Medaka Box: Difference between revisions

''Medaka Box'' has gone from a quirky [[Slice of Life]] high school comedy to a fighting manga, then [[Serial Escalation]] as each [[Big Bad]]'s defeat brings a newer, more dangerous one onto the scene. Whatever the author's original intentions, the series has become more and more popular with each [[Genre Shift]], and an anime adaptation by [[Gainax]] was announced and began airing on April 4, 2012.

 

 

According to its own wiki, the manga has contained six completed story arcs so far, with a seventh starting around the same time as the anime. At the same time, the anime is expected to include several filler arcs.

 

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* [[Adaptation Dye Job]]: In the anime, some changes are more subtle than others - they range between a slightly different shade of colour and Moji, who went from having brown hair to [[You Gotta Have Blue Hair|bright blue]].

** Which may or may not be [[Actor Allusion]] or a [[Shout-Out]] to [[Tengen Toppa Gurren Lagann|another blue-haired male leader of a bunch of delinquents]] who is also voiced by [[Katsuyuki Konishi]].

** Kikaijima wears her swimsuit underneath her uniform, although this is more because she feels extremely uncomfortable without it.

* [[Personality Blood Types]]: Subtly averted, as ''everyone's'' blood type is AB. Probably counts as [[Running Gag]].

** {{spoiler|It's finally come full circle in Chapter 126.}}

* [[Pooled Funds]]: The swim team's objective.

* [[You Do NOT Want to Know]]: Zenkichi asks Shiranui where she's getting all her information about the other students. She simply tells him that an honorable and lawful person like him probably wouldn't want to know.

 

 

* [[All Take and No Give]]: Ajimu believes this is the true nature of Medaka and Zenkichi's relationship. According to her, Zenkichi has been unfailingly devoted to Medaka out of his love for her, and she takes his loyalty for granted. Ajimu doesn't seem to approve of this situation, and bluntly states that Zenkichi was not born to serve Medaka.

* [[Crazy Prepared]]: Zenkichi shows signs of this in his fight with Munekata, by consistently being able to disarm the latter and learning how to disassemble pistols and a rocket launcher on the off chance he met someone who used one.

** Kujira planned for 40 different styles of battle {{spoiler|she wound up fighting in a -40C freezer, but her specially-made unitard was good for -40 or 140C; in addition she stocked up on "normalizing" serum}}.

* [[Creepy Twins]]: The yin-yang duo guarding the door to the Flask Plan's lab.

* [[Curb Stomp Battle]]: A few examples which are present in the series, starting with:

** {{spoiler|Ajimu's powers are an impossible-looking number that looks like this (not the actual number): 1,384,759,832,749,874. A later translation says she has a ''quad''rillion powers.}}

* [[Fourth Wall Observer]]: {{spoiler|Ajimu appears to be this, noting her inability to defeat Medaka due to Medaka's main character status. Given that she says it as an analogy, she may just be [[Dangerously Genre Savvy]]}}

* [[Friendless Background]]: Nearly every Abnormal in the series has had few or no friends before coming to Hakoniwa Academy. Zenkichi was Medaka's only real friend before she was elected to the Student Council. "Plus" Abnormals are bothered by this and want friends. "Minuses" have such horrific powers and/or are so disturbed that they have given up on the idea.

* [[Genre Savvy]]: Kumagawa seems to have read enough Shonen Jump manga (he even says this at points in the story) to know how to counter the Student Council. For example, rather than have each side do their own [[Training Montage]], he sends his own team to {{spoiler|beat the crap out of the Student Council before they finish their own training}} to the point where Akune and Kikaijima wouldn't be able to fight his Minus 13 class in the tournament.

* [[The Glomp]]: Medaka does this to Zenkichi a few times. She also does this to Kikaijima once.

* [[A God I Am Not]]: Medaka.

* [[Healing Factor]]: For a time it seems that Kumagawa's power is also this, but actually he is {{spoiler|a [[Reality Warper]]}}. Shibushi's power is {{spoiler|explicitly stated to be the opposite: she can open all wounds no matter how long they've been healed... including ''mental ones''.}}

** Medaka also has acquired this ability to the extent that she can repair any damage to her body shortly after getting them.

* [[Implacable Man|Implacable Man (and Woman)]]: Myouga Unzen and his sister.

* [[Improbable Weapon User]]: Onigase Harigane, the [[Knight Templar]] School Morals Enforcer who uses handcuffs as brass knuckles and another enforcer who tried to hurt Akune by hitting him with a ''bicycle''.

** Kumagawa uses giant screws to great effect.

** And Hitomi Hitoyoshi somehow manages to use sewing needles, thread, and even garden shears in combat.

* [[Laser-Guided Amnesia]]: Medaka, thanks to one of Naze's serums.

** And Naze herself, having used her serums on herself first to separate herself from the past.

* [[Let's You and Him Fight]]: The Medaka's Successor Arc involves {{spoiler|Zenkichi turning on Medaka in order to prove a point, with '''Kumagawa''' of all people trying to be the voice of '''reason.'''}} This is, of course, all set up by {{spoiler|Najimi -- except for Kumagawa's deciding to go third wheel.}}

* [[Lightning Can Do Anything]]: Brainwashing people, stealing peoples' abilities, controlling 131,313 super computers all at once, magnetism, controlling the opponent's motor skills, and mind reading to name a few.

* [[Love You and Everybody]]: After being kissed by Medaka, [[Schoolgirl Lesbians|Kikaijima wonders whether that means Medaka loves her]]. Zenkichi explains to her that Medaka loves ''everyone''<ref>Whether this is true or she actually has no ''real'' empathy is up for debates.</ref> and she used to kiss people indiscriminately when she was in junior high. What a let-down.

* [[Magnetic Hero]]: Medaka Kurokami.

* [[Mega Manning]]: Medaka's ultimate power. She uses Naze's syringes, Munekata's hidden weapons, and Oudo's electrical powers against Zenkichi ''while straitjacketed'' to their respective "owners" astonishment. In fact, Medaka's power allows her to ''completely master another's power, even if the originator hasn't mastered it themselves.'' It can be a double-edged sword.

** Miyakonojou Oudo also counts as his "Unreasonable Taxation" power can steal other people's Abnormalities.

** {{spoiler|In chapter 140, Medaka stops the manga from ending. That's right, a character in the story decided it wasn't going to end.}}

* [[Shonen]]: The series becomes a more typical shonen fighting manga after the [[Genre Shift]].

** More blatantly, Anshin'in references ''21'' famous Shonen Jump series in the span of one page (chapter 116) when she {{spoiler|tries to convince Zenkichi to join her side}}. (Following in Misogi's footsteps?) <ref>If you're curious...:''[[Dragon Ball]], Cobra, [[City Hunter]], [[Fist of the North Star]], [[Slam Dunk]], [[The Prince of Tennis]], [[Captain Tsubasa]], Sexy Commando Gaiden, [[Video Girl Ai]], [[Hikaru no Go]], [[Rokudenashi Blues]], Sakigake Otokojuku, [[Yu-Gi-Oh (anime)|Yu-Gi-Oh]], [[Dai no Daibouken]], [[Ultimate Muscle]], [[Rurouni Kenshin]], [[JoJo's Bizarre Adventure]], [[Yu Yu Hakusho]], [[Houshin Engi]], [[Saint Seiya]], and Keiji''.</ref>

** It may just be a reference the Translator, Editor, or Scanlator popped in, but on page 12 & 13 of chapter 36, Zenkichi asks for some encouraging words, so Medaka says "GO GET HIM TIGER!", something a certain Mary Jane character used to say to Peter Parker. Whether or not this is an actual example though, I am not too sure.

 

{{reflist}}

[[Category:Anime of the 2010s]]

[[Category:Turn of the Millennium/Anime And Manga]]