Hakata Tonkotsu Ramens

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Hakata Tonkotsu Ramens
Hakata Tonkotsu Ramens volume 1 cover.jpg
Novel first volume cover
博多豚骨ラーメンズ
(Hakata Tonkotsu Rāmenzu)
Novel series
Written byChiaki Kisaki
Illustrated byHako Ichiiro
Published byASCII Media Works
ImprintMedia Works Bunko
DemographicMale
Original runFebruary 25, 2014 – present
Volumes9 (List of volumes)
Manga
Written byChiaki Kisaki
Illustrated byKisara Akino
Published bySquare Enix
MagazineMonthly GFantasy
DemographicShōnen
Original runJuly 2016 – May 2017
Volumes2 (List of volumes)
Light novel
Durarara!! × Hakata Tonkotsu Ramens
Written byChiaki Kizaki
Illustrated byHako Ichiiro
Published byASCII Media Works
ImprintDengeki Bunko
DemographicMale
PublishedOctober 8, 2016
Manga
Hakata Tonkotsu Ramens Dai 2-Shō
Written byChiaki Kisaki
Illustrated byChiako Nagaoka
Published bySquare Enix
MagazineMonthly G Fantasy
DemographicShōnen
Original runAugust 2017 – December 2018
Volumes2 (List of volumes)
Anime television series
Directed byKenji Yasuda
Produced by
  • Takema Okamura
  • Tomoyuki Ōwada
  • Noritomo Isogai
  • Hirotaka Kaneko
  • Masaru Seto
  • Fumihiro Ozawa
  • Noriko Dohi
  • Mika Endō
Written byShōgo Yasukawa
Music byKōtarō Nakagawa
StudioSatelight
Licensed byCrunchyroll (Worldwide rights outside of Asia)[1]
Original networkAT-X, Tokyo MX, BS11, TVQ
Original run January 12, 2018 – March 30, 2018
Episodes12 (List of episodes)
Wikipe-tan face.svg Anime and manga portal

Hakata Tonkotsu Ramens (博多豚骨ラーメンズ, Hakata Tonkotsu Rāmenzu) is a Japanese novel series written by Chiaki Kisaki and illustrated by Hako Ichiiro. ASCII Media Works have published nine volumes since 2014 under their Media Works Bunko imprint. The novel won the Grand Prize at the 20th annual Dengeki Novel Awards.

A manga adaptation with art by Kisara Akino was serialized in Square Enix's shōnen manga magazine G Fantasy between July 2016 and May 2017. It was collected in two tankōbon volumes. A second manga adaptation titled Hakata Tonkotsu Ramens Dai 2-Shō, with art by Chiako Nagaoka, was launched on August 18, 2017 in the same magazine. It was collected in two tankōbon volumes.

An anime television series adaptation by Satelight aired from January 12 to March 30, 2018.

Characters[]

Characters from Hakata Tonkotsu Ramens. From left to right: Genzō Gohda, Enokida, Yamato, Saeki, José Martínez, Shigematsu, Saitoh, Lin Xianming, Zenji Banba, Jiro, and Misaki.
Zenji Banba (馬場 善治, Banba Zenji)
Voiced by: Daisuke Ono[2] (Japanese); Josh Grelle (English)[3]
A detective who runs his own agency called the Banba Detective Office. Born and raised in Hakata, he loves Tonkotsu ramen, Mentaiko, and baseball. He is also the identity of the famous assassin known as The Niwaka Samurai.
Lin Xianming (林 憲明, Rin Shenmin)
Voiced by: Yūki Kaji[2] (Japanese); Daman Mills (English)[3]
A crossdressing hitman from Kunming, China. He is skilled with the knife. He came to Japan to look for his sister and to pay off a large debt incurred by his family. After finding out his sister was murdered by the very agency he worked for, he teamed up with Banba to kill them and joins him afterwards. His real name is Maomei, and he sold himself to help his family's poor financial situation. He would undergo brutal training to become an assassin for five years with the help of his roommate Feilang, who ended up betraying him during the final exam.
Kazuki Saitoh (斉藤 和樹, Saitō Kazuki)
Voiced by: Yūsuke Kobayashi[2] (Japanese); Stephen Fu (English)[3]
A former baseball player who was kicked off the team for severely injuring a fellow player during a pitch. He becomes a contractor for Murder Inc. He is a new employee having recently moved from Tokyo to Hakata.
Enokida (榎田)
Voiced by: Kenshō Ono[2] (Japanese); Kyle Igneczi (English)[3]
A skilled computer hacker who runs an information shop. He and Banba have a longstanding working relationship. He uses mechanical spiders as tracking devices to discreetly pick up information. His real name is Chihiro Matsuda (松田 千尋) and he is the son of Kazuo Matsuda, a member of Japan's House of Representatives. He was caught hacking and his father ordered his butler Yagi fake his death by sending him away to Hakata to allow him to live freely. He would dye his hair and assume the name of Enokida to cover his true identity.
Jirō (ジロー)
Voiced by: Daisuke Namikawa[2] (Japanese); Aaron Roberts (English)[3]
A former hairdresser who runs his own hitman agency. He moved to Hakata after his lover was murdered to start his own agency, and has been Misaki's caretaker.
Misaki (ミサキ)
Voiced by: Aoi Yūki[2] (Japanese); Amber Lee Connors (English)[3]
An elementary school student who assists Jiro in running his agency.
José Martínez (ホセ・マルティネス, Hose Marutinesu)
Voiced by: Tomoaki Maeno[2] (Japanese); Marcus D. Stimac (English)[3]
A torturer who immigrated from the Dominican Republic.
Yamato (大和)
Voiced by: Yoshitsugu Matsuoka[2] (Japanese); Eric Vale (English)[3]
A host who works for the club Adam.
Saeki (佐伯)
Voiced by: Daisuke Hirakawa[2]
Director of a cosmetic surgery clinic.
Shigematsu (重松)
Voiced by: Kenji Hamada[2] (Japanese); Ben Phillips (English)[3]
A veteran detective who has a great working relationship with Banba. He investigates incidents that are not judged by the law.
Genzō Gohda (剛田 源造, Gōda Genzō)
Voiced by: Kōsei Hirota[2]
A chef who works at a ramen stand that Banba frequently dines at. He is a former hitman nicknamed G.G (Ji-Ji) who was the strongest in Hakata.
Shunsuke Saruwatari (猿渡 俊助, Saruwatari Shunsuke)
Voiced by: Yuichi Nakamura[2]
A hitman who formerly worked for Murder Inc. He is a submarine-style pitcher for a rival baseball team and he fights by throwing shurikens and other projectiles in the same manner. He was ace of Murder Inc, but he left Murder Inc and return to Kitakyushu where is his home. because he was fed up with the boring assignments he keeps on getting and want to fight a stronger opponent. With his new employer, he is assigned to kill the Nikawa Samurai and is determined to do it on his own terms. As such, he develops a rivalry with Banba and will help him out when he is threatened not wanting anybody else to kill him.
Naoya Nitta (新田 巨也, Nitta Naoya)
Voiced by: Masaya Matsukaze[2] (Japanese); Shawn Gann (English)[3]
A consultant who investigates child murders in Kitakyushu. He used to play baseball as Saruwatari's catcher, and as such he has a close relationship with him.
Chegaru (チェガル)
Voiced by: Kenjiro Tsuda[4] (Japanese); Chris Wehkamp (English)[3]
Siva (シヴァ, Shiba)
Voiced by: Natsuki Hanae[4] (Japanese); Justin Briner (English)[3]
Irasawa (井良沢)
Voiced by: Atsushi Imaruoka[4] (Japanese); Ricco Fajardo (English)[3]
Feilang (緋狼)
Voiced by: Nobunaga Shimazaki[4] (Japanese); Alejandro Saab (English)[3]
A hitman from Beijing who was Lin's training partner. He provided emotional support for Lin while at the assassin training grounds in China. However, he ends up betraying him at the final exam where the two had to fight to the death when he revealed that he killed his previous roommate. Lin apparently killed him to pass the exam, but he survived and has since made a living as a hitman in Beijing.

Media[]

Novel[]

No. Release date ISBN
1 February 25, 2014[5]978-4-04-866316-8
2 September 25, 2014[6]978-4-04-869009-6
3 March 25, 2015[7]978-4-04-865063-2
4 August 25, 2015[8]978-4-04-865387-9
5 December 25, 2015[9]978-4-04-865677-1
6 March 25, 2017[10]978-4-04-892832-8
7 July 25, 2017[11]978-4-04-893290-5
8 December 22, 2017[12]978-4-04-893589-0
9 February 22, 2020[13]978-4-04-913085-0

Light novel[]

Durarara!! × Hakata Tonkotsu Ramens[]

No. Release date ISBN
1 October 8, 2016978-4-04-892406-1

Manga[]

No. Release date ISBN
1 March 25, 2017[14]978-4-7575-5231-9
2 July 25, 2017[15]978-4-7575-5429-0

Hakata Tonkotsu Ramens Dai 2-Shō[]

No. Release date ISBN
1 January 27, 2018[16]978-4-7575-5609-6
2 December 27, 2018[17]978-4-7575-5967-7

Anime[]

An anime television series adaptation by Satelight aired from January 12 to March 30, 2018, as part of Dengeki's 25th anniversary. The opening theme is "Stray" (ストレイ, Sutorei), performed by Kishida Kyoudan & The Akeboshi Rockets,[18] while the ending theme is "Dirty Bullet" performed by the jazz band TRI4TH.[2][19][4] Crunchyroll simulcasted the series, while Funimation produced an English dub.[20]

No. Title[a] Original air date
1"Play Ball"
Transcription: "Purei bōru" (Japanese: プレイボール)		January 12, 2018 (2018-01-12)
2"Irregular"
Transcription: "Iregyurā" (Japanese: イレギュラー)		January 19, 2018 (2018-01-19)
3"Teamwork"
Transcription: "Chīmuwāku" (Japanese: チームワーク)		January 26, 2018 (2018-01-26)
4"Ninth Inning, Two Outs"
Transcription: "9 kai ura tsūauto" (Japanese: 9回裏ツーアウト)		February 2, 2018 (2018-02-02)
5"Tryouts"
Transcription: "Torai auto" (Japanese: トライアウト)		February 9, 2018 (2018-02-09)
6"Pinch Hitter"
Transcription: "Pinchi hittā" (Japanese: ピンチヒッター)		February 16, 2018 (2018-02-16)
7"Lead-off Hitter"
Transcription: "Rīdo ofu man" (Japanese: リードオフマン)		February 23, 2018 (2018-02-23)
8"Trick Play"
Transcription: "Torikku purei" (Japanese: トリックプレイ)		March 2, 2018 (2018-03-02)
9"Hit and Run"
Transcription: "Endo ran" (Japanese: エンドラン)		March 9, 2018 (2018-03-09)
10"Shortstop"
Transcription: "Shōto sutoppu" (Japanese: ショートストップ (遊撃手))		March 16, 2018 (2018-03-16)
11"Brawl"
Transcription: "Rantō" (Japanese: 乱闘)		March 23, 2018 (2018-03-23)
12"Walk-Off Home Run"
Transcription: "Sayonara hōmu ran" (Japanese: サヨナラホームラン)		March 30, 2018 (2018-03-30)

Stage play[]

A stage play adaptation premiered from July 13 to July 21, 2019.[21][22]

Reception[]

Previews[]

The anime series' first episode garnered mixed reviews from Anime News Network's staff during the Winter 2018 season previews. Chris Farris solely reviewed the English dub version of the episode, criticizing the premise for lacking "punch and personality" to sell itself and felt the voice actors were "monotone" and weren't "distinct" enough with their performances (singling out Daman Mills' portrayal of Xianming as a standout), concluding that: "Ultimately, listening to this paradox just creates a feeling of surreal blandness." James Beckett found it to be a "dour premiere" that's "decent-looking" but lacks ambition and excitement to deliver its hitmen ensemble and their various storylines throughout the overall plot. Lynzee Loveridge found the production "middle of the road" but commended the crossdressing character of Xianming and was intrigued by the "interwoven threads" and "interlocking relationships" throughout the overall mystery. Jacob Chapman commended the handling of the Ryōgo Narita-like "multitudinous subplots" that connect with each other but was critical of the serious tone clashing with the ridiculous setup, the cast of "blasé and unlikable characters" and the production having a "mediocre art design" and "stiff animation", concluding that: "Hakata Tonkotsu Ramens isn't a traditionally terrible show, but I don't think its lukewarm stabs at uniqueness made it any less of a slog to get through either." Rebecca Silverman wrote that: "With a jazz-based soundtrack and a casual feeling about it, Hakata Tonkotsu Ramens stands to be an interesting puzzle to piece together. It's definitely going to be worth figuring out where it's headed, because there are a few directions it could take as of now." Nick Creamer was critical of the mediocre aesthetic quality throughout the art and character designs, but gave praise to the natural transitions between characters and subplots, saying "[I]f you're looking for a convoluted crime drama, you could certainly do a lot worse." Theron Martin praised director Kenji Yasuda for handling the concept by having a "well-organized" plot and an ensemble cast that gets equal attention and sets up various scenarios between them, calling it "one of the season's sharper new entries so far."[23]

Series reception[]

Martin reviewed the complete anime series and gave it a B+ grade.[24] While giving note of some "distasteful story elements" and a lack of female representation in its ensemble, he praised the charm of its cast and their interactions with each other throughout the series and the production's "distinctive aesthetic" that gives them their visual appeal, concluding that: "If you can handle its graphic content, then Hakata Tonkotsu Ramens is a highly entertaining series that may have been overlooked during the Winter 2018 season, but is well worth checking out for fans of its unique sub-genre."[24] Silverman reviewed the home video release in 2019 and gave it an overall B grade.[25] She praised Lin's character development during the first and last arcs, the use of language and the balancing of both humor and dark elements, but was critical of how the show treats its female characters and the rest of the cast being just "one-note" quirky personalities, concluding that: "Although it can feel a bit uneven over the course of its four story arcs, Hakata Tonkotsu Ramens is a fun show overall."[25]

Notes[]

  1. ^ All English titles are taken from Crunchyroll.

References[]

  1. ^ "Crunchyroll Announces Winter 2018 Simulcast License Acquisitions". Crunchyroll. January 8, 2018. Archived from the original on January 31, 2018. Retrieved February 4, 2018.
  2. ^ Jump up to: a b c d e f g h i j k l m n Hodgkins, Crystalyn (October 1, 2017). "Hakata Tonkotsu Ramens Anime Reveals Promo Video, More of Cast, Song Artists, January Debut". Anime News Network. Archived from the original on January 26, 2021. Retrieved November 9, 2017.
  3. ^ Jump up to: a b c d e f g h i j k l m n "Hakata Tonkotsu Ramens". Funimation. Archived from the original on January 28, 2018. Retrieved November 8, 2018.
  4. ^ Jump up to: a b c d e Hodgkins, Crystalyn (February 10, 2018). "Hakata Tonkotsu Ramens Anime Adds 4 More Cast Members". Anime News Network. Archived from the original on January 26, 2021. Retrieved February 10, 2018.
  5. ^ "博多豚骨ラーメンズ". mwbunko (in Japanese). Media Works Bunko. Retrieved November 8, 2018.
  6. ^ "博多豚骨ラーメンズ 2". mwbunko (in Japanese). Media Works Bunko. Retrieved November 8, 2018.
  7. ^ "博多豚骨ラーメンズ 3". mwbunko (in Japanese). Media Works Bunko. Retrieved November 8, 2018.
  8. ^ "博多豚骨ラーメンズ 4". mwbunko (in Japanese). Media Works Bunko. Retrieved November 8, 2018.
  9. ^ "博多豚骨ラーメンズ 5". mwbunko (in Japanese). Media Works Bunko. Retrieved November 8, 2018.
  10. ^ "博多豚骨ラーメンズ 6". mwbunko (in Japanese). Media Works Bunko. Retrieved November 8, 2018.
  11. ^ "博多豚骨ラーメンズ 7". mwbunko (in Japanese). Media Works Bunko. Retrieved November 8, 2018.
  12. ^ "博多豚骨ラーメンズ 8". mwbunko (in Japanese). Media Works Bunko. Retrieved November 8, 2018.
  13. ^ "博多豚骨ラーメンズ 9". mwbunko (in Japanese). Media Works Bunko. Retrieved January 31, 2020.
  14. ^ "博多豚骨ラーメンズ 1". Square Enix (in Japanese). Square Enix. Retrieved November 8, 2018.
  15. ^ "博多豚骨ラーメンズ 2". Square Enix (in Japanese). Square Enix. Retrieved November 8, 2018.
  16. ^ "博多豚骨ラーメンズ 第2幕 1". Square Enix (in Japanese). Square Enix. Retrieved November 8, 2018.
  17. ^ "博多豚骨ラーメンズ 第2幕 2". Square Enix (in Japanese). Square Enix. Retrieved December 23, 2018.
  18. ^ Chapman, Paul (November 24, 2017). "OP Theme Performers Revealed for "Hakata Tonkotsu Ramens"". Crunchyroll. Archived from the original on June 19, 2020. Retrieved June 19, 2020.
  19. ^ Pineda, Rafael Antonio (December 1, 2017). "Hakata Tonkotsu Ramens Anime Premieres January 12". Anime News Network. Archived from the original on January 13, 2021. Retrieved December 1, 2017.
  20. ^ Ressler, Karen (December 14, 2017). "Crunchyroll, Funimation Announce 7 Anime for Winter 2018 Simulcast Season". Anime News Network. Archived from the original on January 13, 2021. Retrieved December 14, 2017.
  21. ^ Pineda, Rafael Antonio (December 10, 2018). "Hakata Tonkotsu Ramens Light Novels Get Stage Play in July". Anime News Network. Archived from the original on December 10, 2018. Retrieved December 10, 2018.
  22. ^ Pineda, Rafael Antonio (May 14, 2019). "Hakata Tonkotsu Ramens Stage Play's Cast Revealed in Costume". Anime News Network. Archived from the original on November 8, 2020. Retrieved February 23, 2020.
  23. ^ Farris, Chris; Beckett, James; Loveridge, Lynzee; Chapman, Jacob; Silverman, Rebecca; Creamer, Nick; Martin, Theron (January 12, 2018). "The Winter 2018 Anime Preview Guide: Hakata Tonkotsu Ramens". Anime News Network. Archived from the original on April 26, 2021. Retrieved April 26, 2021.
  24. ^ Jump up to: a b Martin, Theron (April 27, 2018). "Hakata Tonkotsu Ramens—Episodes 1-12 streaming - Review". Anime News Network. Archived from the original on November 9, 2020. Retrieved April 26, 2021.
  25. ^ Jump up to: a b Silverman, Rebecca (June 21, 2019). "Hakata Tonkotsu Ramens BD/DVD - Review". Anime News Network. Archived from the original on November 7, 2020. Retrieved April 26, 2021.

External links[]

Retrieved from ""