Dear Boys

Dear Boys (stylized in all caps) is a Japanese sports manga series written and illustrated by Hiroki Yagami. It was serialized in Kodansha's shōnen manga magazine Monthly Shōnen Magazine from June 1989 to January 1997, with its chapters collected in 23 volumes. The story concerns the progress of the Mizuho High School basketball team as it attempts to win the prefectural championship. It also deals with the relationship between the players on the team, especially the two main characters Kazuhiko Aikawa and Takumi Fujiwara.

Dear Boys has spawned other manga series, also published in Monthly Shōnen Magazine: Dear Boys The Early Days (1997); Dear Boys Act II (1997–2008); Dear Boys Act 3 (2008–2015); Dear Boys Over Time (2016–2017); and Dear Boys Act 4 (2018–present).

A 26-episode anime television series adaptation of the original series, produced by OB Planning and animated by A.C.G.T, was broadcast on TV Tokyo from April to September 2003. In North America, the series was licensed by Bandai Entertainment and released under the title Hoop Days.

By March 2019, the overall Dear Boys manga series has sold over 45 million copies, making it one of the best-selling manga series of all time. In 2007, Dear Boys Act II won the 31st Kodansha Manga Award in the category.

Plot
At the outset of the manga, the Mizuho High School basketball team is in trouble, as there are not enough players to play a game. Additionally, the coach has left after a conflict with Fujiwara. However, Aikawa transfers to Mizuho and through his enthusiasm and sheer love of the game, infuses the few remaining members with a sense of purpose.

Despite the fact that there are only five of them (i.e., they have no substitutes), they manage to get the coach of the girls' team to coach them as well. At first, she seems very strict, but later reveals her attachment to her "Dear Boys". Together, they do their best to make their dreams come true and take their team to the top of the prefecture.

Characters

 * Kazuhiko Aikawa (哀川 和彦)
 * He was the one who convinced the remaining players to play basketball again. Mutsumi had once said that it was as if Aikawa reminded them all about how much fun they could've all had playing basketball together. He was once the trump card and captain of the Tendōji High's basketball team. He plays the position of small forward in the team. He also has a knack of being able to jump higher than most people, and that makes up for his height disadvantage. Even though he is short, he is able to dunk.
 * He is considered to be a genius as can be seen in the anime and it is seen that his skills seem to improve with every game that he plays. He is also the best friend of Masato Sawanobori, the star player and point guard of Tendōji High School and Fujiwara Takumi, the captain of the Mizuho basketball team.
 * He is always able to encourage the other players no matter how difficult the game is.
 * He is romantically involved with Mai Moritaka of the girls' team.
 * He is romantically involved with Mai Moritaka of the girls' team.


 * Takumi Fujiwara (藤原 拓弥)
 * Fujiwara is a second-year student at Mizuho High. He is often nicknamed Taku by his close friends and seems to be romantically involved with Mutsumi Akiyoshi of the girls' team. Fujiwara also appears to be very close to his long-time friend, Miura Ranmaru.
 * He was involved in an incident where he was provoked into punching the coach in his first year. The coach has since transferred to another school and Mizuho's boys' basketball team was banned from any tournament for a year.
 * He has an old injury on his right knee which came from one of his games involving Miura and was ordered by Anzaki to rehabilitate his knee and make it more flexible to improve his playing ability in time for the prefectural tournament.
 * Fujiwara is the captain of the Mizuho basketball team and plays the position of point guard. He attended Mizuho Junior High and was Miura's teammate at that time as well.
 * As seen in the anime and said by Aikawa that he (Takumi) is the reason why Aikawa can push himself way beyond his limits. It is denied by Aikawa that he (Fuji) was equal to Masato Sawanabori of Tendouji in skills.
 * As seen in the anime and said by Aikawa that he (Takumi) is the reason why Aikawa can push himself way beyond his limits. It is denied by Aikawa that he (Fuji) was equal to Masato Sawanabori of Tendouji in skills.


 * Ranmaru Miura (三浦 蘭丸)
 * Miura has a calm and quiet personality. He has been Fujiwara's best friend since middle school. Miura was seen not to have good stamina at the beginning of the series. He plays the shooting guard position and is the three-point specialist of the team. It was mentioned in the manga that he would rather be scoring points than being the playmaker of the team. He is also talented at stealing balls from his opponents. He is also the one who can shoot fade away three-pointers.
 * During the match versus Kadena Nishi, he is forced to shoot NBA 3-pointers to help Mizuho win the match. Unfortunately, he was injured due to a foul made by Kenta Shimabukuro. He was then rested for the subsequent match.
 * Miura attended Mizuho Junior High and was Fujiwara's teammate at that time as well. He blamed himself for causing Fujiwara's knee injury although it is not his fault. In the anime, Keiko Ogami of the girls' team seems to have a crush on him.
 * Fujiwara had intended Miura to, before the start of the tournament, become a player to be feared. He wants Miura to be like before, be unpredictable with his pinpoint passes, judgement and sharp shooting.
 * Fujiwara had intended Miura to, before the start of the tournament, become a player to be feared. He wants Miura to be like before, be unpredictable with his pinpoint passes, judgement and sharp shooting.


 * Tsutomu Ishii (石井 努)
 * Ishii is an extremely short-tempered person. It was highlighted that his weakness is being easily provoked by the opposing team to foul, and is prone to committing four fouls at a crucial time of a match. However, as the team starts to advance to the final, he has grown mature and his skills were also starting to grow more steady and powerful.
 * He plays the position of power forward in the team. It appears that he and Dobashi are close friends, having played on the same team during middle school. Ishii attended Takakura Junior High.
 * And it says in the episodes that he matches with the big machine.
 * And it says in the episodes that he matches with the big machine.


 * Kenji Dobashi (土橋 健二)
 * Dobashi is the largest in the team. He resembles Miura and has a quiet personality. Although his legs are not strong, he proves to his teammates that he can steal, rebound and defend better than ever before. He plays the position of center in the team.
 * He is often called "old man" by Ishii because of his hair and appearance. In the anime, before the prefectural championship, he changed his hairstyle. Dobashi attended Takakura Junior High.
 * As the story passes, he was one of the pillars for the team and his presence is felt. Whenever he was injured, the team performance will fare badly because everyone expects him to be their main guy in defence.
 * As the story passes, he was one of the pillars for the team and his presence is felt. Whenever he was injured, the team performance will fare badly because everyone expects him to be their main guy in defence.


 * Tōya Takashina (高階 トウヤ)
 * Takashina is first seen practising alone in one episode, and later became the 6th member of the boys' team. It was said that he can play any position in a team. He is extremely talented in shooting three pointers, matching up to Miura's level of skill and excellent in rebounds.
 * It is said that Takashina was a friend of Ayumi Fuse during middle school.


 * Mutsumi Akiyoshi (秋吉 夢津美)
 * Mutsumi is the captain of the girls' basketball team, and is a close friend of Moritaka's. She seems to be romantically involved with Takumi Fujiwara of the boys' team. She plays as a point guard on the team and used to admire Fujiwara's talent. During the quarter-finals match, she couldn't play because of her emotional distress, and she fouled many times and was benched. But after Fujiwara opened up to her before the finals, she played to her fullest, making Mizuho win.
 * Mutsumi is the captain of the girls' basketball team, and is a close friend of Moritaka's. She seems to be romantically involved with Takumi Fujiwara of the boys' team. She plays as a point guard on the team and used to admire Fujiwara's talent. During the quarter-finals match, she couldn't play because of her emotional distress, and she fouled many times and was benched. But after Fujiwara opened up to her before the finals, she played to her fullest, making Mizuho win.


 * Mai Moritaka (森高 麻衣)
 * Mai seems to be romantically involved with Kazuhiko Aikawa and becomes his girlfriend later in the series. Aikawa nicknames her "Pony/Pony tail" because of her long ponytail when he first saw her.
 * Her position on the team has never been revealed, neither in the manga nor in the anime. However, after some advice and personal training from Aikawa, Mai has the highest shot percentage among all her teammates when it comes to 3-pointers.
 * Her position on the team has never been revealed, neither in the manga nor in the anime. However, after some advice and personal training from Aikawa, Mai has the highest shot percentage among all her teammates when it comes to 3-pointers.


 * Keiko Ōgami (大神 恵子)
 * Keiko plays as a center for the girls' team and is the tallest among all her teammates.
 * She appears to have a crush on Miura and is proven on two occasions: one when she gave Miura a 'victory sign', and another when Mutsumi remarked if Keiko would get jealous after seeing a couple of girls approach Miura to congratulate him over the team's recent victory.
 * She appears to have a crush on Miura and is proven on two occasions: one when she gave Miura a 'victory sign', and another when Mutsumi remarked if Keiko would get jealous after seeing a couple of girls approach Miura to congratulate him over the team's recent victory.


 * Masato Sawanobori (サワンボリ マサト)
 * Masato is Kazuhiko's best friend and another member of the boys' basketball team at Mizuho High school.
 * Masato is Kazuhiko's best friend and another member of the boys' basketball team at Mizuho High school.


 * Igarashi Osamu (五十 嵐修)


 * Satomi Anzaki (杏崎 沙斗未)
 * The manager of the Mizuho team, she was in the same junior high as Fujiwara and Miura (one year below them). She used to be a star player in the female basketball team, but suffered an injury that cut off her career as a player. As a result she's become somewhat withdrawn and bitter, to the point the other players think she's too harsh and cold. Over time, however, she warms up to them and does her best to support them.
 * The manager of the Mizuho team, she was in the same junior high as Fujiwara and Miura (one year below them). She used to be a star player in the female basketball team, but suffered an injury that cut off her career as a player. As a result she's become somewhat withdrawn and bitter, to the point the other players think she's too harsh and cold. Over time, however, she warms up to them and does her best to support them.


 * Kyoko Himuro (氷室 京子)
 * A homeroom teacher and the coach for the Mizuho female team, she takes it upon herself to save the male basketball team from being shut down for good. Being friends and former teammates with Aikawa's older sister, she arranged his transfer from Tendōji, believing he could become the soul that would bring out the best in the male basketball team. While she can be strict, it becomes clear she's very fond of her "Dear Boys", and wants to see them become the team she knows they can be.
 * A homeroom teacher and the coach for the Mizuho female team, she takes it upon herself to save the male basketball team from being shut down for good. Being friends and former teammates with Aikawa's older sister, she arranged his transfer from Tendōji, believing he could become the soul that would bring out the best in the male basketball team. While she can be strict, it becomes clear she's very fond of her "Dear Boys", and wants to see them become the team she knows they can be.

Manga
Written and illustrated by Hiroki Yagami, Dear Boys was serialized in Kodansha's manga magazine Monthly Shōnen Magazine from June 1989 to January 1997. Kodansha collected its chapters in 23 volumes, released from 16 December 1989 to 17 March 1997. Other related series and sequels, published in the same magazine, have been released:


 * Dear Boys The Early Days
 * Serialized from February to May 1997; its chapters were collected in a single volume, released on 12 August of that same year.


 * Dear Boys Act II
 * Serialized from July 1997 to November 2008. Its chapters were collected in 30 volumes, released from 17 November 1997 to 17 February 2009.


 * Dear Boys Act 3
 * Serialized from 6 December 2008 to 4 December 2015. Its chapters were collected in 21  volumes, released from 17 June 2009 to 17 February 2016.


 * Dear Boys Over Time
 * Serialized from 5 February 2016 to 6 January 2017. Its chapters were collected in three  volume, released from 17 June 2016 to 17 February 2017.


 * Dear Boys Act 4
 * It started on 6 October 2018. The first volume was released on 15 March 2019. As of 15 March 2024 16 volumes have been released. A six-volume prequel to Act 4, titled Dear Boys Shōnan Dai Sagami Special Selection (DEAR BOYS 湘南大相模スペシャルセレクション), set two years before the events of the story, was published digitally on 15 March 2019.

Video games
A video game, published by Yutaka for the Super Famicom, was released on 20 October 1994. Another video game, titled Dear Boys: Fast Break!, published by Konami for the PlayStation 2, was released on 18 September 2003.

Anime
A 26-episode anime television series adaptation, produced by OB Planning and animated by A.C.G.T, was broadcast on TV Tokyo from 8 April to 30 September 2003. Da Pump performed the opening theme "Sound of Bounce", while Chris Sasaki (credited as Chris) performed the ending theme "Baller no Shōgō" (Ballerの章号).

In North America, the series was licensed by Bandai Entertainment in 2004. They released it under the title Hoop Days; episodes were partially released on two DVD sets on 28 June and 23 August 2005 and a "Complete Collection" was later released on 5 June 2006. The series was licensed in Australia and New Zealand by Madman Entertainment, who released a Complete Collection set on 6 September 2006. Medialink licensed the series in Southeast Asia and was broadcast on Animax Asia.

Reception
By March 2019, the overall Dear Boys manga series had sold over 45 million copies.

In 2007, Dear Boys Act II received 31st Kodansha Manga Award in the category.