeated, he and Team Bandits renounced their thieving ways.
* Zentaro (ゼンタロウ): A professional MTB rider who owns a bike shop in Volcano Village. He owns the blueprints of Imperial X.
* Takuma (タクマ): Leader of the Poison Spider MTB Team (毒グモ団). He accused Zentaro of giving him a rigged tire which injured one of his teammates and planned to take some of the bike parts in Zentaro's shop as a refund. Sho had to MTB Battle him in a volcano in order to prove Zentaro's innocence. Takuma lost to Sho when the volcano shook, but he was saved by Kyoichi.
* Seiji (セイジ): Leader of the Hyper Brain (ハイパーブレーン) MTB team.
* Jun (淳): Mechanic of the Hyper Brain MTB team.
* Tasuku (たすく): Rider for the Hyper Brain MTB team. In Gabu's tournament in X-City, he lost to Kyoichi.
* Ken (ケン): Nicknamed "The Grim Reaper," he and his henchmen disguised themselves as girls to learn Sho's weaknesses from Hosuke. Sometimes, he ends up laughing which turns into a girl's laugh. He reappeared on TV where he and his minions were fighting Gen while being a victim of Team X.
* Native MTB Rider: An unnamed MTB Rider in a tiki mask. He and his team resided in a temple and used a mist that causes hallucinations on opposing teams. They used it to defeat Sho, but were defeated by Makoto who recently obtained Neptune Emperor.
* Gen: An MTB rider who lives in the snowy mountains with his daughter Rin. In Gabu's tournament in X-City, he lost to Taiga. He was eventually returned to Earth where he was seen fighting Ken and his minions on TV.
* Rin (リン): Daughter of Gen.
* Go: Nicknamed "The Falcon", Go is an MTB Rider in a miner town who claimed that he beat Flame Kaiser. He claimed that to impress his younger sister Saya. After an accident years ago, he's been afraid to get on his bike. With Sho's help, he got back on and defeated two punks that were attacking their town.
* Sunset Brothers: Joe and Reiu are the gatekeepers of the North Gate of X-City. Sho had to Idaten Battle them at dawn in order to get into X-City. Sho learned from their mother that Joe had a bump on his forehead during their Idaten Battle with Team Shark Tooth who defeated them. Sho eventually defeated them and went on to X-City.
* Mayor of X-City: The unnamed mayor that ruled X-City before Gabu overthrew him.
* Bonnie C: She serves as emcee of Gabu's tournament in X-City.
* Nostradamus Saiyaka: A gypsy MTB Rider who can predict the future. In Gabu's tournament, Arthur Idaten Battled her and beat her when she dropped her crystal ball and tripped over it with her MTB at the starting line. She later crashes the battle against Arthur and Taiga and ended up being saved by Arthur when she fell off the ramp.
* Kiku (菊(キク)): Koei's younger sister. She falls ill in her first appearance and is later captured by Gabu causing Koei to end up doing whatever he wants. Once she was freed, Koei and Sho continued to returned to their battle.
* Takahiro: A boy who had lent his bike to Ayumu during the match between Sho Yamato and Jiro in real world.
* Ichibashi and Honda: Yuki's trusted MTB trainers who resided in the X-Zone. When Takeshi was in X-Zone, they were trained by him to be mechanics. They gave Sho and Co. an all-terrain bike trailer on their journey to Imperial Island
* Germ Man: A microbial MTB rider and his germs that infected Makoto with bad fruit found in the Nameless Forest. Sho was shrunken down to size to face Germ Man. Once Sho won the Idaten Battle, Germ Man and his Germ Men were vanquished.
[edit] MTB
* Flame Kaiser (フレイムカイザー): Sho Yamato's MTB. Although Sho and his father have built Flame Kaiser before entering X-Zone, the MTB is regarded as a legend in X-Zone. He can move faster with its special attack, and is later shown to be capable of flight after being knocked off a building by Gabu. Sometimes, the powerful energies surrounding Sho and Flame Kaiser can take the form of a phoenix.
* Neptune (ネプチューン) / Neptune Emperor - Makoto Shido's MTB. Can ride through water with greater speed than a normal MTB going through land. Sometimes, the powerful energies surrounding Mokoto and Neptune Emperor can take the form of a dolphin when on water.
* Thunder Emperor (サンダーエンペラー) / Thunder King: Kyoichi Shido's MTB.
* Bloody Fang (ブラッディファング) / Poison Fang: Gabu Samejima's MTB. It's strongest attack is Poison Impact, which creates a red shockwave powerful enough to destroy concrete buildings around him, literally blowing Gabu's competition away. Sometimes, the powerful energies surrounding Gabu and Bloody Fang can take the form of a wolf.
* Aero Scissors (エアロシザース): Koei's MTB. It's strongest attack is Ninjitsu Hurricane which is used to blow away the competition. Sometimes, the powerful energies surrounding Koei and Aero Scissors can take form of a fox.
* Hammer Head (ハンマーヘッド) / Iron Hammer : Arthur's MTB. The Iron Hammer Crush attack has the power to break throgh solid objects and gives Arthur more gripping power.
* Terry's Junior Giant (?): Terry the Megaton's MTB. It is a 3-wheel MTB with 2 wheels on front axle that can trap a biker ahead of him.
* Imperial X (インペリアルX): It was built by the ancients. Imperial X gives peace to X-City. When it was broken, Sho's father had to fix it. Zentaro's Imperial X blueprint revealed that it can reach top speed on any terrain. It is said to even create racing terrains. When Takeru rode it under the influence of an ancient evil, it's attack is Evens Destruction.
* Imperial Dragon (インペリアルDG(ドラゴン)): Ayumu Yamato's MTB. A miniature version of Imperial X, it appeared after the match between Sho Yamato and the X-Zone Police Captain (who was under the control of Team X at the time), before Sho and the others returned to the X-Zone.
* Imperial Tiger (インペリアルタイガー?): An MTB riden by a Kyoichi Shido while he was being controlled by Team X. After Sho had defeated Kyoichi, Imperial Tiger had also been used by Sho to train for the ultimate technique after losing the Flame Kaiser platinum emblum to his father.
* Bacteria Baron: Germ Man's MTB.
* Defense Bike: Team X's autonomous black MTB guarding Imperial Island.
Sho Yamato enjoys MTB (mountain biking) a whole lot, he's always practiced at the "X-Zone" with his friends, Kakeru and Makoto, on a bike his dad has built, called "Flame Kaiser". One day, he was challenged to a race by a MTB team called Shark Tooth and whoever won the race got the X-Zone. For Sho, the X-Zone had always been a place of happy memories. He had spent many days there with his father who had disappeared, so he couldn’t lose the game. During the race with the leader of Shark Tooth, black smoke suddenly covered the ground around them, and they were sent to another world that's also called the X-Zone. When Sho woke up, he found Kakeru, Makoto, and his MTB Flame Kaiser, were also there. Of course, they didn't know where they were... While they were wondering what had happened, MTB riders came. They challenged Sho to a Idaten battle, a form of MTB race in X-Zone. They said the only way for Sho to return is by collecting 10 emblems by winning Idaten battles. This is how Sho came down to compete in Idaten Battles at various courses, such as ghost towns, volcanoes, ancient ruins, deserts, and snow-topped mountains. Now Sho must Idaten Battle for the sake of returning home.
After returning home, Sho returned to X-Zone to find his lost father, Takeshi while taking on the mysterious Team X.
[edit] Characters
[edit] Protagonists (Sho and Co.)
* Sho Yamato (山登翔(やまと しょう)): The main character of the story, he is an excellent MTB rider and can do amazing tricks. He later defeats Gabu for the control of X City with the assistance of Koei, Kyoichi and Makoto, then Arthur. After defeating his father (who was under the control of an ancient evil), Sho chose to leave behind his friends to stay in X-Zone, but with the help of Hosuke, Sho was able to travel freely between Earth and X-Zone and reunite with his friends in the X-Zone MTB course. His MTB is Flame Kaiser.
* Makoto Shido (獅堂まこと(しどう まこと)): She is a girl MTB rider and is Sho's childhood friend. She later realizes that her MTB is a legendary Idaten Bike called Neptune Emperor.
* Kakeru Sakamaki (坂巻駆(さかまき かける)): Kakeru is a very skilled mechanic and helps Sho fix his bike a lot. He is also one of Sho's best friends.
* Hosuke (ホースケ): A talking owl that accompanies Sho on his journeys. Hosuke followed Sho during a prison break attempt to rescue Sho, Makoto, and Kakeru. After Sho had defeated his father, it was revealed that Hosuke is Yuki's grandfather disguised as an owl. After his brother Takeshi had been transported to Earth, Hosuke became the king of X-Zone. However, time moves much faster in X-Zone than it is on Earth, so Hosuke became an old man when Takeshi finally returned to X-Zone. Plotting to stop the ancient evil, Hosuke secretly became the talking owl, but without the memory of his former identity until he returned to his human form. In the end, Hosuke managed to help Sho get to Earth.
[edit] Supporting characters
* Kyoichi Shido (獅堂京一(しどう きょういち))：Makoto's older brother, and a trial bike champion. He appeared in masked form in early episodes up to episode 5 when his identity was revealed. He was captured by Mr. Teacher when trying to find out more about Team ST. He later helps Sho fight Gabu. When it came to Team X, he ended up under the control of them and is trying to fight the Dark Emblem's control. Sho managed to defeat him. His MTB is Thunder Emperor (Thunder King in the English anime), but rode Imperial Tiger when under the control of Team X.
* Yuki (ユウキ): An expert mechanic. She helps Sho and Co. on different occasions. After Gabu's defeat, it was revealed that Yuki is a princess of a royal family and part of a group who protects the X-Zone and the secrets of the X-Zone.
* Koei (孤影(こえい)): A ninja biker hired by Gabu. He first appeared to take on Sho and Kyoichi. He injured Kyoichi and broke his MTB Thunder King, and took out the Four Kings that were battling Makoto. When he battled Sho, it ended up a draw when the Four Kings interfered. He thwarted another plot by the Four Kings when they tried to "assist" him when he thought of it as dishonorable. In his battle against Arthur, the Four Kings successfully interfered causing Arthur to lose. It is later revealed that Koei works for Gabu because he couldn't afford a doctor for his sister Kiku. Once she was rescued from Gabu's clutches, Sho and Koei battled again and he lost. Afterwards, he stopped serving Gabu and aided Sho in defeating him as he took out the adult members of Team ST. Later, he ends up under the control of Team X and was freed by Sho. He has Taiga watch over X-City while he is away. His Idaten Bike is called Aero Scissors.
* Arthur (アーサー): Nicknamed "The Painter," Arthur is a knight biker. He first appeared in Gabu's tournament where he beats Taiga. Prior to his battle against Koei, he stumbled onto a plot by the Four Kings only for them to be thwarted by Koei. In Gabu's tournament, he lost to Koei due to interference by the Four Kings. It's later revealed that he worked alongside Yuki to help protect the secrets of the X-Tower and heal the X-Zone. His Idaten Bike is called Hammer Head (Iron Hammer in the English anime).
* Ayumu Yamato (山登あゆむ(やまと あゆむ)): Sho's younger brother. He later joins Sho in his search for their father. Ayumu was forbidden to ride on bike because he became maniacal whenever riding one.
* Takeshi Yamato (山登猛(たけし))/ Takeru Yamato: Sho Yamato's father. When he was falling during a bike accident, he was brought into the X-Zone to repair Imperial X during a power crisis. When he tried to return to the his home world, he disappeared alongside Yuki's father and was never seen again. During his disappearance, he had also built Thunder Emperor, Neptune Emperor, Imperial Tiger, and Imperial Dragon while struggling against the power of Dark Emblem, and also seen by Kyoichi in hooded form. He was later reappear in Imperial Island as Team X leader, possessed by the ancient evil of the X-Zone, to challenge Sho and destroy both worlds. After Sho had defeated his father, it was revealed Takeshi was an X-Zone native that had been transported from Imperial Island to Earth, then he subsequently started a family, built Flame Kaiser and X-Zone MTB course before the accident. At the end of the series, he chose to stay in X-Zone to train Sho as the new guardian.
[edit] Team Shark Tooth
A group of bikers that serve as the first antagonists of the first half of the series. Upon their invasion on X-City, they went by the name of Team ST (チームＳＴ) and gained some followers in the process. Besides a substantial number of unnamed grunts, the members of Team ST are:
* Gabu Samejima (鮫島牙舞(さめじま がぶ)): Leader of the Shark Tooth MTB team. Upon his arrival in the X-Zone one year ago. he became dictator of X-City after overthrowing its mayor. He was said to have lured many MTB Riders to his team. In episode 10, Revelations, it is revealed that although he is the leader of the Shark Tooth gang, he is actually the younger Samejima brother and that his team arrived earlier. He was also in Kakeru's algebra class. He was defeated by Sho in X-City, but later returns to help fight Team X. His bike is called Bloody Fang (changed to Poison Fang in the English anime).
* Taiga Samejima (鮫島大牙(さめじま たいが)): The oldest Samejima brother and second in command of Shark Tooth. When confronted in the cave and defeated in an Idaten battle with Sho, he revealed that the Shark Tooth MTB team came to the X-Zone one year ago. In his brother's tournament, he lost to Arthur resulting in him being kicked out until Gabu's defeat. When Team X later came to power, he became X-City's protector while Koei is away.
* The Four Kings: Made up of Kiyoshi, Mitsuru, Sayji, and Mantaro, The Four Kings are four MTB Riders who are members of the Shark Tooth MTB team. Though they are unskilled riders, they are often a cause problems by interfering through their underhanded tricks.
* Captain Jackal: Member of Team ST. He and his crewmen challenged Sho when Sho was on a ship to X-City. They did get away with some of Sho's Emblems and handed them to Gabu and Taiga. He also helped the other adult members of Team ST into preventing Sho from reaching Gabu. He was defeated by Koei and arrested by the X-Zone Police Captain prior to the black smoke returning him to Earth.
* Yoko & Rika: Two sisters who are resort tycoons and members of Team ST. They turned a local village into a slum when they used the villager's money to build their resorts in Gold Celebresort City and ended up making everything in their resorts expensive. While Yoko does the MTB battles, Rika uses parts of MTBs to build Yoko's MTB rider. They defeated the villagers to gain their money. When their men captured Yuki, Sho had to Idaten Battle Yoko for her freedom. Despite the difficulty on the sand dunes, Sho beat Yoko when her bike, overlaid with expensive jewels, fell apart. They reappeared to help the other adult members of Team ST into preventing Sho from reaching Gabu. They were defeated by Koei and arrested by the X-Zone Police Captain prior to the black smoke sending them to Earth.
* Mr. Teacher (ミスターティーチャー): A biker in a school theme park and member of Team ST. He captured Kyoichi and Sho had to beat him in order to rescue him. He reappeared to help the other adult members of Team ST into preventing Sho from getting to Gabu. He was defeated by Koei and arrested by the X-Zone Police Captain prior to the black smoke returning him to Earth.
* Prince Ryota: Ruler of a kingdom in the middle of a lake and member of Team ST (despite this, he isn't like the other members of that group). To get info on how to get to X-City, Makoto challenged him to an Idaten Battle. The reason why Ryota was winning is because his butler Sebastian has been secretly sabotaging the wooden bridges on the courses without the Prince knowing.
* Pete & Danny: Members of Team ST. They sabotaged Sho's bike trailer and framed Makoto causing them to get into a fight. They challenged Sho to an Idaten Battle in the rain since they knew that they would have the advantage after stealing Flame Kaiser's pedal from the sabotage. When Sho and Flame Kaiser are sidelined, Makoto ended up defeating them, realizing that her bike is a legendary Idaten Bike that specializes in water. They reappeared to help the other adult members of Team ST to prevent Sho from reaching Gabu. They were defeated by Koei and arrested by the X-Zone Police Captain prior to the black smoke returning them to Earth.
* Jiro: Nicknamed "The Leopard," he worked for his father's mattress store in X-City until he joined Team Shark Tooth. When Gabu gave him an MTB that has a motor engine, he didn't use it until Gabu took control of the bike. After that and being defeated by Sho, he quit the Shark Tooth team. He later ended up under the control of Team X and Idaten Battled Sho on Earth and was defeated again. He was sucked back into the X-Zone for his failure.
* Shadow: An MTB Rider who specializes in MTB Battles in dark places. In Gabu's tournament in X-City, Sho Idaten Battled him in the subway where he was defeated. He seems to be working for Gabu since he is seen helping the other adult members of Team ST into preventing Sho and Co. from getting to Gabu. He and the others end up fighting and defeated by Koei and are arrested by the X-Zone Police Captain prior to the black smoke returning him to Earth.
[edit] Team X (チームX)
A team of bikers that invaded X-City and turned everyone they defeated into their slaves with the Dark Emblems they placed on their MTBs. There base is on Imperial Island and have served as the secondary antagonists of the second half of the series. Among the known victims are:
* Fisherman Masagi: A fisherman MTB Rider and his fellow villagers who ended up under the control of Team X. A disguised Kyoichi under the control of Team X had given orders to Masagi to capture Ayumu and defeat Sho. Ayumu was challenged to an Idaten Battle by him and fell into the fisherman's trap. Sho Idaten Battled him where Masagi anticipated that Sho would get caught in the high tide. Ayumu escaped and tried to help Sho before the high tide occurred. Once Masagi was defeated, the rest of the villagers were free from the Dark Emblem.
* Count Freddy: A vampire-like MTB Rider under the control of Team X who resides in a haunted mansion. He was the one who infected Makoto, Kakeru, Ayumu, Hosuke, and many of the mansion's inhabitants with Dark Emblems that gave them zombie-like personalities. When Sho encountered him, he Idaten Battled Count Freddy in the mansion with the windows shut. Once he was defeated, the victims were freed.
* Spike and Whip: The male and female MTB Rider duo. They lost against Sho Yamato and Gabu Samejima in an Idaten Battle.
* Imperial Knights: The white-suited MTB riders that appear in large groups in Imperial Island. They serve as the foot soldiers to Team X. In the final battle with Team X, all of them were defeated by Ayumu.
[edit] Minor Characters
* Masumi: Sho Yamato's mother.
* Rogue MTB Riders Leader (町のボス): His real name is unknown, but is referred to as "The Boss." He is an outlaw biker who challenged Sho immediately after Sho had entered X-Zone. After he was defeated, the biker help saved Sho and Hosuke from the local X-Zone Police.
* X-Zone Police Captain (警備隊長): A police officer and captain of the northern guard who arrests unsanctioned Idaten Battlers. Sho beat him to prove that he is not associated with the Rogue MTB Boss. He reappeared to help protect the citizens of X-City from danger. He later ends up under the control of Team X and Idaten Battled Sho on Earth only to end up being defeated and freed from the Dark Emblem, then he was pulled back into the X-Zone. He later returns to help fight Team X when Sho is on Imperial Island.
* Shin the Shadow (シン): A cowboy biker. His winning secret is that he has a twin brother taking over the course in the middle of Idaten battle. He used that cheating move to defeat Sho, but Shin the Shadow was defeated by Kyoichi who exposed Shin's winning secret.
* Terry the Megaton (テリー): A heavyset MTB Rider in a bear-skinned cape who is the leader of Team Bandits (チーム・バンディッツ). They uses traps to steal MTBs. Sho had to beat him in order to get his bike back. Once he was defeated, he and Team Bandits renounced their thieving ways.
* Zentaro (ゼンタロウ): A professional MTB rider who owns a bike shop in Volcano Village. He owns the blueprints of Imperial X.
* Takuma (タクマ): Leader of the Poison Spider MTB Team (毒グモ団). He accused Zentaro of giving him a rigged tire which injured one of his teammates and planned to take some of the bike parts in Zentaro's shop as a refund. Sho had to MTB Battle him in a volcano in order to prove Zentaro's innocence. Takuma lost to Sho when the volcano shook, but he was saved by Kyoichi.
* Seiji (セイジ): Leader of the Hyper Brain (ハイパーブレーン) MTB team.
* Jun (淳): Mechanic of the Hyper Brain MTB team.
* Tasuku (たすく): Rider for the Hyper Brain MTB team. In Gabu's tournament in X-City, he lost to Kyoichi.
* Ken (ケン): Nicknamed "The Grim Reaper," he and his henchmen disguised themselves as girls to learn Sho's weaknesses from Hosuke. Sometimes, he ends up laughing which turns into a girl's laugh. He reappeared on TV where he and his minions were fighting Gen while being a victim of Team X.
* Native MTB Rider: An unnamed MTB Rider in a tiki mask. He and his team resided in a temple and used a mist that causes hallucinations on opposing teams. They used it to defeat Sho, but were defeated by Makoto who recently obtained Neptune Emperor.
* Gen: An MTB rider who lives in the snowy mountains with his daughter Rin. In Gabu's tournament in X-City, he lost to Taiga. He was eventually returned to Earth where he was seen fighting Ken and his minions on TV.
* Rin (リン): Daughter of Gen.
* Go: Nicknamed "The Falcon", Go is an MTB Rider in a miner town who claimed that he beat Flame Kaiser. He claimed that to impress his younger sister Saya. After an accident years ago, he's been afraid to get on his bike. With Sho's help, he got back on and defeated two punks that were attacking their town.
* Sunset Brothers: Joe and Reiu are the gatekeepers of the North Gate of X-City. Sho had to Idaten Battle them at dawn in order to get into X-City. Sho learned from their mother that Joe had a bump on his forehead during their Idaten Battle with Team Shark Tooth who defeated them. Sho eventually defeated them and went on to X-City.
* Mayor of X-City: The unnamed mayor that ruled X-City before Gabu overthrew him.
* Bonnie C: She serves as emcee of Gabu's tournament in X-City.
* Nostradamus Saiyaka: A gypsy MTB Rider who can predict the future. In Gabu's tournament, Arthur Idaten Battled her and beat her when she dropped her crystal ball and tripped over it with her MTB at the starting line. She later crashes the battle against Arthur and Taiga and ended up being saved by Arthur when she fell off the ramp.
* Kiku (菊(キク)): Koei's younger sister. She falls ill in her first appearance and is later captured by Gabu causing Koei to end up doing whatever he wants. Once she was freed, Koei and Sho continued to returned to their battle.
* Takahiro: A boy who had lent his bike to Ayumu during the match between Sho Yamato and Jiro in real world.
* Ichibashi and Honda: Yuki's trusted MTB trainers who resided in the X-Zone. When Takeshi was in X-Zone, they were trained by him to be mechanics. They gave Sho and Co. an all-terrain bike trailer on their journey to Imperial Island
* Germ Man: A microbial MTB rider and his germs that infected Makoto with bad fruit found in the Nameless Forest. Sho was shrunken down to size to face Germ Man. Once Sho won the Idaten Battle, Germ Man and his Germ Men were vanquished.
[edit] MTB
* Flame Kaiser (フレイムカイザー): Sho Yamato's MTB. Although Sho and his father have built Flame Kaiser before entering X-Zone, the MTB is regarded as a legend in X-Zone. He can move faster with its special attack, and is later shown to be capable of flight after being knocked off a building by Gabu. Sometimes, the powerful energies surrounding Sho and Flame Kaiser can take the form of a phoenix.
* Neptune (ネプチューン) / Neptune Emperor - Makoto Shido's MTB. Can ride through water with greater speed than a normal MTB going through land. Sometimes, the powerful energies surrounding Mokoto and Neptune Emperor can take the form of a dolphin when on water.
* Thunder Emperor (サンダーエンペラー) / Thunder King: Kyoichi Shido's MTB.
* Bloody Fang (ブラッディファング) / Poison Fang: Gabu Samejima's MTB. It's strongest attack is Poison Impact, which creates a red shockwave powerful enough to destroy concrete buildings around him, literally blowing Gabu's competition away. Sometimes, the powerful energies surrounding Gabu and Bloody Fang can take the form of a wolf.
* Aero Scissors (エアロシザース): Koei's MTB. It's strongest attack is Ninjitsu Hurricane which is used to blow away the competition. Sometimes, the powerful energies surrounding Koei and Aero Scissors can take form of a fox.
* Hammer Head (ハンマーヘッド) / Iron Hammer : Arthur's MTB. The Iron Hammer Crush attack has the power to break throgh solid objects and gives Arthur more gripping power.
* Terry's Junior Giant (?): Terry the Megaton's MTB. It is a 3-wheel MTB with 2 wheels on front axle that can trap a biker ahead of him.
* Imperial X (インペリアルX): It was built by the ancients. Imperial X gives peace to X-City. When it was broken, Sho's father had to fix it. Zentaro's Imperial X blueprint revealed that it can reach top speed on any terrain. It is said to even create racing terrains. When Takeru rode it under the influence of an ancient evil, it's attack is Evens Destruction.
* Imperial Dragon (インペリアルDG(ドラゴン)): Ayumu Yamato's MTB. A miniature version of Imperial X, it appeared after the match between Sho Yamato and the X-Zone Police Captain (who was under the control of Team X at the time), before Sho and the others returned to the X-Zone.
* Imperial Tiger (インペリアルタイガー?): An MTB riden by a Kyoichi Shido while he was being controlled by Team X. After Sho had defeated Kyoichi, Imperial Tiger had also been used by Sho to train for the ultimate technique after losing the Flame Kaiser platinum emblum to his father.
* Bacteria Baron: Germ Man's MTB.
* Defense Bike: Team X's autonomous black MTB guarding Imperial Island.
Sabtu, 28 Februari 2009
pokemon
Pokémon (animation)
ポケットモンスター
(Pocket Monsters)
Genre Adventure, Fantasy, Kodomo
TV anime
Director Masamitsu Hidaka (1997-2006)
Norihiko Sudo (2006-present)
Studio OLM, Inc.
Licensor 4Kids Entertainment (1998–2006)
Pokémon USA (2006-present)
Network TV Tokyo
English network Syndication (September 1998–January 1999)
Kids' WB! (February 1999–September 2006)
Cartoon Network (September 2006–current)
Boomerang (2005-Present)
[show]Other networks:
Flag of Canada YTV
Flag of the United Kingdom Sky1, CITV Channel, Cartoon Network, Cartoon Network TOO, Jetix
Flag of Australia Channel Ten, Cartoon Network
Flag of Brazil Cartoon Network
Flag of France Fox Kids, Gulli
Flag of Italy Italia 1
Flag of Portugal SIC
Flag of the Philippines GMA 7' Cartoon Network
Flag of South Korea Tooniverse
Flag of the People's Republic of China YoYo TV
Flag of the Republic of China Yoyo TV
Flag of Poland Polsat, TV4, Jetix
Flag of India Flag of Pakistan Cartoon Network
Flag of the Arab League MBC, Spacetoon, TRT, New TV
Flag of Russia Channel One, TNT, Jetix
Flag of Ukraine Inter, 1+1, NTN
Flag of Poland Jetix
Original run April 1, 1997 – ongoing
Episodes 588
Anime and Manga Portal
Pokémon (abbreviated from Pocket Monsters (ポケットモンスター ,Poketto Monsutā?) in Japan) is an ongoing Japanese animated series, which has since been adapted for the North American and European television market. It is somewhat based on the Pokémon video game series and a part of the Pokémon franchise.
Originally a single series, Pokémon, it has since been made into three series, including Pokémon: Advanced Generation and subsequently Pokémon Diamond & Pearl, which continue the story of Pokémon, while its spin-off Pokémon Chronicles or, as it is known in Japan, Pokémon Sunday (formerly Shūkan Pokémon Hōsōkyoku) is a series of stories revolving around some of the recurring characters.
Conte
Introduction Ash Ketchum (Satoshi in the original japanese) just becomes a Pokémon trainer. He Starts of in the Kanto Region. He is stuck with Pikachu. He has rival named Gary. Ash accidentally destroys the bike of girl named Misty. Misty starts following him to get her bike back.
In the Johto League, Ash is defeated by a Pokémon trainer from the Hoenn region, thus beginning his new journey into the region. Misty leaves Ash's side to take care of the gym along with her sisters, and Brock, who also returns home to resolve some family issues. Ash changes his outfit before heading to the Hoenn region with only Pikachu.
In Hoenn, Ash gets to know May (Haruka in the original japanese) and her younger brother Max (Masato in the original japanese), who join in his journey. May is excited by the Pokémon Contests that take place in Kanto and Hoenn, while Max joins the group to gain experience so that one day he will have his own Pokémon and become gym leader like his father Norman, the gym leader of Petalburg City. Having solved his problems, Brock who also changed his attire, is back with Ash and new friends to continue his dream of becoming Pokémon Breeder. This season, Gary leaves his promising career as a Pokémon Trainer to become Pokémon researcher.
After Ash becomes the winner in the Battle Frontier, May goes to Johto. Max returns to Petalburg City and Brock returns to Pewter City. Ash finds a new region called Sinnoh, where he embarks on a new journey. Brock comes back and they both meet Dawn, a new trainer who hopes to become a great Pokémon Coordinator, like her mother. Ash meets a new rival, Paul who prefers to capture the strongest Pokémon leaving the weak who are released.
[edit] Characters
Main article: List of Pokémon anime characters
[edit] Current main characters
The main characters from Pokémon Diamond and Pearl series (from left to right) Brock, Ash and Dawn
Ash Ketchum, known in Japan as (サトシ ,Satoshi?)
The main character, or protagonist, of the series, Ash dreams of being the greatest Pokémon Master in the world.
Pikachu (ピカチュウ ,Pikachū?)
Ash’s very first Pokémon and best friend. He has always stuck to Ash through thick and thin.
Dawn, known in Japan as (ヒカリ ,Hikari?)
New heroine of the series when Ash comes to Sinnoh, dreams of being a great coordinator like her mother.
Brock, known in Japan as (タケシ ,Takeshi?)
Former Pewter Gym leader, he dreams of being the world’s best Pokémon breeder. He also falls in love with most girls he sees.
[edit] Former Main Characters
Misty, known in Japan as (カスミ ,Kasumi?)
One of Ash’s travelling friends through Kanto, the Orange Islands and Johto. Misty loves water Pokémon and is currently the Cerulean City gym leader. She was the first female protagonist on the show. Her dream is to be the world's greatest Water Pokémon Master.
Tracey Sketchit, known in Japan as (ケンジ ,Kenji?)
One of Ash’s traveling friends through the Orange Islands, Tracey is a Pokémon watcher, and is currently Professor Oak’s assistant.
May, known in Japan as (ハルカ ,Haruka?)
One of Ash’s travelling friends through Hoenn and the Kanto Battle Frontier, is currently in Johto competing in the contests there. She appears in several Pokémon: Diamond and Pearl Battle Dimension episodes as a minor character.
Max, known in Japan as (マサト ,Masato?)
May’s little brother, Max is a very smart (and often annoying) little boy, and is now back with his parents in Petalburg City, where he will begin his own journey.
[edit] Team Rocket
Team Rocket (ロケット団 ,Roketto Dan?) is an evil organization led by Giovanni. They have operations in Kanto and Johto. However, they have not set up permanent operations in Hoenn and Sinnoh, meaning Jessie, James and Meowth are the only operatives there. They have been present in nearly every episode of the Pokémon saga.
[edit] Media
[edit] Anime series
The first series tells the story of Ash Ketchum (known as Satoshi in the Japanese version, he is named after Pokémon's creator, Satoshi Tajiri), his friends, and his quest to become a Pokémon Master, as well as their quests. However, unlike in the video games, he is given a Pikachu as his first Pokémon under unusual circumstances. Much of the series focuses on the friendship between Ash, Pikachu, Misty, Brock, May, Max, Tracey, Dawn and the various Pokémon and Trainers along the way. Joining Ash on his adventures are Brock (known as Takeshi in Japan) who wants to become the world's best Pokémon breeder and Misty (Kasumi in Japan) who wants to be a water Pokémon master (Brock and Misty were gym leaders in the original Pokémon games, and were in the anime too but were able to travel with Ash due to different circumstances).
The other two series continue to follow the adventures of Ash and his friends. However, starting with the Advanced Generation series a new main character named May (Haruka in Japan) travels with Ash, Brock and also her little brother Max (Masato in Japan) through the Hoenn region replacing Misty, and competes in Pokémon Contests, which are set up in a similar manner to Pokémon Gyms (many throughout the region, and ending with a large tournament), although immensely different.
Throughout the run of the show the subject matter changes. In the original series, the show is more comical and whimsical (light and airy). It uses "goofy" humor (or "cute" humor when it comes to Pikachu, who does wacky things in between important scenes). In the Advanced Generation series as Ash becomes more of a mature and leader-type character, the main course of the show becomes more serious, as it deals with love and death, and its previous comical nature (for the most part) changes into comic relief, attributed mostly to Team Rocket and Brock's love of girls, though the Diamond and Pearl series seems to have returned to using the original comical nature (mostly Ash being the straight man to his Pokémon's antics and Dawn taking the role of the naive beginner).
[edit] Series names
Like many anime metaseries, Pokémon: The Original Series, Pokémon: Advanced Generation Series and Pokémon: Diamond And Pearl Series episodes are split up into smaller series for the English release, usually to denote the areas and adventures going on. Because of this, series are identified by the opening animation used for the episode, rather than a run of a fixed number of episodes. In certain places, the different series are considered different shows altogether, although they involve the same storylines and characters. To date there are 11 total series completed, ten of such have aired in the United States. One is currently being aired. Another series is currently in production and will finish the confirmed trilogy of Sinnoh.
ポケットモンスター
(Pocket Monsters)
Genre Adventure, Fantasy, Kodomo
TV anime
Director Masamitsu Hidaka (1997-2006)
Norihiko Sudo (2006-present)
Studio OLM, Inc.
Licensor 4Kids Entertainment (1998–2006)
Pokémon USA (2006-present)
Network TV Tokyo
English network Syndication (September 1998–January 1999)
Kids' WB! (February 1999–September 2006)
Cartoon Network (September 2006–current)
Boomerang (2005-Present)
[show]Other networks:
Flag of Canada YTV
Flag of the United Kingdom Sky1, CITV Channel, Cartoon Network, Cartoon Network TOO, Jetix
Flag of Australia Channel Ten, Cartoon Network
Flag of Brazil Cartoon Network
Flag of France Fox Kids, Gulli
Flag of Italy Italia 1
Flag of Portugal SIC
Flag of the Philippines GMA 7' Cartoon Network
Flag of South Korea Tooniverse
Flag of the People's Republic of China YoYo TV
Flag of the Republic of China Yoyo TV
Flag of Poland Polsat, TV4, Jetix
Flag of India Flag of Pakistan Cartoon Network
Flag of the Arab League MBC, Spacetoon, TRT, New TV
Flag of Russia Channel One, TNT, Jetix
Flag of Ukraine Inter, 1+1, NTN
Flag of Poland Jetix
Original run April 1, 1997 – ongoing
Episodes 588
Anime and Manga Portal
Pokémon (abbreviated from Pocket Monsters (ポケットモンスター ,Poketto Monsutā?) in Japan) is an ongoing Japanese animated series, which has since been adapted for the North American and European television market. It is somewhat based on the Pokémon video game series and a part of the Pokémon franchise.
Originally a single series, Pokémon, it has since been made into three series, including Pokémon: Advanced Generation and subsequently Pokémon Diamond & Pearl, which continue the story of Pokémon, while its spin-off Pokémon Chronicles or, as it is known in Japan, Pokémon Sunday (formerly Shūkan Pokémon Hōsōkyoku) is a series of stories revolving around some of the recurring characters.
Conte
Introduction Ash Ketchum (Satoshi in the original japanese) just becomes a Pokémon trainer. He Starts of in the Kanto Region. He is stuck with Pikachu. He has rival named Gary. Ash accidentally destroys the bike of girl named Misty. Misty starts following him to get her bike back.
In the Johto League, Ash is defeated by a Pokémon trainer from the Hoenn region, thus beginning his new journey into the region. Misty leaves Ash's side to take care of the gym along with her sisters, and Brock, who also returns home to resolve some family issues. Ash changes his outfit before heading to the Hoenn region with only Pikachu.
In Hoenn, Ash gets to know May (Haruka in the original japanese) and her younger brother Max (Masato in the original japanese), who join in his journey. May is excited by the Pokémon Contests that take place in Kanto and Hoenn, while Max joins the group to gain experience so that one day he will have his own Pokémon and become gym leader like his father Norman, the gym leader of Petalburg City. Having solved his problems, Brock who also changed his attire, is back with Ash and new friends to continue his dream of becoming Pokémon Breeder. This season, Gary leaves his promising career as a Pokémon Trainer to become Pokémon researcher.
After Ash becomes the winner in the Battle Frontier, May goes to Johto. Max returns to Petalburg City and Brock returns to Pewter City. Ash finds a new region called Sinnoh, where he embarks on a new journey. Brock comes back and they both meet Dawn, a new trainer who hopes to become a great Pokémon Coordinator, like her mother. Ash meets a new rival, Paul who prefers to capture the strongest Pokémon leaving the weak who are released.
[edit] Characters
Main article: List of Pokémon anime characters
[edit] Current main characters
The main characters from Pokémon Diamond and Pearl series (from left to right) Brock, Ash and Dawn
Ash Ketchum, known in Japan as (サトシ ,Satoshi?)
The main character, or protagonist, of the series, Ash dreams of being the greatest Pokémon Master in the world.
Pikachu (ピカチュウ ,Pikachū?)
Ash’s very first Pokémon and best friend. He has always stuck to Ash through thick and thin.
Dawn, known in Japan as (ヒカリ ,Hikari?)
New heroine of the series when Ash comes to Sinnoh, dreams of being a great coordinator like her mother.
Brock, known in Japan as (タケシ ,Takeshi?)
Former Pewter Gym leader, he dreams of being the world’s best Pokémon breeder. He also falls in love with most girls he sees.
[edit] Former Main Characters
Misty, known in Japan as (カスミ ,Kasumi?)
One of Ash’s travelling friends through Kanto, the Orange Islands and Johto. Misty loves water Pokémon and is currently the Cerulean City gym leader. She was the first female protagonist on the show. Her dream is to be the world's greatest Water Pokémon Master.
Tracey Sketchit, known in Japan as (ケンジ ,Kenji?)
One of Ash’s traveling friends through the Orange Islands, Tracey is a Pokémon watcher, and is currently Professor Oak’s assistant.
May, known in Japan as (ハルカ ,Haruka?)
One of Ash’s travelling friends through Hoenn and the Kanto Battle Frontier, is currently in Johto competing in the contests there. She appears in several Pokémon: Diamond and Pearl Battle Dimension episodes as a minor character.
Max, known in Japan as (マサト ,Masato?)
May’s little brother, Max is a very smart (and often annoying) little boy, and is now back with his parents in Petalburg City, where he will begin his own journey.
[edit] Team Rocket
Team Rocket (ロケット団 ,Roketto Dan?) is an evil organization led by Giovanni. They have operations in Kanto and Johto. However, they have not set up permanent operations in Hoenn and Sinnoh, meaning Jessie, James and Meowth are the only operatives there. They have been present in nearly every episode of the Pokémon saga.
[edit] Media
[edit] Anime series
The first series tells the story of Ash Ketchum (known as Satoshi in the Japanese version, he is named after Pokémon's creator, Satoshi Tajiri), his friends, and his quest to become a Pokémon Master, as well as their quests. However, unlike in the video games, he is given a Pikachu as his first Pokémon under unusual circumstances. Much of the series focuses on the friendship between Ash, Pikachu, Misty, Brock, May, Max, Tracey, Dawn and the various Pokémon and Trainers along the way. Joining Ash on his adventures are Brock (known as Takeshi in Japan) who wants to become the world's best Pokémon breeder and Misty (Kasumi in Japan) who wants to be a water Pokémon master (Brock and Misty were gym leaders in the original Pokémon games, and were in the anime too but were able to travel with Ash due to different circumstances).
The other two series continue to follow the adventures of Ash and his friends. However, starting with the Advanced Generation series a new main character named May (Haruka in Japan) travels with Ash, Brock and also her little brother Max (Masato in Japan) through the Hoenn region replacing Misty, and competes in Pokémon Contests, which are set up in a similar manner to Pokémon Gyms (many throughout the region, and ending with a large tournament), although immensely different.
Throughout the run of the show the subject matter changes. In the original series, the show is more comical and whimsical (light and airy). It uses "goofy" humor (or "cute" humor when it comes to Pikachu, who does wacky things in between important scenes). In the Advanced Generation series as Ash becomes more of a mature and leader-type character, the main course of the show becomes more serious, as it deals with love and death, and its previous comical nature (for the most part) changes into comic relief, attributed mostly to Team Rocket and Brock's love of girls, though the Diamond and Pearl series seems to have returned to using the original comical nature (mostly Ash being the straight man to his Pokémon's antics and Dawn taking the role of the naive beginner).
[edit] Series names
Like many anime metaseries, Pokémon: The Original Series, Pokémon: Advanced Generation Series and Pokémon: Diamond And Pearl Series episodes are split up into smaller series for the English release, usually to denote the areas and adventures going on. Because of this, series are identified by the opening animation used for the episode, rather than a run of a fixed number of episodes. In certain places, the different series are considered different shows altogether, although they involve the same storylines and characters. To date there are 11 total series completed, ten of such have aired in the United States. One is currently being aired. Another series is currently in production and will finish the confirmed trilogy of Sinnoh.
ANIME 2
The 1900s were a dangerous and exciting time in Japan. It was a time when the reign of the Shogun was being challenged from many directions. This time frame in history provides the world with a look at extremes, from the bloody world that had been thrust upon the Japanese landscape to the myriad of historical figures that inspire the story creators of today to delve into a time when Japan changed forever. It's at this time that the story of a small group of freedom fighters takes place.
Corruption is running rampant through the Japanese countryside. The power of the Shogun has long been left unchecked, but the time has come for opposition. An elite group of mercenaries known as Samurai Gun have appeared to challenge the evil and corrupt members of the Shogunate government. The Samurai Gun are appropriately named due to the use of the high-tech revolvers and firearms that they employ in their missions to stop the growing plague that the Shogun have become.
The Dragon Palace Tavern is the hot gathering spot in a small village that is the center of the story. It's there that we first find our main character, Ichimatsu, a seemingly quiet man that does odd jobs at the Tavern during the day. In the evenings, he can be found in the brothels of the town to be with his friend, confidant and possible lover, the brothel girl Ohana. However, in the darkness of the night, he reluctantly takes to the shadows and becomes the feared and mysterious Samurai Gun. Ichimatsu openly despises killing anyone, but the traumatic life he's led compels him to continue his battle. When he was younger, he was forced to watch the rape of his sister and the killing of both her and his parents at the hands of the Shogun.
Joining him in his fight against the Shogun are his compatriots, Kurenai and Daimon. Kurenai is the proprietor of the Dragon Palace Tavern and when she's not helping the rest of her staff run the tavern, she can be found on stage with her guitar, serenading the crowd. Daimon is a bit harder to nail down. He can be found around town, running various errands, but nothing that you could pinpoint as an actual job. Like Ichimatsu, both Daimon and Kurenai are members of the Samurai Gun and they all end up on some rather action packed missions to help slowly free the oppressed people in the town and the surrounding area from the iron grip of the Shogun.
A good portion of the missions could be left as standalone episodes, but there's something sinister happening in the background as Ichimatsu and Co. take on the Shogun that have been abusing the people. A secret group known as the Shogun's Preservation Bureau has been formed to find ways to combat the Samurai Gun members. Newer pieces of technology for the time are beginning to be used by the Bureau to ensure the continuing reign of the Shogun. In several of the first episodes, a wide variety of things, from steam locomotives to machine guns, have been adopted for use by the Shogun in order to remove the threat of the Samurai Gun. (Though, as is pointed out by the liner notes for the first DVD, many of the high-tech gadgets that are used in the series are a bit before their time for the period that Samurai Gun takes place.)
The actions of the Shogun begin to take their toll on the poor oppressed people. Women and children that have been taken and imprisoned, samurai informants and all manner of people have been taken captive, tortured or killed by the minions of the Shogun's Preservation Bureau. Eventually things get personal and a little bit of romance gets into the mix as well when Ohana is taken advantage of by a spy from the Bureau, trying to get information on the whereabouts of the Samurai Gun. Ichimatsu arrives just in time to stop the spy, creating a way to free Ohana from her life as a girl working in the brothels in the process.
From the get go, the audience is taken into fictionalized stylings of some of the historical pieces of the end of the Shogun Era. Overlap that with the complexities of the main characters and the pieces of their pasts that make up the reason for why they do what they do, and you have the makings for a series that will keep you guessing at every turn.
Very little back story is revealed to the audience as the series starts. We're shown small glimpses of the past as the series goes along, but very little beyond Ichimatsu's motives is explained in the first DVD. The creators and the ultimate reasons for the existence of the Samurai Guns is vague at best. The Bureau's behind-the-scenes plans are even more mysterious. But even with all this mystery and vagueness, the result is a somber yet action-filled drama that you must see unfold for yourself.
Despite the overly serious nature of Samurai Gun, there is a bit of humor to be found on the DVD. One of the best parts is found in the Extras for the disc. There you'll find the "Fun with Audio" section where some of the voice actors get to have a bit of fun taking key scenes from the first episodes and recording alternate lines for their characters. What we're treated with is some of the best dead-pan humor that I've seen in a long time. Several of the lines from the series have been cleverly rewritten and are masterfully delivered by the crew in a fast paced barrage of wit and down-right silliness. The way the voice actors were able to keep the serious tone of the series while doing the alternate lines just makes this extra that much more funny. It's something that definitely has to be experienced.
A word of caution here though. Samurai Gun is definitely not something for the younger set. It's got a TV MA rating for the liberal use of violence and blood as well as for some extreme language and sexual situations. Fans of the Japanese Shogun era as well as action aficionados that like a more adult oriented story line will love Samurai Gun. It's the right mix of action, suspense and mystery that will keep you chomping at the bit and begging for more.
Corruption is running rampant through the Japanese countryside. The power of the Shogun has long been left unchecked, but the time has come for opposition. An elite group of mercenaries known as Samurai Gun have appeared to challenge the evil and corrupt members of the Shogunate government. The Samurai Gun are appropriately named due to the use of the high-tech revolvers and firearms that they employ in their missions to stop the growing plague that the Shogun have become.
The Dragon Palace Tavern is the hot gathering spot in a small village that is the center of the story. It's there that we first find our main character, Ichimatsu, a seemingly quiet man that does odd jobs at the Tavern during the day. In the evenings, he can be found in the brothels of the town to be with his friend, confidant and possible lover, the brothel girl Ohana. However, in the darkness of the night, he reluctantly takes to the shadows and becomes the feared and mysterious Samurai Gun. Ichimatsu openly despises killing anyone, but the traumatic life he's led compels him to continue his battle. When he was younger, he was forced to watch the rape of his sister and the killing of both her and his parents at the hands of the Shogun.
Joining him in his fight against the Shogun are his compatriots, Kurenai and Daimon. Kurenai is the proprietor of the Dragon Palace Tavern and when she's not helping the rest of her staff run the tavern, she can be found on stage with her guitar, serenading the crowd. Daimon is a bit harder to nail down. He can be found around town, running various errands, but nothing that you could pinpoint as an actual job. Like Ichimatsu, both Daimon and Kurenai are members of the Samurai Gun and they all end up on some rather action packed missions to help slowly free the oppressed people in the town and the surrounding area from the iron grip of the Shogun.
A good portion of the missions could be left as standalone episodes, but there's something sinister happening in the background as Ichimatsu and Co. take on the Shogun that have been abusing the people. A secret group known as the Shogun's Preservation Bureau has been formed to find ways to combat the Samurai Gun members. Newer pieces of technology for the time are beginning to be used by the Bureau to ensure the continuing reign of the Shogun. In several of the first episodes, a wide variety of things, from steam locomotives to machine guns, have been adopted for use by the Shogun in order to remove the threat of the Samurai Gun. (Though, as is pointed out by the liner notes for the first DVD, many of the high-tech gadgets that are used in the series are a bit before their time for the period that Samurai Gun takes place.)
The actions of the Shogun begin to take their toll on the poor oppressed people. Women and children that have been taken and imprisoned, samurai informants and all manner of people have been taken captive, tortured or killed by the minions of the Shogun's Preservation Bureau. Eventually things get personal and a little bit of romance gets into the mix as well when Ohana is taken advantage of by a spy from the Bureau, trying to get information on the whereabouts of the Samurai Gun. Ichimatsu arrives just in time to stop the spy, creating a way to free Ohana from her life as a girl working in the brothels in the process.
From the get go, the audience is taken into fictionalized stylings of some of the historical pieces of the end of the Shogun Era. Overlap that with the complexities of the main characters and the pieces of their pasts that make up the reason for why they do what they do, and you have the makings for a series that will keep you guessing at every turn.
Very little back story is revealed to the audience as the series starts. We're shown small glimpses of the past as the series goes along, but very little beyond Ichimatsu's motives is explained in the first DVD. The creators and the ultimate reasons for the existence of the Samurai Guns is vague at best. The Bureau's behind-the-scenes plans are even more mysterious. But even with all this mystery and vagueness, the result is a somber yet action-filled drama that you must see unfold for yourself.
Despite the overly serious nature of Samurai Gun, there is a bit of humor to be found on the DVD. One of the best parts is found in the Extras for the disc. There you'll find the "Fun with Audio" section where some of the voice actors get to have a bit of fun taking key scenes from the first episodes and recording alternate lines for their characters. What we're treated with is some of the best dead-pan humor that I've seen in a long time. Several of the lines from the series have been cleverly rewritten and are masterfully delivered by the crew in a fast paced barrage of wit and down-right silliness. The way the voice actors were able to keep the serious tone of the series while doing the alternate lines just makes this extra that much more funny. It's something that definitely has to be experienced.
A word of caution here though. Samurai Gun is definitely not something for the younger set. It's got a TV MA rating for the liberal use of violence and blood as well as for some extreme language and sexual situations. Fans of the Japanese Shogun era as well as action aficionados that like a more adult oriented story line will love Samurai Gun. It's the right mix of action, suspense and mystery that will keep you chomping at the bit and begging for more.
inisial D
Initial D
Top row. from left to right: Jay Chou, Edison Chen, and Anthony Wong.
Bottom row, from left to right: Shawn Yue, Anne Suzuki, and Jordan Chan.
Year: 2005
Director: Andrew Lau Wai-Keung, Alan Mak Siu-Fai
Producer: Andrew Lau Wai-Keung
Writer: Felix Chong Man-Keung, Shuichi Shigeno (original comic)
Cast: Jay Chou, Edison Chen, Anne Suzuki, Anthony Wong Chau-Sang, Chapman To Man-Chat, Shawn Yue, Jordan Chan Siu-Chun, Kenny Bee
The Skinny: It meets expectations...provided yours aren't screamingly high. Initial D is a solid, entertaining, though unspectacular manga adaptation. Still, fans should go home happy, and this is certainly one impressive production. Initial D won't be 2005's Kung Fu Hustle, but for summer popcorn fluff, it's in a class of its own.
Review
by Kozo:
Is there a more anticipated Hong Kong film in 2005 than Initial D? Ages in the making, this manga-to-screen adaptation is a hype juggernaut that virtually guarantees overblown expectations from a paying audience. Not only is it based on a beloved anime/manga series with fans all over the globe, but it's also the starring film debut of superstar singer Jay Chou, and it's directed by Andrew Lau and Alan Mak, two guys who made some dinky film series called Infernal Affairs. And besides, it arrives in the midst of Hong Kong's worst year for cinema, both in number of releases and actual film quality. Given the above, Initial D is more than a movie, it's a potential savior. If you're crossing your fingers, you're not alone.
Jay Chou is Takumi Fujiwara, a high school student in Japan whose days are spent working at a gas station and mumbling in a dopey manner. He also quietly lusts after supreme jailbait classmate Natsuki (Anne Suzuki), and hangs with blowhard pal Itsuki (Chapman To, playing 15 years younger than his actual age). Takumi doesn't look like a special guy, but he does have a hidden talent: street racing, and not just any street racing. Takumi uses an old Toyota Trueno AE86 and clocks insane times on the Mt. Akina downhill, all by applying the technique of "drifting," i.e. skidding around corners without losing much speed in the process (NOTE: This is a layman's explanation. We apologize in advance to drifting masters everywhere.). However, Takumi does not own the mountain with his racing prowess; instead, he uses his insane drifting skills to get home as soon as possible after delivering tofu for his dad Bunta (Anthony Wong). If Takumi smokes anyone on the way home, it's just a coincidence.
That exact coincidence leads to the eventual outing of Mt. Akina's hidden racing god. Takeshi Nakazato (Shawn Yue), leader of the Night Kids racing team, shows up at Takumi's workplace looking to take on the "Akina Racing God," but unfortunately Itsuki claims the title, and subsequently gets embarrassed on Mt. Akina's slopes. But after Nakazato gets creamed by a returning-from-delivery Takumi, he re-ups his challenge at the gas station...except nobody seems to know who beat Nakazato. Takumi's too busy acting morose and fantasizing about a potential beach date with Natsuki to take up the challenge. But Yuuichi (Kenny Bee), Itsuki's dad and Takumi's boss at the gas station, knows that it was Takumi behind the wheel, and pressures Bunta into getting his son to race. Bunta offers to lend Takumi the car for his date, as long as Takumi beats Nakazato in his first "official" street race. Presto, an illegal racing god is born, which leads to new challengers, including Ryosuke Takahashi (Edison Chen), the leader of the Red Suns racing team, and Kyoichi Sudo (Jordan Chan), an actual racing professional who takes on Takumi to avenge a buddy. Meanwhile, Takumi ponders his future in a quiet, morose manner, and the audience waits for the next CG-assisted car race.
The appeal of the Initial D manga/anime isn't hard to figure out. The copious car detail is cool to amateur car tuners and enthusiasts, but the story itself has a killer concept. Takumi's status as an accidental racing god is an exceptionally cool hook, and creator Shuichi Shigeno's initial stories of how Takumi discovers his own racing prowess - and how he soundly beats all the serious racers in the vicinity - makes for fun and exhilarating storytelling for anyone who likes an underdog story. Takumi is an accidental genius: a racing god created by years of incidental practice, and the filmmakers of the live-action Initial D movie wisely spend plenty of time detailing Takumi's entertaining origins. Screenwriter Felix Chong (also of Infernal Affairs) gives us plenty of buildup, establishing all the hows and whys before Takumi ever begins racing. The effect is two-fold: not only does the buildup add extra oomph to Takumi's ultimate mastery of the downhill, but it also creates the semblance of actual storytelling. And as anyone who's seen a bunch of Hong Kong movies will tell you, actual storytelling is pretty damn rare.
Initial D is a very faithful adaptation of the original source material, which is great because it retains the original material's inherent strengths, while hopefully pleasing core fans. Unfortunately, the weaknesses of the original manga get ported over too. Despite the cool origins for Takumi, he's not a very compelling character, and his taciturn ways are as frustrating as they are supposedly cool. Jay Chou handles the part decently, especially since it's a thankless role that only requires an actor to act dopey, mopey, and borderline comatose for a good portion of the film. Chou can handle dopey, mopey, and comatose well, and the limitations of the part even help disguise Chou's stilted Cantonese. What Chou doesn't seem to be able to convey is the character's anger, though the filmmakers don't spend much time there either. Other than the more obvious emoting (Chapman To overacts amusingly, but it's still overacting), the characters are upstaged by the stylish direction from Andrew Lau and Alan Mak, which bleeds MTV-type sensibilities. If the filmmakers need an emotion, they rarely turn to the actors, and instead pour on the camera tricks and obvious music. It's all very cool and even edgy, but there isn't a lot of meat behind the freeze-frames, stutter-shots, and montages set to even more Jay Chou music. This is entertaining, but empty stuff.
Also problematic is the actual racing in Initial D, which is known for being incredibly cerebral, i.e. it involves more than one guy just being faster than another. In the manga/anime, actual understanding of the races is gleamed via running commentary, voice-over, and explanations by racing experts who are smoking about 30 miles from where the race is actually taking place. Such storytelling can stretch a 10 minute race out for 2-3 anime episodes, or even a whole volume of manga. The filmmakers excise much of this, which is great for the film's pacing and visuals, but it also diminishes some of the actual impact of the races. In the film, the clever tricks that Takumi sometimes uses to win are made secondary to the simple fact that he's supposed to win, which doesn't prove as compelling as what occurs in the manga/anime.
Granted, this is a media difference; manga and anime have the luxury of time to tell their stories, while a live-action movie has to come in under 2 hours. This is actually a problem shared by most racing movies, as the big things that decide races - split-second decisions, detailed strategy, and technical car stuff that Average Joe Moviegoer would never understand - largely get ignored in favor of blaring music, quick cars, and actors grinning like idiots. Initial D manages to squeeze in some of the cerebral stuff next to shots of cars whizzing by, but even then the result is only perfunctory in its excitement. The races in Initial D aren't truly exhilarating, though your mileage could vary. If shots of cars drifting around corners gets you off, than Initial D is for you. Guaranteed.
The faithful approach taken by the filmmakers eventually takes its toll, too. After a period of time, the film seems less concerned with telling a good story than clicking off some imaginary checklist of what happened in the manga. This is especially true with the character of Natsuki, whose story is truncated in a disturbingly arbitrary manner. Anne Suzuki gives Natsuki a youthful charm, but her character is ultimately hung out to dry, a fact that's only okay because it happened in the anime and manga, too. Again, that's cool for fans, but the layman unfamiliar with the complete story arcs to these characters could find Initial D to be a cold experience.
However, the film has other positives which help out. The cast largely works; Anthony Wong and Kenny Bee are charismatic old pros who bring plenty of fun to their parts, though Wong's take on Bunta Fujiwara errs a bit on the cartoony side. Third-billed Edison Chen is barely developed, which is a shame as his character is integral to the manga and anime. Still, Chen brings some charisma to his role, while Shawn Yue and Jordan Chan do more with their slight screentime than most actors probably could. Chapman To does the impossible: he makes you believe that he's playing a high school kid. And the production is exceptionally impressive. For big-budget summer fare, Initial D fits the bill quite nicely. It doesn't challenge or truly involve, but it's 110 minutes of easily digestible youth drama and slick racing fun. Undemanding audiences - and even those with some inkling of quality cinema - will likely be pleased.
Still, Initial D is so loaded with expectations that it could still disappoint a great many. Despite the big-budget flash, the film doesn't amaze and astound - and those expecting big things from Messrs. Lau and Mak are sure to be unhappy, because Initial D does nothing to approach the watershed in Hong Kong commercial cinema that was the Infernal Affairs films. If anything, Initial D is closer to The Storm Riders (a well-mounted commercial spectacle) than Infernal Affairs (a brilliantly conceived and challenging commercial film). It's not even Kung Fu Hustle, as that film managed to surprise and even charm between egregious displays of its big budget muscles. Initial D possesses neither charm nor surprise, though it does manage to be better constructed than 90% of what comes out of Hong Kong these days. And its subject matter and cast will probably not draw older viewers, meaning Initial D might not destroy the bank like some people might expect it to. So, it may not be a savior. But for an engaging, entertaining time at the movies, Initial D meets expectations...provided you didn't set yours way too high. (Kozo 2005)
Notes: • Initial D clocks in at 1 hour and 48 minutes, though a longer cut is rumored.
• Tsui Hark was originally set to direct Initial D, but there were "creative differences." After he left, Andrew Lau and Alan Mak signed on instead.
• For a long period of time, Edison Chen was slated to play Takumi Fujiwara, and Andy Lau was even rumored to be up for the role of Bunta.
• A number of Toyota Trueno AE86 cars were used during production, at least one of which was personally wrecked by Jay Chou.
• In four days, Initial D matched the total gross of 2005's top-selling Hong Kong film. That film: Himalaya Singh.
Awards: 25th Hong Kong Film Awards
• Winner - Best Supporting Actor (Anthony Wong Chau-Sang)
• Winner - Best New Artist (Jay Chou)
• Winner - Best Sound Design (Kinson Tsang King-Cheung)
• Winner - Best Visual Effects (Victor Wong, Eddy Wong, Bryan Cheung)
• Nomination - Best Picture
• Nomination - Best Director (Andrew Lau Wai-Keung, Alan Mak Siu-Fai)
• Nomination - Best Editing (Wong Hoi)
• Nomination - Best Original Score (Chan Kwong-Wing)
• Nomination - Best Original Song ("Drifting", performed by Jay Chou)
42nd Golden Horse Awards
• Winner - Best Supporting Actor (Anthony Wong Chau-Sang)
• Winner - Best New Performer (Jay Chou)
• Nomination - Best Adapted Screenplay (Felix Chong Man-Keung)
• Nomination - Best Original Song ("Drifting", performed by Jay Chou)
• Nomination - Best Visual Effects (Victor Wong, Eddy Wong, Bryan Cheung)
• Nomination - Best Sound Effects (Kinson Tsang King-Cheung)
12th Hong Kong Film Critics Society Awards
• Recommended Film
Top row. from left to right: Jay Chou, Edison Chen, and Anthony Wong.
Bottom row, from left to right: Shawn Yue, Anne Suzuki, and Jordan Chan.
Year: 2005
Director: Andrew Lau Wai-Keung, Alan Mak Siu-Fai
Producer: Andrew Lau Wai-Keung
Writer: Felix Chong Man-Keung, Shuichi Shigeno (original comic)
Cast: Jay Chou, Edison Chen, Anne Suzuki, Anthony Wong Chau-Sang, Chapman To Man-Chat, Shawn Yue, Jordan Chan Siu-Chun, Kenny Bee
The Skinny: It meets expectations...provided yours aren't screamingly high. Initial D is a solid, entertaining, though unspectacular manga adaptation. Still, fans should go home happy, and this is certainly one impressive production. Initial D won't be 2005's Kung Fu Hustle, but for summer popcorn fluff, it's in a class of its own.
Review
by Kozo:
Is there a more anticipated Hong Kong film in 2005 than Initial D? Ages in the making, this manga-to-screen adaptation is a hype juggernaut that virtually guarantees overblown expectations from a paying audience. Not only is it based on a beloved anime/manga series with fans all over the globe, but it's also the starring film debut of superstar singer Jay Chou, and it's directed by Andrew Lau and Alan Mak, two guys who made some dinky film series called Infernal Affairs. And besides, it arrives in the midst of Hong Kong's worst year for cinema, both in number of releases and actual film quality. Given the above, Initial D is more than a movie, it's a potential savior. If you're crossing your fingers, you're not alone.
Jay Chou is Takumi Fujiwara, a high school student in Japan whose days are spent working at a gas station and mumbling in a dopey manner. He also quietly lusts after supreme jailbait classmate Natsuki (Anne Suzuki), and hangs with blowhard pal Itsuki (Chapman To, playing 15 years younger than his actual age). Takumi doesn't look like a special guy, but he does have a hidden talent: street racing, and not just any street racing. Takumi uses an old Toyota Trueno AE86 and clocks insane times on the Mt. Akina downhill, all by applying the technique of "drifting," i.e. skidding around corners without losing much speed in the process (NOTE: This is a layman's explanation. We apologize in advance to drifting masters everywhere.). However, Takumi does not own the mountain with his racing prowess; instead, he uses his insane drifting skills to get home as soon as possible after delivering tofu for his dad Bunta (Anthony Wong). If Takumi smokes anyone on the way home, it's just a coincidence.
That exact coincidence leads to the eventual outing of Mt. Akina's hidden racing god. Takeshi Nakazato (Shawn Yue), leader of the Night Kids racing team, shows up at Takumi's workplace looking to take on the "Akina Racing God," but unfortunately Itsuki claims the title, and subsequently gets embarrassed on Mt. Akina's slopes. But after Nakazato gets creamed by a returning-from-delivery Takumi, he re-ups his challenge at the gas station...except nobody seems to know who beat Nakazato. Takumi's too busy acting morose and fantasizing about a potential beach date with Natsuki to take up the challenge. But Yuuichi (Kenny Bee), Itsuki's dad and Takumi's boss at the gas station, knows that it was Takumi behind the wheel, and pressures Bunta into getting his son to race. Bunta offers to lend Takumi the car for his date, as long as Takumi beats Nakazato in his first "official" street race. Presto, an illegal racing god is born, which leads to new challengers, including Ryosuke Takahashi (Edison Chen), the leader of the Red Suns racing team, and Kyoichi Sudo (Jordan Chan), an actual racing professional who takes on Takumi to avenge a buddy. Meanwhile, Takumi ponders his future in a quiet, morose manner, and the audience waits for the next CG-assisted car race.
The appeal of the Initial D manga/anime isn't hard to figure out. The copious car detail is cool to amateur car tuners and enthusiasts, but the story itself has a killer concept. Takumi's status as an accidental racing god is an exceptionally cool hook, and creator Shuichi Shigeno's initial stories of how Takumi discovers his own racing prowess - and how he soundly beats all the serious racers in the vicinity - makes for fun and exhilarating storytelling for anyone who likes an underdog story. Takumi is an accidental genius: a racing god created by years of incidental practice, and the filmmakers of the live-action Initial D movie wisely spend plenty of time detailing Takumi's entertaining origins. Screenwriter Felix Chong (also of Infernal Affairs) gives us plenty of buildup, establishing all the hows and whys before Takumi ever begins racing. The effect is two-fold: not only does the buildup add extra oomph to Takumi's ultimate mastery of the downhill, but it also creates the semblance of actual storytelling. And as anyone who's seen a bunch of Hong Kong movies will tell you, actual storytelling is pretty damn rare.
Initial D is a very faithful adaptation of the original source material, which is great because it retains the original material's inherent strengths, while hopefully pleasing core fans. Unfortunately, the weaknesses of the original manga get ported over too. Despite the cool origins for Takumi, he's not a very compelling character, and his taciturn ways are as frustrating as they are supposedly cool. Jay Chou handles the part decently, especially since it's a thankless role that only requires an actor to act dopey, mopey, and borderline comatose for a good portion of the film. Chou can handle dopey, mopey, and comatose well, and the limitations of the part even help disguise Chou's stilted Cantonese. What Chou doesn't seem to be able to convey is the character's anger, though the filmmakers don't spend much time there either. Other than the more obvious emoting (Chapman To overacts amusingly, but it's still overacting), the characters are upstaged by the stylish direction from Andrew Lau and Alan Mak, which bleeds MTV-type sensibilities. If the filmmakers need an emotion, they rarely turn to the actors, and instead pour on the camera tricks and obvious music. It's all very cool and even edgy, but there isn't a lot of meat behind the freeze-frames, stutter-shots, and montages set to even more Jay Chou music. This is entertaining, but empty stuff.
Also problematic is the actual racing in Initial D, which is known for being incredibly cerebral, i.e. it involves more than one guy just being faster than another. In the manga/anime, actual understanding of the races is gleamed via running commentary, voice-over, and explanations by racing experts who are smoking about 30 miles from where the race is actually taking place. Such storytelling can stretch a 10 minute race out for 2-3 anime episodes, or even a whole volume of manga. The filmmakers excise much of this, which is great for the film's pacing and visuals, but it also diminishes some of the actual impact of the races. In the film, the clever tricks that Takumi sometimes uses to win are made secondary to the simple fact that he's supposed to win, which doesn't prove as compelling as what occurs in the manga/anime.
Granted, this is a media difference; manga and anime have the luxury of time to tell their stories, while a live-action movie has to come in under 2 hours. This is actually a problem shared by most racing movies, as the big things that decide races - split-second decisions, detailed strategy, and technical car stuff that Average Joe Moviegoer would never understand - largely get ignored in favor of blaring music, quick cars, and actors grinning like idiots. Initial D manages to squeeze in some of the cerebral stuff next to shots of cars whizzing by, but even then the result is only perfunctory in its excitement. The races in Initial D aren't truly exhilarating, though your mileage could vary. If shots of cars drifting around corners gets you off, than Initial D is for you. Guaranteed.
The faithful approach taken by the filmmakers eventually takes its toll, too. After a period of time, the film seems less concerned with telling a good story than clicking off some imaginary checklist of what happened in the manga. This is especially true with the character of Natsuki, whose story is truncated in a disturbingly arbitrary manner. Anne Suzuki gives Natsuki a youthful charm, but her character is ultimately hung out to dry, a fact that's only okay because it happened in the anime and manga, too. Again, that's cool for fans, but the layman unfamiliar with the complete story arcs to these characters could find Initial D to be a cold experience.
However, the film has other positives which help out. The cast largely works; Anthony Wong and Kenny Bee are charismatic old pros who bring plenty of fun to their parts, though Wong's take on Bunta Fujiwara errs a bit on the cartoony side. Third-billed Edison Chen is barely developed, which is a shame as his character is integral to the manga and anime. Still, Chen brings some charisma to his role, while Shawn Yue and Jordan Chan do more with their slight screentime than most actors probably could. Chapman To does the impossible: he makes you believe that he's playing a high school kid. And the production is exceptionally impressive. For big-budget summer fare, Initial D fits the bill quite nicely. It doesn't challenge or truly involve, but it's 110 minutes of easily digestible youth drama and slick racing fun. Undemanding audiences - and even those with some inkling of quality cinema - will likely be pleased.
Still, Initial D is so loaded with expectations that it could still disappoint a great many. Despite the big-budget flash, the film doesn't amaze and astound - and those expecting big things from Messrs. Lau and Mak are sure to be unhappy, because Initial D does nothing to approach the watershed in Hong Kong commercial cinema that was the Infernal Affairs films. If anything, Initial D is closer to The Storm Riders (a well-mounted commercial spectacle) than Infernal Affairs (a brilliantly conceived and challenging commercial film). It's not even Kung Fu Hustle, as that film managed to surprise and even charm between egregious displays of its big budget muscles. Initial D possesses neither charm nor surprise, though it does manage to be better constructed than 90% of what comes out of Hong Kong these days. And its subject matter and cast will probably not draw older viewers, meaning Initial D might not destroy the bank like some people might expect it to. So, it may not be a savior. But for an engaging, entertaining time at the movies, Initial D meets expectations...provided you didn't set yours way too high. (Kozo 2005)
Notes: • Initial D clocks in at 1 hour and 48 minutes, though a longer cut is rumored.
• Tsui Hark was originally set to direct Initial D, but there were "creative differences." After he left, Andrew Lau and Alan Mak signed on instead.
• For a long period of time, Edison Chen was slated to play Takumi Fujiwara, and Andy Lau was even rumored to be up for the role of Bunta.
• A number of Toyota Trueno AE86 cars were used during production, at least one of which was personally wrecked by Jay Chou.
• In four days, Initial D matched the total gross of 2005's top-selling Hong Kong film. That film: Himalaya Singh.
Awards: 25th Hong Kong Film Awards
• Winner - Best Supporting Actor (Anthony Wong Chau-Sang)
• Winner - Best New Artist (Jay Chou)
• Winner - Best Sound Design (Kinson Tsang King-Cheung)
• Winner - Best Visual Effects (Victor Wong, Eddy Wong, Bryan Cheung)
• Nomination - Best Picture
• Nomination - Best Director (Andrew Lau Wai-Keung, Alan Mak Siu-Fai)
• Nomination - Best Editing (Wong Hoi)
• Nomination - Best Original Score (Chan Kwong-Wing)
• Nomination - Best Original Song ("Drifting", performed by Jay Chou)
42nd Golden Horse Awards
• Winner - Best Supporting Actor (Anthony Wong Chau-Sang)
• Winner - Best New Performer (Jay Chou)
• Nomination - Best Adapted Screenplay (Felix Chong Man-Keung)
• Nomination - Best Original Song ("Drifting", performed by Jay Chou)
• Nomination - Best Visual Effects (Victor Wong, Eddy Wong, Bryan Cheung)
• Nomination - Best Sound Effects (Kinson Tsang King-Cheung)
12th Hong Kong Film Critics Society Awards
• Recommended Film
samurai X
The story starts off with a bandit raid going on. A young boy named Shinta is saved from death in the bandit raid by Seijuro Hiko. Hiko tells the boy to go to the nearby village and live there. Returning to the site of the attack, he finds Shinta still there, having buried all of the dead, including the bandits. Shinta expresses his regret for not being able to protect the ones he was with, so Hiko offers to properly train him to give him the power to protect. Hiko changes the boy's name to Kenshin, a name he felt was more appropriate for a swordsman.
During his time as a Hitokiri, Kenshin kills a bodyguard named Kiyosato Akira, who is the fiancé of Tomoe. The encounter with Kiyosato leaves Kenshin with the first half of his cross shaped scar.
After a fight with an assassin, Kenshin meets Tomoe. Kenshin takes her to the inn where he is residing, where the owner mistakes her for a prostitute and nearly sends her away. The presence of her there brings a sort of relief to the stressed men of the Choshu clan, but raises the suspicion of the leader, Kogoro Katsura, who has her investigated covertly.
After the Ikedaya affair, when Kenshin's cover as the shadow Hitokiri is blown, Katsura arranges for Kenshin and Tomoe to hide in the village of Otsu as husband and wife, so the 2 would not be suspected. After a few months, Tomoe's brother Enishi comes to visit and secretly reveals to his sister that the shogunate spies assigned to track down and kill Kenshin are close by, and that her revenge will be complete. Tomoe sending Enishi off, feeling ill at ease. It is here that Tomoe realises that she has fallen in love with Kenshin. The next day, Tomoe leaves the house and tries to persuade the shogunate men to give up their pursuit of Kenshin, and attempts to kill their leader. Tomoe fails.
The morning of Tomoe's disappearance, Kenshin is visited by a [horrible and traitorous] comrade who tells him that the one who set the assassin on him was Tomoe and that she is meeting at that moment with her co-conspirators.
On his way toward the house where Tomoe is supposed to be, Kenshin faces three of the four shogunate agents and becomes badly injured. While Kenshin is fighting with the fourth agent, Tomoe steps in between the two and gets killed in order to save Kenshin's life. Before her death, she gives him the second part of his cross-shaped wound. Kenshin takes her death hard and blames himself, swearing to fight to bring about the age desired by Katsura, and after that to continue fighting to protect down-trodden people without taking another life.
During his time as a Hitokiri, Kenshin kills a bodyguard named Kiyosato Akira, who is the fiancé of Tomoe. The encounter with Kiyosato leaves Kenshin with the first half of his cross shaped scar.
After a fight with an assassin, Kenshin meets Tomoe. Kenshin takes her to the inn where he is residing, where the owner mistakes her for a prostitute and nearly sends her away. The presence of her there brings a sort of relief to the stressed men of the Choshu clan, but raises the suspicion of the leader, Kogoro Katsura, who has her investigated covertly.
After the Ikedaya affair, when Kenshin's cover as the shadow Hitokiri is blown, Katsura arranges for Kenshin and Tomoe to hide in the village of Otsu as husband and wife, so the 2 would not be suspected. After a few months, Tomoe's brother Enishi comes to visit and secretly reveals to his sister that the shogunate spies assigned to track down and kill Kenshin are close by, and that her revenge will be complete. Tomoe sending Enishi off, feeling ill at ease. It is here that Tomoe realises that she has fallen in love with Kenshin. The next day, Tomoe leaves the house and tries to persuade the shogunate men to give up their pursuit of Kenshin, and attempts to kill their leader. Tomoe fails.
The morning of Tomoe's disappearance, Kenshin is visited by a [horrible and traitorous] comrade who tells him that the one who set the assassin on him was Tomoe and that she is meeting at that moment with her co-conspirators.
On his way toward the house where Tomoe is supposed to be, Kenshin faces three of the four shogunate agents and becomes badly injured. While Kenshin is fighting with the fourth agent, Tomoe steps in between the two and gets killed in order to save Kenshin's life. Before her death, she gives him the second part of his cross-shaped wound. Kenshin takes her death hard and blames himself, swearing to fight to bring about the age desired by Katsura, and after that to continue fighting to protect down-trodden people without taking another life.
NARUTO
Naruto Uzumaki
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Jump to: navigation, search
Naruto Uzumaki
Naruto character
Naruto Uzumaki by Masashi Kishimoto
First appearance Naruto manga chapter 1
Naruto anime episode 1
Voiced by Japanese
Junko Takeuchi[1]
English
Maile Flanagan[2]
Profile
Age 12[3]-13[4] in Part I
15[5]-16[6] in Part II
Date of birth October 10[4]
Notable relatives Minato Namikaze (father, deceased)
Kushina Uzumaki (mother, presumed deceased)
Ninja rank Genin[4]
Ninja team Team 7
Naruto Uzumaki (うずまき ナルト ,Uzumaki Naruto?) is a fictional character in the anime and manga franchise Naruto created by Masashi Kishimoto. Naruto is the main protagonist and titular character of the series. In creating Naruto, Kishimoto wished to keep the character "simple and stupid" while giving him many attributes of Son Goku, the main character from the Dragon Ball franchise. However, Kishimoto also added his dark past to make him look unique. Naruto's initial design has been changed several times by Kishimoto giving him different clothes to make him more appealing to Western audience as well as to be easier to draw.
In the series, Naruto is a ninja affiliated with the fictional village of Konohagakure. The villagers ostracize Naruto because the nine-tailed demon fox, a malevolent creature that attacked Konohagakure, is sealed within his body. As such, Naruto has ambitions of becoming the village's leader, the Hokage in order make everybody respect him. However, Naruto maintains a cheerful and boisterous personality, allowing him to befriend several other Konoha ninja throughout the series, as well as ninja from other villages. He builds an especially close relationship with Team 7, the ninja team where he belongs, treating them as his family. Naruto appears in all of the series' films, as well as in other media related to the franchise, including all video games and OVAs.
Several anime and manga publications have expressed acclaim and criticism of Naruto's character. Some view him as a stereotypical manga and anime protagonist comparable to those in many other shōnen manga, while others have praised his personality as well as his development in the series. Nevertheless, Naruto has remained highly popular with the Naruto reader base, placing high in several popularity polls.[7] Merchandise based on Naruto has also been released, including figurines and plush dolls.
Contents[hide]
1 Creation and conception
2 Character outline
2.1 Personality
2.2 Abilities
3 Plot overview
4 Appearances in other media
5 Reception
6 References
[edit] Creation and conception
When Kishimoto created Naruto's character, he incorporated a number of traits he felt made an ideal hero: a straightforward way of thinking, a mischievous side, and many of the attributes possessed by Goku from the Dragon Ball franchise. He also made sure to keep Naruto "simple and stupid." Kishimoto did not model Naruto after anyone in particular, instead conceiving him as childlike with a dark side induced by his harsh past. Despite this, he is always optimistic, a trait Kishimoto says makes him unique.[8] Naruto's personality is, by and large, childish in nature. Kishimoto frequently tries to show this when illustrating Naruto, such as depicting him mimicking a turtle like a child might do on the manga cover of volume 10.[9]
Naruto's wardrobe is based on clothing Kishimoto wore when he was younger; according to Kishimoto, using a pre-existing design would not have made Naruto unique whereas something original would have made him stand out too much.[10] The orange coloring of his costume is used to make Naruto "pop," with blues often being used to complement the orange.[11] Because Naruto is associated with spirals, swirl patterns are incorporated into his costume.[12] Initial illustrations of Naruto had him wearing boots, but Kishimoto substituted these for sandals, because he enjoys drawing toes.[13] The goggles that Naruto used to wear were also replaced with a hitai-ate, or shinobi headband, because the goggles themselves were too time consuming to draw.[14]
Kishimoto said he is glad his character has blond hair and blue eyes. The editor of Shonen Jump in the United States added that he implied that the traits may have led the character to appeal to a Western audience. Kishimoto said that he most identifies with Naruto out of all of the Naruto characters. When asked why Naruto's favorite food is ramen instead of kitsune udon Kishimoto said that he personally liked eating ramen.[15][16] In the Naruto: Clash of Ninja video game series, Naruto is playable in various stages of the demon fox's manifestation characterized by a red-colored chakra. Kishimoto took inspiration from the presentation of these forms, imitating one of them for the manga cover of volume 26.[17] When designing Naruto for his Part II appearance, Kishimoto drew Naruto's forehead protector wider to make his eyebrows easier to draw, something that had bothered him in his previous design. He also noted that Naruto's pants made the character look childish. To remedy this, Kishimoto designed a portion of Naruto's pants to roll up, giving the character a more mature appearance.[18]
In the original Japanese versions of Naruto, Naruto often ends his sentences with the addendum "-ttebayo" (which achieves an effect similar to ending a sentence with "you know?"). Kishimoto wanted to give Naruto a childlike catch phrase, and "dattebayo" came to mind. Kishimoto believes the phrase complements Naruto's character, and serves as a verbal tic that portrays him as somewhat of a brat.[10] Throughout the beginning of the English version, the dub replaced "dattebayo" and "-ttebayo" with the phrase "Believe it!", both to mirror the effect and to match the character's lip movements.[19] The producers of the English anime stated that, of all of the characters, Naruto was the most difficult character to cast for, adding that Maile Flanagan "has Naruto down, from the mischievous side, that precocious twelve year old we learn to love, to the serious side."[20]
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Jump to: navigation, search
Naruto Uzumaki
Naruto character
Naruto Uzumaki by Masashi Kishimoto
First appearance Naruto manga chapter 1
Naruto anime episode 1
Voiced by Japanese
Junko Takeuchi[1]
English
Maile Flanagan[2]
Profile
Age 12[3]-13[4] in Part I
15[5]-16[6] in Part II
Date of birth October 10[4]
Notable relatives Minato Namikaze (father, deceased)
Kushina Uzumaki (mother, presumed deceased)
Ninja rank Genin[4]
Ninja team Team 7
Naruto Uzumaki (うずまき ナルト ,Uzumaki Naruto?) is a fictional character in the anime and manga franchise Naruto created by Masashi Kishimoto. Naruto is the main protagonist and titular character of the series. In creating Naruto, Kishimoto wished to keep the character "simple and stupid" while giving him many attributes of Son Goku, the main character from the Dragon Ball franchise. However, Kishimoto also added his dark past to make him look unique. Naruto's initial design has been changed several times by Kishimoto giving him different clothes to make him more appealing to Western audience as well as to be easier to draw.
In the series, Naruto is a ninja affiliated with the fictional village of Konohagakure. The villagers ostracize Naruto because the nine-tailed demon fox, a malevolent creature that attacked Konohagakure, is sealed within his body. As such, Naruto has ambitions of becoming the village's leader, the Hokage in order make everybody respect him. However, Naruto maintains a cheerful and boisterous personality, allowing him to befriend several other Konoha ninja throughout the series, as well as ninja from other villages. He builds an especially close relationship with Team 7, the ninja team where he belongs, treating them as his family. Naruto appears in all of the series' films, as well as in other media related to the franchise, including all video games and OVAs.
Several anime and manga publications have expressed acclaim and criticism of Naruto's character. Some view him as a stereotypical manga and anime protagonist comparable to those in many other shōnen manga, while others have praised his personality as well as his development in the series. Nevertheless, Naruto has remained highly popular with the Naruto reader base, placing high in several popularity polls.[7] Merchandise based on Naruto has also been released, including figurines and plush dolls.
Contents[hide]
1 Creation and conception
2 Character outline
2.1 Personality
2.2 Abilities
3 Plot overview
4 Appearances in other media
5 Reception
6 References
[edit] Creation and conception
When Kishimoto created Naruto's character, he incorporated a number of traits he felt made an ideal hero: a straightforward way of thinking, a mischievous side, and many of the attributes possessed by Goku from the Dragon Ball franchise. He also made sure to keep Naruto "simple and stupid." Kishimoto did not model Naruto after anyone in particular, instead conceiving him as childlike with a dark side induced by his harsh past. Despite this, he is always optimistic, a trait Kishimoto says makes him unique.[8] Naruto's personality is, by and large, childish in nature. Kishimoto frequently tries to show this when illustrating Naruto, such as depicting him mimicking a turtle like a child might do on the manga cover of volume 10.[9]
Naruto's wardrobe is based on clothing Kishimoto wore when he was younger; according to Kishimoto, using a pre-existing design would not have made Naruto unique whereas something original would have made him stand out too much.[10] The orange coloring of his costume is used to make Naruto "pop," with blues often being used to complement the orange.[11] Because Naruto is associated with spirals, swirl patterns are incorporated into his costume.[12] Initial illustrations of Naruto had him wearing boots, but Kishimoto substituted these for sandals, because he enjoys drawing toes.[13] The goggles that Naruto used to wear were also replaced with a hitai-ate, or shinobi headband, because the goggles themselves were too time consuming to draw.[14]
Kishimoto said he is glad his character has blond hair and blue eyes. The editor of Shonen Jump in the United States added that he implied that the traits may have led the character to appeal to a Western audience. Kishimoto said that he most identifies with Naruto out of all of the Naruto characters. When asked why Naruto's favorite food is ramen instead of kitsune udon Kishimoto said that he personally liked eating ramen.[15][16] In the Naruto: Clash of Ninja video game series, Naruto is playable in various stages of the demon fox's manifestation characterized by a red-colored chakra. Kishimoto took inspiration from the presentation of these forms, imitating one of them for the manga cover of volume 26.[17] When designing Naruto for his Part II appearance, Kishimoto drew Naruto's forehead protector wider to make his eyebrows easier to draw, something that had bothered him in his previous design. He also noted that Naruto's pants made the character look childish. To remedy this, Kishimoto designed a portion of Naruto's pants to roll up, giving the character a more mature appearance.[18]
In the original Japanese versions of Naruto, Naruto often ends his sentences with the addendum "-ttebayo" (which achieves an effect similar to ending a sentence with "you know?"). Kishimoto wanted to give Naruto a childlike catch phrase, and "dattebayo" came to mind. Kishimoto believes the phrase complements Naruto's character, and serves as a verbal tic that portrays him as somewhat of a brat.[10] Throughout the beginning of the English version, the dub replaced "dattebayo" and "-ttebayo" with the phrase "Believe it!", both to mirror the effect and to match the character's lip movements.[19] The producers of the English anime stated that, of all of the characters, Naruto was the most difficult character to cast for, adding that Maile Flanagan "has Naruto down, from the mischievous side, that precocious twelve year old we learn to love, to the serious side."[20]
GHOST HUNT
Ghost Hunt
Anime DVD Review
First thing first: do NOT, under any circumstances, start watching Ghost Hunt in the dark. If you are a seasoned horror fan, okay, you can skip on grabbing something to hide behind but do NOT watch this in the dark. Think Mermaid Forest updated by the people from Tsukihime with a little When They Cry thrown in.
In the world created by Fuyumi Ono, best known for the 12 Kingdoms series (manga and anime), it all starts off innocently enough. You know, young teenage girls telling scary stories back and forth after school just for fun. Mai Taniyama doesn't think anything of it. Who could resist telling stories about a creepy old school that is nearby? The best part of it is not only are her friends really scared of her stories but they have also attracted the attention of a very good-looking boy. Who cares if the school weirdo keeps warning her and her friends about inviting spirits to their world with their stories? Let everyone's imaginations run all over the place; there is nothing wrong with telling her stories.
Unfortunately, "everyone" eventually included herself. Mai started sneaking peeks at the old school as she walks by everyday, thinking maybe, just maybe something was staring back at her. Her curiosity got the best of her one day and she discovered something WAS staring back at her. Nothing too scary; it was just a very expensive video camera that she ended up breaking. The scary part was that now she owes the owner of that camera a lot of money. Oh, she also injured his assistant in the process of breaking the camera, so there is no way she is getting out of working for this guy. The good thing is the owner turns out to be that very good-looking guy that was interested in her stories. Bad thing is he turns out to be a ...uhmmm...we'll use a nicer word here that Mai uses to describe Kazuya Shibuya... narcissist. She even used that word to give him the nickname that everyone ended up using for him: Naru.
Working with Naru doesn't have any advantages. He's only 17 years old but he is the manager of SPR, Shibuya Psychic Research, a firm that specializes in paranormal activities. It's not that fun making tea for him and his assistant, Lin, all day long. Thankfully, there are always freelancers that Naru calls in to help, to make the days more fun. We have Houshou Takigawa, a part-time Buddhist monk and full-time bassist for a neighborhood rock band, and Ayako Matsuzaki, a self-professed Shinto priestess who can't seem to ever exorcise any spirits when Naru needs her to. John Brown, a Catholic priest from Australia, on the other hand can always exorcise spirits out of people. Masako Hara usually shows up with John. As a spirit medium, she can sense the spirits that SPR needs to deal with and be a translator of sorts. Last but not least, we have Osamu Yasuhara, a client turned part-time gofer/bus boy/assistant to the assistant.
If the strange assortment of people can't keep things fun enough for Mai, the fact that the paranormal does exist and usually wants to kill people definitely keeps her on her toes. Between haunted houses, creepy old schools, evil curses, people with psychic powers, dolls that hate adults, and her very own growing psychic powers, she doesn't need scary stories anymore. She doesn't need to be scared by stories when she is scared already by unseen children screaming for their mothers, windows and doors closing on her by themselves, spirits that choke her, and Naru wanting money back for his video camera.
After speeding through the entire first season in two days (no nights, were you paying attention?), watching behind blankets and pillows, locking all my doors, shuttering all my windows, and opening all my lights, Mai, alive in spite all the "work" she has gone through, still hasn't been able to pay Naru back but she has figured out that he's not that bad when he's not being a ...ummm... narcissist. So now like all the fans that have slowly become attached to this series, I ask, "When is the second season coming?"
Reviewed by Carolyn Whu, February 2009
Below: Scenes from Ghost Hunt.
Anime DVD Review
First thing first: do NOT, under any circumstances, start watching Ghost Hunt in the dark. If you are a seasoned horror fan, okay, you can skip on grabbing something to hide behind but do NOT watch this in the dark. Think Mermaid Forest updated by the people from Tsukihime with a little When They Cry thrown in.
In the world created by Fuyumi Ono, best known for the 12 Kingdoms series (manga and anime), it all starts off innocently enough. You know, young teenage girls telling scary stories back and forth after school just for fun. Mai Taniyama doesn't think anything of it. Who could resist telling stories about a creepy old school that is nearby? The best part of it is not only are her friends really scared of her stories but they have also attracted the attention of a very good-looking boy. Who cares if the school weirdo keeps warning her and her friends about inviting spirits to their world with their stories? Let everyone's imaginations run all over the place; there is nothing wrong with telling her stories.
Unfortunately, "everyone" eventually included herself. Mai started sneaking peeks at the old school as she walks by everyday, thinking maybe, just maybe something was staring back at her. Her curiosity got the best of her one day and she discovered something WAS staring back at her. Nothing too scary; it was just a very expensive video camera that she ended up breaking. The scary part was that now she owes the owner of that camera a lot of money. Oh, she also injured his assistant in the process of breaking the camera, so there is no way she is getting out of working for this guy. The good thing is the owner turns out to be that very good-looking guy that was interested in her stories. Bad thing is he turns out to be a ...uhmmm...we'll use a nicer word here that Mai uses to describe Kazuya Shibuya... narcissist. She even used that word to give him the nickname that everyone ended up using for him: Naru.
Working with Naru doesn't have any advantages. He's only 17 years old but he is the manager of SPR, Shibuya Psychic Research, a firm that specializes in paranormal activities. It's not that fun making tea for him and his assistant, Lin, all day long. Thankfully, there are always freelancers that Naru calls in to help, to make the days more fun. We have Houshou Takigawa, a part-time Buddhist monk and full-time bassist for a neighborhood rock band, and Ayako Matsuzaki, a self-professed Shinto priestess who can't seem to ever exorcise any spirits when Naru needs her to. John Brown, a Catholic priest from Australia, on the other hand can always exorcise spirits out of people. Masako Hara usually shows up with John. As a spirit medium, she can sense the spirits that SPR needs to deal with and be a translator of sorts. Last but not least, we have Osamu Yasuhara, a client turned part-time gofer/bus boy/assistant to the assistant.
If the strange assortment of people can't keep things fun enough for Mai, the fact that the paranormal does exist and usually wants to kill people definitely keeps her on her toes. Between haunted houses, creepy old schools, evil curses, people with psychic powers, dolls that hate adults, and her very own growing psychic powers, she doesn't need scary stories anymore. She doesn't need to be scared by stories when she is scared already by unseen children screaming for their mothers, windows and doors closing on her by themselves, spirits that choke her, and Naru wanting money back for his video camera.
After speeding through the entire first season in two days (no nights, were you paying attention?), watching behind blankets and pillows, locking all my doors, shuttering all my windows, and opening all my lights, Mai, alive in spite all the "work" she has gone through, still hasn't been able to pay Naru back but she has figured out that he's not that bad when he's not being a ...ummm... narcissist. So now like all the fans that have slowly become attached to this series, I ask, "When is the second season coming?"
Reviewed by Carolyn Whu, February 2009
Below: Scenes from Ghost Hunt.
BLEACH
Bleach (manga)
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Jump to: navigation, search
"BLEACH" redirects here. For other uses, see Bleach (disambiguation).
Bleach
Cover of Bleach, Volume 1
ブリーチ
(Burīchi)
Genre Action, Bangsian fantasy
Manga
Author Tite Kubo
Publisher Flag of Japan Shueisha
English publisher Flag of Australia Flag of New Zealand Madman Entertainment
Flag of Canada Flag of the United States Flag of the United Kingdom Viz Media
[show]Other publishers:
Flag of Brazil Flag of Italy Panini Comics
Flag of Catalonia Flag of France Flag of Spain Glénat
Flag of Germany Tokyopop
Flag of Hong Kong CultureCom
Flag of Indonesia M&C
Flag of Sweden Bonnier Carlsen
Flag of Malaysia Komik Remaja
Flag of Mexico Grupo Editorial Vid
Flag of the Netherlands Kana (publisher)
Flag of Russia Eksmo & Comix-ART
Flag of Singapore Chuang Yi(Chinese)
Flag of the Republic of China Tong Li Comics(Chinese)
Flag of Thailand Nation comics
Demographic Shōnen
Magazine Flag of Japan Weekly Shōnen Jump
Flag of the United States Shonen Jump
Flag of Hong Kong EX-am
Flag of the Republic of China Formosa Youth
Original run August 2001 – ongoing
Volumes 37
TV anime
Director Noriyuki Abe
Studio Studio Pierrot
Licensor Flag of Australia Flag of New Zealand Madman Entertainment
Flag of Canada Flag of the United States Viz Media
Flag of the United Kingdom Manga Entertainment
Network Flag of Japan TV Tokyo
English network Flag of Canada YTV
Flag of the United States Cartoon Network (Adult Swim)
Flag of the United Kingdom AnimeCentral
[show]Other networks:
Flag of Brazil Flag of Mexico Flag of Venezuela Animax
Flag of France MCM
Flag of Hungary Animax
Flag of Israel Arutz Ha-Yeladim
Flag of Malaysia TV3
Flag of the Philippines GMA 7
Flag of Poland Hyper Media
Flag of South Korea Tooniverse
Flag of Spain Buzz Media
Flag of Thailand True Visions Ch 51
Original run October 5, 2004 – ongoing
Episodes 208
Related works
* Bleach-related video games
* Bleach: Memories of Nobody, Bleach: The DiamondDust Rebellion and Bleach: Fade to Black, I Call Your Name, animated feature films
Anime and Manga Portal
Bleach (ブリーチ ,Burīchi?, romanized as BLEACH in Japan) is a Japanese manga series written and illustrated by Tite Kubo. Bleach follows the adventures of Ichigo Kurosaki after he accidentally obtains the power of a shinigami—a Japanese death personification similar to the Grim Reaper—from Rukia Kuchiki. Gaining these abilities forces him to take on the duties of defending humans from evil spirits and guiding departed souls to the afterlife.
Bleach has been continuously serialized in the Japanese manga anthology Weekly Shōnen Jump since August 2001 and has been collected in 36 tankōbon volumes as of December 2008. Since its publication, Bleach has spawned a substantial media franchise. The manga has been adapted into an animated television series produced by Studio Pierrot which is still ongoing in Japan as it adapts the story from the manga. The series has also spawned two original video animations (OVAs), three animated feature films, seven rock musicals, and numerous video games, as well as prompted the release of many types of Bleach-related merchandise.
Viz Media licensed the manga for English-language publication in the United States and Canada and has released 25 volumes as of December 2008. In addition, it has been publishing the chapters in Shonen Jump since November 2007. On March 15, 2006, Viz obtained foreign television and home video distribution rights to the Bleach anime. Cartoon Network began airing Bleach as part of its Adult Swim block on September 9, 2006 in the United States. The first film, Bleach: Memories of Nobody was released in North America on Region 1 DVD by Viz on October 14, 2008.
Compilation volumes of the manga have sold over 50 million copies in Japan and reached the top of manga sales charts in the United States. The anime adaptation has been similarly received, rating as the 7th most popular anime television series in Japan in 2006, and in the top ten anime for America 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 America.
Contents
[hide]
* 1 Plot
o 1.1 Setting
* 2 Production
* 3 Media
o 3.1 Manga
o 3.2 Anime
o 3.3 CDs
o 3.4 Films
o 3.5 Musical
o 3.6 Trading card game
o 3.7 Video games
o 3.8 Other
* 4 Reception
* 5 References
* 6 External links
[edit] Plot
See also: List of Bleach characters
The story opens with the sudden appearance of Soul Reaper Rukia Kuchiki in Ichigo Kurosaki's bedroom. She is surprised at his ability to see her, but their conversation is interrupted by the appearance of a "hollow", an evil spirit. After Rukia is severely wounded while trying to protect Ichigo, she attempts to transfer half her powers to Ichigo in order to let him face the hollow on equal footing. Ichigo instead unintentionally absorbs almost all her energy, allowing him to defeat the hollow with ease. The next day Rukia appears in Ichigo's classroom as a seemingly normal human, and informs Ichigo that his absorption of her powers has left her stranded in the human world until she recovers her strength. In the meantime Ichigo shelters Rukia in his home and takes over her job as a Soul Reaper, battling hollows and guiding lost souls to the afterlife realm known as Soul Society.
After a few months of this arrangement, in the sixth volume of the series, Rukia's Soul Reaper superiors find out about her giving her powers away (which is illegal in Soul Society) and send a detachment to arrest her, and sentence her to death. Ichigo is unable to stop Rukia's capture, but with the help of several of his classmates who also possess spiritual abilities and ex-Soul Reaper and captain Kisuke Urahara, he sets off for the Soul Reaper base, located in Soul Society. Once there, Ichigo and company battle against the elites of the Soul Reaper military, and are ultimately successful in halting Rukia's execution.
It is then revealed that Rukia's execution and Ichigo's rescue attempt were both manipulated by Sōsuke Aizen, a high ranking Soul Reaper previously believed to be murdered, as part of a far-reaching plot to take control of Soul Society. Aizen betrays his fellow Soul Reapers and allies himself with the hollows, becoming the main antagonist of the series, and Ichigo teams up with his former enemies in Soul Society after learning that the next step in Aizen's plan involves the destruction of his hometown. At this point, Bleach chronicles the war between Aizen and the Soul Society, a plotline which has not yet been resolved. According to Tite Kubo, the ending of the series is not yet planned out or written.[1]
[edit] Setting
A view of Seireitei in Soul Society, the home of the Soul Reapers.
Hueco Mundo is a sparse, white-sanded desert inhabited by hollows.
Bleach contains a massive cast of characters designed by series creator Tite Kubo, which are divided into various factions and fictional races with distinct themes, and described using large amounts of invented jargon specific to the series.[2][3][4] All significant characters in the series possess some degree of paranormal and superhuman abilities, and these are explained by their souls generating higher than usual levels of a paranormal energy called reiatsu (霊圧 ?, lit. "spirit pressure"). The three predominant character types in Bleach are humans, Soul Reapers, and hollows.
The humans of Bleach are much like the residents of modern Japan. A normal human cannot see or sense spirits in any way unless that spirit possesses an artificial human body called a gigai, so humanity remains unaware of the existence of the spirit world. Very rarely a human like Ichigo Kurosaki is born who is able to see, interact, or fight with spirits, and others can gain these abilities by exposure to large amounts of spiritual energy, which happens to a number of Ichigo's friends during the course of the series.[5][6]
The Soul Reapers (死神 ,shinigami?, lit. "death god") are a military order of psychopomps based in Soul Society (尸魂界（ソウル・ソサエティ） ,Sōru Sosaeti?), a sort of heaven. Soul Reapers escort the souls of the dead to Soul Society through the ritual of soul burial (魂葬 ,konsō?). Their other major duties are protecting humans from hollows, and maintaining order in Soul Society. Soul Reapers all possess supernatural powers, which manifest through their zanpakutō swords, and kidō magic spells. Several factions of ex-Soul Reapers are featured in Bleach's story, most prominent among them the members of Sōsuke Aizen's rebellion and the Visoreds, former Soul Society elites who were exiled after obtaining hollow powers. Soul Society resembles feudal Japan, and consists of two major portions: eighty residential districts called the Rukongai (流魂街 ,Town of Wandering Spirits?),[7] which are inhabited by the souls of the dead, and the walled city Seireitei (瀞霊廷 ,Court of Pure Souls?), the home and military base of the Soul Reapers. The Rukongai districts are ordinally ranked, with the lower-numbered districts being more peaceful.[8] Soul Society is nominally ruled by a king, who resides in another realm within Soul Society, but in practice is controlled by the Soul Reapers.[9]
The hollows are a race of evil spirits who feed on the souls of humans, both living and dead. Hollows are created when the soul of a dead human is neglected by the Soul Reapers until it is overcome by loneliness and/or rage, at which point it changes form into a monster with a white mask. By going through a procedure provided by Aizen, they become an arrancar, a hollow which regains the ability to reason, obtains a more humanoid form, and can gain access to Soul Reaper abilities such as the zanpakutō. As a group, the arrancar are the primary antagonists of the Bleach series. When not hunting humans or souls in the human world hollows reside in Hueco Mundo (虚圏（ウェコムンド） ,Weko Mundo?), a dimension between the human world and Soul Society. Hollows are undetectable as long as they remain in Hueco Mundo.
[edit] Production
Bleach was first conceived from a desire on Tite Kubo's part to draw shinigami in kimono, which formed the basis for the design of the Soul Reapers in the series, and the conception of character Rukia Kuchiki.[10][11] The original story concept was submitted to Weekly Shōnen Jump shortly after the cancellation of Tite Kubo's previous manga Zombie Powder, but was rejected. Akira Toriyama, the creator of Dragon Ball, saw the story and wrote a letter of encouragement to Kubo.[11] Bleach was accepted for publication a short time later, in 2001, and was initially intended to be a shorter series, with a maximum serialization length of five years.[11] Early plans for the story did not include the hierarchical structure of Soul Society, but did include some characters and elements which did not come into the plot until the Arrancar arc, such as Ichigo's Soul Reaper heritage.[10]
Tite Kubo has cited influences for elements of Bleach ranging from other manga series to music, foreign language, architecture, and film. He attributes his interest in drawing the supernatural and monsters to Shigeru Mizuki's GeGeGe no Kitaro and Bleach's focus on interesting weaponry and battle scenes to Masami Kurumada's Saint Seiya, both manga Kubo enjoyed as a boy.[10] The action style and storytelling found in Bleach is inspired by cinema, though Kubo has not revealed any specific movie as being an influence for fight scenes. When pressed, he told interviewers that he liked Snatch but did not use it as a model.[12] Kubo has also stated that he wishes to make Bleach an experience that can only be found by reading manga, and dismissed ideas of creating any live-action film adaptations of the series.[11]
Bleach's creative process is focused around character design. When writing plotlines or having difficulties generating new material, Kubo begins by thinking of new characters, often en masse, and rereading previous volumes of Bleach.[10][13] Kubo has said that he likes creating characters that have outward appearances that do not match their true nature, an element that can be found in many Bleach characters, as he is "attracted to people with that seeming contradiction" and finds an "urge to draw people like that when I work."[2] The terminology used in Bleach has a variety of inspirations, with each category of character bearing a different linguistic theme. Many of the names for swords and spells used by Soul Reapers were inspired by ancient Japanese literature. Hollows and arrancar use Spanish terms. Kubo became interested in Spanish because, to him, the language sounded "bewitching" and "mellow".[2]
[edit] Media
[edit] Manga
Main article: List of Bleach chapters
The series was published in the Japanese-language magazine Weekly Shōnen Jump. The individual chapters are collected by Shueisha in series of tankōbon volumes, which also include a poem by the character of the cover.[14] Chapter names in English have katakana above them to indicate how they are read in Japanese, similarly to furigana for kanji. The first volume was released on January 5, 2002; as of February 2009, thirty-seven volumes have been released.[15][16]
The series is licensed for English language release in North America by Viz Media. Viz released the first volume on June 1, 2004, with 25 volumes released as of December 2008.[17][18] Viz began serializing the individual chapters in its manga anthology Shonen Jump in the November 2007 issue where the series continues to run.[19] Viz released a Bleach box set on September 2, 2008 contains the first twenty-one volumes of the series, as well as poster and a booklet of the series.[20]
[edit] Anime
Main article: List of Bleach episodes
The anime version of Bleach is produced by Studio Pierrot and directed by Noriyuki Abe. It began broadcasting in Japan on October 5, 2004, on TV Tokyo. Episodes 1-167 were made and broadcast in 4:3, with episodes 168+ made and broadcast in 16:9 wide screen.
On March 15, 2006, Viz Media obtained foreign television, home video, and merchandising rights to the Bleach anime from the TV Tokyo Corporation and Shueisha.[21] Subsequently, Viz Media contracted Studiopolis to create the English dub of the anime,[22] and has licensed its individual Bleach merchandising rights to several different companies.[23] The English version of the Bleach anime premiered on Canada's YTV channel in the Bionix program block on September 8, 2006. Cartoon Network began airing Bleach the following evening as part of its Adult Swim block. The show went on hiatus on October 20, 2007 after airing the first 52 episodes of the series. It was replaced with another Viz series, Death Note, while additional episodes of Bleach were being dubbed. YTV began showing reruns of the anime after episode 26. On March 2, 2008 at 1:00 a.m. EST, the series returned from hiatus and began the next 52 episodes.[24] In the UK, Bleach premiered on AnimeCentral on September 13, 2007, with new episodes airing daily, but is currently on hiatus after airing the first 52 episodes.
[edit] CDs
Eleven CD soundtracks, produced by Shirō Sagisu, have been released for the Bleach anime series and movies. Bleach Original Soundtrack 1 was released on May 18, 2005 and contains twenty-five tracks, including the first opening and ending themes in their original television lengths. Bleach Original Soundtrack 2 followed on August 2, 2006 with an additional twenty-three instrumental tracks. "Bleach Original Soundtrack 3" followed later on November 5, 2008 with 27 instrumental tracks, Bleach: Memories of Nobody Original Soundtrack was released with twenty-five tracks from the Bleach: Memories of Nobody anime film. A soundtrack was also released for the Bleach: The DiamondDust Rebellion film, with nearly thirty tracks from the movie and finally a 3rd one for the "Bleach: Fade To Black, I Call Your Name" movie, with twenty-nine tracks. Bleach: The Best contains twelve of the opening and ending themes from the series in their full length versions later followed by "Bleach: Best Tunes" with contains the next twelve of opening and ending themes.
The Bleach Beat Collections, is an on-going set of CDs published by Sony Music featuring recordings by the original Japanese voice actors that provide a look at the personalities of the characters they play, as well as the voice actors themselves. The first CD was released on June 22, 2005; as of December 17, 2008, nineteen volumes have been released across four named sets called "Sessions".[25][26]
Two "Radio DJCD Bleach 'B' Station" CD season sets, each containing six volumes, have been released in Japan. Five drama CDs have been produced for the series as well, featuring the original voice actors from the series. These drama CDs have only been included as part of the DVD releases.
[edit] Films
There are three feature films based on the Bleach series, all directed by Noriyuki Abe, director of the Bleach anime series. The films have been released in December of each year starting in 2006. Each movie features an original plotline, rather than being an adaptation of the manga's story. They also feature original characters designed by Tite Kubo, which is contrary to the normal practice for anime-based films, as the original author usually has little creative involvement.[27]
The first film, Bleach: Memories of Nobody, was released in Japan on December 16, 2006 and had a limited release in American theaters in June 2008. The movie is centered around the activities of a group called the "Dark Ones," who were banished from the Soul Society and trying to destroy both Soul Society and the World of the Living. Memories of Nobody was released in North America on Region 1 DVD by Viz Media on October 14, 2008.[28]
The second film, Bleach: The DiamondDust Rebellion, was released to Japanese theaters on December 22, 2007. Its plot focuses on an artifact belonging to Soul Society's King, and 10th Division captain Tōshirō Hitsugaya's efforts to clear his name after it is stolen while under his care.[29]
The third film, Bleach: Fade to Black, I Call Your Name (BLEACH Fade to Black 君の名を呼ぶ ,Burichi: Fade to Black - Kimi no Na o Yobu?), was released in Japan on December 13, 2008. This film's screenplay was written by Natsuko Takahashi, who is a screenwriter for the anime series. The official film website gives the tagline of "Sayonara, Rukia". In the film, members of Soul Society are struck with amnesia causing them to forget Ichigo and Rukia. When he goes to Soul Society to investigate, Ichigo discovers that Rukia has forgotten not only him, but her own identity as well.[28] For the film, the band Porno Graffiti performed the song "Koyoi, Tsuki wa Miezu Tomo".[28]
[edit] Musical
Bleach has been adapted into a series of rock musicals, jointly produced by Studio Pierrot and Nelke Planning. There have been five musicals produced which covered portions of the Substitute and Soul Society arcs, as well as two additional performances known as "Live Bankai Shows" which did not follow the Bleach plotline. The initial performance run of the Bleach musical was from August 17 to August 28, 2005 at the Space Zero Tokyo center in Shinjuku.[30][31][32]
The musicals are directed by Takuya Hiramitsu, with a script adaptation by Naoshi Okumura and music composed by playwright Shoichi Tama. The songs are completely original and not taken from the anime soundtrack. Key actors in the series include Tatsuya Isaka, who plays Ichigo Kurosaki, Miki Satō, who plays Rukia Kuchiki, and Eiji Moriyama, who plays Renji Abarai.
[edit] Trading card game
Two collectible card games (CCG) based on the Bleach series have been produced. "Bleach Soul Card Battle", produced by Bandai, was introduced in Japan in 2004.[33] As of October 2008, seventeen named sets have been released for the series.[34]
"Bleach TCG" was introduced in the United States by Score Entertainment in May 2007.[35] Designed by Aik Tongtharadol, it is a two-player game in which each player starts with at least 61 cards: a "Guardian" card, a 60-card "main deck" and an optional 20-card "side deck". A player loses if their power, as dictated by their Guardian card, is reduced to zero, or if they are unable to draw or discard a card from their deck.[36] The cards for the game have been released in named sets with each set released in three formats: a 72-card preconstructed box set containing a starter deck and two booster packs, a 10-card booster pack, and a 12-pack booster box. As of December 2008, six named sets have been released.
[edit] Video games
Main article: List of Bleach video games
Currently, the majority of the games have only been released in Japan, though Sega has directly ported the first, and second Nintendo DS game and the Wii version for North America. So far, all dedicated Bleach games released for Sony's consoles have been developed and published by SCEI, whereas the Nintendo GameCube ones are developed and published by Sega, and the Nintendo DS versions are developed by Treasure Co. Ltd.
[edit] Other
A single Bleach artbook, All Colour But The Black, has been released in Japan.[37]
Three databooks have also been released about the series. The first two, Bleach: Official Character Book Souls and Bleach: Official Animation Book Vibes were released on February 3, 2006.[38][39] The third, Bleach Official Bootleg: KaraBuri+ (BLEACH OFFICIAL BOOTLEG カラブリ プラス ?), was released on August 3, 2007. In addition to character guides and articles on other fictional aspects of the series, it compiles the various short comics, Tedious Everyday Tales Colorful Bleach (徒然日常絵詞 カラフル ブリーチ ,Tsuredure Nichijou Ekotoba Karafuru Buriichi?), that were published in V Jump. The omake-style panels are similar to those included in the main series, but unrelated to the actual plot of the manga.[40]
Tite Kubo and Makoto Matsubara have co-authored two novelizations of the Bleach series, which were published by Shueisha under their Jump Books label. The first volume, BLEACH-letters from the other side: The Death and The Strawberry was published on December 15, 2004, and the second, BLEACH: The Honey Dish Rhapsody, was published in October 30, 2006.[41][42]
[edit] Reception
The first volume of the manga has sold over 1.25 million copies in Japan, and the original Japanese version of the manga series as a whole has sold over 50 million copies.[43][not in citation given] In 2005, Bleach was awarded the Shogakukan Manga Award in the shōnen category.[44][45] During 2008, volume 34 of the manga sold 874,153 copies in Japan, becoming the 12th best-seller comics from the year. Volumes 33 and 35 have also ranked 17 and 18, respectively.[46] In total the manga has sold 3,161,825 copies in Japan during 2008, becoming 5th best seller series.[47] North American sales of the manga have been high, with Volume 16 placing in the top 10 graphic novel sales in December 2006[48] and Volume 17 being the best-selling manga volume for the month of February 2007.[49][50] The English version of Bleach was nominated for the "best manga" and "best theme" awards at the 2006 American Anime Awards, but did not win either category. It was nominated again in 2007 in the fields of "best manga", "best actor", "best DVD package design", and "best theme", but failed to win any awards.[51][dead link] In a 2006 Internet poll by TV Asahi, Bleach was ranked as Japan's seventh-favorite anime program.[52] The previous year, it was ranked as the twenty-seventh favorite program.[53]
Deb Aoki from About.com considered the series as the Best Continuing Shonen Manga of 2007, along with Eyeshield 21, praising the "compelling stories, dazzling action sequences and great character development".[54] She also placed the title on her list of "Top 10 Shonen Manga Must-Reads".[55] Mania.com reviewer Jarred Pine criticized the series as being plagued with stereotypes from the genre. He felt it was a rough start for the series with unimpressive battles, overused gags, and a bad introduction for central character Ichigo that causes him to come across "as a frowning punk" whose one good trait is his desire to protect. Despite this, Pine notes that he loves the series, particularly its quirky, lovable characters.[56]
With the acclaimed Studio Pierrot handling animation duties, a storyline that dishes out cliffhanger after cliffhanger, and a rapidly growing fanbase, Bleach is clearly the Next Big Anime License. It doesn't aspire to be high art, but it doesn't need to—this is high entertainment, swords out and spirit energy blazing, ready to bring a modern sensibility to the classic shōnen themes of friendship, challenge, and victory.
—Carlos Santos, Anime News Network[57]
Anime News Network's Carlos Santos praised the anime adaptation, describing it as "...one incredibly entertaining anime that will grab you and refuse to let go."[57] Animefringe's Maria Lin liked the varied and distinct characters, and how well they handle the responsibilities increasing powers give them. She also complimented the series for its attention to details, well paced script, and balance of seriousness and comedy. In summary, she notes "Bleach the anime deserves its popularity. It has something for everyone: the supernatural, comedy, action and a little bit of romance, all tied together with excellent animation and a very enthusiastic sounding bunch of voice actors."[58] Adam Arseneau of DVD Verdict, felt Bleach was a "show that only gets better with age" and was "surprisingly well-rounded and appealing" with well developed characters and pacing.[59] Active Anime's Holly Ellingwood praising the anime for perfectly capturing "the excitement, the caustic humour and supernatural intrigue" of the original manga.[60] She felt that the series "does a wonderful job of building on its continuity to provide increasingly tense and layered episodes involving not only Ichigo and Rukia, but the secondary characters as well".[61] She also praised the series for its striking visual effects, intriguing plot and its "brilliant blend of action, off the wall comedy."[62][63][63] In reviewing the series for DVD Talk, Don Houston felt the characters surpassed the usual shōnen anime stereotypes and liked "the mixture of darker material with the comedic".[64] Another Fellow reviewer John Sinnott felt series starts out as a boring "monster-of-the-week program" that becomes more engaging as the stories build and the characters are fleshed out.[65] Otaku USA''s Joseph Luster wrote that "the storylines are consistently dramatic without hammering it home too heavily, the characters manage comic relief that's not as eye rolling as one would expect, and the action (in classic fighting series form) has only gotten more ridiculous over the years; in a good way, of course".[66] Mania.com's Bryce Coulter praised the series for its plot twists and "the quirky and amusing characters".[67][68] In comparing the series with Naruto, Mania.com's Chris Beveridge felt Bleach was less childish and "simply comes together surprisingly well in its style and execution of what is fairly standard material".[69]
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
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"BLEACH" redirects here. For other uses, see Bleach (disambiguation).
Bleach
Cover of Bleach, Volume 1
ブリーチ
(Burīchi)
Genre Action, Bangsian fantasy
Manga
Author Tite Kubo
Publisher Flag of Japan Shueisha
English publisher Flag of Australia Flag of New Zealand Madman Entertainment
Flag of Canada Flag of the United States Flag of the United Kingdom Viz Media
[show]Other publishers:
Flag of Brazil Flag of Italy Panini Comics
Flag of Catalonia Flag of France Flag of Spain Glénat
Flag of Germany Tokyopop
Flag of Hong Kong CultureCom
Flag of Indonesia M&C
Flag of Sweden Bonnier Carlsen
Flag of Malaysia Komik Remaja
Flag of Mexico Grupo Editorial Vid
Flag of the Netherlands Kana (publisher)
Flag of Russia Eksmo & Comix-ART
Flag of Singapore Chuang Yi(Chinese)
Flag of the Republic of China Tong Li Comics(Chinese)
Flag of Thailand Nation comics
Demographic Shōnen
Magazine Flag of Japan Weekly Shōnen Jump
Flag of the United States Shonen Jump
Flag of Hong Kong EX-am
Flag of the Republic of China Formosa Youth
Original run August 2001 – ongoing
Volumes 37
TV anime
Director Noriyuki Abe
Studio Studio Pierrot
Licensor Flag of Australia Flag of New Zealand Madman Entertainment
Flag of Canada Flag of the United States Viz Media
Flag of the United Kingdom Manga Entertainment
Network Flag of Japan TV Tokyo
English network Flag of Canada YTV
Flag of the United States Cartoon Network (Adult Swim)
Flag of the United Kingdom AnimeCentral
[show]Other networks:
Flag of Brazil Flag of Mexico Flag of Venezuela Animax
Flag of France MCM
Flag of Hungary Animax
Flag of Israel Arutz Ha-Yeladim
Flag of Malaysia TV3
Flag of the Philippines GMA 7
Flag of Poland Hyper Media
Flag of South Korea Tooniverse
Flag of Spain Buzz Media
Flag of Thailand True Visions Ch 51
Original run October 5, 2004 – ongoing
Episodes 208
Related works
* Bleach-related video games
* Bleach: Memories of Nobody, Bleach: The DiamondDust Rebellion and Bleach: Fade to Black, I Call Your Name, animated feature films
Anime and Manga Portal
Bleach (ブリーチ ,Burīchi?, romanized as BLEACH in Japan) is a Japanese manga series written and illustrated by Tite Kubo. Bleach follows the adventures of Ichigo Kurosaki after he accidentally obtains the power of a shinigami—a Japanese death personification similar to the Grim Reaper—from Rukia Kuchiki. Gaining these abilities forces him to take on the duties of defending humans from evil spirits and guiding departed souls to the afterlife.
Bleach has been continuously serialized in the Japanese manga anthology Weekly Shōnen Jump since August 2001 and has been collected in 36 tankōbon volumes as of December 2008. Since its publication, Bleach has spawned a substantial media franchise. The manga has been adapted into an animated television series produced by Studio Pierrot which is still ongoing in Japan as it adapts the story from the manga. The series has also spawned two original video animations (OVAs), three animated feature films, seven rock musicals, and numerous video games, as well as prompted the release of many types of Bleach-related merchandise.
Viz Media licensed the manga for English-language publication in the United States and Canada and has released 25 volumes as of December 2008. In addition, it has been publishing the chapters in Shonen Jump since November 2007. On March 15, 2006, Viz obtained foreign television and home video distribution rights to the Bleach anime. Cartoon Network began airing Bleach as part of its Adult Swim block on September 9, 2006 in the United States. The first film, Bleach: Memories of Nobody was released in North America on Region 1 DVD by Viz on October 14, 2008.
Compilation volumes of the manga have sold over 50 million copies in Japan and reached the top of manga sales charts in the United States. The anime adaptation has been similarly received, rating as the 7th most popular anime television series in Japan in 2006, and in the top ten anime for America 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 America.
Contents
[hide]
* 1 Plot
o 1.1 Setting
* 2 Production
* 3 Media
o 3.1 Manga
o 3.2 Anime
o 3.3 CDs
o 3.4 Films
o 3.5 Musical
o 3.6 Trading card game
o 3.7 Video games
o 3.8 Other
* 4 Reception
* 5 References
* 6 External links
[edit] Plot
See also: List of Bleach characters
The story opens with the sudden appearance of Soul Reaper Rukia Kuchiki in Ichigo Kurosaki's bedroom. She is surprised at his ability to see her, but their conversation is interrupted by the appearance of a "hollow", an evil spirit. After Rukia is severely wounded while trying to protect Ichigo, she attempts to transfer half her powers to Ichigo in order to let him face the hollow on equal footing. Ichigo instead unintentionally absorbs almost all her energy, allowing him to defeat the hollow with ease. The next day Rukia appears in Ichigo's classroom as a seemingly normal human, and informs Ichigo that his absorption of her powers has left her stranded in the human world until she recovers her strength. In the meantime Ichigo shelters Rukia in his home and takes over her job as a Soul Reaper, battling hollows and guiding lost souls to the afterlife realm known as Soul Society.
After a few months of this arrangement, in the sixth volume of the series, Rukia's Soul Reaper superiors find out about her giving her powers away (which is illegal in Soul Society) and send a detachment to arrest her, and sentence her to death. Ichigo is unable to stop Rukia's capture, but with the help of several of his classmates who also possess spiritual abilities and ex-Soul Reaper and captain Kisuke Urahara, he sets off for the Soul Reaper base, located in Soul Society. Once there, Ichigo and company battle against the elites of the Soul Reaper military, and are ultimately successful in halting Rukia's execution.
It is then revealed that Rukia's execution and Ichigo's rescue attempt were both manipulated by Sōsuke Aizen, a high ranking Soul Reaper previously believed to be murdered, as part of a far-reaching plot to take control of Soul Society. Aizen betrays his fellow Soul Reapers and allies himself with the hollows, becoming the main antagonist of the series, and Ichigo teams up with his former enemies in Soul Society after learning that the next step in Aizen's plan involves the destruction of his hometown. At this point, Bleach chronicles the war between Aizen and the Soul Society, a plotline which has not yet been resolved. According to Tite Kubo, the ending of the series is not yet planned out or written.[1]
[edit] Setting
A view of Seireitei in Soul Society, the home of the Soul Reapers.
Hueco Mundo is a sparse, white-sanded desert inhabited by hollows.
Bleach contains a massive cast of characters designed by series creator Tite Kubo, which are divided into various factions and fictional races with distinct themes, and described using large amounts of invented jargon specific to the series.[2][3][4] All significant characters in the series possess some degree of paranormal and superhuman abilities, and these are explained by their souls generating higher than usual levels of a paranormal energy called reiatsu (霊圧 ?, lit. "spirit pressure"). The three predominant character types in Bleach are humans, Soul Reapers, and hollows.
The humans of Bleach are much like the residents of modern Japan. A normal human cannot see or sense spirits in any way unless that spirit possesses an artificial human body called a gigai, so humanity remains unaware of the existence of the spirit world. Very rarely a human like Ichigo Kurosaki is born who is able to see, interact, or fight with spirits, and others can gain these abilities by exposure to large amounts of spiritual energy, which happens to a number of Ichigo's friends during the course of the series.[5][6]
The Soul Reapers (死神 ,shinigami?, lit. "death god") are a military order of psychopomps based in Soul Society (尸魂界（ソウル・ソサエティ） ,Sōru Sosaeti?), a sort of heaven. Soul Reapers escort the souls of the dead to Soul Society through the ritual of soul burial (魂葬 ,konsō?). Their other major duties are protecting humans from hollows, and maintaining order in Soul Society. Soul Reapers all possess supernatural powers, which manifest through their zanpakutō swords, and kidō magic spells. Several factions of ex-Soul Reapers are featured in Bleach's story, most prominent among them the members of Sōsuke Aizen's rebellion and the Visoreds, former Soul Society elites who were exiled after obtaining hollow powers. Soul Society resembles feudal Japan, and consists of two major portions: eighty residential districts called the Rukongai (流魂街 ,Town of Wandering Spirits?),[7] which are inhabited by the souls of the dead, and the walled city Seireitei (瀞霊廷 ,Court of Pure Souls?), the home and military base of the Soul Reapers. The Rukongai districts are ordinally ranked, with the lower-numbered districts being more peaceful.[8] Soul Society is nominally ruled by a king, who resides in another realm within Soul Society, but in practice is controlled by the Soul Reapers.[9]
The hollows are a race of evil spirits who feed on the souls of humans, both living and dead. Hollows are created when the soul of a dead human is neglected by the Soul Reapers until it is overcome by loneliness and/or rage, at which point it changes form into a monster with a white mask. By going through a procedure provided by Aizen, they become an arrancar, a hollow which regains the ability to reason, obtains a more humanoid form, and can gain access to Soul Reaper abilities such as the zanpakutō. As a group, the arrancar are the primary antagonists of the Bleach series. When not hunting humans or souls in the human world hollows reside in Hueco Mundo (虚圏（ウェコムンド） ,Weko Mundo?), a dimension between the human world and Soul Society. Hollows are undetectable as long as they remain in Hueco Mundo.
[edit] Production
Bleach was first conceived from a desire on Tite Kubo's part to draw shinigami in kimono, which formed the basis for the design of the Soul Reapers in the series, and the conception of character Rukia Kuchiki.[10][11] The original story concept was submitted to Weekly Shōnen Jump shortly after the cancellation of Tite Kubo's previous manga Zombie Powder, but was rejected. Akira Toriyama, the creator of Dragon Ball, saw the story and wrote a letter of encouragement to Kubo.[11] Bleach was accepted for publication a short time later, in 2001, and was initially intended to be a shorter series, with a maximum serialization length of five years.[11] Early plans for the story did not include the hierarchical structure of Soul Society, but did include some characters and elements which did not come into the plot until the Arrancar arc, such as Ichigo's Soul Reaper heritage.[10]
Tite Kubo has cited influences for elements of Bleach ranging from other manga series to music, foreign language, architecture, and film. He attributes his interest in drawing the supernatural and monsters to Shigeru Mizuki's GeGeGe no Kitaro and Bleach's focus on interesting weaponry and battle scenes to Masami Kurumada's Saint Seiya, both manga Kubo enjoyed as a boy.[10] The action style and storytelling found in Bleach is inspired by cinema, though Kubo has not revealed any specific movie as being an influence for fight scenes. When pressed, he told interviewers that he liked Snatch but did not use it as a model.[12] Kubo has also stated that he wishes to make Bleach an experience that can only be found by reading manga, and dismissed ideas of creating any live-action film adaptations of the series.[11]
Bleach's creative process is focused around character design. When writing plotlines or having difficulties generating new material, Kubo begins by thinking of new characters, often en masse, and rereading previous volumes of Bleach.[10][13] Kubo has said that he likes creating characters that have outward appearances that do not match their true nature, an element that can be found in many Bleach characters, as he is "attracted to people with that seeming contradiction" and finds an "urge to draw people like that when I work."[2] The terminology used in Bleach has a variety of inspirations, with each category of character bearing a different linguistic theme. Many of the names for swords and spells used by Soul Reapers were inspired by ancient Japanese literature. Hollows and arrancar use Spanish terms. Kubo became interested in Spanish because, to him, the language sounded "bewitching" and "mellow".[2]
[edit] Media
[edit] Manga
Main article: List of Bleach chapters
The series was published in the Japanese-language magazine Weekly Shōnen Jump. The individual chapters are collected by Shueisha in series of tankōbon volumes, which also include a poem by the character of the cover.[14] Chapter names in English have katakana above them to indicate how they are read in Japanese, similarly to furigana for kanji. The first volume was released on January 5, 2002; as of February 2009, thirty-seven volumes have been released.[15][16]
The series is licensed for English language release in North America by Viz Media. Viz released the first volume on June 1, 2004, with 25 volumes released as of December 2008.[17][18] Viz began serializing the individual chapters in its manga anthology Shonen Jump in the November 2007 issue where the series continues to run.[19] Viz released a Bleach box set on September 2, 2008 contains the first twenty-one volumes of the series, as well as poster and a booklet of the series.[20]
[edit] Anime
Main article: List of Bleach episodes
The anime version of Bleach is produced by Studio Pierrot and directed by Noriyuki Abe. It began broadcasting in Japan on October 5, 2004, on TV Tokyo. Episodes 1-167 were made and broadcast in 4:3, with episodes 168+ made and broadcast in 16:9 wide screen.
On March 15, 2006, Viz Media obtained foreign television, home video, and merchandising rights to the Bleach anime from the TV Tokyo Corporation and Shueisha.[21] Subsequently, Viz Media contracted Studiopolis to create the English dub of the anime,[22] and has licensed its individual Bleach merchandising rights to several different companies.[23] The English version of the Bleach anime premiered on Canada's YTV channel in the Bionix program block on September 8, 2006. Cartoon Network began airing Bleach the following evening as part of its Adult Swim block. The show went on hiatus on October 20, 2007 after airing the first 52 episodes of the series. It was replaced with another Viz series, Death Note, while additional episodes of Bleach were being dubbed. YTV began showing reruns of the anime after episode 26. On March 2, 2008 at 1:00 a.m. EST, the series returned from hiatus and began the next 52 episodes.[24] In the UK, Bleach premiered on AnimeCentral on September 13, 2007, with new episodes airing daily, but is currently on hiatus after airing the first 52 episodes.
[edit] CDs
Eleven CD soundtracks, produced by Shirō Sagisu, have been released for the Bleach anime series and movies. Bleach Original Soundtrack 1 was released on May 18, 2005 and contains twenty-five tracks, including the first opening and ending themes in their original television lengths. Bleach Original Soundtrack 2 followed on August 2, 2006 with an additional twenty-three instrumental tracks. "Bleach Original Soundtrack 3" followed later on November 5, 2008 with 27 instrumental tracks, Bleach: Memories of Nobody Original Soundtrack was released with twenty-five tracks from the Bleach: Memories of Nobody anime film. A soundtrack was also released for the Bleach: The DiamondDust Rebellion film, with nearly thirty tracks from the movie and finally a 3rd one for the "Bleach: Fade To Black, I Call Your Name" movie, with twenty-nine tracks. Bleach: The Best contains twelve of the opening and ending themes from the series in their full length versions later followed by "Bleach: Best Tunes" with contains the next twelve of opening and ending themes.
The Bleach Beat Collections, is an on-going set of CDs published by Sony Music featuring recordings by the original Japanese voice actors that provide a look at the personalities of the characters they play, as well as the voice actors themselves. The first CD was released on June 22, 2005; as of December 17, 2008, nineteen volumes have been released across four named sets called "Sessions".[25][26]
Two "Radio DJCD Bleach 'B' Station" CD season sets, each containing six volumes, have been released in Japan. Five drama CDs have been produced for the series as well, featuring the original voice actors from the series. These drama CDs have only been included as part of the DVD releases.
[edit] Films
There are three feature films based on the Bleach series, all directed by Noriyuki Abe, director of the Bleach anime series. The films have been released in December of each year starting in 2006. Each movie features an original plotline, rather than being an adaptation of the manga's story. They also feature original characters designed by Tite Kubo, which is contrary to the normal practice for anime-based films, as the original author usually has little creative involvement.[27]
The first film, Bleach: Memories of Nobody, was released in Japan on December 16, 2006 and had a limited release in American theaters in June 2008. The movie is centered around the activities of a group called the "Dark Ones," who were banished from the Soul Society and trying to destroy both Soul Society and the World of the Living. Memories of Nobody was released in North America on Region 1 DVD by Viz Media on October 14, 2008.[28]
The second film, Bleach: The DiamondDust Rebellion, was released to Japanese theaters on December 22, 2007. Its plot focuses on an artifact belonging to Soul Society's King, and 10th Division captain Tōshirō Hitsugaya's efforts to clear his name after it is stolen while under his care.[29]
The third film, Bleach: Fade to Black, I Call Your Name (BLEACH Fade to Black 君の名を呼ぶ ,Burichi: Fade to Black - Kimi no Na o Yobu?), was released in Japan on December 13, 2008. This film's screenplay was written by Natsuko Takahashi, who is a screenwriter for the anime series. The official film website gives the tagline of "Sayonara, Rukia". In the film, members of Soul Society are struck with amnesia causing them to forget Ichigo and Rukia. When he goes to Soul Society to investigate, Ichigo discovers that Rukia has forgotten not only him, but her own identity as well.[28] For the film, the band Porno Graffiti performed the song "Koyoi, Tsuki wa Miezu Tomo".[28]
[edit] Musical
Bleach has been adapted into a series of rock musicals, jointly produced by Studio Pierrot and Nelke Planning. There have been five musicals produced which covered portions of the Substitute and Soul Society arcs, as well as two additional performances known as "Live Bankai Shows" which did not follow the Bleach plotline. The initial performance run of the Bleach musical was from August 17 to August 28, 2005 at the Space Zero Tokyo center in Shinjuku.[30][31][32]
The musicals are directed by Takuya Hiramitsu, with a script adaptation by Naoshi Okumura and music composed by playwright Shoichi Tama. The songs are completely original and not taken from the anime soundtrack. Key actors in the series include Tatsuya Isaka, who plays Ichigo Kurosaki, Miki Satō, who plays Rukia Kuchiki, and Eiji Moriyama, who plays Renji Abarai.
[edit] Trading card game
Two collectible card games (CCG) based on the Bleach series have been produced. "Bleach Soul Card Battle", produced by Bandai, was introduced in Japan in 2004.[33] As of October 2008, seventeen named sets have been released for the series.[34]
"Bleach TCG" was introduced in the United States by Score Entertainment in May 2007.[35] Designed by Aik Tongtharadol, it is a two-player game in which each player starts with at least 61 cards: a "Guardian" card, a 60-card "main deck" and an optional 20-card "side deck". A player loses if their power, as dictated by their Guardian card, is reduced to zero, or if they are unable to draw or discard a card from their deck.[36] The cards for the game have been released in named sets with each set released in three formats: a 72-card preconstructed box set containing a starter deck and two booster packs, a 10-card booster pack, and a 12-pack booster box. As of December 2008, six named sets have been released.
[edit] Video games
Main article: List of Bleach video games
Currently, the majority of the games have only been released in Japan, though Sega has directly ported the first, and second Nintendo DS game and the Wii version for North America. So far, all dedicated Bleach games released for Sony's consoles have been developed and published by SCEI, whereas the Nintendo GameCube ones are developed and published by Sega, and the Nintendo DS versions are developed by Treasure Co. Ltd.
[edit] Other
A single Bleach artbook, All Colour But The Black, has been released in Japan.[37]
Three databooks have also been released about the series. The first two, Bleach: Official Character Book Souls and Bleach: Official Animation Book Vibes were released on February 3, 2006.[38][39] The third, Bleach Official Bootleg: KaraBuri+ (BLEACH OFFICIAL BOOTLEG カラブリ プラス ?), was released on August 3, 2007. In addition to character guides and articles on other fictional aspects of the series, it compiles the various short comics, Tedious Everyday Tales Colorful Bleach (徒然日常絵詞 カラフル ブリーチ ,Tsuredure Nichijou Ekotoba Karafuru Buriichi?), that were published in V Jump. The omake-style panels are similar to those included in the main series, but unrelated to the actual plot of the manga.[40]
Tite Kubo and Makoto Matsubara have co-authored two novelizations of the Bleach series, which were published by Shueisha under their Jump Books label. The first volume, BLEACH-letters from the other side: The Death and The Strawberry was published on December 15, 2004, and the second, BLEACH: The Honey Dish Rhapsody, was published in October 30, 2006.[41][42]
[edit] Reception
The first volume of the manga has sold over 1.25 million copies in Japan, and the original Japanese version of the manga series as a whole has sold over 50 million copies.[43][not in citation given] In 2005, Bleach was awarded the Shogakukan Manga Award in the shōnen category.[44][45] During 2008, volume 34 of the manga sold 874,153 copies in Japan, becoming the 12th best-seller comics from the year. Volumes 33 and 35 have also ranked 17 and 18, respectively.[46] In total the manga has sold 3,161,825 copies in Japan during 2008, becoming 5th best seller series.[47] North American sales of the manga have been high, with Volume 16 placing in the top 10 graphic novel sales in December 2006[48] and Volume 17 being the best-selling manga volume for the month of February 2007.[49][50] The English version of Bleach was nominated for the "best manga" and "best theme" awards at the 2006 American Anime Awards, but did not win either category. It was nominated again in 2007 in the fields of "best manga", "best actor", "best DVD package design", and "best theme", but failed to win any awards.[51][dead link] In a 2006 Internet poll by TV Asahi, Bleach was ranked as Japan's seventh-favorite anime program.[52] The previous year, it was ranked as the twenty-seventh favorite program.[53]
Deb Aoki from About.com considered the series as the Best Continuing Shonen Manga of 2007, along with Eyeshield 21, praising the "compelling stories, dazzling action sequences and great character development".[54] She also placed the title on her list of "Top 10 Shonen Manga Must-Reads".[55] Mania.com reviewer Jarred Pine criticized the series as being plagued with stereotypes from the genre. He felt it was a rough start for the series with unimpressive battles, overused gags, and a bad introduction for central character Ichigo that causes him to come across "as a frowning punk" whose one good trait is his desire to protect. Despite this, Pine notes that he loves the series, particularly its quirky, lovable characters.[56]
With the acclaimed Studio Pierrot handling animation duties, a storyline that dishes out cliffhanger after cliffhanger, and a rapidly growing fanbase, Bleach is clearly the Next Big Anime License. It doesn't aspire to be high art, but it doesn't need to—this is high entertainment, swords out and spirit energy blazing, ready to bring a modern sensibility to the classic shōnen themes of friendship, challenge, and victory.
—Carlos Santos, Anime News Network[57]
Anime News Network's Carlos Santos praised the anime adaptation, describing it as "...one incredibly entertaining anime that will grab you and refuse to let go."[57] Animefringe's Maria Lin liked the varied and distinct characters, and how well they handle the responsibilities increasing powers give them. She also complimented the series for its attention to details, well paced script, and balance of seriousness and comedy. In summary, she notes "Bleach the anime deserves its popularity. It has something for everyone: the supernatural, comedy, action and a little bit of romance, all tied together with excellent animation and a very enthusiastic sounding bunch of voice actors."[58] Adam Arseneau of DVD Verdict, felt Bleach was a "show that only gets better with age" and was "surprisingly well-rounded and appealing" with well developed characters and pacing.[59] Active Anime's Holly Ellingwood praising the anime for perfectly capturing "the excitement, the caustic humour and supernatural intrigue" of the original manga.[60] She felt that the series "does a wonderful job of building on its continuity to provide increasingly tense and layered episodes involving not only Ichigo and Rukia, but the secondary characters as well".[61] She also praised the series for its striking visual effects, intriguing plot and its "brilliant blend of action, off the wall comedy."[62][63][63] In reviewing the series for DVD Talk, Don Houston felt the characters surpassed the usual shōnen anime stereotypes and liked "the mixture of darker material with the comedic".[64] Another Fellow reviewer John Sinnott felt series starts out as a boring "monster-of-the-week program" that becomes more engaging as the stories build and the characters are fleshed out.[65] Otaku USA''s Joseph Luster wrote that "the storylines are consistently dramatic without hammering it home too heavily, the characters manage comic relief that's not as eye rolling as one would expect, and the action (in classic fighting series form) has only gotten more ridiculous over the years; in a good way, of course".[66] Mania.com's Bryce Coulter praised the series for its plot twists and "the quirky and amusing characters".[67][68] In comparing the series with Naruto, Mania.com's Chris Beveridge felt Bleach was less childish and "simply comes together surprisingly well in its style and execution of what is fairly standard material".[69]