is the name of a manga

Manga

Manga is the Japanese word for "comics" and consists of comics and print cartoons . In the West, the term "manga" has been appropriated to refer specifically to comics created in Japan, or by Japanese authors, in the Japanese language and conforming to the style developed in Japan in the late 19th...

 and anime

Anime

is the Japanese abbreviated pronunciation of "animation". The definition sometimes changes depending on the context. In English-speaking countries, the term most commonly refers to Japanese animated cartoons....

 series created by Minoru Tachikawa under the pseudonym

Pseudonym

A pseudonym is a name that a person assumes for a particular purpose and that differs from his or her original orthonym...

 MEE. It is a comic science fiction

Comic science fiction

Comic science fiction is a sub-genre of science fiction that exploits the genre's conventions for comic effect. Comic science fiction often mocks or satirizes standard SF conventions like alien invasion of Earth, interstellar travel, or futuristic technology....

, set in a period in the far future, in which humanity is almost extinct and most of the population are monsters. It is mostly set in the offices of a private police company and focuses on the life of Natsuki Sasahara, a young catgirl

Catgirl

A catgirl is a female character with cat traits, such as cat ears, a cat tail, or other feline characteristics on an otherwise human body. Catgirls are found in various fiction genres, and in particular Japanese anime and manga where they are more commonly referred to as Neko or Nekomimi , in...

, and her co-workers: Foxgirl Sakura Bokuseiinmonzeninari, werewolf

Werewolf

A werewolf, also known as a lycanthrope , is a mythological or folkloric human with the ability to shapeshift into a wolf or an anthropomorphic wolf-like creature, either purposely or after being placed under a curse...

 Batanen Fujioka and his cousin Tomy Fujioka (spelled Tommy in the anime).

For many years, the only western language to have official translations of the Hyper Police manga was Spanish

Spanish language

Spanish , also known as Castilian , is a Romance language in the Ibero-Romance group that evolved from several languages and dialects in central-northern Iberia around the 9th century and gradually spread with the expansion of the Kingdom of Castile into central and southern Iberia during the...

. English

English language

English is a West Germanic language that arose in the Anglo-Saxon kingdoms of England and spread into what was to become south-east Scotland under the influence of the Anglian medieval kingdom of Northumbria...

 translations have been completed by US company Tokyopop

Tokyopop

Tokyopop, styled TOKYOPOP, and formerly known as Mixx, is a distributor, licensor, and publisher of anime, manga, manhwa, and Western manga-style works. The existing German publishing division produces German translations of licensed Japanese properties and original English-language manga, as well...

.

Setting

The anime takes place in the year 22 HC (Holy Century), in the Tokyo ward of Shinjuku. Although theoretically about the competition of rival private police corporations (licensed bounty hunting

Bounty hunter

A bounty hunter captures fugitives for a monetary reward . Other names, mainly used in the United States, include bail enforcement agent and fugitive recovery agent.-Laws in the U.S.:...

 firms) in an Earth where humanity is in danger of extinction, in actuality it focuses more on the lives of the main characters, such as; Natsuki Sasahara, Sakura Bokuseiinmonzeninari, and Batanen Fujioka. The monsters are usually taken from Japanese mythology

Japanese mythology

Japanese mythology is a system of beliefs that embraces Shinto and Buddhist traditions as well as agriculturally based folk religion. The Shinto pantheon comprises innumerable kami...

, updated for the modern era. In the anime, repeat criminal offenders in Tokyo

Tokyo

, ; officially , is one of the 47 prefectures of Japan. Tokyo is the capital of Japan, the center of the Greater Tokyo Area, and the largest metropolitan area of Japan. It is the seat of the Japanese government and the Imperial Palace, and the home of the Japanese Imperial Family...

 have their memories wiped. However, in the manga version, they are castrated. Mithril

Mithril

Mithril is a fictional metal, originally used in J. R. R. Tolkien's Middle-earth fantasy writings. It is described as silvery and stronger than steel but much lighter in weight. The malleability, lack of tarnishing and use of the metal in jewellery suggest some similarity to the non-fictional metal...

 exists in this world/setting; it is a sort of specially enchanted silver

Silver

Silver is a metallic chemical element with the chemical symbol Ag and atomic number 47. A soft, white, lustrous transition metal, it has the highest electrical conductivity of any element and the highest thermal conductivity of any metal...

 that is especially effective towards supernatural characters.

Characters

Some of the characters in Hyper Police are hybrids of human and "monsters"; which occurred during the Holy war when the doorway between the human world and the Monster World opened up, thus allowing humans and monsters to co-exist and interbreed.

Natsuki Sasahara

Natsuki is a 17-year-old half-human/half-nekomata. She is the daughter of a human father and a nekomata mother. Natsuki is very sweet and kind to everyone and always eager to help protect the weak and uphold the law. Her personality is very feline; she will eat cat food, grooms herself like a cat, play with string and other moving objects (including Sakura's tails), and her favorite drink is catnip-milk, which has an alcoholic affect on her. Batanen hired her to join Police Company when he saw her ability to create electrical shocks being put to good use, while she was inadvertently taken hostage by a criminal he was chasing, then proceeded to fry him to a crisp. However, this is also her major problem, since Natsuki is so young, she still has trouble controlling her powers and has been known to spark at random when frightened, frying everything within several meters of her. She is also a dangerously bad shot with a gun and has shot her allies at least twice by accident, thus she only uses a short dagger as her melee weapon of choice. When angry or scared, her tail temporarily splits in two. She prides herself on owning an orihalcon

Orichalcum

Orichalcum is a metal mentioned in several ancient writings, most notably the story of Atlantis as recounted in the Critias dialogue, recorded by Plato. According to Critias, orichalcum was considered second only to gold in value, and was found and mined in many parts of Atlantis in ancient times....

 blade, and is in control of two "parasites", which is unusual for the setting; even having one is considered to be powerful. As of volume nine, it has been revealed that she is the daughter of the Ancient Egypt

Ancient Egypt

Ancient Egypt was an ancient civilization of Northeastern Africa, concentrated along the lower reaches of the Nile River in what is now the modern country of Egypt. Egyptian civilization coalesced around 3150 BC with the political unification of Upper and Lower Egypt under the first pharaoh...

ian goddess Bast.

Parasites

These magical familiars are able to focus their owner's magical energy and turn it into electricity. The names of Natsuki's parasites are Fujin

Fujin

is the Japanese god of the wind and one of the eldest Shinto gods.He is portrayed as a terrifying dark demon, resembling a red headed black humanoid wearing a leopard skin, carrying a large bag of winds on his shoulders....

 and Raijin

Raijin

is a god of lightning, thunder and storms in the Shinto religion and in Japanese mythology.His name is derived from the Japanese words rai and shin . He is typically depicted as a demon beating drums to create thunder, usually with the symbol tomoe drawn on the drums...

 (named after the Japanese gods of Wind and Thunder). Sakura has one too, but it is rarely seen. In the manga, it was revealed in volume seven, that Fujin and Raijin were engagement "rings" from a prince in china, but due to misunderstandings through Natsuki's father's translator, Natsuki was unaware she was engaged.

Bob

Bob is Natsuki's super intelligent pet bobtail cat. He is older than she is, and thus is her legal guardian when her human father is away on his archaeological digs.

Sakura Bokuseiinmonzeninari

Sakura is a kitsune

Kitsune

is the Japanese word for fox. Foxes are a common subject of Japanese folklore; in English, kitsune refers to them in this context. Stories depict them as intelligent beings and as possessing magical abilities that increase with their age and wisdom. Foremost among these is the ability to assume...

 (fox spirit) and Natsuki's partner for a time. Though she is 191 years old, she claims that she looks to be only 19. She has human ancestors, thus she was born with only 8 and 1/5 tails and was teased as a child, because of it. Kitsune must have a full nine tails in order to have full use of their power, thus Sakura has spent many years hunting for a powerful being to consume, in order to attain that full power. Sakura joins the Police Company after seeing Natuski in action, in hopes of consuming her, in order to gain her full ninth tail. She can fly, has some minor electrical power and is an excellent shot with a gun. Sakura is from Osaka

Osaka

is a city in the Kansai region of Japan's main island of Honshu, a designated city under the Local Autonomy Law, the capital city of Osaka Prefecture and also the biggest part of Keihanshin area, which is represented by three major cities of Japan, Kyoto, Osaka and Kobe...

, thus has a knack for bartering and handling money. Later on she gives birth to three mischievous kids from her mating with the time-displaced samurai Sakunoshin, justifying the age-old lore of a Kitsune being a mother and housewife. It is not completely clarified if the two are officially married or not though, Sakura's mother is seen to ask her at one point "when are you two coming to Osaka to get married?"

Sakunoshin Chikura

Sakunoshin is a displaced samurai from Japan's Tenshō era, who ended up in the Holy Era due to Natsuki's power surges that unbeknownst to her have been opening up temporary time portals in various parts of the city. When he first arrives, he mistakes Sakura for his love, ninja Kasumi. Later, when he realizes that Sakura is not Kasumi, he falls in love with her. It is revealed in the anime that Kasumi may be Sakura's direct ancestor. Sakunoshin is very calm and even tempered, though in battle he becomes extremely fierce and deadly, and is able to best even experienced monster fighters. He has an entire kit of samurai armor, along with his katana, equipment, and a set of Japanese smoking pipes (only seen in the manga). In the manga, Sakunoshin is often apprehensive of his wife's romantic advances, as they humorously leave him extremely exhausted. Still, he loves her very much and sets out on an epic journey in search of a cure, when Sakura is affected by magic weapons in later issues. Being human, he and his family are awarded food, clothing and housing from the government.

Sakunoshin is a very skilled swordsman and to her horror, has even sliced through Natsuki's orihalcon Blade.

Batanen Fujioka

Batanen is a 35-year-old werewolf

Werewolf

A werewolf, also known as a lycanthrope , is a mythological or folkloric human with the ability to shapeshift into a wolf or an anthropomorphic wolf-like creature, either purposely or after being placed under a curse...

, and a senior officer at Police Company, as well as the top earner. He is very protective of Natsuki and often acts as a big brother figure to her. He is secretly in love with her and despite being somewhat of a lecher, Batanen is very shy and unsure of himself when it comes to making a move on Natsuki, thus she is totally unaware of his feelings for her. However, he also seems hesitant to make a move even when (for various reasons) Natsuki is trying to be flirty with him. His abilities are quick regeneration (when injured, he becomes fully healed by the next full moon) and near-immortality

Immortality

Immortality is the ability to live forever. It is unknown whether human physical immortality is an achievable condition. Biological forms have inherent limitations which may or may not be able to be overcome through medical interventions or engineering...

, as well as being a competent detective and an excellent shot. In the manga, he is always called by his first name, but in the Japanese version of the anime, most everyone refers to him as "Senpai" (senior). At the end of the manga he and Natsuki are married.

Batanen has a large collection of guns in his apartment and is usually portrayed as carrying what looks like a Magnum Research

Magnum Research

Magnum Research Inc. is a privately held corporation based in Fridley, Minnesota which manufactures and distributes firearms. The majority owners, Jim Skildum and John Risdall , have been with the company since its founding in 1979...

 Desert Eagle

Desert Eagle

The Desert Eagle is a large-framed gas-operated semi-automatic pistol designed by Magnum Research in the U.S. and by IMI in Israel; the pistol is manufactured primarily in Israel by IMI...

 (only much larger!).

Tommy Fujioka (Tomy in the manga)

Tommy is Batanen's cousin and partner only a year older than Natsuki. Unlike his cousin Batanen, Tommy has the appearance of an anthropomorphic

Anthropomorphism

Anthropomorphism is any attribution of human characteristics to animals, non-living things, phenomena, material states, objects or abstract concepts, such as organizations, governments, spirits or deities. The term was coined in the mid 1700s...

 wolf. Although somewhat naive, he is honest and quite skilled, with his specialty being information gathering. He is very adept as problem solving and is skilled in computer systems and possesses a large knowledge of varying subjects (he has demonstrated he can tell when a katana

Katana

A Japanese sword, or , is one of the traditional bladed weapons of Japan. There are several types of Japanese swords, according to size, field of application and method of manufacture.-Description:...

 was made just by looking at it). He later falls in love with the human spirit-summoner Peau and being inexperienced in love, comes on a bit too strong. He apparently has a kink for being servile and tries to get Peau to pander to this. He bought her a pair of scarlet slippers and said "Please take these as a gesture of my fealing and step all over me!" By the end of the series, he marries Peau and they have 19 offspring.

Tommy caries a rather nondescript gun in the manga, but carries a German Walther P38 in the anime. He is also deeply and madly in love with Peau and is probably the most stable person of the cast.

Samansa Grey (Samantha)

Samansa is an Oni with huge Coke-bottle-lens glasses who works as a secretary for Chief Mudagami, even after the company goes bankrupt. She is a computer and information gathering expert, with a talent of predicting the future with her tarot cards. In the manga, she is virtually non-existent until the company goes under, at which point, she reveals herself as a shrewd businesswoman. She is somewhat manipulative and loves money above all else, a trait that might lead her to ruin? She founds the Grey Company—a sort of spiritual successor to the Police company.

Naoko Kondo

Naoko is one of the few humans in Police Company, she initially hates all non-humans due to the fact that a monster killed her parents when she was a child. Natsuki helps her overcome this hatred when she saved her life, by killing the same monster that killed her parents. She still feels vulnerable when fighting monsters, yet compensates for her lack of supernatural powers by being a crack shot and weapons expert, most likely brought on by her deep desire to avenge the death of her parents. She is much more relevant in the manga then in the anime.

Mudagami

Mudagami is a minor god (immortal, able to teleport, able to notice changes in the nature of reality). He is the chief of Police Company until it goes bankrupt. He is a small man with long kinky black hair and a thin mustache. He often complains about not being taken seriously and remarks that his wife runs his life.

Nupu

Nupu is an anthropomorphic

Anthropomorphism

Anthropomorphism is any attribution of human characteristics to animals, non-living things, phenomena, material states, objects or abstract concepts, such as organizations, governments, spirits or deities. The term was coined in the mid 1700s...

 lion

Lion

The lion is one of the four big cats in the genus Panthera, and a member of the family Felidae. With some males exceeding 250 kg in weight, it is the second-largest living cat after the tiger...

 working for Police Company. He is a senior officer at Police Company and Batanen's best friend. He speaks with a British accent

British English

British English, or English , is the broad term used to distinguish the forms of the English language used in the United Kingdom from forms used elsewhere...

 in the English

English language

English is a West Germanic language that arose in the Anglo-Saxon kingdoms of England and spread into what was to become south-east Scotland under the influence of the Anglian medieval kingdom of Northumbria...

 version.

Peau D'Roquefort (Poe D'Roquefort in the manga)

Peau is a water mage working for the state police. She is 24 years old and has a very aloof and impersonal businesslike attitude. The common police robots are under her control and she has the ability to conjure various ice and water spirits (such as waterspouts and trapping suspects in blocks of ice). She too is human, born of Europe

Europe

Europe is, by convention, one of the world's seven continents. Comprising the westernmost peninsula of Eurasia, Europe is generally 'divided' from Asia to its east by the watershed divides of the Ural and Caucasus Mountains, the Ural River, the Caspian and Black Seas, and the waterways connecting...

an parents. At first Peau is easily disturbed by Tommy's methods of wooing her yet within time and patience (though finite) she warms up to the young werewolf and they become friends (Although the manga has them taking their relationship much further, as Poe has feared being pregnant with Tommy's child by the end of volume eight. In the final volume they finally get married and have 19 children).

In an important moment towards the end of the manga, Peau comments that without Tommy her heart "would turn to ice." Some would say that Tommy was responsible for 'melting' her icy exterior.

Makoto and Ayami Tachibana

Makoto and Ayami are the husband-and-wife team that run the Lamp (Ranpo) Café. They act as confidants to Natsuki, with Makoto playing the kind, yet concerned businessman and Ayami the sweet generous sister. In the manga, Ayami becomes pregnant around the same time as Sakura, though she doesn't give birth until later on.

Fonne Walkure

Fonne is very different in the manga and anime. She is of European descent and is an officer from the MAD Police Corporation owned by her rich father. In the anime, she is extremely prejudiced against all monsters and is largely an unsympathetic character. She especially goes out of her way to irritate and humiliate the easily provoked Sakura. She comes across as being very cold and cruel in the anime. However, in the manga, she is much more complex. In the Anime, at one point Tommy saves her life and as a result, she develops a crush on him, thus, for a short time, competing for his love, with Peau. In the Manga, she has a boyfriend named Yoshikawa. And while she is somewhat cold, she is later shown doing charity work at an orphanage for monster children!

She has so far kept her actions within the bounds of the law and carefully watches for one of her "fellow" non-human bounty hunters to cross the line. She pilots an F-Elf class VTOL

VTOL

A vertical take-off and landing aircraft is one that can hover, take off and land vertically. This classification includes fixed-wing aircraft as well as helicopters and other aircraft with powered rotors, such as cyclogyros/cyclocopters and tiltrotors...

 aircraft. In the anime, she carries, what looks like some sort of truncated lever-action rifle, like a handgun.

Chief Tendo

He is an Oni creature with a massive red head that comprises most of his body. He yells, rather than speaks and his whole head bobs up and down when he does so. He works for the Police Company and later the Gray Company in the Manga. He likes to cook and knows a lot about preparing fish.

Rai Rai

A character that is only seen in the manga. She appears after the formal formation of the Police company. Initially, she appears to be a catgirl, but she has a short fluffy tail and ears that are larger and droopier then Natsuki's- leading to her possibly being some sort of canine creature. She has platinum blond hair that is very fluffy and sticks out. She has no major skills, but later becomes fast friends with Natsuki- the two of them get their own storyline in volume nine of the manga. She also may be one of the only people who seriously thinks of Natsuki as a superior officer(senpai?). It is worth noting that an unnamed character who bears a striking resemblance to Rai Rai does make an appearance in episode 23. She has a similar hairstyle, the same ears and even salutes Natsuki as superior officer, as she passes by.

Mao

A cat girl and member of the feline patrol, in episode 19.

External links

• Official Pierrot site with information about the anime.
• A Hyper Police Anime Gallery Gallery of media and collectibles
• Hyper Police.Net Fan site