| Kochira Katsushika-ku Kameari Kōen Mae Hashutsujo | |
Kochira Katsushika-ku Kameari Kōen-mae Hashutsujo The Movie DVD cover |
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| こちら葛飾区亀有公園前派出所 (This Is the Police Station in Front of Kameari Park in Katsushika Ward) |
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| Genre | Comedy, Police |
| Manga | |
| Written by | Osamu Akimoto |
| Published by | Shueisha |
| Demographic | Shōnen |
| Magazine | Weekly Shōnen Jump Kochikame Maitsuki Taise Rekushon Gatsu Kyoku Chō Selection Konbini Tokushū Genteiban Getsurei Tokusen Choice! Gatsu Ichi Gokujō Choice!! Kochikame Gold Kochikame Hit Parade!! Kyokusen Tsuāzu!! |
| Original run | September 1976 – ongoing |
| Volumes | 176 |
| TV anime | |
| Directed by | Tetsuo Yasumi Noboru Misawa Shinji Takamatsu Norihiro Takamoto Akira Shigino |
| Studio | Studio Gallop |
| Network | Animax, Fuji Television |
| Original run | June 16, 1996 – November 2, 2008 |
| Episodes | 373 + 9 specials |
| Anime film | |
| Directed by | Shinji Takamatsu |
| Studio | Toho |
| Released | December 23, 1999 |
| Runtime | 95 minutes |
| Anime film | |
| The Movie 2: UFO Shūrai! Tornado Daisakusen!! | |
| Directed by | Shinji Takamatsu |
| Studio | Toho |
| Released | December 20, 2003 |
| Runtime | 109 minutes |
Kochikame (こち亀), full title Kochira Katsushika-ku Kameari Kōen Mae Hashutsujo (こちら葛飾区亀有公園前派出所, literally, "This is the police station in front of Kameari Park in Katsushika Ward"), is a long-running comedy manga by Osamu Akimoto. It has been continuously serialized in Weekly Shōnen Jump since September 1976,[1][2] with over 1700 chapters published, making it the longest-running manga series in history (Golgo 13 and Doraemon began publication earlier, but neither has been in continuous serialization). As of volume 170 the series has sold over 135 million copies.[3]
The manga has been adapted as an anime series, produced by Studio Gallop, which was broadcast across Japan by the anime satellite television network Animax, and Fuji Television, and two animated movies, a live-action movie, several stage adaptations, and a live-action television series.
Kochikame takes place in the present day, in and around a neighborhood police station (kōban) in the downtown part of Tokyo, and revolves around the misadventures of a middle-aged cop, Kankichi Ryotsu (Ryo-san).
Contents |
The typical Kochikame plot involves Ryo-san coming up with a money-making scheme by inventing a new gadget or capitalizing on a fad, achieving great success, calling on Nakagawa's help as things turn sour, and finally losing it all as the fad runs out of steam or out of control. While the plots are gag-driven, much of the humor comes from the combination of mundane characters with the bizarrely out of place characters as Nakagawa who has wealth and Maria who has appeal. What they have in common is everyone's lack of actual police work, most of which is never explained or rationalized in the slightest. (It is explained in Jump that Ryo-san is one of the best officers in catching criminals.) Reiko and Nakagawa have special licenses (such as for wearing personal clothes instead of uniforms to work) from police headquarters because of their skills in linguistics.
The plot have consistently evolved with the on going time, though most of the main characters have not really aged or only aged a little despite the obvious fact that the Comic started out drawing Japan of the 1970s while is now clearly drawing the Japan of 2000s. However some characters have aged (like the grandchild of Buchao, who was a baby in the early books but is now close to junior high) at a relatively reasonable pace, which the author have self mocked in a few look back episodes.
Kochikame has a broad audience, ranging from adolescent boys to middle-aged salarymen. Much like Homer Simpson, Ryo-san's antics appeal to children who can laugh at an old buffoon and to men fearing that they are becoming old buffoons themselves and also because it often subtly mock the latest fads and trends. The stories are generally innocent in content, and what little violence appears is comical, while the occasional risqué subjects are included strictly for laughs rather than to titillate. In another parallel to The Simpsons, Kochikame's immense popularity has led to guest appearances in the strip by Japanese celebrities such as Tetsuya Komuro.
For creator Osamu Akimoto, Kochikame is an ongoing homage to the working-class people and districts of old Tokyo, and most episodes open with an elaborate full-page illustration of a Shitamachi (down-town) street scene, typically with old wooden buildings and boys playing in the streets.
The manga has spawned an animated television series and two animated movies.
The manga had a live-action movie, and several stage adaptations. A live-action TV series starring Katori Shingo as Ryo-san began airing on TBS on August 1, 2009.[4] Kochikame-The Movie: Save The Kachidiki Bridge! is a live-action movie aired in Japan on 6 August 2011.
Several of the characters in Kochikame also appear in the Nintendo DS crossover fighting game Jump Superstars and its sequel, Jump Ultimate Stars.
In addition, various toys and collectibles have been created, including some items that first appeared in the manga as creations of Ryo-san.
Kameari Koen is an actual park in Tokyo's Katsushika ward; the station is fictional but modeled after a real one located on the north side of Kameari railway station. The manga has brought considerable fame to the neighborhood, and draws sightseers from all over Japan to a (usually vacant) station in a nondescript residential neighborhood. There is only a vacant lot where the police station is actually supposed to be located.
In February 2006, a life-size bronze statue of Ryo-san was erected in front of Kameari station. Today you can follow a trail of 11 statues in the area.
On the 30th anniversary of Kochikame's serialization in September 2006, Ryo-san made a cameo in every serialized manga in Weekly Jump; most notably, he had a full appearance as a marine in One Piece (chapter 427), as a spectator of the Taiyo/Hakushuu football game in Eyeshield 21, as a crazed citizen in Majin Tantei Nougami Neuro, as a zombie in Gintama (also emphasized in the animated version of the chapter) and drinking alongside Don Patch in Bobobo-bo Bo-bobo.
At the same time, a special manga known as Super Kochikame (超こち亀, Chō Kochikame) was published featuring the Kochikame characters in special chapters of series such as Golgo 13, Lupin III, Kinnikuman and Dragon Ball, as well as congratulatory pics from over 80 manga artists, many from Weekly Jump authors past and present, but also from other Shueisha manga artists and even from manga artists not associated with Shueisha such as Hiromu Arakawa (Fullmetal Alchemist) and Jyoji Morikawa (Hajime no Ippo). Notable congratulatory drawings include a Bankai challenge with Ichigo in Bleach (saying his pistol is his Bankai because of the "BANG!!" sound of his pistol), having his face on the Hokage Mountain of Leaf Village in Naruto and even solving the "Kira" crisis in Death Note.
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