is a Japanese

manga 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 history in earlier Japanese art. The term is used in Japan to refer to both comics ...

series written and illustrated by Takashi Sano. It was serialized in the

Shōnen Gahōsha is a Japanese publisher Publishing is the activities of making information, literature, music, software, and other content, physical or digital, available to the public for sale or free of charge. Traditionally, the term publishing refer ...

magazine '' Young King Comics'' from 1997 to 2010. An

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

television series adaptation by J.C.Staff aired on TBS in February 1999. A live-action theatrical film version was released in October 2009.

Plot

Sixteen-year-old Keisuke Saji loves to fantasize about young beautiful women. He hopes to land the object of his affection, Akira Koizumi. Koizumi is a classic

tsundere is a Culture of Japan, Japanese term for a character development process that depicts a character with an initially harsh personality who gradually reveals a warmer, friendlier side over time. The word is derived from the terms (adverb, 'mo ...

, switching between violence towards Saji and affection. While most guys take Koizumi's cold shoulder as a hint, Saji pursues head-on without having rejection faze him.

Characters

; : :Saji is a 16-year-old high school student with spiky hair who loves everything about women. ; : :Koizumi is a young girl with blue hair and red eyes. Her looks and figure has the guys in school turning their heads, including Saji. However, Koizumi expresses her rejections from the proposals of the boys by physically assaulting them. Out of all the guys she meets, Saji is her favorite target to take her frustrations out on. ; : :Yuki is Saji's busty childhood friend and somewhat an unintentional rival to Koizumi. Yuki has grown well-proportioned and shapely. However, her charm and body, while still able to make guys drool, are not as effective as Koizumi grace and mystery. Despite her appearance, she has very low self-esteem. ; : :One of Koizumi's friends, Ryoko has long purple hair. She tends to remain calm despite whatever is going on around her. ; : :Another of Koizumi's friends, Maki has brown hair either short or in pigtails. She tends to be a bit more high-strung than Ryoko. ; : :Koizumi's lesbian friend who behaves as if they were former lovers. She is part of a small circle of friends who sell themselves to men with usually perverse intentions, Koizumi having become a part of the group for a while in her search for acceptance. ; : :Apparently an old friend of Saji and Yuki. Both he and Saji joined the basketball team at the same time to pick up girls. ; : :Sakurai is a young boy who is gay. He is the same height as Koizumi. ; : :One of Saji's classmates who wears glasses. He encourages Saji to go forward with his declaration of love for Koizumi, despite everything backfiring on him. ; : :One of Saji's classmates who has brown hair. Like Urawa, he encourage Saji to go forward with his declaration of love for Koizumi.

Media

Manga

''Iketeru Futari'', written and illustrated by Takashi Sano, was serialized in

's '' Young King'' magazine from 1997 to April 26, 2010. It has been collected in thirty-three ''

tankōbon A is a standard publishing format for books in Japan, alongside other formats such as ''shinsho'' (17x11 cm paperback books) and ''bunkobon''. Used as a loanword in English, the term specifically refers to a printed collection of a manga that w ...

'' volumes. A spinoff manga series titled was serialized in ''Young King separate volume Kingdom'' from 1998 to 2004 and then in ''Young King Comics'' from 2005 to 2006. It has been collected in nine ''tankōbon'' volumes.

Volume list

=''Iketeru Futari''

=''Iketeru Keiji''

Anime

television series adaptation aired on TBS from February 2 to February 26, 1999. The series was produced by J.C.Staff and directed by Takeshi Yamaguchi, with Ryoichi Oki designing the characters, and Moka composing the music. Yuki Kimura performed the theme "Fall in YOU".

Live-action film

A live-action film adaptation was produced by GP Museum Soft and directed by Wataru Oku. It received a theatrical release in Tokyo's Cinemart Roppongi from October 2 to October 4, 2009.

References

External links

* {{J.C.Staff 1997 manga 1999 anime television series debuts 1999 Japanese television series endings 2009 films 2009 romantic comedy films Anime and manga set in schools Anime series based on manga Japanese romantic comedy films Japanese sex comedy films J.C.Staff Manga adapted into films Romantic comedy anime and manga Seinen manga Sex comedy anime and manga Shōnen Gahōsha manga TBS Television (Japan) original programming Wonderful (TV programming block)