Night Shift Nurses
Encyclopedia
Night Shift Nurses is the North American localization
of , a Japanese OVA series adapted from the visual novel
of the same name by Discovery. It was translated by Lighthouse Productions, licensed by Central Park Media
and distributed in the United States by Critical Mass Video. The series is particularly notorious for its explicit depictions of rape, sadomasochism and paraphilia
.
That afternoon, semi-formal
and with a portfolio, Hirasaka commutes to the hospital. After an acquaintance with Ren Nanase, a nurse who escorts him to the president, he is frightened to discover his potential employer is a woman he had brutally raped in the past, Narumi Jinguji. In spite of the excruciating atmosphere, however, Narumi explains her wish to develop a department in the hospital that caters to the sexual interests of patients; in need of his expertise to oversee the operation. Overwhelmed with lewd excitement, Hirasaka agrees.
Internationalization and localization
In computing, internationalization and localization are means of adapting computer software to different languages, regional differences and technical requirements of a target market...
of , a Japanese OVA series adapted from the visual novel
Visual novel
A is an interactive fiction game featuring mostly static graphics, usually with anime-style art, or occasionally live-action stills or video footage...
of the same name by Discovery. It was translated by Lighthouse Productions, licensed by Central Park Media
Central Park Media
Central Park Media was an American multimedia entertainment company based in New York City, New York, that was active in the distribution of East Asian cinema, television series, anime, manga and manhwa titles in North America prior to its bankruptcy in 2009...
and distributed in the United States by Critical Mass Video. The series is particularly notorious for its explicit depictions of rape, sadomasochism and paraphilia
Paraphilia
Paraphilia is a biomedical term used to describe sexual arousal to objects, situations, or individuals that are not part of normative stimulation and that may cause distress or serious problems for the paraphiliac or persons associated with him or her...
.
Setting
Night Shift Nurses, as was originally written for the game, takes place in an undisclosed area of Japan, mainly at the fictional St. Juliana Hospital. A majority of the game is portrayed on campus with minor visits to the character's residences and surrounding towns.Plot
Ryuji Hirasaka is an unemployed, middle-aged Japanese gynaecologist, single, independent, and living on his own. One evening, he receives an email from the fictional St. Juliana Hospital, a local institution, offering him a temporary job opportunity. He contently accepts, scheduling to meet with the president the following day.That afternoon, semi-formal
Semi-formal
In Western clothing semi-formal is a grouping of dress codes, indicating the sort of clothes worn to events with a level of protocol between informal and formal...
and with a portfolio, Hirasaka commutes to the hospital. After an acquaintance with Ren Nanase, a nurse who escorts him to the president, he is frightened to discover his potential employer is a woman he had brutally raped in the past, Narumi Jinguji. In spite of the excruciating atmosphere, however, Narumi explains her wish to develop a department in the hospital that caters to the sexual interests of patients; in need of his expertise to oversee the operation. Overwhelmed with lewd excitement, Hirasaka agrees.
Characters
- Ryuji Hirasaka is the aforementioned antihero of the series. A knowledgeable practitioner, his life takes a sharp turn when he is invited to direct and corrupt a team of nurses at his new place of work. An unconvicted sex offender, Hirasaka is vicious, controlling and intimidating, often cold readingCold readingCold reading is a series of techniques used by mentalists, psychics, fortune-tellers, illusionists, and con artists to determine or express details about another person, often in order to convince them that the reader knows much more about a subject than they actually do...
those under him to learn about their vulnerabilities and how to exploit them. He sports a mullet and is bespectacled. He is murdered by Ren at the end of episode 5. In Night Shift Nurses Kranke he has a better ending, he gets married to Ren and the couple decide to move to the countryside to continue their experiments.
- Narumi Jinguji is the thirty-two-year-old head practitioner of the St. Juliana Hospital, specializing in gynaecology. Voluptuous and enticing, she arranges to meet with Hirasaka one afternoon to offer him the chance to sexually discipline a select group of her nursing staff for the purpose of developing a prostitution ring. As a previous rape victim of her own employee, Narumi exhibits bursts of psychological imbalance and unrest. She is noted for her long green hair. Like Hirasaka, she too wears glasses. She commits suicide after attempting to kill Ryuji near the end of episode 5. In Night Shift Nurses Kranke, she is showed to attend Ryuji and Ren's wedding.
- Bright and friendly, Ren Nanase is a twenty-two-year-old nurse at the St. Juliana Hospital who is arguably the most iconic character of the series. She is the first nurse Hirasaka meets and the first who genuinely welcomes him as a friend and superior. When her love for an inpatient boxer, Naoya Ohkawa, is discovered, Hirasaka learns of her match fixingMatch fixingIn organised sports, match fixing, game fixing, race fixing, or sports fixing occurs as a match is played to a completely or partially pre-determined result, violating the rules of the game and often the law. Where the sporting competition in question is a race then the incident is referred to as...
and uses it as blackmail. Like the nurses to come, in spite of the abhorrent treatment she receives, Ren develops Stockholm syndromeStockholm syndromeIn psychology, Stockholm Syndrome is an apparently paradoxical psychological phenomenon wherein hostages express empathy and have positive feelings towards their captors, sometimes to the point of defending them...
and becomes emotionally attached to her abuser. Ren is distinguishable by her incredibly long hair, of which is usually tied into a ponytail. It is later revealed that she is pregnant. She is the one who kills Ryuji after he gained back his consciousness. After getting arrested she admits that she loves him. In Night Shift Nurses Kranke, she gets married to Ryuji, lives with him in the countryside and becomes a 'good' wife.
- Remi Shinjyo is a twenty-seven-year-old Senior nurse of the hospital maternity ward. As a headstrong superior, Remi is outwardly proud, fastidious and authoritative, especially to Ryuji. Although it is not mentioned until later, Remi is responsible for an act of malpracticeMedical malpracticeMedical malpractice is professional negligence by act or omission by a health care provider in which the treatment provided falls below the accepted standard of practice in the medical community and causes injury or death to the patient, with most cases involving medical error. Standards and...
that resulted in the death of a patient. Amongst all the nurses, she is the only one who is not a virgin.
- Shy and quiet, Ako Fujisawa is a twenty-three-year-old pharmacistPharmacistPharmacists are allied health professionals who practice in pharmacy, the field of health sciences focusing on safe and effective medication use...
. The daughter of a wealthy family, she is falsely accused of stealing drugs from her department and this is used as the basis for her series of abuse. In much the same fashion as Ren, Ako develops delusional, obedient feelings for Hirasawa. Owning to one of the elements of the show, Ako becomes a coprophile.
- Hikaru Kodama is a twenty-one-year-old amateur nurse, newly employed and specializing in pediatricsPediatricsPediatrics or paediatrics is the branch of medicine that deals with the medical care of infants, children, and adolescents. A medical practitioner who specializes in this area is known as a pediatrician or paediatrician...
. As her department suggests, Hikaru absolutely loves children and, like them, is energetic. She is the fourth and final nurse to be subjected to Hirasaka and by far endures the most inhumane practices in the first phase of the series. It is later revealed that most of the group has to endure the same thing as her. Hikaru is noted for her pigtails and baggy stockings. She has an adoptive sister, Ai, hospitalized for heart problems. She later admits to have fallen for the doctor. In Night Shift Nurses Kranke, the doctor later does his experiements on both her and her sister, during Ryuji and Ren's wedding, she's the one who catch the bouquet.