Tokyo Crazy Paradise

(東京クレイジーパラダイス)
Mangaka: Nakamura Yoshiki
Categories: shoujo (?), romantic comedy

Summary: Setting is Tokyo in the near future. Since crimes, especially those against women, are predominant, Tsukasa was raised by her police parents as a boy. She knows martial arts, is incredibly strong, and she kicks ass. However, when her parents die in the line of duty, and she and her brothers are left starving and homeless, Tsukasa turns to her classmate Ryuji (who happens to be the leader of a powerful yakuza group) for help. Since nothing in the world is free, Ryuji slaps our heroine with a large debt and forces her to pay it by being his bodyguard. Although the two gets closer, Asago (Ryuji's betrothed) and a hunky cop named Akira (who likes Tsukasa) stand in the way. Who ends up with who? Tokyo indeed is Crazy Paradise.

Comments: The story may be a little farfetched (ex. the main characters don't look and act 14) but the manga is incredibly funny! It may get a little frustrating at times, since Ryuji obviously likes Tsukasa and Tsukasa obviously likes Ryuji so why don't they just get it on? :) Plus, I can never remember the names of all the yakuza organizations mentioned, and the Indian mythology bit lost me along the way. There is an abundance of cute SD (super deformed) forms which every comedy anime/manga must have. I'm not really sure whether to classify this as shoujo or shounen because inspite of the revolving love story, there are a lot of action scenes, too. And I like Tsukasa for not being your typical heroine; she can fend for herself and she can probably beat the crap out of anyone. Things not to be missed: Tsukasa wearing a wig and feminine clothes, Ryuji wearing a wig and feminine clothes, and when the supporting cast thinks everybody's gay.

Related Link: Kuryugumi's Home Page -- one of the most informative sites on the web on TCP. includes episode summaries, pictures, and more.

Scanlators: Manga-Sketchbook, Impossibility, and Terrad