Japanese Delinquents: Difference between revisions
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{{trope}}
Whether just making a bit of trouble at the back of the classroom or out picking fights, schoolyard bullies or members of one of those oddly-decked-out motorcycle gangs, delinquents are a sure sign that not all is right.
The visual style of the Japanese delinquent in fiction has remained more consistent than in [[Real Life]], - since at least the 1988 release of ''[[Sakigake Otokojuku]]''.
For both types, speaking with rolled Rs (to convey a sense of rage) and [[Delinquent Hair|dyeing their hair in some form]] is usual (though the likelihood is greatly increased for the major-character type), with bleached-blond being the most common variety. A ridiculous Pompadour or ''
* Bandanas.
* A facial mask of some kind, especially a surgical one.
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The minor, throw-away type is a general blend of everything you'd expect from someone called a delinquent: getting into fights, disturbing the peace, and generally just not getting along with society at large. If they attend school, their school jacket is likely left open. If not, they'll have some other jacket to leave open, will likely not be wearing a shirt, and will have [[Sarashi|white bandage-style wrapping]] around their abdominal area. Female delinquents tend to favour full length school skirts. They are essentially there to [[Mooks|provide trouble for the main cast to clean up]].
The major character type, on the other hand, carries at least some the above traits, but is almost always a [[Jerk
Female delinquents often have their ''seifuku'' in some form of purposeful disarray - unknotted scarf, loose socks against regulation, partially unbuttoned or knotted top, or the skirt hiked up, though given the average length of an anime uniform skirt this may not be noticeable. Rolled-up sleeves and an unusually ''long'' skirt also indicate a tough cookie. They will sometimes be portrayed as [[Rich Bitch|kogals]] (who flaunt their disposable income), or some other subculture, or engaging in [[Enjo Kosai|less violent]] [[Blackmail Is Such an Ugly Word|inappropriate]] behavior.
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The [[Yakuza]], Japan's indigenous organized crime syndicates, tend to have very little respect for delinquents. In their eyes, they're ''professional'' criminals with a sense of tradition, whereas yankis are just young punks with an attitude.
For delinquents in general, including the Western types, see [[Delinquents]] and [[Lower Class Lout]]. See [[Former Teen Rebel]] for when this is a part of an adult character's history,
{{examples
==Examples of minor characters==
=== [[Anime]] and [[Manga]] ===▼
* ''[[
▲== [[Anime]] and [[Manga]] ==
▲* ''[[Azumanga Daioh (Manga)|Azumanga Daioh]]'' (parodied, when Chiyo-chan and company dressed up as delinquents during the Sports Festival)
** Also parodied during Kaorin's ''hatsuyume'' (the first dream of the new year), when all of the girls (except Sakaki) are wearing face masks and long skirts, implying gang membership. Then Sakaki rides in on a white horse, knocks them down, and sweeps Kaorin away. She (Kaorin) <s>wakes up</s>was quite disappointed to wake up just then.
* ''[[Bleach]]'' (particularly in the flashbacks of Ichigo and Sado's past)
* ''[[Great Teacher Onizuka]]'' (if you're not sure what the minor-type is supposed to look like, see the class Onizuka deals with in the first couple of episodes)
* Half of the extras in ''[[Tenshi
* In the baseball episode of ''[[Excel Saga (
* Rin's motorcycle gang (and in the manga, the all-female gang led by Miku) in ''[[Midori no Hibi]]''.
* The Zokugaku Chameleons from ''[[Eyeshield 21]]'' are an entire ''team'' of minor-character delinquents, except for team captain Rui Habashira, who's more like a secondary character (and placed 5th in the latest character popularity poll).
* The "Bancho Rengoku" (Gang Leader Alliance) attacks Momotsuki Gakuen in episode 13 of ''[[Pani Poni Dash!]]''. They consisted of a Girl Ninja, A 50-foot man and ''a talking bull.'' There's also the character of Yanki, who dresses like a delinquent but is just a fat, [[Gonk|goofy-looking]] doofus.
* See Yankumi's students in ''[[Gokusen]]''. Ironically one of the teachers is a real Yakuza princess, compared to the delinquent students in her class. Being delinquents, most of them are too dense to have figured it out.
* Some secondary characters in ''[[Slam Dunk]]'' are delinquents, in a wide range of positions from street gangs to players in rival teams. As mentioned below, t''main'' character used to be one of these in the past.
* An attack on girls wearing inappropriately high heels in ''[[Case Closed]]'' reminds Chief Megure of an older case where some delinquent, long-skirt wearing girls were targets of a hit-and-run driver. {{spoiler|The [[Sole Survivor]] of the case is currently his wife.}}
* Jirô in ''[[
* Light kills a delinquent in ''[[
* In ''[[Full Metal Panic!|Full Metal Panic Fumoffu]]'', a gang of delinquents attempt to mess with Sousuke, first by picking a fight with him and then kidnapping Kaname, only to find they are ''not'' prepared to deal with someone like Sousuke. Though to be fair, there aren't many people that ''are'' prepared to deal with [[No Social Skills|someone]] [[Crazy Prepared|like]] [[Child Soldier|Sousuke]].
* [[Those Two Guys]] Inukawa and Nekoyama from ''[[Boku No Tsukuru Sekai]]''.
* Episode 17 of ''[[Seto no Hanayome]]'' is a spoof of this idea, with Akeno being forced into being a gang leader.
* Lots of these in ''[[Holyland]]''.
* In the comedic [[High School AU]] of ''[[Neon Genesis Evangelion]]'' ''[[Petit Eva: Evangelion@School]]'', Unit-01 is depicted as a yankii, and called "Evancho".
* In ''[[
* ''[[Tiger and Bunny]]'''s first drama CD shows that Kotetsu Kaburagi toed the line of delinquency as a teenager, although he'll protest. It's not ''his'' fault that his self-prescribed superhero training required skipping classes to beat up street thugs.
* ''[[Maid Sama]]'''s cast are forced to go on a "rescue mission" (and end up forgetting why they went anyway) only to have the Three Idiots make up with an old ally. They all dress up in delinquent-style clothing for the infiltration.
* Kodaka, the protagonist of ''[[Boku wa Tomodachi ga Sukunai]]'', is mistaken for one by his peers due to his naturally-blond hair and ostracized as a result; his reputation is shown to have some benefits as well, however, which he doesn't mind exploiting.
* Ryuuji, the protagonist of ''[[Toradora
* Aruma, the protagonist of ''[[Sacred Seven]]'' is in a similar situation, although the ''real'' yankees pick on him themselves.
* ''[[
* The class of ''[[Battle Royale]]'' features a small group of delinquent males led by Kiriyama. An even smaller group of ''females'' is led by Souma. Both are especially hardcore examples who get involved in serious and violent crime.
* ''Each and every student'' of Ishiyama High in ''[[
* The Capsules, Kenda's bousouzoku gang from ''[[
* In [[Fruits Basket]], there was a trio of middle school aged yanki wannabes who tried to pick a fight with Uotani after stalking her for over an hour. Uotani is easily able to talk some sense into them.
* ''[[Blassreiter]]'' features a particularly [[Complete Monster]] (specifically [[Teens Are Monsters]]) group of delinquents who terrorize everyone in their path from fellow schoolmates to [[Adults Are Useless|Useless Adults]] with no fear of reprisal (their ability to manipulate characters and to escape karmic retribution is rage-inducing, but largely for how obvious a rage plant they are). Physical and verbal [[Kick the Dog|dog kicking]] abound, in addition to {{spoiler|[[Driven to Suicide|driving a major character's friend to suicide]]}}. These three school kids seem to run their neighborhood, and for all we know the entire country of Japan, with an iron fist {{spoiler|until their reign eventually comes to an end as they are fittingly murdered during the second arc of the series, but}} the sour taste of their deeds doesn't wash out right away, as much a result of the implausibility of their overblown [[Kick the Dog|dog kicking]] as the heinousness of it.
* Subverted for multiple times in ''[[
* Some minor annoyances in ''[[Urusei Yatsura]]'' are delinquents who are too stupid to stay away from Tomobiki High.
** [[Hokuto no Ken|Kenshiro]] [[The Cameo|showed up]] in one episode as the school banchou.
* ''[[Yu-Gi-Oh! ARC-V]]''; the main character's [[Beware the Quiet Ones| ''mother'' used to be a ''leader'' of a group like this.]]
* Scud and his gang from ''[[Yu-Gi-Oh! The Dark Side of Dimensions]]'', although Scud is, unlike Jonouchi's former gang, very much a [[Miles Gloriosus]].
* Played with in Minowa Hijiri from ''[[Bakuon!!]]'', a a very proper and polite [[Lonely Rich Kid]] who wants ''terribly'' to be a delinquent, and thinks that by joining her high school's motorcycle club (and beating everyone at a game of "chicken" while riding in the sidecar of a motorcycle driven by her ''butler'') that she is finally a "bad girl". She ''isn't'', not by any measure, but she takes such an innocent delight in thinking that she's now a delinquent that no one else in the club seems inclined to disabuse her of the notion.
=== [[Live-Action TV]] ===▼
* In episode 30 of ''[[Engine Sentai
▲== [[Live-Action TV]] ==
▲* In episode 30 of ''[[Engine Sentai Goonger]]'', Sousuke and Ren get brainwashed into baddies; while Sousuke wears the jacket and pants, Ren goes the 'yankii' route with a Hawaiian shirt.
** A similar example in the previous year's ''[[Juken Sentai Gekiranger]]'', with Ran being turned into a ''sukeban''. {{spoiler|Then they learn that their mentor Miki ''used to be a real one''.}}
=== [[Video Games]] ===▼
▲== [[Video Games]] ==
* The [[Mooks]] of the school level in ''[[No More Heroes]]''.
* Just about everyone in ''[[River City Ransom]]''. Well, except the shop keepers, waiters, children, the old man at the sauna, Roxy, and Ryan. But still!
* Most of the ''[[Tokimeki Memorial]]'' games sometimes pit you against delinquents during dates, and you'll have to fight them ''[[Final Fantasy]]'' battles-style. When defeated, their Banchou comes to fight you; if you defeat him, [[Worthy Opponent|he'll acknowledge you as the new Banchou]] and will make excuses for his underlings' rudeness. In ''[[Tokimeki Memorial]] 2'', the delinquent gang is fleshed out (but still as secondary characters), with their Banchou revealed as {{spoiler|the [[Knight Templar Big Brother]] of one of the datable girls, and the Banchou of the first game}}, and having under its order a [[Quirky Miniboss Squad]] of 4 members known as the ''[[The Four Gods|Four Heaven Kings]]'', all having a specific name, face and personnality, and all {{spoiler|having a role in the aforemented datable girl's storyline}}.
=== [[Anime]] and [[Manga]] ===▼
▲== [[Anime]] and [[Manga]] ==
* Nearly everyone in ''[[Rokudenashi Blues]]'' is a delinquent, although the main characters try not to pick fights.
* Pretty much everybody in ''[[
* ''Durarara!!'' gives us {{spoiler|Kida Masaomi,}} ex-leader of the Yellow Scarves, {{spoiler|Ryuugamine Mikado,}} current leader of the Dollars, and Shizuo, when he was in high school, although that wasn't entirely by choice but just all those [[Hair
** Many of the characters here are members of the Dollars, who aren't your usual delinquents since most of them are regular people who joined for kicks. There's another gang of note who are really the only one from the show that really qualifies, the Yellow Scarves, which used to be in power some time ago. Izaya seems to put down [[Evil Weapon|Saika's]] [[The Virus|children]] as another faction that has infiltrated the other two.
* Tetsuo Shima and Shotaro Kaneda in ''[[
* ''[[
* Ichigo Kurosaki in ''[[Bleach]]''. Subverted as most of the fights Ichigo got into were people picking fights with ''him'', often because of his hair, which is naturally strawberry blonde.
* ''[[Battle Royale]]'' had a clique of delinquents/thugs in the class, the most notable one being [[Empty Shell|Kazuo]] [[Complete Monster|Kiriyama]].
* Eikichi Onizuka himself, and many others, in ''[[Great Teacher Onizuka]]''.
* ''[[Mazinger Z]]'''s Boss is a classic anime example.
* Keisuke Takahashi in ''[[Initial D]]'' (he was at one time, anyway... it becomes a minor plot point in Fourth Stage)
* Hayato Gokudera in ''[[Katekyo Hitman Reborn]]!'' Kyouya Hibari and his followers, though they are also the Disciplinary Committee and are delinquent only in the name of their school which Hibari really really loves. Ironic much?
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** And his sister's way tougher than him.
* Sanosuke Sagara in ''[[Rurouni Kenshin]]''. Though not a school student, he fits in every other respect.
* Takane from ''[[
* Souichirou Nagi, Bob Makihara, and Bunshichi Tawara in ''[[Tenjou Tenge]]''.
* Yusuke Urameshi in ''[[Yu Yu Hakusho]]''
** Kazuma Kuwabara fits the trope even better than Yusuke, since not only is he a [[Jerk
** Two of the three relatively minor characters Genkai recruits for a [[Secret Test of Character]] and the story arc that follows. They don't have a very big part, but they ''do'' show up in the background for the entire arc.
* Genzo Souga in ''[[Tenshi
* Tsunoda in ''[[Chou Kuse
* Ryu from ''[[Shaman King]]''.
* Ikki from ''[[
* Madoka Ayukawa in ''[[Kimagure Orange Road]]'' is
* Saki Asamiya from the anime and live-action versions of ''[[Sukeban Deka]]''.
* ''[[Eyeshield 21]]'' also has Jumonji, Kuroki, and Togano (the "Ha-Ha" Brothers, from habit of [[Catch Phrase|going "Hah?" in sequence when confused]]), three punks who initially pick on Sena, but end up getting recruited as linemen for the Devil Bats and becoming his friends.
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* Kenji Harima from ''[[School Rumble]]'' fits as one of the major-character type, complete with getting into fights, riding a big bike, and wearing an open jacket.
* Hanamichi Sakuragi and Hisashi Mitsui from ''[[Slam Dunk]]''. Mitsui even was a gang leader, and after his [[Heel Face Turn|conversion]] his fellows became supporters of the basketball team.
* Sakaki from ''[[
* Makoto Kino (Sailor Jupiter) from ''[[Sailor Moon]]'' is another reformed delinquent. She was originally designed as a smoker and sukeban leader in ''[[Codename: Sailor V]]'', but in the spinoff just kept the pseudo-yankii design of a long skirt and curly hair.
** Slightly deconstructed: she keeps the long skirt from her old school because there wasn't [[Huge Schoolgirl|anything in her size
* Airs Blue from ''[[Infinite Ryvius]]'', a gang leader who gets his hands on the only gun on the Ryvius.
* [[Idiot Hero|Masaru Daimon]] of ''[[Digimon Savers]]'' is a ''banchou'' and a street fighter, and it really shows.<ref>the dub [[Bowdlerise
* The casts of the Hiroshi Takahashi mangas ''Crows'' and ''Worst'' are almost entirely composed of delinquents, specifically Harumichi Bouya and Tsukishima Hana, the respective protagonists. The opponents they encounter can be divided into two distinct groups: Rivals (delinquents who respect the codes of honor and companionship in high school gang warfare) and Bad Guys (jerks).
* Tomoya Okazaki and Youhei Sunohara in ''[[Clannad (
* Jin Akutsu from ''[[The Prince of Tennis]]''.
* The entire main cast of ''Yankee-Kun to Megane-Chan'' (''[[Flunk Punk Rumble]]'' in English trans) is made up of people who are, used to be, or everyone is convinced are delinquents.
* Katsuya Kimura from ''[[Hell Teacher Nube]]''. Waaay older than he should be for a fifth-grader, smokes, often associates with less than savory elements, openly lusts for [[Gag Boobs|Miki]], and often the root of [[Too Dumb to Live|serious trouble]] for Nube and his classmates. Then again, he's a [[Jerk
* Haruka Minami from ''[[Minami-ke]]'' apparently had a history of delinquency as many characters speak of her having been a 'legendary' ''banchou''. She spends most of her screentime being [[Ms. Fanservice]] and a [[Yamato Nadeshiko]], but the [[Beware the Nice Ones|heavy handed way she solves a few problems]] hints that the rumors might be true.
* Mamoru Takamura from ''[[Hajime no Ippo]]''. Even in the ring, he rocks the pompadour and has the extreme [[Jerkass]] personality to match. He started boxing in order to keep out of trouble and it took him far. Also, Takuya Kimura and Masaru Aoki, though they had to reconsider their delinquent status once they ran into the force of nature that is Takamura.
** Takeshi Sendoh and Ryuuhei Sawamura as well. In Sendoh's backstory, we learn that he actually became a delinquent and gang-leader in order to ''[[Bully Hunter|protect]]'' his classmates.
* Yuuichi from ''[[
* Jotaro Kujo of ''[[
* The main cast in ''[[
* Naruto Uzumaki from ''[[Naruto]]'', at the beginning of the series. He even gets the standard ''yankii'' uniform during the [[High School AU]] ending credits.
* Joey Wheeler/Katsuya Jounouchi from ''[[Yu-Gi-Oh!]]'', before the show begins. Some episodes of the manga featured his old gang as antagonists.
* [[Yandere Kanojo]] has several, most prominently the female lead, Reina Ryuuzaki, as well as some of her old delinquent friends and rivals as minor characters. The title of the manga is even a pun on Reina's nature as Manabu Tanaka's yankee but dere dere girlfriend ([[I Thought It Meant|rather than her going]] [[Yandere]]).
* ''[[Magical Girl Lyrical Nanoha]] [[Spin Offspring|ViVid]]'' has Hallie Tribeca, one of Vivio and Einhart's rivals in the [[Tournament Arc|Inter-Middle Tournament]] and the leader of a small gang of female delinquents.
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* ''Chameleon'' is all about the main character wanting to be Japan's baddest delinquent of all.
* ''[[Ultimate Teacher]]'' is a parody of the Delinquent genre, set in Japan's worst school. The school's leader, Hinako, is the school's prettiest (and cleanest) girl and the teacher that's supposed to straight them up turns out to be the biggest bully of them all.
* [[Exactly What It Says
* England from ''[[Axis Powers Hetalia]]'' was said to be quite the delinquent as a teen, something which he fervently denies due to his current status as a (self-proclaimed) gentleman. This is also touched in [[High School AU|Gakuen Hetalia]] where in England's official bio it mentions how he had been given such a reputation in the past.
* Himeko from ''[[Sket Dance]]'' was one at first but she changed.
* The main villain, Duo Haguro, of ''[[Wolfen Crest]]'' is supposedly a yakuza (or at least a yakuza heir), but due to his age and status as a high-schooler fits many aspects of this trope. His student underlings and his girlfriend Ryuuko Kounuma also qualify.
* In an episode of ''[[Rosario
* Haine from ''[[Shinshi Doumei Cross]]'' spent years as a delinquent, complete with blond hair.
* Hatori from ''[[Life (
* Joe Shimamura's original backstory in [[Cyborg 009]] had him and his friends as one of these. It's [[Bowdlerized]] in the new series, where they are [[Heartwarming Orphan
* Another Joe who is a delinquent is Joe Yabuki, from ''[[Ashita no Joe]]'', even though he's homeless and never even been in a school.
=== [[Film]] ===▼
▲== [[Film]] ==
* Ichiko from ''Shimotsuma Monogatari'' (released in the US as ''Kamikaze Girls'').
* Most of the cast from ''Crows Zero'' and ''Crows Zero 2'' (both loose adaptations by Takashi Miike of the manga ''Crows'')
* Many "[
=== [[Live-Action TV]] ===
* Gentaro Kisaragi of ''[[
** In ''[[Kamen Rider the Next]],'' [[The Hero|Takeshi Hongo]] has an ''epically'' rowdy class that would fit right in in any [[Save Our Students]] film. They get less rowdy when they see him {{spoiler|stopping cars and motorcycles with his bare hands, ''unsuited''}}. Now ''that'll'' [[Scare
=== [[Professional Wrestling]] ===
* Dump Matsumoto and her gang from [[All Japan
=== [[Video Games]] ===
* "Banchou" from ''[[Gate Keepers]]''. Subverted in that he looks and talks like a delinquent but acts more like a [[Love Freak]].
* Daigo Kazama, Eiji "Edge" Yamada and Gan Isurugi from ''[[
** In the sequel ''Project Justice'', they're joined by female delinquent Aoi "Zaki" Himezaki and her all-female gang, the Ladies Team. The two gangs even face off against each other in the game's story mode, as illustrated above.
* Kanji from ''[[Persona 4]]''. Dyed Blond hair? Check. Scar on the forehead? Check. Wears Uniform Inappropriately? Check. Foul-mouthed? Check. [[Real Men Wear Pink|Likes to knit]] and could possibly be [[Ambiguously Gay|ga...]] What the hell?!
** Izanagi was intentionally designed to look like one, in keeping with the Protagonist's role in the party.
** The trailer for the fighting game ''[[
* Yukino from the orginal ''[[Persona]]'' is a reformed one. Still wears the long skirt though.
* Inverted in ''[[Disgaea 3: Absence of Justice]]'' where Raspberyl is a ''demon'' delinquent. Oh, she's rebelling against the ideals of the [[Card
* Riki and Kunio (Ryan and Alex) from the ''Kunio-kun'' (''[[River City Ransom]]'') series, including ''Super Dodgeball''.
* Masamune Date and his men from ''[[Sengoku Basara]]''. Think Sengoku Era biker gang.
* ''[[Kenka Bancho]]'' is a series of video games for the [[
* ''[[Samurai Warriors]] 3'': Masanori Fukushima, despite living in the Sengoku era, sports a pompadour hairdo and has delinquent-esque mannerisms.
* Akira, from the near-future chapter of ''[[Live a Live]]'', is the very image of a delinquent. He even slouches.
* The protagonists and most of the antagonists of the ''[[Kunio-Kun]]'' series are cut from this cloth, although many games seem to combine a Japanese urban setting with [[Eagleland]].
▲=== Real life examples ===
* Japanese singer Nanase Aikawa is known for being a former sukeban. Her music was/is popular with bousouzoku.
* The members of the band Blankey Jet City were bousouzoku in their youth.
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[[Category:Stock Japanese Characters]]
[[Category:School Tropes]]
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