Dash Kappei
Encyclopedia
is a sports manga
series written and illustrated by Noboru Rokuda
and first published in 1980 in Weekly Shōnen Sunday. The manga had 158 chapters.
The manga was also adapted into a 65-episode anime
TV series by Tatsunoko Production
in 1981, chiefly directed by Masayuki Hayashi. The anime was aired across Japan on Fuji TV Sundays at 6 p.m. from 4 October 1981 to 26 December 1982. In Japan, it was one of Tatsunoko's most successful shows of the 1980s in terms of ratings, regularly scoring around 15-20%, but it achieved even greater success when it was adapted for the Italian
TV market in 1983 under the title Gigi la Trottola. Due to the anime's success in Italy, the complete manga was also released there (keeping the original Japanese title and character names) in 2001. The anime also became a hit in two separate Spanish
dubs, one aired in Spain
and the other in Latin America
, both titled Chicho Terremoto.
team of Seirin High School and quickly becomes one of the most skilled players. Kappei has one unusual handicap for a basketball player - his height; he stands not even one meter tall. His Achilles' heel
is female undergarments; he has a particular interest in white panties, and is even more enthusiastic about joining the basketball team when he discovers that the team's female coach, Coach Natsu, wears white panties (although his inventive attempts to sneak a peek at said panties usually result in a physical beatdown from the hot-tempered coach). Eventually, Kappei's athletic prowess extends beyond basketball, and he tries out for - and excels at - every sport the school offers.
In the first episode, Kappei meets and becomes enamored with Akane Aki, a sweet, even-tempered and kind girl who is quite athletic herself (she later joins the school's ping-pong team) and signs on as assistant coach of Seirin's basketball team. Much to Kappei's delight, not only is Akane pretty, but she also wears white panties, and Kappei sets his sights on winning her heart. Kappei eventually moves in with Akane and her family after his parents (who are rarely around) leave for the United States. However, Kappei has an unusual rival for Akane's heart - Akane's dog, Seiichiro, who has often fantasized about marrying his owner and, resenting Kappei, immediately seeks to sabotage his relationship with Akane through various tricks. Seiichiro can also speak, although only Kappei can understand him.
Manga
Manga is the Japanese word for "comics" and consists of comics and print cartoons . In the West, the term "manga" has been appropriated to refer specifically to comics created in Japan, or by Japanese authors, in the Japanese language and conforming to the style developed in Japan in the late 19th...
series written and illustrated by Noboru Rokuda
Noboru Rokuda
is a Japanese manga artist. He made his professional debut in 1978 with Saigo Test, for which he won the Shogakukan New Artist Award. He won the 1991 Shogakukan Manga Award for general manga for F.- Works :...
and first published in 1980 in Weekly Shōnen Sunday. The manga had 158 chapters.
The manga was also adapted into a 65-episode anime
Anime
is the Japanese abbreviated pronunciation of "animation". The definition sometimes changes depending on the context. In English-speaking countries, the term most commonly refers to Japanese animated cartoons....
TV series by Tatsunoko Production
Tatsunoko Production
, often shortened to , is a Japanese animation company. Founded in October 1962 by acclaimed anime pioneer Tatsuo Yoshida along with his brothers Kenji and Toyoharu...
in 1981, chiefly directed by Masayuki Hayashi. The anime was aired across Japan on Fuji TV Sundays at 6 p.m. from 4 October 1981 to 26 December 1982. In Japan, it was one of Tatsunoko's most successful shows of the 1980s in terms of ratings, regularly scoring around 15-20%, but it achieved even greater success when it was adapted for the Italian
Italy
Italy , officially the Italian Republic languages]] under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages. In each of these, Italy's official name is as follows:;;;;;;;;), is a unitary parliamentary republic in South-Central Europe. To the north it borders France, Switzerland, Austria and...
TV market in 1983 under the title Gigi la Trottola. Due to the anime's success in Italy, the complete manga was also released there (keeping the original Japanese title and character names) in 2001. The anime also became a hit in two separate Spanish
Spanish language
Spanish , also known as Castilian , is a Romance language in the Ibero-Romance group that evolved from several languages and dialects in central-northern Iberia around the 9th century and gradually spread with the expansion of the Kingdom of Castile into central and southern Iberia during the...
dubs, one aired in Spain
Spain
Spain , officially the Kingdom of Spain languages]] under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages. In each of these, Spain's official name is as follows:;;;;;;), is a country and member state of the European Union located in southwestern Europe on the Iberian Peninsula...
and the other in Latin America
Latin America
Latin America is a region of the Americas where Romance languages – particularly Spanish and Portuguese, and variably French – are primarily spoken. Latin America has an area of approximately 21,069,500 km² , almost 3.9% of the Earth's surface or 14.1% of its land surface area...
, both titled Chicho Terremoto.
Story
The hero of the story is Kappei Sakamoto, a high school student with amazing athletic abilities who joins the basketballBasketball
Basketball is a team sport in which two teams of five players try to score points by throwing or "shooting" a ball through the top of a basketball hoop while following a set of rules...
team of Seirin High School and quickly becomes one of the most skilled players. Kappei has one unusual handicap for a basketball player - his height; he stands not even one meter tall. His Achilles' heel
Achilles' heel
An Achilles’ heel is a deadly weakness in spite of overall strength, that can actually or potentially lead to downfall. While the mythological origin refers to a physical vulnerability, metaphorical references to other attributes or qualities that can lead to downfall are common.- Origin :In Greek...
is female undergarments; he has a particular interest in white panties, and is even more enthusiastic about joining the basketball team when he discovers that the team's female coach, Coach Natsu, wears white panties (although his inventive attempts to sneak a peek at said panties usually result in a physical beatdown from the hot-tempered coach). Eventually, Kappei's athletic prowess extends beyond basketball, and he tries out for - and excels at - every sport the school offers.
In the first episode, Kappei meets and becomes enamored with Akane Aki, a sweet, even-tempered and kind girl who is quite athletic herself (she later joins the school's ping-pong team) and signs on as assistant coach of Seirin's basketball team. Much to Kappei's delight, not only is Akane pretty, but she also wears white panties, and Kappei sets his sights on winning her heart. Kappei eventually moves in with Akane and her family after his parents (who are rarely around) leave for the United States. However, Kappei has an unusual rival for Akane's heart - Akane's dog, Seiichiro, who has often fantasized about marrying his owner and, resenting Kappei, immediately seeks to sabotage his relationship with Akane through various tricks. Seiichiro can also speak, although only Kappei can understand him.
Characters
- Kappei Sakamoto (坂 本 胜平, Sakamoto Kappei) - The protagonist of the story. He excels in every sport and loves to be in the spotlight, especially when he is admired by the girls. He is obsessed with white women's panties, for him a "symbol of purity." Falls in love with the beautiful Akane, and wants to marry her. He is voiced by Mayumi TanakaMayumi Tanakais a Japanese voice actress from Tokyo currently affiliated with Aoni Production.She is best known for the roles of Ryuunosuke Fujinami in Urusei Yatsura, Pazu in Laputa: Castle in the Sky, Monkey D. Luffy in One Piece, Krillin, Yajirobe and Uranai Baba in Dragon Ball...
in the anime, and is known as Gigi Sullivan in the Italian and Latin American versions and Chicho in the Spanish version. - Akane Aki (秋 あかね, Aki Akane) - Pretty, sweet, popular, and even-tempered, Akane-chan, a transfer student to Seirin High, becomes the assistant coach of the school's basketball team. She befriends Kappei and is a strong believer in his talents, and though she initially finds him rather strange, soon develops feelings for him. She is voiced by Mizuho Tsushima in the anime, and is known as Anna Akane in the Italian version, Rosa (or Rosita) in the Spanish version, and Ana in the Latin American dubs.
- Seiichiro (诚一郎) - Akane's dog, who can walk and speak like a human being, although only Kappei can understand his speech. He is also enamored of Akane and dreams of marrying her (despite the fact that she is human and he a dog) and, resenting Kappei's muscling his way into her life, becomes Kappei's sworn enemy, but also his best friend. He often appears in brief entr'actes to explain the rules of whatever sport Kappei happens to be playing at that time. Seiichiro is voiced by Toru OhiraToru Ohirais a male Japanese narrator and voice actor from the Tokyo Metropolitan area. He is a representative of Ōhira Production.One of his most known roles is the dub voice of Darth Vader in Star Wars...
in the anime and is known as Salomone in the Italian version and Bobby in the Spanish dub. - Coach Kaori Natsu (夏 かおり, Natsu Kaori) - The basketball team's hot-tempered coach. Though she tries to be a proper young lady and is on the hunt for a boyfriend, she loses patience easily (especially with Kappei) and is well-known for her grotesque and humorous facial expressions when angered. She is voiced by Kazue KomiyaKazue Komiyais a Japanese voice actress who is affiliated with Theater Echo.-TV anime:*Aim for the Ace! *Ashita no Nadja *Combat Mecha Xabungle *Fullmetal Alchemist *Hiatari Ryōkō!...
in the anime, and is called Gloria in the Italian version and Eva in the Spanish dubs. - Tachibana - Captain of the basketball team. Voiced by Kazuhiko InoueKazuhiko Inoueis a veteran voice actor from Yokohama, Kanagawa, Japan.-Biography:Since his debut in 1973, Kazuhiko Inoue has become one of Japan's most well established voice actors. His early roles from the 1970s include Anthony in Candy Candy, and later as Joe in the 1979 remake of Cyborg 009...
in the anime, known as Thomas in Italian. - Kyoshiro - A member of the basketball team, very tall and handsome, with blond hair and blue eyes; a ladies' man. Voiced by Kazuyuki SogabeKazuyuki SogabeKazuyuki Sogabe was a Japanese voice actor born in Chiba Prefecture. Sogabe retired from voice acting on December 31, 2000 when he felt a weakness in his own voice. After his retirement, many of his current roles went to voice actors Tetsu Inada and Ryotaro Okiayu. Kazuyuki, however, was active in...
in the anime, known as Adam in Italian. - Daiba - A member of a rival basketball team. He stands nearly three meters tall, and is a giant in every sense of the term. He is also Akane's ex-boyfriend; Akane broke up with him because of his violent temper, and now he wants to discredit Kappei and win her back. Voiced by Akira MurayamaAkira Murayamais a Japanese voice actor from Tokyo. He is represented by Tokyo Actor's Consumer's Cooperative Society.-Anime:*Captain Tsubasa *Combat Mecha Xabungle *Gambalist! Shun...
in the anime, known as Alan in Italian. - Mr. Okazaki - Kappei and Akane's homeroom teacher. Voiced by Hiroshi MasuokaHiroshi MasuokaHiroshi Masuoka is a Japanese rally driver. His most notable achievement was his back-to-back successes in the Dakar Rally in 2002 and 2003, only the fourth driver in the event's history to win in consecutive years. He was also victorious in the 2003 Baja Italy and the 2004 UAE Desert Challenge...
in the anime. - Akane's Parents - Voiced by Shunsuke Shima (father) and Keiko Tomochika (mother) in the anime.
Anime staff
- Original creator (manga): Noboru RokudaNoboru Rokudais a Japanese manga artist. He made his professional debut in 1978 with Saigo Test, for which he won the Shogakukan New Artist Award. He won the 1991 Shogakukan Manga Award for general manga for F.- Works :...
- Executive producer (Tatsunoko): Kenji Yoshida
- Planning: Ippei Kuri (Tatsunoko), Tadashi Oka (Fuji TV), Minoru Uchima (Yomiko Advertising)
- Producers: Tomoyuki Miyata, Hajime Taniguchi, Masanori Nakano
- Chief Directors: Masayuki Hayashi, Seitaro Hara
- Technical Directors: Akehira Ishida, Keiichiro Mochizuki, Hiroko Tokita, Katsuhiko Akiyama etc.
- Script: Shigeru Yanagawa, Yu Yamamoto, Haruya Yamazaki, Takeshi Shudo, Akiyoshi Sakai, Osamu Sekiguchi, Sukehiro Tomita
- Animation Directors: Sadao Miyamoto, Shizuo Kawai, etc.
- Music: Koba Hayashi