Super GALS!

Everything About Fiction You Never Wanted to Know.
Revision as of 03:28, 16 April 2014 by Dai-Guard (talk | contribs) (Mass update links)
(left to right) Miyu, Ran & Aya


 The world's greatest Gal.

Super Gals (2001-2002) is a 52-episode shoujo anime series, based on the manga Gals! (1999-2002) by Mihona Fuji, serialzed in Ribbon magazine that eventually collected into 10 tankoubon volumes.

It mainly revolves around three high school "kogals": Ran Kotobuki, Miyu Yamazaki and Aya Hoshino, and their "adventures" around Shibuya, Japan.


Tropes used in this series include:

  • Always Second Best: Half of the time, Ran doesn't even remember that Yuuya's name is in fact "Yuuya" and not "Second Place". Also, Mami can never beat Ran at anything even if it's something she's trained to be the best at.
  • Amusing Injuries
  • Art Shift: When Sayo and Masato really get into pretending to be detectives.
  • Badass Longcoat: Ran, when she is wearing her signature long red coat.
  • Balloon Belly: Towa in episode 31.
  • Beach Episode: Technically, it was an indoor swimming pool... decorated to look like the beach. With sand and everything!
  • Beware of the Nice Ones: Miyu. It took a very stressful period and sexual harassment, but the one time she snapped, the harasser was on his knees begging for his life in less than ten seconds. And he was lucky enough that Ran was there to Bright Slap Miyu, or else...
  • Bland-Name Product
  • Blonde, Brunette, Redhead: The blonde and red hair come from bottles, but still.
  • Compensated Dating: What Aya was doing in the first episode.
  • Crouching Moron, Hidden Badass: Ran, to some extent. Might be because of the fact that her whole family is made up of police officers.
  • Dancing Theme: A bit of it in the opening.
  • Dark and Troubled Past: Can you say "gang connections"?
  • Education Mama: Aya's parents. This eventually causes a Heroic BSOD when she is pressured to give up her friends in favor of more studying.
  • Enjo Kosai: Aya, before Ran knocked some sense into her.
  • Genki Girl
  • Fire-Breathing Diner
  • Gratuitous English: Mainly from Ran and Tatsukichi. Sometimes reversed into Gratuitous Japanese in the English dub.
  • Gratuitous French
  • Hachiko
  • Happily Married: Taizo and Kiyako Kotobuki.
  • Hello, Nurse!
  • Hidden Depths: Despite it's bright and shiny exterior, the show talked about seriously heavy issues like crime, broken families, gang violence and sexual harassment in the workplace.
  • Japanese Delinquents
  • Kid Detective: What Sayo and Masato imagine themselves as. In truth they are just two kids playing detective and snooping around
    • There's three of them when Naoki (Tatsuki's younger brother) joins in, appearing in their detective song.
  • Lucky Charms Title: Each one of the episode titles has a heart and an arrow in it somewhere.
  • Megaton Punch: Ran does this numerous times throughout the show to various men.
  • Nice Hat: Sayo's hat.
  • Ojou - Mami Honda. Ran also gets turned into one for an episode.
  • Retired Outlaw
  • The Rival: Mami Honda.
  • Sadist Teacher: Gunjou.
  • Second Love: Yuya fell for Ran at first sight but he ends up with Mami in season two.
    • Rei dating Aya at the end of the series after agreeing with Ran that no relationship would work out.
  • Second Place Is for Losers: Gunjou's attitude towards the athletic fest.
  • Show Within a Show: Type 2 - Odaiba Shark and to some extent Type 3 as they meet the main actor from the television show on a number of occasions. Sayo, Naoki and Masato are completely mad fans (able to quote lines and episode numbers and names from memory; Sayo also believes the show is real) and have gone around re-inacting scenes at the locations.
    • In one episode they're able to solve a case by comparing it to episodes of said television show where the main actor of Odaiba Shark says it's similar to one episode where the villian was hiding in a factory outside of town and by freak chance they were...
  • Six-Student Clique: Namely when three of the boys are involved.
  • Stalker with a Crush: Miyu runs into one of these.
  • Stock Footage: the "Junior Detectives" theme song.
  • Third Person Person: Miyu talks like this. Serves as a noticeable difference between Present!Miyu and Past!Miyu.
  • Those Three Girls: The tan trio.
    • Ran's comparatively normal school friends, Rie and Satsuki, also qualify as Those Two Girls.
      • Except Rie gets her own episode in season two centering on her relationship with a childhood friend. So Satauki is really the most forgotten.
  • Totally Radical: most present in the English dub, though the Japanese version is probably like this as well.
  • Un Cancelled: The North American DVD release went through this. After ADV Films released the first 26 episodes over six volumes in 2003-04, they didn't release any more due to lackluster sales. A few years later, Right Stuf licensed the second season and released it as a single boxed set, although without English audio.
  • Verbal Tic: Sayo peppers her sentences with "datchu".
  • Your Secrets Safe With Me Superman: Sayo and co. believe the main actor in the show Odaiba Shark is the actual character. Whenever they meet up he pretends to be him so not to break their dreams. Later when he's written temporarily out of the show he plays a coach in a Kid's Show, Sayo shakes him (the character) as a look-a-like.