Happy! (sports manga)

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Happy!
Happy! Japanese volume 1 cover.jpg
The cover of the first tankōbon volume of Happy!, featuring Miyuki Umino
GenreSports
Manga
Written byNaoki Urasawa
Published byShogakukan
MagazineBig Comic Spirits
DemographicSeinen
Original run1993 – 1999
Volumes23
Live-action television film
Directed byOsamu Katayama
Written byHideo Tsuchida
ReleasedApril 7, 2006
Runtime22 minutes
Live-action television film
Directed byRyutaro Kawashima
Written byHideo Tsuchida
ReleasedDecember 26, 2006
Runtime22 minutes
Wikipe-tan face.svg Anime and manga portal

Happy! is a Japanese sports manga written and illustrated by Naoki Urasawa. It was serialized in Big Comic Spirits from 1993 until 1999, with the chapters collected into 23 tankōbon volumes by Shogakukan. The story follows a teenage heroine who embarks on a career as a professional tennis player to repay an enormous debt incurred by her brother to yakuza loan sharks, with the threat that if she fails, they will force her into a life of prostitution at a soapland. The series was adapted into two television movies in 2006.[citation needed]

Characters[]

Miyuki Umino (海野 幸, Umino Miyuki)
The heroine of the story, Miyuki is a tennis prodigy, capable of beating one of the top tennis players in Japan even when out of practice. She has a pure heart and is devoted to her family above all else, but her desperation and the schemes of those around her quickly give her a terrible reputation as a "bad girl of tennis". She lost the Cinderella Cup to her rival Choko.
Ieyasu Umino (海野 家康, Umino Ieyasu)
Miyuki's brother, who disappears right after the start of the manga, but his ill-considered business schemes are what create the huge debt that Miyuki must pay off. He feels guilty about causing the deaths of their parents and his get-rich-quick schemes are an attempt to make up for the poverty he inflicted on his siblings.
Junji Sakurada (桜田 純二, Sakurada Junji)
The Yakuza debt collector who shadows Miyuki and her career was himself once an aspiring athlete and is alternately threatening, supportive and discouraging. He hopes she can succeed and drags his feet when his superiors pressure him not to give her a chance, but he regularly points out the almost certain futility of what she's doing.
Kikuko Kaku (賀来 菊子, Kaku Kikuko)
A promising young tennis star who is Miyuki's first opponent and becomes a fervent advocate of the prodigy after losing to her. Kaku is a lesbian who is at least somewhat in love with Miyuki and this is used to spread malicious rumours that Miyuki has seduced Kaku.
Keiichiro Ohtori (鳳 圭一郎, Ōtori Keiichirō)
The son of one of the grande dames of Japanese tennis, he went to school with Miyuki and she turns to him for assistance in getting her tennis career started. He is thoroughly under the thumb of his tyrannical mother however and this limits the assistance he will give her. He is a good tennis player but his mother decides he lacks the potential to be the best and forbids him to pursue a professional career in tennis.
Utako Ohtori (鳳 唄子, Ōtori Utako)
Keiichiro's mother, who was once the champion of Japan. She is rich, vain, callous and vengeful, hating Miyuki for being the daughter of the man she could not get. However she agrees to sponsor and train Miyuki in order to use her to embarrass the rival Ryugasaki family. Miyuki's bad reputation starts with Utako's teaching Miyuki a very unsportsmanlike maneuver on the tennis courts and insisting that Miyuki use it to humiliate her opponent.
Choko Ryugasaki (竜ヶ崎 蝶子, Ryūgasaki Chōko)
The daughter of Hanae Ryugasaki, Utako's rival from Kyoto, Choko is also Miyuki's unscrupulous arch-rival who delights in sabotaging Miyuki with cruel practical jokes and scurrilous rumours. She portrays herself as a cute and innocent victim of Miyuki's wickedness.
Thunder Ushiyama (サンダー牛山, Ushiyama Sandā)
Miyuki's rather lecherous tennis coach. He used to train big-name tennis players but was banned from the sport for life when he was accused of rigging a game. Nonetheless, he is apparently an exceptional coach and was personally hired by Madame Ohtori to coach Miyuki.

Live-action drama[]

Manga[]

Volume list[]

No. Release date ISBN
01 February 28, 1994[1]4-09-183401-9
02 May 30, 1994[2]4-09-183402-7
03 August 30, 1994[3]4-09-183403-5
04 November 30, 1994[4]4-09-183404-3
05 February 28, 1995[5]4-09-183405-1
06 May 30, 1995[6]4-09-183406-X
07 August 30, 1995[7]4-09-183407-8
08 November 30, 1995[8]4-09-183408-6
09 January 30, 1996[9]4-09-183409-4
10 April 27, 1996[10]4-09-183410-8
11 June 29, 1996[11]4-09-184291-7
12 September 30, 1996[12]4-09-184292-5
13 November 30, 1996[13]4-09-184293-3
14 April 2, 1997[14]4-09-184294-1
15 May 30, 1997[15]4-09-184295-X
16 August 30, 1997[16]4-09-184296-8
17 November 29, 1997[17]4-09-184297-6
18 March 30, 1998[18]4-09-184298-4
19 June 30, 1998[19]4-09-184299-2
20 September 30, 1998[20]4-09-184300-X
21 December 19, 1998[21]4-09-185221-1
22 February 26, 1999[22]4-09-185222-X
23 May 29, 1999[23]4-09-185223-8

Reception[]

In 2020, Mark Sammut of Comic Book Resources called Happy! Urasawa's "most depressing manga ever" and wrote that it "strikes a middle-ground between the author's more conventional earlier work and the character studies that would come to define his greatest projects." He further stated that, while still quite good, it can be a tiring read as some great moments are "dragged down by shallow antagonists, an overly long storyline, a focus on idol culture that never quite jells with the sports setting, and a series of matches that grow progressively duller."[24]

References[]

  1. ^ Happy! / 1 / Ａｒｅ Ｙｏｕ Ｈａｐｐｙ!? (in Japanese). Shogakukan. Archived from the original on November 25, 2005. Retrieved June 22, 2020.
  2. ^ Happy! / 2 / ＮＥＶＥＲ ＧＩＶＥ ＵＰ！ (in Japanese). Shogakukan. Archived from the original on May 24, 2005. Retrieved June 22, 2020.
  3. ^ Happy! / 3 / Ｐｒｏ Ｄｅｂｕｔ！ (in Japanese). Shogakukan. Archived from the original on May 24, 2005. Retrieved June 22, 2020.
  4. ^ Happy! / 4 / ＢＯＯＩＮＧ！！ (in Japanese). Shogakukan. Archived from the original on May 24, 2005. Retrieved June 22, 2020.
  5. ^ Happy! / 5 / Ａｔ Ａｎｙ Ｃｏｓｔ！！ (in Japanese). Shogakukan. Archived from the original on November 4, 2005. Retrieved June 22, 2020.
  6. ^ Happy! / 6 / Ｎｏ Ｍｏｎｅｙ！！ (in Japanese). Shogakukan. Archived from the original on December 5, 2005. Retrieved June 22, 2020.
  7. ^ Happy! / 7 / Ａｌｌ ｏｒ Ｎｏｔｈｉｎｇ！！ (in Japanese). Shogakukan. Archived from the original on May 24, 2005. Retrieved June 22, 2020.
  8. ^ Happy! / 8 / Ｉ’ｍ Ｎｏ Ｃｒｙｉｎｇ！！ (in Japanese). Shogakukan. Archived from the original on February 7, 2005. Retrieved June 22, 2020.
  9. ^ Happy! / 9 / Ａ Ｈｕｎｃｈ Ｏｆ Ｓｔｏｒｍ (in Japanese). Shogakukan. Archived from the original on May 24, 2005. Retrieved June 22, 2020.
  10. ^ Happy! / 10 / Ｗｏｎｄｅｒｆｕｌ Ｇｉｒｌ！！ (in Japanese). Shogakukan. Archived from the original on November 25, 2005. Retrieved June 22, 2020.
  11. ^ Happy! / 11 / Ｕｎｂｅｌｉｅｖａｂｌｅ！！ (in Japanese). Shogakukan. Archived from the original on November 5, 2005. Retrieved June 22, 2020.
  12. ^ Happy! / 12 / Ｄｕｅｌ！！ (in Japanese). Shogakukan. Archived from the original on November 4, 2005. Retrieved June 22, 2020.
  13. ^ Happy! / 13 / Ｈａｎｇ Ｏｎ！！ (in Japanese). Shogakukan. Archived from the original on November 4, 2005. Retrieved June 22, 2020.
  14. ^ Happy! / 14 / Ｈｅ’ｓ ｍｙ ｃｏａｃｈ!! (in Japanese). Shogakukan. Archived from the original on February 7, 2005. Retrieved June 22, 2020.
  15. ^ Happy! / 15 / Ｄｒｅａｍ ｉｓ ｏｖｅｒ (in Japanese). Shogakukan. Archived from the original on May 24, 2005. Retrieved June 22, 2020.
  16. ^ Happy! / 16 / Love Letter (in Japanese). Shogakukan. Archived from the original on February 7, 2005. Retrieved June 22, 2020.
  17. ^ Happy! / 17 / Carry The Weight (in Japanese). Shogakukan. Archived from the original on November 11, 2005. Retrieved June 22, 2020.
  18. ^ Happy! / 18 / The Great Escape (in Japanese). Shogakukan. Archived from the original on November 1, 2005. Retrieved June 22, 2020.
  19. ^ Happy! / 19 / Depend On Me (in Japanese). Shogakukan. Archived from the original on August 26, 2005. Retrieved June 22, 2020.
  20. ^ Happy! / 20 / Strawberry-Cream With Centre Court (in Japanese). Shogakukan. Archived from the original on November 16, 2005. Retrieved June 22, 2020.
  21. ^ Happy! / 21 / Brother & Sister (in Japanese). Shogakukan. Archived from the original on May 25, 2005. Retrieved June 22, 2020.
  22. ^ Happy! / 22 / Get Out!! (in Japanese). Shogakukan. Archived from the original on May 25, 2005. Retrieved June 22, 2020.
  23. ^ Happy! / 23 / Be Happy! (in Japanese). Shogakukan. Archived from the original on May 25, 2005. Retrieved June 22, 2020.
  24. ^ "Naoki Urasawa's 10 Best Works That Aren't Monster, Ranked". Comic Book Resources. 2020-05-22. Retrieved 2021-02-11.

External links[]

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