Here Is Greenwood


Here is Greenwood is a 9-volume Japanese manga written and illustrated by Yukie Nasu, revolving around the activities of four boys in Greenwood Dormitory at a fictional prestigious Japanese all-boys private school named Ryokuto Academy. The manga was serialized in Hana to Yume from 1987 to 1991 and published in English by Viz Media. It has been adapted into a six-episode anime OVA and a live-action television series.
The anime episodes refer directly to events in the manga. The manga storyline is somewhat self-referential, as several asides show that the characters are fully aware that they exist in a manga. Yukie Nasu appears frequently as herself, usually with a capital "N" on her head, to explain away certain loose plot threads. For example, in a story featuring a baseball game taking place in late autumn, one of the characters asked why they weren't playing soccer; Nasu's character appeared and explained that she didn't know the rules for soccer.

Plot

After suffering from a series of mishaps, Kazuya Hasekawa has finally entered Ryokuto Academy. He is there to get away from his brother and his wife. Unfortunately, he is assigned to live in the dorm known as Greenwood, a former insane asylum, where the weird students live. His roommate, Shun Kisaragi, looks just like a girl, and Kazuya initially thought he was until he saw Shun in the boys' bathroom. Also there are his next-door roommates, the dorm president Mitsuru Ikeda and his best friend, Shinobu Tezuka. The manga follows the everyday events and antics of Greenwood.

Characters

Main characters

Manga

The manga had run in Hakuensha's Hana to Yume shōjo magazine from 1987 to 1991. The manga was collected in eleven volumes. In North America, the manga was released in English by Viz Media in nine volumes.

Anime

A six-episode OVA series, produced by Pierrot and Ajia-do Animation Works, was released between 1991 and 1993. The OVAs were initially licensed by Software Sculptors, who released the series on VHS and Laserdisc in 1996, with an English dub produced by TAJ Productions. The anime was then licensed to Media Blasters in 2004, who released the series on DVD featuring a new English dub by Bang Zoom! Entertainment.

Live action/drama

A thirteen episode live-action television drama was broadcast by Tokyo MX, between July 2, 2008 and September 24, 2008.