Harlem Beat

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Harlem Beat

ハーレム・ビート
(Hāremu Biito)

Genre

Sport

Manga

Author

Yuriko Nishiyama

Publisher

Kodansha

English publisher

Tokyopop

Other publishers:
Elex Media Komputindo Planet manga

Demographic

Shōnen

Serialized in

Weekly Shōnen Magazine

Original run

1994 – 2000

Volumes

Harlem Beat (ハーレム・ビート, Hāremu Biito^?) is a Japanese manga series created by Yuriko Nishiyama. It is published by Tokyopop in the United States. The series contain 29 volumes in Japan. However in the U.S., the manga goes up to 9 volumes under the name Harlem Beat, while volumes 12+ are published under the series title Rebound. During the transfer, Tokyopop made the decision not to publish volumes 10-11 due to their inability to adequately kickstart a series. It is likely that these volumes will never be published by Tokyopop, due to declining sales for the series.[1]

Harlem Beat details the struggles of young Naruse Tohru (Nate Torres in the U.S. version) to go from a benchwarmer to a street-ball player. The story's scope expands as he makes friends and eventually becomes a member of his high school basketball team.

[edit] Characters

Nate Torres(Naruse Tohru Japanese version) - main character of Harlem Beat. In the original Japanese version, Tohru Naruse goes by his nickname Naruchiyo and is often associated with a monkey, serving as a mascot to the team. Nate is a perennial benchwarmer. Lacking in both coolness and talent, he is the most unlikely basketball player you'll ever find. But through persistence and support from his friends, Nate slowly teaches himself the art of basketball. In the process, he slowly builds up his confidence and begins to realize his dream of success on the high school basketball court. He also develops feelings for Mizzy Kusuda, an ex-classmate, but later falls for another girl named Tomomi Koizumi. His signature move in basketball is known as the airwalk. Nate incorporated many flashy moves into his game, such as his signature airwalk, evolved lay-up (double-clutch) miracle J, and his invincible lay-ups. Every single one of these skills are pulled off subconsciously, indicating a preternatural natural talent for the sport.

Mizzy Kusuda (Mizuki Kusuda Japanese version) - Mizuki is Naruse's ex-classmate and close friend when he was in the primary school. She helps Nate succeed, teaching him the down and dirty side to street ball: no rules, no fouls, and no crying... she teaches him how to win. Eventually, she revealed to Shurman that she was in love with him ever since she first met him under his street name, which was Shu. Her love was not returned, however, with Shurman saying that Shu was gone.

Kyle OzMan (Kozuke Ozaki Japanese version) - Kyle is a tough kid, high school drop-out with an axe to grind with everyone. But often his bark is worse than his bite. He and Nate are the only two players in the history of street hoops to ever score on the powerhouse team, 3-Slam. When they get together with Mizzy, Team Scratch is born. Oz is a hoodlum from the streets. He hangs with a rough crowd, and he brings the same attitude to the courts. Nate, his own teammate, is even scared of him. Throughout the series, Kyle has a crush on Mizzy, which eventually develops into love. Sadly he's also not very good when it comes to girls.

Masahiro Sawamura - He is also a member of Scratch. He is Naruse's best friend. Sawamura plays street basketball to earn money as he lives by himself. He likes money very much and as a result turns towards gambling. His affinity to risk explains his constant attempts to sink only the 3-point shots. He stole a score from Three Men by his tricks. He is the best three-point-shooter and called a "Miracle Shooter." He is not good in stamina, but he is very good at tricks. His famous nickname is Fox (Kitsune) Guy, as he is really tricky and loves gambling. He is a clever guy too. His only weaknesses are money and ghosts. In a flashback, it is revealed that Sawamura's father abandoned him and he was soon picked up by a Yakuza member named Fujita. Fujita taught him how to fight, including the ways of the streets. After Fujita was shot by one of his own, he was captured and confined, leaving Sawamura to live on his own.