is a Japanese

manga Manga ( Japanese: 漫画 ) are comics or graphic novels originating from Japan. Most manga conform to a style developed in Japan in the late 19th century, and the form has a long prehistory in earlier Japanese art. The term ''manga'' is ...

series written and illustrated by Katsutoshi Kawai. It was serialized in

Shogakukan is a Japanese publisher of dictionaries, literature, comics ( manga), non-fiction, DVDs, and other media in Japan. Shogakukan founded Shueisha, which also founded Hakusensha. These are three separate companies, but are together called the ...

magazine ''

Weekly Shōnen Sunday is a weekly ''shōnen'' manga magazine published in Japan by Shogakukan since March 1959. Contrary to its title, ''Weekly Shōnen Sunday'' issues are released on Wednesdays. ''Weekly Shōnen Sunday'' has sold over 1.8billion copies since 1986, ...

'' from August 1996 to January 2005, with its chapters collected in 30 ''

tankōbon is the Japanese term for a book that is not part of an anthology or corpus. In modern Japanese, the term is most often used in reference to individual volumes of a manga series: most series first appear as individual chapters in a weekly or ...

'' volumes. The manga spawned two

anime is Traditional animation, hand-drawn and computer animation, computer-generated animation originating from Japan. Outside of Japan and in English, ''anime'' refers specifically to animation produced in Japan. However, in Japan and in Japane ...

television series adaptations, ''Monkey Turn'' and ''Monkey Turn V'', which were both produced by

OLM The olm or proteus (''Proteus anguinus'') is an aquatic salamander in the family Proteidae, the only exclusively cave-dwelling chordate species found in Europe. In contrast to most amphibians, it is entirely aquatic, eating, sleeping, and br ...

and aired on

TV Tokyo JOTX-DTV (channel 7), branded as and known colloquially as , is a television station headquartered in the Sumitomo Fudosan Roppongi Grand Tower in Roppongi, Minato, Tokyo, Japan, owned and operated by the subsidiary of listed certifie ...

in 2004, totalling 50 episodes. ''Monkey Turn'' won the 45th

Shogakukan Manga Award The is one of Japan's major manga awards, and is sponsored by Shogakukan Publishing. It has been awarded annually for serialized manga and features candidates from a number of publishers. It is the oldest manga award in Japan, being given since ...

in the ''shōnen'' category in 2000.

Plot

The series follows Kenji Hatano, a young man who sets out to master the world of ''

kyōtei The , literally "boat racing" and referred to as BOAT RACE, is a hydroplane racing event primary held in Japan. It is one of Japan's four , which are sports events where parimutuel betting is legal. Kyōtei was introduced in Japan in April 1 ...

'' (

hydroplane racing Hydroplane racing (also known as hydro racing) is a sport involving racing hydroplanes on lakes and rivers. It is a popular spectator sport in several countries. Racing circuits International professional outboard hydroplane racing The Union In ...

). Over the course of the series he develops a serious rivalry with fellow racer Hiro Doguchi.

Characters

; :Initially a high school student who was dreaming of being a professional baseball player, Hatano quits after losing a match against another school. His coach, who sees talent in Hatano, then introduces him to the world of motorboat racing. Hatano promises to become the top racer in Japan within three years. He realizes this feat by mastering the "monkey turn," a high-speed cornering technique used in boat racing. ; :Hatano's principal rival. His style of racing is much reviled by other racers on the circuit. ; :Hatano's childhood friend and romantic interest. She is very supportive of Hatano and attends all of his races.

Media

Manga

''Monkey Turn'' was written and illustrated by Katsutoshi Kawai. It was serialized in

's ''

'' from August 21, 1996 to January 1, 2005. Shogakukan collected its chapters in thirteen ''

'' volumes, published from February 18, 1996 to February 18, 2005.

Anime

''Monkey Turn'' was adapted into a 25-episode

television series by OLM, Inc., which aired on

from January 10 to June 26, 2004. A second 25-episode season, titled ''Monkey Turn V'', was broadcast from July 3 to December 18, 2004.

Reception

The manga series won the 45th

in the ''shōnen'' category in 2000.

References

External links

''Monkey Turn''
at

ShoPro Entertainment VIZ Media LLC is an American manga publisher, anime distributor and entertainment company headquartered in San Francisco, California. It was founded in 1986 as VIZ LLC. In 2005, VIZ LLC and ShoPro Entertainment merged to form the current VIZ ...

''Monkey Turn''
at VAP * {{OLM 1996 manga 2004 anime television series debuts Hydroplanes Motorsports in anime and manga OLM, Inc. Shogakukan manga Shōnen manga TV Tokyo original programming Winners of the Shogakukan Manga Award for shōnen manga