Tottemo! Luckyman

Tottemo! Luckyman (とっても！ラッキーマン, Tottemo! Rakkīman, lit. "Absolutely! Luckyman") is a Japanese manga series written and illustrated by Hiroshi Gamo. It ran in the shōnen anthology magazine Weekly Shōnen Jump. Running between August 1993 and July 1997, The series is focused on the adventures of a bizarre superhero and his fights against various aliens and other enemies threatening the planet Earth.

Tottemo! Luckyman
Cover of the first tankōbon volume, published by Shueisha in February 1994.
とっても！ラッキーマン (Tottemo! Rakkīman)
Genre	Action, comedy[1]
Manga
Written by	Hiroshi Gamo
Published by	Shueisha
Imprint	Jump Comics
Magazine	Weekly Shōnen Jump
Demographic	Shōnen
Original run	August 16, 1993 – July 7, 1997
Volumes	16
Anime television series
Directed by	Osamu Nabeshima
Produced by	Keisuke Iwata Kyotaro Kimura Michiyuki Honma
Written by	Yoshio Urasawa
Music by	Yusuke Honma
Studio	Pierrot
Original network	TV Tokyo
Original run	April 6, 1994 – March 23, 1995
Episodes	50
Game
Tottemo! Luckyman: Everyone Loves Lucky Cookie!!
Developer	Bandai
Publisher	Bandai
Platform	Game Boy
Released	September 22, 1994
Game
Tottemo! Luckyman: Lucky Cookie Roulette Assault!!
Developer	Bandai
Publisher	Bandai
Platform	Super Famicom
Released	June 30, 1995

A fifty-episode anime television series adaptation by Pierrot was broadcast on TV Tokyo between April 1994 and March 1995. Two video games Game Boy and Super Famicom consoles have been released and the titular character Luckyman is featured in Jump crossover video games Jump Ultimate Stars and J-Stars Victory VS.

Plot

Yōichi Tsuitenai was the unluckiest boy in his hometown. Until one day, his luck truly ran out when he was crushed by an alien spaceship, killing him. But, in this time of need, he was discovered by the great super hero of the cosmos, Lucky Man, who fused with him giving him the power to turn into the universe's luckiest superhero. But now Yōichi, as Luckyman, must defend the Earth from aliens invading to conquer it, with the help of his sidekick, Doryokuman, their friend Superstarman, and three others, Shoriman, Yujoman, and Tensaiman.

Characters

Best 16 Super Heroes

The Best 16 Super Heroes (ナイナイシックスティーン, Nai Nai Shikkusutīn), is an elite team of 16 special heroes assembled by the chairman of the Hero Committee, an organization for super heroes, located on a hero-populated planet called the Hero Star. The team is formed up of the main team of six heroes selected by the Chairman as elites to fight aliens on earth, and 10 contestants from the 1053rd Hero Tournament that all won. "Nai-nai" is an onomatopoeia for the sound created when the 16 heroes all fire their beams at something.

Luckyman/Yōichi Tsuitenai

Voiced by: Mayumi Tanaka

Luckyman (ラッキーマン, Rakkīman)/Yōichi Tsuitenai (追手内洋一, Tsuitenai Yōichi) is the luckiest person in the whole entire universe. Although he is a super hero, he doesn't actually have any strength or speed, but instead relies on luck alone to win his fights. All of his attacks are all super slow, but they end up doing a lot of harm because something lucky always happens. Luckyman needs the presence of a shining star, the Lucky Star, in order for his luck to happen, in other words when it is a cloudy day or when the Lucky Star's presence doesn't reach him, he gets terrible luck and ends up on the verge of death. Lucky Man's appearance is a parody of Ultraman. He has the kanji "Great Luck (大吉, daikichi)" emblazoned on his chest (Great luck, the top lucky fortune you can get at a Buddhist temple) and has a Chabashira (standing tea stalk in a teacup) on his forehead, another Japanese symbol of great luck.

In order for Yōichi to transform into Lucky Man, he needs to swallow a "rakkyô" (a special pickled garlic clove infused with the power of good luck). "Rakkyô" sounds like "Rakki", or "Lucky".

Doryokuman/Doryoku Sugita

Voiced by: Shigeru Chiba

Doryokuman (努力マン)/Doryoku Sugita (杉田努力, Sugita Doryoku) is Luckyman's loyal sidekick and pupil, and always praises Luckyman's work, even though it's because of his luck. He refers to Lucky Man as "Shissho" (しっしよ), or "Master". He wears a pair of geta sandals made out of tofu, however because he concentrated over a thousand bricks of tofu, the sandals are extremely hard and heavy. Also since he wears the sandals everyday, his legs are very fast and strong. He has a red, tear-shaped container on his head which is actually an emergency blood supply, in case he loses a lot of blood. "Doryoku" means "effort".

It was later revealed that he has two big brothers, named Yūjōman and Shōriman. Together, they are commonly referred to as the Doryoku Sankyōdai (努力三兄弟). It was also later revealed that unlike Luckyman, who is an earthling, The Doryoku Sankyōdai are actually alien super heroes disguised as earthlings, who come from the Hero Planet, a planet full of floating cars and crystalline buildings entirely populated by alien super heroes, and home to the Hero Committee, and its elite team of heroes (later revealed to be called "The Best 16 Super Heroes").

In order for Doryoku to transform into Doryokuman, he needs to write "Doryoku" ("effort") on a piece of paper and stick it on his chest.

Superstarman/Tagaru Medachi

Voiced by: Tetsuya Iwanaga

Superstarman (スーパースターマン, Sūpāsutāman)/Tagaru Medachi (目立たがる, Medachi Tagaru) , like Luckyman, is an earthing super hero, that resembles a pop star. He doesn't have any powers whatsoever, however even though he can't do anything he still tries to upstage Luckyman and Doryokuman when they are fighting aliens. He was originally a human, but when Luckyman and Doryokuman became famous for fighting aliens, he wanted a piece of the fame too, so he got himself surgery and became Superstarman. He is always beaten to a bloody pulp by enemies and friends alike when he gets too annoying, although for some reason he always recovers, and tries to upstage everyone again. It is revealed later that when he received surgery to become Superstarman, his body's cell regeneration rate got an incredible boost, and instead of his cell dividing from 1 to 2 and 2 to 4 his cells divided at a rate of 1 to 64. Because of this, he is pretty much semi-immortal, since he can heal before anyone can kill him.

In order for Tagaru to transform into Superstarman, he needs to wear a special bow tie that flips his eyes sideways, called a "Medachi Tie". "Medachi" literally means "vertical eye", although the term "Medachitai" literally means "I want fame".

Shōriman/Shōri Isono

Voiced by: Toshiyuki Morikawa

Shōriman (勝利マン)/Shōri Isono (磯野勝利, Isono Shōri) is the older brother of both Doryokuman and Yūjōman, making him the oldest of the Doryoku Sankyōdai. He has never lost at anything, be it a fighting match or rock, paper, scissors. He promised himself that the day he loses will be the day he dies. When Doryokuman was a child, Shōriman framed Doryokuman for cheating in a match, but that was only because he promised their mom that he will never allow Doryokuman to become a super hero. He is a great chef when it comes to making pork chops, also he has a pocket with infinite spaces on his back. He has a fear of dumplings ever since Doryokuman tried to make them. The dumplings tasted horrible, however Shōriman didn't want to hurt his feelings, so he said he liked them. After that, Doryokuman just kept making them for every meal and Shōriman just kept eating them until finally one day he collapsed, he never touched another dumpling again. There is a tiny, silver man on the winning pedestal on his head named Katsutoshi-kun (勝利くん). "Shōri" means "victory".

In order for Shōri to transform into Shōriman, he needs to make the perfect pork chops and then stick it on his ears.

Yūjōman/Yūjō Atsui

Voiced by: Kazue Ikura

Yūjōman (友情マン)/Yūjō Atsui (厚井友情, Atsui Yūjō) is the second oldest of the Doryoku Sankyōdai. He is extremely friendly and is able to make friends where ever he goes. He usually doesn't fight himself and gets one of his friends to do all the work for him. When he is forced into a fight he is able to switch to Demon-mode and becomes as strong as Shōriman or Tensaiman. "Yūjō" means "friendship".

In order for Yūjō to transform into Yūjōman, he needs to call up his friends and make them dress him up as his super form.

Tensaiman/Tensai Umaretsuki

Voiced by: Tomokazu Seki

Tensaiman (天才マン)/Tensai Umaretsuki (生月天才, Umaretsuki Tensai), as his name suggests, is a born genius, and just as strong. He is also incredibly handsome. He has a hair cut similar to Cyborg 009, with a moon and star on the right side of his face. The moon and star have the power to completely obliterate anything in its path. He and Shōriman appear to be extreme rivals, on and off the battle field. He was also the leader of the Yubi Rangers, Oya Yubi Gunjo, and was a part of Hitman's team. "Tensai" means "genius"

In order for Tensai to transform into Tensaiman, he needs to say something really, really smart and then a beam of light hits him and he transforms.

Hero Committee Chairman

Voiced by: Jōji Yanami

The Hero Committee Chairman (ヒーロー協会会長, Hīrō Kyōkai Kaichō), as the name suggests, is the chairman of the Hero Committee (an association for super heroes), and also a certified super-hero (called "Ultra Hissatsu Special Man"). His eyes, nose and mouth respectively look like the katakana symbols エ, ラ, and イ.

Ippiki Okamiman

Ippiki Okamiman (一匹狼マン) is a hero who resembles a werewolf, hence his name, which means "lonely wolf". Before he became a hero he once got talked into jumping off a cliff by someone who was heavily implied to be Luckyman. After that incident he became distrustful towards everyone around him, until he met Yūjōman. He is the fastest hero in the Best 16 Super Heroes.

Otoko no Roman

Otoko no Roman (男のロ・マン) is a completely black-and-white hero that looks like a drawing on a post card. He is considered to be the weakest member of the Best 16 Super Heroes besides Superstarman.

Pashiri No.1

Voiced by: Kōsuke Okano

Pashiri No.1 (パシリ1号, Pashiri Ichi-gō), formerly Speedman (スピードマン, Supīdoman), is a hero who resembles an anthropomorphic rocket. He used to be Koyubi Green if the Yubi Rangers. He is now the only surviving Yubi Ranger along with Tensaiman, whom he calls "Aniki" (兄貴). After he lost in a race against Ippiki Okamiman, nobody allowed him to call himself Speedman since he's not the fastest. He became Pashiri No.1 after that.

Sei Raman

Sei Raman (聖・ラマン) is, despite her name, the sole heroine of the Best 16 Super Heroes. She has hair that looks like the ocean. Her name is a combination of "sei" (saint) and "seira", the phonetic Japanese word for "sailor". She originally entered the hero tournament disguised as a male hero called "Sailor Man", because the tournament originally didn't allow women.

Shūseiman

Shūseiman (修正マン) uses correction fluid to white out injuries on damaged heroes, and occasionally as a weapon. Because of this, he is considered to be the doctor of the Best 16 Super Heroes. "Shūsei" means "correction".

Niceman

Niceman (ナイスマン, Naisuman) is considered to be the "nicest guy in the universe". Niceman has a habit of pointing to the "Nice" embossed on his suit.

Topman

Topman (トップマン, Toppuman) wears crowns all over his body. He is often considered Niceman's rival, and vice versa.

Spademan

Spademan (スペードマン, Supēdoman) uses cards as his weapon. He was once pitted against Yūjōman in a fight but rather than hand to hand combat, Spademan challenged him to a game of Old Maid instead. By recruiting Luckyman into his team and using his luck, Yūjōman easily won against Spademan. However, Spademan argues that the match was just practice and that the next game is the real one. Yūjōman keeps winning the following matches and Spademan keeps using the same excuse to continue the match. The match soon turned into a game of endurance where both players couldn't eat or sleep. When Yūjōman gave him the correct card he needed to win, he fell unconscious. Yūjōman lost the card game, but won the fight. Spademan can sometimes predict the future using his cards, but it rarely works.

Kyūseishuman

Kyūseishuman (救世主マン) is a ninja-like hero that came from the other side of the universe. He has the ability to create black holes in which he uses to imprison opponents and as a portal for teleportations. "Kyūseishu" means "messiah".

Yonaoshiman/Yotchan

Voiced by: Chafurin

Yonaoshiman (世直しマン)/Yotchan (よっちゃん) originally was an alien that came from a poverty filled planet, his family was killed 300 million years ago. Since then, he wears an armor in order to hide the scars that he got on his home planet. He was originally a righteous hero, and was friends with who is now known today as the Hero Committee Chairman, but betrayed the Hero Committee when his friend was chosen as the chairman and he not. After having a battle with Luckyman inside a rocket that hurdled towards the sun, he was killed. He was brought back to life as "Yonaoshiman SZG", and became friends with the Chairman again. "Yonaoshi" means "world reformation". Throughout half of the series, he wore a disguise and called himself "Yotchan", and claimed his place as the main super villain of the series. Yotchan has 2 different designs.

Other characters

Lucky-Wan

Voiced by: Toshiharu Sakurai

Lucky-Wan (ラッキーワン, Rakkīwan) is Luckyman's pet super-dog. Like his master, he doesn't have much fighting power either, and relies on his luck to win. He only appeared for 3 comics before being permanently replaced by Doryokuman as Luckyman's sidekick.

Hishoka

Hishoka (ひしょ香) is the Hero Committee Chairman's secretary. She has a huge crush on Tensaiman.

Sanbonbashiraman

Voiced by: Chafurin

Sanbonbashiraman (三本柱マン) is the father of the Doryoku Sankyōdai. He looks like a combination between the three.

Slimeman

Slimeman (スライムマン, Suraimuman) is a hero made of green slime that, like all the other members of Yotchan's team, are actually villains. He is also Kusuri Yubi Yellow of the Yubi Rangers.

Powerman

Powerman (パワーマン, Pawāman) is a very big and strong villain who plays it rough. He is also Naka Yubi Red of the Yubi Rangers.

Kōtetsuman

Kōtetsuman (鋼鉄マン) is a rather small, cylindrical villain made out of steel, who can dig very deep for minerals. He is also Hitosashi Yubi Blue of the Yubi Rangers.

Miyo Kireida

Voiced by: Naoko Matsui

Miyo Kireida (奇麗田見代, Kireida Miyo), also called Mitchan (みっちゃん), is a beautiful little girl from the school Yoichi goes to. Because Yoichi is unlucky, Mitchan absolutely hates him, but loves him when he is Luckyman.

Desuyo Busaiku

Voiced by: Urara Takano

Desuyo Busaiku (不細工です代, Busaiku Desuyo) is another girl from Yoichi's school, who is rather big and ugly in appearance, in sharp contrast to Mitchan. Also unlike Mitchan, Desuyo is absolutely in love with Yoichi. This is another sign of Yoichi's bad luck.

Ikuzou Mini

Voiced by: Chafurin

Ikuzou Mini (身仁育三) is a greengrocer he supports lucky man with Umatarou and Gakudai.

Umatarou Yaji

Voiced by: Kenichi Ogata

Umatarou Yaji (屋治馬駄朗, Yaji Umatarou) is owner of a ramen shop.

Gakudai Ken

Voiced by: Mitsuaki Madono

Gakudai Ken (見学大) is a salaryman.

Kuro Tsuitenai

He is father Yoichi he buys something which give luck to lucky. He is always wearing some luck clothes.

Masami Tsuitenai

She is mother and has similar habits like her husband.

Hitoshi Busaiku

He is father of Desuyo.

Ayako Busaiku

She is mother of Desuyo.

Daisuke Hitoshi

Teacher of Yoichi's School.

Otete Sentai Yubi Ranger

Otete Sentai Yubi Ranger (お手手戦隊指レンジャー) are the five villains in Yotchan's team also fight in cylindrical metal suits, each of a different color, and act as fingers for a giant hand. "Yubi" means "finger". Eventually, these characters all die, except for Tensaiman, Speedman, and Yotchan (Yonaoshiman).

Koyubi Green

Koyubi Green (小指グリーン, Koyubi gurīn), Speedman/Pashiri No. 1. He has a green suit and acts as the pinky finger.

Kusuri Yubi Yellow

Kusuri Yubi Yellow (薬指イエロー, Kusuriyubi Ierō), Slimeman. He has a yellow suit and acts as the ring finger.

Hitosashi Yubi Blue

Hitosashi Yubi Red (人差し指レッド, Hitosashiyubi reddo), Kotetsuman. He has a blue suit and acts as the middle finger.

Naka Yubi Red

Naka Yubi Blue (中指ブルー, Naka Yubi Burū), Powerman. He has a red suit and acts as the index finger.

Oya Yubi Gunjō

Oya Yubi Gunjō (親指グンジョー), Tensaiman. He is the leader of the Yubi Rangers. He wears an ultramarine suit and acts as the thumb.

Media

Manga

Tottemo! Luckyman's first appearance in Weekly Shōnen Jump issue 35 in 1993.

Main article: List of Tottemo! Luckyman chapters

Tottemo! Luckyman is written and illustrated by Hiroshi Gamo. A pilot chapter was published in the 1993 17th issue of Shueisha's Weekly Shōnen Jump published on April 12, 1993. The regular serialization started in the 35th issue of the magazine on August 16, 1993, and it finished in the 30th issue of July 7, 1997.[2] Shueisha compiled the individual chapters into sixteen tankōbon volumes published between February 9, 1994 and October 8, 1997.[3][4] On June 29, 2012, Shueisha published eight volumes of the series in a digital format.[5][6]

Anime

A fifty-episode anime television series adaptation produced by Pierrot was broadcast on TV Tokyo. The series aired from April 6, 1994 to March 23, 1995. [7][8]

Video games

A video game entitled Tottemo! Luckyman: Everyone Loves Lucky Cookie!! (とっても！ラッキーマン　ラッキークッキーみんな大好きー！！, Tottemo! Rakkīman: Rakkī Kukkī Minna Daisukī!!, "Absolutely! Luckyman: Everyone Loves Lucky Cookie!!") for Game Boy was developed by Bandai and released on September 22, 1994. Another video game entitled Tottemo! Luckyman: Lucky Cookie Roulette Assault!! (とっても！ラッキーマン　ラッキークッキールーレットで突撃ー！！, Tottemo! Rakkīman: Rakkī Kukkī Rūretto de Totsugekī!!, "Absolutely! Luckyman: Lucky Cookie Roulette Assault!!") for Super Famicom was also developed by Bandai and released on June 30, 1995.

Luckyman is a playable character in two Jump crossover fighting games, Jump Ultimate Stars for Nintendo DS, released on November 23, 2006,[9] and J-Stars Victory VS for the PlayStation 3, PlayStation 4 and PlayStation Vita, released March 19, 2014 in Japan,[10] June 26, 2015 in Europe and June 30, 2015 in North America.[11] This marks the first release of Tottemo! Luckyman material outside Japan. The English title of the manga is officially given in the game as Such a Luckyman!.

References

1. "LUCKY MAN". Pierrot. Archived from the original on August 6, 2018. Retrieved August 6, 2018.
2. 週刊少年ジャンプ　とってもラッキーマン(ガモウひろし). Media Arts Database (in Japanese). Agency for Cultural Affairs. Archived from the original on May 4, 2019. Retrieved May 6, 2019.
3. "とっても!ラッキーマン(ジャンプ・コミックス)1". Media Arts Database (in Japanese). Agency for Cultural Affairs. Archived from the original on May 6, 2019. Retrieved May 6, 2019.
4. "とっても!ラッキーマン(ジャンプ・コミックス)16". Media Arts Database (in Japanese). Agency for Cultural Affairs. Archived from the original on May 6, 2019. Retrieved May 6, 2019.
5. とっても！ラッキーマン 1 (in Japanese). Shueisha. Retrieved May 6, 2019.
6. とっても！ラッキーマン 8 (in Japanese). Shueisha. Retrieved May 6, 2019.
7. とっても!ラッキーマン. Media Arts Database (in Japanese). Agency for Cultural Affairs. Retrieved May 6, 2019.
8. とっても！ラッキーマン (in Japanese). Pierrot. Retrieved May 6, 2019.
9. "JUMP ULTIMATE STARS とっても！ラッキーマン" (in Japanese). Nintendo. Retrieved May 6, 2019.
10. Loo, Egan (February 12, 2014). "Haikyu, Dr. Slump, Bobobo-bo Join J-Stars Victory Vs. Game". Anime News Network. Retrieved May 6, 2019.
11. Loo, Egan (June 27, 2015). "J-Stars Victory VS+ Game's English Video Showcases 'Fighting Stars'". Anime News Network. Retrieved May 6, 2019.

External links

• Official Tottemo! Luckyman website at Pierrot (in Japanese)
• Tottemo! Luckyman (manga) at Anime News Network's encyclopedia