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.