Hyper Police

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Hyper Police
はいぱーぽりす
(Hyper Police)
Genre Comedy, Police, Science Fiction
Manga
Authored by Minoru Tachikawa
Publisher
Serialized in
Original run –
No. of volumes
TV anime
Directed by Takahiro Omori
Studio Studio Pierrot
Network TV Tokyo
Original run 3 April 1997 – 25 September 1997
No. of episodes 25

Hyper Police (はいぱーぽりす?) is the name of a manga and anime series created by Minoru Tachikawa under the pseudonym MEE. For many years, the only western language to have translations of the Hyper Police manga was Spanish. However, English translations have recently begun thanks to US company Tokyopop.

Contents

[edit] Setting

Spoiler warning: Plot and/or ending details follow.

The anime takes place in the year 22 HC (Holy Century). Although theoretically about the competition of rival private police corporations (licensed bounty hunting firms) in an Earth where humanity is in danger of extinction, in actuality it focuses more on the lives of the main characters. The monsters are usually taken from Japanese mythology, updated for the modern era. In the setting, repeat criminal offenders in Tokyo have their memories wiped. However, in the manga version, they are castrated. Mithril exists in this world/setting; it is a sort of specially enchanted silver that is especially effective towards supernatural characters.

[edit] Characters

Most of the characters in Hyper Police are hybrids; from when humans and oni mixbreed, and due to this, "pure" humanity is in danger.

Natsuki Sasahara
Natsuki is a 17-year-old half-nekomata. She is the youngest character of the Hyper Police regulars, and in many ways, its main character. Her personality is very feline; she will eat canned or dry cat food, groom herself in public, play with string (or Sakura's tails), and her favorite bar drink is catnip- milk. She was hired to join Police Company (the name of the firm for which most of the characters work at the start of the series) when Batanen saw her ability to create electrical shocks being put to good use. However, this is also her major problem; Natsuki has been known to spark at random when angry, and can summon a full-blown bolt of lightning when surprised or enraged. She is also a dangerously bad shot with a gun, and has shot her allies at least twice by accident, thus she only uses a short dagger as her melee weapon of choice. When angry, her tail splits in two.
She prides herself over owning an orihalcom blade, and is in control of two "parasites", which is unusual for the setting; even having one is considered to be powerful.
Voiced by: Yuko Miyamura
Parasites
Similar to other magical familiars of anime, are beasts who are able to focus their owner's magical energy. The names of Natsuki's parasites are Fujin and Raijin (after the Japanese gods of Wind and Thunder).
Bob
Bob is Natsuki's pet cat, and older than she is. He is Natsuki's legal guardian when her human father is away.
Voiced by: Kouichi Toochika
Sakura Bokuseiinmonzeninari
Sakura is a 191-year-old kitsune (19 in kitsune years), and Natsuki's partner. She has 8 and 1/5ths tails; under traditional kitsune lore, a kitsune spirit comes under its full power when it attains its ninth and final tail. Her pettiness may be more of a hindrance in this matter than her personal strength; however, this does not stop her from joining Police Company to attempt to consume Natsuki so as to take her power thus gaining her full ninth tail. Although not fully powered, she can fly and has experience beyond her appearance, even to the point of being willing to eat from garbage cans if it means survival. Sakura is from Osaka. She also becomes the mother of three mischievous cubs from her mating with the time-displaced samurai Sakunoshin, justifying the age-old lore of a kitsune being a mother and housewife. As of Chapter 4, she and Sakunoshin are married though whether it's official is still up in the air.
Voiced by: Chiyako Shibahara (Japanese), Dorothy Elias-Fahn (English)
Sakunoshin Chikura
Sakunoshin is a samurai from Japan's Tensho Era, who is positive that Sakura is the reincarnation of his love, Kasumi. He also becomes the father of Sakura's cubs. Sakunoshin is a very skilled swordsman and has even broken Natsuki's orihalcon Blade.
Voiced by: Toshihiko Seki
Batanen Fujioka
Batanen is a 30-year old werewolf, and a senior officer at Police Company. Very often, he acts as Natsuki's father figure; which is a problem, because he is a letch and has fantasies about being with Natsuki. However, despite his rather strong emotions, he is able to hold them in check enough to do the right thing when Natsuki, or anyone else, is in danger. His abilities are rather quick regeneration and near-immortality, as well as being a competent detective and excellent shot. In the manga, he is always called by his first name, but in the Japanese version of the anime, most everyone refers to him as "Senpai" (elder).
Voiced by: Akio Ohtsuka
Tommy Fujioka (Tomy in the manga)
Tommy is Batanen's relative and partner only a year older than Natsuki. Although naive, he is honest, and is learning. He later falls in love with Peau, although he came on a little too strongly when first asking her out. He bought her a pair of scarlet slippers, and said "Peau, my feelings for you, please take these and step all over me!"
Voiced by: Ryuuzou Ishino
Samansa Grey (Samantha)
Samansa is an oni who works as a secretary under Mudagami at all times. She is talented with computers, and is never seen without her trademark Coke-bottle-lens glasses.
Voiced by: Kanako Mitsuhashi
Naoko Kondo
Naoko is one of the few humans in Police Company. Even when she overcomes her hatred of nonhumans (thanks in large part to Natsuki who saved her life from the monster that killed her parents when she was a child) that she gained when a monster killed her parents, she still feels vulnerable when fighting monsters, due to her lack of supernatural powers. It is perhaps because of this that she is a weaponry otaku. She is unlucky in love.
Voiced by: Yumi Hikita
Mudagami
Mudagami is a minor god (immortal, able to teleport, able to notice changes in the nature of reality). He is the chief of Police Company until it goes bankrupt.
Voiced by: Naoki Bandou
Nupu
Nupu is an anthropomorphic lion working for Police Company. He is a senior officer at Police Company, and speaks with a British accent in the English version, but little else is known.
Voiced by: Takuma Suzuki
Peau D'Roquefort (Po D'Roquefort in the manga)
Peau is a water mage working for the state police with a very cold, impersonal, businesslike attitude. The common police robots are under her control, as well as various ice and water powers (such as creating waterspouts or imprisoning suspects in blocks of ice). She, too, is human, born of European parents. At first Peau is easily disturbed by Tomy's methods of wooing her yet within time and patience (though finite) she is opening up to the young werewolf.
Voiced by: Yuri Amano
Makoto and Ayami Tachibana
Makoto and Ayami are the husband-and-wife team that run the Lamp Café. They act as confidants to Natsuki, with Makoto playing the worried businessman and Ayami playing the gentle, generous sister.
Fonne Walkure
Fonne is an European officer from the human-supremacist MAD Police Corporation owned by her rich father. Although she hates all nonhumans, she especially goes out of her way to irritate and humiliate Sakura. She has so far kept her actions within the bounds of the law, and carefully watches for one of her "fellow" non-human bounty hunters to cross the line. She pilots an F-Elf class VTOL aircraft, and has no life outside her work.
Voiced by: Kotono Mitsuishi
Spoilers end here.

[edit] Trivia

  • The song that plays in the background of the Lamp Café of the anime is a slow piano version of "Home on the Range".
  • Watch for a brief cameo of Sasami from Tenchi Muyo 10 minutes into episode 16.

[edit] External links

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