Harlem Beat
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| Harlem Beat | |
|---|---|
| ハーレム・ビート (Hāremu Bitto) |
|
| Genre | Shōnen, Sport |
| Manga | |
| Authored by | Yuriko Nishiyama |
| Publisher |  Kodansha Elex Media Komputindo Planet manga Tokyopop |
| Serialized in | Weekly Shonen Magazine |
| Original run | 1994 – |
| No. of volumes | 29 |
Harlem Beat (ハーレム・ビート Hāremu Bitto?) is a Japanese manga series created by Yuriko Nishiyama. It is published by Tokyopop in the United States. The series contain 29 volumes in Japan. However in the U.S., the manga goes up to 9 volumes under the name Harlem Beat, while volumes 12+ are published under the series title Rebound. For some reason Tokyopop made the decision not to publish volumes 10-11 (Probably because they are not a good starting place for Rebound).
It details the struggles of young Naruse Tohru (Nate Torres in the U.S. version) to go from a benchwarmer to a street-ball player. The story's scope expands as he makes friends and eventually becomes a member of his high school basketball team.
[edit] Characters
- Nate Torres - main character of Harlem Beat. In the original Japanese version, Tohru Naruse goes by his nickname Naruchiyo and are often associated with a monkey character who served as a mascot to the series. Nate is a perennial benchwarmer. Lacking in both cool and talent, he is the most unlikely basketball player you'll ever find. But one thing he's not is a quitter and slowly Nate teaches himself the ins and outs of basketball - with a little help from his friends. In the process, he slowly builds up his confidence and begins to realize his dream of success on the high school b-ball court. He also had a crush on Mizzy Kusuda, but later falls for another girl named Tomomi Koizumi. His signature move in basketball is the known as the airwalk. Nate has learned many trump moves in games, such as his signature airwalk, evolved lay-up(double-clutch) miracle J, and his invincible lay-ups. Every single one of these skills were pulled off sub-consciously, meaning that Nate has natural talent for ball...whether or not he knows it.
- Mizzy Kusuda - Mizuki is Naruse's ex-classmate and close friend when he was in the primary school. She helps Nate succeed, teaching him the down and dirty side to street ball. No rules, no fouls, and no crying ... she teaches him how to win. Eventually, she revealed to shurman that she was in love with him ever since she first met him under his street name, which was shu. Her love was not returned however, with Shurman saying that shu was gone.
- Kyle OzMan - Kyle is a tough kid, high school drop-out with an axe to grind with everyone. But often his bark is worse than his bite. He and Nate are the only two players in the history of street hoops to ever score on the powerhouse team, 3-Slam. When they get together with Mizzy, Team Scratch is born. Oz is a hoodlum from the streets. He hangs with a rough crowd, and he brings the same attitude and bruising brawn to the courts. Nate, his own teammate, is even scared of him. Throughout the series, Kyle has a crush on Mizzy, which eventually develops into love. Sadly he's also not very good when it comes to girls.
- Masahiro Sawamura - He is also a member of Scratch. He is always referred to by his last name. He is Naruse's best friend. Sawamura plays streetbasket to earn money as he lives by himself. He likes money very much and gambling is the solution for it. That's why he likes to do three-point-shoots which he likes the risk as he is gambling. He stole a score from Three Men by his tricks.He is the best three-point-shooter and called as " Miracle Shooter ". He is not good in stamina, but he is very good at tricks and capabilities. His famous nick name is Fox ( Kitsune ) Guy as he is really tricky and loves gambling. He is a clever guy too. His only weakness are money and ghosts. In a flashback, it is revealed that Sawamura's father abandoned him and he was soon picked up by a Yakuza member named Fujita. Fujita taught him how to fight, including the ways of the streets. After Fujita was shot by one of his own, he was captured and confined, leaving Sawamura to live on his own.
