Digimon

Digimon (デジモン, Dejimon), short for "Digital Monsters" (デジタルモンスター, Dejitaru Monsutā), is a Japanese media franchise encompassing anime, manga, toys, video games, trading card games and other media. The franchise's eponymous creatures are monsters of various forms living in a "Digital World", a parallel universe that originated from Earth's various communication networks.

History

Conception and creation

Akiyoshi Hongo was the creator of the Digimon concept, although he remains a mysterious figure and his role is more or less unknown.

Rivalry with Pokémon

Digimon's history has been marked at times by rivalry with the Pokémon media franchise that debuted at a similar time. Described as "the other 'mon'" by IGN's Juan Castro, Digimon has not enjoyed Pokémon's level of international popularity or success, but has maintained a dedicated fanbase. IGN's Lucas M. Thomas stated that Pokémon is Digimon's "constant competition and comparison", attributing the former's relative success to the simplicity of its evolution mechanic as opposed to Digivolution. The two have been noted for conceptual and stylistic similarities by sources such as GameZone. A debate among fans exists over which of the two franchises came first. In actuality, the first Pokémon media, Pokémon Red and Green, were released initially on February 27, 1996 in Japan; whereas the Digimon virtual pet was released on June 26, 1997.

Eponymous creatures

Digimon hatch from eggs called Digi-Eggs or Digitama. In the English iterations of the franchise there is another type of Digi-Egg that can be used to digivolve, or transform, Digimon. This second type of Digi-Egg is called a "Digimental" in Japanese. They age via a process called "Digivolution" which changes their appearance and increases their powers. The effect of Digivolution, however, is not permanent in the partner Digimon of the main characters in the anime, and Digimon who have digivolved will most of the time revert back to their previous form after a battle or if they are too weak to continue. Some Digimon act feral. Most, however, possess large amounts of intelligence and human speech. They are able to digivolve by the use of Digivices that their human partners have. In some cases, as in the first series, the DigiDestined (known as the 'Chosen Children' in the original Japanese) had to find some special items such as crests and tags so the Digimon could digivolve in another further stages of evolution known as Ultimate and Mega in the dub.
The first Digimon anime introduces the Digimon life cycle: They age in a similar fashion to real organisms, but do not die under normal circumstances because they are made of reconfigurable data. Any Digimon that receives a fatal wound will dissolve into infinitesimal bits of data. The data then recomposes itself as a Digi-Egg, which will hatch when rubbed gently, and the Digimon goes through its life cycle again. Digimon who are reincarnated in this way will sometimes retain some or all their memories of their previous life. However, if a Digimon's data is completely destroyed, they will die.

Virtual pet toy

Digimon started out as a digital pet called "Digital Monster", similar in style and concept to the Tamagotchi. It was planned by Wiz and released by Bandai on June 26, 1997. The toy began as the simple concept of a Tamagotchi for boys (as Bandai was also the creator of the Tamagotchi). The V-Pet is similar to its predecessors, with the exceptions of being much harder and being able to connect to fight other Digimon v-pets. Every owner would start with a Baby Digimon, train it, evolve it, take care of it, and then have battles with other Digimon owners to see who was stronger. The Digimon pet had several evolution capabilities and abilities too, so many owners had many different Digimon. In December, the second generation of Digital Monster was released, followed by a third edition in 1998.

TV series

On March 6, 1999, the franchise was given an anime as the first of the Digimon movies aired in theaters in Japan. Originally, the Digimon Adventure movie was supposed to be a short film, but after the storyboard was finished, a request for Digimon becoming a children's television show was made. On March 7, 1999, they began airing a television counterpart titled Digimon Adventure.
Four further series would follow, each with their own tie-in movies, and the series was dubbed for release in western markets in the fall of the same year. The show spawned card games, with Hyper Colosseum in Japan and later Digi-Battle in America, and more video games. The animated series is easily the best-known segment of the Digimon universe and responsible for the majority of its popularity.
"Digimon" are "Digital Monsters". According to the stories, they are inhabitants of the "Digital World", a manifestation of Earth's communication network. The stories tell of a group of mostly pre-teens, the "Chosen Children" (DigiDestined in the English version), who accompany special Digimon born to defend their world (and ours) from various evil forces. To help them surmount the most difficult obstacles found within both realms, the Digimon have the ability to evolve (Digivolve). In this process, the Digimon change appearance and become much stronger, often changing in personality as well. The group of children who come in contact with the Digital World changes from series to series.
As of 2010, there have been six series — Digimon Adventure, Digimon Adventure 02, Digimon Tamers, Digimon Frontier, Digimon Savers and Digimon Xros Wars. The first two series take place in the same fictional universe, but the third, fourth, fifth and sixth each occupy their own unique world (in the case of Digimon Tamers, the Adventure universe is referred to as a television and commercial enterprise, as well as the appearance of one character hailing from the Adventure universe). In addition, each series has spawned assorted feature films. Digimon still shows popularity, as new card series, video games, and movies are still being produced and released: new card series include Eternal Courage, Hybrid Warriors, Generations, and Operation X; the video game, Digimon Rumble Arena 2; and the previously unreleased movies Revenge of Diablomon, Runaway Locomon, Battle of Adventurers, and Island of Lost Digimon. In Japan, Digital Monster X-Evolution, the eighth TV movie, was recently released, and on December 23, 2005 at Jump Festa 2006, the fifth series, Digimon Savers was announced for Japan to begin airing after a three year hiatus of the show. A listing of Digimon straps revealed the existence of a sixth television series.
Digimon was produced by Toei Animation and Bandai of Japan. The series were broadcast in Japan by Fuji Television. The first four series were called Digimon: Digital Monsters in international markets, whilst Savers was released as Digimon Data Squad.

Digimon Adventure (Season one)

The first Digimon television series, which began airing on March 7, 1999 in Japan on Fuji TV and Kids Station and on August 14, 1999 in the United States on Fox Kids dubbed by Saban Entertainment for the North American English version. Its premise is a group of seven kids who, while at summer camp, travel to the Digital World, inhabited by creatures known as Digimon, where they become the DigiDestined and are forced to save both the Digital and Real World from evil. Each Kid was given a Digivice which selected them to be transported to the Digital World and was destined to be paired up with a Digimon Partner, such as Tai being paired up with Agumon and Matt with Gabumon. The children are helped by a mysterious man/digimon named Gennai, who helps them via hologram. The Digivices help their Digimon allies to Digivolve into stronger creatures in times of peril. The Digimon usually reached higher forms when their human partners are placed in dangerous situations, such as fighting the evil forces of Devimon, Etemon and Myotismon. The group consisted of seven original characters: Taichi "Tai" Kamiya, Yamato "Matt" Ishida, Sora Takenouchi, Koushiro "Izzy" Izumi, Mimi Tachikawa, Joe Kido, and Takeru "T.K." Takaishi. Later on in the series, an eighth character was introduced: Hikari "Kari" Kamiya (who is Taichi's younger sister).

Digimon Adventure 02 (Season two)

The second Digimon series is direct continuation of the first one, and began airing on April 2, 2000. Three years later, with most of the original DigiDestined now in high school at age fourteen, the Digital World was supposedly secure and peaceful. However, a new evil has appeared in the form of the Digimon Emperor (Digimon Kaiser) who as opposed to previous enemies is a human just like the DigiDestined. The Digimon Emperor has been enslaving Digimon with Black Rings and Control Spires and has somehow made regular Digivolution impossible. However, five set Digi-Eggs with engraved emblems had been appointed to three new DigiDestined along with T.K. and Kari, two of the DigiDestined from the previous series. This new evolutionary process, dubbed Armor Digivolution, helps the new DigiDestined to defeat evil lurking in the Digital World. Eventually, the DigiDestined defeat the Digimon Emperor, more commonly known as Ken Ichijouji on Earth, (who is more or less a rival to Davis) only with the great sacrifice of Ken's own Digimon, Wormmon. Just when things were thought to be settled, new Digimon enemies made from the deactivated Control Spires start to appear and cause trouble in the Digital World. To atone for his past mistakes, Ken joins the DigiDestined, being a DigiDestined himself, with his Partner Wormmon revived to fight against them. They soon save countries including France and Australia from control spires and defeat MaloMyotismon, the digivolved form of Myotismon from the previous series.

Digimon Tamers (Season three)

The third Digimon series, which began airing on April 1, 2001, is set largely in a "real world" where the Adventure and Adventure 02 series are television shows, and where Digimon game merchandise (based on actual items) become key to provide power boosts to real Digimon which appeared in that world. The plot revolves around three Tamers, Takato Matsuki, Rika Nonaka, and Henry Wong. It began with Takato making his very own Digimon by sliding a mysterious blue card on his card reader, which then became a D-Power. Guilmon took form from Takato’s sketchings of a new Digimon. (Tamers’ only human connection to the Adventure series is Ryo Akiyama, a character featured in some of the Digimon video games and who made an appearance in some occasions of the Adventure story-line.) Some of the changes in this series include the way the Digimon digivolve, and the way their "Digivices" work. In this series, the Tamers can slide cards through their "Digivices", which give their digimon certain advantages, such as in a card game. This act is called "Digi-modify" (Card Slash in the Japanese version). The same process was often used to Digivolve the Digimon, but as usual feelings plays a big part in the digivolving process. Unlike most Digimon series where the tone is set mostly in a way to appeal to young children, Tamers took a darker tone in nature.

Digimon Frontier (Season four)

The fourth Digimon series, which began airing on April 7, 2002, radically departs from the previous three by focusing on a new and very different kind of evolution, Spirit Evolution, in which the human characters use their D-Tectors (this series Digivice) to transform themselves into special Digimon called Legendary Warriors. After receiving unusual phone messages, the five main characters go to a subway station and take a train to the Digital World. They end up fighting Cherubimon and his group of Legendary Warrior servants, hoping to foil his effort to dominate the Digital World. Later on, they face an even greater challenge as they try to stop the Royal Knights—Dynasmon and Crusadermon—from destroying the Digital World and using its data to revive the original ruler of the Digital World: the tyrannical Lucemon. In general, Frontier has a much lighter tone than that of Tamers, reverting back to the style of Adventure and Adventure 02.

Digimon Savers / Data Squad (Season five)

After a three year hiatus, a fifth Digimon series began airing on April 2, 2006. Like Frontier, Savers has no connection with the previous installments, and also marks a new start for the Digimon franchise, with a drastic change in character designs and story-line, in order to reach a broader audience. The story focus on the challenges faced by the members of D.A.T.S. ("Digital Accident Tactics Squad"), an organization created to conceal the existence of the Digital World and Digimon from the rest of mankind, and solve any Digimon related incidents occurred on Earth in secret. Later the D.A.T.S. team is dragged between a massive conflict between Earth and the Digital World triggered by an ambitious human scientist determined to make use of the Digimon to his own personal gains. The English version was dubbed by Studiopolis and it premiered on the Jetix block on Toon Disney on October 1, 2007. Digivolution in Data Squad requires the human partner's DNA ("Digisoul" in the Japanese version) to activate, a strong empathy with their Digimon and a will to succeed. Like previously in Tamers, this plot takes on a dark tone throughout the story.

Digimon Xros Wars (Season six)

Three and a quarter years after the end of the fifth season, a new sixth series has been confirmed by Bandai for the Digimon anime. The official name of the series was revealed in the June issue of Shueisha's V Jump magazine. It aired in Japan on TV Asahi - July 6, 2010. The story is labelled as a Digimon war like nobody has ever seen before. Reverting back to a style in character designs similar to the first four seasons, it follows the adventures of Taiki Kudo, a dependable and selfless boy who is unwillingly drawn to the Digital World along two of his friends, and with a small group of digimon they befriend, he forms an alliance named "Team Xros Heart" created with the intention of restore order to a fragmented Digital World and stop the efforts of other factions prone to counquer it by force. To aid in their battles, Taiki makes use of the "Xros Loader", a special digivice whose main function is to temporarily fuse two or more digimon together in a stronger one with special abilities.

Movies

There have been nine Digimon movies released in Japan. The first seven were directly connected to their respective anime series; Digital Monster X-Evolution originated from the Digimon Chronicle merchandise line. All movies except X-Evolution and Ultimate Power! Activate Burst Mode have been released and distributed internationally. Digimon: The Movie, released in the U.S. and Canada territory by Fox Kids in October 6, 2000, consists of the union of the first three Japanese movies.

1. Digimon Adventure (Part one of Digimon: The Movie)
2. Digimon Adventure: Our War Game (Part two of Digimon: The Movie)
3. Digimon Adventure 02: Digimon Hurricane Touchdown / Supreme Evolution! The Golden Digimentals (Part three of Digimon: The Movie)
4. Digimon Adventure 02: Diablomon Strikes Back (Revenge of Diaboromon)
5. Digimon Tamers: The Adventurers' Battle (Battle of Adventurers)
6. Digimon Tamers: Runaway Digimon Express (Runaway Locomon)
7. Digimon Frontier: Revival of the Ancient Digimon (Island of Lost Digimon)
8. Digital Monster X-Evolution
9. Digimon Savers - The Movie: Ultimate Power! Activate Burst Mode!!
10. Digimon Savers 3D: The Digital World in Imminent Danger!
11. Digimon Adventure 3D: Digimon Grandprix!

Versions outside Japan

In the United States, the series premiered in August 1999 on the Fox Television Network. It was dubbed by Saban Entertainment (later Sensation Animation), and was initially broadcasted through Fox Network's Fox Kids and Fox Family. The first four series were collectively retitled Digimon: Digital Monsters. Some scenes from the original version were omitted from the Saban dub, or were modified, in order to comply with Fox's Standards and practices which considered several scenes to be inappropriate for the target age group. Often dialogue was changed, and the show became less "Serious" in tone compared to the Japanese version, instead featuring more jokes and added dialogue, along with a completely different musical score, due to licensing issues. Another noticeable change in the dub is using different voice actors for different forms of a certain Digimon, whereas in Japan, the voice actor merely changes the tone of his/her voice, sometimes being altered for effect. The latter often results in a high-pitched childish voice for an otherwise monstrous or masculine form.
After Disney acquired Saban during the third series, the first three series moved to the cable network ABC Family, while the fourth (Frontier) premiered on UPN. This was due to a deal between Disney and UPN which concluded with Digimon Frontier. Frontier was syndicated on ABC Family shortly after that. Digimon continues to run in syndication on the new channel after Toon Disney, Disney XD. Digimon Data Squad has now started to air on Disney XD.
In Canada, the Saban version was broadcast on YTV. In the U.S. insular area of Puerto Rico, the show was redubbed in Spanish, and in Quebec (where Digimon Adventure aired on TQS, and Digimon Adventure 02 on TÉLÉTOON), the show was redubbed in French. A French version of Digimon Tamers was aired in France, but not in North America.
After the overwhelming popularity of Pokémon in India, Cartoon Network started to air Digimon in 2004. Later, after two seasons it was taken off air in the end of 2004.
In the United Kingdom, Digimon aired on Fox Kids cable/satellite channel and on ITV. However, Digimon Frontier (the fourth series) has not been shown in the UK, and the show, including series 1, 2 and 3, hasn't been seen on UK television since late 2005, when Jetix took it off the air. However Digimon Data Squad has recently begun airing in the UK on KiX!. It also aired in countries such as Ireland, South Africa, Malaysia, Australia, Mexico, Argentina, Chile and others.
The Latin American, Brazilian, Spanish, German and Italian versions of Digimon are completely uncensored and uncut from the original Japanese edition. In Latin America and Brazil, Digimon Adventure, Digimon Adventure 02, Digimon Tamers and Digimon Frontier were aired on Fox Kids and later on Jetix until early 2005, the year in which all of the series were taken off the air. As June, 2009 Digimon Data Squad has not been aired yet in Latin America. Starting on July 4, 2009, reruns of Digimon Frontier are being aired on Disney XD Latin America, and in Brazil, TV Globo aired Digimon Savers from August to September 2009. Disney XD started to air Digimon Data Squad in 2010 on that country.
This show also aired in the Philippines in early 2000 on ABS-CBN. It would air Friday nights at 7:30PM. ABS-CBN hired Filipino voice actors to dub the show in English. This dubbing is mostly true to the original. Though they used the original Japanese show as the medium for the dub, some of the voices seem to sound like the U.S. version (e.g., Taichi having an adolescent's voice instead of a kid's) or completely original to the dubbing crew (e.g., Gabumon's deep, grumbly voice). The entire first series of Digimon Adventure was dubbed in English (in order to compete with the 4Kids version of Pokémon which aired on the rival network GMA 7 on the same day and time), along with Digimon Adventure 02. The second series aired on a new Saturday morning block at 10 A.M. two weeks after the first series finale. This series was dubbed in both English and Tagalog, so that it would be compatible with the other shows in the block. Cartoon Network Philippines began airing Digimon Tamers around 2003, then Digimon Frontier late in 2004. This time, the show, along with some of the other anime that aired with it, was dubbed by Singaporean voice actors. Tamers and Frontier were dubbed in Filipino when both series aired on ABS-CBN on its weekday morning line-up of animated shows (Tamers first followed by Frontier after a few months). Digimon Savers began airing in the country on September 8, 2008 and has currently ended. However, in January 2008, Hero started to broadcast the Digimon series with Digimon Adventure. The series which is currently shown on Hero is Digimon Adventure.

Comics

Digimon first appeared in narrative form in the one-shot manga “C'mon Digimon”, released in the summer of 1997. C'mon Digimon spawned the popular Digimon Adventure V-Tamer 01 manga, written by Hiroshi Izawa, which began serialization on November 21, 1998.

C'mon Digimon

Digimon Adventure V-Tamer 01

Digimon Chronicle

Digimon Next

Yuen Wong Yu manhua

A Chinese manhua was written and drawn by Yuen Wong Yu (余 遠鍠 Yu Yuen-wong), who based its storyline on the television series. This adaptation covers Digimon Adventure in five volumes, Digimon Adventure 02 in two, Digimon Tamers in four, and Digimon Frontier in three. The original stories are heavily abridged, though on rare occasions events play out differently than the anime.
The Cantonese language version was published by Rightman Publishing Ltd. in Hong Kong.
Two English versions were also released. The first one was published by Chuang Yi in Singapore. The second one, which was written by Lianne Sentar, was released by TOKYOPOP in North America.
The three volumes for Digimon Frontier have been released by Chuang Yi in English. These have not been released by TOKYOPOP in North America or Europe. However, the Chuang Yi releases of Digimon Frontier were distributed by Madman Entertainment in Australia.

D-Cyber

Dark Horse

Dark Horse Comics published American-style Digimon comic books, adapting the first thirteen episodes of the English dub of Digimon Adventure in 2001. The story was written by Daniel Horn and Ryan Hill, and illustrated by Daniel Horn and Cara L. Niece.

Panini

The European publishing company, Panini, approached Digimon in different ways in different countries. While Germany created their own adaptations of episodes, the United Kingdom (UK) reprinted the Dark Horse titles, then translated some of the German adaptations of Adventure 02 episodes. Eventually the UK comics were given their own original stories, which appeared in both the UK's official Digimon Magazine and the official UK Fox Kids companion magazine, Wickid. These original stories only roughly followed the continuity of Adventure 02. When the comic switched to the Tamers series the storylines adhered to continuity more strictly; sometimes it would expand on subject matter not covered by the original Japanese anime (such as Mitsuo Yamaki's past) or the English adaptations of the television shows and movies (such as Ryo's story or the movies that remained undubbed until 2005). In a money saving venture, the original stories were later removed from Digimon Magazine, which returned to printing translated German adaptations of Tamers episodes. Eventually, both magazines were cancelled.

Video games

This battle in Digimon World 3 shows the player's WarGreymon battling the enemy Machinedramon. Battling is an integral concept of the Digimon video game series and media franchise.

Digimon
Genres	Action role-playing game, Life Simulation, Adventure, Video card game, Strategy, Racing
Developers	Namco Bandai (Main), Griptonite Games, Hudson Soft, Dimps, DIGITALIC
Publishers	Namco Bandai (formerly Bandai)
Platforms	PlayStation, PlayStation 2, PlayStation Portable, Game Boy Advance, Microsoft Windows Nintendo DS, Nintendo GameCube, Sega Saturn, WonderSwan, WonderSwan Color, Xbox
First release	Digimon World January 28, 1999
Latest release	Digimon World Championship August 26, 2008

The Digimon series has a large number of video games which usually have their own independent storylines with a few sometimes tying into the stories of the anime series or manga series. The games consists of a number of genres including Life Simulation, Adventure, Video card game, Strategy and Racing games though they are mainly Action role-playing game. The games released in North America are: Digimon World, Digimon World 2, Digimon World 3, Digimon World 4, Digimon Digital Card Battle, Digimon Rumble Arena, Digimon Rumble Arena 2, Digimon Battle Spirit, Digimon Battle Spirit 2, Digimon Racing, Digimon World DS, Digimon World Data Squad, Digimon World Dawn and Dusk and Digimon World Championship.
In late 2009, Bandai created a webpage in Japanese showing a new game to be released in 2010 called Digimon Story: Lost Evolution, which uses the same engine as their predecessors Digimon World DS and Digimon World Dawn and Dusk and was released on July 1, 2010. In February 2010, a website for the online multiplayer game, Digimon Battle, was launched, showing it to be based primarily in the world of the Tamers saga and its characters.

A presentation at a Digimon RPG booth in South Korea.

Card game

The Digimon Collectible Card Game is a collectible card game based on Digimon, first introduced in Japan in 1997 and published by Bandai. The card game is also put into games. Digital Card Battle is one of them and it's also featured in Digimon World 3.

Notable contributors

• Akiyoshi Hongo: Maker of the original Digimon concept.
• Hiroyuki Kakudō: Director of Digimon Adventure and Digimon Adventure 02.
• Yukio Kaizawa: Director of Digimon Tamers and Digimon Frontier.
• Naozumi Itō: Director of Digimon Savers.
• Jeff Nimoy: U.S. Director of Digimon Adventure, Digimon Adventure 02 and Digimon Data Squad (Savers).
• Mary Elizabeth McGlynn: U.S. Director/Writer/Editor of Digimon Tamers and Digimon Frontier.
• Chiaki J. Konaka: Head writer of Digimon Tamers.
• Hiroshi Izawa: Author of the Digimon Adventure V-Tamer 01 manga.
• Tenya Yabuno: Illustrator of the Digimon Adventure V-Tamer 01 manga.
• Yuen Wong Wu: Writer and illustrator for the Digimon manhua series.
• Takanori Arisawa: Composer of the Japanese versions of Digimon Adventure, Digimon Adventure 02, Digimon Tamers and Digimon Frontier.
• Keiichi Oku: Composer of Digimon Savers.
• Shuki Levy: Composer for the English language releases of Digimon Adventure, Digimon Adventure 02 and Digimon Tamers.
• Deddy Tzur: Composer for the English language release of Digimon Frontier.
• Thorsten Laewe: Composer for the English language release of Digimon Savers.
• Paul Gordon: Co-Composer for the English language theme song.
• Kouji Wada: Performer of the opening themes of Digimon Adventure, Digimon Adventure 02, Digimon Tamers, Digimon Frontier, the second opening theme of Digimon Savers, and the evolution song of Digimon Xros Wars

Hunter x Hunter

Hunter × Hunter (ハンター×ハンター, Hantā Hantā), is a Japanese manga series written and illustrated by Yoshihiro Togashi. The story focuses on a young boy named Gon Freecss, who one day discovers that the father he had always been told was dead is in fact alive and well. He learns that his father, Ging, is a legendary "Hunter", an individual who has proven themself an elite member of humanity. Despite the fact that Ging abandoned Gon with his relatives in order to pursue his dreams, Gon becomes determined to follow in his father's footsteps, pass the rigorous "Hunter Examination", and eventually find his father to become a Hunter in his own right.
The Hunter × Hunter manga series began serialization in March 1998 in the Shueisha magazine Weekly Shōnen Jump. With 310 chapters to date, it has been published in 27 tankōbon chapter collections in Japan so far. However, the manga has gone on hiatus a number of times in recent years. Hunter × Hunter was translated into English and released in North America by Viz Media beginning in April 2005. In 1999, the manga series was adapted into a 62-episode anime series produced by Nippon Animation and directed by Kazuhiro Furuhashi, and premiered on the Japanese terrestrial television network Fuji TV and the satellite television station Animax. Three separate original video animations (OVAs) totalling 30 episodes were also produced by Nippon Animation and released in Japan from 2002 to 2004. The television series has been licensed and released in North America by Viz, and it aired on the Funimation Channel beginning in 2009. There are also numerous audio albums, video games, musicals, and other media based on Hunter × Hunter.

Plot

Twelve years prior to the start of the story, the famous Hunter Ging Freecss left his infant son, Gon, with his aunt Mito on Whale Island. Gon, raised believing his parents were dead, finds out from Ging's apprentice, Kite, that his father is still alive. Gon then leaves his home to follow in his father's footsteps as a "Hunter" by taking the "Hunter Exam". Hunters are elite members of humanity capable of tracking down secret treasure, rare beasts, and even other individuals. Prior to the exam, Gon meets and befriends three of the other applicants, Kurapika, Killua Zaoldyeck, and Leorio. After the exam, Kurapika departs to find work and Leorio leaves to attend medical school. Gon and Killua decide to gain combat experience by training at the "Heavens Arena", a 251-story building where thousands of martial artists compete daily in fighting tournaments. There, they meet the kung fu master, Wing, who teaches them about "Nen", a chi-like life energy that can be used to manifest superhuman powers.
The third story arc reunites the main characters for the world's largest auction in a sprawling metropolis called Yorknew City. Gon, Killua, and Leorio try different methods to make enough money to buy "Greed Island", a video game that could help Gon find his father. This story arc introduces the Phantom Troupe, a group of thieves who, among many other crimes, slaughtered all the other members of Kurapika's clan. Kurapika crosses paths with them while working as a bodyguard. Finally Gon and Killua's find the Greed Island, the seemingly-magical video game that sucks players within. The goal of the game is to collect a number of set cards, although almost everything in the game, from food to money, can be turned into cards. Inside Greed Island Gon and Killua are joined by Biscuit Krueger, a master and experienced teacher of Nen who trains them. As part of their reward, they are allowed to take three cards to be used in the real world. Using the card "Accompany", Gon and Killua travel to a player under the username "Nigg", who they believe to be Ging. However, it ends up bringing them to Kite instead.
Alongside Kite, Gon and Killua briefly work as biological researchers in the country of Kakin. As they investigate a giant insect limb found on the country's shores, the group discover it came from a man-sized Chimera Ant queen, an insect that devours other creatures and then gives birth to progeny that inherit the characteristics of the different species it has eaten. The queen washes up onto island nation called the Neo-Green Life (N.G.L.) Autonomous Region, inhabited by a neo-luddite culture. She quickly develops a taste for humans and builds a colony in order to conceive both an army of offspring and a Chimera Ant king named Meryem. The Chimera Ants proceed to wipe most of the population out before Gon, Killua, and Kite arrive. The queen dies during labor, and the king and his Royal Guards flee the N.G.L., secretly overthrowing the government of the nearby Republic of East Gorteau soon thereafter. Under the guise of the former king of the Republic, Meryem initiates the process of forcibly awakening Nen in the civilians of East Gorteau in order to form his own personal army to conquer the world, resulting in the deaths of millions unable to awaken Nen. As Ants formerly under the queen's rule rejoin the king, the Hunter Association mobilizes quickly to stop the oncoming genocide by sending in an extermination team of Hunters to East Gorteau. Distraught over the murder of Kite at the hands of the Royal Guards, Gon and Killua join the extermination team in order to take revenge for their friend.

Production

The title of the manga is usually pronounced "Hunter Hunter" with the "×" being silent. As with his previous series YuYu Hakusho, Togashi used drafting ink and Kabura pens for his illustrations, but also began using eMac for his coloring.
The publication history of the Hunter × Hunter manga has been plagued with hiatuses beginning in November 2005. These hiatuses were often attributed to rumors of the author suffering from an unspecified illness. Since that time, the manga has settled into a schedule of being serialized for ten weeks (ten chapters) with no delays for any chapters, but then going back into hiatus for several months until the publication of the tankōbon collecting the most recent ten chapters, upon which the serialization continues for another ten weeks. The latest hiatus began after the publication of Chapter 310 in May 2010.

Media

Manga

The Hunter × Hunter manga is currently being serialized in Shueisha's Weekly Shōnen Jump in Japan. Shueisha compiles the manga's chapters into tankōbon volumes, of which 27 have been released. An English version of the manga began publication in North America by Viz Media starting in April 2005. With a translation by Shaenon K. Garrity, Viz marketed the manga as part of its "Shonen Jump Advanced" line for readers in their older teens and young adults. Twenty-six volumes have been released in North America as of January 2010.

Anime

Hunter × Hunter box set 1, released in North America on December 9, 2008.

The Hunter × Hunter anime adaptation was produced by Nippon Animation and directed by Kazuhiro Furuhashi. A total of 62 episodes were broadcast on Fuji Television and Animax from October 16, 1999 to March 31, 2001. Marvelous Entertainment has released all episodes of the series on DVD in 13 separate volumes between September 20, 2000 and September 19, 2001.
Viz Media licensed the Hunter × Hunter anime, via The Ocean Group, for distribution in the Region 1 market, where it was released across four DVD boxed-sets. The first set was released on December 9, 2008 and the final was released on December 1, 2009. The series began being broadcast in the United States on the Funimation Channel in the spring of 2009.

Original video animations

A pilot OVA for Hunter × Hunter was shown as part of the "Jump Super Anime Tour" of 1998. Produced by Studio Pierrot and the directed by Noriyuki Abe, it depicts the early events of the manga up to Gon's voyage from Whale Island. Since the completion of the television series, three subsequent OVAs produced by Nippon Animation have carried the story from where the broadcast left off. The first OVA was directed by Satoshi Saga and released in eight episodes among four volumes from January 17 to April 17, 2002. The second OVA season, Hunter × Hunter: Greed Island, was directed Yukihiro Matsushita and was released in among eight episodes among four volumes from February 19 to May 21, 2003. The third OVA season, Hunter × Hunter: G.I. Final, was directed by Makoto Sato and was released in 14 episodes among seven volumes from March 3 to August 18, 2004. None of the OVAs have been released officially in English.

CDs

The background music for the Hunter × Hunter anime and the three OVA series was composed by Toshihiko Sahashi. The original anime series features two opening themes, "Ohayou." (おはよう。, lit. "Good morning") by Keno and "Taiyou Wa Yoru mo Kagayaku" (太陽は夜も輝く, lit. "The Sun Shines at Night") by Wino, and three closing themes: "Kaze Nouta" (風のうた, lit. "Wind Song") by Minako Honda, and "EJan-Do You Feel Like I Feel?" (Eじゃん-Do You Feel Like I Feel?) and "Hotaru" (蛍, lit. "Firefly"), both by Nagai Masato. The first OVA series features the opening theme "PALE ALE" and the closing theme "Carry On", both by Kurosawa Keniti. Hunter × Hunter: Greed Island features the opening theme "Pray" by Wish* and the closing theme "POPCORN" by Mikuni Shimokawa. Hunter × Hunter: G.I. Final features the opening theme "Believe In Tomorrow" and the closing theme "Moshimokono Sekai De Kun To Boku Ga Deae Nakattara" (もしもこの世界で君と僕が出会えなかったら, lit. "If You And I Can't Come Into This World"), both by Sunflower's Garden.
A large number of audio CDs for the Hunter × Hunter have been released by Marvelous Entertainment. The three-volume soundtrack for the anime television series contains a total of 129 instrumental and vocal songs. The Original Video Animation Hunter × Hunter Sound Trax for the first OVA series contains 18 songs and the Original Video Animation Hunter × Hunter: Greed Island Original Sound Tracks for the second OVA series contains 30 songs. In addition, character-specific and story arc drama CDs, as well as a 17-volume radio drama titled Hunter × Hunter R, have been published throughout the anime adaptations' release period.

Musicals and theatrical play

There have been two musicals based on Hunter × Hunter in which the Japanese voice actors portray their respective characters. The first, Musical Hunter × Hunter (ミュージカル ハンター×ハンター), was originally performed during December 2000. It is an original story that appears to take place in between the end of the "Yorknew City" arc and the beginning of the "Greed Island" arc. Gon gets a mysterious phone call, to come aid the citizens of Elrais. Once they get there they find that the country's four best performers have been kidnapped. It is later found that the kidnappers are controlling Madame Isabel (who is like a ghost). They plan to use her power to take revenge on Elrais. It is up to Gon and party to rescue the performers, and save the country. The second musical, Musical Hunter × Hunter: The Nightmare of Zoldyck (ミュージカル ハンター×ハンター ナイトメア・オブ・ゾルディック), was originally performed during August 2002. This is an alternate re-telling of when Kurapika, Leorio, and Gon go to Kukuroo Mountain to fetch back Killua. This includes a farewell party at the Zoldyck mansion, and Illumi placing a "switch" in Killua's mind. This switch will cause Killua to become murderous and attack his friends, if he ever tries to fight Illumi. Both musicals have received separate DVD and audio CD releases, as well as a dual DVD release from Marvelous Entertainment.
There is also a live-action play titled Real Stage Hunter × Hunter: "A Longing for Pakunoda ~ A Spider's Memory ~" (リアルステージ ハンター×ハンター「A Longing for Phalcnothdk 〜蜘蛛の記憶〜」) that was originally performed during August 2004. It is a darker retelling of the kidnapping in the Phantom Troupe story arc. Hisoka, Leorio, a number of Phantom Troupe members, and all Nostrade bodyguards are absent from the plotline. In addition, Kurapika is played by Kimura Akiko; the voice actress of Mito Freecss and Biscuit Krueger in the Hunter × Hunter anime. Killua and Gon are played by their respective voice actresses. It contains flashbacks of Pakunoda's (played by Ikeda Yukiko) memories and experiences with the Spiders, including Kurapika's capture of Chrollo Lucilfer (played by Konishi Hiroki).

Video games

There are ten Japan-exclusive video games based on Hunter × Hunter, many of which are either developed or published by Konami or Bandai. They range from role-playing and strategy games to action and adventure games. These include one title for the WonderSwan, three for the WonderSwan Color, two for the Game Boy Color, one for the Game Boy Advance, two for the PlayStation, and one for the PlayStation 2. Characters from the franchise have also appeared along with other Weekly Shōnen Jump properties in two fighting games, Jump Super Stars and Jump Ultimate Stars, for the Nintendo DS.

Other media and merchandise

A series of three film books based on the anime series has been released by Shueisha from December 3, 1999 to August 24, 2001. A guidebook to the anime titled Hunter x Hunter Characters Book: World × Character × Blessing (HUNTER x HUNTER キャラクターズブック World × Character × Blessing) was published by Shueisha in January 2001, while a guidebook to the manga titled Hunter × Hunter: Hunters Association Official World and Character Guide (HUNTER × HUNTER ハンター協会公式発行ハンターズ・ガイド) was published by the company on June 4, 2004. There is also an extensive collectible card game by Bandai, a small line of action figures, and a collection of mini-figurines.

Reception

The Hunter × Hunter manga has been largely successful commercially, having sold sold over 44,000,000 copies in Japan alone as of January 2008. Volume 24 of the manga was the sixth best-selling manga in Japan in 2007, while Volume 25 was the second best-selling manga in the region during its release week. Volume 26 was the best-selling manga in the first two weeks of its release, and has sold approximately 811,995 copies as of November 3, 2008. Volume 27 sold 488,446 copies in Japan in its first week alone and 918,059 copies by the middle of 2010. In North America, volumes 23 through 26 have ranked within the top 300 best-selling graphics novels list of sales estimates by Diamond Comic Distributors.
Jason Thompson, author of Manga: The Complete Guide, described the plot of Hunter × Hunter as "an almost random collection of psych-outs, battles, puzzles, and trickery" that works on both a chapter-by-chapter basis and on a larger scale. Publishers Weekly gave a positive review to the first volume of the manga, finding that Togashi "shows a deft touch" with its standard story, as well as calling his artwork "clear and graceful" and his characters "endearing and complex". Charles Solomon, a writer for The New York Times and Los Angeles Times, admired the moral seriousness of Gon, a quality that gives the protagonist "an appeal his relentlessly upbeat counterparts lack."
The Hunter Hunter anime series has enjoyed much more modest popularity than its manga source material. Newtype listed the it as having a Japanese television rating of 10.5 for the fourth quarter of 2000. The show's viewership was ranked number six among the top ten television anime series in Japan for February 2001. In a 2006 web poll conducted in Japan by the network TV Asahi, the Hunter × Hunter television series was voted as the 28th best anime of all time. The series was voted as the 16th best anime of 2000 in the Animage Anime Grand Prix, but rose to fourth place the following year.

Dear Boys

Dear Boys (ディア・ボーイズ, Dia Bōizu) is a sports manga by Hiroki Yagami, published by Kodansha in Monthly Shōnen Magazine. As of June 2007, the Dear Boys series has 25 volumes in total, including the Dear Boys: The Early Days and Dear Boys: Act 2. In 2007, Dear Boys: Act 2 was awarded the Kodansha Manga Award for the shōnen manga.
The story concerns the progress of the Mizuho High School basketball team as it attempts to win the prefectural championship. It also deals heavily with the relationship between the players on the team, especially the two main characters Kazuhiko Aikawa and Takumi Fujiwara.

Plot

At the outset of the manga, the team is in trouble, as there are not enough players to play a game. Additionally, the coach has left after a conflict with Fujiwara. However, Aikawa transfers to Mizuho and through his enthusiasm and sheer love of the game, infuses the few remaining members with a sense of purpose.
Despite the fact that there are only five of them (i.e., they have no substitutes), they manage to get the coach of the girls' team to coach them as well. At first, she seems very strict, but later reveals her attachment to her "Dear Boys". Together, they do their best to make their dreams come true and take their team to the top of the prefecture.
The manga isn't only focused on the Mizuho team, but also on several rival teams. In fact, the mangaka spends a bit of time developing the characters of other teams' members.

Anime

The anime version of Dear Boys, also known as Hoop Days, was released on TV in Japan in 2003. Like many Kodansha adaptations (e.g., Peach Girl), it was made on a rather low budget. As a result, it had somewhat lower quality animation than many other shōnen anime that came out in the same year.
It follows the storyline of the manga quite closely. Eurobeat music is played during the games, much like how the music genre is featured during the mountain pass races in Initial D.
Since the company that produced Hoop Days also produced Initial D, they featured an episode of the cast watching scenes from the then-upcoming Initial D Fourth Stage.

Theme songs

• Opening Theme: Sound of Bounce by DA PUMP
• Ending Theme: Baller No Shougou (Baller's Number) by Chris F.

Characters

Kazuhiko Aikawa

Aikawa Kazuhiko (哀川 和彦) Voiced by: Kōhei Kiyasu/ Ochu Otsuka

• Basketball Jersey: Number 7
• Height: 175 cm
• Nickname: Aika, Ai-chan
• Birthday: 9 June
• Position: Small Forward

He was the one who convinced remaining players to play basketball again. Mutsumi had once said that it was as if Aikawa reminded them all about how much fun they could've all had playing basketball together. He was once the trump card and captain of the Tendōji High's basketball team. He plays the position of point forward in the team. He also has a knack of being able to jump higher than most people, and that makes up for his height disadvantage. Even though he is short, he is able to dunk.
He is considered to be a genius as can be seen in anime and it is seen that his skills seems to improve with every game that he plays. He is also the best friend of Masato Sawanobori, the star player and point guard of Tendōji High School and Fujiwara Takumi, the captain of the Mizuho basketball team.
He is always able to encourage the other players no matter how hard the game is. He is romantically involved with Mai Moritaka of the girl's team.

Takumi Fujiwara

Fujiwara Takumi (藤原 拓弥) Voiced by: Masaya Matsukaze

• Basketball Jersey: Number 4
• Height: 184 cm
• Nickname: Fujiwara-chan, Taku
• Position: Point Guard

Fujiwara is a second-year student at Mizuho High. He is often nicknamed as Taku by his close friends and seems romantically involved with Mutsumi Akiyoshi of the girls' team. Fujiwara also appears to be very close to his long-time friend, Miura Ranmaru.
He was involved in an incident where he was provoked into punching the coach in his first year. The coach has since transferred to another school and Mizuho's boys basketball team was banned from any tournament for a year. He is not to be mistaken with Initial D's Takumi Fujiwara.
He has an old injury on his right knee which came from one of his games involving Miura and was ordered by Anzaki to rehabilitate his knee and make it more flexible to improve his playing ability in time for the prefectural tournament.
Fujiwara is the captain of Mizuho basketball team and plays the position of point guard. He attended Mizuho Junior High and was Miura's teammate at that time as well.
As seen in the anime and said by Aikawa that he(Takumi) is the reason due to which Aikawa can push himself way beyond his limits.It is denied by Aikawa that he(Fuji) was equal to Masato Sawanabori of Tendouji in skills.

Ranmaru Miura

Miura Ranmaru (三浦 蘭丸) Voiced by: Ken Takeuchi

• Basketball Jersey: Number 8
• Height: 173 cm
• Position: Shooting Guard

Miura has a calm and quiet personality. He has been Fujiwara's best friend since middle school. Miura was seen not to have good stamina at the beginning of the series. He plays the shooting guard position and is the three pointers of the team. It was mentioned in the manga that he would rather be scoring points then being the playmaker of the team.He is also talented at stealing balls from his opponents. He is also the one who can shoot Fade Away Three Pointers.
During the match versus Kadena Nishi, he is forced to shoot NBA 3 pointers to help Mizuho win the match. Unfortunately, he was injured due to a foul made by Kenta Shimabukuro. He was then rested for the subsequent match.
Miura attended Mizuho Junior High and was Fujiwara's teammate at that time as well. He blamed himself for causing Fujiwara's knee injury although it is not his fault. In the anime, Keiko Ogami of the girls' team seems to have a crush on him.
Fujiwara had intended Miura to, before the start of tournament, become a player to be feared. He wants Miura to be like before, be unpredicatable with his pin point passes, judgement and sharp shooting.

Tsutomu Ishii

Ishii Tsutomu (石井 努) Voiced by: Tatsuhisa Suzuki

• Basketball Jersey: Number 6
• Height: 190 cm
• Position: Power Forward

Ishii is an extremely short-tempered person. It was highlighted that his weakness is being easily provoked by the opposing team to foul, and is prone to commit four fouls at a crucial time of a match. However, as the team starts to advance to the final, he has grown mature and his skills were also starting to grow more steady and powerful.
He plays the position of power forward in the team. It appears that he and Dobashi are close friends, having played on the same team during middle school. Ishii attended Takakura Junior High. And it says in the episodes that he matches with the big machine.

Kenji Dobashi

Dobashi Kenji (土橋 健二) Voiced by: Katsuyuki Konishi

• Basketball Jersey: Number 5
• Height: 192 cm
• Nickname: Dobashi-chan, Oyaji
• Position: Center

Dobashi is the largest on team. He resembles Miura and has a quiet personality. Although his legs are not strong, he proves to his teammates that he can steal, rebound and defend better than ever before. He plays the position of center in the team.
He is often called "old man" by Ishii because of his hair and appearance. In the anime, before the prefectural championship, he changed his hairstyle. Dobashi attended Takakura Junior High.
As the story passes, he was one of the pillars for the team and his presence is felt. Whenever he was injured, the team performance will fare badly because everyone expects him to be there being the main guy in defence.

Tōya Takashina

Takashina Tōya (高階 トウヤ)

• Basketball Jersey: Number 9
• Height: 187 cm
• Position: Sixth Man

Takashina is first seen practising alone in one episode, and later became the 6th member of the boys' team. It was said that he can play any position in a team. He is extremely talented in shooting three-pointers, matching up to Miura's level of skill and excellent in rebounds.
It is said that Takashina was a friend of Ayumi Fuse during middle school.

Hitoshi Enomoto

Enomoto Hitoshi (榎本 仁志)

• Basketball Jersey: Number 15
• Position: Forward

A first-year student at Mizuho High School. Enomoto only appears in Dear Boys: Act 2. He plays the position of forward in the team.
In the early parts of Act 2, Fujiwara had said that Enomoto was similar to Miura when he was in middle school - arrogant and daring - although denied by the latter.
He is determined to take over Miura's position.

Kiyoshi Suizenji

Suizenji Kiyoshi (水前寺 清)

• Basketball Jersey: Number 14
• Position: Point Guard

A first year student at Mizuho High, he only appears in Dear Boys: Act 2. Suizenji has long hair and wishes to be a point guard in the future. He idolizes Fujiwara.

Jōichirō Kurebayashi

Kurebayashi Jōichirō (紅林 丈一郎)

• Basketball Jersey: Number 11
• Height: 210 cm
• Position: Center

A first year student at Mizuho High, he only appears in Dear Boys: Act 2. Kurebayashi is extremely tall, in fact the tallest in the team.

Eiji Kondō

Kondō Eiji (近藤 英次)

• Basketball Jersey: Number 13
• Position: No Position

A first year student at Mizuho High, he only makes his appearance in Dear Boys: Act 2. Eiji is Kondo's younger brother and is a complete beginner at basketball.

Isamu Kuwata

桑田 勇 (Kuwata Isamu)

• Basketball Jersey: Number 10
• Position: Forward

A first year student at Mizuho High, he only appears in Dear Boys: Act 2. Kuwata plays as a forward for the team.

Shun Minamiyama

南山 瞬 (Minamiyama Shun)

• Basketball Jersey: Number 12
• Position: Guard

A first year student at Mizuho High, he only appears in Dear Boys: Act 2. Minamiyama plays as a guard for the team.

Mutsumi Akiyoshi

Akiyoshi Mutsumi (秋吉 夢津美)

• Basketball Jersey: Number 4
• Position: Point Guard
• Nickname: Mu-chan,Mumu
• Birthday: 21 June

Mutsumi is the captain of the girls' basketball team, and is a close friend of Moritaka's. She seems to be romantically involved with Takumi Fujiwara of the boys' team. She plays as a point guard on the team and used to admire Fujiwara's talent.During the quarter finals match,she couldn't play because of her emotional distress, and she fouled many times and was benched.But after Fujiwara opened up to her before the finals ,she played to her fullest, making Mizuho win.

Mai Moritaka

Moritaka Mai (森高 麻衣)Voiced by: Akiko Kawase

• Basketball Jersey: Number 7
• Nicknames: Pony
• Position: Unknown

Mai seems to be romantically involved with Kazuhiko Aikawa and becomes his girlfriend later in the series. Aikawa nicknames her "Pony" because of her long ponytail-like hair when he first saw her.
Her position on the team has never been revealed, neither in the manga nor in the anime. However, after some advice and personal training from Aikawa, Mai has the highest shot percentage among all her teammates when it comes to 3-pointers.

Keiko Ōgami

Ōgami Keiko (大神 恵子) Voiced by: Miho Yamada

• Basketball Jersey: Number 5
• Position: Center

Keiko plays as a center for the girls' team and is the tallest among all her teammates.
She appears to have a crush on Miura and is proven on two occasions: one when she gave Miura a 'victory sign', and another when Mutsumi remarked if Keiko would get jealous after seeing a couple of girls approach Miura to congratulate him over the team's recent victory.

Satomi Anzaki

Anzaki Satomi (杏崎 沙斗未) Voiced by: Mamiko Noto
Satomi knows Fujiwara and Miura from middle school and is the manager of the boys' team. Currently, she studies at Mizuho High. She used to be active in basketball, but due to an injury she obtained, she is now unable to do so.She seems to be very close with Tōya Takashina who is her classmate.
To Satomi, taking the responsibility of being the team's manager is a new way of contributing to the sport she loves.

Kyoko Himuro

Himuro Kyōko (氷室 恭子) Voiced by: Atsuko Tanaka
Miss Himuro is the coach for the Mizuho High girls' basketball team. However, when the boys' basketball team is reformed, she becomes the coach for both teams. She comes off as an extremely strict coach, but is actually very fond of her 'Dear Boys'.
In episode 7, the premelinary round for the girls' team is approaching and she wants to focus on the girls. As such, she appoints Satomi Anzaki to be the manager of the boys' team.

Yokohama Academy

Kazuya Satō (佐藤 一也, Satō Kazuya)

Satō is the captain of the Yokohama Academy's boys basketball team. He is a bit shorter than Aikawa.In the anime he wanted to play against the scoring machine i.e. Aikawa

Tōru Koizumi (小泉 徹, Koizumi Tōru)

Naoki Aizawa (相澤 直樹, Aizawa Naoki)

He can't shoot 3 pointers.He plays the position of Centre as he is the tallest in the team.

Tatsuya Hirose (広瀬 達也, Hirose Tatsuya)

Tatsuya is a junior of Kenji Dobashi and Tsutomu Ishii from grade school. He improved a lot since grade school and is touted as the future leader of the Yokohama Academy. A hardworking learner, he mastered Kazuya's three point shooting skills through tough training.

Kōji Yoshino (吉野 幸二, Yoshino Kōji)

Yūji Takano (高野 勇次, Takano Yūji)

Takano is a shooting guard for the team. He is very good in defense but lacks the offensive ability. He was mostly overshadowed by Tatsuya since Act 2.

Junko Manabe (真鍋 純子, Manabe Jiyunko)

Eizō Maruyama (丸山 平蔵, Maruyama Eizō)

East Honmoku Academy

Gen Yakushimaru (薬師丸 元, Yakushimaru Gen) 

He is the captain of East Honmoku basketball team. He is the one who scored the winning point at the last second in the final of the prefectural tournament in the anime, which caused Mizuho to lose the game against East Honmoku. He is also considered to be the only one who is able to control his teammate Yuito.

Yuito Hoshina (保科 唯人, Hoshina Yuito)

He had a crush on Satomi Anzaki since they've first met. In one episode, he even confessed to her that he loves her, although she rejected him. He is the star player of the team. He mostly shoots dunks and 2 pointers. He has a cocky attitude at times and he's usually not serious. He considers Aikawa to be his rival and dreams of defeating him one day

Satoshi Kadomatsu (角松 聡, Kadomatsu Satoshi)

He specializes in 3-pointers and can even shoot them from the half-court line.

 Influences & Follow-ups

Both the manga and the anime popularized basketball in Japan.
Yagami followed Dear Boys with Dear Boys: Act 2, which continues the storyline after the conclusion of the prefectural tournament.

List of Dear Boys Episodes

1) An Interesting Transfer Student
  2) The Resurrection Of The Boys' Basketball Team?
  3) Who Is The Opponent For The Practice Team?
  4) Determination To Win 
  5) Counterattack Full Of Wounds
  6) To Each His Own Emotion..
  7) A Disquieting Air
  8) Cold Rain
  9) Because You Are Here....
 10) Confined Passion
 11) People Following Their Dreams
 12) Meetings Are Sudden
 13) Unengaged Gears
 14) Anxiety and Burden
 15) The Rivals
 16) Dead Heat
 17) Never Give Up
 18) Game Set!
 19) The Finals Opponent Is?
 20) Trembling Hearts
 21) Supporting Family
 22) The Sixth Man
 23) The Finals!
 24) Back and Forth
 25) It's Settled, and Then...
 26) Look Towards Tomorrow