Happy Birthday Saki the Second!

Today (May 20th) is Yoko Godai/Saki Asamiya II's birthday. I'm celebrating by watching some Sukeban Deka 2. Happy birthday Saki!

What about the Sukeban Deka Anime and Manga? Or, Comparing Different Versions of Sukeban Deka

 

You may be wondering at this point why, if I'm such a fan of of Sukeban Deka, don't I post about the anime, manga or OVA.

Before I even started watching the show, I did a lot of research to figure out if it was something I would like. So of course I found information on all of the forms of media.

The manga and anime seem to be very similar as far as I know, so for simplicity's sake I'll group them together here.

We know that the reason Saki agreed to be recruited as Sukeban Deka was because the death row execution of her mom, Natsu, would be postponed and possibly canceled. Natsu was incarcerated on the charge of killing her husband, Saki's father.

Natsu is a completely different character in the TV show than in the anime/manga. Anime/manga Natsu abused and hates Saki, preferring her sister. Miyuki, and does various things to have Saki killed. I don't get why Saki even wants to save her.

Natsu is the TV show is the opposite. She truly does love Saki and never killed her husband, although after years in jail she's started to believe she did and declines to see Saki because of that guilt. It makes sense that Saki would want to save her, not just to prove her mother's innocence but also to reconcile. I think that this was a beneficial change, and I applaud the writers of the TV show for it. Saki's sister, Miyuki, also doesn't exist in the TV show.

Saki herself is rougher and meaner in the anime/manga, which is to be expected considering her life was harder than TV Saki's (if that's possible--!!). The panel above isn't a good example of that, I just liked it.

Manga/anime Sanpei also is more obsessed with Saki than in the TV show. He literally shaves his head when she says she doesn't like guys with long hair. Fans of this site know how much I love TV Sanpei, so it seems that the writers made another good change.

We know that Sukeban Deka is an inherently violent show. There's lots of fighting and death in the TV show, but it's not too disturbing thanks to the cheap primitive special effects. In anime or manga, sky's the limit since everything is drawn, so it's more violent and gory.

If you've seen the TV show, you know how crazy Remi Mizuchi is. If you don't know, she's the main villain of the first TV show, the eldest daughter of Gozou Mizuchi, and both of them want to take over Japan using their wealth and power. Remi resorts to some crazy tactics, but she pales in comparison to her anime/manga counterpart. You can do your own research on that, but she organizes murder, torture and, well, *involuntary* activities. TV Remi didn't go that far, which is good because I'd rather not watch anything beyond a bit of violence. 

Saki and Remi in the manga

It is controversial, though, as Sukeban Deka's creator Shinji Wada himself disliked the TV show a lot, saying that it deviated too much from his vision. With all respect to him, I prefer the TV show's story. Incidentally, he was a huge fan of Sukeban Deka II, as well as the later movie Yo-yo Girl Cop.

I'll still use some anime/manga pictures on the site just for aesthetic purposes, but I don't intend to watch or read it. That being said, if you are interested, fan translations of the manga can be found for free online, and the anime and OVA can be found subtitled on Youtube and Internet Archive. I'm sure they're excellent, otherwise they wouldn't be so popular, it's just not my kind of thing.

Character AI Profiles for Saki and Yoko?!

Some of you may know about Character AI. For those who don't, it's a software that lets you create characters, whether original or from other media, and text with them, using artifical interlligence to formulate answers based on your coding.

I've created profiles for Saki and Yoko/second Saki. Be warned, Yoko's name does contain a bit of a spoiler, but it won't make sense to you until you're at that point in the series anyway. I've linked them below:

Yoko:

https://beta.character.ai/chat?char=k0cspKYAG-mZxZ1ADNXwoVBCTqqYdg1xIWyvDPOxMV4

Saki:

https://beta.character.ai/chat?char=GFGCWAuDmBmo3JXphKHe6_jCVZB8Wp_lx3RkU_O0Xns

Both of their characters I coded to be after the events of their respective series. I think I did a good job, if I do say so myself. Enjoy chatting!

The Sukeban Deka--Sailor Moon Connection?!

 How did I discover Sukeban Deka? Well, it starts with Sailor Moon.

I’d been a Sailor Moon fan for long enough, to the point where I was doing a lot of research on lore, theories, etc. My favorite Sailor Moon blog is tuxedounmasked.com, and I’ve spent more time there than I want to admit.

My favorite character by far is Makoto Kino, aka Sailor Jupiter. She’s tall (by Japanese middle school standards) and superhumanly strong. She lost her parents at a young age, lives alone in an apartment in Tokyo, and she’s destined to fight evil in a sailor suit. When she first enrolls in her school, she’s feared by everyone due to (untrue) rumors of fights. While tough, she’s a truly sensitive and emotional girl with a strong sense of justice, who spends quite a bit of time alone.

That sounds just a little bit familiar, right?

In fact, her long skirt and ponytail remind me quite a bit of the first Saki…..

So back to the blog. On Tuxedo Unmasked, I found this article:

https://www.tuxedounmasked.com/was-makoto-a-member-of-a-gang/

While she’s still quite young (14), it’s clear in the article that Makoto was intended to be quite Sukeban-y, although that was toned down a bit in her final form.

Sukeban Deka came out in 1985, and Sailor Moon, as well as Makoto’s first appearance, debuted in 1992. Considering how popular Sukeban Deka was in its time, I find it very hard to believe that Sailor Moon’s mangaka (manga artist) Naoko Takeuchi didn’t see a few episodes.

Still don’t believe me? Consider this:

Sailor Moon fans already know this, but for those who don’t, Sailor Moon’s love interest is named Tuxedo Mask. He’ll come to her rescue sometimes in the middle of battles. His weapon of choice? A red rose, which he throws to deflect an enemy’s projectile, usually from a high vantage point.

Why is this important?

In episode 9 of Sukeban Deka, Saki’s incarcerated mother makes an artificial rose, and Jin somehow gets a hold of it.

He meets Saki at this old place, I’m not sure exactly what, but it seems to be the ruins of some old building. Jin is standing high up in the ruins, and Saki is on the ground with her motorcycle, as he talks down to her from the building giving her her instructions.

But then he tells her about how her mother made the fake rose for her, and--get this--throws it down to her, in a way that looks *incredibly* similar to the way Tuxedo Mask throws his roses.

It’s a bit hard to show in screenshots, but if you go to the 5:10 minute mark here, you’ll see it.

https://archive.org/details/sukeban-deka/%5BSkewedS%5D_Sukeban_Deka_1_-_09_%5B323D1CF6%5D.mp4

While the context is quite different, the motion looks too similar to be a coincidence. Add that with how similar Makoto and Saki’s design and story is, and I must say that Naoko Takeuchi took at least a bit of inspiration from Sukeban Deka.

And considering the theme of Sailor Moon is schoolgirls fighting in (albeit modified) sailor school uniforms, that simply must have been inspired by Sukebans, who fought in their sailor uniforms.

What do you think? Leave any comments below, or if there’s something I might have missed.

Here’s a fanart of Makoto as a Sukeban Deka! (credits to artist)

And the entire Sailor Soldier group in Sukeban attire (credits to RikuxTee on Deviant art)

Where to watch Sukeban Deka: every series and movie!!!!!! For FREE

Here is a complete list on how to watch every Sukeban Deka live-action media for FREE! All come with English subtitles except for the first movie :( please comment if you can find it with subtitles!

Enjoy!

Sukeban Deka with English subtitles:

https://archive.org/details/sukeban-deka

Sukeban Deka 2: Legend of the Iron Masked Girl with English subtitles:

https://archive.org/details/sukeban-deka-ii

Sukeban Deka 3: Ninja Girl Romance with English subtitles (and second Sukeban Deka movie with English subs):

https://mega.nz/folder/JsBl3aIS#qqIaGCUf6ksyqxaJFDNUag

Sukeban Deka: The Movie (no subtitles :( )

https://archive.org/details/sukeban-deka-the-movie_202106

Yo-yo Girl Cop with English subtitles:

https://archive.org/details/yo-yo-girl-cop-sukeban-deka-code-name-saki-asamiya

Sanpei Nowaki Appreciation Post

 

Sanpei and Saki in the anime

I just wanted to take a moment to appreciate Sanpei Nowaki. After Saki, he’s my favorite character in the first Sukeban Deka series.

For those who don’t know, Sanpei is Saki’s biggest admirer. We first meet him in episode 2, when Saki returns to Takanoha high. He approaches her, introducing himself and saying that he has “a soft spot for strong women”, and asks her out. Saki sticks her tongue out at him and drives away on her motorcycle, leaving him smitten.

He helps save Saki multiple times, and eventually gains Jin’s trust in protecting her, but he’s not her savior. He lets her be the star of the show while still protecting her in every way he can.

He’s upbeat and positive, a perfect foil for Saki’s serious demeanor. Any fans of Nancy Drew will see parallels between him and the Ned Nickerson of the 30’s, 40’s and 90’s (I’m a huge Nancy Drew nerd as well!).

He’s open about his feelings for her, but accepts that either she doesn’t reciprocate or is just too busy for romance, and doesn’t force her otherwise.

While he's a supporting character in a show most of the Western world doesn't know about, I think that there should be more male characters written like him.

Review: Yo-Yo Girl Cop

 

(No spoiler version)

This 2006 film stars Aya Matsuura as a delinquent girl named K. After being arrested for beating up 11 policemen, she is told that her mother will be deported to Japan for brutalizing a mugger and living illegally in New York, unless K accepts to work for them in the reactivated Sukeban Deka program.

Although her relationship with her mother is strained, K agrees and is code-named Saki Asamiya.

She is given a high-tech yo-yo, but it is different from the one owned by the original Sakis and Yui. It performs the same duties, but looks cheap and plastic-y, almost like a toy (I mean, yo-yos are toys, but they should have just stuck with one of the original ones).

K is told to infiltrate the elite Seisan Academy, as it is believed to be the source of Enola Gay, a website rallying suicide bombings among high schoolers.

The website also has a mysterious timer for 72 hours set, and K must figure out the meaning of that as well.

After she saves a sweet girl named Tae from the evil queen bee Reika, K begins to unravel the secret behind the website.

My Thoughts

 Aya Matsuura stole the show here. Her performance was impeccable, and she channeled the true Sukeban Deka energy, making her worthy of the title.

The movie is lacking in other ways though. A Sukeban Deka should always fight in a traditional sailor suit, of course, and the Dark Agency seemingly agrees with me. They give K a normal blue sailor suit to fight in (although the skirt is much shorter than it needs to be). Cool, except for one thing: Seisan High's uniforms are completely different. While I'll take a sailor collar over a preppy blazer any day, K stands out dramatically, which is silly since she's supposed to be an undercover cop.

The story also doesn't totally make sense. I'd elaborate, but I'm not really sure how. It gets pretty messy and hard to follow.

I know that there was a time limit (the 72 hours on the Enola Gay website), but it's strange that K was just given a yo-yo and told what to do with no prior training. Sure, she's strong and dangerous, but she gets her butt kicked quite a few times throughout the movie, not to mention having trouble using the yo-yo. She also isn't briefed on anything beforehand, as has to figure it all out herself.

The first Saki had Jin, Yoko had Nishiwaki, and Yui had Yoda, as mentors. All three men were employed by the Dark Agency to give the girls information on their missions and orders from the Dark Director, while also acting as dad/uncle figures to the girls, all of whom had lost their own dads.

K gets Kazutoshi Kira. Kira isn't as helpful as he could be, and is, in my opinion, inept for the role he occupies. K deserved a better mentor and would have thrived under Jin, Nishiwaki, or Yoda's guidance.

Well, K figures things out eventually, of course. The ending is sloppy and I don't fully understand it, so I won't confuse you by trying to explain it.

There is quite the epic yo-yo battle at the end, which is quite enjoyable.

To conclude my spoiler-free review (spoiler version is below), I'll say that the movie is definitely worth watching for anyone who likes a film with lots of over-the-top action, because this movie is full of it. That being said, expect to get pretty confused.

________________________________________________________________

Warning: spoilers below

One thing that excited Sukeban Deka fans about this movie was the return of Yuki Saito, playing the original Saki. Although I love Saki and Yuki's portrayal of her, I didn't like why she was in this film.

Apparently, K is Saki's daughter. Which sounds cool, but the life that Saki is said to have following the events of the original show is quite depressing, when I had always imagined a happier ending for her. I feel like this movie did OG Saki dirty, which is the biggest thing that bothered me about it. I mean, the whole reason why K is even recruited is to release her mother. I do like how this mirrors the original TV show, where Saki becomes a Sukeban Deka to free her own mother, Natsu. It could have been done quite well actually, but it just wasn't. Kira being K's father still could have worked (even though I don't like the idea of it), but the element of him being her father feels rather forced throughout the movie.