The Abashiri Family (Abashiri Ikka)

HanifMR.com - Abashiri Ikka (あばしりあばしり 家, known in the United States as the Abashiri family) is a series of a Japanese manga created by Go Nagai that initially ran in the magazine Weekly Shōnen Champion. Some of his characters returned with different names as part of other series, such as Cutie Honey, Robot Grendizer, and Mazinger Angels Z.

Some of the first stories were adapted to an original video animation of Studio Pierrot in 1992. They were published in North America by ADV Films in 1995. The manga also adapted to a live-action film launched in 2009.

Plot

The series deals with the adventures of the Abrahiri family, a clan of criminals that fear the police and other criminals alike since they are a destructive force with the account. Although they are virtually unstoppable, they do not have great wishes, and many of their plans are generally minor. Sometimes they get rid of their own foolishness. That is unless they are attacked, to what extent they will retaliate with full force, usually with deadly consequences for their enemies.

As the series progresses, the tone focuses less on crime and becomes more gag comedy with solid touches of eroticism. Nagai initially conceived the series as a form of protest and parody of the controversy that emerged with Harenchi Gakuen. While having a somber tone at first, the series accumulates as it advances. However, graphic violence remains most of the majority, but it becomes less frequent.

The series remained popular in his race until Nagai decided to leave him along with other series he was doing to concentrate on the Devilman Manga. Years later, a single story of a single shot was published, and since then, it has been included in the new Tankōbon series. A unique crossover was issued with Cutie Honey, in 2009, in the commemoration of the 40th anniversary of the Shōnen Champion magazine, where both series debuted in Manga.

Characters

Daemon Abashiri (亜馬尻 駄エ門, Abashiri Daemon)

The head of the family. An old and small man, father of the other four, each of them from a different mother (each with a similar appearance to the sons). He acts as the leader and is the most powerful, though he usually only displays his true power when his sons and daughter are in danger.

Kikunosuke Abashiri (亜馬尻 菊の助, Abashiri Kikunosuke, Also Written Sometimes 亜馬尻 菊之助)

The daughter of the family. She is the most adept at closing combat fights and typically loses her clothes during the series. Stories in the series often revolve around her.

Goemon Abashiri (亜馬尻 五エ門, Abashiri Goemon)

The expert thief of the family and the oldest son. His main hobby is doing lecherous things and peeping at women, particularly at his sister. Later in the manga, he adopts a pseudo-heroic identity disguised with a mask and a horn on his crotch. He was modeled after Go Nagai's former assistant, Ken Ishikawa.

Naojiro Abashiri (亜馬尻 直次郎, Abashiri Naojirō)

The second oldest son and the powerhouse of the family. He's the most physically powerful of the family as well as the biggest, is a cyborg. In the first chapters, he was depicted as a gangster with a prosthetic right leg. It was later shown that he is actually a cyborg whose every limb can be detached to use guns. Later in the manga, he is no longer depicted as a gangster with a prosthetic limb and rarely depicted as a cyborg; instead, he is shown more like a typical strongman.

Kichiza Abashiri (亜馬尻 吉三, Abashiri Kichiza)

The youngest member of the family, a small kid with a mean look. While not a fighter like Kikunosuke or Naojiro, he is an expert in explosives, mainly using his unique disguise.

Media

Manga

Akita Shoten (Shōnen Champion Comics, 1970–1973, Reprinted in 1997)

Akita Shoten (Akita Manga Bunko, 1977–1978, reprinted in 1990)

Akita Shoten (Akita Comics Selection, 1985–1987)

Kadokawa Bunko (Kadokawa Shoten, 1997)

King Series Manga Super Wide (Koike Shoin, 2009)

Additionally, the series is also available in ebook format, published by ebookjapan.

Short Stories

A 31-pages one-shot short story titled Abashiri Ikka: Goemon Seijin (あばしり一家 ゴエモン星人) was published in Akita Shoten's Play Comic on April 14, 1977. It has since then been included in most compilations as the last story.

The short crossover story titled Cutie Honey vs. Abashiri Ikka (キューティーハニーVSあばしり一家) was published in the Akita Shoten's magazine Weekly Shōnen Champion on April 16, 2009 (#20) and April 23, 2009 (#21+22). As the title implies, the characters of both series interact with each other, and the relationship of Daemon with both series is central to the plot. This one-shot was published as part of the 40th anniversary of the magazine, which was the same where both series was initially published. It has been compiled in the tankōbon Shukan Shōnen Champion 40th Sokan: 40 Shunen Kinen Tokubetsu Henshu (週刊少年チャンピオン40th 創刊40周年記念特別編集), posted on February 8, 2010, by Akita Shoten with ISBN 978-4-253-10200-1.

OVA

Plot

The four Abashiri prepare to rob a large bank as their last work. This bank, however, is, in reality, a trap by the police, which is ready to expend every necessary resource to end with the Abashiri. Although apparently cornered, the Abashiri overwhelm the police and kill or badly injure several of the policemen. They use so much power that they also destroy a large part of their loot.

After they return to their home, Daemon informs them of the reason behind their retirement. Kikunosuke, whom the rest of her brothers considered a boy, is actually a girl. For generations, the Abashiri believed to have been cursed because no female child had been in the family until the arrival of Kikunosuke. This prompts her mother to request Daemon to stop the family's criminal activities after Kikunosuke reaches a certain age. Her brothers are surprised by this revelation, and the lecherous Goemon takes a particular interest in her sister. Daemon intends to send her to a private school where she can become a proper lady. Although Kikunosuke initially refuses, Daemon tricks her into saying that she would try it and forces her to go under the identity of Shiratori.

However, Paradise school turns out to be a criminal school where students have to fight for survival. Thanks to her strength, she manages to overcome the teachers. At the same time, her brother Goemon is so fixated on seeing her naked that he decides to secretly look for her at her new school. Kikunosuke can make a new friend, Yukiko, another girl, who, unlike Kikunosuke, is entirely defenseless against the teachers and other students.

Standing up against the teachers, one plans to kill Kikunosuke, but she quickly kills him. He's able, however, to recognize her true identity and pass the message among the other teachers. As she runs to rescue Yukiko, she realizes that she won't beat all the teachers by herself and ask for help. With the help of the students' leader, a revolt is formed, and the school director orders to kill them all.

Daemon realizes the danger in which Kikunosuke is and, with his sons, goes to save her. Meanwhile, Goemon manages to arrive at her school only to find Yukiko captive and get himself caught. The students and Kikunosuke (despite being injured) fight all opposition and, despite losing several students, are holding on. It's revealed then that the student's leader has been preparing to take the school for himself. The rest of the Abashiri also enter the fight, and Daemon recognizes the true identity of the director, Danjuro Namakubi, whom he has fought already two times in the past. The director can easily defeat Naojiro. By this point, the students' leader has already betrayed Kikunosuke and uses Goemon and Yukiko as hostages to subdue her. Daemon can kill the director but has to surrender to the student's leader because he holds Kikunosuke and Goemon while killing Yukiko, who tried to free Kikunosuke.

As the Abashiri is about to be executed, Kichiza enters abruptly and manages to kill the leader's gang with his unique explosive costume and free Kikunosuke, but leaves the leader alive to let Kikunosuke deal with him. An enraged Kikunosuke shows no mercy and uses her most powerful technique, the Abashiri 8 God attack. She kills the leader in the most painful way. The experience lived makes Kikunosuke cry, and Daemon consoles her.

Years later, old Daemon is shown watching his grandson (also named Kikunosuke) practice the Abashiri 8 God attack. At the same time, her mother, Kikunosuke, arrives, now being an ordinary woman and thus fulfilling Daemon's wish to have an everyday peaceful life.

Episodes

Staff and Cast

• Distributor: Nextart (Pony Canyon)
• Original work: Go Nagai
• Director/storyboards: Takashi Watanabe
• Character design/animation director: Shigeki Awai
• Art director: Hitoshi Nagao
• Music director: Yoshikazu Iwanami
• Music: Takeo Miratsu
• Producer: Yukina Hiiro, Shigenori Kurii
• Production: Dynamic Planning, Studio Pierrot
• Theme song: Yasashiku Nanka Nai! (やさしくなんかない！) (lyrics by Yumi Morita, composition by Daijiro Nozawa, arrangement by Satoru Osanai, song by Kyoko Tongu)
• Cast: Kyoko Tongu (Kikunosuke), Kosei Tomita (Daemon), Shigeru Chiba (Goemon), Tessho Genda (Naojiro), Taiki Matsuno (Kichiza)

Releases

The OVA was initially released as part of Studio Pierrot's video magazine show Anime V Comic Rentaman (アニメ・V・コミック レンタマン) along with Yumemakura Baku Twilight Gekijo, Eguchi Hisashi no Kotobuki Goro Show and Akai Hayate. The Rentaman experimental concept consisted of these anime divided into episodic short serials. For this reason, the running time of each episode varies greatly. Rentaman was only released in VHS format and published under the Nextart label (Pony Canyon).

Anime V Comic Rentaman

After the release of Rentaman, Abashiri Ikka was released as a single release in both VHS (PCVF-30022) and Laserdisc (PCLP-00279) format, also by Nextart on March 21, 1992.

Release Outside Japan

The OVA was released in the United States on November 11, 1998, by ADV Films, subtitled and in VHS format.

Live-Action Film

A live-action film titled Abashiri Ikka: The Movie (あばしり一家 ＴＨＥ ＭＯＶＩＥ), starring actress Erika Tonooka (member of the group Idoling!!!) and directed by Teruyoshi Ishii was released in Tokyo on November 21, 2009.

Staff and Cast

• Studio: Total Media Corporation (TMC), Oscar
• Director: Teruyoshi Ishii
• Action director: Shingo Nishida
• Producer: Seiji Nanba, Hideo Iwashita
• Co-producer: Akio Motojima
• Assistant producer: Eisuke Ito, Shinichiro Yamaguchi
• Executive adviser: Jun Mimae
• Executive producer: Akihiko Yahata, Tsuguo Oikawa
• Planning: Takashi Shiotsuki
• Original work: Go Nagai
• Script: Sadayuki Murai
• Photography: Takehiro Kuramochi
• Editor: Hiroaki Niizuma
• Art: Nori Fukuda
• Lighting: Koji Hara
• Audio recording: Manabu Otsuka
• Production: Abashiri Family Production Committee
• Theme song: string (performed by eroica)
• Cast: Erica Tonooka (Kikunosuke), Shun Sugata (Daemon), Ijiri Okada (Goemon), Yakan Nabe (Kichiza), Kyoji Kamui (Naojiro), Jiro Sato (Danjuro Namakubi), Miwa (Kaoruko Unii/Mademoiselle Honey), Maria Yoshikawa (Yuki), Mai Endo (Mai)

Legacy

Daemon, Kichiza, Naojiro, and Goemon would all appear in Go Nagai's later series Cutie Honey. In it, Daemon became Hayami Danbei, and Kichiza became Hayami Junpei. Naojiro later appeared as Danbei's nephew and boss of Paradise School. Goemon appeared with Naojiro as a teacher of Paradise School. Kikunosuke appears in the Mazinger Angels manga as the pilot for Iron Z (which is, in fact, a new name for Energer Z, the Mazinger Z prototype.) As well as traditional Mazinger and Grendizer characters Sayaka Yumi, Grace Maria Fleed, Hikaru Makiba, and Jun Hono as they fight Dr. Hell's forces and the Vegan Empire, respectively; Daemon also appears under his Hayami Danbei alias in Grendizer. In Shin Mazinger, Cross is a cyborg similar to Naojiro, and their 'robot' form has the same appearance.

Reference:
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Abashiri_Family

Tags:   Action, Akita Shoten, Anime, Comedy, Crime, Go Nagai, NA ADV Films, Shigenori Kurii, Shōnen, Studio Pierrot, Takashi Watanabe, Takeo Miratsu, The Abashiri Family, Tokyo Kids, Weekly Shōnen Champion, Yukina Hiiro,