Kochira Katsushika-ku Kameari Kōen Mae Hashutsujo (こちら葛飾区亀有公園前派出所, Kochira Katsushika-ku Kameari Kōen Mae Hashutsujo, lit. "This is the police station in front of Kameari Park in Katsushika Ward"), often shortened to Kochikame (こち亀), is a manga series written and illustrated by Osamu Akimoto.
Plot[]
The typical Kochikame plot involves Kankichi Ryotsu (Ryo-san) coming up with a money-making scheme by inventing a new gadget or capitalizing on a fad, achieving great success, calling on Nakagawa's help as things turn sour, and finally losing it all as the fad runs out of steam or out of control. While the plots are gag-driven, much of the humor comes from the combination of mundane characters with the bizarrely out of place characters as Nakagawa who has wealth and Maria who has appeal. What they have in common is everyone's lack of actual police work, most of which is never explained or rationalized in the slightest. (It is explained in Jump that Ryo-san is one of the best officers in catching criminals.) Reiko and Nakagawa have special licenses (such as for wearing personal clothes instead of uniforms to work) from police headquarters because of their skills in linguistics.
The plot have consistently evolved with the ongoing times, though most of the main characters have not really aged despite the fact that the series started out in Japan in the 1970s and is now clearly set in 2010s. However some characters have aged (like the grandchild of Buchao, who was a baby in the early books but is now close to junior high) at a relatively reasonable pace, which the author has self mocked in a few look back episodes.
Kochikame has a broad audience, ranging from adolescent boys to middle-aged salarymen. Much like Homer Simpson, Ryo-san's antics appeal to children who can laugh at an old buffoon and to men fearing that they are becoming old buffoons themselves and also because it often subtly mock the latest fads and trends. The stories are generally innocent in content, and what little violence appears is comical, while the occasional risqué subjects are included strictly for laughs rather than to titillate. In another parallel to The Simpsons, Kochikame's immense popularity has led to guest appearances in the strip by Japanese celebrities such as Tetsuya Komuro.
For creator Osamu Akimoto, Kochikame is an ongoing homage to the working-class people and districts of old Tokyo, and most episodes open with an elaborate full-page illustration of a Shitamachi (down-town) street scene, typically with old wooden buildings and boys playing in the streets.
Gallery[]
- For Images, go to the KochiKame: Tokyo Beat Cops Image Gallery.
