Majisuka Gakuen (マジすか学園) (lit. "Majisuka Academy") is a Japanese television drama series about high school delinquents, starring members of idol groupAKB48.
The third season is set in a different continuity from the previous seasons, and was aired on July 13, 2012.
In 2015, the series moved toNTV and the fourth season, which returned to the same continuity as seasons 1 and 2, was aired on January 19, 2015. On the same year, a fifth season was announced and for the first time will be aired exclusively on internet, by the streaming siteHulu Japan, because NTV only broadcast the first two episodes on August 24 due to various scenes of violence, which did not justify full season showing on TV.[2]
A special spin-off from the fourth and fifth seasons of the series, titledMajisuka Gakuen 0: Kisarazu Rantōhen (マジすか学園0 木更津乱闘編;Majisuka Academy 0: The story of the Brawl atKisarazu), is aprequel to season 4. It was the first to feature members ofHKT48 as the main cast and was produced in collaboration with the rock bandKishidan. It was aired on November 28, 2015, on NTV at 25:05 JST and run for half an hour.[3]
Another spinoff titledCabasuka Gakuen aired from October 2016 to January 2017. It is set after the events of an unresolved alternate ending to the fourth season. In a departure from the fist-fighting theme of previous seasons, it saw the girls opening and running ahostess club in order to save their school from shutting down as it had gone bankrupt.
The latest iteration of the series isMajimuri Gakuen, aired in July 2018, which features an entirely new cast and continuity, and was set at a different school.[4]
Minami Takahashi as Minami Ono: Atsuko's best friend and Erena Ono's older sister. In a flashback from Episodes 9 and 10, she was killed by a group of yankees that were after Atsuko.
Mariya Nagao as Gekkō: A Candidate for Gang Leader who appeared only in Episode 10. The real leader appeared only in Episode 8 and was played by an unknown actress.
Sakura Miyawaki as the character with the same name: In prior to change school to Majisuka All-Girls High School, her hair is a long ponytail before it was cut short. She also tried to avoid fighting other Yankee.
Haruka Kodama as Katsuzetsu: Always together with Sakura.
Rino Sashihara as Ageman: Show's ex. girlfriend. She was previously a former Majisuka student of Team Hormone's leader as Wota.
The story is set at Utopia Arashigaoka, anew town created by the real estate company Gosaki Land. In the Arashigaoka Gakuen private school, the students are divided into "elite" (選民,senmin) and "commoner" (平民,heimin) statuses with a strict social hierarchy, with Aran Gosaki, also known as Kaiser (Hinata Honma), at the top as thestudent council president. Sayuri "Lily" Shimizu (Yui Oguri), a mysterious girl with formidable fighting skills, transferred to the school and become friends with Hina Asahi (Rin Okabe), Ikumi "Bara" Kuwabara (Mion Mukaichi), and Sumire Yamamoto (Narumi Kuranoo). Calling themselves the Hana-gumi (花組; "Flower Group"), they fight to put an end to the school hierarchy and Kaiser's tyranny, while also facing the impending threat from the Arechi Technical School led by Manji (Yumiko Takino).[5]
Unlike previous installments, this season features co-educational schools and brawls between female and male students. Some of the male fighters are portrayed by real-life pro wrestlers and martial artists, such as kickboxerYasuhiro Kido, pro wrestlerYukio Sakaguchi, and formerEstoniansumo wrestlerBaruto Kaito.[6]
The series was adapted into a stage play, which was performed on October 19–28, 2018 at theNippon Seinenkan Hall, Tokyo. The stage play returned to an all-female cast lineup, and with the exception of Yui Kojina ofHKT48 and the guest stars, all the named characters were portrayed by AKB48 members.Nana Okada portrayed the main antagonist, Nero.[7]
In February 2021, it was announced that a second stage play, titledMajimuri Gakuen: Rai (マジムリ学園 蕾-RAI-;Majimuri Gakuen: Flower Buds) would be produced and performed in the end of March. This stage play would be part of the seventh anniversary celebration of AKB48 Team 8, of which most of the series' main cast are members, and all the regular characters would be portrayed by members of that team.
The play is set two years after the events of the first stage play, when the Hana-gumi have become senior students and gone their separate ways. While Lily is still the highly respected leader of the Hana-gumi, Hina has become the newstudent council president under the name "Null" and Sumire has reinvented herself as "Yasha" (夜叉) and formed her own group, theHyakki Yagyō (百鬼夜行).[8][9]
In July 2021, a third stage play was announced, titledMajimuri Gakuen: LOUDNESS (マジムリ学園-Loudness), and will be presented as a combination of stage play and concert.
The play is set two years after the events of the drama, with Nero and König set to confront Null, who has become the leader of Arashigaoka Student council.[10]
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