Kekko Kamen

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978-4088526515
Kekko Kamen
Kekko Kamen volume 1.jpg
Cover of the first tankōbon volume of Kekko Kamen, as published by Shueisha in 1976
けっこう仮面
(Kekkō Kamen)
Genre Sex comedy
Released August 1, 1991 March 1, 1992
Runtime25 minutes (each)
Episodes4
2January 31, 1977 978-4088526522
3July 31, 1977 978-4088526539
4January 31, 1978 978-4088526546
5July 31, 1978 978-4088526553
Shueisha (Jump Comics Deluxe, 1990)
Vol.Release dateISBN
1August 15, 1990 978-4088583358
2October 15, 1990 978-4088583365
3December 9, 1990 978-4088583372
Kadokawa Shoten (Kadokawa Bunko, 1996)
Vol.Release dateISBN
1April 25, 1996 978-4041978016
2April 25, 1996 978-4041978023
3April 25, 1996 978-4041978030
Kodansha (Kodansha Comics Deluxe, 2003)
Vol.Release dateISBN
1July 4, 2003 978-4063347449
Leed Publishing (SP Comics, 2004)
Vol.Release dateISBN
1April 27, 2004 978-4845828067
2October 21, 2004 978-4845828173

Original video animation

A four-episode original video animation adaptation of Kekko Kamen was created by Studio Signal and released by Nippon Columbia on two VHS tapes in 1991 and 1992. [8] [9] A DVD collection was released on April 21, 2001. [8] [10] [11] The first two episodes were directed by Nobuhiro Kondo and the second two by Kinji Yoshimoto. The opening theme song is "Kekko Kamen no Uta" (けっこう仮面の歌, Kekkō Kkamen no Uta; "The Song of Kekko Kamen") which Go Nagai wrote for the manga, with composition and arrangement by Keiju Ishikawa, and sung by Emi Shinohara. The ending theme is "Morodashi Heroine Kekko Kamen" (モロダシ・ヒロインけっこう仮面, Morodashi Hiroin Kekkō Kamen; "Naked Heroine Kekko Kamen") written by Hiroshi Koenji, composed and arranged by Keiju Ishikawa, and sung by Emi Shinohara. [8] [9] [12] [13]

The OVA series was released in the United States subtitled in English on two VHS tapes by ADV Films on February 7 and April 4, 1995. [14] [15] [16] [17] A single DVD version was produced on February 15, 2005, which beside the subtitles, also included dubbed English audio. [18] ADV Films has also re-released Kekko Kamen in bundled DVD packages with other anime; Cutey Honey/Kekko Kamen on April 1, 2008, and Puni Puni Poemy/Kekko Kamen on April 21, 2009. [19] [20] The OVA was also released in a dubbed version in Italy on VHS by Dynamic Italia in 2000 under the name Kekko Kamen: La maschera libidinosa. [21] [22]

Episodes
#TitleOriginal release dateEnglish release date
1"Here I Am: The Messenger of Love and Justice!!"
Transliteration: "Ai to Seigi no Shisha Sanjō!!" (Japanese: 愛と正義の使者参上!!)
August 1, 1991 (1991-08-01)7 February 1995
2"Crash!! Kekko Kamen vs Muscular Monster"
Transliteration: "Kekitotsu!! Kekkō Kamen vs Kinniku Monster" (Japanese: 激突!!けっこう仮面VS筋肉モンスター)
August 1, 1991 (1991-08-01)7 February 1995
3"Mystery! The Legend of the Evil Android!!"
Transliteration: "Kaiki! Akuma no Jinzōningen Densetsu!!" (Japanese: 怪奇!悪魔の人造人間伝説!!)
March 1, 1992 (1992-03-01)4 April 1995
4"Crisis! Kekko Kamen Only Lives Twice!!"
Transliteration: "Kiki Ippatsu! Kekkō Kamen wa Nido Shinu!!" (Japanese: 危機一発!けっこう仮面は二度死ぬ!!)
March 1, 1992 (1992-03-01)4 April 1995

Live-action films

There have been eleven live-action films based on Kekko Kamen. Go Nagai has been intricately involved in the production of the films. The first three movies and the three from 2006 were released in direct-to-video format, while films four through seven and eleven were theatrically released in Japan. The 2012 film was released theatrically in limited locations before being released on DVD after more than a month. The first four theatrical films were released on DVD in North American by Media Blasters' Tokyo Shock label beginning in 2005. [23]

  • Kekko Kamen (けっこう仮面)(1991)
  • Kekko Kamen 2 (けっこう仮面2)(1992)
  • Kekko Kamen 3 (けっこう仮面3)(1993)
  • Kekko Kamen: Mask of Kekkou (けっこう仮面 MASK OF KEKKOU)(2003) also known in English as Kekko Kamen New
  • Kekko Kamen: Mangriffon no Gyakushu (けっこう仮面 マングリフォンの逆襲)(2003) known in English as Kekko Kamen: The MGF Strikes Back
  • Kekko Kamen Returns (けっこう仮面 RETURNS)(2004)
  • Kekko Kamen Surprise (けっこう仮面 SURPRISE)(2004)
  • Kekko Kamen Royale (けっこう仮面 ロワイヤル)(2006)
  • Kekko Kamen Premium (けっこう仮面 プレミアム)(2006)
  • Kekko Kamen Forever (けっこう仮面 フォーエバー)(2006)
  • Kekko Kamen Reborn (けっこう仮面 新生)(2012) also known as Mask The Kekkou Reborn

Sequels

Kekko Kamen P (けっこう仮面P, Kekkō Kamen P) is a manga series written by Shigemitsu Harada and illustrated by Seiju Minato and published in Weekly Young Magazine from 2003 to 2004. The chapters were collected into two tankōbon volumes by Kodansha on May 6 and July 6, 2004. It is a sequel to the original series, where several years have passed since the events depicted in the first manga. Momoka Nogami discovers the legend of the original Kekko Kamen and decides to emulate her actions donning a similar costume, adding a peach motif, and so she becomes Kekko Kamen Peach. Other Kekko also appear, Kekko Kamen Lemon and Kekko Kamen Melon, and even a male version called Kekko Kamen Banana.

A special story called "The Excellent - Kekko Kamen Gaiden" (THE エクセレント ~けっこう仮面外伝~), written by Shinobu Inokuma with co-operation from Nagai, was published in Business Jump in June 2011. It takes place many years after the original manga where a new Kekko Kamen, whose secret identity is a new teacher in a new school owned by the remaining factions of the Toenail of Satan, protects young female students from the evil members of the organisation unfortunately one of them catches her. She is held prisoner until the original Kekko Kamen rescues her and they both defeat him, with the original telling her successor that some of the remains of the Toenail of Satan may have spread all over the world and that she will keep on fighting alone but she was proud of her successor that if she's gone she and her successors after her will always protect the young female women from evil by using her namesake. [24] [25]

A one-shot crossover featuring Go Nagai's Kekko Kamen and Mazinger Z characters was written by Takeshi Okano and published in Grand Jump on January 16, 2013. [26]

Reception

Stig Høgset of Them Anime Reviews gave the Kekko Kamen OVAs two out of five stars, called the art passable, and clarified that while the jokes are smutty, they never get offensive. [27]

Reviewing for Anime News Network, Theron Martin wrote "Kekko Kamen is great (if nonsensical) fun as long as you're an adult who can appreciate oodles of fan service and raunchy, sometimes utterly tasteless, humor." He cited the humor as a highlight, but felt the production values were mediocre. [28]

Martin gave a much more negative review of the live action Kekko Kamen: Mask of Kekkou (also known as Kekko Kamen New), saying it came off as "exploitive and cruel rather than the campy, whimsical work it should have been." He called the writing amateurish and the acting even worse. [29]

Angel Blade is a hentai parody OVA of Kekko Kamen produced in the Vanilla Series.

American heavy metal musician Rob Zombie used clips of the Kekko Kamen OVA during the 2010 Mayhem Festival and 2022 Freaks on Parade tours during the song "Never Gonna Stop (The Red Red Kroovy)".

See also

References

  1. "Conférence public de Gô Nagai à Japan Expo 2008 !" (in French). France: Review Channel. July 8, 2008. Archived from the original on August 22, 2008. Retrieved October 11, 2008. A la base, Kekko Kamen est une parodie de Gekko Kamen. C'était une blague, et je l'avais envoyé à mon éditeur en pensant qu'il refuserait; sauf qu'il a adoré, et que la blague dure depuis 30 ans.
  2. けっこう仮面 [Kekko Kamen] (in Japanese). Japan: The World of Go Nagai. Retrieved August 25, 2010.
  3. 作品年譜 -1970- [Work chronology -1970-] (in Japanese). Japan: Go-mania. Archived from the original on February 17, 2012. Retrieved August 25, 2010.
  4. "Go Nagai works list 1967-1970". Nagai Go Special Corner (in Japanese). Japan: eBOOK Initiative Japan Co. Ltd. Archived from the original on February 17, 2012. Retrieved August 25, 2010.
  5. "Books". Japan: Mask the Kekkou fan site. Archived from the original on July 19, 2012. Retrieved August 25, 2010.
  6. 永井豪単行本年表 [Go Nagai's Tankōbon chronology] (in Japanese). Japan: The World of Go Nagai. Retrieved February 11, 2010.
  7. "Kekko Kamen, Nagai Go – eBOOK Initiative Japan". Nagai Go Special Corner (in Japanese). Japan: eBOOK Initiative Japan Co. Ltd. Archived from the original on July 1, 2012. Retrieved August 26, 2010.
  8. 1 2 3 けっこう仮面 [Kekko Kamen] (in Japanese). Japan: Go-mania. Archived from the original on July 16, 2011. Retrieved August 26, 2010.
  9. 1 2 "Go Genre" オリジナルビデオ化作品リスト [Original Video works list] (in Japanese). Japan: The World of Go Nagai. Retrieved August 26, 2010.
  10. "けっこう仮面(1) [DVD]" [Kekko Kamen (1) [DVD]] (in Japanese). Japan: Amazon.co.jp. April 21, 2001. Retrieved August 25, 2010.
  11. "けっこう仮面(2) [DVD]" [Kekko Kamen (2) [DVD]] (in Japanese). Japan: Amazon.co.jp. April 21, 2001. Retrieved August 25, 2010.
  12. けっこう仮面(1991) (in Japanese). Japan: allcinema. Retrieved August 26, 2010.
  13. けっこう仮面2(1992) (in Japanese). Japan: allcinema. Retrieved August 26, 2010.
  14. "Kekko Kamen Vol.1". USA: ADV Films. Archived from the original on October 24, 1996. Retrieved August 26, 2010.
  15. "Kekko Kamen Vol.2". USA: ADV Films. Archived from the original on October 24, 1996. Retrieved August 26, 2010.
  16. Kekko Kamen Vol. 1 [Fighting for Justice, Freedom and the Naked Truth!] [VHS]. USA. ASIN   6303282342.
  17. "Kekko Kamen Vol. 2 [She May Have Lost Her Costume, But She's Never Lost a Fight!][VHS]". USA. April 21, 2001. Retrieved August 26, 2010.
  18. "Kekko Kamen". Amazon. USA. February 15, 2005. Retrieved August 26, 2010.
  19. "Puni Puni Poemy/Kekko Kamen". Amazon. USA. April 21, 2009. Retrieved August 26, 2010.
  20. "Cutey Honey/Kekko Kamen". Amazon. USA. Retrieved August 26, 2010.
  21. Genna, Antonio. "Kekko Kamen - La maschera libidinosa" (in Italian). Italy: Il mondo dei doppiatori. Retrieved August 26, 2010.
  22. "Gli anime in Italia". Go Nagai (in Italian). Italy: Encirobot.com. Retrieved August 26, 2010.
  23. "Go Nagai's Kekko Kamen Reborn Film Trailer Posted". Anime News Network . Retrieved March 3, 2015.
  24. "Go Nagais Kekko Kamen Assaulting Good Sense Again". Crunchyroll . Retrieved January 2, 2012.
  25. "Capitolo gaiden per "Kekko Kamen" di Go Nagai". June 17, 2011. Archived from the original on September 21, 2011. Retrieved January 2, 2012.
  26. "Go Nagai's Kekko Kamen Reborn Film Trailer Posted". Anime News Network . Retrieved March 4, 2015.
  27. "Kekko Kamen". Them Anime Reviews. Retrieved March 4, 2015.
  28. "Kekko Kamen DVD - Review". Anime News Network . Retrieved March 4, 2015.
  29. "Kekko-Kamen - Review". Anime News Network . Retrieved March 4, 2015.