"Hakozume: Police Box Girls Strike Back" is based on a series serialized in Weekly Morning, and was recently broadcast as a drama under the title "Hakozume: Fight! Police Box Girls." The story centers around a female police officer working at a police box, and depicts the unpleasant realities of low-ranking officers in the community and criminal investigation divisions in a comedic style as she struggles. The drama, which depicts a comical, homey workplace that shatters the dreams of young people who dream of becoming police officers, has been extremely well-received, and will be adapted into an anime starting in January 2022. In this article, we'd like to introduce the main characters!
Machiyama Police Station, Community Affairs Division, Mai Kawai
The protagonist of this work. Seeking a stable income, she took every civil service exam she could find, thinking that the only stable job was the civil service. She joined the police force for a rather flimsy reason: she was assigned to the Community Affairs Division of Machiyama Police Station and worked at a police box. However, the rigorous training, intense workload, and a work environment where she was met with hatred rather than gratitude from those around her led her to consider resigning. However, after being paired with Seiko Fuji, who was also assigned to the police box, she gradually adapted to the job and developed the mental toughness unique to police officers. While she lacks artistic talent, she has a special talent for drawing highly distinctive portraits, which contributes to identifying suspected molesters and hit-and-run drivers.
How was Mai Kawai in the drama?
The role is played by Mei Nagano, and the character's character is almost identical to the original. From her silly motivation for joining the police force, she grows as a police detective after pairing up with Fuji, and her talent as a police detective is fully displayed. However, while the drama emphasizes scenes where she struggles with the harshness of her job, the original comic felt much more bland and focused more on comedy. During the guardian angel incident, she showed a steely mentality without overthinking things, but that changed somewhat in the drama.
Machiyama Police Station, Community Affairs Division, Seiko Fuji
A beautiful police officer paired with Mai Kawai. Originally an ace in the Criminal Investigation Division, she was demoted to the Community Affairs Division due to power harassment. In reality, she volunteered to work at the police box to catch the perpetrator of a hit-and-run accident involving her colleague, Shiori Sakura. She's strong, possessing both intuition and skill as a police officer. She was nicknamed Miss Perfect after graduating from police academy at the top of her class, but Gen and Yamada call her the Mountain Female Gorilla and the Perfect Gorilla.
How was her performance in the TV drama? Seiko Fuji
Erika Toda plays her character, and her character is almost identical to the original. While displaying the strength of a mountain gorilla, she dotes on Mai and is pleased with her growth. However, due to Mai's unique characteristics, she volunteers to work at the police box, hoping to use her as a decoy for her colleague Shiori Sakura, who was hit and run by a car. In the TV series, there's a bit of a commotion before he reveals the truth to Mai, but in the original work, it's over quickly. Does this mean police officers don't have time to get sentimental?
Machiyama Police Station, Community Affairs Division, Shuichi Igazaki
He's the chief of the Machiyama Police Station. He's a master of slacking off, devoting all his energy to finding ways to avoid work. He's not afraid to use even newly hired or female police officers to help him slack off. However, he also remembers all the unsolved cases in his jurisdiction, which allows him to solve cases quickly. He says it's all just to make things easier for himself. He was once treated as a special undercover investigator, and was in charge of the most dangerous undercover investigations he ever handled.
How was he in the TV series? Shuichi Igazaki
He's played by Tsuyoshi Muro, and in the TV series, he's the character whose character's profile has changed the most from the original. While he remains a character who is fundamentally predisposed to slacking off, as Mai's boss and the police station chief, he appears far more frequently than in the original. His role is also that of a boss who guides the protagonist, a licensed paramedic and mental health counselor, and a key figure who once paired up with Shiori Sakura and witnessed a crime. Thanks to Tsuyoshi Muro's strong presence, this character's brilliance is evident. He plays characters not featured in the drama, and his role as a police box attendant, like the main character Mai, makes it natural for him to have more screen time.
Machiyama Police Station, Criminal Investigation Division, Minamoto Seiji
A police officer with a shaggy, naturally curly head, Minamoto Seiji is a member of the First Investigative Division. Although he's a classmate of Fuji, he was the worst performer at police academy. However, he displays incredible talent in interrogations, so much so that even Fuji says he can't beat him. His skills have reached the level of hypnosis. Although he and Fuji are on bad terms, often fighting, he is a reliable senior to his junior colleagues, Yamada and Kawai. In fact, if he tidies up his shaggy hair, he becomes handsome and popular, but then he loses his presence as a detective and becomes useless, so his colleagues no longer call him handsome.
How was he in the TV series? Seiji Minamoto
He is played by Shohei Miura. Like in the original work, he treats Fuji like a mountain gorilla, while his entourage, Mai, treats her like a chimpanzee. However, he is a reliable senior to Mai and Yamada. In the drama, he also gives advice to Mai and shows concern for his colleague Fuji, showing his senior-like qualities. However, he also shines as a comic relief.
Machiyama Police Station, Criminal Investigation Division, Takeshi Yamada
A police officer paired with Gen. He was also paired with Fuji in the past. While he may seem frivolous, he is actually a hard worker, constantly being pushed around by his two mean seniors. While he respects Gen and Fuji, he is not shy about making harsh remarks. He's a physically gifted police officer with exceptional physical abilities and animal instincts. He's also skilled at photography, so he was given a transfer notice to the forensics department, but ultimately remains in the criminal investigation division.
How was Yamada Takeshi in the TV drama?
He's played by Yuki Yamada. He's a character who is constantly pushed around by Gen and Fuji, but he's also a good senior who cares about Mai and her junior. While he can be a bit clumsy, he's generally a highly capable police officer, and he's almost identical to the original. His personality, role, and achievements are largely consistent with the original, and I felt he was a character with almost no differences from the original. I think she was perfect for the role because of her connection to Yamada.
Machiyama Police Station, Criminal Investigation Division, Miwa Makita
The only female police officer in the First Investigative Division. She replaces Fuji in the division. She's a die-hard Shinsengumi otaku and a history buff who adores Ryotaro Shiba's "Moeyo Ken." While she excels at paperwork, she's terrible at sports, making her the least athletic character in the station.
How was the TV version? Miwa Makita
She is played by Nanase Nishino. She plays the same role: a Shinsengumi otaku and the only woman surrounded by a male household. She provides a soothing presence among the scruffy men, and appears more frequently than in the original work. Also, since there are almost no female characters other than Kana Kuroda of the Public Safety Division, Kawai, and Fuji, she often joins Kawai and Fuji at girls' nights out, and her appearances increase. However, episodes about her personal life, such as her Shinsengumi otaku status and her lack of athletic ability, are largely omitted.
Police Officer on Leave: Sakura Shiori
Sakura Shiori is the victim of a hit-and-run incident caused by a guardian angel. A colleague of Fuji and Gen, she is beloved by the police officers for her affable personality and somewhat resembles Mai. Although she survived the hit-and-run, she is currently undergoing rehabilitation. After the incident was resolved, she decided to resign from the police force, but Mai's encouragement made her change her mind and she now aims to return to work.
What was it like in the TV series? Sakura Shiori
She is played by Eri Tokunaga. In the drama version, her crime is the climax, and as the victim, she appears mainly in flashbacks from the middle to the end of the series. She also appears during rehabilitation. The series ends with her deciding to return to work.
[Hakozume: Police Box Girls Strike Back] Character Summary
We've introduced the characters appearing in "Hakozume: Police Box Girls Strike Back"! The TV drama was a big hit, but I think the anime version won't be a story-driven drama, but rather a heartwarming, dark, labor-themed comedy with each episode standing on its own. It's a very funny comedy, so I'm looking forward to its broadcast! Hakozume: Police Box Girls Strike Back is scheduled to air from January 2022!
