Gangsta

Gangsta is a Seinen action manga written and drawn by Kosuke. It's set in a possibly Mediterranean country and follows the exploits of two Neighborhood Friendly Gangsters, Nicolas and Worick. You see, Nicolas and Worick are "Benriya," ("utility man") bodyguards-for-hire. They take jobs from gangs to prostitutes to cops and everyone in between. While on a job, they cross paths with Alex, a former prostitute and hire her as their secretary.

Not to be confused with Gangsta Style, Neighborhood Friendly Gangsters or Damn, It Feels Good to Be a Gangster!, though that pops up quite a lot.

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Tropes used in Gangsta include:

• Abusive Parents: Worick's father put a lit cigarette out in Worick's eye. It's implied that Nicolas killed him for it.
  • Nicolas' dad isn't such a nice guy either.
• Affably Evil: Most of the gangsters we see.
• All of the Other Reindeer: Most people do not like the Koukin ("Twilight") species. Not helped by the fact that most of the Koukin we've seen have been violent, if not just jerks.
• As Long as It Sounds Foreign: In the beginning it seems as though all the action is happening in a Mediterranean country, with Italian (especially) and Greek naming conventions prominent; however, there are odd names out, such as Cody, and in chapter 8 a man is seen passing what look like American hundred dollar bills, with the vague profile of Ben Franklin on them.
• Audience Surrogate: Alex. Also, the Unfazed Everyman.
• Awesome McCoolname: Worick Arcangelo.
• Ax Crazy: Nicolas in all probability and all other members of the Koukin.
• Badass: Nicolas, for sure. Worick also has his moments.
  • Badass in a Nice Suit: Oh, so many.
  • Badass Long Hair: Worick.
  • Handicapped Badass: Worick's missing an eye and Nicolas is deaf.
• Bad Boss: A B-level Koukin smashes one of his underlings into a wall when he tells him some bad news.
  • And then that Koukin is killed by his boss.
• Bad Dreams: Daydreams, Alex is having them, thanks to Psycho Serum.
• The Baroness: Paul Klee has this vibe.
• Berserk Button: Badmouthing Nicolas is one way to make Worick consider attacking an unarmed woman.
• Boobs of Steel: Ginger.
• Broken Bird: Alex, being a former prostitute.Though considering her daydream nightmare about Barry, there's more to it than that.
• The Chick: Alex.
• Child Soldiers: Nicolas.
• Chivalrous Pervert: Worick. It's one of the reasons he convinced Nicolas to spare Alex.
• Comedic Sociopathy: Dr. Theo trying to stab Nicolas with a poisoned syringe for letting his hospital get damaged by the black Koukin man.
• Cool Old Guy: Chad the police officer and Monroe the mafioso.
  • Worick and Nic are in their 30's so technically they are too.
• Cool Old Lady: Big Mama Georgiana, the head of the Corsica family. She's even nice to Nic.
• Damn, It Feels Good to Be a Gangster!
• Dark and Troubled Past
• Deadly Doctor: Dr. Theo may be missing a few fingers but he is not to be messed with. And stay away from Nina.
• Defrosting Ice King: It's been a while since Nic has been around a woman for long stretches of time and it shows.
• Deliberately Cute Child: Doug, a Twilight wielding kukris, who (of course) isn't actually a child.
• Dope Slap
• Dynamic Entry: Hi, Nic.
• Early Installment Weirdness: Remember when Nic beheaded someone in the first chapter? Yeah, so do I.
• Eyepatch of Power: Worick.
  • Eye Scream: We're treated a brief flashback of how he lost it. Charming.
• Fallen Prince: Worick.
• A Father to His Men: Monroe.
• Feel No Pain: Nicolas sometimes takes an overdose of his Koukin meds to give himself an edge over his opponents.
• Female Gaze: Hello, Nicolas and Worick.
• Fingore: Happened to Dr. Theo at some point, as he's missing his pinky and ring finger on one of his hands.
• Foreshadowing: In chapter 12, Worick can be seen reading Hamlet.
• The Gadfly: Worick and Nicolas sometimes just delight in annoying people.
• Gender Blender Name: Paul Klee, the head of the city's Twilight guild, is a woman.
• Get a Hold of Yourself, Man!: Worick has to headbutt Alex to keep her from going into hysterics as a result of her Psycho Serum.
• Girl with Psycho Weapon: Doug is a Boy with a Psycho Weapon.
• The Gunslinger: Worick, despite his handicap.
• Harmful to Minors: Alex is annoyed that Nina knows EXACTLY what Worick's day job is.
  • Speaking of Worick, he's been doing it since he was THIRTEEN YEARS OLD. Not to mention he's an orphan whose family died horribly.
  • Nicolas is a former child soldier.
• Hand Signals: Nicolas communicates almost entirely in sign language. Alex and Nina are currently learning it.
• Hooker with a Heart of Gold: Alex used to be this. Gender-inverted in Worick; he's a Gigolo with a Heart of Gold. He's quite popular too.
• Ill Girl:The Koukin girl Big Mama is housing at the brothel.
• In a Single Bound: Twilights are fond of doing this.
• Inscrutable Oriental: Nic.
• Jerk with a Heart of Gold: Nicolas.
• Katanas Are Just Better: Nicolas wields one.
• Knight of Cerebus: The plot finally arrived when Doug showed up.
• Kukris Are Kool: Doug the Twilight.
• Lamarck Was Right: Twilights are most often the children and descendants of Celebre users. Celebre was a body modification drug created during wartimes to enhance strength, speed and agility, all of which it did, at the cost of being mostly toxic in large or repeated dosages. Besides gaining physical strength similar to their parents, Twilights are most often affected by genetic, mental and physical deficiencies and are not particularly long-lived (hence the name "Twilight"). Because a Twilight must take Celebre to control their withdrawal symptoms, it's assumed that if a Twilight has children, they will also be Twilights.
• Lethal Chef: Do NOT let Nicolas in your kitchen.
• Long-Haired Pretty Boy: Worick.
• The Mafia
• Male Gaze: Planted firmly on Alex.
• The Medic: Dr. Theo and Nina.
• Meganekko: Ginger.
• Morality Pet: Nina to Nicolas.
• Mr. Fanservice: Worick. Also Nicolas, to a certain extent.
• Ms. Fanservice: Alex.
• Naive Newcomer: Cody the police officer.
• The Napoleon: While not a midget, Nicolas is shorter than most of the other men in the manga. Mentioning it doesn't send him into a violent rage but it does annoy him. He certainly doesn't like women taller than he is.
  • Doug, the kukri-wielding Twilight is either a midget or a short older teen. Either way, he's a total badass.
• Neighborhood Friendly Gangsters: Everywhere, including Worick and Nicolas.
• Older Than They Look: Nicolas points out that he hasn't changed much physically since he was 17.
  • Surprise, that kukri-wielding Twilight is an adult!
• Omake: So far, about the cast taking care of a baby sparrow.
• OOC Is Serious Business: Did Nicolas just speak? Has Worick stopped acting like a Handsome Lech? SHIT JUST GOT REAL.
• Photographic Memory: Worick. After flipping through a book of crime scene notes, he proceeds to rattle off various details about the people in them shown dismembered.
• Pint-Sized Powerhouse: Nicolas is the most powerful member of the main cast. He is also the shortest man in it.
  • Lightning Bruiser: Of the Hard-Hitting Speedster variety.
• Posthumous Character: Worick's wealthy family.
• Psycho Serum: What goes into making a Twilight it seems, making them more or less superpowered ill girls and boys.
  • Barry used this to control his prostitutes, notably Alex.
• Red Right Hand: Tagged people and their...tags.
• Scary Black Man: The B-level Koukin. He also has Super Strength.
• Sexy Secretary: Alex's job.
• She Is Not My Girlfriend: Inverted. When Alex goes out on a errand with Nic, an old lady asks why she (a former hooker) is still hanging around with Benriya. Nic says because "She's my woman." He's lying for the sake of simplicity though.^[1]
• Shrinking Violet: Nina, awwwww. Also Ginger the Twilight, but she's still a Twilight.
• The Silent Bob: Nicolas, who usually communicates using sign language and hand gestures. He can talk but being deaf, he'd rather not.
• Silent Snarker: Nicolas, constantly.
• Slasher Smile: If you see either Worick or Nic sporting one, that's your cue to run. Run fast.
• Sociopathic Hero: Nicolas again.
  • Heroic Comedic Sociopath: Whenever it's funny.
• Stoic Spectacles: Dr. Theo, unless you damage his hospital.
• Super Speed: All Twilights to some degree, along with Super Strength. Ginger is known for her speed.
• Tattooed Crook: Worick and Nicolas have tribal tattoos on the back of their necks.
• Team Dad: Chad. We even see him patching Nicolas up in a flashblack, just like you'd expect a father to.
  • Monroe is this to his group, the Cristianos.
• Those Two Bad Guys: Worick and Nicolas before Alex came along.
• Thou Shalt Not Kill Muggles: The cornerstone of the "Three Principles" that all Twilights in the city live with.
• "Three Laws"-Compliant: Non-robotic version, the "Three Principles" for Twilights that Danny Monroe set up.
  • Twilights must not intentionally kill humans.
  • Twilights must obey an order given to them by a human, so long as it doesn't conflict with Article 1.
  • A Twilight has the right to defend its own existence, so long as it doesn't conflict with Articles 1 and 2.
• Two Guys and a Girl
• Tsundere: Alex, Type B. Mostly to Worick.
• Underestimating Badassery: When the B-level Koukin threatens Nicolas. Nicolas is, for the record, an A-level Koukin. Guess what happens.
  • Doug underestimates Delico, who is a D-level Koukin because Doug himself is an A-level. This is played with because while Doug is mostly right, Delico manages to disrupt Doug's attempts on Monroe's life long enough for Nicolas to show up.
• Vocal Dissonance: Evil Sounds Deep, doesn't it, Doug?
• The Watson: Alex, again.
• What Measure Is a Non-Human?: At work with the Twilights, though technically they ARE human too.
• Wretched Hive: Elgastorm is not a happy place to live.
• Woman in Black: Alex, when she goes out with the boys on official assignments.
• Would Hit a Girl: Nic suggested killing Alex in the first chapter. Worick talks him out of it. Implied to be what happened to the Koukin girl Veronica.
• You Have Failed Me...: The B-level Koukin is killed by his boss for failing to kidnap Dr. Theo.

1. ↑ Probably. Maybe.