Stop!! Hibari-kun!

Stop!! Hibari-kun!

Cover of the first volume featuring Hibari Ōzora (left) and Kōsaku Sakamoto (right).
ストップ!! ひばりくん!
(Sutoppu!! Hibarikun!)
Genre Romantic comedy[1]
Manga
Written by Hisashi Eguchi
Published by Shueisha
Demographic Shōnen
Magazine Weekly Shōnen Jump
Original run October 19, 1981 – November 28, 1983
Volumes 4
Anime television series
Directed by Takashi Hisaoka
Studio Toei Animation
Network Fuji Television
Original run May 20, 1983 – January 27, 1984
Episodes 35

Stop!! Hibari-kun! (ストップ!! ひばりくん! Sutoppu!! Hibari-kun!) is a Japanese manga series written and illustrated by Hisashi Eguchi. It was serialized in Weekly Shōnen Jump from October 1981 to November 1983, and the chapters were published in four tankōbon volumes by Shueisha from November 1982 to January 1984. The series was adapted into a 35-episode anime television series by Toei Animation that aired on Fuji Television from May 1983 to January 1984. The story focuses on Kōsaku Sakamoto, a high school student who goes to live with yakuza boss Ibari Ōzora and his four children—Tsugumi, Tsubame, Hibari and Suzume—after the death of his mother. Kōsaku is shocked to learn that Hibari, who looks and behaves as a girl, was assigned male at birth.

Eguchi wanted to create a romantic comedy manga where the main female character is a cross-dressing boy so as to poke fun at the genre. He took more time to draw the chapters compared to his earlier manga, and as the serialization continued, he found it increasingly difficult to keep up a weekly pace for the chapters. He eventually abandoned the series after the editor-in-chief of Weekly Shōnen Jump refused his request to release the chapters every other week. From July 2009 to February 2010, Shogakukan published a three-volume Stop!! Hibari-kun! Complete Edition omnibus collection, which features various revisions to the originally published chapters in addition to newly drawn cover art.

Stop!! Hibari-kun! has been described as achieving a dizzying reality with Hibari by contrasting a girlish exterior with a male interior. The series has been praised for its overall light and pop literary style, and the delicate touch in how Hibari is drawn has been described as so attractive that it makes the reader forget that it is a gag manga. However, the jokes surrounding the yakuza characters have been criticized as extreme and no longer humorous in modern times. The series has been described as having had a hand in paving the way for the J-pop phenomenon.

Plot

Stop!! Hibari-kun! follows Kōsaku Sakamoto, a high school student whose mother tells him on her deathbed to live with her friend and yakuza boss Ibari Ōzora and his family in Tokyo after she dies. Although Kōsaku is initially unsure about his situation, he is relieved when he meets Ibari's four children: Tsugumi, Tsubame, Hibari and Suzume. Kōsaku is attracted to Hibari from the start, but he is shocked to learn that Hibari, who looks and behaves as a girl, was assigned male at birth—something only known within the Ōzora Group and Hibari's family. A group of four girls led by Kaori Hanazono begin to suspect that Hibari may be a guy, but Tsubame takes Hibari's place during a health checkup, effectively quelling any suspicions. Hibari begins to show an immediate interest in Kōsaku, so in an effort to distance himself from Hibari, Kōsaku joins the Wakaba Academy boxing club. Also in the club is Makoto Shiina, who is attracted to Hibari, and Rie Kawai, the club manager who Kōsaku likes. Hibari soon joins the club as its second manager shortly before they go on a training camp in Kujūkuri at the end of the year.

At the start of the new school year, Hibari is scouted to join the girls' volleyball team after the captain, Jun Ōtori, witnesses Hibari's athletic prowess. Although Hibari refuses, Jun continues to pursue Hibari until Jun is overwhelmed by Hibari's superhuman ability to spike the ball. After Kaori and her friends try to embarrass Hibari during swim class, they once again suspect that Hibari may be a guy, but Hibari prevents them from getting any proof during the school sponsored summer camp. After Hibari refuses several advances from a popular guy at school named Takuto Honda, Hibari starts openly flirting with Kōsaku at school. Shiina becomes enraged at Kōsaku for earning Hibari's affection, but Shiina and Kōsaku grow closer as friends after they fight it out and Kōsaku reassures him that there is nothing going on between him and Hibari.

When Kōsaku is out jogging one day, he helps out a girl named Sayuri Kōenji who was being harassed by three guys from the Kokuryū High School boxing club, although Hibari deals with them before Kōsaku can do anything. Despite this, Sayuri is instantly enamored by Kōsaku and hires a detective to find out more about him, leading her to discover Hibari's secret. Hibari has another run-in with the Kokuryū boxing club members after they harass Tsubame at a festival. The Kokuryū boxing club challenges the Wakaba boxing club to some inter-school matches, but this turns out to be a ruse to get a chance to gang up on Hibari. However, the Ōzora Group intercedes, allowing Hibari to knock out the Kokuryū boxing club's leader. Sayuri transfers into Kōsaku's class, and she blackmails him into going on a date with her in exchange for not revealing Hibari's secret. During the school festival, Kōsaku's class acts out a Sleeping Beauty play with Kōsaku as the prince and Hibari as the princess, culminating in Hibari giving Kōsaku a French kiss on stage. Ibari agrees to look after Gekijirō Taiga, the son of one of his close friends, who Kōsaku is surprised to learn is a trans man.

Characters

Media

Manga

The Stop!! Hibari-kun! Complete Edition volumes feature newly drawn cover art by Hisashi Eguchi. The third volume depicts Kōsaku (left) and Hibari (right).

Stop!! Hibari-kun! is written and illustrated by Hisashi Eguchi. Following the conclusion of his manga Hinomaru Gekijō (ひのまる劇場) in 1981, Eguchi wanted to go against the notion at the time that there was currently a golden age of romantic comedy manga in shōnen manga magazines. In response, Eguchi thought of creating a romantic comedy manga where the main female character is a cross-dressing boy, and in doing so, poke fun at the genre by developing it as the antithesis of a romantic comedy.[7][8][9] Eguchi drew up the storyboard for the first chapter in about 30 minutes in a cafe,[10] and came up with the title Stop!! Hibari-kun! as a reference to Hisashi Sekiya's manga Stop! Nii-chan (ストップ! にいちゃん).[11] In wanting to highlight the comedy of having a character like Hibari, Eguchi realized that the cuter he could draw Hibari, the more effective the jokes would be, so he tried to draw Hibari as cute as he could.[9][12]

Eguchi had often rushed when drawing his earlier manga Susume!! Pirates (すすめ!!パイレーツ), but starting with Stop!! Hibari-kun!, he raised the standards he held for his art and began taking more time to draw the chapters.[13] In addition, Eguchi was very particular about the appearance of his manuscripts, so he never used white-out to correct any drawing errors because he disliked how it looked.[10] As the serialization continued, Eguchi found it increasingly difficult to keep up a weekly pace for the chapters,[8][9] leading him to take frequent hiatuses and later say that "drawing weekly isn't something humans can do."[14] Furthermore, the editor-in-chief of Weekly Shōnen Jump at the time, Shigeo Nishimura, refused his request to release the chapters every other week.[8][9] When it came time to draw what would end up being the last serialized chapter, Eguchi completed the chapter's storyboard, but ultimately submitted only about two-thirds of the chapter, leaving out the last five pages.[1][15] After he submitted the chapter's manuscript, Eguchi fled to a hotel and secluded himself for a day, only coming out after Nishimura called him to say that he could not deal with him anymore on a weekly basis.[10] As a result, Eguchi abandoned the serialization and the editorial department decided to discontinue the series.[8][9]

Stop!! Hibari-kun! was serialized in the manga magazine Weekly Shōnen Jump from the October 19, 1981 issue to the November 28, 1983 issue.[16] The individual chapters were collected and published in four tankōbon volumes by Shueisha from November 1982 to January 1984.[17][18] Inspired by Katsuhiro Otomo, Eguchi fought against the established design format for the volumes that at the time was "set in stone" for series serialized in Weekly Shōnen Jump.[19] Futabasha later published it in three volumes in July 1991,[20][21] and again in two volumes in February 1995.[22][23] Shueisha republished it in four volumes from May to June 2001.[24] Home-sha published it in two volumes in January 2004.[25][26] In an interview in 2007, Eguchi expressed a desire to continue some of his older series, but stated that a continuation of Stop!! Hibari-kun! would be difficult.[9]

Starting in 2009, Eguchi began working with Shogakukan on releasing a Stop!! Hibari-kun! Complete Edition omnibus collection, which features various revisions to the originally published chapters in addition to newly drawn cover art.[1] Not wanting to end the Complete Edition with an abrupt conclusion like he had done before, Eguchi found the storyboard for the final chapter and used it as a basis to newly draw the last five pages he had omitted 27 years earlier.[1][15] Shogakukan published the Complete Edition in three volumes from July 2009 to February 2010;[27][28] Shogakukan later republished the series in another three volumes from May to July 2012.[29][30][31] In 2010, Eguchi did not rule out the possibility of someday drawing a continuation of the series, but he said it probably would not be a story under the title Stop!! Hibari-kun!.[15]

Anime

A 35-episode anime television series adaptation, produced by Toei Animation and directed by Takashi Hisaoka. It aired from May 20, 1983 to January 27, 1984 on Fuji Television.[32] The screenplay was written by: Shigeru Yanagawa, Tokio Tsuchiya, Hiroshi Toda, Tomomi Tsutsui, Takeshi Shudo and Yumi Asano. The character design used in the anime was provided by Yoshinori Kanemori, and the music was composed by Kōji Nishimura.[32] The series was later released by Universal J to two DVD compilation volumes from February to March 2003.[33][34] A DVD box set was released by TC Entertainment in September 2014.[35] The opening theme is "Stop!! Hibari-kun!" (ストップ!! ひばりくん!) sung by Yuki Yukino and the ending theme is "Kongara Connection" (コンガラ・コネクション) sung by Ai Hoshino.[2]

Reception and legacy

Psychologist Tamaki Saitō described Stop!! Hibari-kun! as achieving a "dizzying reality" with Hibari "by contrasting a girlish exterior with a male interior", and went on to say that the series could be seen as a "continuation of the sartorial perversion lineage" of cross-dressing characters.[36][37] Manga critic Haruyuki Nakano has called Stop!! Hibari-kun! a unique and outstanding gag manga for its juxtaposition of Hibari being a boy and the heir to a yakuza organization. Nakano largely attributes this successful combination to Eguchi's ability to draw girls that are not only cute, but also have good taste and sex appeal.[38] The delicate touch in how Hibari is drawn has been described as so attractive that it makes the reader forget that it is a gag manga.[10]

That was back when I was in elementary school and just when I was starting to fuss over fashion. I used to drag my mom around for hours to just buy one T-shirt, but instead of getting fashion tips from the TV or from magazines, I got it from Hibari-kun.[39]

—Yuki[40]

In writing for the magazine Cyzo, manga critic Jyamao wrote that because of its overall light and pop literary style, none of the indecency or immorality cross-dressing may engender comes through, which he surmises is why the anime was able to air during prime time. Jyamao notes the more extreme nature of the jokes surrounding the yakuza characters in comparison to the jokes involving cross-dressing, and that some jokes such as those involving drugs would not be humorous today.[41] Manga commentator Nobunaga Minami lauded Eguchi for being a pioneer in drawing characters with a high fashion sense in Stop!! Hibari-kun!, which he says effectively changed fashion in shōnen manga from being seen as a "symbol" to now being treated as an "accessory". Eguchi's attention to detail is also praised, such as drawing Kōsaku wearing Chuck Taylor All-Stars in one chapter.[40]

The series has been called effervescent and having had a hand in paving the way for the J-pop phenomenon.[42] When Tegami Bachi author Hiroyuki Asada read Stop!! Hibari-kun! in junior high school, he admired its novel sensibility, and Eguchi's art also influenced him.[43] According to Eguchi, some people who read Stop!! Hibari-kun! were influenced to start cross-dressing.[13]

Notes

  • ^ These chapters correspond to those in the Stop!! Hibari-kun! Complete Edition volumes.

References

  1. 1 2 3 4 "先ちゃん27年越しで最終話描く。「ひばりくん」完結" (in Japanese). Natalie. February 27, 2010. Retrieved April 23, 2016.
  2. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 "ストップ!!ひばりくん!" [Stop!! Hibari-kun!] (in Japanese). Toei Animation. Retrieved April 23, 2016.
  3. 1 2 3 4 "ストップ!!ひばりくん!(1983)" [Stop!! Hibari-kun! (1983)]. Allcinema (in Japanese). Stingray. Retrieved April 27, 2016.
  4. ↑ "Tsuru Hiromi roles (anime)". Hitoshi Doi. Retrieved April 27, 2016.
  5. ↑ "中野聖子 (Seiko Nakano)". Voice Artist DataBase (in Japanese). GamePlaza-Haruka-. Retrieved April 27, 2016.
  6. ↑ "Exactly Like Hiroko! The Love Bomb Girl". Stop!! Hibari-kun!. Episode 29 (in Japanese). December 9, 1983. Fuji Television.
  7. ↑ Eguchi, Hisashi (February 23, 2004). "Bunkoban Afterword". Eiji (in Japanese). Shueisha. p. 277. ISBN 978-4-8342-7291-8.
  8. 1 2 3 4 Eguchi, Hisashi (August 2005). "Hisashi Eguchi interview". Eguchi Hisashi Jump Works: Stop!! Hibari-kun! (in Japanese). 1. Shueisha. pp. 308–310. ISBN 978-4-7976-2001-6.
  9. 1 2 3 4 5 6 Eguchi, Hisashi (October 15, 2007). "Real wine guide interview". Real Wine Guide (in Japanese). 19. Kotobuki Studio. p. 115.
  10. 1 2 3 4 "我が青春の週刊少年ジャンプ（３）江口にとっては極限状態も楽しい思い出". Asagei Plus (in Japanese). Tokuma Shoten. August 16, 2013. Retrieved April 25, 2016.
  11. ↑ "Naito Yamada x Hisashi Eguchi interview". Eguchi Hisashi Sōtokushū (in Japanese). Kawade Shobo Shinsha. January 2003. p. 156. ISBN 978-4-309-97643-3.
  12. ↑ Eguchi, Hisahi (March 2005). Manga no Michi: Watashi wa Naze Mangaka ni Natta no ka (in Japanese). Rockin'on. pp. 94–95. ISBN 978-4-86052-047-2.
  13. 1 2 "Harold Sakuishi x Hisashi Eguchi Conversation". Quick Japan (in Japanese). Vol. 59. Ohta Publishing. March 15, 2005.
  14. ↑ "Manga Artist Hisashi Eguchi Takes "Credit" for Hunter × Hunter's Hiatuses". Anime News Network. May 14, 2016. Retrieved May 14, 2016.
  15. 1 2 3 Eguchi, Hisashi (February 27, 2010). Stop!! Hibari-kun! Complete Edition (in Japanese). 3. Shogakukan. pp. 280–281. ISBN 978-4-7780-3121-3.
  16. ↑ "週刊少年ジャンプ　ストップ!!ひばりくん(江口寿史)" [Weekly Shōnen Jump Stop!! Hibari-kun (Hisashi Eguchi)] (in Japanese). Agency for Cultural Affairs. Retrieved April 23, 2016.
  17. ↑ "ストップ!!ひばりくん!(ジャンプコミックス)vol.1" [Stop!! Hibari-kun! (Jump Comics) vol. 1] (in Japanese). Agency for Cultural Affairs. Retrieved April 23, 2016.
  18. ↑ "ストップ!!ひばりくん!(ジャンプコミックス)vol.4" [Stop!! Hibari-kun! (Jump Comics) vol. 4] (in Japanese). Agency for Cultural Affairs. Retrieved April 23, 2016.
  19. ↑ "Naoki Urasawa and Hisashu Eguchi Talk About Manga". Tokioga. July 1, 2015. Retrieved April 24, 2016.
  20. ↑ "ストップ!!ひばりくん! 完全版vol.1" (in Japanese). Agency for Cultural Affairs. Retrieved April 23, 2016.
  21. ↑ "ストップ!!ひばりくん! 完全版第3巻" (in Japanese). Agency for Cultural Affairs. Retrieved April 23, 2016.
  22. ↑ "ストップ!!ひばりくん!(双葉文庫名作シリーズ)vol.1" (in Japanese). Agency for Cultural Affairs. Retrieved April 23, 2016.
  23. ↑ "ストップ!!ひばりくん!(双葉文庫名作シリーズ)vol.2" (in Japanese). Agency for Cultural Affairs. Retrieved April 23, 2016.
  24. ↑ "ストップ!!ひばりくん! 女の子!?男の子!!の巻" (in Japanese). Amazon.co.jp. Retrieved April 25, 2016.
    "ストップ!!ひばりくん! 回転禁止の青春さ!の巻" (in Japanese). Amazon.co.jp. Retrieved April 25, 2016.
    "ストップ!!ひばりくん! 彼女(?)はおれのもの!!の巻" (in Japanese). Amazon.co.jp. Retrieved April 25, 2016.
    "ストップ!!ひばりくん! あしたの花嫁!?の巻" (in Japanese). Amazon.co.jp. Retrieved April 25, 2016.
  25. ↑ "ストップ!!ひばりくん!(HMB)v.1" (in Japanese). Agency for Cultural Affairs. Retrieved April 23, 2016.
  26. ↑ "ストップ!!ひばりくん!(HMB)v.2" (in Japanese). Agency for Cultural Affairs. Retrieved April 23, 2016.
  27. ↑ "ストップ!!ひばりくん! コンプリート・エディション 1" (in Japanese). Shogakukan. Retrieved April 25, 2016.
  28. ↑ "ストップ!!ひばりくん! コンプリート・エディション 3" (in Japanese). Shogakukan. Retrieved April 25, 2016.
  29. ↑ "ストップ!!ひばりくん!衝撃の出会い!!の巻" (in Japanese). Shogakukan. Retrieved April 23, 2016.
  30. ↑ "ストップ!!ひばりくん!プールサイドはドキドキ気分!の巻" (in Japanese). Shogakukan. Retrieved April 23, 2016.
  31. ↑ "ストップ!!ひばりくん!恋のトライアングル!!の巻" (in Japanese). Shogakukan. Retrieved April 23, 2016.
  32. 1 2 "ストップ!!ひばりくん!" [Stop!! Hibari-kun!] (in Japanese). Agency for Cultural Affairs. Retrieved April 23, 2016.
  33. ↑ "ストップ!!ひばりくん!DVDコレクション I〈通常版〉" [Stop!! Hibari-kun! DVD Collection I (regular edition)] (in Japanese). Amazon.co.jp. Retrieved April 25, 2016.
  34. ↑ "ストップ!!ひばりくん!DVDコレクション II" [Stop!! Hibari-kun! DVD Collection II] (in Japanese). Amazon.co.jp. Retrieved April 25, 2016.
  35. ↑ "想い出のアニメライブラリー 第26集 ストップ!! ひばりくん! DVD-BOX デジタルリマスター版" [Memorable Anime Library No. 26 Stop!! Hibari-kun! DVD-BOX Digital Remaster Edition] (in Japanese). Amazon.co.jp. Retrieved April 25, 2016.
  36. ↑ Saitō, Tamaki (March 16, 2011). "A Genealogy of the Beautiful Fighting Girl". Beautiful Fighting Girl. Translated by Vincent, J. Keith; Lawson, Dawn. University of Minnesota Press. p. 110. ISBN 978-0-8166-5450-5.
  37. ↑ Denison, Rayna (December 3, 2015). "Anime, Video and the Shōjo and Shōnen Genres". Anime: A Critical Introduction. Bloomsbury Academic. ISBN 978-1-84788-479-4.
  38. ↑ Nakano, Haruyuki (June 8, 2012). "第101回　元祖「男の娘」?　あべこべの笑いを超えたミラクルワールド 江口寿史『ストップ!!ひばりくん！完全版』" (in Japanese). eBook Initiative Japan. Archived from the original on December 9, 2012. Retrieved April 25, 2016.
  39. ↑ Untranslated quote: 私はその時小学生、ちょうどオシャレにこだわりだした頃で、Tシャツ1枚買うのにも母を連れ回したりしていたのですが、その頃のオシャレの参考は、テレビや雑誌でも他の誰でもなく"ひばりくん"でした。
  40. 1 2 Minami, Nobunaga (May 15, 2008). "3: Hisashi Eguchi as a Fashion Leader". Gendai Manga no Bōkenshatachi (in Japanese). NTT Publishing. pp. 44–45. ISBN 978-4-7571-4177-3.
  41. ↑ "過激発言連発!!　打ち切り＆発禁になった伝説の女装男子マンガ『ストップ!!ひばりくん！』『おカマ白書』" (in Japanese). Cyzo. March 25, 2016. Retrieved April 25, 2016.
  42. ↑ "Going Krazy in New York: anime, manga and the language of videogames". The Guardian. March 30, 2009. Retrieved April 24, 2016.
  43. ↑ "ジャンプSQ.若手作家が聞く「マンガの極意!」 | 《1》浅田先生、「少年漫画」のルーツ" (in Japanese). Shueisha. Retrieved April 26, 2016.

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