Mongolian Chop Squad
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''Beck'' 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
Harold Sakuishi , better known by his pen name , is a Japanese manga artist. Sakuishi has a wide variety of interests which include baseball (he is a huge Chunichi Dragons fan), martial arts, MMA, and music (he is a huge Red Hot Chili Peppers fan). Each of these ...
. It was originally serialized in ''
Monthly Shōnen Magazine is a monthly shōnen manga magazine published in Japan by Kodansha. It was launched in 1964 under the name . In 1969 it was retitled as and its publication frequency increased from quarterly to monthly. After suspension in 1974 it started ...
'' from 1999 to 2008, with the 103 chapters later published into 34
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 by
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 ...
. It tells the story of a group of Japanese teenagers who form a
rock band ''Rock Band'' is a series of rhythm games first released in 2007 and developed by Harmonix. Based on their previous development work from the Guitar Hero, ''Guitar Hero'' series, the main ''Rock Band'' games have players use game controllers mod ...
and their struggle to fame, focusing on 14-year-old Yukio "Koyuki" Tanaka, who until meeting guitar prodigy Ryusuke Minami was an average teen with a boring life. It was adapted into a 26-episode
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, titled ''Beck: Mongolian Chop Squad'', by Madhouse and aired on
TV Tokyo JOTX-DTV (channel 7), branded as is a Japanese television station that serves as the flagship of the TX Network.Takeru Satoh is a Japanese actor. He is best known for his leading role as Kamen Rider Den-O (character)#Ryotaro Nogami, Ryotaro Nogami in the ''Kamen Rider Den-O'' franchise, and as Himura Kenshin in the live-action ''Rurouni Kenshin (film), Rurouni Kenshin ...
as Koyuki and
Hiro Mizushima , known professionally as , is a Japanese actor, creative director, and writer. He appeared in a number of Japanese TV dramas, including '' Mei-chan no Shitsuji'', ''Hanazakari no Kimitachi e'' and '' Zettai Kareshi''. Additionally, he was well ...
as Ryusuke. The series has also spawned three guidebooks, four soundtracks, a video game and a line of guitars. The ''Beck'' manga was licensed for an English-language release in North America by
Tokyopop Tokyopop (styled TOKYOPOP; formerly known as Mixx Entertainment) is an American distributor, licensor and publisher of anime, manga, manhwa and Western manga-style works. The German publishing division produces German translations of licens ...
. The first volume was published in July 2005, but the series was discontinued after the release of volume 12 in June 2008. In July 2018,
ComiXology Iconology Inc., d/b/a ComiXology (styled comiXology), was a cloud-based digital distribution platform for comics owned by Amazon, with over 200 million comic downloads . At its height it offered a selection of more than 100,000 comic books, g ...
began releasing the series digitally. The anime was given an English-language release by
Funimation Funimation was an American Video on demand#Subscription models, subscription video on-demand Over-the-top media service, over-the-top Streaming media, streaming service. Launched in 2016, the service was one of the leading distributors of anime ...
from 2007 to 2008.


Plot summary

Yukio Tanaka, known as "Koyuki" by his friends, is a regular 14-year-old Japanese boy starting eighth grade in junior high school. His boring life is changed when he saves an odd-looking dog, named Beck, from some kids. Beck's owner turns out to be an emerging rock musician, 16-year-old Ryusuke Minami, who soon influences Koyuki to start playing the guitar. The story focuses on the trials and tribulations of their
rock Rock most often refers to: * Rock (geology), a naturally occurring solid aggregate of minerals or mineraloids * Rock music, a genre of popular music Rock or Rocks may also refer to: Places United Kingdom * Rock, Caerphilly, a location in Wale ...
band named ''Beck'', and Koyuki's relationships with its members, in particular Ryusuke and his 14-year-old half-sister Maho. After hanging out with Ryusuke and seeing him play with his former band, Koyuki slowly becomes interested in Western rock music. Ryusuke gives him a guitar, but when Koyuki breaks it, Ryusuke tells him never to speak to him again. At the same time, Ryusuke forms his new band Beck, with vocalist Tsunemi Chiba, bassist Yoshiyuki Taira, and Togo, the drummer from his previous band. Koyuki begins working for, and learning guitar from, 44-year-old Kenichi Saitou in exchange to have the guitar fixed. He reunites with Ryusuke a year later, and begins to rehearse with Beck. Koyuki then makes friends with his classmate Yuji "Saku" Sakurai. When Togo leaves the band, Ryusuke has Koyuki and Saku join Beck as support musicians, becoming full members only when the band hears Koyuki sing. Eventually Beck releases their first album, which gets released on an independent record label in the United States, under the band name Mongolian Chop Squad. After gaining popularity from their US album and Koyuki being in an internationally screened concert documentary, Beck earns a spot at the music festival Grateful Sound 5, where they put on the most talked about show of the whole festival. (The live-action film adaptation ends here.) However, circumstances cause them to part ways, making it their last performance. Finding life tedious without being in Beck, Koyuki slowly gets the members back together, except Ryusuke, whose whereabouts are unknown. They perform a few shows as a quartet, before getting an offer to tour the US based on their Grateful Sound 5 performance. After Koyuki and Saku drop out of high school (they were in twelfth grade at this point) to do the tour, Beck heads to America. But after several bad performances, they are about to get kicked off the tour before reuniting with Ryusuke in
Seattle Seattle ( ) is the most populous city in the U.S. state of Washington and in the Pacific Northwest region of North America. With a population of 780,995 in 2024, it is the 18th-most populous city in the United States. The city is the cou ...
. (The anime adaptation ends here.) The rest of the tour is a hit and they end up appearing on national TV before heading back to Japan. After releasing two singles, Beck goes on a nationwide tour of Japan and earn a spot at Grateful Sound 7. However, they are later cut from the lineup. They slowly bounce back after forming a tour with several similar-sounding bands, get signed to a popular British indie record label, and start recording their first full album. The now-famous director who created the concert documentary Koyuki once appeared in ends up directing their first music video. Their album and music video do well both in Japan and England, earning them numerous magazine articles in both countries. After another nationwide tour of Japan, they do a short tour of England, including a spot at the relaunch of the legendary Avalon Festival. The band then signs to a major international record label and records their major debut album in
New York New York most commonly refers to: * New York (state), a state in the northeastern United States * New York City, the most populous city in the United States, located in the state of New York New York may also refer to: Places United Kingdom * ...
. With the album hugely successful worldwide, they tour Japan and America extensively, and the series then ends with Beck headlining the main stage at Grateful Sound 9.


Characters

; : : :The series follows his rapid development from living a boring average life to becoming an outstanding guitarist and singer. Before meeting Ryusuke, he only listened to Japanese pop music, having never heard a foreign band before. He is the last member recruited into Beck (along with Saku), playing rhythm guitar and singing slower songs. ; : : :A slacker, but talented guitarist, who inspires Koyuki to pick up the instrument. Ryusuke speaks better English than Japanese, having lived in
New York New York most commonly refers to: * New York (state), a state in the northeastern United States * New York City, the most populous city in the United States, located in the state of New York New York may also refer to: Places United Kingdom * ...
for eight years. He is the lead guitarist of Beck as well as its founding member. A large amount of the story revolves around him and his bullet-hole ridden
Gibson Les Paul The Gibson Les Paul is a solid body electric guitar that was first sold by the Gibson Guitar Corporation in 1952. The guitar was designed by factory manager John Huis and his team with input from and endorsement by guitarist Les Paul. Its typic ...
guitar, named Lucille (which is the same name as
B.B. King Riley B. King (September 16, 1925 – May 14, 2015), known professionally as B.B. King, was an American blues guitarist, singer, songwriter, and record producer. He introduced a sophisticated style of soloing based on fluid string bending, sh ...
's famous black Gibson). ; : : : Maho is Ryusuke's younger half-sister and a talented singer. She is brash but emotionally fragile, and gradually builds a romantic relationship with Koyuki. Beautiful and fairly popular, Koyuki often has a hard time approaching her romantically. While she is obviously a gifted singer, Maho confides in Koyuki that she would actually like to be a film maker. She is also an amateur model. ; : : :The main vocalist of Beck, Chiba's vocals are more punk and rap-oriented than Koyuki's and thus more fitting for the majority of Beck's songs. He is easily the most volatile member of Beck, never shying away from a fight or hiding his feelings during dire situations. He is also very good at
karate (; ; Okinawan language, Okinawan pronunciation: ), also , is a martial arts, martial art developed in the Ryukyu Kingdom. It developed from the Okinawan martial arts, indigenous Ryukyuan martial arts (called , "hand"; ''tī'' in Okinawan) un ...
, which he uses in his performances. He originally took up karate because he was bullied severely in his younger days. When not busy with the band, he helps manage his family's ramen shop; he says that if Beck doesn't work out, he would open up a chain of ramen shops. Towards the end of the series, Ryusuke tells him that he should leave the band because he thinks he is not as passionate about music as the rest of the band. He complies, but quickly returns to play with the band. His appearance is based on
Rage Against the Machine Rage Against the Machine (often abbreviated as RATM or shortened to Rage) was an American Rock music, rock band formed in Los Angeles, California, in 1991. It consisted of vocalist Zack de la Rocha, bassist and backing vocalist Tim ...
frontman
Zack de la Rocha Zacharias Manuel de la Rocha (born January 12, 1970) is an American musician, rapper, singer, songwriter, and political activist. He is best known as the vocalist and lyricist of the rock band Rage Against the Machine. Through both Rage Against ...
. ; : : :Beck's bassist, Taira is the second member recruited by Ryusuke. Although he can sometimes seem uncaring or apathetic, he is actually the most mature of the band members and often offers helpful advice. He usually performs shirtless, much like the real-life person he is based on:
Flea Flea, the common name for the order (biology), order Siphonaptera, includes 2,500 species of small flightless insects that live as external parasites of mammals and birds. Fleas live by hematophagy, ingesting the blood of their hosts. Adult f ...
of the
Red Hot Chili Peppers The Red Hot Chili Peppers are an American rock band formed in Los Angeles in 1982, consisting of Anthony Kiedis (vocals), Flea (musician), Flea (bass), John Frusciante (guitar), and Chad Smith (drums). Their music incorporates elements of a ...
. His main live bass is a white
Music Man Stingray The Music Man StingRay is an electric bass originally made by Music Man. Introduced in 1976, the StingRay was co-designed by Leo Fender and followed a similar format to his namesake company's influential Precision Bass. The more notable des ...
(a 1993-1996 model as identified from the type of bridge) with 3-band EQ and a trans bridge. ; : : :Saitou is a perverted middle-aged man and former Olympic swimmer who teaches Koyuki both guitar and swimming in exchange for Koyuki working for his business. Though he can be a demanding instructor, he opens up to Koyuki, even asking him for relationship advice on occasion. ; : : : Saku is Beck's drummer and the last member to join (along with Koyuki). He first becomes good friends with Koyuki at school, being the only person to talk to him while bully Hyodo instigated the entire class not to do so. He is closer to Koyuki than the other members of the band, and Koyuki often confides in him during moments of self-doubt. Towards the end of the series, he moves away to attend high school, but promises that he will return on the condition that Beck reunites. As Koyuki does reform Beck, he returns, telling the band that he essentially ran away from home to do so. ; : : :He is the original drummer of Ryusuke's band Beck. Togo and Ryusuke's were friends later he leaves the band due to some personal reasons; however, he is proud of Ryusuke.


Media


Manga

Written and illustrated by
Harold Sakuishi , better known by his pen name , is a Japanese manga artist. Sakuishi has a wide variety of interests which include baseball (he is a huge Chunichi Dragons fan), martial arts, MMA, and music (he is a huge Red Hot Chili Peppers fan). Each of these ...
, ''Beck'' debuted 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 manga magazine ''
Monthly Shōnen Magazine is a monthly shōnen manga magazine published in Japan by Kodansha. It was launched in 1964 under the name . In 1969 it was retitled as and its publication frequency increased from quarterly to monthly. After suspension in 1974 it started ...
'' in its July 1999 issue. The series finished on April 5, 2008; a special 77-page side-story was published on September 6 of the same year, which depicts the last day of Eddie Lee, a popular American rock musician and Ryusuke's friend. The 103 chapters (including the Eddie Lee special) were collected by Kodansha in 34 volumes, released from February 17, 2000, to October 17, 2008. The manga was licensed for an English-language release by
Tokyopop Tokyopop (styled TOKYOPOP; formerly known as Mixx Entertainment) is an American distributor, licensor and publisher of anime, manga, manhwa and Western manga-style works. The German publishing division produces German translations of licens ...
. In January 2009, it was announced that Kodansha let all of Tokyopop's German licenses expire, thus including ''Beck''. This subsequently led to Tokyopop's English license of ''Beck'' expiring as well. Only 12 volumes were published. In 2018,
ComiXology Iconology Inc., d/b/a ComiXology (styled comiXology), was a cloud-based digital distribution platform for comics owned by Amazon, with over 200 million comic downloads . At its height it offered a selection of more than 100,000 comic books, g ...
began releasing the series digitally; the first fourteen volumes were released simultaneously on July 5.


Anime

The 26-episode anime television series was titled ''Beck: Mongolian Chop Squad'', after the subtitle used by the band in the series in the United States, and aired on Japan's TV Tokyo from October 2004 to March 2005. It was directed by Osamu Kobayashi, animated by Madhouse and produced by Takeshi Shukuri and Yoshimi Nakajima.


English adaptation

On Saturday, May 27 at
Anime Boston Anime Boston is an annual three-day anime fan convention held in the spring in Boston, Massachusetts, United States. Anime Boston was created and is run by the New England Anime Society, Inc., a Massachusetts-based non-profit organization. Pro ...
2006, U.S.-based anime distributor
Funimation Funimation was an American Video on demand#Subscription models, subscription video on-demand Over-the-top media service, over-the-top Streaming media, streaming service. Launched in 2016, the service was one of the leading distributors of anime ...
announced that they had acquired the license for the ''Beck: Mongolian Chop Squad'' anime.
Taliesin Jaffe Taliesin Jaffe ( ) is an American voice actor, voice director, and screenwriter. He has worked on English-dubbing roles for anime and video games. He is a cast member on ''Critical Role'', a web series in which he plays ''Dungeons & Dragons'' wit ...
(known for directing the dub of ''
Hellsing ''Hellsing'' (stylized in all caps) is a Japanese manga series written and illustrated by Kouta Hirano. It was serialized in Shōnen Gahōsha's Seinen manga, manga magazine ''Young King OURs'' from April 1997 to September 2008, with its ...
'') and
Christopher Bevins Christopher Bevins is an American voice actor, ADR director and scriptwriter who has worked on English language adaptations of Japanese anime shows. He dubbed roles in anime including Yasuhiro Hagakure from the '' Danganronpa'' series, Kenji fr ...
(known for directing the dubs of ''
Speed Grapher ''Speed Grapher'' (stylized as ''SPEED GRAPHER'') is a 2005 anime series produced by Gonzo. The series ran for 24 episodes from April to October 2005 on TV Asahi. It tells the story of former war photographer, Tatsumi Saiga and his quest to ...
'' and ''
Samurai 7 ''Samurai 7'' (stylized as ''SAMURAI 7'') is a 2004 anime television series produced by Gonzo and based on the 1954 Akira Kurosawa film ''Seven Samurai is a 1954 Japanese epic samurai action film directed by Akira Kurosawa from a scre ...
'') are the directors of the English version. The first DVD was released in 2007, and the last in January 2008. The English dub was released by
Revelation Films Revelation Films is a British film and television production and distribution company delivering visual entertainment via cinema, television and digital platforms. Tony Carne founded Revelation Films in 1992 as a video and television productio ...
in the UK and
Madman Entertainment Madman Entertainment Pty. Ltd., also known as Madman Films, stylized as MADMAN, is an Australian film and television production, distribution, entertainment, and rights management company headquartered in East Melbourne, Victoria, specialising ...
in Australia and New Zealand. ''Beck'' made its North American television debut on the Canadian music channel,
MuchMusic Much is a Canadian English language discretionary specialty channel owned by BCE Inc. through its Bell Media subsidiary that airs programming aimed at teenagers and young adults. It is headquartered at 299 Queen Street West in what was o ...
, on March 9, 2007. The series finished on June 3. Despite the fact that this is a shōnen series, the show was rated
TV-14 The TV Parental Guidelines are a television content rating system in the United States that was first proposed on December 19, 1996, by the United States Congress, the American television industry, and the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) ...
for its language and violence, but the DVD edition is rated
TV-MA The TV Parental Guidelines are a television content rating system in the United States that was first proposed on December 19, 1996, by the United States Congress, the American television industry, and the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) ...
for strong language, including near-constant use of the word ''
fuck ''Fuck'' () is profanity in the English language that often refers to the act of sexual intercourse, but is also commonly used as an intensifier or to convey disdain. While its origin is obscure, it is usually considered to be first attested ...
'' in the first episode and frequently in subsequent episodes. In September 2013, MuchMusic pulled the series and replaced it with ''
Odd Job Jack ''Odd Job Jack'' is a Canadian adult animated sitcom starring Don McKellar playing the main character of the series named Jack Ryder and his misadventures in temporary employment. Seen on and produced for The Comedy Network, a cable specialty ch ...
''. In the English adaptation, many songs were re-recorded with English lyrics. The sung lyrics of some English songs in the anime, such as "Moon on the Water" and "Follow Me", were slightly altered to correct grammar, although the incorrect grammar still appears in the English
subtitles Subtitles are texts representing the contents of the audio in a film, television show, opera or other audiovisual media. Subtitles might provide a transcription or translation of spoken dialogue. Although naming conventions can vary, caption ...
. The Beatles' song "
I've Got a Feeling "I've Got a Feeling" is a song by the English rock band the Beatles from their 1970 album '' Let It Be''. It was recorded on 30 January 1969 during the Beatles' rooftop concert. It is a combination of two unfinished songs: Paul McCartney's "I've ...
" has the lyrics replaced in the American DVDs.


Live-action film

A live-action film adaptation of the ''Beck'' manga was announced in 2009, with filming beginning in July. It was produced and directed by
Yukihiko Tsutsumi is a Japanese television and film director. He began directing commercials and music promotion videos as an employee of Nippon Television. After spending time abroad, he returned and started his own production company, ''Office Crescendo'', from ...
, who has directed manga-to-film adaptations in the past (most notably the ''
20th Century Boys is a Japanese manga series written and illustrated by Naoki Urasawa. It was originally serialized in Shogakukan's manga magazine '' Big Comic Spirits'' from 1999 to 2006, with the 249 chapters published into 22 volumes. A 16 chapter ...
'' trilogy). It stars
Takeru Satoh is a Japanese actor. He is best known for his leading role as Kamen Rider Den-O (character)#Ryotaro Nogami, Ryotaro Nogami in the ''Kamen Rider Den-O'' franchise, and as Himura Kenshin in the live-action ''Rurouni Kenshin (film), Rurouni Kenshin ...
as Koyuki,
Hiro Mizushima , known professionally as , is a Japanese actor, creative director, and writer. He appeared in a number of Japanese TV dramas, including '' Mei-chan no Shitsuji'', ''Hanazakari no Kimitachi e'' and '' Zettai Kareshi''. Additionally, he was well ...
as Ryusuke,
Kenta Kiritani is a Japanese actor and singer. Filmography Film Television Dubbing *'' The Legend of Tarzan'', Tarzan (Alexander Skarsgård Alexander Johan Hjalmar Skarsgård (; born 25 August 1976) is a Swedish actor. A son of actor Stellan Skarsgår ...
as Chiba,
Aoi Nakamura is a Japanese model and actor. He belongs to the talent agency LesPros Entertainment. History Nakamura Aoi entered the entertainment industry when he won the Grand Prix at the final round of the 18th '' Junon'' Superboy Contest held in November ...
as Saku and
Osamu Mukai is a Japanese actor. He was born in Kanagawa Prefecture, Japan. He graduated from Meiji University. Early life He was born in Isogo-ku, Yokohama, Kanagawa prefecture and went to Hama Junior high school (浜中学校) and Hitorizawa High school ...
as Taira. The actors were given proper training on their instruments for the 30 original songs that were written for the film. ''Beck'' was released nationwide in movie theaters on September 4, 2010.
Red Hot Chili Peppers The Red Hot Chili Peppers are an American rock band formed in Los Angeles in 1982, consisting of Anthony Kiedis (vocals), Flea (musician), Flea (bass), John Frusciante (guitar), and Chad Smith (drums). Their music incorporates elements of a ...
and
Oasis In ecology, an oasis (; : oases ) is a fertile area of a desert or semi-desert environmentAround the World" and "
Don't Look Back in Anger "Don't Look Back in Anger" is a song by English rock band Oasis. It was written by the band's lead guitarist and chief songwriter Noel Gallagher, and produced by Gallagher and Owen Morris. Released on 19 February 1996 by Creation Records as th ...
" respectively. Grand Funk Inc. was given the Japan Academy Prize for Outstanding Achievement in Music for its music work in the film. The movie was released on
DVD The DVD (common abbreviation for digital video disc or digital versatile disc) is a digital optical disc data storage format. It was invented and developed in 1995 and first released on November 1, 1996, in Japan. The medium can store any ki ...
and
Blu-ray Blu-ray (Blu-ray Disc or BD) is a digital optical disc data storage format designed to supersede the DVD format. It was invented and developed in 2005 and released worldwide on June 20, 2006, capable of storing several hours of high-defin ...
on February 2, 2011. The DVD came in "standard" and "luxury" editions, with the luxury edition including a bonus DVD.


Soundtracks

In 2002, the manga received a tribute album featuring several different artists. The songs used in the anime that were performed by the character's voice actors with
Beat Crusaders were a Japanese rock band active from 1997 to 2010. During all promotional appearances, their faces are masked by drawings resembling themselves as printed by a dot-matrix printer. History Beat Crusaders, commonly abbreviated BECR, was founded ...
were released on a soundtrack in 2002. That same day an album featuring those same songs, but in their original versions, was released. A soundtrack to the live-action movie was released in 2010.


Other media

Action figures of each band member were created, equipped with amplifiers, interchangeable guitars and in the case of Saku, an elaborate drum kit. On March 31, 2005,
Marvelous Interactive (MMV) was a multinational corporation that produced animation, music, video games and television series. MMV is known for its involvement in the ''Story of Seasons'' series. They merged with AQ Interactive in 2011 and became Marvelous AQL; ...
released an adventure
video game A video game or computer game is an electronic game that involves interaction with a user interface or input device (such as a joystick, game controller, controller, computer keyboard, keyboard, or motion sensing device) to generate visual fe ...
for the
PlayStation 2 The PlayStation 2 (PS2) is a home video game console developed and marketed by Sony Interactive Entertainment, Sony Computer Entertainment. It was first released in Japan on 4 March 2000, in North America on 26 October, in Europe on 24 Novembe ...
based on the series, titled ''Beck: The Game''.
Fender Japan Fender Japan, Ltd. was a joint venture between Fender Musical Instruments Corporation, , and Fujigen Gakki of Matsumoto, Nagano Japan to produce and sell Fender-branded instruments for the Japanese market. The collaboration began in 1982 and ende ...
produced two signature ''Beck'' guitars. A
Fender Telecaster The Fender Telecaster, colloquially known as the Tele (), is an electric guitar produced by Fender (company), Fender. Together with its sister model the Fender Esquire, Esquire, it was the world's first mass-produced, commercially successfulLes ...
, and a
Fender Mustang The Fender Mustang is a solid body electric guitar produced by the Fender Musical Instruments Corporation. It was introduced in 1964 as the basis of a major redesign of Fender's student models, the Musicmaster and Duo-Sonic. It was produced ...
which were both played by Koyuki. The signature is written on the back of the guitars'
headstock A headstock or peghead is part of a guitar or similar stringed instruments such as a lute, mandolin, banjo, ukulele and others of the lute lineage. The main function of a headstock is to house the tuning pegs or other mechanism that holds the s ...
.


Reception


Manga

The series won the 2002
Kodansha Manga Award is one of Japan's major manga awards. The event is sponsored by publisher Kodansha. It has been awarded annually for serialized manga in its third iteration since 1977. Categories The award was originally called the until 1968. In 1970, it was ...
in the shōnen category. In Japan, it has sold 12 million copies as of April 2008.


Anime


Notes


References


External links


Official site

TV Tokyo's official site of the anime

ComiXology's official site for the manga

Funimation's official site for the anime
* * {{Yukihiko Tsutsumi 1999 manga 2004 anime television series debuts Animated television series about dogs Coming-of-age anime and manga Funimation Kodansha manga Madhouse (company) Manga adapted into films Much (TV channel) original programming Music in anime and manga Romance anime and manga Shōnen manga Tokyopop titles TV Tokyo original programming Winner of Kodansha Manga Award (Shōnen) Japanese romance films Works about rock music