Hana no Asuka-gumi! (
Japanese: 花のあすか組!,
lit. "The Glorious Asuka Gang!") is a Japanese
manga by
Satosumi Takaguchi serialized in Monthly Asuka. It was adapted into a television drama series, two live action films, two
OVAs and two
drama CDs. It is one of the series with delinquent girls (sukeban) popular in the 1980s.[1] Two new manga series were published, one from 2003 to 2009 and the other from 2007 to 2008.
Recently, in July 2019, a new manga series was released called Hana no Asukagumi! Infinity and it ended on November 7, 2021.[2]
Reception
More than 10 million copies were sold of the manga by November 2005.[3]
Media adaptations
Anime
There are two OVAs: Shin Kabukicho Story Hana no Asuka-gumi!, released on June 12, 1987[4] and Hana no Asuka-gumi! Lonely Cats Battle Royale, released in 1990.[5]Lonely Cats Battle Royale was thought to be lost until an anonymous individual mailed a tape of the OVA to anime enthusiast and youtuber Kenny Lauderdale in 2019.[6]
Two
live action films have been produced: the first, directed by
Yōichi Sai and released on August 13, 1988[8] and the second, Hana no Asuka-gumi! Neo, directed by Yutaka Tsurita and released on April 25, 2009.[9]