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Manga Car Spotting - You're Under Arrest - Subaru R-2 SS

Manga Car Spotting: Subaru R-2 SS – Nissan Skyline GT-R BNR32 – You’re Under Arrest part 1 to 4

February 18, 2020 / / 0 Comments

Manga Cars

What do a Subaru R-2 SS, a Toyota Sports 800, a Honda Motocompo and a Honda Today have in common? They are all driven by the police in You’re Under Arrest! And what do they use them for? Naturally to chase down fast cars like Toyota Supra A70s and Nissan Skyline GT-Rs in the early 90s! In this video I’ll spot all the cars and some motorcycles in the first four parts of this Dark Horse publication.

Manga Car Spotting - You're Under Arrest - Subaru R-2 SS

You’re Under Arrest by Kosuke Fujishima

You’re Under Arrest was one of the original series the young Kosuke Fujishima started to draw. As he was obsesses with cars and motorcycles this naturally became part of the manga series. The series revolve around the fictional Bokuto Police Station in Sumida, Tokyo. The two protagonists are the female police officers Natsumi Tsujimoto and Miyuki Kobayakawa who share a healthy petrolhead mentality. Natsumi prefers motorbikes over cars and is the more physical of the duo. Miyuki on the other hand loves cars and loves to wrench on them whenever she can. She is also the brains of the duo.

In this manga various (in)famous cars and motorbikes can be spotted. The duo drives around in a Honda Today police special, which has been blessed by Miyuki’s wrenching skills and can easily keep up with Toyota Supras and Lancia Delta Integrales. Another frequent visitor is the foldable Honda Motocompo that resides in the trunk of the Honda Today for, whatever reason possible, Natsuki to chase some bad guys downtown Tokyo. Also the Subaru R-2 SS mentioned in the introduction plays a big role on one of the story: the owner of the Subaru R-2 SS gets this car nicked and Natsuki ends up buying it. That just screams for a motorcycle engine swap!
Subaru R-2 SS police special

The Ah! My Goddess manga may have made Kosuke Fujishima (world) famous, but it’s origins lie within the You’re Under Arrest manga. In one episode Natsuki and Miyuki encounter a goddess and this story inspired Kosuke Fujishima to create the Ah! My Goddess manga where the goddess Belldandy meets the student Keiichi Morrisato. I have also created a Manga Car Spotting episode for this series some time ago.
Toyota Liteace XL-7 AWD

You can find the video and the high resolution scans of the panels containing manga cars below: Continue reading

Manga Car Spotting - Nissan Cherry X-1R and Honda N360 - Restore Garage 251

Manga Car Spotting – Nissan Cherry X-1R and Honda N360 – Restore Garage 251

April 24, 2018 / / 0 Comments

Manga Cars

A flying Nissan Cherry X-1R coupe and a rusty Honda N360 will feature in this fourth episode of spotting manga cars! I’ll read this Japanese manga of Restore Garage 251 and I found over 25 different cars in it!
Manga Car Spotting - Nissan Cherry X-1R and Honda N360 - Restore Garage 251

Restore Garage 251 by Ryuji Tsugihara

Restore Garage 251 revolves around Satomi Yumejiro and his grand son, who restore old Japanese cars. In each restoration there seems to be a background story: either some owner / ex-owner wishing to restore their lost love or some special car that is restored and given to a collector. The great thing about Restore Garage 251 is that it also focuses on the technique behind the restoration: how carburetors work, how a steering rack works and how you can mend metal into place. Definitely a manga that I would love to see translated and published in English!

You can find the video and the high resolution scans of the panels containing manga cars below: Continue reading

The cars of Initial D - Manga Car Spotting - part 1

The cars of Initial D – Manga Car Spotting – part 1

April 20, 2018 / / 1 Comment

Manga Cars

Ever wondered which cars are featured in Initial D? And perhaps also wondered which model, make and type these manga cars are? In this third episode of Manga car spotting, I’ll be spotting cars in the first book of Initial D! This first book is the US version of the Manga by Tokyopop and covers chapters 1 to 10 of the Japanese Manga.
The cars of Initial D - Manga Car Spotting - part 1

Initial D by Shuichi Shigeno

I don’t think Initial D needs an introduction: it’s the classic racing manga / racing anime series that gained huge popularity during the mid 1990s in Japan and mid 2000s outside Japan. The manga itself contains many layers of depth and isn’t just about cars, but also about (family) relationships and harsh training by commitment and determination. These first 10 chapters are mostly the introductory of the characters and the setting, so not a lot of action will happen. Still it was fun to do!

You can find the video and the high resolution scans of the panels containing manga cars below:

Continue reading
Manga Car Spotting - Nissan Silvia S13 - The Walking Man [part two]

Manga Car Spotting – Nissan Silvia S13 – The Walking Man [part two]

April 19, 2018 / / 0 Comments

Manga Cars

In this second episode of reading Manga and car spotting I have many cars: a Nissan Silvia S13, Skyline R30, Laurel C31 and C32 and many, many more cool 80s and 90s JDM manga cars!
Manga Car Spotting - Nissan Silvia S13 - The Walking Man [part two]

The Walking Man by Jiro Tanaguchi

The Manga I’m reading here is called The Walking Man by Jiro Tanaguchi. If you wish to obtain this book yourself, you can find it here: The Walking Man by Jiro Tanaguchi @ Amazon

You can find the video and the high resolution scans of the panels containing manga cars below:

Continue reading
Manga Car Spotting - The Walking Man part one

Manga Car spotting – Nissan Skyline R30 – The Walking Man [part one]

April 18, 2018 / / 0 Comments

Manga Cars

Today I’m sharing one of my vices: reading Manga and spotting cars in the background! Yes, it’s really something odd that I can’t let go and sometimes you really find nice treasures: like the Nissan Skyline R30 that made me buy this book!
Manga Car Spotting - The Walking Man part one

The Walking Man by Jiro Tanaguchi

The Manga I’m reading here is called The Walking Man by Jiro Tanaguchi. If you wish to obtain this book yourself, you can find it here: The Walking Man by Jiro Tanaguchi @ Amazon
In this first episode I’ll introduce this new concept, before jumping into each and every car I could find. I just counted them and the grand total is 23 cars, plus one surprise car that magically changes when you flip the page!

You can find the video and the high resolution scans of the panels containing manga cars below: Continue reading

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