KochiKame: Tokyo Beat Cops
Kochira Katsushika-ku Kameari Kōen Mae Hashutsujo (こちら葛飾区亀有公園前派出所, lit. “This Is the Kōban in Front of Kameari Park in Katsushika Ward”), often shortened to KochiKame (こち亀), and known in English as KochiKame: Tokyo Beat Cops, is a Japanese comedy manga series written and illustrated by Osamu Akimoto. It takes place in the present day, in and around a neighborhood police station (kōban) in the downtown part of Tokyo, and revolves around the misadventures of middle-aged cop Kankichi Ryotsu.[2][3]
It was continuously serialized in Weekly Shōnen Jump for 40 years, from September 1976 to September 2016. Its 1,960 chapters were collected into 200 tankōbon volumes, making it the manga with the second-highest number of volumes.[a] The manga has been adapted into an anime television series, produced by Studio Gallop and broadcast in Japan by Fuji TV, three theatrical animated films (by Tatsunoko and Gallop, respectively), two live-action movies, several stage adaptations, and a live-action television series. In addition, a short anime featuring characters from the series was produced to popularize the Paralympic sport of goalball, ahead of the Tokyo Olympics and Paralympics of 2020 (now to be held in 2021).
As of 2016, the series had sold over 156.5 million tankōbon copies, making KochiKame the eight best-selling manga series in history. In 2005, TV Asahi named the anime number 36 on its list of the Top 100 Anime. The series was awarded a Guinness World Record for “Most volumes published for a single manga series.”
On July 18, 2021, it was announced the manga will receive a 201st volume which will be released on October 4, 2021.[4]
