Real (manga)
Encyclopedia
is a manga
series, by Takehiko Inoue
, which deals with wheelchair basketball
. It has been serialised in Shueisha
's Young Jump and to date, 10 volumes have been published in Japan. The first 7 volumes have sold over 9 million copies in Japan alone.
Although not as popular overseas as Slam Dunk has been, Real is a more serious take on basketball, with much character development in a realistic setting. It is also aimed at more mature audiences, being a seinen
series serialized in Young Jump.
and Takahashi Hisanobu, a popular leader of the high school's basketball team who now finds himself a paraplegic after an accident.
Real features a cast of characters who find themselves being marginalized by society, but are all united by one common feature: a desire to play basketball, with no place to play it in. Nomiya, being a high school dropout, has no future in his life. Togawa, being a difficult personality, finds himself constantly feuding with his own teammates. Takahashi, once a popular team leader, now finds himself being unable to move from the chest down.
Real also deals with the reality of physical disabilities, and the psychological inferiority that the characters struggle against. The characters break through their own psychological barriers bit by bit.
While basketball is a large part of Real, a larger emphasis is placed on character development-- Takehiko Inoue
is just as interested in exploring the past of the characters, their inner world, and their attempts to achieve something in life as he is in looking at the sport of wheelchair basketball.
When they first meet, Nomiya Tomomi is so impressed with Togawa's skills that he compares Togawa to NBA star Vince Carter
, and often refers to Togawa as "Vince."
Togawa's father
Nomiya spends much of his time in the manga wondering where he went wrong, and trying to fix his life—inspired by the Tigers' spirit, he shaves his head and goes on something of a monk-like quest to change his fate. Against all odds, his desire to change and positive attitude seem to be rubbing off on his co-workers and acquaintances.
)
As of volume six, Takahashi's story hasn't intersected much with the main plotline.
Takahashi's father
Takahashi's girlfriend
Asaka Azumi
Yama
Nagano Mitsuru
have evolved for the better in Real", going on to conclude that "the emotional content is presented with a poise and certainty that's really nothing short of breathtaking." The series has been praised for its "realism", and how it "breaks away from conventional portrayals of the disabled as innocent people who are weak in every way." Kazuyuki Kyoya, a wheelchair basketball player, has also expressed his approval of the series: "The manga calls for understanding of people not only in wheelchair basketball but also with various other disabilities. I’m impressed that the scenes in which Takahashi undergoes rehab are elaborately expressed." The series received an Excellence Prize for manga at the 2001 Japan Media Arts Festival
. Citing the reason for the award: "Takehiko Inoue is well-known for Slam Dunk
, a serial comic on the subject of basketball. "Real" is another sports comic, but one whose story revolves around the novel theme of tough guys and wheelchair basketball. All of the Adjudication Committee members could hardly wait to read the next installments and had to content themselves with awarding Real the Excellence Prize. It would have been no surprise if Inoue had followed his success with Vagabond by winning the Grand Prize for the second year in a row with this terrific manga." About.com
's Deb Aoki lists Real as the best new manga of 2008.
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...
series, by Takehiko Inoue
Takehiko Inoue
is a Japanese manga artist, best known for the basketball manga Slam Dunk, which has become a success both in Japan and overseas. Many of his works are about basketball, Inoue himself being a huge fan of the sport, and many Japanese children started to play basketball because they read the manga...
, which deals with wheelchair basketball
Wheelchair basketball
Wheelchair basketball is basketball played by people in wheelchairs and is considered one of the major disabled sports practiced. The International Wheelchair Basketball Federation is the governing body for this sport. It is recognized by the International Paralympic Committee as the sole...
. It has been serialised in Shueisha
Shueisha
is a major publisher in Japan. The company was founded in 1925 as the entertainment-related publishing division of Japanese publisher Shogakukan. The following year, Shueisha became a separate, independent company. Magazines published by Shueisha include Weekly Shōnen Jump, Weekly Young Jump,...
's Young Jump and to date, 10 volumes have been published in Japan. The first 7 volumes have sold over 9 million copies in Japan alone.
Although not as popular overseas as Slam Dunk has been, Real is a more serious take on basketball, with much character development in a realistic setting. It is also aimed at more mature audiences, being a seinen
Seinen
is a subset of manga that is generally targeted at a 20–30 year old male audience, but the audience can be older with some manga aimed at businessmen well into their 40s. In Japanese, the word Seinen means "young man" or "young men" and is not suggestive of sexual matters...
series serialized in Young Jump.
Plot summary
The story revolves around three teenagers: Nomiya Tomomi, a high school dropout, Togawa Kiyoharu, an ex-sprinter who now plays wheelchair basketballWheelchair basketball
Wheelchair basketball is basketball played by people in wheelchairs and is considered one of the major disabled sports practiced. The International Wheelchair Basketball Federation is the governing body for this sport. It is recognized by the International Paralympic Committee as the sole...
and Takahashi Hisanobu, a popular leader of the high school's basketball team who now finds himself a paraplegic after an accident.
Real features a cast of characters who find themselves being marginalized by society, but are all united by one common feature: a desire to play basketball, with no place to play it in. Nomiya, being a high school dropout, has no future in his life. Togawa, being a difficult personality, finds himself constantly feuding with his own teammates. Takahashi, once a popular team leader, now finds himself being unable to move from the chest down.
Real also deals with the reality of physical disabilities, and the psychological inferiority that the characters struggle against. The characters break through their own psychological barriers bit by bit.
While basketball is a large part of Real, a larger emphasis is placed on character development-- Takehiko Inoue
Takehiko Inoue
is a Japanese manga artist, best known for the basketball manga Slam Dunk, which has become a success both in Japan and overseas. Many of his works are about basketball, Inoue himself being a huge fan of the sport, and many Japanese children started to play basketball because they read the manga...
is just as interested in exploring the past of the characters, their inner world, and their attempts to achieve something in life as he is in looking at the sport of wheelchair basketball.
Characters
- Forced to spend all of his free time after school practicing the piano, Togawa was something of an outcast to the rest of his junior high classmates. During the last PE class of the first semester, Togawa agrees to race the 100M dash against the fastest boy in his class and nearly beats him, earning an invitation to the school's track team. Togawa soon dedicates his life to becoming the fastest sprinter in the nation, but just as his goal seems in reach, he is diagnosed with osteosarcomaOsteosarcomaOsteosarcoma is an aggressive cancerous neoplasm arising from primitive transformed cells of mesenchymal origin that exhibit osteoblastic differentiation and produce malignant osteoid...
and loses his right leg below the knee. Togawa spends much of his time after the amputation in isolation, feeling his life is over until meeting Tora, an older man with an identical disability. Tora, a cool jet-setting tattoo artist, serves as a mentor to Togawa and introduces him to the world of wheelchair basketball through his team the Tigers. Togawa is a fiercely competitive player, and once left the team because he felt the other players weren't as serious as he was. Missing the game, Togawa returns to the Tigers, yet provokes a team mutiny early in the series because of his often "unrealistic expectations." Further conflicts arise when Togawa is offered a spot on the Japanese national team and is invited to join the Dream, the Tigers' arch-rivals.
When they first meet, Nomiya Tomomi is so impressed with Togawa's skills that he compares Togawa to NBA star Vince Carter
Vince Carter
Vincent Lamar "Vince" Carter is an American professional basketball player for the Phoenix Suns. He is a shooting guard who can also play small forward....
, and often refers to Togawa as "Vince."
Togawa's father
- After his wife's death, Togawa's father (an unathletic, failed pianist) puts all of his efforts into turning his son into a famous piano player. While upset that Togawa quits the piano to join the track team, Togawa's father eventually comes around to support his son's efforts. After his son's operation, Togawa's father inadvertently helps isolate his son. As of volume six, Togawa's father plays little part in the current present-day storyline.
- On the surface, Nomiya seems to be the proto-typical delinquent—he wears an afro, has dropped out of high school, and pauses to defecate on the school steps before leaving for good. It soon becomes clear, however, that Nomiya suffers from crushing guilt over a traffic accident he caused which cost a girl (Yamashita Yasumi) the use of her legs. While only an average student, Nomiya was obsessed with basketball, and not being able to play on the school team has left him directionless and without joy. While taking the paraplegic and seemingly catatonic Yasumi for a walk, Nomiya overhears the sounds of Togawa playing basketball. Starved for playing time, Nomiya challenges Togawa to a game and comes away impressed by Togawa's skill and determination. Soon, Nomiya becomes something of a cheerleader/mascot for the Tigers and a friend to Togawa. Even though he rarely gets a chance to actually play basketball, it seems to be enough for Nomiya to be around others that do.
Nomiya spends much of his time in the manga wondering where he went wrong, and trying to fix his life—inspired by the Tigers' spirit, he shaves his head and goes on something of a monk-like quest to change his fate. Against all odds, his desire to change and positive attitude seem to be rubbing off on his co-workers and acquaintances.
)
- At the start of the manga, Takahashi is a typical high school alpha male-- captain of the basketball team, popular with girls, effortlessly smart, and a bully to other "inferior" students. In an effort to give his girlfriend a ride home after school, he steals a bicycle, is chased into traffic, and is hit by a garbage truck, rendering him paralyzed from the chest down. Realizing that his popular days are over, Takahashi feels that he has nothing to live for, and that he has dropped from an "A" class person to lower than an "E" class (Takahashi is obsessed with ranking the people around him - in ranks from A to E, with A being the best). Nomiya, a former teammate, is one of the few visitors Takahashi receives, and the visit is initially enough to upset Takahashi and inspire him to rehabilitate. After realizing he will never recover, however, Takahashi gives up and refuses to help himself, even going so far as to tell his mother to die and never come back. The hospital staff calls Takahashi's father, hoping that a visit to the country will help in his recovery, but Takahashi hasn't seen his father in eight years and the visit remains highly uncomfortable. After spending time with his father, Takahashi breaks down and admits that he has a lot of unexplored anger and resentment towards his father for abandoning the family.
As of volume six, Takahashi's story hasn't intersected much with the main plotline.
Takahashi's father
- During Takahashi's childhood, his father was a typical salarymanSalarymanrefers to someone whose income is salary based; particularly those working for corporations. Its frequent use by Japanese corporations, and its prevalence in Japanese manga and anime has gradually led to its acceptance in English-speaking countries as a noun for a Japanese white-collar...
who worked long hours and drove an expensive car. He also introduced his son to the world of basketball, hand-crafting a backboard and teaching him several techniques. Takahashi lived for playing basketball with his father, and was devastated when his father abandoned the family 8 years before the start of the manga. Fed up with the salary man lifestyle, Takahashi's father moved to the country and is currently living a much simpler life making and selling potteryPotteryPottery is the material from which the potteryware is made, of which major types include earthenware, stoneware and porcelain. The place where such wares are made is also called a pottery . Pottery also refers to the art or craft of the potter or the manufacture of pottery...
. After Takahashi's accident, his father has become responsible for his son's care, refusing to give in to Takahashi's outbursts and cynicism.
Takahashi's girlfriend
- Takahashi's girlfriend is one of the few people who visit him in the hospital after his accident (perhaps because she feels somewhat responsible for what happened). Takahashi doesn't think very highly of her (ranking her a "C" at best), but is somewhat surprised to find that she still considers them a couple despite his condition. She tells Takahashi how her dog, Angelina, will also have to use a wheelchair-like device, and that just because someone is "damaged" doesn't mean their life is over.
Asaka Azumi
- A childhood friend and possible love interest of Togawa, Azumi helps out as the manager for the Tigers. Azumi and Nomiya also meet at driving school, where Azumi reveals she is working hard to get her license so that she can drive Togawa to games and practices. Yama later embarrasses both Azumi and Togawa by saying they make a nice couple, and asking if they were engaged—further increasing the awkwardness between the two. Nomiya appears to have a crush on her, but Togawa never expresses (in word or thought) any romantic feelings for her; so far, Inoue hasn't spent much time on any romance in the story.
Yama
- A former player for the Tigers, Yama suffers from what appears to be Duchenne muscular dystrophy (though the actual condition is never specified within the story), forcing him to leave the team. According to his diagnosis, Yama will most likely not live beyond 20. Togawa meets Yama almost two years after Togawa loses his leg, and finds inspiration in Yama's positive attitude and "carpe diemCarpe diemCarpe diem is a phrase from a Latin poem by Horace that has become an aphorism. It is popularly translated as "seize the day"...
" philosophy. As the disease progresses, Togawa is distressed to find that the once positive Yama is now negative and bitter. In order to help his friend, Togawa lets him know just how much he appreciates Yama, referring to him as a "hero."
Nagano Mitsuru
- A huge 190 cm tall wheelchair basketball player who originally schools Nomiya and Togawa when they try to hustle money on the basketball court. Since Togawa has never lost a game to another wheelchair basketball player before, he is inspired to rejoin the Tigers in order to get revenge on Nagano. Though Japanese, Nagano attends New South Wales University in Australia and calls everyone "mate." Impressed by Togawa's skills, Nagano eventually joins the post-mutiny Tigers.
Reception
A review at The Comics Reporter noted that "all of the skills that Inoue displayed in Slam DunkSlam Dunk (manga)
is a sports-themed manga series written by Takehiko Inoue about a basketball team from Shōhoku High School. It was first serialized in Shueisha's Weekly Shōnen Jump in Japan from 1990 to 1996 and had also been adapted into an anime series by Toei Animation which had been broadcast worldwide,...
have evolved for the better in Real", going on to conclude that "the emotional content is presented with a poise and certainty that's really nothing short of breathtaking." The series has been praised for its "realism", and how it "breaks away from conventional portrayals of the disabled as innocent people who are weak in every way." Kazuyuki Kyoya, a wheelchair basketball player, has also expressed his approval of the series: "The manga calls for understanding of people not only in wheelchair basketball but also with various other disabilities. I’m impressed that the scenes in which Takahashi undergoes rehab are elaborately expressed." The series received an Excellence Prize for manga at the 2001 Japan Media Arts Festival
Japan Media Arts Festival
The Japan Media Arts Festival is an annual festival held by Japan's Agency for Cultural Affairs since 1997. The festival for a nominal year was usually held during February or March next year, rather than at the end of the nominal year. For instance, the 2010 Japan Media Arts Festival, where...
. Citing the reason for the award: "Takehiko Inoue is well-known for Slam Dunk
Slam Dunk (manga)
is a sports-themed manga series written by Takehiko Inoue about a basketball team from Shōhoku High School. It was first serialized in Shueisha's Weekly Shōnen Jump in Japan from 1990 to 1996 and had also been adapted into an anime series by Toei Animation which had been broadcast worldwide,...
, a serial comic on the subject of basketball. "Real" is another sports comic, but one whose story revolves around the novel theme of tough guys and wheelchair basketball. All of the Adjudication Committee members could hardly wait to read the next installments and had to content themselves with awarding Real the Excellence Prize. It would have been no surprise if Inoue had followed his success with Vagabond by winning the Grand Prize for the second year in a row with this terrific manga." About.com
About.com
About.com is an online source for original information and advice. It is written in English, and is aimed primarily at North Americans. It is owned by The New York Times Company....
's Deb Aoki lists Real as the best new manga of 2008.
External links
- Real at Young Jump
- Real at S-Manga
- Inoue Takehiko on the web