"Hakozume: Police Box Girls Strike Back" is a series currently serialized in Weekly Morning and will begin airing as an anime in January 2022. It is a comical portrayal of the harsh working conditions and rewards of police officers working at police stations, and was recently adapted into a TV drama that ended to great acclaim. In this article, we'd like to introduce you to its author, Yasuko Misako!
What kind of work is Hakozume: Police Box Girls Strike Back?
As the title suggests, "Hakodume: Police Box Girls Strike Back" centers around the protagonist, a rookie female police officer working at a police box, a senior female police officer who was transferred to the police box due to power harassment, and her male colleague in the Criminal Investigation Division. The pair gradually become accustomed to the brutally brutal job of police officers and find it rewarding. However, rather than becoming accustomed to it, it's more accurate to say they become corporate slaves. The protagonist, who initially starts out as a crappy police officer, gradually develops the tough mentality unique to police officers. It's essentially a comedy about the brutal working environment, with some laughs and occasional serious moments.
The depiction of police box work seems awfully realistic... What was your previous job?
Hakodume's plot is remarkably realistic and dark. Moreover, the content seems to be very knowledgeable about the inner workings of the police. This is no surprise, as the author, Yasuko Yasu, is a former police officer who worked at a police box for over 10 years. Despite her 10 years as a police officer, she decided to become a manga artist. Apparently, those around her discouraged her from leaving the stable career of a civil servant for the gambling-like profession of manga artist, but she ended up working on a work that was adapted into a TV drama and an anime.
Is Yasuko a woman and married?!
Yasuko is a woman and married. Furthermore, before she began serializing her manga, she apparently prepared for serialization while holding her baby, making the most of her physical strength as a former police officer. Due to the current COVID-19 pandemic, the days of assistants crammed into rooms to work are over. In an interview, she said that digitalization has eliminated the need for assistants to gather together, and that the digitalization of work has also greatly reduced the disadvantage of limited manga experience.
What made Yasuko want to become a manga artist?
The reason Yasuko decided to quit the police force and pursue a career as a manga artist was because she "wanted to share the work of a police officer with everyone." Originally, children who aspired to become police officers and their parents felt that the job was a very high hurdle. However, according to the author, Yasuko, she wanted to convey the message that "police are just worthless people doing their best every day!" but couldn't communicate it well. She wondered how she could effectively convey this message, and the idea of becoming a manga artist came to mind. It seemed like trying to do this within the police force would require her to become a high-ranking figure, so she gave up on the idea at that point. She didn't hesitate.
Being a police officer is tough, but why are they portrayed as such pointless characters?
The police officers in Hakozume aren't the cool, high-achieving types you'd find in a detective drama. The protagonist became a police officer because she wanted a stable salary, and a capable senior officer casually remarks, "There's no way a kind, decent woman who loves children could become a police officer in the first place." The characters are also seemingly ordinary people who are subject to the strict, rigid rules of the police, which may leave you thinking, "If these people can become police officers, then so can I..." On the other hand, she also talks about the extremely tough work environment where everyone is constantly pushed to their physical limits, the job where they are generally subjected to verbal abuse without any thanks, and why police officers have to listen to things that ordinary people find unpleasant. She said she wanted to convey the reasons why police officers have to do unpleasant things.
What did Yasuko do at the police force before?
Yasuko was a police officer who worked as a public relations officer and a portrait investigator. However, she rarely drew manga and rarely read manga. Despite this, he debuted as a manga artist so quickly, had a weekly serialization, and created a popular work that was adapted into an anime and a TV drama—that's impressive. However, it seems that the working environment he cultivated during his time as a police officer played a major role. Yasu's response times are incredibly fast, and he's also incredibly fast at completing manga. Apparently, this stems from the fact that, during his time as a police officer, he had to complete any assignments he was given the next day, which, in a good way, made him far removed from the norms of manga artists. Amazing!
Foreshadowing... an afterthought?! And his editor... lets him run wild?!
1月23日発売の『ハコヅメ』第5巻をPRするため、描きおろしTwitter漫画はじめます。当面、平日は毎日更新予定！ pic.twitter.com/Kkce4yILZm
— 『ハコヅメ』『だんドーン』公式 (@KOBAN_JOSHI) January 16, 2019
Yasu Misako's interactions with her editor are sometimes posted on her official Twitter account. Her interactions with her editor, Tabuchi, are also entertaining. While Hakozume is typically a comedic work, it occasionally has serious episodes, even dealing with serious content like the spin-off series Unboxed. However, in Yasuko's case, it seems like the plot twists were completely added later! Normally, manga artists plan plot twists for later, but in Yasuko's case, they're completely added later. She spoke about this eagerly in interviews. Also, her editor, Tabuchi, apparently leaves everything to Yasuko. It's not because he wants to slack off, but because he believes Yasuko's work is better left alone. He's apparently the type who usually speaks up.
Summary about the Author of [Hakozume: Police Box Girls Strike Back]
Here's a summary about Yasuko, the author of "Hakozume: Police Box Girls Strike Back." She has a rather unusual background, having been a former police officer and never having drawn manga before. However, her drawings are now so good it's hard to believe she's never drawn manga before. It's truly amazing that she was able to create such hilarious works, even adapting them into anime and TV dramas, despite being familiar with the police profession! The TV drama ended with great success, so we're sure the anime will be great too! The anime will begin airing in January 2022, so I'm really looking forward to it!
