BECK

BECK is a Japanese manga, or comic book, that was created by Harold Sakuishi. Sakuishi’s real name is Takahiro Sakushi. He has become an award winning mangaka, or manga artist, who has created quite a few popular mangas. BECK was quickly deemed popular enough to be turned into an anime. The manga version won the Kodansha Manga Award in 2002.

Synopsis

Yuki, or Koyuki, is a 14 year old who is heading into Junior High. He is doing so with his two best friends by his side, one of which is a pervert, and the other of which is desired after by almost all of the girls at the school. Koyuki ends up meeting up with a strange dog, whose name is Beck. He follows the dog back to his owner, who is a rock wanna-be named Ryuuskuk Minami. Ryuusuke and Koyuki end up becoming the best of friends, and Koyuki ends up joining the band that Ryuusuke is in, named BECK.

Characters

• Yukio Tanaka – Yukio is actually called Koyuki by his friends. He is a very nice guy, and ends up being pushed around often by others. He discovers that he loves to play the guitar, and ends up becoming an amazing guitarist. He is the last person to join the group, BECK, and plays second guitar. He also has a beautiful voice but does not sing very often, except for the ballads.

• Ryusuke Minami – Ryusuke spent quite a bit of time in America, so he speaks fluent English. He often uses both English and Japanese, all within one sentence. He lives alone and is the one to influence Koyuki to begin playing the guitar. He is the one who started the band named BECK, and is the lead guitarist of the band.

• Ken’ichi Saitou – Ken’ichi ends up teaching Koyuki how to play the guitar, and how to swim. He used to be an Olympic swimmer, but was not able to make it, so became a swim coach instead. He is a very loud, strict person, who is a great guitar teacher and coach. He become a more sensitive person when he is in the water. He is attracted to Momo and does not know what to do about it, and often asks Koyuki for advice.

• Maho Minami – Maho is Ryusuke’s sister. She is the lead singer of the band, and has conflicting emotions towards Koyuki. It seems, at first, that she does not care for him, ignoring him and hurting him, and at other times she seems to care very deeply for him.

• Izumi Ishigura – Izumi grew up with Koyuki and had feelings for him. At one point, Koyuki was forced to choose between Izumi and Maho. Fortunately for him, the two girls were able to come to an agreement and understanding, leaving Koyuki out of it.

• Yoshiyuki Taira – Yoshiyuki is the bass guitar player and is one of the more talented members. He woks as a traffic officer and seems to be very blasé about life.

• Tsunemi Chiba – Tsunemi is the lead singer for BECK. He has a punk-rock sound and is the one that named the group after Ryusuke’s dog.

• Yuji Sakurai – Yuji is a drummer. He has been friends with Koyuki for most of their lives, and has even been beaten up for defending him.