Wing-Man

Wing-Man
	Cover of the first volume
ウイングマン; (Uinguman)
Genre	Science fantasy; Superhero
Manga
Written by	Masakazu Katsura
Published by	Shueisha
Imprint	Jump Comics
Magazine	Weekly Shōnen Jump
Demographic	Shōnen
Original run	January 4, 1983 – August 27, 1985
Volumes	13
Anime television series
Dream Soldier Wing-Man
Directed by	Tomoharu Katsumata
Music by	Keiichi Oku
Studio	Toei Animation
Original network	ANN (TV Asahi)
Original run	February 7, 1984 – February 26, 1985
Episodes	47
Video game
Developer	TamTam
Publisher	Enix
Genre	Visual novel; Adventure game;
Platform	NEC PC-8801, Fujitsu FM-7, Sharp X1, MSX
Released	1984

Wing-Man (Japanese: ウイングマン, Hepburn: Uinguman) is a Japanese science fantasy manga series written and illustrated by Masakazu Katsura. It was serialized in Weekly Shōnen Jump from 1983 to 1985, with the chapters collected into 13 tankōbon volumes by Shueisha.

Synopsis

Wing-Man is the story of Kenta Hirono, a fan of superheroes and sentai television shows to the point where he dreams of becoming such a hero himself. To that end, he creates a superhero of his own called "Wingman," and, much to the chagrin of his teachers, acts out his fantasies of being Wingman at school. When Kenta meets Aoi Yume, the beautiful blue-haired princess of an alternate universe called Podreams, he gets his chance to make his fantasy come true, as Aoi carries a book called a Dream Note which can make any dream come true, and Kenta draws a picture of Wingman in the book, allowing him to become Wingman for real. Kenta, Aoi and Kenta's classmate and love interest, Miku Ogawa, team up to save Podreams from the evil dictator Rimel, who wants to use the Dream Note to take over Podreams, while Kenta deals with his conflicting feelings for both of his female compatriots.

Characters

Kenta Hirono (広野健太, Hirono Kenta): Voiced by: Ryō Horikawa
Aoi Yume (夢あおい, Yume Aoi): Voiced by: Yōko Kawanami
Miku Ogawa (小川美紅, Ogawa Miku): Voiced by: Naoko Watanabe
Momoko Morimoto (森本桃子, Morimoto Momoko): Voiced by: Yuriko Yamamoto
Kumiko Fuzawa (布沢久美子, Fuzawa Kumiko): Voiced by: Seiko Nakano
Kurumi Mimori (美森くるみ, Mimori Kurumi): Voiced by: Mitsuko Horie
Riro Ousei (桜瀬りろ, Ousei Riro): Voiced by: Mika Ishizawa
Kenta's Father: Voiced by: Kōji Yada
Kenta's Mother: Voiced by: Mariko Mukai
Masakazu Tonari (戸鳴正和, Tonari Masakazu): Voiced by: Akie Yasuda
Keiko Matsuoka (松岡ケイ子, Matsuoka Keiko): Voiced by: Sumi Shimamoto
Principal: Voiced by: Takeshi Aono
Vice Principal: Voiced by: Jōji Yanami
Fukumoto (福本): Voiced by: Michitaka Kobayashi
Doctor Lark (ドクターラーク): Voiced by: Sanji Hase
Rimel (リメル): Voiced by: Hideyuki Tanaka
Kitakura (キータクラー): Voiced by: Kei Tomiyama
Kitamura-sensei (北村先生): Voiced by: Hideyuki Tanaka
Shaft (シャフト): Voiced by: Kaneto Shiozawa (Kōzō Shioya in episode 7)
Doctor Unbalance (ドクターアンバランス): Voiced by: Hiroshi Ōtake
The Shiva (ザ・シーバ): Voiced by: Mari Yokō
Nass (ナァス): Voiced by: Bin Shimada
Ghost Rimel (ゴーストリメル): Voiced by: Eiji Kanie

Production

Kazuhiko Torishima, the editor who discovered Masakazu Katsura, said he was disappointed when the artist told him he wanted to draw a transforming superhero manga.^[2] He explained that science fiction works in television with its special effects, but it does not come across visually in manga. So Torishima proposed making it a school story involving girls and asked him to make the main character more realistic and familiar to readers.^[2]

Media

Anime

The manga was adapted into an anime television series titled Dream Soldier Wing-Man (夢戦士ウイングマン, Yume Senshi Uinguman) in 1984, produced by Toei Animation and airing on TV Asahi. Featuring character designs by Yoshinori Kanemori and intended by Toei Animation to be a strong shōnen title following the female-targeted Ai Shite Knight, Wing-Man marked the first anime adaptation of one of Katsura's works and the debut role of Ryo Horikawa as Kenta. (Katsura himself would later appear as Wing-Man in a live-action adaptation of Video Girl Ai.) The anime's ending differs from that of the manga, but the manga's ending was dramatized with the anime's voice actors on a drama LP.

Video games

The manga was adapted into a 1984 visual novel adventure game also titled Dream Soldier Wing-Man. It was developed by TamTam and published by Enix for the NEC PC-8801 and other personal computers.^[3] It featured a point-and-click interface, where a cursor is used to interact with on-screen objects,^[4] similar to Planet Mephius (1983)^[4] and the Famicom version of The Portopia Serial Murder Case (1985).^[5]

Live-action

On September 2, 2024 a live-action television adaptation of Wing-Man was announced. Co-produced by TV Tokyo, Toei Video, and DMM TV, it began airing on TV Tokyo and its affiliates on October 22, 2024 and was available on the DMM TV streaming service starting October 16.^[6] Maito Fujioka and Konatsu Kato will star as Kenta Hirono and Aoi Yume respectively with Kamen Rider and Super Sentai veteran Koichi Sakamoto as the director, "Chang[e]" by Blue Encount will be the show's opening theme song.^[7]

References

^ Thompson, Jason (December 31, 2010). "Jason Thompson's House of 1000 Manga - Video Girl Ai". Anime News Network. Retrieved August 5, 2018.
^ ^a ^b Yoshida, Yuhei (2019-11-28). "編集王に訊く42 白泉社代表取締役会長鳥嶋和彦さん". Comitia (in Japanese). Retrieved 2024-10-26.
^ Wingman at The Visual Novel Database
^ ^a ^b "Wingman". Oh! FM-7. 2007-06-21. Retrieved 21 September 2011. (Translation)
^ Gameman (2005-09-06). 「ポートピア連続殺人事件」の舞台を巡る. ITmedia +D Games (in Japanese). ITmedia. p. 1. Retrieved 2007-08-16. (Translation)
^ "Masakazu Katsura's Superhero Manga Wingman Gets Live-Action TV Series". [Anime News Network]. September 2, 2024. Retrieved September 10, 2024.
^ "Live-Action Wingman Series Unveils Cast, Director, Opening Song Artists". [Anime News Network]. Retrieved September 10, 2024.

External links

Wing-Man at Toei Animation
Wing-Man (manga) at Anime News Network's encyclopedia

[1] Thompson, Jason (December 31, 2010). "Jason Thompson's House of 1000 Manga - Video Girl Ai". Anime News Network. Retrieved August 5, 2018.

[comitia-2] Yoshida, Yuhei (2019-11-28). "編集王に訊く42 白泉社代表取締役会長鳥嶋和彦さん". Comitia (in Japanese). Retrieved 2024-10-26.

[3] Wingman at The Visual Novel Database

[ohfm7_wingman-4] "Wingman". Oh! FM-7. 2007-06-21. Retrieved 21 September 2011. (Translation)

[itmedia-5] Gameman (2005-09-06). 「ポートピア連続殺人事件」の舞台を巡る. ITmedia +D Games (in Japanese). ITmedia. p. 1. Retrieved 2007-08-16. (Translation)

[6] "Masakazu Katsura's Superhero Manga Wingman Gets Live-Action TV Series". [Anime News Network]. September 2, 2024. Retrieved September 10, 2024.

[7] "Live-Action Wingman Series Unveils Cast, Director, Opening Song Artists". [Anime News Network]. Retrieved September 10, 2024.

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v t e Works by Masakazu Katsura
Series	Wing-Man (1983–1985) Video Girl Ai (1989–1992) Shadow Lady (1992–1993, 1995–1996) DNA² (1993–1994) I"s (1997–2000) Zetman (2002–2014) Sachie-chan Good!! (2008) Jiya (2009–2010)
Character designs	Iria: Zeiram the Animation (1994) Love & Destroy (1999) Tiger & Bunny (2011) Garo: The Carved Seal of Flames (2014–2015) The Girl in Twilight (2018) Astral Chain (2019)

v t e Weekly Shōnen Jump: 1980–1989
1980	Dr. Slump Sannen Kimengumi
1981	Captain Tsubasa Cat's Eye Stop!! Hibari-kun!
1982	Fūma no Kojirō High School! Kimengumi
1983	Wing-Man Tenchi wo Kurau Fist of the North Star Silver Fang
1984	Kimagure Orange Road Baoh Dragon Ball
1985	City Hunter Tsuide ni Tonchinkan Sakigake!! Otokojuku Saint Seiya
1987	JoJo's Bizarre Adventure Phantom Blood Battle Tendency Moeru! Onii-san
1988	Bastard!! Jungle King Tar-chan Rokudenashi Blues Magical Taruruto
1989	JoJo's Bizarre Adventure Stardust Crusaders Ten de Shōwaru Cupid Chameleon Jail Dragon Quest: The Adventure of Dai Video Girl Ai
1968–1979 1980–1989 1990–1999 2000–2009 2010–2019 2020–present

v t e Toei Animation television series
1960s	Ōkami Shōnen Ken (1963–1965) Shōnen Ninja Kaze no Fujimaru (1964–1965) Hustle Punch (1965–1966) Rainbow Sentai Robin (1966–1967) Sally the Witch (1966–1968) GeGeGe no Kitarō (1968–1969) Akane-chan (1968) Cyborg 009 (1968) Sabu to Ichi Torimono Hikae (1968–1969) Himitsu no Akko-chan (1969–1970) Mōretsu Atarō (1969–1970) Tiger Mask (1969–1971)
1970s	Kick no Oni (1970–1971) Mahō no Mako-chan (1970–1971) Sarutobi Ecchan (1971–1972) GeGeGe no Kitarō (1971–1972) Mahōtsukai Chappy (1972) Devilman (1972–1973) Calimero (1972–1975) Mazinger Z (1972–1974) Babel II (1973) Microid S (1973) Miracle Girl Limit-chan (1973–1974) Dororon Enma-kun (1973–1974) Cutie Honey (1973–1974) Majokko Megu-chan (1974–1975) Getter Robo (1974–1975) Great Mazinger (1974–1975) Getter Robo G (1975–1976) Grendizer (1975–1977) Steel Jeeg (1975–1976) Ikkyū-san (1975–1982) Gaiking (1976–1977) Magne Robo Gakeen (1976–1977) Candy Candy (1976–1979) Jetter Mars (1977) Wakusei Robo Danguard Ace (1977–1978) Chōjin Sentai Balatack (1977–1978) Arrow Emblem: Hawk of the Grand Prix (1977–1978) Space Pirate Captain Harlock (1978–1979) Sci-Fi West Saga Starzinger (1978–1979) Galaxy Express 999 (1978–1981) Captain Future (1978–1979) Hana no Ko Lunlun (1979–1980) Cyborg 009 (1979–1980) Future Robot Daltanious (1979–1980) Entaku no Kishi Monogatari: Moero Arthur (1979–1980)
1980s	Maeterlinck's Blue Bird: Tyltyl and Mytyl's Adventurous Journey (1980) Mahō Shōjo Lalabel (1980–1981) Moero Arthur: Hakuba Ouji (1980) Ganbare Genki (1980–1981) Space Emperor God Sigma (1980–1981) Beast King GoLion (1981–1982) Hello! Sandybell (1981) Little Women (1981) Dr. Slump (1981–1986) Queen Millennia (1981–1982) Tiger Mask II (1981–1982) Honey Honey no Suteki na Bouken (1981–1982) Asari-chan (1982–1983) Armored Fleet Dairugger XV (1982–1983) Boku Patalliro! (1982–1983) The Kabocha Wine (1982–1984) Arcadia of My Youth: Endless Orbit SSX (1982–1983) Love Me, My Knight (1983–1984) Lightspeed Electroid Albegas (1983–1984) Kinnikuman (1983–1986) Stop!! Hibari-kun! (1983–1984) Dream Soldier Wing-Man (1984–1985) Tongari Bōshi no Memoru (1984) Video Warrior Laserion (1984–1985) Gu Gu Ganmo (1984–1985) Transformers (1984–1987) Fist of the North Star (1984–1987) GeGeGe no Kitarō (1985–1988) Captain Harlock and the Queen of a Thousand Years (1985–1986) Maple Town (1986–1987) Dragon Ball (1986–1989) Silver Fang (1986) Saint Seiya (1986–1989) New Maple Town Stories: Palm Town Chapter (1987) Fist of the North Star 2 (1987–1988) Transformers: The Headmasters (1987–1988) Bikkuriman (1987–1989) Kamen no Ninja Akakage (1987–1988) Lady Lady!! (1987–1988) Tatakae!! Ramenman (1988) Sakigake!! Otokojuku (1988) Hello! Lady Lynn (1988–1989) Transformers: Super-God Masterforce (1988) Himitsu no Akko-chan (1988–1989) Transformers: Victory (1989) Akuma-kun (1989–1990) Shin Bikkuriman (1989–1990) Dragon Ball Z (1989–1996) Sally the Witch 2 (1989–1991)
1990s	Mōretsu Atarō (1990) Magical Taluluto (1990–1992) Goldfish Warning! (1991–1992) Getter Robo Go (1991–1992) Kinnikuman: Kinniku-sei Ōi Sōdatsu-hen (1991–1992) Dragon Quest: The Adventure of Dai (1991–1992) Sailor Moon (1992–1997) Super Bikkuriman (1992–1993) Ghost Sweeper Mikami (1993–1994) Slam Dunk (1993–1996) Aoki Densetsu Shoot! (1993–1994) Marmalade Boy (1994–1995) Gulliver Boy (1995) Neighborhood Story (1995–1996) World Fairy Tale Series (1995–1996) GeGeGe no Kitarō (1996–1998) Dragon Ball GT (1996–1997) Jigoku Sensei Nūbē (1996–1997) Boys Over Flowers (1996–1997) Cutie Honey Flash (1997–1998) The Kindaichi Case Files (1997–2000) Yume no Crayon Oukoku (1997–1999) Dr. Slump (1997–1999) Anime Shūkan DX! Mi-Pha-Pu (Kocchi Muite! Miiko) (1998–1999) Yu-Gi-Oh! (1998) Himitsu no Akko-chan (1998–1999) Shugogetten! (1998–1999) Ojamajo Doremi (1999–2000) Phantom Thief Jeanne (1999–2000) Digimon Adventure (1999–2000) One Piece (1999–present)
2000s	Shinzo (2000) Ojamajo Doremi # (2000–2001) Digimon Adventure 02 (2000–2001) The Legend of the Gambler: Tetsuya (2000–2001) Mōtto! Ojamajo Doremi (2001–2002) Digimon Tamers (2001–2002) Nono-chan (2001–2002) Kinnikuman: The Second Generation (2002) Kanon (2002) Ojamajo Doremi Dokkān! (2002–2003) Digimon Frontier (2002–2003) Tsuribaka Nisshi (2002–2003) Ashita no Nadja (2003–2004) Air Master (2003) Zatch Bell! (2003–2006) Bobobo-bo Bo-bobo (2003–2005) Futari wa Pretty Cure (2004–2005) Kinnikuman: Ultimate Muscle (2004–2006) Beet the Vandel Buster (2004–2005) Ring ni Kakero (2004) Xenosaga: The Animation (2005) Futari wa Pretty Cure Max Heart (2005–2006) Beet the Vandel Buster: Excellion (2005–2006) Gaiking: Legend of Daiku-Maryu (2005–2006) Ayakashi: Samurai Horror Tales (2006) Futari wa Pretty Cure Splash Star (2006–2007) Digimon Data Squad (2006–2007) Air Gear (2006) Ring ni Kakero: The Pacific War (2006) Kamisama Kazoku (2006) Binbō Shimai Monogatari (2006) Powerpuff Girls Z (2006–2007) Gin'iro no Olynssis (2006) Happy Lucky Bikkuriman (2006–2007) Yes! PreCure 5 (2007–2008) GeGeGe no Kitarō (2007–2009) Lovely Complex (2007) Mononoke (2007) Hatara Kizzu Maihamu Gumi (2007–2008) Hakaba no Kitarō (2008) Yes PreCure 5 GoGo! (2008–2009) Uchi no Sanshimai (2008–2010) RoboDz Kazagumo Hen (2008) Fresh Pretty Cure! (2009–2010) Marie & Gali (2009–2010) Dragon Ball Z Kai (2009–2011) Kaidan Restaurant (2009–2010) Welcome to Irabu's Office (2009–2010)
2010s	HeartCatch PreCure! (2010–2011) Marie & Gali ver.2.0 (2010–2011) Ring ni Kakero: Shadow (2010) Digimon Fusion (2010–2012) Suite PreCure (2011–2012) Toriko (2011–2014) Ring ni Kakero: World Tournament Chapter (2011) Smile PreCure! (2012–2013) Saint Seiya Omega (2012–2014) Tanken Driland (2012–2013) DokiDoki! PreCure (2013–2014) Tanken Driland: Sennen no Mahō (2013–2014) Kyousougiga (2013) Robot Girls Z (2014) HappinessCharge PreCure! (2014–2015) Majin Bone (2014–2015) Pretty Guardian Sailor Moon Crystal (2014–2016) Marvel Disk Wars: The Avengers (2014–2015) The Kindaichi Case Files R (2014–2016) Dragon Ball Z: The Final Chapters (2014–2015) Abarenbō Rikishi!! Matsutarō (2014) World Trigger (2014–2022) Go! Princess PreCure (2015–2016) Dragon Ball Super (2015–2018) Miraculous: Tales of Ladybug & Cat Noir (2015–present) Witchy Pretty Cure! (2016–2017) Digimon Universe: App Monsters (2016–2017) Tiger Mask W (2016–2017) Kirakira Pretty Cure a la Mode (2017–2018) Kado: The Right Answer (2017) Hug! Pretty Cure (2018–2019) GeGeGe no Kitarō (2018–2020) Bakutsuri Bar Hunter (2018–2019) Star Twinkle PreCure (2019–2020)
2020s	Healin' Good Pretty Cure (2020–2021) Future's Folktales (2020) Digimon Adventure: (2020–2021) Fushigi Dagashiya Zenitendō (2020–present) Dragon Quest: The Adventure of Dai (2020–2022) Tropical-Rouge! Pretty Cure (2021–2022) Digimon Ghost Game (2021–2023) Delicious Party Pretty Cure (2022–2023) Hiorgaru Sky! Pretty Cure (2023–2024) Run for Money: The Great Mission [ja] (2023–present) Ikimono-san (2023) Power of Hope: PreCure Full Bloom (2023) Wonderful Pretty Cure! (2024-present) Girls Band Cry (2024) Dragon Ball Daima (2024)
Category

v t e Works directed by Tomoharu Katsumata
Animated series	Devilman (1972–1973) Mazinger Z (1972–1974) Cutie Honey (1973–1974) Grendizer (1975–1977) Gaiking (1976–1977) Magne Robo Gakeen (1976–1977) Planetary Robot Danguard Ace (1977–1978) Captain Future (1978–1979) Space Carrier Blue Noah (1979–1980) Arcadia of My Youth: Endless Orbit SSX (1982–1983) Dream Soldier Wing-Man (1984–1985) Silver Fang (1986) Salary Man Kintaro (2001) New Attacker You! (2008)
Animated films	The Three Musketeers in Boots (1972) Mazinger Z vs. Devilman (1973) Hans Christian Andersen's The Little Mermaid (1975) Hashire Melos! (1981) Arcadia of My Youth (1982) Future War 198X (1982) Final Yamato (1983) The Cherry Tree (1983) The Snow Country Prince (1985) Saint Elmo – Hikari no Raihousha (1986) Sangokushi (1): Eiyū-tachi no Yoake (1992) Sangokushi (2): Chōkō Moyu! (1993) Sangokushi (3): Harukanaru Taichi (1994) GeGeGe no Kitarō: The Great Sea Beast (1996)
OVAs	Journey to Hiroshima (1994) The Human Revolution (1995–2004) The Two Princes (1996) The Winds of Victory (1997) Bokutachi no Peace River (1998) The Himalayan Kingdom of Light (1999) The Prince and the Coral Sea (2000) The Prince and the White Horse (2000) The Princess of the Desert Kingdom (2001) The Treasures of the Desert (2001) Alexander's Decision (2003) Great Yamato No. Zero (2004–2007) Kagayake! Yūjō no V Sign (2005) Saint Seiya: Hades (2005–2008)