Gangsta (manga)

Gangsta (stylized as GANGSTA.) (Japanese: ギャングスタ, Hepburn: Gyangusuta) is a Japanese manga series written and illustrated by Kohske. It has been published in Shinchosha's monthly magazine Comic Bunch since March 2011. The series has inspired a spin-off manga, an audio drama series, an anime television series, and an original novel. The anime series was the last to be produced by animation studio Manglobe before its bankruptcy.

Setting
The story of GANGSTA. takes place in the city of Ergastulum (エルガストルム, Erugasutorumu), a place filled to the brim with hoodlums, prostitutes, and dirty cops. It is governed by four major mafia families. Each syndicate controls a district of the city and distribute specific rackets. However, Ergastulum is ultimately an open-air internment camp for superhuman individuals known as "Twilights (黄昏, Tasogare) ", also called "Tags" for the government issued dogtags they're required to wear. Twilights are the descendants of those who took the drug, Cerebret, developed during wartime to create enhanced soldiers, increasing their strength, speed and agility. Their children inherit these qualities, making them an unintended consequence. They are forever dependent on consistent doses of Cerebret to stay alive and avoid withdrawal symptoms. At the same time, however, it slowly poisons them, significantly slashing their lifespans and giving them disabilities. They are kept under surveillance, having been herded into Ergastulum, and xenophobia between them and the "Normal" non-Twilight refugees who settled there is constantly brewing. The Cerebret they need to survive is strictly regulated, expensive, and used to keep the Twilights on a short leash.

Plot
Two "Handymen" named Worick Arcangelo and Nicolas Brown take on jobs for both the mob and the police force that no one else can handle. After a job of crushing a gang, Worick decided to spare and help the amnesiac sole survivor Alex under their wing for the time being.

One day, Nicolas and Worick are brought in by the police for questioning on the mass murders that have taken place in the sixth district. All of the bodies appear to exclusively be Twilights. However, they leave quickly when Daniel Monroe calls for their assistance. Monroe is being attacked by a young Twilight named Doug, a member of the Pauklee mercenary guild. There Nicolas battles Doug to a standstill, but their fight is interrupted by the guild's head, Gina and her high-ranked assistant, Ginger. Nicolas recovers along with Doug at Dr. Theo's clinic. After recuperating, Doug divulges that his mission was given to him by the Corsica family, who are infamous anti-Twilight advocates. In addition, Daniel Monroe's right-hand man, Ivan, is revealed to be a mole for the Corsica family.

The anti-Twilights sentiment in Ergastulum steadily increases as the murder rate of Twilights continue, leading the Handymen to take a job gathering stray Twilights to be brought under the Christiano Family's protection. Hiding them within the family's club, Bastard. While Worick and Nic are out, Alex stays inside the club and is encouraged to sing for the patrons. Eventually, the club is attacked by the Twilight Hunters. Loretta's bodyguards, Galahad and Marco momentarily hold them off until Nicolas arrives and engages the Hunters in a brutal fight. Eventually they subdue Nic, preparing to kill him before his reinforcements arrive in the form of Worick, Doug, and most importantly Ginger who the two quickly realize they can't defeat. Forcing them to hastily retreat into the night.

The Paulklee Guild is attacked by two hunters, wanting to test their defenses. The figures reveal themselves as members of the Third Destroyers and agents of Uranus Corsica. In the assault, Doug is killed. Upon learning that one of the hunters is Delico's long-lost sister, Erica is alive, him and Yang resolves to go look for her. They ask around if anyone has seen Erica, but with no luck. As they search District 7, a young Twilight named Heather attacks them, mistaking Delico for Erica. Delico and Yang manage to convince Heather to guide them to Erica's known location. After the attack on Bastard, Nic is assigned to protect Loretta and Worick goes to help reinforce the Monroe mansion. Only to find that Monroe himself is nowhere to be found. When speaking to Miles, the estate is attacked by Striker, a member of the Destroyers looking for Daniel. Striker swiftly decimates the estate's security but is eventually driven off when Worick injects him with a downer. In the conflict, Worick is stabbed and thrown out of a window.

On this same day, Connie goes to her grandmother's shop and encounters another Destroyer, Berreta. Believing she's a customer, Connie offers her some cigarettes, but Beretta proceeds to kidnap her. Being tied up and gagged, Beretta then presents Connie as a gift to Striker, who is very pleased. While Worick is recovering at Dr. Theo's clinic, Nicolas speaks to the doctor about an experimental version of Cerebret. Bestowing the user, a stable amplification of their overall strength. Injecting Nic before he sets off to search for the two Hunters. As the two parties search for Erica, Nic comes across Yang and Delico in an alleyway. He further explains that he's here to interrogate Mikhail. Also making it clear that Delico will have three chances to kill or capture Erica before he takes over and does it himself. Delico approaches their hideout in disguise to lure Mikhail out. As Nicolas fights Mikhail, Erica appears before Delico. Who she seems not to recognize, stealing his tags as he pleads for her to acknowledge him. Yang and Delico attempt to subdue Erica before Nicolas is drawn into the fight as well. Delico and Nicolas manage to immobilize Mikhail, and then Monroe and Ivan appear. Monroe reveals that he was behind the attack on the orphanage as well as Erica's kidnapping and Ivan routinely sexually assaults her and is her “handler”. During this, Nic is starting to come down on the Celebret and feeling sickly. Enraged, Yang lunges forward and aiming his gun at Monroe. Delico reflexively shoots Yang in Monroe's defense, but soon realizes his mistake. Nic then attacks Daniel, who incapacitates him by shooting him in the leg. Monroe, Ivan and Erica depart, leaving the injured Mikhail behind. Not before long, Heather arrives with help from Worick, Marco and Theo.

At the clinic, Nicolas start to have a seizure as a side-effect to the experimental Cerebret and Yang is in critical condition. Theo is ready to consider his tests on Nic a failure and began to administer a downer, but Nic knocks it out of his hand, telling him to give Yang more attention. While at the Destroyers’ warehouse, Constance escapes from her restraints and stabs Sig in the thigh with a shard of glass. In retaliation, Striker tears her left arm off and sends it to Marco. Leading Marco to venture out on his own to retrieve her. On the way, Marco is ambushed by Colt, only to be saved by Galahad and the Guild. Finally reaching the warehouse, Marco battles Striker and Beretta. After fleeing with Constance, Striker catches up with them, leading the couple to use a suicide bomb as a last resort. Leaving Striker critically injured.

Shortly after the appearance of the Hunters and Destroyers in Ergastulum, Worick murders Miles and presents the severed head to the Corsica family. Before leaving money and a note for Alex, telling her to leave while she still can. While Nicolas is recovering at the Theo's clinic, four members on the Guild attempt to apprehend him, Theo and Alex. Nic attempts to fight them off but is unsuccessful. The Guild brings them into custody for questioning. Worick begins working for Corsica under the name "Storage”. Utilizing his uncanny memory as his strongest asset. While meeting with Uranos, its revealed that Corsica placed the Hunters under his control. So, they may carry out the annihilation of all Twilights within the city.

Main characters

 * Worick Arcangelo
 * Worick Arcangelo (ウォリック・アルカンジェロ) (formerly Wallace Arcangelo) is Nic's Handymen partner. His abusive father hired Nic as Worick's personal guard, but Nic killed Worick's abusive family (with his permission) in a fit of rage after witnessing Worick's father press a lit cigarette into his son's left eye over which he now wears a patch. He has been a gigolo since he was thirteen, and views this as his main job. He is highly intelligent and has hyperthymesia enabling him to memorize vast amounts of information. He carries a M1911A1 pistol.
 * Worick Arcangelo (ウォリック・アルカンジェロ) (formerly Wallace Arcangelo) is Nic's Handymen partner. His abusive father hired Nic as Worick's personal guard, but Nic killed Worick's abusive family (with his permission) in a fit of rage after witnessing Worick's father press a lit cigarette into his son's left eye over which he now wears a patch. He has been a gigolo since he was thirteen, and views this as his main job. He is highly intelligent and has hyperthymesia enabling him to memorize vast amounts of information. He carries a M1911A1 pistol.


 * Nicolas Brown
 * Nicolas Brown (ニコラス・ブラウン), or Nic, is Worick's Handymen partner. He is a "Twilight", the result of a former West Gate mercenary named Gaston Brown sleeping with a Twilight prostitute. Gaston had impregnated the prostitute for the sole purpose of avoiding the expense of hiring a Tagged mercenary, and murdered the woman after Nic was born. Nic was abused by Gaston, who saw him as nothing more than a monster. He is deaf, and communicates primarily through sign language, but has exceptionally strong vision and lip reading skills. As a child mercenary, he was hired by the Arcangelo family to be Worick's bodyguard. Like all Twilights, he is identified by the dog tags that he wears. He is known as a "faker" because although his natural ability is a B/5 level Twilight, he can gain the almost superhuman abilities of an A/0 level by overdosing on Celebrer.
 * Nicolas Brown (ニコラス・ブラウン), or Nic, is Worick's Handymen partner. He is a "Twilight", the result of a former West Gate mercenary named Gaston Brown sleeping with a Twilight prostitute. Gaston had impregnated the prostitute for the sole purpose of avoiding the expense of hiring a Tagged mercenary, and murdered the woman after Nic was born. Nic was abused by Gaston, who saw him as nothing more than a monster. He is deaf, and communicates primarily through sign language, but has exceptionally strong vision and lip reading skills. As a child mercenary, he was hired by the Arcangelo family to be Worick's bodyguard. Like all Twilights, he is identified by the dog tags that he wears. He is known as a "faker" because although his natural ability is a B/5 level Twilight, he can gain the almost superhuman abilities of an A/0 level by overdosing on Celebrer.


 * Alex Benedetto
 * Alex Benedetto (アレックス・ベネデット), or Ally, is a former prostitute. She joins the Handymen after the police have Nic and Worick eliminate the gang she was working for, and Worick decides to spare her life. Alex was previously under the control of Barry Abbott, who is suspected to have drugged her to keep her submissive. She only remembers a few things, including her name, and later it is revealed that she is not from Ergastulum and is unfamiliar with life in there. She is learning sign language in order to communicate better with Nic, and on several occasions has comforted Worick when the latter was in the throes of a nightmare. She is a calm, caring person who is unafraid of violence when Worick, Nic, or Nina, are threatened. She is revealed to be a talented singer and occasionally works for the Cristiano family in that capacity. She has a younger brother named Emilio, who she worked to support, but hasn't seen him since childhood.
 * Alex Benedetto (アレックス・ベネデット), or Ally, is a former prostitute. She joins the Handymen after the police have Nic and Worick eliminate the gang she was working for, and Worick decides to spare her life. Alex was previously under the control of Barry Abbott, who is suspected to have drugged her to keep her submissive. She only remembers a few things, including her name, and later it is revealed that she is not from Ergastulum and is unfamiliar with life in there. She is learning sign language in order to communicate better with Nic, and on several occasions has comforted Worick when the latter was in the throes of a nightmare. She is a calm, caring person who is unafraid of violence when Worick, Nic, or Nina, are threatened. She is revealed to be a talented singer and occasionally works for the Cristiano family in that capacity. She has a younger brother named Emilio, who she worked to support, but hasn't seen him since childhood.

Supporting characters

 * Dr. Theo
 * Dr. Theo (テオ) is a doctor who supplies Nic and other Twilights with Celebrer and other treatments. He runs a small clinic in District 7 and tries to stay neutral between the rival gangs.  He is missing two fingers on his left hand. Dr. Theo is a kind person, but displays a hidden dark side when his clinic and Nina are threatened.
 * Dr. Theo (テオ) is a doctor who supplies Nic and other Twilights with Celebrer and other treatments. He runs a small clinic in District 7 and tries to stay neutral between the rival gangs.  He is missing two fingers on his left hand. Dr. Theo is a kind person, but displays a hidden dark side when his clinic and Nina are threatened.


 * Nina
 * Nina (ニナ) is a young girl who works at Dr. Theo's clinic as a nurse, and is close friends with Worick and Nicolas.
 * Nina (ニナ) is a young girl who works at Dr. Theo's clinic as a nurse, and is close friends with Worick and Nicolas.


 * Chad Adkins
 * Chad Adkins (チャド・アトキンス) is a police officer in Ergastulum. He hires Nic and Worick to do jobs for the police and often has to clean up their messes when they get into trouble. There are indications in the manga that when Nic and Worick were young teens that Adkins acted as a protector and surrogate father to them.
 * Chad Adkins (チャド・アトキンス) is a police officer in Ergastulum. He hires Nic and Worick to do jobs for the police and often has to clean up their messes when they get into trouble. There are indications in the manga that when Nic and Worick were young teens that Adkins acted as a protector and surrogate father to them.


 * Daniel Monroe
 * Daniel Monroe (ダニエル・モンロー) is a mafia boss, and head of one of the three main 'gangs' in Ergastulum. He is Nic's former employer.
 * Daniel Monroe (ダニエル・モンロー) is a mafia boss, and head of one of the three main 'gangs' in Ergastulum. He is Nic's former employer.


 * Delico
 * Delico (デリコ) is a rank D/0 Twilight who works for the Monroe Family.
 * Delico (デリコ) is a rank D/0 Twilight who works for the Monroe Family.


 * Loretta Cristiano Amodio
 * Loretta Cristiano Amodio (ロレッタ・クリスティアーノ・アモディオ)
 * Fourteen-year-old daughter of the former boss and current leader of the Cristiano family. She uses her family's resources to help Twilights in need. She runs the "Bastard" nightclub and her associates and de facto protectors are Marco Adriano (who has superhuman strength) and Galahad Woeher (a Twilight).
 * Fourteen-year-old daughter of the former boss and current leader of the Cristiano family. She uses her family's resources to help Twilights in need. She runs the "Bastard" nightclub and her associates and de facto protectors are Marco Adriano (who has superhuman strength) and Galahad Woeher (a Twilight).


 * Sir Gina Paulklee
 * Gina Paulklee (ジーナ・パウルクレイ)
 * Referred to as 'Sir' by her subordinates, she is a Twilight and head of the Paulklee Guild, which takes in rogue Twilights and hires them out. Gina believes strongly in the Three Laws that govern Twilights, which are based on Asimov's Three Laws of Robotics: No action can be taken against 'normals', obey your master, defend yourself. She is taller than Nic, which is something he comments that he hates.
 * Referred to as 'Sir' by her subordinates, she is a Twilight and head of the Paulklee Guild, which takes in rogue Twilights and hires them out. Gina believes strongly in the Three Laws that govern Twilights, which are based on Asimov's Three Laws of Robotics: No action can be taken against 'normals', obey your master, defend yourself. She is taller than Nic, which is something he comments that he hates.


 * Ginger
 * Ginger (ジンジャー) is a highly ranked Twilight and member of the Paulklee Guild. She is seemingly Gina Paulklee's Right-hand. She is a rank S/5 Twilight.
 * Ginger (ジンジャー) is a highly ranked Twilight and member of the Paulklee Guild. She is seemingly Gina Paulklee's Right-hand. She is a rank S/5 Twilight.


 * Doug
 * Doug (ダグ) is a rank A/0 Twilight, like Nic. He worked for the Paulklee Guild and was roommates with Galahad Woeher.
 * Doug (ダグ) is a rank A/0 Twilight, like Nic. He worked for the Paulklee Guild and was roommates with Galahad Woeher.


 * Joel Raveau
 * Joel Raveau (ョエル・ラヴォー) is an old woman who runs a shop in Ergastulum, and a frequent customer of the Handymen.
 * Joel Raveau (ョエル・ラヴォー) is an old woman who runs a shop in Ergastulum, and a frequent customer of the Handymen.


 * Uranos Corsica
 * Uranos Corsica (ウラノス・コルシカ) is the head of the Corsica Family. He has a large scar on his forehead.  He bears an intense dislike toward Twilights.
 * Uranos Corsica (ウラノス・コルシカ) is the head of the Corsica Family. He has a large scar on his forehead.  He bears an intense dislike toward Twilights.


 * Constance Raveau
 * Constance Raveau (コンスタンス・ラヴォー) is the owner of a gun shop who is on friendly terms with the handymen.
 * Constance Raveau (コンスタンス・ラヴォー) is the owner of a gun shop who is on friendly terms with the handymen.

Manga
The manga, which is written and illustrated by Kohske, was launched in March 2011 in Shinchosha's Monthly Comic @ Bunch magazine. Gangsta. is the author's first manga series, after she debuted in Shōnen Gangan in 2009 with a short story. Viz Media announced in July 2013 that it had acquired the rights to publish Gangsta. in North America, with plans to release a new volume on a tri-monthly basis. The series went on hiatus due to Kohske's health in November 2015. In January 2016, she posted on Twitter that she was preparing to resume the series. The series resumed publication on 20 May 2017.

The manga inspired a spin-off series, titled ''Gangsta.:Cursed. EP_Marco Adriano, which began serialization in the fourth volume of the Quarterly Comic Go Go Bunch'' magazine, preceded by a prologue in the third volume, which was published on 9 April 2014. The series is illustrated by Syuhei Kamo. ''Gangsta.:Cursed. EP_Marco Adriano'' focuses on mafia staff member Marco Adriano, a character from the original manga. The first collected volume was published on 9 July 2015. In December 2016, Viz Media announced that it had licensed the manga and would release it on December 20. Go Go Bunch ceased publication in 2018, and the manga's final chapter was featured in the last issue on February 9, 2018. Viz Media announced in April 2016 that it had licensed the series under the title Gangsta.: Cursed.

List of volumes
The series has been collected into eight tankōbon volumes, all of which have been republished in English. The fifth volume made it onto The New York Times manga best sellers list, ranking at number three.

Audio drama
The manga has been adapted into a series of audio drama CDs, released by Frontier Works, the first of which was released on 21 August 2014. The series was originally intended to end with the third CD, but five have been released as of June 2015. It was announced in November 2015 that the sixth and seventh CDs, scheduled for 25 November 2015 and 27 January 2016, respectively, had been delayed until further notice. They were eventually released in March and May 2016.

Anime
An anime adaptation was announced through a wrap-around jacket on the sixth tankōbon volume in Japan. It was later confirmed through the series' official Twitter account for the drama CD and anime project that it would be a TV anime, and would be produced by Manglobe as their final anime television series before succumbing to bankruptcy. The series is directed by Shūkō Murase and Kōichi Hatsumi, with character designs by Yōichi Ueda and music by Tsutchie. Shinichi Inotsume is in charge of series composition, while Koichi Hatsumi serves as series director. Additional crew include Masahiro Kubota (art design), Masatoshi Kai (art direction), Yuuko Saitou (color design), and Shinobu Tsuneki (prop design). Yuuichirou Nagata from Asahi Production serves as the series' director of photography. Tomoki Nagasaka is the series' editor, and Yukio Nagasaki serves as sound director. The cast from the audio drama return to voice their characters in the anime. The opening theme song is "Renegade" by STEREO DIVE FOUNDATION, while the ending theme song, performed by Annabel, is "Country of the Night" (夜の国).

The series began airing in Japan on 1 July 2015, and was broadcast on Asahi Broadcasting Corporation (ABC), Tokyo MX, TV Aichi, and BS11 in Japan, and was streamed on the Bandai Channel and Niconico. The anime is licensed by Funimation in North America, and was simulcast on their website as it aired in Japan. Funimation also streamed an English dub of the series. Crunchyroll licensed the series for simulcast in France and French speaking territories (Belgium, Luxembourg, Switzerland, Andorra, Monaco, Tunisia, Algeria, Morocco, New Caledonia, and Quebec). AnimeLab licensed the series for simulcast streaming in Australia and New Zealand, and Anime Limited licensed the series for streaming on Viewster in the United Kingdom. The series switched from a Wednesday broadcast date to a Sunday one starting with the fifth episode.

Home video
The first two episodes were released on Blu-ray/DVD on 25 September 2015, with each further two episodes originally scheduled to be released once a month, followed by the complete box set on 24 February 2016. Starting with the third volume, however, the home video releases were delayed until further notice. The releases were finally resumed 16 months after the original delay, with the third volume released on 24 March 2017 and the sixth and final volume released simultaneously with the complete set on 23 June 2017.

Novel
An original novel based on the series and written by Jun'ichi Kawabata was released on 1 August 2015 as part of Shinchosha's Shincho Bunko nex series.

Reception
Rebecca Silverman, reviewing the first English volume for the Anime News Network, gave it an overall score of B+, giving the story a B+ grade and the art a grade of B. She was positive toward the characters and story, commenting that the author "makes some interesting choices with her characters", but felt the art was occasionally subpar, pointing out an image that was reused three times, and commented that the name of the city "sounds like some sort of stomach disorder". Reviewing the second volume, she remarked on improvements in the author's art style and praised the development of Worick, but criticized Alex's reduced presence. She was also positive toward the third volume, writing "Gangsta. is so gritty that you kind of feel like brushing off your skin after reading it, but it's that way with a purpose that is starting to become clear and it's going to feel like a really long wait for volume four".

Reviewing the first three episodes of the anime, Gabriella Ekens stated that it was "a languid execution of a promising story". She also criticized the series' musical score and animation. She stated, however, that she was looking forward to the show, and that "its flaws are as intriguing as its strengths."