School Judgment: Gakkyu Hotei, Vol. 1

by Nobuaki Enoki, Takeshi Obata (Illustrator)

Overview

At this school, there’s only one way to settle a dispute—in a court of law!

At Tenbin Elementary, there is only one way to settle a dispute—in a court of law! All quarrels bypass the teachers and are settled by some of the best lawyers in the country...who also happen to be elementary school students.

The accused this time is a boy named Tento. His crime? The murder of a beloved member of the classroom! Luckily for him, the state has sent him a defense attorney—Abaku Inugami. But is this wild young lawyer skilled enough to ronpa his client off the hook?

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781421585666
Publisher:	VIZ Media LLC
Publication date:	02/02/2016
Series:	School Judgment: Gakkyu Hotei Series , #1
Pages:	192
Product dimensions:	5.00(w) x 7.40(h) x 0.90(d)
Age Range:	13 - 17 Years

About the Author

Nobuaki Enoki received the Jump Treasure New Cartoonist Prize in April 2009 for his work Rikuou. School Judgment: Gakkyu Hotei was his first work to be serialized in Weekly Shonen Jump.

Editorial Reviews

★ 01/25/2016
Obata, artist of the controversial Death Note, teams up with a writer new to American markets in this decidedly adult courtroom drama series, featuring elementary school students, that brilliantly plays on genre tropes. In order to combat rising discipline and bullying problems in schools, Japan now has Classroom Arbitration: conducted by the children, for the children criminal courts. Abaku Inugami, a demonic defense attorney with a dark past, and high-strung prosecutor Pine Hanzuki (both sixth graders) battle each other in bombastic ace-attorney fashion (complete with decisive pointing and flouncy artwork) over the course of four episodic school cases, which take typical classroom problems to whole new levels. This manga knows exactly how ridiculous it is and meets the readers’ expectations, launching into absurdity so perfectly it’s hard to put down. Despite the fluffy case endings, it seems to be taking the story line of the video game Ace into a twisted, dark direction that’s a precursor to the prison world of the manga Deadman Wonderland. The book should leave readers eagerly awaiting future revelations. (Feb.)

Publishers Weekly

05/01/2016
Gr 7 Up—To fight crime in schools, the government creates the School Judgment System, which allows students to work as attorneys to defend and prosecute cases in classroom arbitration sessions. The concept is cute, funny, and fairly ridiculous. Kid lawyers transfer in and out of schools to work on cases such as the "Suzuki Murder and Dismemberment Case," in which a boy named Tento is accused of killing a fish that his class had been raising. These adorable children use ronpa (arguments) to fight their cases with all the legal gravitas of Clarence Darrow in Inherit the Wind, posing dramatically with fingers pointed in the air when they feel victorious or when they want to make an objection. The judges are preschoolers who look much older than their years. Prosecutor Pine Hanzuki and defense attorney Abaku Inugami go head-to-head in several cases that unfold very intensely, with lots of twists and turns. Most of Obata's artwork is in the traditional manga style, but some panels are illustrated in much greater detail for effect. VERDICT An excellent title that will appeal to fans of legal dramas, mysteries, and smart kids in smart stories.—Andrea Lipinski, New York Public Library

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