Slow Step


Slow Step is a romantic comedy boxing and softball manga by Mitsuru Adachi. It was serialized by Shogakukan in the shōjo manga magazine Ciao from September 1986 through March 1991, and collected in seven tankōbon volumes. In 1991, it was adapted as a five-episode OVA. The anime version has some differences from the manga, including the ending.

Plot

Slow Step is a romantic comedy boxing and softball manga by Mitsuru Adachi. It follows Minatsu Nakazato, a popular high-school girl, as she deals with the unwanted romantic attentions of multiple boys and a teacher. Her plans for evading their pursuits of her grow increasingly convoluted, even involving taking on alternate identities.

Characters

;Minatsu Nakazato / Maria Sudō
;Shū Akiba
;Naoto Kadomatsu
;Kango Yamazakura
; Ayako Sawamura
;Chika Tanaka
'''Sources:'''

Releases

Manga

Slow Step was serialized by Shogakukan in the shōjo manga magazine Ciao from September 1986 through March 1991, and collected in seven tankōbon volumes.
Tankōbon
  • Volume 1
  • Volume 2
  • Volume 3
  • Volume 4
  • Volume 5
  • Volume 6
  • Volume 7
Bunkoban
  • Volume 1
  • Volume 2
  • Volume 3
  • Volume 4

    Anime

In 1991, Slow Step was adapted into a five-episode OVA series by Youmex and distributed on by Toho. The anime version has some differences from the manga, including the ending. It was released on five VHS tapes and five laserdiscs.
The series was directed by Kunihiko Yuyama, with scripts by Toshimichi Saeki and character designs by Tokuhiro Matsubara. The soundtrack was by Hiroya Watanabe.

Songs

The opening theme song for Slow Step was "Kimi ga Inakerya Frustration", with vocals by Nobuhide Saki, who also composed the song. The lyrics were written by Gorō Matsui, and the music was arranged by Takeshi Fujii and Yoshiyuki Sahashi. The ending theme, "Only for You", was composed and was sung by Saki. Matsui wrote the lyrics and the music was arranged by Fujii and Sahashi.

Soundtrack

A soundtrack CD was released on 27 March 1991.
  1. Kimi ga Inakerya Frustration
  2. Asaoka High School
  3. Furyō Shōjo ni wa Narenakute
  4. Butainu Bōsōzoku
  5. Ki ni Naru Aitsu
  6. Zensokuryoku no I Love You
  7. Ninshīn!
  8. Date o Kaketa Taiketsu
  9. Chika-chan no Katei
  10. Satsujinki Semaru!!
  11. Yayakoshii Shiai
  12. Kaze no Yokan
  13. Kadomatsu e no KO Punch
  14. Moshikashite...?
  15. Nonki na Renshū
  16. Kimi ga Kureta Rakugaki
  17. Maria ni Kokuhaku
  18. Tokubetsu na Hito
  19. Porsche ni Notta Irootoko
  20. ''Only for You''

    Reception

In 1995 Slow Step was released in the United Kingdom on VHS with English subtitles by the video company Western Connection. However, it was commercially unsuccessful.
Helen McCarthy in 500 Essential Anime Movies calls Mitsuru Adachi "the king of high school romance" and states that the anime "deserves a much bigger audience."

Works cited