jonadrian619
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Dear Boys
(ディア・ボーイズ - Deia Boisu)
(ディア・ボーイズ - Deia Boisu)
One of the few gems of 'sports anime' out there, and a manga bestseller. For the basketball players like I am, Dear Boys is inspirational and fun to watch
Introduction
In a practice game a year before the series, the Mizuho High School basketball team faced its biggest crisis ever, after a conflict between a player and the coach, which resulted in a year-long ban for the team from tournaments, as well as the coach transferring to another school. A year after, Tendouji High ace player Kazuhiko Aikawa decides to transfer from Tendouji to Mizuho High, because he thinks that playing basketball in Tendouji has no meaning, and basketball is a game that is supposed to be fun and enjoyable.
Through sheer willpower and enthusiasm, Aikawa regroups the five remaining players in the boy's basketball team, and he wants the team to go to the next level. The team has only five players, no substitutes nor benchwarmers to cheer for them, but the coach for the girl's team is at their side as well. The prefectural tournament is about to begin, and their goal is to be number one in the prefecture and compete in the nationals. As the tournament progresses, Mizuho High meets a myriad of other basketball teams from other institutions. Together as a team, they will do their best and give it their all to achieve their goals.
Characters:
Kazuhiko Aikawa (哀川 和彦)
Mizuho Boy's team
Height: 175 cm
Basketball Jersey: No. 7
Position: Small Forward
Nicknames: Ai-chan, Aika
He was once the captain and ace player of Tendouji High's basketball team. Sooner, he realized that playing in Tendouji High wasn't as fun as he'd thought when playing with his teammates. Aikawa transferred to Mizuho High and convinced the remaining players of the Mizuho team to play basketball again. He plays as small forward for the team.
Despite his height disadvantage, Aikawa can jump higher than most of the players and he can really slam dunk the ball. He seems to be a genius player with his 3 pointers and other spectacular shots and field goals. After every game, Aikawa's skills improve and most of the time he is the first to arrive at the gym for practice. As a former Tendouji High player, he is also the friend of Sawa, a star player and Tendouji High's point guard.
Despite his height disadvantage, Aikawa can jump higher than most of the players and he can really slam dunk the ball. He seems to be a genius player with his 3 pointers and other spectacular shots and field goals. After every game, Aikawa's skills improve and most of the time he is the first to arrive at the gym for practice. As a former Tendouji High player, he is also the friend of Sawa, a star player and Tendouji High's point guard.
Takumi Fujiwara (藤原 拓弥)
Mizuho Boy's team
Height: 184 cm
Basketball Jersey: No. 4
Position: Point Guard
Nicknames: Taku
He is a second-year student in Mizuho High. He was involved in an incident where the former coach provoked Fujiwara into punching him. The coach left Mizuho to transfer to another school and the team was banned from playing in tournaments for a year. He has an old injury on his right knee from one of his previous games involving Miura. When his injury started to wear him down, Anzaki helped him rehabilitate his knee and to make it more flexible so that he can improve his overall performance while playing.
Fujiwara is the captain of the Mizuho basketball team and plays the position of point guard. He is often called 'Taku' by his closest friends and is romantically involved with Mutsumi Akiyoshi of the girl's team.
He is not to be confused with Initial D's Takumi Fujiwara.
Fujiwara is the captain of the Mizuho basketball team and plays the position of point guard. He is often called 'Taku' by his closest friends and is romantically involved with Mutsumi Akiyoshi of the girl's team.
He is not to be confused with Initial D's Takumi Fujiwara.
Ranmaru Miura (三浦 蘭丸)
Mizuho Boy's team
Height: 173 cm
Basketball Jersey: No. 8
Position: Shooting Guard
He has been the friend of Fujiwara since middle school. He has a calm and quiet personality. At the beginning of the series, he seems not to have good stamina. He plays in the position of shooting guard and he is the three pointer for the team. He is also the one who can shoot Fade Away 3-pointers for the team.
He was Fujiwara's teammate during his days in Mizuho Junior High. He blamed himself for causing the knee injury of Fujiwara although it was not his fault. Fujiwara intended Miura to become a player to be feared with his pinpoint passes, good judgement and accurate shooting like he once was before.
He was Fujiwara's teammate during his days in Mizuho Junior High. He blamed himself for causing the knee injury of Fujiwara although it was not his fault. Fujiwara intended Miura to become a player to be feared with his pinpoint passes, good judgement and accurate shooting like he once was before.
Tsutomu Ishii (石井 努)
Mizuho Boy's team
Height: 190 cm
Basketball Jersey: No. 6
Position: Power Forward
He is an extremely short-tempered person. He is easily provoked by the opposing team and is prone to fouls and loss of concentration, even to the point that he gets 4 fouls. As the team advances to the finals, he steadily begins to mature and improve his skills. Ishii and Dobashi are close friends, having played on the same team during middle school. He attended Takakura Junior High.
Kenji Dobashi (土橋 健二)
Mizuho Boy's team
Height: 192 cm
Basketball Jersey: No. 5
Position: Center
Nicknames: Dobashi-chan
Dobashi is the largest player in the team. Like Miura, he has a quiet personality. Although his legs are not strong and has not much stamina, he can prove to his teammates that he can steal, defend and rebound better than before. He plays in the position of center. Dobashi is often called "old man" by Ishii due to his hairstyle and appearance. Before the prefectural championships, he changed his hairstyle. He becomes more important to the team as time passes, covering up most of the defense and rebounds. He attended Takakura Junior High with Ishii.
Mutsumi Akiyoshi (秋吉夢 津美)
Mizuho Girl's team
Basketball Jersey: No. 4
Position: Point Guard
Nicknames: Mu-chan
Mutsumi is the team captain of the girl's basketball team, and a close friend of Moritaka. She is romantically involved with Fujiwara of the boy's team. She admires Fujiwara's talent in the court. Both Fujiwara and Mutsumi are the captains and point guard players of their respective teams, and do their best to lead their team to victory.
Mai Moritaka (森高 麻衣)
Mizuho Girl's team
Basketball Jersey: No. 7
Nicknames: Pony
Mai is a player of the girl's basketball. Later in the series, she gets romantically involved with Aikawa and eventually becomes his girlfriend. When Aikawa first met Mai, he called her "Pony" because of her long ponytail hair. Among her teammates, she has the highest shot percentage, mostly from 3-pointers, as a result of her personal training and counseling from Aikawa himself.
Kyoko Himuro (氷室 恭子)
Mizuho Boy's/Girl's team head coach
Nicknames: Miss H.
Miss Himuro was initially the coach for the Mizuho High girl's basketball team. When the boy's team reformed, she became a coach for both divisions. She may be a strict coach, but she became fond of her 'Dear Boys'. She is an enthusiastic coach who wants her team to win a game and at the same time dealing with both the boy's team and girl's team.
When the preliminary game for the girl's team was fast approaching, she needed to focus on the girls and their practice games, and as such, she appointed another student to be the manager of the boy's team to augment the team and its members.
When the preliminary game for the girl's team was fast approaching, she needed to focus on the girls and their practice games, and as such, she appointed another student to be the manager of the boy's team to augment the team and its members.
Other Characters
- Satomi Anzaki
- Keiko Ōgami
- Tōya Takashina
- Yokohama Academy Basketball Team
- East Honmoku Academy Basketball Team
Anime and Manga
Dear Boys is a Shounen manga in the Sports (basketball) genre, written and drawn by Hiroki Yagami and published by Kodansha, also serialized in the Monthly Shounen Magazine. Dear Boys has 3 manga titles, namely Dear Boys (23 volumes) and its two sequels, The Early Days and Act 2 (28 volumes).
An anime adaptation of Dear Boys, also known as Hoop Days, was released on TV in Japan in 1993. Directed by Susumu Kudo and produced by OB Planning, which also produced Initial D. It followed the storyline of the manga closely, similar to most Kodansha titles like Initial D. Eurobeat music is used throughout the series, reminiscent of those used in the mountain pass races in Initial D.
Dear Boys: Act 2 continues the storyline of Dear Boys after the conclusion of the prefectural tournament.
Episode List
Openings and Endings
Sound of Bounce by DA PUMP
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Baller No Shougou (Baller's Number) by Chris F.
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Any discussion or talk that may ruin the story must be covered with spoiler tags.
-- Umaku iku yō ni -|- jonadrian619 --
