Kyō Kara Ore Wa!! Explained

Ja Kanji:今日から俺は!!
Genre:Gag comedy,[1] [2] [3]
Type:manga
Author:Hiroyuki Nishimori
Publisher:Shogakukan
Imprint:Shōnen Sunday Comics
First:September 10, 1988
Last:November 5, 1997
Volumes:38
Type:ova
Studio:Pierrot
First:April 1, 1993
Last:December 21, 1997
Runtime:50 minutes (each)
Episodes:10
Type:live film
Director:Tsutomu Kashima
Released:February 19, 1994
Runtime:93 minutes
Type:drama
Director:Yuichi Fukuda
Music:Eiji Segawa
Network:Nippon TV
First:October 14, 2018
Last:December 16, 2018
Episodes:10
Type:manga
Yūsha Sagawa to Ano Futari-hen
Author:Hiroyuki Nishimori
Publisher:Shogakukan
Imprint:Shōnen Sunday Comics Special
Magazine:Shōnen Sunday S
First:November 24, 2018
Last:February 25, 2019
Volumes:1
Type:live film
Director:Yuichi Fukuda
Music:Eiji Segawa
Studio:Toho
Runtime:94 minutes
Portal:on

is a Japanese manga series written and illustrated by Hiroyuki Nishimori. The manga was initially published in Shogakukan's manga magazine Shōnen Sunday Zōkan, running monthly from September 1988 to August 1990. The series was then transferred to Weekly Shōnen Sunday and serialized from September 1990 to November 1997. Its chapters were collected in 38 volumes. A four-chapter manga sequel, titled Kyō Kara Ore wa!!: Yūsha Sagawa to Ano Futari-hen, was serialized in Shōnen Sunday S from November 2018 to February 2019 and collected in a single volume.

Kyō Kara Ore Wa!! was adapted into a 10-episode original video animation (OVA) series by Pierrot, released from April 1993 to December 1997. The series also spawned a V-Cinema direct-to-video live-action series launched from 1993 to 1997, and a live-action film, featuring the same cast and staff from the V-Cinema series, premiered in February 1994. A Japanese television drama adaptation was broadcast on Nippon Television in 2018, and a live-action film, featuring the same cast and staff from the drama, premiered in July 2020.

By March 2018, the Kyō Kara Ore Wa!! manga had over 40 million copies in circulation.

Story

Two boys, Takashi Mitsuhashi and Shinji Itō, meet each other at a salon. It turns out both boys are transferring to a new school and decide to take the opportunity to reinvent themselves, to no longer be the run-of-the-mill high school students they used to be, and become the greatest delinquents in Japan.

Characters

Nanyou High

A sly high school student. He gave up his ordinary school life and decided to "become a delinquent from today on", after moving to his new home in Chiba. Being a very athletic person, he used his talent for the sole purpose of brawling and actually becomes a real delinquent. To make his appearance more noticeable, he dyed his hair blond. Being the most self-centered person in the story, his own safety comes before anyone else's, he often sacrifices his "friends" for his cause. He is greedy and cunning. Although, beneath his devilish personality lies a softer side, which shows from time to time, especially when he is angry. His fighting style is based around his speed, as he dodges most attacks, becoming surprised whenever he is forced to block due to being faster than most of the people he encounters. His love interest is Riko Akasaka.
  • A complete reversal of Mitsuhashi, Itō is the kind of righteous person fighting for justice. Just like Mitsuhashi, Itō got transferred to Nan High's first year. Like his personality, his fighting style is also the opposite of Mitsuhashi's; he is incredibly tough and often stands up from any beating, even in the bleakest of situations. While he may be as strong as Mitsuhashi, Itō is beat up much more often than Mitsuhashi due to often sacrificing himself to protect others as well as fighting fair in unfair situations or against numerous opponents. Due to helping her, he wins the affection of Kyōko, an ex-delinquent girl, at the start of the series.
  • The only daughter of the Akasaka style dojo. Originally she visited another senior high school than Mitsuhashi and Itō, but ultimately decided to transfer to Nan High instead to repay Mitsuhashi's favor. Behind her pretty looks lies someone pretty skilled in Aikido; she can handle most delinquents on her own despite her small body size. While she used to be very popular at her old school, in Nan High she is initially considered "weird" because of her constantly hanging out with Mitsuhashi. She spends more and more time with Mitsuhashi, and he sometimes intrudes in her home/dojo, often irritating her father, who also seems to get used to Mitsuhashi. She is romantically interested in Mitsuhashi and is one of the people close to him who know his softer side. She is the only person who refers to Mitsuhashi as "San-chan" because 三 (mitsu) is also read as the number three (san).
  • Student of the Akasaka style dojo, and in love with Riko. His sense of justice is as strong as Itō's, and he is a modest person who is willing to help people in need out whenever he can. Despite his initially weak body, he never backed down to any delinquent's threat. He was transferred to Nan High together with Riko, which is why everyone calls him "Ryou-kun" like Riko does. Surprisingly, he can hold his own against Mitsuhashi.
  • A transfer student from Saitama. He originally transferred to Nan High to avoid trouble at his home place of Saitama during the Kitagawa incident, and was quickly at enmity with Mitsuhashi because of his righteous nature, even more so than Itō. When he first appeared, he seems to have an equal charm towards girls as Itō, which only grew when he defeated the duo in a match of Judo. At the end of the Kitagawa incident, he got to know Mitsuhashi's true nature and became friend with them, aiding them multiple times in battle in order to repay their favor. A running gag in the story, is whenever Itō is doing something emotional with Kyōko, he appears and witness an embarrassing scene.
  • A delinquent from Nan High, who quickly became Mitsuhashi's and Itō's lackey and informant due to his nature "always succumbing to the circumstances". Even though he is no strong fighter, people respect him for the sole sake of him being able to call for Itō and Mitsuhashi's help at any given time.
  • A delinquent and good friend with Sagawa, also being considered a lackey of Mitsuhashi and Itō.
  • Riko's girl friend at Nan High, with lots of screentime, but very few times they refer to her with her name.
  • A junior with passable strength, at least 2 years younger than Mitsuhashi. Mitsuhashi gave him the nickname of "pisshead" because he once peed on them while they were trapped in a well. When introduced, he is an overconfident middle school student and tries to defeat Mitsuhashi. However, he soon gains immense respect for Mitsuhashi after witnessing his strength and looks up to him. Mitsuhashi regards him as a bud despite his young age.
  • Seiran Girl School

    A former girl. She becomes Itō's girlfriend near the beginning of the series after he takes a beating in order to rescue her from a group of thugs. Her parents approve of her dating Itō and are just grateful that she is not dating Mitsuhashi.

    Benibane High

    Beni high's banchō, the eldest son of four brothers. Despite his incredible strength, his intelligence is not up to scratch. Even though he looks handsome at first glance, he cannot get a girlfriend because he often unintentionally ends up looking like a fool. Imai possesses impressive strength, usually throwing his opponents. However, he still could not win against many of his rivals. Mitsuhashi often tries to hinder Imai, especially when good things happen to him. Itō, on the other hand, usually gets along with Imai, respecting his honest efforts. He is often looking for ways to better himself.
  • Imai's lackey and best friend. He respects Imai wholeheartedly and made a promise to follow Imai his entire life. He tends to get involved in a lot of troubles with Imai, and because of his small size, he's usually the first to get picked on. Despite his lack of strength, he has a lot of spirit, which sometimes intimidates people.
  • An obese giant, who also decided to follow Imai as his lackey, after he was defeated in a fight. It is implied that he has anger issues and was thus expelled from his old school. His size makes him a formidable fighter even Imai acknowledges. He likes to refer to Imai as "aniki".
  • Originally from Ibaraki, Nakano transferred to Beni high due to his quarrel with the local yakuza boss' son. Despite his short stature, he was able to fight on par with Itō and Mitsuhashi during their school trip to Kyoto. His original goal in going to Chiba was to defeat Mitsuhashi, although he later settles in and even joins them in their raid of Akehisa.
  • Akehisa High

    Being the banchō of the delinquent high school Akehisa, he is feared among his enemies and respected amongst his fellowship. He is on par with Mitsuhashi strength-wise, but stopped with his delinquent career the moment he stepped out of his school and entered society.
  • He is as dangerous as a rabid dog. His methods are as dirty as Mitsuhashi's, however his own twisted character makes him always go a step further than Mitsuhashi. He is the only person who managed to completely disable Mitsuhashi's abilities during their last encounter by severely injuring him.
  • Satoshi's successors as head (banchō) of Akehisa, he lacks his predecessor strength and characters, often using Akehisa sheer number and name to avoid actual fighting.
  • Others

    A girl who usually fights with a shinai. When she is introduced into the story, she notices her cousin Satoru's bruises from Hokunei. Satoru lies and tells her that it was Mitsuhashi who did it, in order to keep her out of it. However, that only makes things worse and she tries going after Mitsuhashi and the others. Later on, she develops a crush on Imai due to his good nature. She was herself a (unwilling) delinquent and decided to change herself to a normal girl when she transferred, although it did not last very long and she soon became respected by the other delinquents of her new school.

    Media

    Manga

    Kyō Kara Ore Wa!! is written and illustrated by Hiroyuki Nishimori. It was first serialized in the magazine Shōnen Sunday Zōkan, running monthly from September 10, 1988, to August 10, 1990.[4] [5] [6] It was transferred to the magazine Weekly Shōnen Sunday, where it ran from September 19, 1990, to November 5, 1997.[7] [8] [9] Shogakukan collected its chapters in 38 volumes, released from December 14, 1989, to March 18, 1998. Shogakukan re-published the series in a 19-volume edition released from August 9, 2000, to August 8, 2003,[10] [11] and a 18-volume edition released from April 15, 2011, to August 10, 2012.[12] [13]

    A series of special new chapters, under the title, were published in Shōnen Sunday S from November 24, 2018, to February 25, 2019.[1] [14] These chapters were compiled into a single volume published on April 18, 2019.[15]

    Volumes

    Original video animation

    Kyō Kara Ore Wa!! was adapted into a 10-episode original video animation (OVA) series by Pierrot and directed by Takeshi Mori and Masami Anō. The episodes were released from April 1, 1993, to December 21, 1997.[16]

    Episodes

    V-Cinema live-action series

    Toei Video released a series of V-Cinema direct-to-video live-action series:

    1994 live-action film

    A live-action film, featuring the same cast and staff from the V-Cinema live-action series, was released on February 19, 1994.[22]

    Drama

    The manga was adapted into a Japanese television drama in 2018,[23] starring Kento Kaku as Takashi Mitsuhashi, Kentarō as Shinji Itō, Nana Seino as Riko Akasaka, and Kanna Hashimoto as Kyōko Hayakawa, as the main protagonists,[24] [25] and including Yuu Shirota, Tomoya Nakamura, Kenta Suga, Katsuya, Junki Tozuka, and others as antagonists.[26] Nippon TVs series official page reported a number of official guests, including Hirofumi Arai, Nobue Iketani, Shun Oguri, Haruka Shimazaki, Katsumi Takahashi, Shinichi Tsutsumi, Jun Hashimoto, Minami Hamabe, Yūya Yagira, Kento Yamazaki, Takayuki Yamada and Ayumu Yokoyama.[27] [28] Nippon TV translated the TV series title into English as From Today, It's My Turn!!.[29] The series was broadcast for ten episodes on Nippon TV from October 14 to December 16, 2018.[30] [31]

    2020 live-action film

    A live-action film, featuring the cast from the television drama, was announced in April 2019, with Yuichi Fukuda returning as director.[32] The film, distributed by Toho, premiered on July 17, 2020.[33] [34]

    Reception

    By March 2018, the manga had over 40 million copies in circulation.[35]

    Notes and References

    1. Web site: Pineda. Rafael Antonio. Kyō Kara Ore wa!! Manga Gets New Serialization After 20 Years. Anime News Network. October 12, 2018. October 12, 2018. https://web.archive.org/web/20181012103425/https://www.animenewsnetwork.com/news/2018-10-12/kyo-kara-ore-wa-manga-gets-new-serialization-after-20-years/.138056. October 12, 2018.
    2. Web site: ja:男の中の男を知る!定番ヤンキー漫画5選. https://music-book.jp/comic/news/column/98000. music-book.jp. April 30, 2020. ja. February 4, 2016. https://web.archive.org/web/20210207020514/https://music-book.jp/comic/news/column/98000. February 7, 2021.
    3. Web site: ja:「ヤンキーマンガガイドブック」100作以上を年代ごとに解説. https://natalie.mu/comic/news/133028. Comic Natalie. April 30, 2020. ja. December 5, 2014. https://web.archive.org/web/20210417194550/https://natalie.mu/comic/news/133028. April 17, 2021.
    4. Web site: https://mediaarts-db.bunka.go.jp/id/M579975. ja:週刊少年サンデー増刊号 1988年表示号数9. Media Arts Database. Agency for Cultural Affairs. June 19, 2020. ja. https://web.archive.org/web/20200621200717/https://mediaarts-db.bunka.go.jp/id/M579975. June 21, 2020.
    5. Web site: https://mediaarts-db.bunka.go.jp/id/M579951. ja:週刊少年サンデー増刊号 1990年表示号数8. Media Arts Database. Agency for Cultural Affairs. June 19, 2020. ja. https://web.archive.org/web/20200622044350/https://mediaarts-db.bunka.go.jp/id/M579951. June 22, 2020.
    6. Web site: ja:今日から俺は!!. https://websunday.net/museum/no04/no04.html. Web Sunday. Shogakukan. June 19, 2020. https://web.archive.org/web/20181116124126/https://websunday.net/museum/no04/no04.html. November 16, 2018. ja.
    7. Web site: https://mediaarts-db.bunka.go.jp/id/M578255. ja:週刊少年サンデー 1990年 表示号数40. Media Arts Database. Agency for Cultural Affairs. March 25, 2020. ja. https://web.archive.org/web/20200326001743/https://mediaarts-db.bunka.go.jp/id/M578255. March 26, 2020.
    8. Web site: https://mediaarts-db.bunka.go.jp/id/M577900. ja:週刊少年サンデー 1997年 表示号数47. Media Arts Database. Agency for Cultural Affairs. March 25, 2020. ja. https://web.archive.org/web/20200326003256/https://mediaarts-db.bunka.go.jp/id/M577900. March 26, 2020.
    9. Web site: ja:「今日から俺は!!」がイッキ読みできる、サンデーうぇぶりで期間限定キャンペーン. https://natalie.mu/comic/news/307268. Comic Natalie. Natasha, Inc.. November 10, 2018. ja. November 9, 2018. https://web.archive.org/web/20190421021411/https://natalie.mu/comic/news/307268. April 21, 2019.
    10. Web site: 今日から俺は!! / 1 [ワイド版]]. Shogakukan. October 31, 2020. https://web.archive.org/web/20041124115415/http://www.s-book.com/plsql/com2_detail?isbn=4091258816. November 24, 2004. ja.
    11. Web site: 今日から俺は!! / 19 [ワイド版]]. Shogakukan. October 31, 2020. https://web.archive.org/web/20050129023601/http://www.s-book.com/plsql/com2_detail?isbn=4091258999. January 29, 2005. ja.
    12. Web site: ja:今日から俺は!! 1 [文庫版]. https://comics.shogakukan.co.jp/book?isbn=9784091934680. Shogakukan. October 31, 2020. https://archive.today/20201031103918/https://comics.shogakukan.co.jp/book?isbn=9784091934680. October 31, 2020. ja. live.
    13. Web site: ja:今日から俺は!! 18 [文庫版]. https://comics.shogakukan.co.jp/book?isbn=9784091934901. Shogakukan. October 31, 2020. https://archive.today/20201031103905/https://comics.shogakukan.co.jp/book?isbn=9784091934901. October 31, 2020. ja. live.
    14. Web site: Sherman. Jennifer. New Kyou Kara Ore Wa!! Manga Ends in February. Anime News Network. November 23, 2019. January 25, 2019. https://web.archive.org/web/20190126004456/https://www.animenewsnetwork.com/news/2019-01-25/new-kyou-kara-ore-wa-manga-ends-in-february/.142519. January 26, 2019.
    15. Web site: ja:今日から俺は!!~勇者サガワとあの二人編~. https://comics.shogakukan.co.jp/book?isbn=9784091292155. Shogakukan. November 23, 2019. ja. https://archive.today/20201031103140/https://comics.shogakukan.co.jp/book?isbn=9784091292155. October 31, 2020. live.
    16. Web site: ja:今日から俺は!!. https://pierrot.jp/archive/ova/title31.html. Pierrot. July 23, 2021. https://web.archive.org/web/20210723203544/https://pierrot.jp/archive/ova/title31.html. July 23, 2021. ja. live.
    17. Web site: ja:今日から俺は!!. http://m.toei-video.co.jp/default.asp?d=70;t_T0000010779. Toei Video. November 23, 2019. ja. https://web.archive.org/web/20201119180507/m.toei-video.co.jp/default.asp?d=70;t_T0000010779. November 19, 2020. live.
    18. Web site: ja:今日から俺は!! 2. http://m.toei-video.co.jp/default.asp?d=70;t_T0000010808. Toei Video. November 5, 2020. ja. https://web.archive.org/web/20201111075509/http://m.toei-video.co.jp/default.asp?d=70;t_T0000010808. November 11, 2020. live.
    19. Web site: ja:今日から俺は!!電撃の17才. http://m.toei-video.co.jp/default.asp?d=70;t_T0000010809. Toei Video. November 23, 2019. ja. https://web.archive.org/web/20201111105316/https://m.toei-video.co.jp/default.asp?d=70;t_T0000010809. November 11, 2020. live.
    20. Web site: ja:今日から俺は!!ガッツだぜ17才. http://m.toei-video.co.jp/default.asp?d=70;t_T0000010810. Toei Video. November 23, 2019. ja. https://web.archive.org/web/20231005012314/https://m.toei-video.co.jp/default.asp?d=70;t_T0000010810. October 5, 2023. live.
    21. Web site: ja:今日から俺は!!嵐を呼ぶ17才. http://m.toei-video.co.jp/default.asp?d=70;t_T0000010811. Toei Video. November 23, 2019. ja. https://web.archive.org/web/20231004063228/https://m.toei-video.co.jp/default.asp?d=70;t_T0000010811. October 4, 2023. live.
    22. Web site: ja:今日から俺は!. http://db.eiren.org/contents/03000001762.html. Motion Picture Producers Association of Japan, Inc.. November 13, 2023. https://web.archive.org/web/20200806122412/http://db.eiren.org/contents/03000001762.html. August 6, 2020. ja. live.
    23. Web site: Sherman. Jennifer. Kyou Kara Ore Wa!! Manga Gets Live-Action TV Series. Anime News Network. September 8, 2020. March 29, 2018. https://web.archive.org/web/20200918181124/https://www.animenewsnetwork.com/news/2018-03-29/kyou-kara-ore-wa-manga-gets-live-action-tv-series/.129676. September 18, 2020.
    24. Web site: Live-Action Kyō Kara Ore wa!! Reveals 4 Cast Visuals. July 18, 2018. Anime News Network. https://web.archive.org/web/20181001034007/https://www.animenewsnetwork.com/news/2018-07-18/live-action-kyo-kara-ore-wa-reveals-4-cast-visuals/.134376. October 1, 2018. September 30, 2018.
    25. Web site: Kyo Kara Ore Wa!! Live-Action Drama Reveals Four Main Cast Visuals in 1980s Costume. July 17, 2018. Crunchyroll. https://web.archive.org/web/20190128200302/https://www.crunchyroll.com/anime-news/2018/07/17/kyo-kara-ore-wa-live-action-drama-reveals-four-main-cast-visuals-in-1980s-costume. January 28, 2019. January 28, 2019.
    26. Web site: Live-Action Kyō Kara Ore wa!! Reveals 'Enemy' Guest Cast. Anime News Network. https://web.archive.org/web/20190128201328/https://www.animenewsnetwork.com/news/2018-09-27/live-action-kyo-kara-ore-wa-reveals-enemy-guest-cast/.137266. January 28, 2019. September 30, 2018.
    27. Web site: https://www.ntv.co.jp/kyoukaraoreha/articles/721tm79t7xky49gzlu.html. ja:「今日から俺は!!」福田監督と主演・賀来賢人のために超豪華SPゲストが結集!. October 1, 2018. Nippon Television. ja. https://web.archive.org/web/20181001031400/https://www.ntv.co.jp/kyoukaraoreha/articles/721tm79t7xky49gzlu.html. October 1, 2018. September 30, 2018.
    28. Web site: Live-Action Kyō Kara Ore wa!! Series Reveals More Guest Cast. October 1, 2018. Anime News Network. https://web.archive.org/web/20190128202643/https://www.animenewsnetwork.com/news/2018-10-01/live-action-kyo-kara-ore-wa-series-reveals-more-guest-cast/.137513. January 28, 2019. January 28, 2019.
    29. Web site: From Today, It's My Turn!!. Nippon TV. September 8, 2020. https://web.archive.org/web/20200712093323/http://www.ntv.co.jp/english/pc/2018/10/from-today-its-my-turn.html. July 12, 2020.
    30. Web site: ja:第1話. https://www.ntv.co.jp/kyoukaraoreha/story/01.html. Nippon Television. September 8, 2020. ja. https://web.archive.org/web/20200804142353/https://www.ntv.co.jp/kyoukaraoreha/story/01.html. August 4, 2020.
    31. Web site: ja:第10話. https://www.ntv.co.jp/kyoukaraoreha/story/10.html. Nippon Television. September 8, 2020. ja. https://web.archive.org/web/20200928030552/https://www.ntv.co.jp/kyoukaraoreha/story/10.html. September 28, 2020.
    32. Web site: Pineda. Rafael Antonio. Kyō Kara Ore wa!! Manga Gets New Film. Anime News Network. September 8, 2020. April 5, 2019. https://web.archive.org/web/20201016134826/https://www.animenewsnetwork.com/news/2019-04-05/kyo-kara-ore-wa-manga-gets-new-film/.145422. October 16, 2020.
    33. Web site: Pineda. Rafael Antonio. Live-Action Kyō Kara Ore wa!! Film Reveals July 17 Opening, Returning Cast. Anime News Network. en. May 12, 2020. December 10, 2019. https://web.archive.org/web/20200918172051/https://www.animenewsnetwork.com/news/2019-12-10/live-action-kyo-kara-ore-wa-film-reveals-july-17-opening-returning-cast/.154206. September 18, 2020.
    34. Web site: Hodgkins. Crystalyn. Live-Action Kyō Kara Ore wa!! Film's Trailer Streamed. Anime News Network. September 8, 2020. April 13, 2020. https://web.archive.org/web/20201112205152/https://www.animenewsnetwork.com/news/2020-04-13/live-action-kyo-kara-ore-wa-film-trailer-streamed/.158517. November 12, 2020.
    35. Web site: Komatsu. Mikikazu. 'Gintama' Director Yuichi Fukuda Helms TV Drama Adaptation of Thug Comedy Manga 'Kyo Kara Ore Wa!!'. Crunchyroll. November 23, 2019. March 28, 2018. https://web.archive.org/web/20201111171906/https://www.crunchyroll.com/anime-news/2018/03/28-1/gintama-director-yuichi-fukuda-helms-tv-drama-adaptation-of-thug-comedy-manga-kyo-kara-ore-wa. November 11, 2020.