Koutougakkou Academy Ultimate Crossover Series!!!
Kintaro Kimura - Samurai Blood
A modern day horror/supernatural series, with something of a monster of the week format. In the late 1800s, a young samurai was bitten by a vampire and turned into one of the undead. More than a century later, he still hunts monsters and demons that threaten mankind, all while trying to find and destroy the vampire who sired him. It doesn't have a huge supporting cast, as Kintaro is often on the move, but it does have occasional flash backs to Kintaro's samurai days.
Koharu Fujiwara - Ganbatte, Koharu-chan! (Do your best, Koharu!)
A modern day slice of life comedy about first year student and witch, Koharu Fujiwara, as she tries to escape the ever present shadow of her perfect elder sister, Maru, and tries to use her magic to help people without letting her teachers know. There's a rather large supporting cast, ranging from Koharu's classmates, her family, and that cute upperclassman she's crushing on.
Yuuki Tadayoshi - Tadayoshi, The Time Traveller
Often referred to as Japan's answer to Doctor Who, Tadayoshi, The Time Traveller has had a number of different runs since the late 1970s. The character of Yuuki is the main constant, as she moves through time dealing with problems in her own mysterious way. A reboot in the 90s introduced the concept of Yuuki's regeneration as a way of dealing with the retirement of her voice actor, while the loss of her memories was a major aspect of the 1982-1983 series. A running trait was that Yuuki would pose as a male when in times that were rather difficult for women to act freely in.
Asako Watanabe - Moncatcha!
A short lived series during the Pokemon boom, Moncatcha! was about a trio of teenagers who played the highly popular 'Monster Catcher' game, but were transported into the game world during a storm, a story aspect never quite resolved and mostly forgotten about. The three teenagers were boy crazy scientist, Asako Watanabe, the money obsessed ladies man Yoh Kamabura, and fight happy delinquent Goro Hashima. While it was praised for a slightly older take on the monster catching genre, it's tie in computer game sold so poorly that it took the show with it.
Chiko Kanami - Kitsune Soldier Girl
A modern day action comedy. The daughter of Japan's greatest black ops soldiers, Chiko Kanami was shocked to learn on her sixteenth birthday that she was half Kitsune. a fact her Kitsune mother insisted on hiding. She now has to survive Japan's finest military academy, all the while keeping her supernatural nature under wraps and dealing with a centuries old conspiracy.
Dieterich Klaus - My Brother Is An Alien!?
An action heavy drama/comedy. Reinhold Klaus thought he knew everything about aliens, so imagine his surprise when he finds out his adopted brother Dietrich is one! While Reinhold is the viewpoint character, the action tends to surround his family and siblings. While it started out as another quirky, slice of life comedy, the series got gradually darker and more serious as more alien aspects came in, and even comic relief aspects like Dieterich's pet Benny the Hypnockatrice, took on sinister character traits. Based on a series of light novels.
Harry Amourart - Innsmouth Exchange
A modern day horror/comedy, based on a manga attempt to bring Cthulhu Mythos to a teenage audience. Award winning horror writer Harry Amourart is something of a fish out of water in Japan, but as other students soon find out, sometimes it's better than being a fish in the water. As for Harry, it turns out while you can take the boy out of Innsmouth, it may just follow you and try to eat your soul. Not to mention how the local monstrosities might react...
Hisae Yamada - Black Ops Club
Modern day action/comedy. Hisae Yamada has been a soldier all her life, moving from the warzone to mercenary work. So it's rather out of her element when she's adopted by her CO and XO, who are retiring to live a more quiet life. But it's not that easy to adapt to civilian life, leading Hisae to form the Black Ops Club, an attempt to try and recapture a more military life style.
Kaito Saruwatari - Angel Beatdown
Modern day magical action comedy.All Kaito Saruwatari wants is to be left alone. Unfortunately, the universe has greater goals in mind for him. First, he gets an angelic guide, then he's voted school council president despite his best efforts. And then he keeps running into clones! Now, he might just be the only thing between some evil sorcerers and the end of the world.
We're all doomed.
Lan Xiaofan - Ruler Of The Heavens
Mythic Adventure Comedy. Based on the 1986 breakthrough manga series, teenage monk Lan Xiaofan has been raised in an out of the way Chinese monastery, the eighteenth reincarnation of a legendary hero. Unfortunately for the monks, Lan has been feeling more and more stifled within the monastery, and on one of his few outings he meets a young woman named Lin Wu Long. Discovering that she is on a search for the Sage Stones, supposedly capable of opening a way to the heavens, Lan sneaks out of the monastery to join her in her search, convinced these stones may be connected to his own reincarnations. What follows is an epic quest around the world to claim the sage stones before an evil necromancer and his minions beat them to it.
Michiko Kondou - Immortals: Clash of the Four Winds
Action Drama. Originally a manga series, Immortals took a life of it's own when the tie in card game proved a massive hit in Japan. Immortals followed the stories of four powerful card mages, each blessed by an immortal beast: Michiko Kondou, chosen of the Plagued Dragon Skythrix, her brother Kazuma Kondou, chosen of the Blazing Phoenix Suzaku, mercenary Iori Kawashima, chosen of the Winter Tiger Byakko and Gongen Masataka, chosen of the Demon Tortoise Genbu. The story was told over centuries, swapping between the viewpoints of each character, culminating in the final battle between the four immortals to decide the fate of the world.
Mitsuhari Tanshu - Immortals: Black Chapter
Action Drama. An OAV spin off from Clash of the Four Winds, set in one of the potential futures shown as a possible outcome of the final battle. The four immortals have vanished from the world, and left it a wasteland. In a village devastated by the plague, Mitsuhari Tanshu ekes out what life he can. However, an encounter with a being of darkness grants him a deck of dark magic and a number of monstrous beings after him for their power. Forced to flee the village, Mitsuhari tries to balance doing the right thing against the all too easy power provided by the cards. The three episode OAV touched little on appearances from previous casts, but a ghost Mitsuhari encounters is generally assumed by fans to be Gongen Masataka. The OAV was also packaged with a limited edition deck based on Mitsuhari's, and a competition for the chance to win a limited 'Black Chapter Genbu' card. Other OAVs planned include White Chapter, Azure Chapter, Vermillion Chapter and Gold Chapter.
Nanno Nanigashi - Who's Mr. So and So?
Science Fiction Action Comedy. What started out as a youth aimed show about three kids trying to figure out the identity of a mysterious newcomer to their town quickly shifted focus when audiences were more interested in the 'Nanno Nanigashi' character. Nanno soon became the main character, and encounters that might have led to his identity became more frequent while the trio of children took a backseat role. However, the series ended somewhat abruptly without ever quite revealing who or what Nanno was, the writer seemingly losing interest. To further complicate matters, a Manga anthology was released in recent years, with a number of different artists and writers each given their own take on who 'Mr. So and So' really was.
Kazunari Kuroda - Butterfly Rebellion
Science Fiction Magical Girl Action Comedy. Butterfly Rebellion is the first real success of director Godha 7-1 (Nanaichi Godha), and often considered the strangest of her works. The first episode focused on aspiring politcal hopeful Jin Kurosawa, only to take a ninety degree turn when time travelling delinquent and Jin lookalike Kazunari Kuroda appeared out of nowhere, sending Jin spiralling through time. After that episode, Jin was never mentioned again, apart from for brief gags, as it focused on Kazunari's attempts to destroy Jin's reputation. Just when people were finally getting used to this series, Godha once again defied expectations when it was revealed that Kazunari's time travels had messed with time so much that he had a new fate, that of Magical Girl Anneliese Papillon. The rest of the series bounced between genres, monster of the week, and Kazunari dealing with switching between himself and the Magical Girl.
Nari Kemuri - Sono MendÅ Kitsune! (That Troublesome Kitsune!)
Fantasy Comedy. Nari Kemuri has been causing trouble for the celestial order for quite some time. After having angered Lady Amaterasu one time too many, the field fox is forced to flee to the mortal world. But just because he's in the mortal world, he sees no need to stop having fun. Having moved into a mortal household as a 'pet', Nari sees opportunities to cause chaos and enjoy himself. But what happens when the troublesome fox starts to grow attached to his family, and starts seeing the repercussions for his actions?
Pierre l'Ours - Foreign Exchange Bear
Modern Day Comedy. Some people get normal people for exchange students, but Minako Hayasaka thought she'd lucked out when the gorgeous and talented Pierre l"Ours was placed with her family for his exchange time. Unfortunately for her, she didn't know that Pierre was cursed to turn into a bear at the most inopportune times! Rather than full length episodes, Foreign Exchange Bear episodes tended to run about 10 minutes, often shorts about Minako getting frustrated when the Bear would ruin her chances with Pierre or other boys, or just the general aspects of trying to keep the school from reacting to the bear in the class room. There was also quite a lot derived from Pierre's lack of understanding of Japanese etiquette and limited knowledge of the Japanese accent.
Shizue Tanaka - Being Evil Can't Be This Hard!!
Supernatural Action Comedy. Akuko Amanozako is the daughter of one of the lords of hell, but before she can have any of her own birthright, she has to proof she has what it takes to be a demon. Taking the guise of normal student Shizue Tanaka, she's tasked with taking souls from a high school. Unfortunately for Shizue, being evil keeps turning out harder than she thought, between her elder brother making life difficult to actually becoming friends with some of the local students. While the series was generally light hearted, it did have some darker moments when Shizue's family decided to directly intervene and unleash her demonic potential on the school.
Shogo Asanuma - Cursed Ninja Shogo
Modern Day Fantasy Science Fiction Action. Shogo Asanuma is the son of the head of the Asanuma Ninja Clan, and is ordered to kill a witch. The witch was more prepared than he expected, and she cursed him that whenever he drew blood, he would turn into a mouse. Forced to flee his ninja clan, Shogo goes into hiding as a high school student while trying to find the cure to his curse. When the curse story arc ran it's course, the story took a surprising turn revealing Shogo to in fact be half alien, as was much of his clan. While the school arc was there, it became more about dealing with the attacks by Shogo's former clan and his attempts to defend his friends.
Toson Toru - Psyndicate
Supernatural Drama. Toson Toru is on the run. His family are some of the most dangerous criminals in Japan. To make matters worse, they're all psychic and Toson is no exception. Toson is constantly trying to evade his family and not get drawn in to the criminal underworld. For part of the series there was comic relief in the form of Toson's younger sisters, Sakuriko and Yoshuriko, who were blackmailing Toson to let them enjoy themselves in exchange for not telling the rest of the family. Even this was stripped away late in the series when a psychic hunter rendered Sakuriko braindead and Yoshuriko nearly broken, and then killing Toson several episodes later. As this was the end of the first season, many people did not expect the series to return, but instead it picked up with Toson acting as a ghost, determined to stop his family. It was also at this point Yoshuriko took a more active and protagonistic role.
Yamashita Kazuma - Timewreck
Science Fiction Action Comedy. Yamashita Kazuma and his sister are time travelling assassins for a corporation, tasked with taking out problems before they became problems. Unlike his sister, however, Yamashita had his doubts about the task. When the two of them are assigned to a target in the present day and stranded there, Yamashita tries to adapt to ancient history, often poorly. Part way through the series, however, Yamashita ends up putting a time contract for his sister, resulting in her disappearance. The series cult following was thrown for a loop when it was revealed that neither Yamashita or his sister were human, and questions were raised as to whether the whole thing was real, or just a corporate simulation, as despite Yamashita killing her, his sister kept coming back to kill him. Due to corporate meddling, the series slowly devolved into a looney tunes style rolling battle between Yamashita and his sister, before being cancelled completely.
Yukiko Asahina - Princess Tiger
Modern Day Action Drama Comedy. By the writer and artist team behind 'Being Evil Can't Be This Hard!!', Princess Tiger is a slightly more reality based show about Yukiko Asahina, runaway daughter of the Invincible Tiger King, head of one of Japan's biggest Yakuza families. The series focused on Yukiko as she hopped from town to town and school to school evading her family, with several students getting caught up in her chaotic life. Other recurring characters included her 'fiance' Yamato Majima, son of the head of a rival clan, and Yukiko's somewhat unexpected friend Chie Nagato, who was constantly getting expelled due to Yukiko's dealings with her fathers men. While the series was generally high spirited, it did tend to have darker episodes whenever her father got close. There was also a short lived spinoff series about Yamato and his quest to win Yukiko's heart.
Yuuto Aoi - The Science of Magic
Science Fiction Fantasy Comedy. Yuuto Aoi, honours student at the Intergalactic Academy of Applied Black-Hole Technology, has one last unit to get his degree. Deciding he could take it easy, he chose to study primitive technology, being assigned to some backwater planet. Upon arrival, he found that while the assessment of the planet was valid, they had something no one else in the galaxy did: Magic. The series focused on Yuuto's attempts to understand the culture of the planet, as well as the science behind this 'Magic', and constantly being thwarted by it's incomprehensible nature. Each episode ended with an update Yuuto sent to his professor, which slowly showed that, while Yuuto wasn't necessarily understanding magic, he was starting to better understand the people around him.
Nishiko Matsumoto - Immortals USA (Immortals: Curse of the Cards)
Action Fantasy Comedy. An attempt to bring the Immortals card game to the western market, a short lived animated series was released as 'Immortals: Curse of the Cards'. The series focused on four youths, seeking the 'Immortal Cards' to cure them of various curses. The character of Annaliese Kunze was one of the four, a German princess cursed to turn into a gourd by her true loves distrustful family. The series never really took off and was relocalized into Japan and referred to by fans as 'Immortals USA'. The character of Annaliese Kunze became Nishiko Matsumoto, who turned into a sake gourd instead of just a plant. Fans generally consider it non canon, but humorous references continue to appear.
Ushina Wareta and Beliar - Virus X
Drama Action Mecha. In a world of sentient machines, it is common for a pilot to bond with his mech, to become an unbeatable pair. When Ushina Wareta met Beliar, the two forged a bond like none before them. And then Shai-10 came. The virus drove machines mad, and ruined worlds. When Beliar became infected, Ushina devoted himself to trying to stop the virus, and save his best friend before it's too late. Ushina and Beliar only make cameo appearances in Koutougakkou Academy, via a dimensional tunneler, but some speculate that there may be plans for them to play a bigger role should a sequel occur.
Vigilante Panda and Were-Tiger Cop (1987)
Live Action, Action, Comedy. Yusuke Tora was a normal beat cop until a local maniac freed all the animals from the zoo. During the containment effort, he was bitten by a tiger. The next full moon, he turned into a half man, half tiger hybrid. Unable to safely work, he handed in his badge and gun. And then he met his new partner. Teamed up with a celestial panda cursed by the gods to never rest again until he stopped all crime, Yusuke Tora is finding that where human law ends, the law of the gods begins.
Rated M for Fantasy Violence.
Production Notes:
-The voice actress who plays Shizue Tanaka played Chie Nagato in 'Tiger Princess', which led to the dev team deciding on Yukiko and Shizue's friendship.
-Similarly, the voice actor for Kintaro and the voice actress for Michiko played lovers in the high school drama 'Kategawa Days'. What was initially supposed to be simple flirting blossomed into a full romance storyline.
-The character of Kachiko Shirakawa is an original creation for Koutougakkou Academy, and one of the few not used as the player's choice of character for the game.
-Developers have remained purposefully vague as to which, if any, of the 'Who's Mr. So and So?' anthology chapters they have decided to use.
-Attempting to integrate both Immortals and the OAV required some reworking from the original stories, as such the other two immortals go completely unmentioned in Koutougakkou Academy.
-Characters from some of Mk. I Studios live action projects were once meant to make appearances, but licensing issues regarding likenesses forced the game to use purely animated projects.
-The character of Senzo Shimura originated from Samurai Blood, as a recurring sympathetic rival character for Kintaro. He became popular enough that he gained his own spinoff manga about the search for his body, but is known to be incredibly difficult to unlock in the Koutougakkou Academy game.
-Shinkou Nagase, much like Kachiko Shirakawa, was created for Koutougakkou Academy but designed by the artist for Butterfly Rebellion. and bore many similarities to the character of Jin from that series. Some fans believe that Shinkou's story reflects a 'what could have been', had Jin not been sent spiralling through time and space.
Reviews of the Series:
Samantha Blanch: I cannot tell you how much I love and would watch /all of these/
Robbie Matthews: Noice!
Joshua Smith: Haha.
Robbie Matthews: I particularly like the shows that feel like they have history attached.
Stuart Barrow: This makes me deeply, deeply happy.
Mark Bruckard: need more "like" buttons!
Kane Edwards: Looks like I broke my mouse from clicking 'Like' so much. We need to kickstart this stuff!
James Woodman: This is the best thing I've read in quite a whole.
Stephanie Matthews: If you don't continue, your loyal fans will riot.