Kochikame

What is Kochikame?
The actual title of the series is Kochira Katsushika-ku Kameari Kouenmae Hashutsujo quite a mouthful that literally means 'this is the police box in front of Kameari Park in Katsushika'. Often referred to as just Kochikame, the series was created by AKIMOTO Osamu, and it first appeared in 1976, in the weekly comic magazine Shonen Jump. Since then, Kochikame has become the longest-running manga in existence since its serialisation, accumulating to a record 1,100 separate issues and over 110 books--as well as total sales of up to 130 million yen in Japan.

Kochikame is a comedy revolving around RYOUTSU Kankichi (or Ryo-san, as he's affectionately called), a burly police officer working in a police box around Kameari in Katsushika, downtown Tokyo. Though having a good heart, Ryoutsu's also gamble-loving, short-tempered, and has an enormous list of hobbies and interests that include video games and and model kits. More significantly though is Ryoutsu's knack for getting into all sorts of trouble--much to the dismay of his colleagues AKIMOTO Reiko and NAKAGAWA Keiichi, and especially his long-suffering boss OHARA Daijiro. What makes the series so popular is its outrageous and satirical humour, not to mention the many bizarre scenarios (super police cars armed with missiles, for instance) and Ryoutsu's ability to pull off the impossible.

In 1996, 20 years after the manga was first serialised, the series was made into an animated TV series (currently aired on Fuji Television). Kochikame has also ended up as various console games, and it also enjoyed a successful run on the stage as a musical written, directed, and starred by La Salle Ishii, the voice-actor for Ryo-san.

Kochikame the Movie marks the series transition to the big screen.