Osu!! Karate-bu

Name: Osu!! Karate-bu
Rating: 6.8

Osu! Karate Club
押忍!!空手部

Manga6.8166 votes43 volumes · 483 chaptersFinished

ActionComedyMartial ArtsSchoolSeinen

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About this title

Synopsis

Matsushita Tadashi is a second-year student at Kangokou High School and a constant target of Kangokou's numerous bullies who beat him up routinely after school. He is accompanied by his best friend Saitou Takaki, who is also constantly harassed. As the pair grow increasingly tired of being victimized they decide to join the titular Karate Club, which is notorious throughout Osaka's youth gangs for training and producing the city's most hardened and toughest teenage thugs while maintaining the facade of a legit school sports club. But when they join the club, they find themselves picked on just as much if not worse by the club's current members.

Publication notes

Osu!! Karate-bu was published digitally in English as Osu! Karate Club by Media Do International/Beaglee from November 7, 2017, to June 11, 2019. The series was adapted into a Japanese live-action film that premiered on March 17, 1990. It was also adapted into a Super Famicom video game released on August 26, 1994, and developed by Culture Brain.

Published

1985 to 1996

Authors

Takahashi, Kouji

External links

MyAnimeList page Wikipedia

MAL rank: #13042
Members (MAL): 969
Favorites (MAL): 2

Related titles

Adaptation

Osu!! Karate-bu (anime)

Main characters

Yoshiyuki Takagi11 fan favorites
External profile
The central character of the rest of the series after the first few volumes, Takagi started out in the early volumes as a mentor character to the protagonist Matsushita. But his never-say-die attitude, penchant for exaggerated macho posturing, and over the top Osakan sensibilities won over readers, and he quickly became the most popular character in the series. And as his popularity grew, the series became more and more centered on him, until he replaced Matsushita as the series main hero (or rather in his case anti-hero). He is the successor to Morigami Shingo as the Karate Club's captain. Morigami also passed onto him the mantle of "The Soul of Osaka III", a title which essentially means he oversees all the youth gangs in Osaka, and that all the other gang leaders answer directly to him. This title is obviously widely coveted by the other gangs, and Takagi is challenged for it frequently throughout the series. As a gang lord Takagi certainly can't be called a "hero", but he does have his own set of principles and a personal code of honor, making him fall more in line with a traditional anti-hero. Takagi grew up an orphan and doesn't really know who his real family was, but he strongly suspects Jinrai Isao (the original Soul of Osaka) to be his brother. As the series continues, Takagi finds himself forced to defend his title again and again from other ambitious would-be gang lords which takes a toll on him. So much so that at one point he finds himself re-evaluating his life and decides to leave the gang wars of Osaka behind him and start a new life in Tokyo. But even there he cannot escape getting involved in the raging battles between the Tokyo youth gangs, and it isn't long before he is forced to return to Osaka. But through it all he never loses his trademark goofy sense of humor. He is prone to making ridiculous and often corny Engrish puns, which only he himself finds hilarious. He also has a soft spot for Matsushita, and will come to his defense when he's getting picked on or losing a fight.
Tadashi Matsushita0 fan favorites
External profile
The main character and narrator for much of the first volumes (that make up the less serious portion of the series). He is a 2nd year student at Kangokou High School and a walking target for beatings at the hands of the school's numerous youth gangs. He is rarely seen without his close friend Saitou at his side. His growing frustration at being the gang members' punching bag leads him to join Kangokou's "Karate Club", a fighting school for Osaka's toughest delinquents, gang members, and other unsavory teenagers that covers as a typical school sports club. At first he is picked on and harassed even worse by the club's members, but gradually learns a great deal about fighting and standing up for himself from his time with the club. In spite of his newfound confidence and abilities, he still has absolutely no luck with girls, as they tend get frightened off or quickly lose interest when he mentions which school club he belongs to. As the series goes on it shifts the focus off Matsushida and he becomes more of a supporting character.