Rockin' Heaven
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| Rockin' Heaven | |
 Cover of the Japanese version of vol. 1, first released on June 15, 2006 | |
| ロッキン★ヘブン (Rokkin Hebun) | |
|---|---|
| Genre | Romantic comedy[1] |
| Manga | |
| Written by | Mayu Sakai |
| Published by | Shueisha |
| Imprint | Ribon Mascot Comics |
| Magazine | Ribon |
| Demographic | Shōjo |
| Original run | December 2005 – July 2008 |
| Volumes | 8 |
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, a former all-boys school who has begun accepting female students. Throughout the day, Sawa learns that most of the boys in the school don't listen to the teachers, following the lead of Ran Matsuyuki, the son of the school's chairman. After confronting Ran, Sawa is bullied by the boys, but her unwavering courage and defiance causes her to gain respect from Ran and the rest of the boys, and they eventually become friends.
Characters
- Sawa Konishi (小西纱和, Konishi Sawa)
- Voiced by: Noriko Shitaya (vomic)[2]
- Sawa is a warm-hearted, friendly but hot-headed 15-year-old girl who transfers to Amabane High School. As she gets to know Ran, they become close, eventually falling in love with each other and becoming a couple. Halfway through, she and Ran decide to break up and briefly dates Sugishita. At the end of the series, she gets back together with Ran and promise to work through their problems together. Years later, she and Ran marry and have a son named Aoi..
- Ran Matsuyuki (松雪藍, Matsuyuki Ran)
- Voiced by: Takahiro Sakurai (vomic)[2]
- Ran is the son of the chairman of the school and a leader among his friends in class. He has emotional problems stemming from his family. His mother initially helped him cope with the high expectations from his demanding father, but after her death, the pressure increased and pushed Ran to attempt suicide. As a result, his friends regularly watch over him. Initially rude to Sawa, he grows to care for her romantically. However, his attitude and indifference causes them to break up for some time. At the end of the series, he asks her to give him a second chance and they get back together. Years later, he marries her, and they have a son named Aoi. He also becomes a teacher at their high school. In the vomic, he is voiced by Takahiro Sakurai.
- Akira Nagashima (永島晶, Nagashima Akira)
- Voiced by: Mamiko Noto (vomic)[2]
- 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 manga artist. When she was in middle school, she was constantly isolated and teased by her classmates, causing her to close her feelings to others. Akira falls in love with Tsubaki after seeing his kindness, but he does not return her feelings until the end when Tsubaki kisses her on their graduation day. In the end, Akira and Tsubaki are engaged.
- Junichi Tsubaki (椿純一, Tsubaki Junichi)
- Voiced by: Kazuya Kobayashi (vomic)[2]
- Tsubaki is one of Sawa's classmates and Ran's best friend since childhood. He was in the basketball club with Ran and Kido until the third quarter of their second year of middle school. Tsubaki is considerate of everyone's feelings and tries to help people solve their problems. He is in love with Ran and later develops a strong friendship with Akira. At the end of the series, he realizes he loves Akira after seeing how she reacted to Ran's insensitivity towards him, making it clear how much she cares. Years later, they become engaged.
- Satoshi Kido (城户智史, Kido Satoshi)
- Voiced by: Tetsuya Kakihara (vomic)[2]
- Kido is a classmate of Sawa and a friend of Ran. In middle school, he was to be part of the basketball club with Tsubaki and Ran. As the series progresses, he develops feelings for Sawa, initially unaware that she is dating Ran. When he learns of the relationship, he and his little sister Ayaka try, unsuccessfully, to break them up. He has a strong dislike for Sugishita, but he is willing to put his feelings behind him and helps to keep Sugishita from getting expelled.
- Tomoki Ogawa (小川朋樹, Ogawa Tomoki)
- Voiced by: Taketoshi Kawano (vomic)[2]
- Ogawa 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, so 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. After Sugishita comes, he realizes his dream is to work in the entertainment industry styling hair, and he plans to study abroad after graduation. This causes some turmoil between him and Kido, but they work it out and agree to remain friends.
- Souta Taguchi (田口草太, Taguchi Sōta)
- Voiced by: Hideki Nakanishi (vomic)[2]
- Taguchi another friend of Ran's. He was in the soccer club with Ogawa until the third quarter of their second year. He understands Akira as a result of having had similar experiences in middle school. Because Kido 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 him and cannot accept his feelings, they remain friends.
- Yuri Shirakawa (白河結李, Shirakawa Yuri)
- Yuri is Ran's beautiful ex-girlfriend. Popular with boys, she is the one who initially asked Ran out, but she 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 she later becomes friends with Sawa.
- Haruki Sugishita (杉下 晴希, Sugishita Haruki)
- Sugishita is a famous mode and actor who joined the class G group in their second year. When he first came he was initially disliked, and those feelings were only reinforced after he is blamed to be the main cause of Sawa and Ran's breakup. But after the whole class comes together in attempt to stop him from getting expelled, he breaks up with Sawa to allow her to get back together with Ran.
Media
Written and illustrated by Mayu Sakai, Rockin Heaven premiered in the December 2005 issue of 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.[3][4]
Shueisha produced a short series of web-based "vomics", a voice-over played with still panels from the manga.[5] Rockin' Heaven is licensed for regional language releases in Germany by Tokopop Germany and in Italy, France and Spain by Planet Manga.[6][7][8][9]
On November 16, 2010, Tokyopop Germany published an art book titled Mayu Sakai Collection: Rockin' Heaven & More, which also included art work from her successor series, Momo. The art book was also sold in Japan.[10]
Volume List
| No. | Japanese release date | Japanese ISBN |
|---|---|---|
| 01 | June 15, 2006 | 4-08-856687-4 |
| 02 | October 13, 2006 | 4-08-856709-9 |
| 03 | February 15, 2007 | 978-4-08-856726-6 |
| 04 | June 15, 2007 | 978-4-08-856747-1 |
| 05 | October 15, 2007 | 978-4-08-856776-1 |
| 06 | February 15, 2008 | 978-4-08-856799-0 |
| 07 | June 13, 2008 | 978-4-08-856819-5 |
| 08 | November 14, 2008 | 978-4-08-856850-8 |
Reception
Volume 8 debuted at #12 on Oricon and sold 34,661 copies on its first week of release.[11]
References
- ^ "ロッキン★ヘブン 1巻 / 酒井まゆ". Oricon (in Japanese). Retrieved 2019-10-27.
- ^ a b c d e f g Rockin' Heaven Volume 6 Extra
- ^ ロッキン·ヘブン 1 (in Japanese). Shueisha. Retrieved 2009-01-18.
- ^ ロッキン·ヘブン 8 (in Japanese). Shueisha. Retrieved 2009-01-18.
- ^ "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.
- ^ "Rockin' Heaven" (in German). Tokopop Germany. Archived from the original on 2008-12-10. Retrieved 2009-01-09.
- ^ "Hai cercato "Heaven"" (in Italian). Panini Comics. Retrieved 2009-01-09.
- ^ "Rocking's Heaven french edition" (in French). Panini Comics. Retrieved 2009-01-21.
- ^ "Rocking's Heaven spanish licensing" (in Spanish). mangaspain. Archived from the original on 2009-01-23. Retrieved 2009-01-21.
- ^ "酒井まゆ、ドイツでイラスト集発売！初連載作など収録". Natalie (in Japanese). 2010-11-03. Retrieved 2019-10-23.
- ^ Loo, Egan (2008-11-19). "Japanese Comic Ranking, November 11-17". Anime News Network. Retrieved 2019-10-27.
External links
- Rockin' Heaven (manga) at Anime News Network's encyclopedia