Sukeban

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Sukeban (スケバン / 女番 / スケ番?) means delinquent girl or boss girl in Japanese, equivalent to the male bancho.

The common signifiers of sukeban (described by the Japanese police in 1980s pamphlets as "omens of downfall") include brightly-dyed or permed hair, and modifications of the school uniform such as wearing coloured socks, rolling up the sleeves and lengthening the skirt. Sukeban may engage in activities such as glue sniffing, stimulant use, shoplifting, theft, prostitution and violence, but if arrested, they can be charged with the lesser offence of "pre-delinquency".[1]

Contents

[edit] Sukeban in fiction

In the 1970s and 1980s, sukeban became popular characters in seinen manga.[1] Sukeban characters could also be seen in shōjo manga publications; Sukeban Deka, YajiKita Gakuen Douchuuki and Hana no Asuka-gumi were three popular shōjo series that had a mostly sukeban cast.[2]

Single sukeban characters interacting with a more 'normal' cast could also be seen - early on in her character design, Makoto Kino of Sailor Moon was intended to lead a sukeban gang,[3] and in the anime and manga she has curly hair, a lengthened school uniform skirt and a reputation as a fighter. However, the lengthened skirt did not appear in her costume in the 2003-2004 Pretty Guardian Sailor Moon.

[edit] Sukeban in film

Pink film director Norifumi Suzuki made the first films in the seven-film Girl Boss (Sukeban) series. He also started the 4-film Terrifying Girls' High School series (1971-1972) featuring sukeban characters. Both series featured prominent Pinky violent actresses Reiko Ike and Miki Sugimoto.[4]

On December 6, 2005, Panik House company released a 4-disc region-1 DVD collection surveying Sukeban films entitled The Pinky Violence Collection.[5]

Some notable sukeban films include:

[edit] See also

  • Oira Sukeban (おいら女蛮, Delinquent in Drag, Sukeban Boy)

[edit] References

  1. ^ a b Cherry, Kittredge [1987]. "Christmas Cake Sweepstakes: Girlhood to Wedding", Womansword: What Japanese Words Say about Women (paperback), First mass market edition, 1991 (in English), 17-14 Otowa 1-chrome, Bunkyo-ku, Tokyo 112: Kodansha International Ltd., pp.51-52. ISBN 4-7700-1655-7. 
  2. ^ Okazu: Yuri Manga: Sukeban Deka Review by Erica Friedman of Yuricon
  3. ^ Takeuchi, Naoko (October 23, 2003). Bishoujo Senshi Sailor Moon shinsouban Volume 3. Kodansha. ISBN 4-06-334783-4. 
  4. ^ D., Chris (2005). Toei's Bad Girl Cinema. Panik House Entertainment L.L.C., pp.10-15.  (booklet in the Pinky Violence Collection)
  5. ^ The Pinky Violence Collection (English). Amazon.com. Retrieved on 2007-10-13.

[edit] General references

  • Weisser, Yuko Mihara. (2001). "Japanese Fighting Divas 101". Asian Cult Cinema #31, 2nd Quarter 2001.


Languages