High School! Kimengumi

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High School! Kimengumi
Cast shot from High School! Kimengumi
ハイスクール!奇面組
(Haisukūru! Kimengumi)
Genre Comedy, School, Shōnen
Manga: Third Year Funny-face Club
Authored by Motoei Shinzawa
Publisher Flag of Japan Shueisha
Serialized in Flag of Japan Weekly Shonen Jump
Original run 1980 – 1982
No. of volumes 6 (4 in later reeditions)
Manga: High School! Kimengumi
Authored by Motoei Shinzawa
Publisher Flag of Japan Shueisha
Flag of France Tonkam
Serialized in Flag of Japan Weekly Shonen Jump
Original run 1982 – 1987
No. of volumes 20 (13 in later reeditions)
TV anime
Directed by Hiroshi Fukutomi
Studio Gallop, Studio Comet
Network Flag of Japan Fuji TV, Animax
Flag of France TF1
Original run October 12, 1985September 21, 1987
No. of episodes 86
Movie
Directed by Makoto Moriwaki
Studio
Released July 12, 1986
Runtime 51 minutes
Manga: Return of High School! Funny-face Club
Authored by Motoei Shinzawa
Publisher Flag of Japan Popeye/Magazine House
Serialized in
Original run December 1, 2000
No. of volumes 1
Manga: Flash! Funny-face Club
Authored by Motoei Shinzawa
Publisher Flag of Japan Square Enix
Serialized in Flag of Japan Monthly Shonen Gangan
Original run 2001 – 2005
No. of volumes 3

High School! Kimengumi (ハイスクール!奇面組 Haisukūru! Kimengumi?) is a manga series written by Motoei Shinzawa, as well as an anime TV series and movie[1][2] by the same title. The title literally translates to High School! Funny-face Club or High School! Weird Face Club.[3]

Kimengumi is an episodic chronicle of the bizarre adventures of a group of misfit junior high school (and later, high school) boys who form a club known as the "Kimengumi". All of the character names in the series are puns. For example, "Kawa Yui" is another way of saying "kawaii," and "Uru Chie" is a slang form of "urusai," meaning "obnoxious" or "annoying."

Other romanizations of the title include High School! Kimen-gumi and Highschool! Kimengumi.

Contents


[edit] Books

Return of Highschool! Kimengumi
Return of Highschool! Kimengumi

Kimengumi was originally published in Japan and has been re-released several times. Sannen began in issue 41 of Weekly Shonen Jump in 1980 and ran through issue 17 in 1982, with Highschool picking up in issue 18 of the same year. The last chapter of Highschool was released in issue 30 in 1987, just about two months before the TV series finished.

On December 1, 2000, Popeye/Magazine House released an overview softcover volume titled Return of Highschool! Funny-face Club (帰ってきたハイスクール!奇面組 Kaettekita Haisukūru! Kimengumi?, ISBN 4-08-859419-3). The book covers the first two manga series as well as the anime. It also contains interviews with Shinzawa and others connected to the series.


[edit] Manga

Following is a list of the Japanese volumes published so far in the three series comprising the Kimengumi universe.

Third Year Funny-face Club (3年奇面組 Sannen Kimengumi?), 1980–1982, Weekly Shonen Jump)



High School! Funny-face Club (ハイスクール!奇面組 Haisukūru! Kimengumi?), 1982–1987, Weekly Shonen Jump)

  • Tankōbon:
  • Volume 1, ISBN
  • Volume 2, ISBN
  • Volume 3, ISBN
  • Volume 4, ISBN
  • Jump Comics Selection (Homesha):
  • Bunkoban:



Flash! Funny-face Club (フラッシュ!奇面組 Furasshu! Kimengumi?), 2001–, Monthly Shonen Gangan)

  • Tankōbon:

[edit] Anime collections

Shūeisha Jump Remix Mook collections:

[edit] Anime

The Kimengumi TV series began airing in Japan on October 12, 1985 at 7:30pm on Fuji TV Network. The series ran for two years, with episode 86 airing on September 21, 1987. It has also been broadcast multiple times across Japan on the satellite television network Animax. At present, the only country outside of Japan with an official release of the TV series is France.

[edit] Cast

High School! Kimengumi features a large recurring cast. The main focus, however, is on the five members of the Kimengumi and the two girls who hang out with them.

[edit] Kimengumi and friends

Ichidō Rei (一堂 零?)
Kimengumi leader and protagonist of the series. Nickname: Mayunashi no Rei (まゆなしの零 No-Eyebrows Rei?). His family runs a toy store, he lives with his father and younger sister (his mother has already died). Considered a "High Class Buffoon", he retains the same simple-mindedness he had as a child and is quite the hentai (as in "weirdo" rather than "pervert"). It took him three tries to pass the high school entry exam. Voiced by Shigeru Chiba.
Reietsu Gō (冷越 豪?)
Kimengumi member #2. Nickname: Manako no Gō (まなこの豪 Eyeballs Gō?). His family runs a sake store. He lives with his uncle's family. Despite being underage, he is occasionally drunk. He is a huge pro wrestling fan and can walk on water. He is very kind hearted and does not allow others to make fun of his friends. It took him three tries to pass the high school entry exam. Voiced by Tesshō Genda.
Shusse Kiyoshi (出瀬 潔?)
Kimengumi member. Nickname: Mukiba no Kiyoshi (むき歯の潔 Exposed Teeth Kiyoshi?). His family runs a bathhouse. He is a lecher and often peeks on the women's side of the bathhouse. However, he is actually pure-hearted and is the brains of Kimengumi. His best friend is Jin. It took him three tries to pass the high school entry exam. Voiced by Issei Futamata.
Daima Jin (大間 仁?)
Kimengumi member. Nickname: Ebisu no Jin (えびすの仁 Savage Jin?). His family runs an okonomiyaki shop. He loves to just eat and sleep and will often doze off during class. He is very lucky and has excellent mimicry skills. It took him two tries to pass the high school entry exam. Voiced by Naoki Tatsuta.
Monohoshi Dai (物星 大?)
Kimengumi member. Nickname: Ochobokō no Dai (おちょぼ口の大 Small Mouth Dai?). His family runs a bookstore. He is an okama and is very feminine and weak but is brave when he needs to be. He frequently cries and frequently undresses. It took him two tries to pass the high school entrance exam. Voiced by Kaneto Shiozawa.
Kawa Yui (河川 唯?)
The pink-haired classmate of the Kimengumi. Yui transfers into the school at the beginning of the series. She is in love with Rei, but is embarrassed to come right out and say it. Voiced by Miki Takahashi.
Uru Chie (宇留 千絵?)
The green-haired classmate of Kimengumi and best friend of Yui. Her family runs a flower shop. She has a crush on Gō. Voiced by Naoko Matsui.
Lassie
Rei's dog. Named after the famous Lassie character from the show by the same title. Voiced by Naoki Tatsuta.

[edit] Songs

The theme songs, with the exceptions of the fifth ending and insert Nakuko mo Warau Kimengumi, were performed by various sub-groups or former members of Onyanko Club:

[edit] Opening themes

  1. Ushiroyubi Sasare-gumi
  2. Zō-san no Scanty
  3. Nagisa no "..." (Kagi Kakko)
  4. Waza Ari!
  5. Kashiko
  6. Toki no Kawa wo Koete
  7. Anata wo Shiritai

[edit] Insert songs

  • Abunai Sa·ka·na
  • Watashi ha Chie no Wa (Puzzling)
  • Nakuko mo Warau Kimengumi

[edit] Closing themes

  1. Jogakusei no Ketsui
  2. Banana no Namida
  3. Neko Jita Gokoro mo Koi no Uchi
  4. Not Only ★ But Also
  5. Chotto Karai Aitsu
  6. Pythagoras wo Buttobase
  7. Ushirogami Hikaretai
  8. Tatsutori Ato wo Nigosazu


[edit] Staff

[edit] TV series

[edit] Movie


[edit] Games

  • There is a traditional boardgame based on the series titled High School! Kimengumi Game, released by Bandai.
  • Three video games have been based off of the series:
  • There is also a series of pachinko games based on the series manufactured by Maruhon [6]

Below is a gallery of the covers or faces from the games listed above:


[edit] Fan Translations

While the series is not very widely known outside of Japan and France, there have been a few English-language fan translation projects. During the days when fansub were produced on VHS format, both the movie and several episodes of the TV series had been released. The same group which produced the VHS copies of the TV series is still publishing it digitally. Currently, a scanlation group is working on the High School! manga series. The Mark III game has an unofficial translation patch available as well.

[edit] References

  1. ^ (Japanese) ハイスクール!奇面組. All Cinema Online. Retrieved on June 17, 2006.
  2. ^ (Japanese) ハイスクール!奇面組. CinemaScape. Retrieved on June 17, 2006.
  3. ^ (English) Highschool! Kimengumi (TV). Anime News Network. Retrieved on June 17, 2006.
  4. ^ (Japanese) ハイスクール奇面組(セガマーク3). Retrieved on June 17, 2006.
  5. ^ (Japanese) ハイスクール!奇面組THEテーブルホッケー. Bandai Games. Retrieved on June 17, 2006.
  6. ^ (Japanese) ハイスクール!奇面組. Maruhon. Retrieved on June 17, 2006.

[edit] External links

In other languages