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Rockin' Heaven

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Rockin' Heaven
Rockin Heaven Vol. 1
ロッキン★ヘブン
(Rokkin★Hebun)
GenreRomance, School life
Manga
Written byMayu Sakai
Published byShueisha
MagazineRibon
DemographicShōjo
Original runDecember 2005 – July 2008
Volumes8

Rockin' Heaven (ロッキン★ヘブン, Rokkin★Hebun) is a Japanese manga series written and illustrated by Mayu Sakai. It premiered in Ribon's December 2005 issue where it ran until its conclusion in the July 2008 issue. The individual chapters were collected and published in eight tankōbon volumes by Shueisha between June 2006 and November 2008. The story focuses on high school freshman Sawa Konishi, who transfers to a new co-ed school where she is bullied by the other students and teachers, but also meets and falls in love with Ran Matsuyuki.

Shueisha produced a short series of web-based "vomics", a voice-over played with still manga panels.

Plot

First year high school girl Sawa Konishi transfers to Amabane High School, an escalator school, because she loves the school's cute uniforms. She doesn't realize that the school used to be an all-boys school, with this being the first year it has allowed girls. On the first day, she befriends Akira Nagashima, an aspiring manga artist. She also meets Ran Matsuyuki, the son of the school chairman, who kisses her on the forehead as a joke. As her day progresses, she learns most of the boys in the school don't listen to the teachers, following the lead of Ran.

Sawa's life in the academy is initially trouble, as she is bullied and teased by both the boys and some of the teachers. At one point, they threw her shoes in the water and she nearly drowns trying to retrieve them. Ran unexpectedly saves her, causing Sawa to see him in a new light. Ran also is interested in Sawa, and on his birthday, kisses her, leading to their dating. Ran's friend Junichi Tsubaki is one of the first to be aware of the new relationship. Having watched out for Ran since middle school, when Ran attempted to commit suicide, he is supportive of the relationship. Akira is initially upset by Sawa's new love, thinking Sawa will forget her, but Sawa helps her see that she values their friendship.

As Ran and Sawa continue their relationship, they encounter several trials where people try to break them up, including Kido and his own sister Ayaka. However, when a popular movie star named Sugishita enrolls at Amabane High School, Sawa befriends him, unaware that the he is in love with her and sees Ran as a rival.

Characters

  • Sawa Konishi (小西纱和, Konishi Sawa) is warm-hearted, friendly 15-year-old girl who transfers to Amabane High School because she loved the cute uniforms, unaware that the school was previously exclusive to boys. Sawa later meets Ran Matsuyuki, whom she thought was kind, but reconsiders this after seeing him cause trouble during class. However, as she gets to know him, they become close, eventually becoming a couple. At the end of the series, she and Ran marry and have a son. In the vomic, she is voiced by Noriko Shitaya.[1]
  • Ran Matsuyuki (松雪藍, Matsuyuki Ran) is the son of the chairman of the school and a leader among his friends in class. His mother initially helped him cope with the high expectations his demanding father, but after her death the pressure increased and pushed Ran to attempt to commit suicide, but only caused him minor injuries. As a result, his friends regularly watch over him. Initially rude to Sawa, he grows to care for her. On his birthday, he kisses her and later they become a couple. At the end of the series, he marries her and they have a son. In the vomic, he is voiced by Takahiro Sakurai.[1]
  • Akira Nagashima (永島晶, Nagashima Akira) is Sawa's first friend at Amabane who is always sharing gossip and stories from the pasts of other students based from her research. Quiet and cool, she desires to be a mangaka, and transferred to the school because she felt there would be a lot of "good material" there for her stories. When she was in middle school, she was constantly isolated and teased by her classmates, causing her to close her feelings to others. After Sawa and Ran start dating, Akira begins to feel distant towards Sawa, believing that she would be just like her classmates in middle school. However, Sawa is able to calm her fears and mend their friendship. Akira falls in love with Junichi after seeing his kindness, but he does not return her feelings until the end. In the vomic, she is voiced by Mamiko Noto.[1]
  • Junichi Tsubaki (椿純一, Tsubaki Junichi) is one of Sawa's classmates and Ran's best friend. He was in the basketball club with Ran and Satoshi until the third quarter of their second year of middle school. Junichi is very protective and caring of Ran. Because he desires for him to be happy, he supports his relationship with Sawa. Junichi understands Akira's feelings and develops a strong friendship with her. At the end of the series, he realizes he loves Akira after seeing how she reacted to Ran's insensitivity towards him. In the vomic, he is voiced by Kazuya Kobayashi[1]
  • Satoshi Kido (城户智史, Kido Satoshi) is a classmate of Sawa and a friend of Ran. In middle school, he was to be part of the basketball club with Junichi and Ran. He initially joins in the bullying of Sawa. However, when she is assaulted by a teacher he, along with Tomoki Ogawa, defend her. As the series progresses, he develops feelings for Sawa, initially unaware that she is dating Ran. When he learns of the relationship, he tries, unsuccessfully, to break them up. In the vomic, he is voiced by Tetsuya Kakihara.[1]
  • Tomoki Ogawa (小川朋樹, Ogawa Tomoki) is another friend and classmate of Sawa and Ran's. A former member in the soccer club along with Taguchi, he is easygoing and helps his friends with any small tasks they may have. His family owns a beauty parlor, and as such his hair is always well done. He has wanted to be a beautician since a young age due to the attention he received from the female visitors. In the vomic, he is voiced by Taketoshi Kawano.[1]
  • Souta Taguchi (田口草太, Taguchi Souta), another friend of Ran's, he also understands Akira because of having had similar experiences in middle school. Because Satoshi and his friends helped him become less anti-social, he gives Sawa advice on how to help Akira accept her friendship. He later falls in love with Akira because of their similar personalities. Though she rejects his feelings, they remain friends. In the vomic, he is voiced by Hideki Nakanishi.[1]
  • Yuri Shirakawa (白河結李, Shirakawa Yuri) is Ran's beautiful ex-girlfriend. Popular with boys, she is the one who initially asked Ran out, but later broke up with him because he seemed indifferent about their relationship. She joins the student council at her school, Eika Academy—a sister school of Amabane— as it allows her to see Ran, whom she still loves. Eventually she asks him to date her again, but he rejects her because he already loves Sawa. Yuri is initially saddened by this, but later becomes friends with Sawa.

Media

Written and illustrated by Mayu Sakai, Rockin Heaven premiered in the December 2005 issue fo Ribon where it ran until its conclusion in the July 2008 issue. The individual chapters were collected and published in eight tankōbon volumes by Shueisha. The first was released on June 15, 2006; the final volume was published on November 14, 2008.[2][3]

Shueisha produced a short series of web-based "vomics", a voice-over played with still panels from the manga.[1] Rockin' Heaven is licensed for regional language releases in Germany by Tokopop Germany and in Italy, France and Spain by Planet Manga.[4][5][6][7]

References

  1. ^ a b c d e f g h "集英社ヴォイスコミックステーション-VOMIC- 『ロッキンヘブン』" (in Japanese). Shueisha. Retrieved 2009-01-09.
  2. ^ "ロッキン・ヘブン 1" (in Japanese). Shueisha. Retrieved 2009-01-18.
  3. ^ "ロッキン・ヘブン 8" (in Japanese). Shueisha. Retrieved 2009-01-18.
  4. ^ "Rockin' Heaven" (in German). Tokopop Germany. Retrieved 2009-01-09.
  5. ^ "Hai cercato "Heaven"" (in Italian). Panini Comics. Retrieved 2009-01-09.
  6. ^ "Rocking's Heaven french edition" (in French). Panini Comics. Retrieved 2009-01-21.
  7. ^ "Rocking's Heaven spanish licensing" (in Spanish). mangaspain. Retrieved 2009-01-21.
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