Kyou Kara Ore Wa!!

Left to right: Shinji Itou, and Takashi Mitsuhashi.

Kyou Kara Ore Wa!! was a Shonen gag manga that ran from 1988 to 1997. It revolves around two high school boys who decide to become delinquents after transferring to a new school. They meet for the first time on the day before school starts at a salon, where they decide to begin their image change with a new hairstyle, and so begins their journey to become the biggest delinquents Japan has ever seen!

Tropes used in Kyou Kara Ore Wa!! include:
  • Accidental Kidnapping: In Chapter 5, Mitsuhashi finds a little foreign girl on the street and takes her around, unaware that it could be interpreted as a kidnapping until Itou tells him. The situation is made even worse when it turns out that the police is looking for an actual blonde-haired kidnapper is on the loose. Hilarity Ensues, especially in the end when it turns out that the little foreign girl wasn't the girl who was kidnapped, but Mitsuhashi's cousin.
  • Action Girl: Ryouko, Riko and Kyouko.
  • Adventurer Archaeologist: Imai's idea of an archeologist - which is why he wants to be one.
  • Attempted Rape: During the Saipan arc
  • A Friend in Need: Even when you've just been hit by a car, with broken bones and bloody head.
  • Ain't Too Proud to Beg: Mitsuhashi, Itou and some other high profile delinquents.
  • Always Someone Better: Discussed by Yutaka.
  • Anime Hair: Look no further than 1/2 of the Nan High Duo, Shinji Itou.
    • Justified as he's spending a lot of money in hair gel to keep that hairdo.
  • Art Evolution
  • Aw, Look -- They Really Do Love Each Other: Riko and Mitsuhashi may argue a lot and go out their way to irritate one another, but the last arc definitely shows how much they love each other.
  • Badass: Most of the cast qualifies.
  • Bad Liar: Mitsuhashi's father. One time, he lies to his wife and son about how he saved a young girl from a bunch of punks, when in reality, he was the one being harassed and was unbeknownst to him, saved by Mitsuhashi himself.

Mitsuhashi's mother: That kinda sounds...made up...
Mitsuhashi:(thinking) Uh...so pathetic...

  • Band of Brothers: How the Beni High gang sees themselves when they prepared for the assault on Akehisa High.
  • Barehanded Blade Block: Nakano can perform this on small swords and knives.
  • Bash Brothers: Mitsuhashi and Itou are famous as the Nan High duo.
  • Becoming the Mask: Mitsuhashi and Itou started out just pretending to be badass fighters and initially only got out of scraps using Mitsuhashi's dirty tricks but eventually both grew into their new roles.
  • Berserk Button:
    • Don't make fun of Mitsuhashi.
      • Or steal anything from him.
    • Don't hurt Itou's friends. He doesn't think too highly of bullying either.
    • A good way to piss off Imai is by hurting Tanigawa or a female.
    • You're asking for trouble if you make fun of Nakano's height.
    • Delinquents in general seem to be one for Ryou.
  • Big Bad Wannabe: Mitsuhashi's first opponent in his senior year is a new student with a biker helmet, improvised armor made of magazines on his torso and a baseball bat tied up at his arm, who try and fail to take over the school before getting expelled for beating up a teacher. Next time we see him, he's an Akehisa student and the local Butt Monkey, disarmed and with a locket on the helmet.
    • Yuuichi starts out as one, picking on Mitsuhashi, Ito and Imai at once to impress a fellow middle school student. His attempts to get revenge on Mitsuhashi made him wiser, and he became an ally once he enrolled Nan High.
    • Fundoshi Mask has a vendetta against Mitsuhashi for him ruining his life in self-defense, giving him the nickname and forgetting about him before moving to Chiba. All of his attempts have miserably failed.
  • Big Damn Heroes: Nakano does this during the assault on Akehisa.
    • Itou and Mitsuhashi when saving their schoolmates or helping out others.
  • Bitch in Sheep's Clothing: Jun.
  • Blatant Lies: Mitsuhashi blaming Ito for what he did (nobody ever fell for that), or Riko claiming she and Ryo transferred to Nan High because they were getting bullied (Mitsuhashi didn't bought it).
  • Blood Knight: Several of them, Sagara and Nakano being the best examples.
  • Boisterous Bruiser: Imai.
  • Book Dumb: Almost all of the characters.
  • Broke Episode: One for Itou.
  • But for Me It Was Tuesday: Happens frequently to the duo, considering the amount of people they've fought, as well as their carefree attitude.
    • Best shown by Fundoshi (Japanese traditional underwear) Mask: once a feared bully, Mitsuhashi gave him the nickname, ruined his life and made him a Butt Monkey before moving at Chiba, realizing in the process that he could stand up to bullies and thus deciding to become the Blond Devil of Chiba... And yet Mitsuhashi can't remember him, his face, or what he did to him.
    • Sometimes Mitsuhashi feigns having forgot about somebody he previously beated, as shown in one of his early encounters with Imai, where he claimed not remembering him and the author revealed he actually remembered him.
  • Butt Monkey: Poor Imai.
  • Can't Hold His Liquor: Mitsuhashi becomes a nice guy until you touch him, and Itou just falls asleep.
  • Casanova Wannabe: Mitsuhashi may have the looks, but his combat pragmatism and greed ruins his image in the eyes of many young ladies, save for Riko.
  • Characterization Marches On: Just like Itou, Imai refuses to fight like Mitsuhashi does. This becomes weird if you re-read the early chapters and see that he had no problem fighting dirty like every other delinquent, even trying to fight dirtier than Mitsuhashi at one point.
  • Character Development: All of the cast, however Imai is the most triumphant example.
  • Combat Pragmatist: Most of the delinquents in general, but Mitsuhashi is especially not known for being honorable.
    • Sagara turns it Up to Eleven in the last arc by getting someone to beat up Imai, getting everyone from Akehisa to target Mitsuhashi and Itou's friends, attacking an already injured Imai with an iron pipe and running over Nakano and the Nan High Duo with a car.
  • Comedic Sociopathy: DON'T cross Mitsuhashi.
  • Crying Wolf: Mitsuhashi lies so often and so blatantly that he has been accused of things he didn't do, including stealing a wallet Itou found on the road (actually recovered by his owner without telling, as he thought they wouldn't give it back), faking being assaulted by Karuizawa punks when tied up for previous misdemeanours (he was being attacked), kidnapping Riko (who had to save Mitsuhashi from his mother and tell her she went there on her own will) and even two murders (one was actually a guy who had been beated half to death and abandoned in Mitsuhashi's garden, and the other part of a prank from Imai), and never believed when he protested his innocence until he proved the truth.
  • Curb Stomp Battle: This tends to happen to most of the villains who mess with Mitsuhashi and/or Itou.
  • Cute Bruiser: Riko and Ryouko
  • Dark Mistress: Because she hangs out with Mitsuhashi, Riko is treated as such, much to her dismay.
  • Darker and Edgier: The last arc.
    • Saipan arc as well
  • Defeat Means Friendship: After their fight in Kyoto, Nakano grows bored in his own town. After beating up the son of a Yakuza boss, he moves to Chiba to pursue the duo. After several more encounters, they gradually become friendlier with each other.
    • More clearly in Takasaki's arc.
    • Invoked by Koyama: after Imai managed to lift and thrown him, he declared himself friend of Imai because he was stronger.
  • Delinquents
  • Delinquent Hair
  • The Determinator: Itou and Imai.
    • Sagara is a villainous example. No matter how many times Mitsuhashi beat the crap out of him, he still kept trying[1].

Sagara: You're gonna have to kill me to get rid of me!

  • Disguised in Drag: In chapter three, Kyouko and her friends ask Mitsuhashi and Itou to dress up as girls and take care of the delinquents who harass girls at her school everyday.
  • Distaff Counterpart: It would be a safe guess that Ryouko and Shouko were originally created to be this for the Nan High Duo - their Day in The Limelight chapter is even entitled Kyou Kara Atashi Ya![2] - but upon comparison of backstories[3], the trope is clearly subverted.
  • Dodge the Bullet: Mitsuhashi and Itou dodge a bullet shot each from Jun during the Saipan Arc
  • Dragon Ascendant: Sagara.
  • The Dreaded: Kagawa-san, a giant yakuza whose mere appearance is enough to send Mitsuhashi running (usually because Mitsuhashi realizes he has either beaten up a friend of his or accidentally provoked him).
    • Mitsuhashi himself is one: many people tried to pick a fight with him or accidentally provoked him because they hadn't recognized him only to fear for their own lives when they realize who the blond guy was.
  • Dude Looks Like a Lady: Inverted. There are several female delinquents who look like guys.
  • Embarrassing Nickname: A minor character is infamous as Fundoshi (a type of Japanese underwear) Mask due the results of him trying to bully Mitsuhashi before the start of the series, resulting in Mitsuhashi giving him the nickname, ruining his life and getting the idea to try and pretend to be a badass. Of course, Mitsuhashi completely forgot about him.
  • Enemy Mine: The Nan High Duo will occasionally receive help from their "enemies", Imai or Nakano.
  • Everything's Worse with Bears
  • Exact Words: Riko's dojo is challenged by another dojo and the loser must lower their sign (close the dojo). Riko's dojo lost the challenge and literally lowered their sign instead of closing the dojo.
  • Five-Man Band: During the fight with Akehisa:
  • For the Evulz: In one chapter, Mitsuhashi encounters a house robber who robs poor people because it leaves more of an impact on them than if he were to rob the rich.
  • Friendly Enemy: The Nan High Duo develops this with Imai.
    • To a lesser extent, they also develop this with Nakano.
  • Funny Background Event: Chapter 348, page 16. You can see Mitsuhashi in the crowd getting Yakisoba from some guy.
  • Gang of Bullies: Of course there are a few. Bonus points to Akehisa for having the gang include the whole student body and to Hokunei's gang for burning down the school.
  • Generation Xerox: Mitsuhashi gets his greed and Jerkass tendencies from his mother. He looks identical to her too, but it doesn't count as an example since Mitsuhashi's current hairstyle isn't his natural one.
  • Greed: Mitsuhashi is well known as a greedy cheapskate.
    • Once a thief entered his house and stole his wallet, and Mitsuhashi woke up (after previously not waking up at a big noise) and chased him barefoot for about half of the city, with the thief running over walls, using a bike and even resorting to roof hopping before capturing him. The wallet contained 437 yen and a phone card.
  • Groin Attack: One of Mitsuhashi's preferred methods of attacking.
    • He pulled it even on a bear actually a guy who had dressed up as a bear to scare Mitsuhashi and co. away, but Mitsuhashi never found out that.
  • Hair-Trigger Temper: 99.9% of the delinquents will start beating the crap out of you even if so much as look at them funny.
  • Heterosexual Life Partners: Mitsuhashi and Itou, and Imai and Tanigawa.
  • Hot-Blooded: A lot of the cast, but, Itou is known as this even in-story.
  • Hot Mom: Itou's mom. Averted with Imai's and Mitsuhashi's mother.
  • I Know Karate: Several times, delinquents would tell Mitsuhashi and/or Itou that they know karate, boxing, kendo, etc. They go down before they can show off their skills.
  • Important Haircut: How the Nan High Duo got started. Mitsuhashi got a perm and dyed it blond. Itou gels his hair into Anime Hair. The same can be said for Ryouko and Shouko, who cut their hair to become regular girls.
    • In one chapter, Mitsuhashi shaves his father's head in order to create a new "Yakuza-like father" image for him so that Mitsuhashi can be proud of him. It works...until Mitsuhashi's mother starts henpecking him as usual, reverting him back to his regular, timid self.
  • Incredibly Lame Pun: Itou's quite fond of them, in spite of getting regularly hit by Mitsuhashi for them.
  • Informed Ability: Ryou has been training at the Akasaka dojo for about 5 years. Despite having so much experience with fighting under his belt, he gets curbstomped by deliquents on a regular basis.
    • Late into the manga he's managed to defeat some delinquents on his own.
  • Informed Flaw: The Nan High Duo's usual way to insult Imai is to call him a horse or a gorilla. It would be a fitting comparison if they were talking about Imai's mother, but in terms of appearances Imai doesn't look that different from anyone else in the manga.
  • I Surrender, Suckers: Mitsuhashi and some villains.
  • Jerkass: Mitsuhashi.
  • Jerk with a Heart of Gold: Again, Mitsuhashi.
  • Knife Nut: Yanagi
  • Knight Templar Parent: Itou's mother. It's not visible at all times, but telling your 15 years-old son to actually kill a pig using a knife because he can't pretend to be a nice guy and let others do the dirty work when he benefits from it, does seem a little overboard.
  • Legacy Character: Imai tried to make himself one when he had problems with a group of yakuza, ordering Koyama to take over as banchou and 'Imai of Beni High'. When the yakuza beat Koyama up for being Imai and tricking them into thinking he was Imai, Imai returned the banchou to avenge him.
  • Let's Fight Like Gentlemen: Itou prefers to fight this way, but, most of his opponents would rather gang up on him.
  • Lightning Bruiser: Mitsuhashi
  • Like Father, Like Son: Averted in the case of Mitsuhashi, as his father is milquetoast, kind-hearted and unselfish - the exact opposite of him.
  • Live Action Adaptation
  • Lonely Rich Kid: Itou in middle school. Part of the reason why he changed to the delinquent he is now.
  • Loners Are Freaks: It's not so significant as in other series, but Nakano is regarded as creepy by most of the cast.
  • Look Above You: Early in the series, Imai asks to kidnap Riko. Itou comes by and try to stop Imai. Imai tells Itou that there are bigger problems and tells Itou to look at the sun. Itou falls for it.
  • Love Hotels: Izawa's sister was about to enter one in chapter 344
  • Mistaken for Gay: A minor character, Ookuma.
  • Mistaken Identity: The Karuizawa punks mistake Mitsuhashi for Itou and Itou for Mitsuhashi.
  • Mugging the Monster: Not quite mugging, but random punks try to pick fights with members of the Chiba Gang without knowing who they are. Cue the fear when they find out whom they're messing with.
    • There is actual mugging in some chapters.
  • My Friends and Zoidberg: After the gang stormed Akehisa, Tanigawa was forgot in the popular tale. Even Imai forgot he was there too...
  • Nakama
  • Nothing Can Stop Us Now: During the final arc, the elite of the Akehisa attacked Mitsuhashi and Itou, and, upon getting kicked by a theorically immobilized Mitsuhashi, Suenaga cried that the outcome was already obvious in spite of that. Cue Nakano declaring he'd like join Mitsuhashi and Itou.
  • Odd Friendship: Imai and Tanigawa in some cases. Imai's the Boisterous Bruiser banchou at his highschool and the tallest character in the cast to boot. Tanigawa's short and for the most part, a Non-Action Guy.
  • Oh Crap: Many minor villains get this moment when they realize they're picking a fight with Mitsuhashi. Major ones usually get these moments when they realize how bad they're screwed. Most egregious example in the series is the Knife Nut Yanagi, when Mitsuhashi defeats his knives with a table tennis racquet. As he sees that and that Itou, Imai and Nakano are coming for him, he gets the Oh Crap face and runs to the police begging to be jailed.
  • Older Than They Look: Ryou, Riko and Tanigawa are frequently mistaken for junior high or primary school students.
  • Only Six Faces
  • Pint-Sized Powerhouse: While not especially short, Nakano is frequently made fun of for his short stature. Until he gets into a fight that is, where he can stand on equal footing with Mitsuhashi and Itou.
  • The Power of Friendship
  • Real Men Wear Pink: Imai is the big, badass Bancho of Beni High, who reads Shojo manga and gets quite emotional.
  • The Red Baron: Mitsuhashi is known with many names: Blond Devil, Mitsuhashi the Villain, Mitsuhashi the Selfish, The Man Who Always Wins, and Mitsuhashi the Immortal (the latter after he faked being mortally wounded to scare a group of bullies and a fake yakuza into not fighting seriously. When the bullies realized they had been had, the nickname had already stuck).
    • Yuuichi is known as "The Mitsuhashi of Junior High" for a good reason.
  • Retired Badass: Kyouko. She used to be a delinquent, but stopped being one when she became Itou's girlfriend.
  • Running Gag: A few, the most durable being Mitsuhashi taking revenge on teachers by dropping coconuts on them and people wondering where it came from.
  • Saying Sound Effects Out Loud: Nemoto's "gachoon".
  • Serial Escalation: Just look at Mitsuhashi's tricks and schemes. Pops out early when Mitsuhashi defeats an entire school by getting all the thugs in a line and bashing the first causing a domino effect, and once in a while he tops his previous tricks/schemes. His scheme to deal with a visiting Villain with Good Publicity is probably his best, as Mitsuhashi first tracked him by telling the journals a guy looking like him saved his (non existant) little brother, then thanked him publicily before beating him up when nobody looked, waited for him at his own home and, as a finisher, he and Itou tricked him into showing his real personality before his friends, making him lose them.
  • Signature Move: Imai grab peoples' faces and then throwing them.
  • Speak of the Devil: Mitsuhashi has the tendence to appear from nowhere when he's mentioned and the speaker don't want him to. Also, Sagawa can literally summon Mitsuhashi and Itou by crying there're bullies for the latter and offering a toast to the former, causing Itou to turn the corner and Mitsuhashi to jump out from nowhere.
  • Storming the Castle: When The gang goes to Akehisa High to attack the new head.
  • Stout Strength: Beni High's Hayama is rather fat, and is second in strength only to Imai.
  • Summon Bigger Fish: Sagawa has the ability to literally summon Mitsuhashi and Itou out of nowhere. Cue Oh Crap for the ones who got him to do that.
  • Taking the Heat: Riko does this for Mitsuhashi several times. Mitsuhashi does it for Kyouko when she visits Itou's house and breaks a family heirloom vase.
  • Tall, Dark and Bishoujo: Kyouko, Itou's girlfriend.
  • Tempting Fate: Kagawa-san did that the only time Mitsuhashi actually fought him, declaring that Mitsuhashi needed to hit him with a dumptruck to win. Mitsuhashi actually got him ran over by a cargo truck, but whatever...
  • The Thing That Goes Doink: Riko's house.
  • This Is Gonna Suck: Kazuo, Ito's cousin, had been taught by Mitsuhashi how to defend himself from bullies by throwing salt in their eyes and headbutting them into submission, and was forced to go and try it on the first guy he met. He bumbed into Kagawa-san, a big yakuza who always wears Cool Shades, and without even looking threw salt on his sunglasses. As Kagawa-san got pissed, he thought "I'm so screwed".
  • Those Two Guys: Arguably Sagawa and Izawa (their names even rhyme).
  • Too Dumb to Live: Imai, dear god Imai.
  • Took a Level in Badass: Tanigawa during the Saipan arc
  • Tragic Dream: Imai tells everyone that he's going to go to college. Only later does he realize that it is impossible because he's too stupid.
  • Training from Hell: Ito's mother asked Mitsuhashi to train her nephew Kazuo so he wouldn't get bullied anymore. Mitsuhashi's training involved, among the various things, picking a fight with Kagawa-san (accidentally: Mitsuhashi had taught a trick and sent him to try it on the first guy he met, who just happened to be Kagawa-san), with Ito making things even worse with his attempts at protecting him from Mitsuhashi. It worked: after facing Mitsuhashi's attempts at making him a man, Kazuo's bullies were nothing, and got the crap scared out of them when he just smiled at their punches.
  • Trying to Catch Me Fighting Dirty: Mitsuhashi isn't above crotch shots or taping the floor to make your shoes stick.
    • Before facing the Judo champion Takasaki, Mitsuhashi glued himself at the wooden platform where the students changed their shoes to neutralize his throwing moves. Takasaki ended throwing both of them and the platform..
  • Unknown Rival: Perizoma Mask and for a brief time just after his debut arc Nakano
  • The Usual Adversaries: The bullies from Chuu High, often appearing as general troublemakers and punching bags for Mitsuhashi and Itou, and, in one arc, as Koyama's Mooks before he became Imai's friend. They try to fight well, they really try, but when Akehisa's punks want to have some fun the guys from Chuu High find themselves without pants...
  • Vitriolic Best Buds: Mitsuhashi and Itou, and Mitsuhashi and Imai at times.
  • Weak but Skilled: Ryou is skilled at Martial Arts, but, his short stature and lack of strength don't pan out well for him when he fights.
  • What an Idiot!: In-universe Example. Imai is known as the Idiot Banchou of Beni High. Even Imai acknowledges this himself.
  • What Does She See in Him?: Both an in-universe and out of universe example with Riko's attraction to Mitsuhashi. Even she's not so sure herself.
  • What the Hell, Hero?: A common reaction to some of Mitsuhashi's schemes.
  • Whip It Good: Imai once used a whip to counter Mitsuhashi because he thought he could whip faster than Mitsuhashi's attacks. Of course it worked, but it was Played for Laughs and Imai ended up whipping Mitsuhashi on the streets, causing bystanders to think they were SM performers.
    • He tries using them again 32 chapters later.
  • Wholesome Crossdresser: In one of the early chapters, Mitsuhashi and Itou disguise themselves as girls to help out Kyoko and her friends.
  • Why Did It Have To Be Ghosts?: Mitsuhashi's great fear are ghosts and youkai. Not that using it against him will work...
  • Window Pain: The Karuizawa punks throws a rock through Mitsuhashi's window with a note taped to it.
  • The Worf Effect: Unfortunately for Imai, he frequently gets trounced by the current arc's villains to show off how powerful they are. Imai can usually get in a few good hits, but, you can tell how dangerous someone is if he is completely helpless, and gets used as a punching bag.
    • Also goes for Itou as well in some arcs.
  • Would Hit a Girl: Many of the delinquents would do this. One one occasion, Itou was about to hit a girl for good reasons, but not before giving a warning
  • Yakuza
  • Zerg Rush: Akehisa prefers this method to deal with enemies, and was in full effect during the assault on their school.

From Today On, It's My Turn!!

  1. ↑ That is, until the end of last arc, when he promises never to show his face again after the Nan High Duo beat him yet again.
  2. ↑ which has the same meaning in English as "Kyou Kara Ore Wa", only in a feminine form of speech
  3. ↑ The duo were regular boys who got their Important Haircut to become delinquents, while the girls were deliquents who got their hairstyles to become regular girls
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