D-Live!! (stylized as D-LIVE!!) is a Japanese manga series written and illustrated by Ryōji Minagawa. It was serialized in Shogakukan's Weekly Shōnen Sunday magazine from 2002 to 2006. The manga tells the story of Satoru Ikaruga, a high schooler nicknamed "genius driver" who can operate almost any vehicle and works for a multinational specialist company called the Almighty Support Enterprise (ASE). Ikaruga is called whenever ASE is hired to solve a case which involves vehicle driving, most of the time working with other ASE agents to resolve situations assigned to them by various clients.
| D-Live!! | |
 Manga volume 1, featuring Satoru Ikaruga riding a Jet Ski in the sewers. | |
| Genre | Adventure[1] |
|---|---|
| Manga | |
| Written by | Ryōji Minagawa |
| Published by | Shogakukan |
| Imprint | Shōnen Sunday Comics Special |
| Magazine | Weekly Shōnen Sunday |
| Demographic | Shōnen |
| Original run | October 16, 2002 – April 19, 2006 |
| Volumes | 15 |
Plot
editSatoru Ikaruga is just an ordinary high school student who enjoys eating food. Unknown to most of his classmates and teachers, he is an operative of the Almighty Support Enterprise as a vehicle driving specialist. He is deployed worldwide while being supported by various ASE agents in accomplishing cases assigned to them by their clients.
Characters
edit- Satoru Ikaruga (斑鳩 悟, Ikaru Satoru)
- A high school boy who does part-time jobs with ASE Japan Branch as a vehicle driver specialist. His father was a friend of Hajime Mozu and also an ASE driver who died in doing his job.
- Hatsune Shimizu (清水 初音, Shimizu Hatsune)
- A high school girl, the mechanic specialist of ASE Japan Branch. Her dream is to make her late father's motorcycle racing team win the Suzuka 8 Hours endurance race. She almost made it with Satoru riding her bike, but an accident happened that made Satoru did not finish the race.
- Hajime Mozu (百舌鳥 創, Mozu Hajime)
- Chief of ASE Japan branch. He is an ex-ASE vehicle driver specialist, Satoru was trained by him. He is sometimes cruel to Satoru by cutting his payment if Satoru made any mistake in doing his job.
- Clever Owl (クレーバー・オウル, Kurēbā Ōru)
- He is ASE USA branch's specialist in spying and infiltrating. He is also a playboy and thinks that he is the next James Bond. He always gets sick if traveling in a vehicle, especially if the driver is Satoru. Only Mozu can make him not sick in a vehicle.
- Rika Karasuma (烏丸 理香, Karasuma Rika)
- ASE Japan Branch's specialist of geology. She is lecturer in a university in Japan.
- James Hato (ジェームズ・波戸, Jēmuzu Hato)
- He is ASE USA branch's specialist in detonating bomb and CQB. An ex-SWAT Team member. Joined ASE after Satoru saved him from an exploded building he was trapped.
Vehicles
editMany vehicles that are commercially available in the real world appear in the film. Diverse types of vehicles appear, ranging from automobiles, motorcycles, construction equipment, submarines, and airships.
Publication
editD-Live!!, written and illustrated by Ryōji Minagawa, was serialized in Shogakukan's shōnen manga magazine Weekly Shōnen Sunday from October 16, 2002, to April 19, 2006.[2][3] Shogakukan collected its chapters in fifteen tankōbon volumes, released from March 18, 2003, to August 11, 2006.[4][5]
In France it was published by Editions Kabuto with five volumes published prior to its termination.[1][6] In Hong Kong, Jonesky published all of its volumes in Chinese.[7] Planet Manga published four volumes of D-Live!! in Italian prior to its termination.[8] It is published in South Korea by Samyang Comics.[9] Tong Li published the manga in Taiwan.[10]
Reception
editD-Live!! had been selected among the most recommended manga to read at the 9th Japan Media Arts Festival in 2005.[11]
References
edit- ^ a b "D-Live!!" (in French). Kabuto. Archived from the original on 2008-12-27. Retrieved 2011-03-24.
- ^ 週刊少年サンデー2002年44. Media Arts Database (in Japanese). Agency for Cultural Affairs. Archived from the original on July 17, 2021. Retrieved July 17, 2021.
- ^ 週刊少年サンデー2006年18. Media Arts Database (in Japanese). Agency for Cultural Affairs. Archived from the original on July 17, 2021. Retrieved July 17, 2021.
- ^ D-LIVE!! 1 (in Japanese). Shogakukan. Archived from the original on May 19, 2005. Retrieved July 17, 2021.
- ^ D-LIVE!! 15 (in Japanese). Shogakukan. Archived from the original on December 19, 2014. Retrieved July 17, 2021.
- ^ "D-Live !! Vol.1 (Kabuto - SIMPLE)" (in French). Manga Sanctuary. Retrieved 2011-03-24.
- ^ "D-LIVE!! #1 (For Hong Kong customer only)". Jonesky. Archived from the original on 2011-10-04. Retrieved 2011-03-24.
- ^ "D-LIVE!!" (in Italian). Anime Click. Archived from the original on 2011-04-17. Retrieved 2011-03-24.
- ^ "드라이브!! - D-LIVE!! 01" (in Korean). Archived from the original on July 22, 2011. Retrieved 2011-03-24.
- ^ "D-LIVE!~生存競爭 1" (in Chinese). Archived from the original on 2005-04-14. Retrieved 2011-03-24.
- ^ "9th Japanese Media Arts Festival Winners". Anime News Network. 2005-12-22. Retrieved 2009-01-20.
External links
edit- D-Live!! at Anime News Network's encyclopedia