Manga The creation of was the result of a misunderstanding between the author
Shinji Wada and the editors at
Hakusensha. Wada was developing a high school drama, but the publisher expected a detective story starring a high school student. At an impasse, Wada decided to combine the two concepts. Wada first published a
pilot chapter titled in the August 5, 1975 ( 15) issue of
Hana to Yume magazine. Later, became a
serial, starting in the January 5, 1976 ( 1) issue of the same magazine, released in 1975. Disappointed that he could never end a complete serial before, Wada planned earlier in production a dramatic final scene in which the protagonist would die. The last chapter of this original planning was serialized in the December 20, 1977 ( 24) issue, and was followed by an epilogue in the January 20, 1978 ( 2) issue. Following 's conclusion, Wada started a new serial, , in the March 20, 1978 ( 6) issue of
Hana to Yume. However, after one year of serialization, the series was poorly received by readers, and Wada stopped it to restart . The manga ran regularly in
Hana to Yume until its December 5, 1982 ( 24) issue. Hakusensha released a six-volume edition between March 3, 1987, and April 29, 1987, and a twelve-volume edition between March 23, 1995, and June 21, 1995. The last reprint was done by
Media Factory, who published twelve collected volumes between August 23, 2004, and July 23, 2005.
Spin-offs Wada published two
short stories set in a
parallel universe in the October 1998 and May 1999 issues of
Hakusensha's
Melody magazine. He published two more installments in the March and April 2003 issues of Media Factory's
Monthly Comic Flapper magazine. In 2021, almost a decade after Wada's death,
Akita Shoten launched three
spin-off manga series in
Monthly Princess magazine. The first, , is written and illustrated by Saori Muronaga. It premiered in the February 2021 issue of
Monthly Princess on January 6, 2021. The second, , is written and illustrated by . It premiered in the March 2021 issue of the magazine on February 5, 2021. The third, , is written by and illustrated by Shingi Hosokawa. It premiered in the September 2021 issue of
Monthly Princess on August 6, 2021.
Television series The television series, though technically one series made up of three seasons, are essentially self-contained and separate, aside from sharing the same basic themes and premise, and starring popular
Japanese idol singers in the main roles, each one replacing the previous as the new Saki Asamiya, taking on her cover identity and yo-yo weapon.
Sukeban Deka, the first series from 1985, starred
Yuki Saito as the titular character Saki Asamiya. Saito's own song "
Shiroi Honō" was used as the theme song. Actress
Yasuko Endō played Ayumi Mizuchi. Lasting 24 episodes, the series adapted the first part of the manga and was relatively faithful to it, only changing minor points, though it deviated more towards its conclusion. Unlike the manga, where Saki died at the end of a late arc unrelated to the Mizuchi sisters, the series produced an early ending in which Saki seemingly died in a burning building along with her enemy Remi Mizuchi. The popularity of the first series allowed it to be followed up by in November 1985. This sequel starred
Yoko Minamino, as Saito chose not to return in order to focus on her singing career. In accordance, although the series did base most of its storylines in the second part of the manga, Minamino portrayed an original character named Yoko Godai, a mysterious girl from
Kansai forced to wear iron masks for most of her childhood. Yoko was liberated from the mask by a police agent named Nishiwaki (
Keizo Kanie) that offered her a place in the Sukeban Deka program, and she accepted in exchange for help to find her disappeared dad. In the process, Yoko would be given the name of her presumably dead predecessor, Saki Asamiya, and a similar yo-yo weapon.
Sukeban Deka II contained connections to the first series, as
Hiroyuki Nagato returned periodically to his role as the Dark Director, while Nishiwaki was revealed to be a former coworker of Kyoichiro Jin. However, in a departure from both the first series and manga, where Saki worked alone most of the time,
Sukeban Deka II added two sidekicks for the main character: Yukino Yajima (
Akie Yoshizawa), the refined heiress of a rich family from
Kyoto who was also a
Japanese martial arts expert, and Kyoko "Marble Okyo" Nakamura (
Haruko Sagara), a street-wise
Osaka native who excelled at street fighting and the usage of
marbles as weapons. Despite those changes, the series actually surpassed the first in popularity, lasting 42 episodes and bringing the possibility of a third installment. After the closure of the second season, Toei conceived an independent spin-off named to air before
Sukeban Deka III. It would be based around
ninjas, taking inspiration from
Sho Kosugi's ninja cinema and Shinji Wada's own manga
Ninja Flight, as well as from
Star Wars. However, early into production it was decided to merge both
Ninpocho and
III into a single series. The result was the official third season, . Launched in October 1986, it starred
Yui Asaka as another original character after Minamino declined to return. Yui Kazama, a country girl from
Kyushu who was recruited by the Dark Director and given the role of the third Saki Asamiya. In the story, Yui, the youngest of the Kazama sisters and known as the
Great Sukeban in Miyazaki, was sent to Tokyo by her foster parent, the monk Osho Taian (
Hiroyuki Tanaka). She joined her long lost sisters, Yuka (
Yuka Onishi) and Yuma (), at Seiryu Academy and together, they inherited the family's ninja art. Their mission was to confront Koji Kashin, a mysterious entity who had been lurking in the shadows for centuries, intending to shroud and dominate the world in darkness. Transformed into a trio of
kunoichi, they battled Koji Kashin and his army, aided by their mentor Kazuya Yoda (
Nagare Hagiwara) and the agent Reia Kido (
Satomi Fukunaga). Towards the end of the story, it is revealed that Yui has a twin sister named Sho, who was taken by Koji Kashin and given
psychic abilities. Sho was cursed to stop growing physically at the age of 10 and initially opposed Yui but later learned of their kinship. Yui herself rarely used the Saki Asamiya moniker and showed a very different personality compared to Saki and Yoko, and the series was more focused on fantasy than serious urban crime drama. Despite a strong premiere and an ambitious length of 42 episodes scheduled in advance,
Sukeban Deka III rapidly lost its momentum and didn't do well. During its airing the first feature movie of the franchise was released,
Sukeban Deka The Movie, which acted as a crossover between
II and
III (it also starred Ayako Kobayashi, the winner of a national audition grand prix), but it didn't help the franchise to recover its success.
Ninja Girl Romance had its last episode in October 1987, and it was only followed by the feature film
Sukeban Deka the Movie 2: Counter-Attack from the Kazama Sisters, which featured the characters in a more traditional plot and gave conclusion to their series.
Feature films Two feature films of the TV series were made, followed by a sequel 18 years later. •
Sukeban Deka The Movie was released in 1987 during the release of
Sukeban Deka III. Although it featured characters from both the second and third seasons, starring
Yoko Minamino and
Yui Asaka, the movie was more of a sequel to
Sukeban Deka II. •
Sukeban Deka the Movie 2: Counter-Attack from the Kazama Sisters (1988). The movie starred Yui Asaka and served as the third series's finale. •
Sukeban Deka: Code Name = Asamiya Saki, was released in 2006. It was directed by
Kenta Fukasaku and starred
Aya Matsuura as the new Saki. Her fellow
Hello! Project members
Rika Ishikawa,
Erika Miyoshi and
Yui Okada from
Biyuden, and from
Melon Kinenbi also starred in the movie.
Hiroyuki Nagato and
Yuki Saito from the original
Sukeban Deka TV series made special appearances, implying she was the original Saki Asamiya. Out of all three movies, this title is most known and is more accessible, due to it being released on DVD in the U.S. by Magnolia, and in the UK by 4Digital Asia. For its American and UK distribution, the movie was retitled
Yo-Yo Girl Cop. Original video animation Released in 1991, the
original video animation (OVA) follows closely the events of the first volumes of the manga. It is drawn in the style of the manga, particularly the character designs. One such example is the style of the Mizuchi sisters' eyes, an example being Reimi Mizuchi, whose eyes would often shift to show off a more villainous appearance, or would narrow like a snake's. Saki Asamiya is given a chance to delay her mother's execution by working as an undercover cop and infiltrating Takanoha High School to investigate some mysterious deaths among the student body. Once there, she comes face-to-face with the powerful Mizuchi sisters, who moved in and have taken control after her previous expulsion.
Video games Two games based on the TV series were made at the time:
Sukeban Deka II, developed and published in 1987 by
Sega for the
Master System, and
Sukeban Deka III, developed by Shouei System and published by
Toei Animation in 1988 for the
Famicom. Both were only released in Japan. ==Reception==