Bad Boys J (2013)

Whatcha goin to do?

Bad Boys J is a 2013 Japanese drama series based on the manga "BADBOYS" by Hiroshi Tanaka which ran from 1988 to 1996 in Young King magazine. The manga was quite popular and was later turned into a five episode OVA, a drama series, and a full-length movie. Bad Boys J follows Yōji, Hisao, and Eiji - a young group of friends who are members of the Gokurakuchou on their quest to become the number one gang in Hiroshima. Unfortunately, whether it's due to bad leadership, poor planning, scarce resources, or overwhelming competition the Gokurakuchou have had a run of bad luck and one more defeat could lead to the entire gang dissolving. Their luck changes when a transfer student by the name of Tsukasa Kiriki shows up in their town. To the gang and pretty much everyone else, Tsukasa looks like a textbook errand boy and his passive nature doesn't help that image. However, when he gets serious he's a force to be reckoned with. After KOing the leader of the Gokurakuchou over a misunderstanding, Tsukasa becomes its new leader, but the fight to the top of Hiroshima won't be easy. Gokurakuchou will have to contend with the Nights - Hiroshima's gang of vanity-obsessed pretty boys who sent more than a few gangs to the hospital, and Hiroshima's number one gang BEAST which has 3,000 members.

 Strap in kids. This gets complicated.

As you can see from the relationship chart, Bad Boys J has a huge cast of characters that the series utilizes remarkably well. Despite having a large cast, every gang gets a few episodes in the limelight and character development is consistent. Some members of Gokurakuchou have a history with the other gangs and often times this history stems from old friendships and rivalries. While it's inevitable that these gangs would face off, every conflict stems from a different reason so the encounters remain fresh and the outcomes are mostly unpredictable.

 

Shiro of Nights, Tsukasa of Gokurakuchou, and Danno of BEAST

Another point in the show's favor is that it constantly defies convention where tropes and story-telling are concerned and this is due in no small part to the great writing and equally great acting. Kento Nakajima (Sexy Zone) plays our main character Tsukasa Kiriki and delivers a passionate performance with a lot of emotional range. Tsukasa is essentially a fish out of water in Hiroshima's underworld and we see this in Tsukasa's compassion towards friend and foe alike and his desire to seek a common ground. Ryosuke Hashimoto (A.B.C-Z) who plays Nights leader Hiro comes off as a shallow pretty boy, but he clearly cares for his gang and follows a strict code of honor. Despite his host club good looks he's surprisingly strong, but prefers partying over fighting. My favorite character was BEAST leader Hidenori Danno. Played by Takashi Nikaido (Kis-My-Ft2), Danno is a stoic character who radiates power. At the same-time he quietly commands respect from all of BEAST's 3000 members. Since becoming the number one gang in Hiroshima, Danno seems bored almost disenchanted with the yanki life, but the arrival of Tsukasa seems to breathe new life into him. It says a lot about our cast as several of them are singers from boy bands, but also have some acting chops to boot.

Shiro defeated?!

As mentioned, the show does a good job of avoiding tropes where character development and story-telling are concerned. It would have been easy to make Tsukasa another boring invincible main character, but he isn't. Not only that, but defeat doesn't mean friendship in this show partially because there are some guys so tough that even Tsukasa just cannot beat them. Alliances - when made are mostly temporary. The top of Hiroshima is a position that only one gang can hold and it doesn't look like BEAST is giving it away anytime soon. The show deals with universal themes such as growing up and leaving one's past behind, whether or not a person should do the right thing if it hurts someone close to them, upholding duty or friendship, and even dilemma's specific to yanki or delinquents such as if society labels you a thug or criminal you don't have to wear that label just because someone assigned it to you. The show does get fairly dark which is the norm for this genre, but it inserts comedy at just the right times so it doesn't become too much.

I could go on all day about why you should watch this series. It oozes style, has good music, excellent pacing, and some really badass fight scenes. The show is about manly men doing manly men things. It's not afraid to wear its machismo on its designer sleeves and it's very refreshing in that regard. Bad Boys J is a must-see especially if you're a fan of Crows Zero or just looking for a badass show different from the norm.