Subject: _Shin Koutarou Magaritooru!_ Character Guide, Part 7 Starting Over With Tatsuya Hirota's _Shin Koutarou Magaritooru!_ (The NEW Koutarou, Break Through!) =================================== Volumes 1 through 3 (Toriaezu) =================================== Character Guide Notes NOTE: [fa:v??] == First Appearance in Volume ??. [la:v??] == If the character warrants it, Last Appearance in Volume ??. [ls:v??] == Sometimes, a character will disappear for a while, only to surface again a long time later. Last Seen in Volume ??. =================================== New Main Characters =================================== Kumi Mifune -- A parody of Yawara, this 1st Year High School girl is a master at judo, but has gained her view of reality by watching one too many Yawaranger TV episodes (Yawaranger is a send-up of the Japanese TV rubber suit super hero genre). Kumi is a small girl with her hair pulled up in a side-of-the-head pony tail, like Yawara's. [fa:v1] Sanshirou Saigou -- A 1st Year High School boy, Saigou is a very polite white belt in the boy's judo club. Small, with a crew cut, Saigou gets bullied by EVERYONE. However, his extra-long toes give him a major edge when foot-sweeping his opponents. Saigou is attracted towards Kumi. [fa:v1] Hirosato Daigo -- A big 14-year-old, Daigo is National Judo Champion in the Jr. High School rankings. Daigo is a cigarette-smoking bully, who intends on beating everyone at his new school before gathering lots of money for his future plans. He picks on Saigou a lot. [fa:v1] Kyomi Tako -- (Tako = Octopus, and also means "baldie") Tako is the Sub-Captain of the school's number one boy's judo club, under Toshihiko Iga. Tako starts out as a hard-nosed teacher, but he is constantly being undermined by Shindou and Iga. A tall bald teenager, and always seen in a judo uniform. [fa:v1] Rumiko Misuki -- A pretty, rich, spoiled girl, and captain of the girl's judo club. Has a major crush on Iga, and will KILL anyone that threatens to get Iga's gi dirty. Is known as the "1 Second Queen", as she can defeat an opponent for an ippon throw in one second. Rumiko is also the only girl that Shindou and Shikato can't steal panties from. [fa:v1] Toshihiko Iga -- (AKA: Ika = squid.) Captain of the school's Judo club. Handsome and elegant as only true masters of power can be. Iga believes that Judo should be a sport, and not a tool to be used for fighting. Iga's Judo originally appears to be master-class, but he has a secret weapon that he refuses to use. [fa:v1] Shinkurou Mikado -- Captain of the school's "Teikoku" (Empire) judo club. A tall, thin high school student with lanky, greasy hair and a plain face, Mikado initially seems to be nothing more than a spy with too much money and electronic taping gear. [fa:v3] =================================== Story Arcs =================================== Each major plot line covers several volumes, and usually begins with the introduction of a few new characters before the action kicks in. (R == Real story. o == Ignorable one shot.) New Start Up (House Mix) Book 1 o Yawara in a T-Back Book 1 -- ? R =================================== Volume Outlines, and New Characters =================================== Volume 1: It is the start of the new school year. Mayumi and Shindou have been held back a year (they are now 4th year students) because of the events in the last volume. Shindou is trying to kidnap 1st year girls to get them to join his dojo, and runs afoul of Kumi. He steals Kumi's Yawaranger panties, and she wants to kill him for it. Daigo and his gang of 1st year student punks are bullying some other punks. Daigo roughs up Saigou for the fun of it. Daigo also dislocates the shoulders of some fellow club-mates, and is called on the floor by Tako for it. Tako tries to scare Daigo by saying that there are stronger students waiting to stop Daigo (Shikato, Tenkouji -- the priest is still in the hospital --, Momotarou, and Shindou) but this just whets Daigo's interest. Daigo's punks break the sign marking Shindou's dojo site, and get trashed by Shindou. However, there's lots of misunderstandings which eventually mark Saigou as a villian. Kumi wants to prove that "pure, good people" practice judo, and "only evil, mean people" use karate; therefore, judo will always overcome karate. But, whenever she tries to throw Shindou, our hero recovers from it and ultimately, Kumi decides to sign up for Shindou's classes. This brings Rumiko into the picture; Rumiko won't allow any of her students to desert her dojo (she also recognizes Shindou from his earlier attempts to steal her panties.) Rumiko likes the long, open clearing that Shindou occupies, and she decides to take it over and build a new dojo for her beloved Iga. (Shindou doesn't want to risk making Rumiko angry, so he turns Kumi down.) Daigo earns Shindou's wrath for interrupting an etchi dream between him and Mayumi. Daigo gets kicked in the balls, and decides to get revenge by kidnapping Kumi and Saigou. (Kumi takes a long time to realize that even judo has its share of evil people.) Saigou gets beaten to a pulp by Daigo's punks. Shindou has to babysit Mayumi when she comes down with a bad fever, and there is no one else around to help tell him how to care for her. However, Shindou gets a call from Daigo stating that Kumi has been captured, and inviting him to the dojo for a match. The final scene in this volume is a showdown between Daigo and the pulped Saigou. (The wimpy runt has been rolling with the punches all this time, so he looks a lot worse than he feels.) When Kumi is in danger of being tortured, Saigou goes into a trance, and succeeds in throwing massive Daigo -- with the help of his prehensile toes. Volume 2: Daigo thinks that Saigou just got lucky, and attacks once more. This time, Saigou uses Yama Arashi (a very high-kicking over the shoulder throw). Both Saigou and Daigo pass out. Kumi is so pleased that she asks all the punks if Saigou's throw wasn't REALLY COOL. The punks want to hurt her (but the best they can come up with are minor S&M tricks pulled from porno mags.) One of the punks spins Kumi free of her ropes, and then takes off his disguise to reveal -- Shindou, of course. The punks take a lot of convincing before they decide that 30 against 1 is really bad odds. Then, Daigo recovers, and challenges Shindou. Shindou claims that not only is he NOT the strongest fighter in the school (he's the strongest in the WORLD), he'll take out the fatty in one punch. Daigo attacks, and takes the blow in his chest. He collapses. The remaining punks try to run away, and are rounded up by Momo and the Ouendan (Shindou arranged to "sell" the punks to the Ouendan as "new members". Momo's group demands lots of money from the "new members"", and Momo haggles Shindou down to a 350 yen per head recruiting fee.) (During all of this, two punks had captured Kumi, and Shindou decides that he'll accept the girl as a student after all. Kumi is so pleased, she trashes the two punks by accident.) Shindou runs to take Mayumi back home (he'd brought her to the judo dojo, bundled in a sleeping bag,) leaving Momo to explain to Kumi the concept of "transferred power" -- concentrating a punch so that it doesn't damage the skin at the point of contact, but instead does great damage within the body (explaining why Daigo's back has developed a HUGE welt, while his chest is still mostly unmarked.) Saigou is impressed with Shindou's work, but he decides that he'd rather stay in judo. Mayumi awakens the next morning, fully rested and happy at finding Shindou sleeping beside her (she's not so happy at finding herself completely nude, though.) Shindou is pleased when Kumi keeps calling him "Captain (Shushou)", until Rumiko shows up and tries to run the hero over with her Rolls Royce. Rumiko wants to beat up Shindou for stealing one of her students, and to beat up Mayumi for protecting Kumi from her. Rumiko and Kumi go one-on-one, but, before things get out of hand, Iga shows up and throws his gym bag out so that Rumiko lands on it instead of on the street. Everyone then lies that they weren't fighting, to avoid Iga's displeasure. Iga continues on walking to do some training, and Shindou discovers a big sign saying that the old Shindou grounds have been dedicated to the new Dai Ichi Boys' Judo Club. He takes the sign (after being blown up by one of Rumiko's landmines) and runs off to heave it through the window of the current boy's judo dojo. There are a lot of background explanations along the way. Two years ago, when Rumiko first appeared at the school, Shindou tried to steal her panties, and was trashed by one strong bodyguard. Rumiko also had flamethrowers used to burn down his old dojo. Iga had met Shindou at that time, but Shindou doesn't remember it, and Iga is pretending that they've just met in this book. Rumiko is secretly giving money to Daigo, to keep Daigo on the Boy's judo team, and thus guaranteeing that Iga's team will have a sure point-winner. Tako wants Saigou to not tell Iga about the previous day's fight, because Tako and Iga are both 3rd year students, and if they graduate without a strong student to take over for them (Daigo), the dojo will close next year. Saigou is probably one of the offspring of one of the greatest judo masters of all time, and he practices on his own -- doing Yama Arashi. As the story progresses, Iga slips up and reveals that he'd met Shindou before (which gets Shindou thinking.) And, Mayumi keeps wondering who it is that could beat up Shindou and keep him away from Rumiko's panties. (The main themes this time, not including judo, are: rumors, and seafood. Lots of rumors revolve around Shindou -- how evil he is, and what a pervert he is. Other rumors are: secret money, and secret plans.) Rumiko is visiting Iga's dojo when the sign comes through the window. She attacks Shindou, and then suddenly everything goes sour when Iga learns that Rumiko had stolen Shindou's land to be turned into Iga's new dojo. Iga won't accept this kind of behavior, but he weakens when Rumiko bursts into tears. Then, Daigo shows up. Iga learns about the fight the day before, and he kicks Daigo out of the club (to Rumiko's and Tako's horror.) But, Daigo feels that the only way anyone can control a judo club is through sheer power -- he challenges Iga to a showdown. Daigo gets thrown to the mats by a "spinning tornado throw" -- Iga's trademark. When Daigo comes to, he says that this was a lucky throw. He gets thrown again. And again. And again. Finally, Rumiko tries to buy Daigo off, and Daigo not only turns her down, he promises to return everything that she'd given him before. (Shindou is willing to take the money.) Daigo passes out, and Iga turns to Rumiko. He asks if it's true that she's been giving secret funding to people, and she confesses. He tells her to leave, and never come back. Rumiko's heart is torn out, and she leaves -- all will to live has been ripped from her. But, Shindou (who hates to see anything bad happen to women, no matter how evil the woman is) tells her to stay, adding that sports clubs usually have financial backing -- so what's the big deal? Then, Shindou challenges "Ika" to a showdown. Ika looks a little pissed, and a bit worried. Volume 3: Ika refuses to fight Shindou, until our hero suggests that this be a simple Judo workout (with both sides trying to win.) Ika can't worm his way out of this, so Tako is forced to act as floor judge. Ika's club mates-line up against one wall, and Shindou's group sits along the other wall. Rumiko is convinced that Shindou is hopeless, and that her cause is lost. Shindou's screwing around (getting into a judo gi, he complains that the rough fabric is scratching his tender skin, and that since this is his first time, will Ika please be gentle?) doesn't help matters. But, as the match starts, Ika discovers that a lot of karate techniques translate into judo, and that Shindou is a master-class martial artist. Most of the hero's blocking actions are actually sword-hand chops -- which hurts a lot on impact. Tako wants to give points to Ika, and ignore Shindou's points all together; Saigou and Kumi keep yelling out passages from the rules books just to keep Tako honest. Saigou also yells out advice to Shindou, which Ika approves of, but Shindou jumps out of the ring to hit the boy in the face to tell him that Shindou doesn't need anyone's assistance (Shindou learned all the judo he needed to just by watching Ika fighting Daigo.) Time passes, and Ika is leading on points. He can't get a clean lead, though. Ika is incredibly fast, while Shindou is relying on his previously-proven rhythm technique (playing out a fast drum beat in his head.) When Ika tries to throw Shindou with seoi (an over-the-shoulder throw that's like the one he used on Daigo), Shindou anticipates it, and jumps up a little to keep control over his balance and to land on his feet instead of on his back (Shindou calls this his "Cat under a willow tree" counter. Actually, it's a matter of a willow tree's branches flowing with the wind, instead of fighting it.) Shindou's swaying ponytail gives him away, though, and Ika learns how to read our hero's timing. Eventually, Ika and Tako start looking out the window at the nearest tall clock tower. Tako is worried, and Ika is beginning to consider whether to use his secret weapon. Tako wants to close the windows and pull the curtains, but Shindou yells that this is still the middle of a stifling summer. Up in the tower, one teenager is aiming a video camera at Ika, and another boy is sitting in a chair in front of a bank of TV monitors, musing that Ika may actually use his seoi this time. The first boy says that they've seen that seoi hundreds of times already, and the second one answers that the first boy is still wet behind the ears. Ika decides that Rumiko can stay friends with him after all. (This is a clue that Ika has already started forming the plans that unfold later.) Immediately, Rumiko switches sides and starts rooting for her idol. Tako thinks that this means that the match can be called off now, but Shindou threatens to go ballistic if that happens. Ika also wants to finish this off. The match continues, and Rumiko and Mayumi compete in promising their heroes a great supper if they win. Finally, Shindou's rhythm is shattered, and Ika disappears. He uses "Ippon Seoi" (Guaranteed to win over the shoulder throw.) Saigou yells out that Shindou can't smash Ika in the back of the head with an elbow strike, and Shindou slams into the mat. It's a perfect throw, and up in the tower, the sitting boy stands up to announce that with Iga's True Seoi on tape, the Teikoku Judo Club no longer has anything standing in their way. (Mikado is also identified for the first time by name.) Tako looks at Saigou to determine whether this was good for an ippon (it was), and Rumiko is immediately on the phone to get her chef to start working, and to get a banquet hall ready for the party tonight. Ika tells her that he has something he really wants to ask of her, so Rumiko cancels the party and tries to reserve the Royal Suite in the Princess Hotel just for the two of them. Instead, Ika wants to have his old dojo torn down and a new one built. Rumiko is happy to do this. The impact of the throw had knocked Shindou unconscious, but he eventually recovers. However, Ika turns to Saigou, and says that because there is no place in the club for people that use judo to fight, Saigou is being kicked out. Kumi goes ballistic and challenges everyone to protect her friend. But, Saigou has no backbone, and he accepts the decision before running away in tears (Kumi says that in revenge, she will never eat octopus or squid again.) Kumi and Saigou meet up, and the boy says that he'll join another judo club; problem is, there's no other club left for him. Shindou challenges Ika on a club vs club basis, and Ika accepts. Shindou tells Saigou that he is now opening a judo club, and that Saigou has to pay the $100 entrance fee (Mayumi pummels him for this.) There is a school judo tournament coming up, but it turns out that you must have 5 people per team to enter. Shindou goes to the Ouendan to see if any of Momo's people know judo (several do.) Momo wants to charge 5000 yen per person for this, and Shindou will only pay 35 yen. However, they soon discover that someone zipped in and KO'd every Ouendan judo practitioner -- they'll all be in the hospital for one month. Shindou calls up Tenkouji (the priest has recovered from his injuries by now), and the priest suddenly gets KO'd the same way. Shindou muses over this, until he notices Shikato practicing judo on Koutarou's dojo grounds. We know learn who the culprit was. Shindou has no choice, and he tells his students that they will be competing -- With Shindou, Shikato, Mayumi, Kumi and Saigou making up the team. Saigou complains about having a woman on the team, and Shindou reminds us of the previous volumes where Mayumi filled in on the karate tournament team. Saigou's heart drops to the ground on realizing that Kumi will be competing alongside him in a tournament. (Off to the side, Ika and Tako have been watching on, thinking that Saigou's skills may actually wake up under Shindou's tutelage; indicating that Ika knew what he was doing in ejecting Saigou. Further, because he knows that the Teikoku judo club had captured his secret throw on tape, Ika needs the new dojo so that he can try to come up with something new. Ika's True Seoi had been perfect, but if it hadn't been a judo match, Shindou's elbow strike would have KO'd him in mid-throw: Ika knows that Shindou is faster than him. However, Shindou still has a lot of learning to do to master the finer points of judo.) (Volume 3 just hit the stands in August. #4 probably won't come out until late October or mid-November. If I am still in Japan at that time, I'll add it to this guide. But as of now, we are caught up to the latest published volume; or about 4 months behind Shonen Magazine. In later volumes, we will meet Kumi's mother -- a very big, fat woman; and Kumi's grandmother -- a small, older version of Kumi that taught Kumi all the judo that she knows. We also meet Tatsuya Hirota's cats. The cats all live in Kumi's house.) === This marks the end of Part 1 (version 0.5) === === of the New Koutarou Guide === ISDN information [Kodansha Comics, ISBN4-06-312111-9 C9979, 400 yen] -- 1 [Kodansha Comics, ISBN4-06-312134-8 C9979, 400 yen] -- 2 [Kodansha Comics, ISBN4-06-312164-X C9979, 400 yen] -- 3 ==================================================================== -- Curtis H. Hoffmann Aug. 31, 1995