Futari Ecchi

Futari Ecchi
Japanese cover of Futari Ecchi volume 1
ふたりエッチ
Genre	Comedy, Romance, Erotica
Manga
Written by	Katsu Aki
Published by	Hakusensha
English publisher	Tokyopop
Demographic	Seinen
Magazine	Young Animal
Original run	January 1997 – ongoing
Volumes	50 (List of volumes)
Manga
Futari Ecchi For Ladies
Written by	Katsu Aki
Published by	Hakusensha
Demographic	Seinen
Magazine	Silky
Original run	December 2002 – October 2004
Volumes	2 (List of volumes)
Original video animation
Directed by	Hiroshi Ishiodori Yuji Moriyama
Written by	Chiaki J. Konaka
Music by	Jun Watanabe
Studio	Chaos Project
Licensed by	AnimeWorks
Released	July 26, 2002 – January 22, 2004
Runtime	28 minutes per episode
Episodes	4
TV drama
Directed by	Gen Yamakawa
Network	WOWOW
Original run	2000 – 2000
Episodes	3
Live-action film
Directed by	Kazuhiro Yokoyama
Written by	Juri Sanemura
Released	June 18, 2011 (2011-06-18)
Live-action film
Anime and Manga Portal

Futari Ecchi (ふたりエッチ, Futari Ecchi^?), also known by other names Manga Sutra, Step Up Love Story or Manga Love Story, is a Japanese manga series written and illustrated by Katsu Aki.

Futari Ecchi is a story about a newlywed couple in their mid-twenties, both virgins when they married. The story chronicles their sexual explorations. The manga combines pornographic elements with factual and informative statistics. The title Futari Ecchi ("two person ecchi") is a play on a slang term for masturbation, hitori ecchi ("single person ecchi"). This bestselling series is most famous for being a how-to guide combined into a story.^[1] So far, fifty tankōbon have been released.^[2] Two other volumes are set around the sexuality of women, called Futari Ecchi for Ladies, and there is an art book entitled Yura Yura.^[2] A four-episode anime OVA series was produced in 2002 and 2003.

As of June 17, 2007, the manga series has been licensed in North America by Tokyopop, with the first volume released on January 8, 2008.^[3] Four volumes were released, with a representative of Tokyopop saying that the volumes were expensive to produce.^[4] Also, on July 2, 2007 at Anime Expo, Media Blasters announced that they had licensed the OVA series.^[3]

In Germany, both the manga and the anime are called Manga Love Story.^[5][6]

The manga was adapted into a live action television series in 2003 and a film in 2011 with a sequel in production.^[7][8][9]

Characters

Note: Character ages featured here are based on first appearance.

Main characters

Makoto Onoda (小野田 真, Onoda Makoto^?), voiced by Yūji Ueda (OVA) and Mitsuo Iwata (radio drama), played by Sō Yamanaka (live action series) and Riki Miura (live action film)

The series' protagonist, a 25-year-old foreign cosmetics maker and elite salaryman. He was introduced to Yura through an omiai. He is very critical of his own sexual abilities, but that does not hinder him from having sexual fantasies with any pretty girl in his vicinity (ultimately, though, he stays faithful to Yura). Nevertheless, after his marriage he attracts the attention of a lot of female admirers. In addition to his inexperience, Makoto suffers from premature ejaculation.^[1]

Yura Onoda (小野田 優良, Onoda Yūra^?), voiced by Tomoko Kawakami (OVA) and Yumi Ichihara (radio drama), played by Chika Inada (live action series) and by Yūri Morishita (live action film)

Makoto's wife. Also 25 years old, Makoto is the first man she has ever kissed or had sex with.^[1] She is loving, but extremely naïve on sexual matters and too shy to try something new by herself (even through the series she is fully determined to overcome her limitations and be a better lover to Makoto), as well as insecure about her looks; she is unaware how beautiful and charming she is. She is also the target of attention by many men (although their behavior is – compared to the women who adore her husband – mostly passive longing). She additionally has the knack of befriending most of the women whom she should consider her rivals for Makoto's affections (Makoto's colleague Makie Sugiyama is a notable exception). Yura is also a big fan of undead-themed horror movies. When she was in high school, she was a member of the Tennis club.

The Onodas are seen in chapter 56 of "Love Lucky", written by the same author.

Family

Rika Kawada (河田 梨香, Kawada Rika^?), voiced by Naoko Takano (OVA) and Fumie Kusachi (Radio drama), played by Miyuki Yokoyama (live action film)

Yura's 20-year-old sister. Sexually experienced and rather promiscuous (to the point where, early in the series, she keeps a boyfriend and three "sex friends" – in addition to miscellaneous flings), she constantly teases and goads both Makoto and Yura into improving their "night life". At first in an on-and-off relationship with her "number-one boyfriend", Taku Yamada, for most of the series, she eventually decides to settle down, gains a job at Makoto's firm, and marries the son of Makoto's boss Katori.^[10]

Akira Onoda (小野田 明, Onoda Akira^?)

Makoto's older brother. A 29-year-old lawyer. He is very nosy and frequently pesters Makoto about his sex life and fancies himself as Makoto's tutor on the topic of pleasuring the wife. In order to appease his own sex drive, he frequently visits brothels.

Jun Onoda (小野田 淳, Onoda Jun^?)

Makoto's 17-year-old sister. Initially she has a rather romantic look on a relationship, and her quest for true love lets her drift through a number of affairs before she finally finds happiness with her first boyfriend, Yosuke.

Sanae Onoda (小野田 早苗, Onoda Sanae^?)

Makoto's sister-in-law and Akira's 27-year-old wife. She is annoyed at Akira's habit of patronizing brothels.

Mamoru Onoda (小野田 守, Onoda Mamoru^?)

Makoto's father. A 52-year-old company officer. He is overly sensitive about his sex life, and far too protective of his youngest child, Jun.

Akiko Onoda (小野田 明子, Onoda Akiko^?)

Makoto's mother. A 54-year-old housewife. Akiko proves to be more liberal (and encouraging) than her husband is when it comes to the topic of her sex life.

Hideki Kawada (河田 秀樹, Kawada Hideki^?)

Yura's father. A 49-year-old camera operator. He has a liking for cats and dogs, and raises a large number of them. He is also a fan of the Hanshin Tigers. While not as active as his daughters, he still enjoys a fulfilling sexual relationship with his wife Chiharu.

Chiharu Kawada (河田 千春, Kawada Chiharu^?)

Yura's mother. A 47-year-old with a youthful appearance and a tender personality. Like her husband, she is a cat/dog aficionado. She frequently suffers from lumbago.

Kyouko Omiya (大宮 杏子, Ōmiya Kyōko^?)

Makoto's second cousin and an obstetrician and gynecologist. At the request of Makoto's mother, she moved in next door to the Onodas to encourage them to reproduce. A very dominant personality, she was still a virgin at age thirty, but she finally does get settled down with Koichiro Matsuzaki.

Sakura Kawada (河田 さくら, Kawada Sakura^?)

Yura's and Rika's 81-year-old grandmother. Her husband died very long ago while having sex with another woman.

Makoto's work colleagues

Makie Sugiyama (杉山 真紀絵, Sugiyama Makie^?), played by Aimi Nakamura (live action film), Mai Nagao (長尾 舞, Nagao Mai^?), played by Mika Kubota (live action film) and Ikuyo Tonegawa (利根川 育代, Tonegawa Ikuyo^?)

They form a trio of single women who are still looking for "Mr. Right". Makie is the most aggressive of the three; always targeting married men – she does not want to get "tied down" – she constantly tries to seduce Makoto, with little to no success.

Yosaku Inagaki (稲垣 与作, Inagaki Yosaku^?), played by Takahiro Ochi (live action film) and Manabu Okahama (岡浜 学, Okahama Manabu^?)

A duo of two male colleagues at Makoto's firm. While Inagaki is rather easy-going and collected, buck-toothed Okahama is an obnoxious lecher who pesters his female colleagues to go to bed with him (of course, this does nothing to endear himself to them). Eventually, though, he starts a hesitant relationship with the transsexual Yayoi Kagurazaka.

Miyuki Kikuchi (菊池 みゆき, Kikuchi Miyuki^?)

A secretary at Makoto's office. She had a long-standing crush on Makoto while he had been working as her home tutor, but never told him (at least not in a way which was easily understandable; she tends to lapse into intellectual jargon when being nervous around men). She still longs for him in secret, but maintains a rather distant front. In turn, she is the object of affection by her lesbian co-worker Arisa, much to her annoyance.

Arisa Miya (宮 亜理沙, Miya Arisa^?)

Works as an accountant in Makoto's firm. Arisa is a rather fluffy-headed joie de vivre persona with a great degree of optimism. She is also a lesbian. Ever since she has heard that her co-worker Miyuki is seemingly not interested in men, she incessantly flirts with her, hoping to win her affection. They have become sort-of friends, but Miyuki's repeated rebuffs have done little to dampen Arisa's hopes.

Koichiro Matsuzaki (松崎 光一郎, Matsuzaki Kōichirō^?), played by Hidehiko Emi (live action film)

Originally appearing as a macho man trying to seduce any women he comes across, Matsuzaki eventually found his true match with Makoto's cousin Kyoko and is in the process of building a family with her.

Misaki Manaka (真中 美咲, Manaka Misaki^?)

The firm's first new receptionist. She (both physically and emotionally) suffers from an overly large breast size – a trait shared by her mother and her younger sister Kotone – and is therefore quite self-conscious and shy. Because of Makoto's kind treatment towards her, she had for a time hopelessly fallen in love with him, even though she knew that he was married; but finally she finds a new love in Muroi. She has made friends with Yura (despite her affections for her husband) and Miyuki, and is also close to her fellow receptionist Suzuka.

Suzuka Takahashi (高橋 鈴鹿, Takahashi Suzuka^?)

The firm's second receptionist, who joins the firm some time after her friend Misaki. Like Misaki, she is rather self-conscious about her bust size—which is (in stark contrast to her friend's) very small. She is also very affectionate and prone to hugging people she likes (including Makoto) when emotionally upset.

Kurumi Maki (牧 くるみ, Maki Kurumi^?)

The new head of Makoto's department is a very stern and (outwardly) unforgiving woman. It is revealed, however, that she is actually emotionally and sexually frustrated since her fiancé left her ten years ago to further his own career; she vents this by lashing out at others. She is still interested in finding someone for a relationship, though she never shows this.

Yoshiyuki Muroi (室井 義行, Muroi Yoshiyuki^?)

An executive from a partner firm, who has fallen in love with Misaki. With his help, she has finally managed to get over her unhappy affection for Makoto.

Nao Komatsu (小松 奈央, Komatsu Nao^?)

A young new employee at Makoto's firm who is a care-free, optimistic joie de vivre. Her resemblance to a lost childhood crush of Makoto has almost led him into his first extra-marital affair, which he however held back from due to his feelings for Yura. Still, Nao retains some feelings for him.

Marimo Ishiguro (石黒 まりも, Ishiguro Marimo^?)

Nao Komatsu's friend and colleague. A fashionable young woman, she spends most of her free time making herself up.

Neighbors

Mika (矢吹 美香, Yabuki Mika^?) and Takeshi Yabuki (矢吹 武, Yabuki Takeshi^?)

A couple who met Makoto and Yura while they still lived in their old apartment. Mika has suffered from a sexless year, which caused her emotional frustration and insecurity, thinking that she was no longer attractive to her husband. In fact, Takeshi's refusal came from a medical problem, which was solved after Makoto was able to give a hint. Ever since the Yabukis have restrengthened their relationship, and Mika has even managed to get pregnant. Just before the Onodas move into their new apartment, the Yabukis moved out to a larger domicile to raise their growing family.

Narumi Ogata (緒方 也実, Ogata Narumi^?)

This dreamy-looking young woman is the first of the neighbors Makoto and Yura meet in their new apartment. She is the lover of a business executive who visits her regularly. While she is rather absent-minded and behaves strangely (which includes openly talking about sexual matters or answering the door in her underwear), she is also very friendly.

Shoko Shiina (椎名 庄子, Shiina Shōko^?)

An author of erotic novels, Shoko is the token lolita of the series; while she is in her early twenties, she looks like a 10 to 12-year-old, and even dresses and acts the part. She has come to be friends with Rika, who shares her sexual experiences with Shoko for new inspirations, but Shoko is quite knowledgeable about sexual matters herself.

Ken Shiina (椎名 健, Shiina Ken^?)

Shoko's husband, Ken, is a stay-at-home since Shoko is rather busy writing one piece after another. Tall and hulking, he is often mistaken for a yakuza at first glance, but he is actually a kind gentleman.

Rui Tsutsumi (堤 るい, Tsutsumi Rui^?)

A sixteen-year-old student at an all-girls school who lives with her divorced father and has yet to experience her "first time", she has taken the mother/wife figure role for her insecure father and therefore was annoyed that he was getting close to Mrs. Ichijo for a time, but she has come to accept her as a surrogate mother. Rui eventually falls in love with and marries her teacher Keisuke Watanabe.^[11]

Hisao Tsutsumi (堤 久夫, Tsutsumi Hisao^?)

Rui's father is a very nervous and depressed person, especially since his divorce. With a lack of intimate company he has taken to peeking in on his daughter (mostly in improper situations) and had a very bad outlook on life. Recently, however, he has become close to Mrs. Ichijo and eventually marries her.

Kaho Ichijo (一条 果穂, Ichijo Kaho^?)

A piano teacher in her late twenties, she represents the stereotype of a Japanese noblewoman: beautiful, dignified and quiet. Her most distinctive habit is obscuring her mouth with a handkerchief when she feels bashful. She is a divorced wife and suffers from a weak constitution, which also makes her highly susceptible to alcohol. She has (more or less accidentally) harassed Makoto on several occasions, but she eventually marries her neighbor Hisao Tsutsumi. To him, she later reveals that her divorce was caused by her own extreme lecherousness, which made her husband have an affair with a less "stormy" woman and which also made her bashful in her relations with other people from that point on.

Kiyomi Mizuhara (水原 清美, Mizuhara Kiyomi^?)

For some time after her introduction, Mizuhara represents the frustrated housewife in the series, mostly because her husband Masatoshi, who works at a commercial agency, rarely helped with the house chores, and when they did have sex he did not care much for her satisfaction; Mizuhara therefore had taken to vent her displeasure by collecting and spreading bad gossip. Some time later, however, their marital life has improved considerably. She has two little daughters at ages four and five.

Keisuke Watanabe (渡辺 恵介, Watanabe Keisuke^?)

A young teacher at a girls' school who moved in as a new tenant into the Onodas' apartment complex. He eventually falls in love with and marries his student Rui Tsutsumi.^[12]

Atsushi (久保田 厚志, Kubota Atsushi^?) ("Akkun") and Momo Kubota (久保田 桃, Kubota Momo^?)

They are a young married couple who have recently moved into the apartment complex. They are very devoted to each other and are not afraid to show affection in public (which was, until recently at least, considered a social taboo in Japan; this fact was hinted at in previous issues of the series).

Sachiko Minami (南 さち子, Minami Sachiko^?)

A 26-year-old single mother who lives with her 11-year-old son Kazuhiko in the apartment complex. She is first featured in the first volume of the special Futari Ecchi for Ladies, but in the mainstream series she has only a small cameo in volume 34.

Other characters

Taku Yamada (山田 拓, Yamada Taku^?)

Rika's "number-one boyfriend", who is a rather self-centered sexist. And just like Rika, he is not very concerned about having more than one relationship, although he does react jealously when he finds her involved with other men. Eventually, however, Rika dumps him and settles down.
In the OVA, Taku is voiced by Kappei Yamaguchi.

Yosuke Inoue (井上 洋助, Inoue Yōsuke^?)

Jun's first and current boyfriend; also her former classmate and now fellow student. Jun had her first time with him, but due to their then differing views of a relationship they broke apart for a couple of years before finding each other again. They have since moved together and are exploring (and deepening) their feelings for each other.

Yayoi Kagurazaka (井上 洋助, Kagurazaka Yayoi^?)

A young and charming transsexual (a man turned woman; inoffensively called "newhalf" in Japanese) who works at a shemale bar, and falls for and moves in with Okahama.

Kotone Manaka (真中 琴音, Manaka Kotone^?)

Misaki's younger sister (and like her, endowed with overly large breasts) and one of Rui Tsutsumi's best friends. Aggressively flirtatious, she has even tried to seduce Makoto (her sister's love interest at that time) on one occasion.

Shiho Shouji (東海林 志穂, Shouji Shiho^?)

The second of Rui Tsutsumi's best friends. With her shyness, she sets rather a strong contrast to her two friends. She quiets with Makie.

Style and theme

There are many scenes in the series that look like they are actually happening but are then revealed to be the sexual fantasies of Makoto or another character. This means there are many scenes of Makoto having sex with other characters, while in truth he only has sex with Yura.

One of the fetishes explored in the series is cosplay.

Though most of the first volumes focus on Makoto and Yura's relationship, the later chapters deviate to other characters' love/sex lives and their development on it to cover more events to teach the readers with (about sex).

See also

• List of Futari Ecchi chapters

References

1. ^ ^{a b c} Katsu, Aki (January 2008). Manga Sutra – Futari Ecchi Volume 1. TokyoPop. ISBN 978-1-4278-0536-2. 
2. ^ ^{a b} "ふたりエッチ オフィシャルコーナー" (in Japanese). Young Animal. http://www.younganimal.com/futarih/comics/index.html. Retrieved 2008-08-05. 
3. ^ ^{a b} "Amazon.com: Manga Sutra &ndash Futari Ecchi Volume 1: Books: Katsu Aki". Amazon.com. http://www.amazon.com/dp/1427805369/. Retrieved 2008-08-05. 
4. ^ TokyoPop Announces Ratman, Movie Manga and New Yaoi
5. ^ "Amazon.de: Manga Love Story 1: Katsu Aki". Amazon.com. http://www.amazon.de/dp/3551772711/. Retrieved 2008-08-05. 
6. ^ "Step Up Love Story – Manga Love Story 1". Amazon.com. http://www.amazon.de/dp/B000NVLHTO. Retrieved 2008-08-05. 
7. ^ "Manga Sutra – Futari H Gets Live-Action Film Sequel". Anime News Network. September 11, 2011. http://www.animenewsnetwork.com/news/2011-09-11/manga-sutra-futari-h-gets-live-action-film-sequel. Retrieved October 10, 2011. 
8. ^ "Manga Sutra – Futari H to Get Both Film & Net Projects". Anime News Network. May 13, 2011. http://www.animenewsnetwork.com/news/2011-05-13/manga-sutra-futari-h-to-get-both-film-and-net-projects. Retrieved October 10, 2011. 
9. ^ "Manga Sutra – Futari H Gets New Live-Action Adaptation". Anime News Network. May 2, 2011. http://www.animenewsnetwork.com/news/2011-05-02/manga-sutra-futari-h-manga-made-into-live-action-again. Retrieved October 10, 2011. 
10. ^ Futari Ecchi 46
11. ^ Futari Ecchi 40
12. ^ Futari Ecchi 40

External links

• Official Young Animal Futari Ecchi website (Japanese)
• Official Tokyopop Manga Sutra Futari H website
• Official film website (Japanese)
• Anime News Network Review of Step Up Love Story
• Manga Sutra (manga) at Anime News Network's Encyclopedia
• Futari Ecchi for Ladies (manga) at Anime News Network's Encyclopedia