Cromartie High School
| Cromartie High School | |
| File:Cromartie.jpg | |
| Genre | Comedy, Parody, Shounen |
|---|---|
| Manga | |
| Written by | Eiji Nonaka |
| Published by | Kodansha ADV Manga (US) |
| Anime | |
| Directed by | Hiroaki Sakurai |
| Studio | Production I.G. |
| Movie | |
|
Sakigake!! Cromartie Koukou (live-action) (2005) | |
| Soundtracks | |
|
Sakigake!! Cromartie Koukou OP Single (2003) | |
Cromartie High School (魁!!クロマティ高校 Sakigake!! Kuromati Kōkō), by Eiji Nonaka, is a Japanese comedy anime, based on Nonaka's popular manga. It follows the everyday life of Takashi Kamiyama and his odd classmates at Cromartie High School, an infamous school for delinquents. Both the anime and manga have been released in North America by ADV Films and ADV Manga respectively. The manga won the 2002 Kodansha Manga Award for shōnen.
The series is a parody of Japanese juvenile delinquent manga of the 70s and 80s. The style of art resembles Ryoichi Ikegami's works such as Crying Freeman or Sanctuary. There are also many pop culture (especially music) parodies in the characters, episode names, CD covers, and DVD covers of this series.
In 2005, former baseball player Warren Cromartie sued the makers of a film based on the series in Japanese court. The series does not feature Cromartie himself, but does depict students who "smoke, fight with students from other schools and are depicted as ruffians", which he says defames his character as the school shares his name. [1]
Main characters
Template:Spoilers Names are in Western order, with the surname after the given name.
- Takashi Kamiyama (神山高志 Kamiyama Takashi) — The main character of the series, originally just another above-average student until he decided to enroll at Cromartie. Everyone else at Cromartie assumes that he's the toughest kid in school, since a rabbit would never go into a den of lions (unless it was a really badass rabbit). He has ambitions to change the school for the sake of bettering its student body. In secret, he is an amateur comedian who writes and sends jokes to be heard on special radio stations under the penname of "Honey Boy". In later episodes, he becomes the number one boss in Japan after winning the National Boss Championship, only winning after being the only one to answer a question correctly. He later defeats the legendary biker Sadaharu in a race.
- Shinjiro Hayashida (林田慎二郎 Hayashida Shinjirō) — Kamiyama's first friend at Cromartie, noted for his (fake) purple mohawk. Hayashida is the one delinquent that helps Kamiyama blend in to the bewildering environment of Cromartie High. It has been shown that he is dumber than the gorilla and doesn't even understand basic math.
- Akira Maeda (前田彰 Maeda Akira) — He has the same name as a famous Japanese wrestler). A delinquent of some accomplishment (he claims to have won a 5-against-1 fight), he is ignored and disrespected because he lacks a nickname. Often the most conservative of Kamiyama's friends, he is also frequently abducted by delinquents from Bass High School and is often the unwilling host of Cromartie High gatherings at his house. He bears a great resemblance to his mother, whose appearance normally horrifies everyone else.
- Shinichi Mechazawa (メカ沢新一 Mekasawa Shin'ichi) — One of the most notorious delinquents of Cromartie. Though he is a robot, no one but the main characters (Kamiyama, Hayashida, Maeda, etc.) seems to notice, including himself. At one point he ends up in a motorcycle accident and is repaired, only to have been made into an even stronger motorcycle, complete with missiles and rocket boosters. He has a little brother, identical but one-fifth his size, named Mechazawa Beta, also known as Mini Mechazawa. Mechazawa Beta, who can only say "bake-ratta" despite being "more advanced", is also a cellphone.
- Freddie (A parody of the late Freddie Mercury, Queen's lead singer) — A mute with a nearly uncanny resemblance to Freddie Mercury. Hayashida claimed that as long as he attended, Cromartie would be the "Olympics for delinquents". Never speaks, and whenever a microphone is in his hands, he is never heard to be singing. The bottom of the microphone stand is broken, referring to Freddie Mercury's gimmick. He also rides to school on an incredibly large, incredibly powerful, possibly wild horse, which waits outside the bathroom while he's "doing his business".
- Gorilla (Real name: Hiromi Go) — A gorilla who appears often at Cromartie High. He sometimes wears a watch and is considered smarter than most of the main characters. It has been revealed that his superior is a monkey. He is also an extremely talented sushi chef.
- Yutaka Takenouchi (竹之内豊 Takenouchi Yutaka; his name is a parody of a famous Japanese actor) — The leader of Cromartie High's first-year students. Known to be an incredible fighter and a reliable person. His weakness (unknown to everyone else) is motion sickness. Though he loves field trips and excursions in general, he hates having to travel, because he gets sick very easily, and struggles with all of his might not to vomit.
- Takeshi Hokuto (北斗武士 Hokuto Takeshi) — A son of a chairman for a major zaibatsu, who is also the chairman of the board for several high schools throughout Japan. He used his father's influence to rule every school he goes to, until he came to Cromartie, not knowing that the school is municipal. He also arrives wearing the wrong uniform (white, instead of the standard black). Despite his setbacks, he continues to plot how to rule this school, if not all of Japan or even the world. As a result of his luxurious, extravagant life, he thinks all people below him are pigs.
- Hokuto's lackey — Nameless in the series. While he does have a name, no one seems to be interested in knowing it (including Hokuto himself), and they simply refer to him as "you", "other guy", or just "Hokuto's lackey". There was actually a controversy among the students, when he said he did not want to be called "Hakuto's lackey".
- Masked Takenouchi — Before coming to Cromartie, he was a hijacker who tried to commandeer the plane that students of Cromartie High School were taking to go on a field trip to Kyushu. Being agoraphobic, he feels quite uneasy among strangers. When talking with Takenouchi about this problem, he ends up in a situation where he succeeds in the hijacking, but ends up staying in Japan. In the meantime, Takenouchi ends up in the Nevada desert in America. To maintain anonymity, he constantly wears a white wrestling mask, with the kanji character for bamboo, 竹 ( The first character in "Takenouchi"), which leaves everyone in Cromartie High with the impression that he is Takenouchi.
- Noboru Yamaguchi (山口ノボル Yamaguchi Noboru) — The leader of Destrade High School's first-year students. He has the nickname of "The Unsinkable Battleship", which is coincidentally the nickname of professional wrestler Stan Hansen who is extremely popular in Japan, and is mentioned to be a member of a bike gang called "Earth, Wind, Fire, and Water" in his spare time. ("Ash, Wind, Fire" in Japan; both are parodies of an American Funk band Earth, Wind & Fire.) His cronies believe that he hates jokes, since he's always so serious. In truth, he is a connoisseur of sophisticated humor, despising the sophomoric jokes that his friends prefer. He is also a postcard comedian (someone who sends jokes in the mail to be heard on the radio). His pen name is "Ajishio Taro" (roughly, "Salt Boy"), and he is rivalled only by Kamiyama, who he initially knows only as "Honey Boy."
Other characters
- Jun Ishikawa (石川淳 Ishikawa Jun) — Yamaguchi's right-hand man. Is often beaten by Yamaguchi for telling crude or banal jokes, which Yamaguchi hates.
- Pootan — A cartoon, scorned by Yamaguchi for being painfully stupid. Also, the main character of this cartoon, a man wearing a fuzzy animal suit.
- Friend of Pootan — The real brains behind the pootan machine. We don't know his real name, but it's not "Taro". He has trouble remembering people's names. He's also a master of the five animal styles of kung fu.
- Maeda's Mom — Mother of Maeda. Never speaks and only groans in anime version (voiced by Megumi Hayashibara in the Japanese version). She has a face identical to Maeda's.
- Jackson Setouchi — The leader of Bass High School's first-year students.
- Akio Takejo — Setouchi's right-hand man.
- Akira Nakao & Mick —
- Kiyoshi Fujimoto (藤本貴一 Fujimoto Kiyoshi) — The leader of Manuel High School's first-year students. At school, he is a ruthless brawler who likes to use aggressive ways to solve problems. But at home, he is a very generous Internet user with a deep concern for netiquette. He also runs a web page/blog/forum that he frequently posts in.
- Makio Tanaka (aka The Troll) — A student from Cro High. He is the one who disses Fujimoto on the internet. He is also known as the errand boy.
- Ken Hirai — A delinquent that got lefted back. He is 17 years old and older that the regular students at Cro High. He is often referred to as "Mr."
- Osamu Kido (shares a name with another Japanese wrestler) — A big fan of Pootan. He is 10 years old and probably the youngest character.
- Sadaharu — A legendary biker. He soon retires after being defeated in a race on the highway by Kamiyama and Mechazawa.
- Jeeves — Hokuto's butler. He seems to bear a striking resemblance to Hayashida. They might be related, though neither of them realize it.
- Four Kings of Cromartie — A group of second-year students and a self-proclaimed leader of all Cromartie's students that happens to have five members. All members wear face paints, which four of them resemble to the face paints used by the rock band KISS (the final member styles his face paint after professional wrestler The Great Muta). This group appears often in manga version, but in only one episode of the anime version.
- The Others:
- Fireball of Junior No. 2 — A delinquent that was said to be so bad that no one could control him.
- Hospitalizer of Junior No. 3 — A delinquent that was said to be so bad that whenever he lost his cool he would beat his opponents until they were a bloody mess.
- Masa (Victory by default) — The delinquent that ate all of Kamiyama's pencils on the first day. He is said to be so bad that he never had to fight anyone.
- Gerotan — The main character of a surreal show that comes on when Pootan doesn't come on. He is known to throw up easily.
Episode List
- 1. I Used to be a Bad Boy Bragging Contest
- 2. Blade Runners High
- 3. Cromartie High (Co-Ed)
- 4. Radio Gaga
- 5. Sentimental Bus
- 6. The Empire of Ambition
- 7. Pootan
- 8. Electric Warrior
- 9. Reboot
- 10. Jackson
- 11. USA Trip
- 12. Road Safety
- 13. Joshua Tree
- 14. Talking Head
- 15. OK Computer
- 16. Japan Boss Championships
- 17. Let Me Tell You My Name
- 18. Pootan Gets Fired
- 19. Moto-Mechazawa
- 20. Lost Relation
- 21. A Trip For Heart
- 22. You Never Give Me Your Name
- 23. Stone Cold Crazy
- 24. Gorilla Sushi
- 25. A Hole in Lotta Love
- 26. Sudama!! Cromartie Girls Highschool|The Four Lords of Cromartie
Trivia
- The English title of volume 1 DVD release, "Cromartian Rhapsody", is a parody of the 1975 Queen song "Bohemian Rhapsody". The cover is also a parody of Queen's 1974 album Queen II.
- The English title of volume 2 DVD release, "Hey Dude", is a parody of the 1968 Beatles song "Hey Jude". The cover is also a parody of The Beatles album Please Please Me.
- The English title and cover of the volume 3 DVD release, "Sailin' Fools", is a parody of the 1972 Little Feat album Sailin' Shoes.
- The Japanese original soundtrack album's CD cover is a parody of the 1991 Nirvana album Nevermind.
- A reference to a Warren Cromartie Secondary School appears in the cover art for Rush's album Signals.
- Dejiko, Puchiko and Piyoko from the anime Di Gi Charat make several cameos in the anime. They are voiced by their original voice actors in the Japanese dub, Asami Sanada, Miyuki Sawashiro and Megumi Hayashibara, respectively.
- The series recently began running on the cable network G4 on its Barbed Wire Biscuit late-night block.
- Each high school in the district is named for a notable Gaijin (Occidental) player who became famous in Japanese professional baseball: Randy Bass, Charlie Manuel, Orestes Destrade, and, of course, Warren Cromartie.
- The mystery song being hummed in episode 3 is "Ningen Nante" by Takuro Yoshida, who also performed the opening theme.
Theme songs
Opening:
- "Jun" by Takuro Yoshida
Ending:
- "Trust Me" by Kunio Suma Bi Kyo Ran