Girl Got Game

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Girl Got Game
Genre
Manga
Authored by	Shizuru Seino
Publisher
Serialized in	Bessatsu Friend
Original run	–
No. of volumes	10

Girl Got Game (originally published in Japan as Power!!) is a manga drawn by Shizuru Seino about a girl forced to pretend to be a boy.

Kyo Aizawa is a girl whose father is crazy about basketball. His dream was to go as far as the NBA, but, because of an injury, he couldn't. So, when they moved, he enrolled his daughter Kyo in Seisyu High School, which was famous for two things — cute girl uniforms, and a fast and furious boys basketball team. When Kyo got her uniform, she is shocked to discover, not a cute girl uniform, but a guy's outfit. Only then does she discover her father's plan, to get her in Seisyu as a boy to play on their top-ranked team!

The story, rather than being centered on basketball, is mainly about Kyo, and how she begins to like her male roommate Chiharu Eniwa. The story proceeds quite fast and by the end of the first volume, he is going to find out her secret. Kyo has some explaining to do to hide her true gender. But, eventually, Chiharu finds out. The manga (originally published in Japan by Kodansha) has been translated into English and is available in North America from TOKYOPOP which in August 2005 completed the domestic translation of all 10 volumes.

While the story is not centered on basketball, the manga's English title is clearly connected to the Spike Lee film He Got Game.

[edit] Characters

Kyo Aizawa: She is a girl who wants a cute boyfriend and to wear the lovely Seisyu High School girl's uniform. But since her father had an Achilles injury, she was made to fulfill her father's dream. She attends Seisyu as a boy and proves to be an invaluable member of the boys' basketball team (despite the fact she is the shortest member).

Chiharu Eniwa: One of the best players in the boys' basketball team, and one of the most popular guys at Seisyu. He has a crush on Kyo, though they got off to a bad start. The two are roommates and he is the first of her new friends to discover she is actually a girl.

Shinji Hamaya: A fellow member of the basketball team and Kyo's faithful companion. Hamaya is mostly after girls and is the least popular player in the team. Though hopeless with most girls, he eventually gets a girlfriend.

Tsuyaka Himejima: Kyo's longtime friend who enrolled in Seisyu to play with Kyo again and became the captain of the girls' basketball team. She exposed Kyo's secret to Chiharu after losing a game to him.

Hisashi Imai: The captain of the boys team. He is very popular. Imai is a very good friend of Chiharu's.

Kensuke Yura: A high-ranking basketball player and a genius due to his photographic memory. Kensuke lives a hard life despite his being bright and great at basketball. He has a crush on Kyo, and because of this, he re-joins the boy's basketball team just to be with her. He suspects Kyo is a girl when he first meets her and she later confirms it.

Akari Tojo: She is the team manager and has a major crush on Kyo. She is very energetic.

Ayaha: Kyo's dorm manager. She once played basketball as a student, but a knee injury ended such aspirations.

Ko Aizawa: Kyo's father, who was a talented basketball player until his Achilles' tendon tore. With his dreams of joining the NBA shot down, he passed on his love of basketball to Kyo and taught her everything he knows.