Original run 1986 – 1992 Magazine Monthly Afternoon | ||
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Genres Adventure game, Comedy-drama, Police procedural, Buddy cop film Publishers Dark Horse Comics (NA, 1995-present, select chapters), Kodansha, NBCUniversal Entertainment Japan Similar Chrono Crusade, Full Moon o Sagashite, 3×3 Eyes, Ceres - Celestial Legend, Gunslinger Girl | ||
You're Under Arrest (Japanese: 逮捕しちゃうぞ, Hepburn: Taiho Shichauzo) is a Japanese seinen manga series written and illustrated by Kōsuke Fujishima and was serialized in Kodansha's Afternoon magazine from 1986 through 1992. It centers on a fictional police station in Sumida, Tokyo as its officers tackle everyday criminals while keeping people safe. It mixes both drama and action with some comedy and humor.
Contents
The chapters of You're Under Arrest have been collected in seven tankōbon volumes by Kodansha. The manga has been adapted into three television seasons, three OVA series and a film, all animated by Studio Deen. The series also spawned a live-action drama special starring Misaki Ito and Sachie Hara. Since its release, You're Under Arrest has received positive reviews from critics.
Story
The story revolves around Natsumi Tsujimoto and Miyuki Kobayakawa, two female members of the Tokyo Metropolitan Police Department and the protagonists of the show as they are stationed at the fictional Bokuto Police Precinct located at Sumida, Tokyo. The series is largely episodic, and much of it focuses on the interaction between the main characters and the humorous supporting cast.
The majority of the series take place in the Greater Tokyo Area. However, the site where the Bokuto Police Station is supposed to be does not exist in the Sumida Ward. In reality, the Bokuto Hospital takes its place.
Themes
Most of the series reflects on the standing friendship between Miyuki and Natsumi as they deal with their personal lives and their jobs as police officers, with some being portrayed as slice of life stories. The series also reflects the human side of Bokuto Station's various police officers in their field of work and in their personal lives outside of police work.
Manga
The English version of the manga was published by Dark Horse Comics, which only contained selected episodes from volumes 6 and 7 (reportedly at Fujishima's request, resulting in continuity confusion by some fans of the series). The final frame of the last Japanese volume refers to a You're Under Arrest 2, which has not yet been serialized.
Anime
The series was first adapted into a four-episode OVA series, directed by Kazuhiro Furuhashi, which was released in Japan from 1994 to 1995. An animated television series subsequently aired in Japan on TBS between 1996 and 1997, spanning a total of 49 episodes. It was also broadcast on Rai in Italy, NTV7 in Malaysia, Hero TV in the Philippines and TTV and AXN-Taiwan in Taiwan. 20 7-minute Mini specials and one full length episode was created and broadcast on TBS in 1999. A 26 episode sequel to the series also aired on TBS in 2001. A third animated television series, You're Under Arrest: Full Throttle (逮捕しちゃうぞ フルスロットル, Taiho Shichauzo: Furu Surottoru), aired from 2007 to 2008. Animated by Studio Deen and produced by Bandai Visual, the series featured character designs by Atsuko Nakajima and music by Kow Otani and Yasunori Iwasaki. The first two television series were aired with English subtitles on AXN Asia's networks in Southeast Asia and South Asia.
AnimEigo licensed the initial OVA series, the first television series, and the only full-length television episode of You're Under Arrest that aired in 1999 for North American release. ADV Films subsequently released the 1999 mini TV episodes that comprised the rest of You're Under Arrest! Mini-Specials as well as the movie. The 2001 TV series, the 2002 OVA TV special and Full Throttle are licensed in North America by Sentai Filmworks and distributed by the new company Section23 Films. Like the US, each of the anime series were licensed by different companies in France.
Movie
The movie ran for 90 minutes in the US and 92 minutes in France.
Video game
Released in 2001, it introduces two new characters. One of them is a detective named Ryosuke Arisugawa, a 24-year-old plainclothed officer assigned to Bokuto Police Station in order to identify and arrest a hacker who was trying to break into the precinct's network system. Another character is his 18-year-old sister Chiharu Arisugawa, who the player must keep an eye on.
Novel
A novel was done by Kodansha. It is a stand-alone story from the series, detailing a fight with Miyuki and Natsumi due to the latter being late for work again in Bokuto Station. Work on the novel had been supervised by Kōsuke Fujishima himself personally with Atsuko Nakajima doing the artwork in the novel.
TV drama
A TV drama was created and aired on TV Asahi in 2002. The opening theme song was called "Galaxy" by Nana Katase, and the closing theme was "Through the Rain" by Mariah Carey. It adapted the main characters while adding new characters over the course of the nine-episode series. The drama also advances the romantic relationships of the main characters, and it appears as if the producers of this drama were giving the fans what they have always wanted. Each episode ran for 45 minutes each.
Model Kits
Two models were created and titled Honda Today and Natsumi's motorcycle. Each are 1⁄60 scale.
Reception
You're Under Arrest was among the top 10 anime shows in Newtype's August 2001 issue. "Little that the series does in these episodes is especially fresh or memorable, but if you were always a fan of the Bokuto Traffic Section's antics in the earlier series then that enjoyment is unlikely to fade here." — Theron Martin, Anime News Network. "Though this season pales for a lot of people because some of the supporting cast are either minimized or gone entirely, I appreciated the return to dealing with the core cast of characters after all this time." — Chris Beveridge, Mania.