Arcade Gamer Fubuki (Japanese: アーケードゲーマーふぶき, Hepburn: Ākēdo Gēmā Fubuki) is a Japanese manga series by Mine Yoshizaki. It was adapted into an anime series animated by Shaft and released directly on video. The first episode aired on television prior to the release of the first video.[1] The series was licensed in English by Central Park Media, distributed under the U.S. Manga Corps label.[2]
| Arcade Gamer Fubuki | |
 Cover of the manga's 2002 rerelease | |
| アーケードゲーマーふぶき (Ākēdo Gēmā Fubuki) | |
|---|---|
| Manga | |
| Written by | Mine Yoshizaki |
| Published by | Enterbrain |
| Magazine | Monthly Famitsu Wave Famitsu Bros. |
| Demographic | Shōnen |
| Original run | 1998 – 2002 |
| Volumes | 6 |
| Original video animation | |
| Directed by | Yūji Mutō |
| Produced by |
|
| Written by | Ryōta Yamaguchi |
| Music by | Ryūichi Katsumata |
| Studio | Shaft |
| Released | February 25, 2002 – January 25, 2003 |
| Episodes | 4 |
| Original video animation | |
| Special | |
| Directed by | Mine Yoshizaki |
| Produced by |
|
| Written by | Mine Yoshizaki |
| Music by | Ryūichi Katsumata |
| Studio | Shaft |
| Released | March 28, 2003 |
| Runtime | 6 minutes |
The series is set in 1984 and stars Fubuki Sakuragasaki, a gamer whose "passion panties" give her special gaming powers. She has a winged magical girl form, and she has a sword while in this form. The series has homages to Pac-Man, Virtua Fighter, and other games like Sonic the Hedgehog and Klonoa.[1]
Jonathan Clements and Helen McCarthy, authors of The Anime Encyclopedia, Revised & Expanded Edition: A Guide to Japanese Animation Since 1917, stated that the series began as a gag anime but became "a preachy family fable too long-winded to sustain its jokes".[1] Clements and McCarthy wrote that the series "inherits the mantle of Game Center Arashi".[1]
Characters
edit- Fubuki Sakuragasaki (桜ヶ咲ふぶき（さくらがさき ふぶき）, Sakuragasaki Fubuki)
- A ordinary middle school girl with poor athletic ability but excels in video games, she had become inspired for gaming after receiving a pair of white underwear (Passion Panties) from Arashi at a young age.
- Hanako Kokobunji (国分寺花子（こくぶんじ はなこ）, Kokubunji Hanako)
- Daughter of Masao, and Fubuki's friend and Game Middle School classmate. She first met Fubuki when Fubuki was playing a New Uma Catcher claw catcher game outside ARASHI arcade.
- Sanpeita (三平太（さんぺいた）, Sanpeita)
- A boy who stalks Fubuki to shoot her panty shots, but does not take interest in panty shots of others. He is often seen hiding in a vaulting box.
- Ruriko Sakuragasaki (桜ヶ咲ルリ子, Sakuragasaki Ruriko)/Fubuki's mother (ふぶきの母)
- Fubuki's mother.
- Arashi Ishino (石野あらし, Ishino Arashi)
- The buck-toothed lead character from Game Center Arashi. After resurrecting Fubuki's father and discovering his plan of world domination, he ran off with the white Passion Panty that would later be given to Fubuki.
- Mr. Mystery (謎の人, Nazo no Hito)/Seed
- A man wearing pink Pac-Man ghost mask, and the champion of the previous World BAG Tournament. In the 2nd World BAG Tournament, he faced Fubuki as final opponent in a Moon Cresta game, but the match was interrupted, leading to him joining Fubuki to play cooperatively in X. In the bonus stage of X, he was defeated by Mister 20. After the tournament ended, he wears the same mask with a number '2' on it.
- Masao Kokobunji (国分寺マサオ（こくぶんじ マサオ）, Kokobunji Masao)
- Hanako's father, and KOGC Co., Ltd. founder and president.
- Layla Rurilan (瑠璃蘭れいら, Ruriran Reira)
- A semi-finallist in the restarted Japan BAG Tournament that was defeated by Fubuki in Virtua Fighter (Remix?). In World BAG Tournament, she traded place with Raptor while wearing a costume resembling it. Only after losing to Fubuki in Fighting Vipers 2 that others realized the switch.
- Glass Joe (グラスジョー, Glass Joe)/Joe Dallas
- Fubuki's opponent in the final match of Tokyo BAG Tournament, specializing in boxing technique to manipulate game controller. He was defeated by Fubuki in Crazy Climber.
- Nicponski
- World BAG Tournament finalist from Republic of Armenia, wearing a grey trenchcoat, a white scarf, a black hat with white trim, glasses with swirl pattern.
- Chadale
- World BAG Tournament finalist from India, wearing yellow suit, a yellow pointed hat, white shoes.
- Queen Cobra
- World BAG Tournament finalist from Egypt, wearing a pink scarf, a black bra, a yellow tiara, a yellow skirt with black spots.
- Un Yong Kim
- World BAG Tournament finalist from South, wearing white suit with blue rim shirt, a purple belt.
- Ro Fukuda (福田朗, Fukuda Rō)
- BAG Tournament's commentator.
- Referee (レフェリー)
- BAG Tournament's referee.
- Poker
- United Nation's secretary general.
Gyulassic Group/Gulassic Group
edit- Miss Alka (Miss（ミス）アルカ, Misu Aruka)
- An executive from Group. She leads Zakko minions in missions.
- Chizuru Jyumonji (十文字ちづる, Jūmonji Chizuru)/Shooter Chizuru (シューターちづる, Shooter Chizuru)
- The first lord from the Group specializing in shooter games from Osaka, and the wearer of black Passion Panty. She joined the Group in exchange for the arcade version of Tranquilizer Gun for the game centre Dig manager in Hell's River that had sold it to pay for debts, but Alka broke the promise. She first meet Fubuki in Game Middle School and joined the school as transfer student. After defeating Fubuki in Japan BAG Tournament final in Fantasy Zone, she was defeated by Fubuki in the restarted Japan final in the same game. Following the loss, Hanako sent the rare game to Chizuru. She is often seen wearing Pooka (from Dig Dug) goggles and roller skates.
- Melody Honey (メロディー・ハニー, Merodī Hanī)
- The second lord from the Group from USA, specializing in dancing games. She first appeared in a game centre in KOGC Hotel in Hell's River playing Dancing evolution 2nd dancing game. In the World BAG Tournament final, she lost to Fubuki in Virtua Fighter 4.
- Zakko Lv.I (ザッコーLv.I)
- A red-suited masked minion.
- Zakko Lv.II (ザッコーLv.II)
- A purple-suited masked minion.
- Zakko Lv.III (ザッコーLv.III)
- A green-suited masked minion.
- Raptor
- The third lord from the Group, it is a velociraptor created using the DNA extracted from a blood-sucking bee trapped in amber. In the World BAG Tournament final, it traded places with Leila Rurilan while resting. As the tournament entered final phase, it became Leila's pet after being fed with leftover lunch.
- Mister 20
- The fourth lord from the Group, and the final boss in the bonus stage in X, a game designed by Fubuki's father, which he also played as in the game. Following Mr. Mystery's defeat in X, players across the world connect to X's network, slowing down his processing speed, and was subsequently defeated by Fubuki.
- Gyulassic Leader (ギュラシック団首領, Gyurashikku-dan shuryō)/Leader
- The mysterious leader of the group, and Fubuki's father. Originally working for KOGC Co. Ltd. to develop video games, he quit the job after witnessing a fight in a KOGC Co. Ltd. Game Garden game centre with gamers reenacting Mach Fist in a fighting video game, followed by seeing a news report of KOGC-developed processors being used to power missiles to kill people. During a journey to stop a missile attack, his body was injured by the missile explosion, but was resurrected by Arashi and his mind was transferred to a machine. After Fubuki's meeting with the Leader, he decided to go on another journey to the vast seas, leaving Fubuki to Ruriko's care.
Anime
editArcade Gamer Fubuki was directed by Yūji Mutō at Shaft, was written by Ryōta Yamaguchi, has animation character designs by Hideyuki Morioka, and features music composed by Ryūichi Katsumata. Mutō wrote the scripts for all of the episodes with the exception of the special, which was written by the manga's creator: Mine Yoshizaki. Two episodes were produced with assistance from other studios: episode 2 at A.C.G.T,[3] and episode 3 at M.S.C.[4]
Cast
edit| Character | Japanese | English |
|---|---|---|
| Fubuki Sakuragasaki (桜ヶ咲ふぶき, Sakuragasaki Fubuki) | Sakura Nogawa | Veronica Taylor |
| Hanako Kokobunji (国分寺花子, Kokubunji Hanako) | Kaori Shimizu | Jessica Calvello |
| Chizuru Jyumonji (十文字ちづる, Jūmonji Chizuru) | Yū Asakawa | Lisa Ortiz |
| Miss Alka (ミス・アルカ, Misu Aruka) | Satsuki Yukino | Sharon Becker |
| Melody Honey (メロディー・ハニー, Merodī Hanī) | Megumi Toyoguchi | Shannon Conley |
| Sanpeita (三平太, Sanpeita) | Masaki Yamamoto | Jamie McGonnigal |
| Mr. Mystery (謎の人, Nazo no Hito) | Tōru Furuya | Brad Bradford |
| Arashi Ishino (石野あらし, Ishino Arashi) | Shinnosuke Furumoto | |
| Gulassic Leader (ギュラシック団首領, Gyurashikku-dan shuryō) | Hiroshi Fujioka | Dan Green |
| MC | Yasunori Matsumoto | Tom Wayland |
| Referee (レフェリー, Referī) | Takashi Matsuyama | Eric Laing |
| Masao | Shinpachi Tsuji | Bob Orlikoff |
| Ruriko Sakuragasaki (桜ヶ咲ルリ子, Sakuragasaki Ruriko) | Michiko Neya | Rebecca Honig |
| Narrator | Kōji Yusa | Dan Green |
Episode list
edit| No. | Title | Directed by [a] | Storyboarded by [a] | Animation director [a] | Original air date |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | "Fubuki Bakutan" Transliteration: "Fubuki Bakutan" (Japanese: ふぶき爆誕) | Toshinori Narita | Yūji Mutō | Hideyuki Morioka Yoshiaki Itou Takehiro Hamatsu | February 25, 2002 |
| 2 | "Stolen Passion Panty" Transliteration: "Nusumareta PP" (Japanese: 盗まれたPP) | Toshinori Narita | Yūji Mutō | Hideyuki Morioka (chief) Masahiro Andou | April 25, 2002 |
| 3 | "Final Game! My Dad Is an Emperor!?" Transliteration: "Kesshou! Otou-chan wa Teiou!?" (Japanese: 決勝! 父ちゃんは帝王!?) | Itsurou Kawasaki | Akihiro Enomoto | Hideyuki Morioka (chief) Kanami Sekiguchi | August 25, 2002 |
| 4 | "A Reunion That Transcends Time" Transliteration: "Jikuu wo Koeta Souguu" (Japanese: 時空を越えた遭遇) | Yūji Mutō Toshimasa Suzuki | Yūji Mutō | Hideyuki Morioka Yoshiaki Itou Yuuichi Nakazawa | January 25, 2003 |
| Special | "Paradise Beyond the Wall" Transliteration: "Kabe no Mukou no Paradise" (Japanese: カベノ ムコウノ パラダイス) | Hideyuki Morioka | Mine Yoshizaki | Hideyuki Morioka | March 28, 2003 |
Notes
editReferences
edit- ^ a b c d Clements, Jonathan and Helen McCarthy. The Anime Encyclopedia, Revised & Expanded Edition: A Guide to Japanese Animation Since 1917. Stone Bridge Press, November 6, 2012. ISBN 1611725151, 9781611725155. page unstated (Google Books PT 58)
- ^ "U.S. Manga Corps". 2005-04-14. Archived from the original on 2005-04-14. Retrieved 2019-08-23.
- ^ Arcade Gamer Fubuki (OVA) (in Japanese). Event occurs at ending credits; episode 2. アニメーション協力 - A.C.G.T [Animation assistance - A.C.G.T]
- ^ Arcade Gamer Fubuki (OVA) (in Japanese). Event occurs at ending credits; episode 3. アニメーション協力 - MSC [Animation assistance - MSC]
External links
edit- Bandai Visual website (in Japanese)
- Genco site (in Japanese)
- Shaft Animation Studio site (in Japanese)
- Central Park Media site
- Arcade Gamer Fubuki (manga) at Anime News Network's encyclopedia