Tokyo Crazy Paradise


Tokyo Crazy Paradise is a shōjo manga series by Yoshiki Nakamura. It takes place in Tokyo, Japan, in the year 2020, revolving around the lives of fourteen-year-old Tsukasa Kozuki as she acts as bodyguard for her classmate, Ryuji Shirogami, who is the third generation boss of the yakuza group, Kuryugumi.

Plot

It's the year 2020 AD. Tokyo which is a futuristic society, complete with flying skateboards, laser guns and a variety of advanced technology. It is also a city infested with crime with far fewer women than men, with a subsequently higher amount of violence against women. It is also an example of moral decay; the series opens with a girl being attacked in broad daylight with people apathetically passing by, remarking that she should take care of herself.
Not wanting their daughter to suffer the same fate, Tsukasa Kozuki's cop parents raise and teach her to live as a boy. While Tsukasa's parents investigate the murder of her classmate's, Ryuji Shirogami's, father, who is the leader of the powerful Kuryugumi yakuza group, they are both killed in one of the yakuza's in-fights. The deaths leave both Tsukasa and Ryuji orphans, with Ryuji succeeding the group as their third generation boss, known as the Sandaime, and Tsukasa on the streets with her three brothers.
With no other options left, she goes to Ryuji whom she has known for eight years with hopes for shelter. After catching their parents' killer, Tsukasa becomes indebted to Ryuji when her brothers eat a veritable fortune on his tab and he uses the opportunity to tie her into becoming his personal bodyguard until her debt is paid off. Intrigued by her, Ryuji keeps slapping on an increasing amount of debt onto Tsukasa using all manners of ploys necessary to keep the reluctant Tsukasa by his side.
The story mainly centers on the developing romance and relationship between Tsukasa and Ryuji, which has a vast array of difficulties. Tsukasa has dreams of becoming a police officer like her parents, which conflicts with Ryuji's position as the boss of the largest syndicate in the Kantō area of Japan. At the same time, Kuryugumi, as an extremely powerful yakuza group, has many conflicts and gang wars with other groups, making up the rest of the story's conflict.

Characters

Main characters

;Tsukasa Kozuki
;Ryuji Shirogami

Kuryugumi

;Tatsuya Shirogami
;Ayane Shirogami
;Toshiyuki Kamojima
;Yoshiyuki Shibuya
;Footgear Guardians
;Yui
;Meiko

Silver Dragon Clan

;Sumon
;Asago Sumon

Gold Dragon Clan

;Hiroto Shibata
;Azumi Shibata
;Odawara
The person who betrayed Kuryugumi and killed the Nidaime. He was later kept alive, but living a life worse than death, according to what Ryuji told him.
;Fujioka
A good friend of Kamo-san, who knew him since they were younger. He is also one of the people who knew Yui and Kamo-san's relationship and that Yui and their unborn baby were killed. Later, he was there with Kamo-san when he died.

Purple Dragon Clan

;Kyuragi
;Hitomi Kyuragi

White Dragon Clan

;Usui
;Mamiko Usui

Red Dragon Clan

;Kawazoe
;Kumi Kawazoe

Green Dragon Clan

;Mooka
;Misuzu Mooka

The Kōzuki Family

;Ikumi Kozuki
;Yutaka Kozuki
;Shohei Kozuki
;Toshiyuki Kozuki
;Takuma Kozuki
;Kaya Shozu

Police Officers

;Akira Kise
;Kai Munakata
;Tomioka

Hogougumi

;Wakasa Ayabe
;So Mikaido

Garyūkai

;Shiva Mikaido
;Kahry
;Shiki Mikaido
;Freya
;Oguro
An aura and face that clearly states "The Bad Guy". The only reason he wants the kagi is to 'rule the world' because he is the only one with the 'right to do so'. His reasons for ruling the world or his background is unknown. Freya gets depressed because he was in charge of her and because he was "very ugly". He's later arrested by the police.
;Sakaki
Not much is known about him other than the fact that he resurrected Shiva in Misumi's body and he also wanted the key to rule the world. He's later murdered by Shiva while disputing over the key. He also might have been a brain core user.
;Misumi Soryo
Not much is known about him other than the fact that Shiva is using his body due to the brain core operation, and Shiki is very protective of his body, not wanting any part of him to get damaged. The main reason is that Misumi took care of Shiki as a child after the disbandment of Horougumi. His body is also the only reason why Shiki remained with Shiva, so as to get his body back from Shiva.

Reception

The manga has been analyzed for the way it portrays female power and agency within the yakuza world. For example, East Asian Studies scholar Erik Ropers comments that the author "Nakamura can be seen to argue for and make a case for young women to question and challenge existing societal expectations and gender roles." At the same time, Ropers notes that the manga and drama also downplays the illegality of the criminal activities engaged in by the organization and does not address issues of the abuse of women within such organizations.

Volumes

  1. published in December 1996
  2. published in March 1997
  3. published in June 1997
  4. published in October 1997
  5. published in January 1998
  6. published in May 1998
  7. published in August 1998
  8. published in December 1998
  9. published in March 1999
  10. published in July 1999
  11. published in October 1999
  12. published in January 2000
  13. published in May 2000
  14. published in September 2000
  15. published in January 2001
  16. published in May 2001
  17. published in August 2001
  18. published in November 2001
  19. published in April 2002