Bengoshi no Kuzu
Japanese manga and television series
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Bengoshi no Kuzu (弁護士のくず; lit. Scum of Lawyers) is a Japanese manga series written and illustrated by Hideo Iura. It started in Shogakukan's seinen manga magazine Big Comic Original in August 2003. In 2010, the manga was re-titled Bengoshi no Kuzu Dai-2 Shin, and continued until June 2014. The overall series' chapters were collected in 21 tankōbon volumes. The series follows Mami Takeda, a new lawyer, and her partnership with fellow attorney Motohito Kuzu, as they deal with challenging court cases.
| Bengoshi no Kuzu | |
 First tankōbon volume cover, featuring Motohito Kuzu | |
| 弁護士のくず | |
|---|---|
| Genre | Legal comedy[1] |
| Manga | |
| Written by | Hideo Iura |
| Published by | Shogakukan |
| Magazine | Big Comic Original |
| Original run | August 5, 2003 – June 20, 2014 |
| Volumes | 21 |
| Series titles | |
| |
| Television drama | |
| Directed by |
|
| Original network | TBS |
| Original run | April 13, 2006 – June 29, 2006 |
| Episodes | 12 |
A 12-episode television drama adaptation was broadcast on TBS from April to June 2006.
In 2007, Bengoshi no Kuzu won the 52nd Shogakukan Manga Award in the general category.
Characters
- Motohito Kuzu (九頭 元人, Kuzu Motohito)
- Portrayed by: Etsushi Toyokawa[2]
- Mami Takeda (武田 真実, Takeda Mami)
- Portrayed by: Hideaki Itō[2]
- Makoto Shiraishi (白石 誠, Shiraishi Makoto)
- Portrayed by: Soichiro Kitamura[2]
- Kōhei Katō (加藤 公平, Katō Kōhei) / Tetsuko Katō (加藤 徹子, Katō Tetsuko) (drama)
- Portrayed by: Reiko Takashima[2]
- Yūk Omata (小俣 夕花, Omata Yūka)
- Portrayed by: Aki Hoshino[2]
- Yūjirō Kunimitsu (国光 裕次郎, Kunimitsu Yūjirō)
- Portrayed by: Fuyuki Moto[2]
Media
Manga
Written and illustrated by Hideo Iura, Bengoshi no Kuzu started in Shogakukan's seinen manga magazine Big Comic Original on August 5, 2003.[a] The manga reached 99 chapters on June 5, 2010,[5][6] and starting on July 5 of that same year, it changed its title to Bengoshi no Kuzu Dai-2 Shin (弁護士のくず 第二審).[7] The series finished on June 20, 2014.[8] Shogakukan collected the overall series' chapters in 21 tankōbon volumes; the first part was collected in ten volumes, released from July 30, 2004,[9] to January 29, 2010,[10] and the second part was collected in eleven volumes, released from December 25, 2010,[11] to August 29, 2014.[12]
Copyright infringement lawsuit
In February 2008, Tokyo lawyer Masatoshi Uchida alleged that Iura had plagiarized a novel that he wrote, and petitioned the Tokyo District Court to ban sales of Big Comic Original.[1] In August 2010, the Intellectual Property High Court ruled out in favour of Iura and Shogakukan, stating that Uchida's work is not a novel, but "a document that clearly describes social events that were widely reported at the time", and that the manga is "merely based on these real-life events, and there is no copyright infringement."[13]
Drama
A 12-episode television drama adaptation was broadcast on TBS from April 13 to June 29, 2006.[14]
Reception
In 2007, the series won the 52nd Shogakukan Manga Award in the general category.[15]
Etsushi Toyokawa and Hideaki Itō received the Best Leading Actor and Best Supporting Actor awards, respectively, at the 49th Television Drama Academy Award in 2006.[16]