The Abashiri Family
Encyclopedia
is a manga
series created by Go Nagai
that originally ran in the magazine Weekly Shōnen Champion
. Some of its characters returned with different names as part of other series, such as Cutie Honey
, UFO Robot Grendizer and Mazinger Angels Z among others.
Some of the first stories were adapted into an original video animation
by Studio Pierrot
in 1991, and released in North America by ADV Films. The manga was also adapted into a live-action film released in 2009.
As the series progress the tone of the series becomes less crime-focused and becomes more a gag comedy with strong touches of eroticism. The series was originally conceived by Nagai as a form of protest and parody of the controversy that arose with Harenchi Gakuen
. While having a grim tone at the beginning, the series lightens up as it progresses, although the graphic violence remains through most of it but becoming less frequent.
The series remained popular in its original run until Nagai decided to drop it along with other series that he was doing at the time in order to concentrate on the Devilman
manga. Years later, a single one-shot story was published and has since been included in all new tankōbon series. A special crossover one-shot with Cutie Honey
was also published in 2009, in commemoration of the 40 years anniversary of the magazine Shōnen Champion, where both series debuted in manga.
(at the time only Shōnen Champion) published by Akita Shoten
, from (first number of the magazine) to (cover dates). It has since then been republished in tankōbon format several times.
Additionally, the series is also available in ebook format, published by ebookjapan.
titled was published in Akita Shoten's Play Comic in . It has since then been included in most compilations as the last story.
The short crossover story titled was published in the Akita Shoten's magazine Weekly Shōnen Champion in (#20) and (#21+22). As the title implies, characters of both series interact with each other and the relationship of Daemon with both series is central to the plot. This one-shot was published as part of the 40th anniversary of the magazine, which was the same where both series were originally published. It has been compiled in the tankōbon , published in by Akita Shoten with ISBN 978-4253102001.
After they return to their home, Daemon informs them the reason behind their retirement. Kikunosuke, whom the rest her brothers considered a boy, is actually a girl. For generations the Abashiri believed to have been cursed because no female child had been in the family until the arrival of Kikunosuke. This prompts her mother to request Daemon to stop the criminal activities of the family after Kikunosuke reaches a certain age. Her brothers are surprised by this revelation and the lecherous Goemon takes a special interest in her sister. Daemon intends to send her to a private school where she can become a proper lady. Although Kikunosuke originally refuses, Daemon tricks her into saying that she would try it and forces her to go, under the identity of Shiratori.
The Paradise school, however, turns out to be a criminal school were students have to fight for their survival. Thanks to her strength, she manages to overcome the teachers. At the same time, her brother Goemon is so fixated with seeing her naked that he decides to secretly look for her at her new school. Kikunosuke is able to make a new friend, Yukiko, another girl, who, unlike Kikunosuke, is completely defenseless against the teachers and other students.
For standing up against the teachers, one of them plans to kill Kikunosuke but she easily kills him. He's able however to recognize her true identity and pass the message among the other teachers. As she runs to rescue Yukiko, she realizes that she won't be able to beat all the teachers by herself and ask for help. With the help of the leader of the students, a revolt is formed and the school director orders to kill them all.
Daemon realizes the danger in which Kikunosuke is and with his sons goes to save her. Meanwhile, Goemon manages to arrive to her school only to find Yukiko captive and get himself caught. The students and Kikunosuke (despite being injured) fight all opposition and despite losing several students, are holding on. It's revealed then that the student's leader has been preparing to take the school for himself. The rest of the Abashiri also enter the fight and Daemon recognizes the true identity of the director, Danjuro Namakubi, whom he has fought already two times in the past. The director is able to easily defeat Naojiro. By this point, the students leader has already betrayed Kikunosuke and uses Goemon and Yukiko as hostages in order to subdue her. Daemon is able to kill the director, but has to surrender to the students leader because he holds Kikunosuke and Goemon while killing Yukiko, who tried to free Kikunosuke.
As the Abashiri are about to be executed, the remaining Abashiri, Kichiza, enters abruptly and with his special explosive costume manages to kill most of the leader's gang and free Kikunosuke, but leaves alive the leader in order to let Kikunosuke deal with him. An enraged Kikunosuke shows no mercy and uses her most powerful technique, the Abashiri 8 God attack, with which she kills the leader in the most painful way. The experience lived makes Kikunosuke cry and Daemon consoles her.
Years later, and old Daemon is shown watching his grandson (named also Kikunosuke) practice the Abashiri 8 God attack while her mother, Kikunosuke arrives, now being a normal woman and thus fulfilling Daemon's wish of her having a peaceful normal live.
Source(s)
's video magazine show along with Yumemakura Baku Twilight Gekijo, Eguchi Hisashi no Kotobuki Goro Show and Akai Hayate. The Rentaman experimental concept consisted of these anime divided in episodic short serials. For this reason, the running time of each episode varies greatly. Rentaman was only released on VHS
format and published under the Nextart label (Pony Canyon
).
Anime V Comic Rentaman
After the release of Rentaman, Abashiri Ikka was released as a single release in both VHS (PCVF-30022) and Laserdisc (PCLP-00279) format, also by Nextart in .
Source(s)
. In it, Daemon became Hayami Danbei and Kichiza became Hayami Junpei. Naojiro later appeared as Danbei's nephew, and boss of Paradise School. Goemon appeared with Naojiro as a teacher of Paradise School. Kikunosuke appears in the Mazinger Angels
manga as the pilot for Iron Z (which is in fact a new name for Energer Z, the Mazinger Z prototype.) As well as traditional Mazinger
and Grendizer
characters Sayaka Yumi
, Grace Maria Fleed, Hikaru Makiba and Jun Hono
as they fight Dr. Hell's forces and the Vegan Empire, respectively; Daemon also appears under his Hayami Danbei alias in Grendizer. In Shin Mazinger, Cross is a cyborg similar to Naojiro and their 'robot' form has the same appearance.
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 created by Go Nagai
Go Nagai
, better known by the penname , is a Japanese manga artist and a prolific author of science fiction, fantasy, horror and erotica. He made his professional debut in 1967 with Meakashi Polikichi, but is best known for creating Cutie Honey, Devilman, and Mazinger Z in the 1970s. In 2005, he became a...
that originally ran in the magazine Weekly Shōnen Champion
Weekly Shonen Champion
is a weekly shōnen manga magazine published by Akita Shoten.- History :Shōnen Champion was first published 15 July 1969. It has had numerous popular series by manga artists such as Osamu Tezuka, Go Nagai, Shinji Mizushima, and Keisuke Itagaki...
. Some of its characters returned with different names as part of other series, such as Cutie Honey
Cutie Honey
is a Japanese media franchise created by Go Nagai. Cutie Honey first appears on volume 41 of the 1973 edition of Shōnen Champion. According to Nagai, she is the first female to be the protagonist of a shōnen manga series....
, UFO Robot Grendizer and Mazinger Angels Z among others.
Some of the first stories were adapted into an original video animation
Original video animation
, abbreviated as media , are animated films and series made specially for release in home-video formats. The term originated in relation to Japanese animation...
by Studio Pierrot
Studio Pierrot
is a Japanese animation/animation studio, founded in 1979 by former employees of Tatsunoko Production. Its headquarters is located in Mitaka, Tokyo.The company has a simple logo of the face of a clown...
in 1991, and released in North America by ADV Films. The manga was also adapted into a live-action film released in 2009.
Plot
The series deals with the adventures of the Abashiri family, a clan of criminals who are feared by the police and other criminals alike, as they are a destructive force to be reckoned with. Although they are virtually unstoppable, they do not have great desires and many of their plans are normally minor and sometimes get undone by their own foolishness. That is unless they are attacked, at which point they will retaliate with full force, normally with deadly consequences for their enemies.As the series progress the tone of the series becomes less crime-focused and becomes more a gag comedy with strong touches of eroticism. The series was originally conceived by Nagai as a form of protest and parody of the controversy that arose with Harenchi Gakuen
Harenchi Gakuen
is a Japanese media franchise created by Go Nagai. Harenchi Gakuen was one of the manga serialized in the very first issue of Shueisha's manga magazine Weekly Shōnen Jump. The series was the first big success for Go Nagai...
. While having a grim tone at the beginning, the series lightens up as it progresses, although the graphic violence remains through most of it but becoming less frequent.
The series remained popular in its original run until Nagai decided to drop it along with other series that he was doing at the time in order to concentrate on the Devilman
Devilman
is a Japanese manga series written and illustrated by Go Nagai which originally started as an anime adaptation of the concept of Nagai's previous manga series, Demon Lord Dante. A 39 episode anime series was developed by Toei in 1972 and Nagai began Devilman as a manga in Kodansha's Weekly Shōnen...
manga. Years later, a single one-shot story was published and has since been included in all new tankōbon series. A special crossover one-shot with Cutie Honey
Cutie Honey
is a Japanese media franchise created by Go Nagai. Cutie Honey first appears on volume 41 of the 1973 edition of Shōnen Champion. According to Nagai, she is the first female to be the protagonist of a shōnen manga series....
was also published in 2009, in commemoration of the 40 years anniversary of the magazine Shōnen Champion, where both series debuted in manga.
Characters
- The head of the family. An old and small man, father of the other four, each one of them from a different mother (each one with a similar appearance to the sons). He acts as the leader and is the most powerful of them, though he normally only displays his true power when his sons and daughter are in danger.
- The daughter of the family. She is the most adept to close combat fights and the one that normally loses her clothes during the series. Stories in the series often revolve around her.
- The expert thief of the family and the oldest son. His main hobby is doing lecherous things and peeping at women, particularly at his sister. Later in the manga, he adopts a pseudo-heroic identity disguised with a mask and a horn on his crotch. He was modeled after Go Nagai's former assistant, Ken IshikawaKen Ishikawawas a Japanese manga artist. He is renowned as the co-creator with Go Nagai, of the Getter Robo anime series, as well as four of their subsequent manga continuations...
.
- The second oldest son and the powerhouse of the family. He's the most physically powerful, being a cyborg. In the first chapters he was depicted as a gangster with a prosthetic right leg. It was later shown that he is actually a cyborg whose every limb can be detached to use guns. Later in the manga, he is no longer depicted as a gangster with a prosthetic limb and it's rarely depicted as a cyborg, and instead, he is shown more like a strongman.
- The youngest member of the family, a small kid with a mean look. While not a fighter like Kikunosuke or Naojiro, he is an expert in explosives, using mostly his special disguise.
Manga
The original manga was published in the magazine Weekly Shōnen ChampionWeekly Shonen Champion
is a weekly shōnen manga magazine published by Akita Shoten.- History :Shōnen Champion was first published 15 July 1969. It has had numerous popular series by manga artists such as Osamu Tezuka, Go Nagai, Shinji Mizushima, and Keisuke Itagaki...
(at the time only Shōnen Champion) published by Akita Shoten
Akita Shoten
is a Japanese publishing company established on August 10, 1948 in Chiyoda, Tokyo. Its main editorial target has always been teenagers , and it currently publishes mostly manga...
, from (first number of the magazine) to (cover dates). It has since then been republished in tankōbon format several times.
- Akita Shoten (Shōnen Champion Comics, 1970–1973, reprinted in 1997)
Vol. Japanese release date Reprint date Reprint ISBN 01 02 03 04 05 06 07 08 09 10 11 12 13 14 15
- Akita Shoten (Akita Manga Bunko, 1977–1978, reprinted in 1990)
Vol. Japanese release date Reprint date Reprint ISBN 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8
- Akita Shoten (Akita Comics Selection, 1985–1987)
Vol. Japanese release date ISBN 1 2 3 4
- Kadokawa Bunko (Kadokawa Shoten, 1997)
Vol. Japanese release date ISBN 1 2 3 4 5
- King Series Manga Super Wide (Koike Shoin, 2009)
Vol. Japanese release date ISBN 1 2
Additionally, the series is also available in ebook format, published by ebookjapan.
Short stories
A 31-pages one-shot short storyShort story
A short story is a work of fiction that is usually written in prose, often in narrative format. This format tends to be more pointed than longer works of fiction, such as novellas and novels. Short story definitions based on length differ somewhat, even among professional writers, in part because...
titled was published in Akita Shoten's Play Comic in . It has since then been included in most compilations as the last story.
The short crossover story titled was published in the Akita Shoten's magazine Weekly Shōnen Champion in (#20) and (#21+22). As the title implies, characters of both series interact with each other and the relationship of Daemon with both series is central to the plot. This one-shot was published as part of the 40th anniversary of the magazine, which was the same where both series were originally published. It has been compiled in the tankōbon , published in by Akita Shoten with ISBN 978-4253102001.
Plot
The four Abashiri prepare to rob a large bank as their last work. This bank, however, is in reality a trap by the police, which is ready to expend every necessary resource to end with the Abashiri. Although apparently cornered, the Abashiri overwhelm the police and kill or badly injure several of the policemen. They use so much power that they also destroy a large part of their loot.After they return to their home, Daemon informs them the reason behind their retirement. Kikunosuke, whom the rest her brothers considered a boy, is actually a girl. For generations the Abashiri believed to have been cursed because no female child had been in the family until the arrival of Kikunosuke. This prompts her mother to request Daemon to stop the criminal activities of the family after Kikunosuke reaches a certain age. Her brothers are surprised by this revelation and the lecherous Goemon takes a special interest in her sister. Daemon intends to send her to a private school where she can become a proper lady. Although Kikunosuke originally refuses, Daemon tricks her into saying that she would try it and forces her to go, under the identity of Shiratori.
The Paradise school, however, turns out to be a criminal school were students have to fight for their survival. Thanks to her strength, she manages to overcome the teachers. At the same time, her brother Goemon is so fixated with seeing her naked that he decides to secretly look for her at her new school. Kikunosuke is able to make a new friend, Yukiko, another girl, who, unlike Kikunosuke, is completely defenseless against the teachers and other students.
For standing up against the teachers, one of them plans to kill Kikunosuke but she easily kills him. He's able however to recognize her true identity and pass the message among the other teachers. As she runs to rescue Yukiko, she realizes that she won't be able to beat all the teachers by herself and ask for help. With the help of the leader of the students, a revolt is formed and the school director orders to kill them all.
Daemon realizes the danger in which Kikunosuke is and with his sons goes to save her. Meanwhile, Goemon manages to arrive to her school only to find Yukiko captive and get himself caught. The students and Kikunosuke (despite being injured) fight all opposition and despite losing several students, are holding on. It's revealed then that the student's leader has been preparing to take the school for himself. The rest of the Abashiri also enter the fight and Daemon recognizes the true identity of the director, Danjuro Namakubi, whom he has fought already two times in the past. The director is able to easily defeat Naojiro. By this point, the students leader has already betrayed Kikunosuke and uses Goemon and Yukiko as hostages in order to subdue her. Daemon is able to kill the director, but has to surrender to the students leader because he holds Kikunosuke and Goemon while killing Yukiko, who tried to free Kikunosuke.
As the Abashiri are about to be executed, the remaining Abashiri, Kichiza, enters abruptly and with his special explosive costume manages to kill most of the leader's gang and free Kikunosuke, but leaves alive the leader in order to let Kikunosuke deal with him. An enraged Kikunosuke shows no mercy and uses her most powerful technique, the Abashiri 8 God attack, with which she kills the leader in the most painful way. The experience lived makes Kikunosuke cry and Daemon consoles her.
Years later, and old Daemon is shown watching his grandson (named also Kikunosuke) practice the Abashiri 8 God attack while her mother, Kikunosuke arrives, now being a normal woman and thus fulfilling Daemon's wish of her having a peaceful normal live.
Episodes
| # | Title | Original release date |
|---|---|---|
Staff & cast
- Distributor: Nextart (Pony CanyonPony Canyonis a Japanese company, established on October 1, 1966 , which publishes music, DVD and VHS videos, movies and video games. It is a subsidiary of Japanese Media Group, Fujisankei Communications Group.-History:...
) - Original work: Go Nagai
- Director/storyboards: Takashi WatanabeTakashi Watanabeis a Japanese director. He is best known for directing the anime seies Boogiepop Phantom and Ichiban Ushiro no Dai Maō.-Director:*Boogiepop Phantom*Ichiban Ushiro no Dai Maō*Ikki Tousen*Kino's Journey Life Goes On...
- Character design/animation director: Shigeki Awai
- Art director: Hitoshi Nagao
- Music director: Yoshikazu Iwanami
- Music: Takeo MiratsuTakeo Miratsuwas a Japanese music composer for video games and anime. He was a member of Twin Amadeus, who composed songs for the Beatmania IIDX series of music video games...
- Producer: Yukina Hiiro, Shigenori Kurii
- Production: Dynamic Planning, Studio Pierrot
- Theme song: (lyrics by Yumi Morita, composition by Daijiro Nozawa, arrangement by Satoru Osanai, song by Kyoko Tongu)
- Cast: Kyoko Tongu (Kikunosuke), Kosei TomitaKosei Tomitais a Japanese voice actor from Tokyo who is affiliated with Production Baobab. His real name is .- TV :* Matteo in Animation Kikou Marco Polo no Boken* Rumina's grandfather in Tokyo Underground* Bouleuse Gotho in Armored Trooper Votoms* Master in Black Jack...
(Daemon), Shigeru ChibaShigeru Chibais an actor and voice actor. He has also worked as a sound effects director and music director. He is employed by the talent management firm 81 Produce....
(Goemon), Tessho GendaTessho Gendais a Japanese voice actor. He is employed by the talent management firm 81 Produce. When he debuted, he used his real name, . as artist name. Because he had experience with ballet, he was known by the nickname "Pirouette Genda."...
(Naojiro), Taiki MatsunoTaiki MatsunoTaiki Matsuno is a Japanese seiyū. He works at Aoni Production. His real name, as well as his former stage name, is Tatsuya Matsuno...
(Kichiza)
Source(s)
Releases
The OVA was originally released as part of Studio PierrotStudio Pierrot
is a Japanese animation/animation studio, founded in 1979 by former employees of Tatsunoko Production. Its headquarters is located in Mitaka, Tokyo.The company has a simple logo of the face of a clown...
's video magazine show along with Yumemakura Baku Twilight Gekijo, Eguchi Hisashi no Kotobuki Goro Show and Akai Hayate. The Rentaman experimental concept consisted of these anime divided in episodic short serials. For this reason, the running time of each episode varies greatly. Rentaman was only released on VHS
VHS
The Video Home System is a consumer-level analog recording videocassette standard developed by Victor Company of Japan ....
format and published under the Nextart label (Pony Canyon
Pony Canyon
is a Japanese company, established on October 1, 1966 , which publishes music, DVD and VHS videos, movies and video games. It is a subsidiary of Japanese Media Group, Fujisankei Communications Group.-History:...
).
Anime V Comic Rentaman
| # | Release date | Standard number |
| 1 | PCVF-30006 | |
| 2 | PCVF-30007 | |
| 3 | PCVF-30008 | |
| 4 | PCVF-30009 |
After the release of Rentaman, Abashiri Ikka was released as a single release in both VHS (PCVF-30022) and Laserdisc (PCLP-00279) format, also by Nextart in .
Releases outside of Japan
The OVA was released in the USA in by ADV Films, subtitled and in VHS format.Live-action film
A live-action film titled , starring actress Erika Tonooka (member of the group Idoling!!!) and directed by Teruyoshi Ishii, was released in Tokyo on November 21, 2009.Staff & cast
- Studio: Total Media Corporation (TMC), Oscar
- Director: Teruyoshi Ishii
- Action director: Shingo Nishida
- Producer: Seiji Nanba, Hideo Iwashita
- Co-producer: Akio Motojima
- Assistant producer: Eisuke Ito, Shinichiro Yamaguchi
- Executive adviser: Jun Mimae
- Executive producer: Akihiko Yahata, Tsuguo Oikawa
- Planning: Takashi Shiotsuki
- Original work: Go Nagai
- Script: Sadayuki Murai
- Photography: Takehiro Kuramochi
- Editor: Hiroaki Niizuma
- Art: Nori Fukuda
- Lighting: Koji Hara
- Audio recording: Manabu Otsuka
- Production: Abashiri Family Production Committee
- Theme song: string (performed by eroica)
- Cast: Erica Tonooka (Kikunosuke), Shun SugataShun Sugata' is a Japanese character actor from Yamanashi Prefecture. He is most known for portraying villainous characters.-Films:*Abunai Deka *Baka Yaro! 2: Shiawase ni naritai...
(Daemon), Ijiri Okada (Goemon), Yakan Nabe (Kichiza), Kyoji Kamui (Naojiro), Jiro SatoJiro SatoJiro Sato was a former tennis player from Japan. He graduated from Waseda University...
(Danjuro Namakubi), MiwaMiwa (singer)Miwa is a Japanese singer-songwriter. She debuted in 2010 with the single "Don't Cry Anymore", used as the theme song for the drama Nakanai to Kimeta hi.- Biography :...
(Kaoruko Unii/Mademoiselle Honey), Maria Yoshikawa (Yuki), Mai Endo (Mai)
Source(s)
Legacy
The characters Daemon, Kichiza, Naojiro, and Goemon would all appear in Go Nagai's later series Cutie HoneyCutie Honey
is a Japanese media franchise created by Go Nagai. Cutie Honey first appears on volume 41 of the 1973 edition of Shōnen Champion. According to Nagai, she is the first female to be the protagonist of a shōnen manga series....
. In it, Daemon became Hayami Danbei and Kichiza became Hayami Junpei. Naojiro later appeared as Danbei's nephew, and boss of Paradise School. Goemon appeared with Naojiro as a teacher of Paradise School. Kikunosuke appears in the Mazinger Angels
Mazinger Angels
-Releases outside of Japan:The manga was also released in Hong Kong and Taiwan by d/visual taipei and in Italy by d/visual.-Toys:Besides the manga, a series of toys from the Soul of Chogokin line from Bandai have been released. The main robots from Mazinger Angels are available as part of the GX...
manga as the pilot for Iron Z (which is in fact a new name for Energer Z, the Mazinger Z prototype.) As well as traditional Mazinger
Mazinger
is a long running series of manga and anime featuring giant robots or mecha. The name can also be pronounced "Mazinga", as it is has been known in several countries, including in the United States of America.-Series:The series in order:...
and Grendizer
Grendizer
is a super robot TV anime and manga created by manga artist Go Nagai. It is the third entry in the Mazinger trilogy. It was broadcasted on Japanese television from October 5, 1975, to February 27, 1977, and lasted 74 episodes...
characters Sayaka Yumi
Sayaka Yumi
is one of the heroine of Go Nagai's manga and anime Mazinger Z. She was a bit hot-tempered and tomboyish, and had a habit of clashing with the story's hero, Kouji Kabuto even though she had a romantic interest in him....
, Grace Maria Fleed, Hikaru Makiba and Jun Hono
Jun Hono
is a fictional character featured in the works of Go Nagai. She is the Heroine character in the Super Robot series Great Mazinger and pilots the title female robot Venus A.- History :Jun Hono showed up in the first episode of Great Mazinger...
as they fight Dr. Hell's forces and the Vegan Empire, respectively; Daemon also appears under his Hayami Danbei alias in Grendizer. In Shin Mazinger, Cross is a cyborg similar to Naojiro and their 'robot' form has the same appearance.
External links
- Abashiri Ikka at The World of Go Nagai webpage
- Abashiri Ikka at D/visualD/visuald/visual incorporated d/visual incorporated d/visual incorporated (株式会社ディー・ビジュアル） is a Japanese publisher of manga books and anime home video.It was established in October 2002 by Federico Colpi and Kazuhiko Murata....
- OVA review
- OVA review
- Abashiri Ikka: The movie official website
- Abashiri Ikka: The movie at allcinema