, also known as ''Weather Report Girl'', 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 Tetsu Adachi. It was serialized in

Kodansha is a Japanese privately held publishing company headquartered in Bunkyō, Tokyo. Kodansha publishes manga magazines which include ''Nakayoshi'', ''Morning (magazine), Morning'', ''Afternoon (magazine), Afternoon'', ''Evening (magazine), Eveni ...

's ''seinen'' manga magazine ''

Weekly Young Magazine is a Japanese weekly anthology magazine published in Tokyo each Monday by Kodansha. The magazine started on June 16, 1980, and is targeted at the adult male () demographic. It was published bimonthly (under the title ), on the second and fourth ...

'' from 1992 to 1994, with its chapters collected in eight ''

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 two-episode

original video animation , abbreviated as OVA and sometimes as OAV (original animation video), are Japanese animated films and special episodes of a series made specially for release in home video formats without prior showings on television or in theaters, though the ...

(OVA) adaptation produced by OB Planning and

Toho is a Japanese entertainment company that primarily engages in producing and distributing films and exhibiting stage plays. It is headquartered in Chiyoda, Tokyo, and is one of the core companies of the Osaka-based Hankyu Hanshin Toho Group. ...

and animated by Pastel was released in 1995–96. Two

direct-to-video Direct-to-video or straight-to-video refers to the release of a film, television series, short or special to the public immediately on home video formats rather than an initial theatrical release or television premiere. This distribution strat ...

films were released in 1995 and 1996, respectively; the first film had a theatrical release later in Japan in 1996. Both the manga and the live-action films were licensed in North America by

Central Park Media Central Park Media Corporation, often abbreviated as CPM, was an American multimedia entertainment company based in New York City, New York and was headquartered in the 250 West 57th Street building in Midtown Manhattan (on the corner of Centra ...

, while the OVA was licensed by

Right Stuf Right Stuf Inc. (formerly known as The Right Stuf International Inc.) was an American video publisher and distributor of video programming that specialized in Asian entertainment (anime and live action films). It had several divisions includin ...

's division Critical Mass Video.

Plot

The story revolves around Keiko Nakadai, who in the beginning is an

office lady An office lady (), often abbreviated OL (, ), is a female office worker in Japan who performs generally pink-collar tasks such as secretarial or clerical work. Office ladies are usually full-time permanent staff, although the jobs they perform ...

working at the perpetually last-place ATV television network. However, she is chosen to fill in for weather reporter Michiko Kawai for one night, and Keiko takes full advantage of her opportunity by blatantly flashing her panties while on live television. The incident causes the evening news ratings to jump, and because of ATV's desperation to escape the ratings cellar, Keiko is subsequently promoted to full-time weather reporter, displacing Michiko in the process. The rest of the series focuses on her rivalries with co-workers jealous of and insulted by the nature of her success. The series' humor is full of sexually oriented sorority style humor, aimed primarily at young men. The protagonist, Keiko, is depicted as being exhibitionistic, first using her sex appeal to rise to the position of weather girl by flashing her bra and panties, and maintaining her position by frequently wearing lingerie while on the air. She is also very resourceful, always one step ahead of her rivals' various revenge schemes. Keiko is also extraordinarily vengeful, humiliating Michiko on the air by spiking her tea with laxatives after Michiko had attempted a similar tactic against her. Keiko proceeds to masturbate in her apartment while watching Michiko embarrass herself on television. Finally, she is sexually domineering, effectively enslaving Michiko—who due to the on-air incident would have been fired had she not agreed—by making her lick her lingerie and perform cunnilingus on Keiko. The second episode introduces Kaori Shimamori, a reporter who uses her dad's position as a member of the

Diet Diet may refer to: Food * Diet (nutrition), the sum of the food consumed by an organism or group * Dieting, the deliberate selection of food to control body weight or nutrient intake ** Diet food, foods that aid in creating a diet for weight loss ...

at Keiko's expense. Kaori conspires to have Keiko demoted after allotting her weather corner during a breaking news report. This effort fails after being flooded with viewer mail protests. Soon after, Keiko and Kaori agree to partner up on a marketing campaign for ATV, though still plotting revenge against Keiko by eavesdropping on her. She soon discovers Keiko's

dominatrix A dominatrix ( ; or dominatrices ), or domme, is a woman who takes the dominant role in BDSM activities. The BDSM practice is called female dominance, or femdom. A dominatrix can be of any sexual orientation, but this does not necessarily l ...

relationship with Michiko and becomes friends with Keiko. The OVA ends with a stripping and humiliation of Michiko in which Kaori embraces Keiko's lifestyle and then proceeds to entice Michiko into having oral sex with her while Keiko, half asleep, listens with a smirk.

Media

Manga

Written and illustrated by Tetsu Adachi, ''Weather Woman'' was serialized in

's ''seinen'' manga magazine ''

'' from 1992 to 1994. Kodansha collected its chapters in eight ''

'' volumes, released from September 5, 1992, to August 5, 1994. In North America, the manga was licensed by

CPM Manga Central Park Media Corporation, often abbreviated as CPM, was an American multimedia entertainment company based in New York City, New York and was headquartered in the 250 West 57th Street building in Midtown Manhattan (on the corner of Centra ...

. It was released in eight issues from August 31, 2000, to March 31, 2001. A collected volume was released on January 23, 2002.

Original video animation

A two-episode

(OVA) adaptation of 45 minute each, ''Weather Report Girl'', produced by OB Planning and

and animated by Pastel, was released in 1994–95. In North America, the OVA was released by

's division Critical Mass Video on VHS, in Japanese with English subtitles, in 1996. The OVA was later released on both VHS and DVD with an English dub on June 26, 2001.

Live-action film

Two direct-to-video live-action film adaptations, directed by Tomoaki Hosoyama and starring

Kei Mizutani (born May 7, 1974) is a Japanese actress. She has appeared in multiple photo books, movies, and TV series in Japan and her DVD sets are popular in Japan, the United States, and Europe. Career Mizutani was born in Aomori Prefecture where she wa ...

, were produced. The first film was released on April 25, 1995. The film developed a cult following and was released theatrically to popular and critical success on September 21, 1996. Another film called ''Weather Woman Returns'' was released in on January 25, 1996. It is not a sequel to the first movie, rather a new story involving the character Keiko. Both films were released in North America on VHS and DVD by

, under their Asia Pulp Cinema label, in 2000.

References

External links

* * * {{Weekly Young Magazine - 1980s–1990s 1994 anime OVAs 1995 films 1996 films BDSM literature CPM Press Central Park Media Japanese direct-to-video films Kodansha manga Seinen manga Sex comedy anime and manga Yuri (genre) anime and manga