History Manga / MedakaBox

* BadassNormal: Specials seem to be this by virtue of the fact they're not born with Abnormal talents, but can keep up with Abnormals due to training. Zenkichi also qualifies by virtue of actually belonging to the "Normal" category.
** Hell, Unzen says that Zenkichi might be second only to Medaka in terms of fighting ability.

* [[CreepyChild Creepy Children]] Anyone in Class Minus 13.

* TheDreaded: Kumagawa is ''terrifying''. Everyone who meets him, even other Minuses to an extent, are afraid of him. Zenkichi needed special training aimed solely towards suppressing his fear before fighting him. Even Hinokage is unnerved by Kumagawa.

* TheFaceless: Naze Youka's face is covered in bandages. In flashbacks, the bandages are replaced with a paper bag.

* HollywoodHealing: Koga Itami and Medaka Kurokami are main culprits, but there are other characters who also think that she's ''actually crazy'' in this department.

* LeaningOnTheFourthWall / ThisIsReality: Kumagawa does this a lot, referring to the fact that "this isn't a manga" or "If we were published in ''Shounen Jump''...", plus making fun of ''Shounen Jump's'' mottoes. This becomes a bit of a running gag, as the latest two villains also do the exact same thing (with one taking it up to madness mantras -- mentioning ''twenty one'' different Jump serieses and their protagonists in an attempt to tempt someone).

* AlwaysInClassOne: Averted. It's just Zenkichi and [[spoiler:initially]] Shiranui in class 1. [[spoiler:The class numbers are actually used as a plot point later.]]

* PooledFunds: The swim team's objective.

* SpiritualSuccessor: To ''[[Literature/HaruhiSuzumiya The Melancholy Of Haruhi Suzumiya]]''.

* ADayInTheLimeLight: Kumagawa gets most of the screentime in episode 12 of Season 2, which also gives him time to show his power, "All Fiction". Up till this point in the anime, he's only been seen very briefly.

* BreakTheHaughty[=/=]VillainousBreakdown: Misogi Kumagawa in Chapter 70 [[spoiler: after Zenkichi decides to [[TakingYouWithMe kill him, even if he has to kill himself at the same time.]]]] Although it turns out to be just an act. In fact, Kumagawa seems to intentionally parody this trope by randomly bursting into tears when no one expects him to. When the mask ''actually'' comes off, [[spoiler:he's cold, polite, and with dead eyes that have simply stopped caring.]]
** [[spoiler:Medaka chooses this approach in dealing with Momo to dissuade her from ever challenging her again.]]

* CatchPhrase:

** Munekata has "So I'll kill you."

* {{Cliffhanger}}: The anime ''Medaka Box Abnormal'' actually ends in Episode 11 with the appearance of Kumagawa. The twelfth episode (really Episode -12) begins with an introduction from Ajimu [[BreakingTheFourthWall telling the viewers]] that [[TakeThatMe the writers didn't plan things properly]]. She then explains the episode will be an adaptation of the "Good Loser Kumagawa" side-story.

* [[spoiler: DetonationMoon: Happens off-screen, but Medaka has to deal with something on the moon that results in both of them disappearing. One year later she returns to assume control of the Academy; ten years later she's working on a plan to restore the moon.]]

* AGodIAmNot: Medaka.
* HammerSpace[=/=]HyperspaceArsenal: Munekata hides his weapons more effectively then [[Manga/RanmaOneHalf Mousse]] or [[Manga/BladeOfTheImmortal Manji]] -- no cheating with loose clothes!

* [[HoistByHisOwnPetard Hoist By Her Own Petard]]: Medaka of all people. Maguro's analysis of [[spoiler:Medaka losing to Zenkichi]] claims cutting off Zenkichi was this, as she was trying to become someone who would be useful to the many strangers that needed help. However to other people it would just look like throwing her childhood friend. Maguro claims this is one of the reasons that [[spoiler:few people voted for Medaka. This and the fact that they wished to set her free. It wasn't really clear which.]]

* HoYay[=/=]LesYay: Invoked a few times between Zenkichi and Maguro, or with Koga's devotion to Naze. There's also Medaka kissing Mogana and proclaiming her love for her.
** [[spoiler: Ajimu does this to Mukae with her MagicKiss powers]]

* HyperspaceArsenal: From where does Kumagawa pull all these oversized screws again? Munekata also counts, as some of his "hidden weapons" are ''longer than he is''.

* [[spoiler: KilledMidSentence]]: [[spoiler: Professor Fukurou after all his set up as TheManBehindTheMan [[MakeWayForTheNewVillains was killed off]] by Iihiko ''accidentally.'']]

* MindScrew: Chapter 71

* MoodWhiplash: The Treasure Hunt ends with a giant group hug between the student council and the successors, and an overall feeling of a job well done...which is humorously undercut when Unzen asks [[WhatHappenedToTheMouse where Zenkichi was during all this]], and everyone finds him [[OffscreenInertia still stuck on the first puzzle]]. [[spoiler:Then Medaka completely ruins the mood by [[KickTheDog punching Zenkichi in the head in front of everyone and coldly leaving him behind to clean up the clock tower on his own.]]]]

* SayMyName

* SpiritualSuccessor: To ''Manga/JoJosBizarreAdventure'' (In the over the topness of the powers the characters have)
** ''Franchise/{{Danganronpa}}'' Is one to the last third of the manga, where the [[spoiler: meta elements took over to the point of it becoming a DeconstructorFleet, without the shonen elements.]]

* [[ThreeShorts Two Shorts]]: The anime.
* {{Ubermensch}}: [[CompellingVoice Oudo Miyakonojou]].

* VillainousBreakdown: Kumagawa starts to do this when the Student Council doesn't fall apart like he plans. [[spoiler: When one of his own Minuses nearly gets herself killed for him is when he completely breaks down.]]

Making use of [[CoolLoser Misogi Kumagawa's]] groundbreaking popularity in the manga, Nisio and Akira released a SpinOff one-chapter story with the aforementioned character, entitled ''Good Loser Kumagawa'', published in Jump NEXT Magazine on December 26th, 2011, followed by a two volume LightNovel series of the same title. A "concluding chapter" of the SpinOff was released in Summer 2013.

** More blatantly, Anshin'in references ''21'' famous Shonen Jump series in the span of one page (chapter 116) when she [[spoiler:tries to convince Zenkichi to join her side]]. (Following in Misogi's footsteps?) [[note]]:If you're curious...:''Manga/DragonBall, Cobra, Manga/CityHunter, Manga/FistOfTheNorthStar, Manga/SlamDunk, Manga/ThePrinceOfTennis, Manga/CaptainTsubasa, Sexy Commando Gaiden, Manga/VideoGirlAi, Manga/HikaruNoGo, Manga/RokudenashiBlues, Sakigake Otokojuku, Anime/YuGiOh, Manga/DragonQuestTheAdventureOfDai, Anime/UltimateMuscle, Manga/RurouniKenshin, Manga/JoJosBizarreAdventure, Manga/YuYuHakusho, Manga/SoulHunter, Manga/SaintSeiya, and Keiji''.[[/note]]

** Medaka, by learning and mastering skills, caused anyone who saw her do so to lose hope of ever becoming great in their field and falling into despair. This means that practically any teacher she's had has pretty much given up and retired just from watching her progress. Were it not for Hinokage Kuudou's "Unknown Hero" talent, he'd probably cause this effect in people just from being seen. [[RatedMForManly He is essentially so manly that anyone who sees him cannot help but feel completely inferior to him in comparison.]]

* FiveManBand:
*** Against the Thirteen Party:
** BigBad: Oudo.
** TheDragon: Yukuhashi.
** TheEvilGenius: Naze.
** TheBrute: Takachiho.
** TheDarkChick: Koga. Subverted in that she's really peppy and nice.
** TheSixthRanger: Munakata.
*** During the Student Council Election battle:
** BigBad: Kumagawa. [[spoiler: Subverted in that he fought first, but then played straight in the president battle.]]
** TheDragon: Gagamaru.
** TheEvilGenius: [[spoiler: Shiranui certainly counts.]]
** TheBrute: Shibuki.
** TheDarkChick: Mukae.

''Medaka Box'' is a manga series by author Creator/NisioIsin (of ''LightNovel/{{Bakemonogatari}}'' fame), and artist Akatsuki Akira (of his "fame" as the ero-artist RIROLAND), about the [[TheParagon paragon]] and all-around perfect student Medaka Kurokami, who is elected as the President of Hakoniwa Academy's student council by 98% of the student body. Possessed of a forceful personality, charisma, and incredible ability, she is accompanied by her loyal and [[DeadpanSnarker snarky]] childhood friend Zenkichi Hitoyoshi, who has been at her side for over thirteen years.

* SpiritualSuccessor: To ''[[LightNovel/HaruhiSuzumiya The Melancholy Of Haruhi Suzumiya]]''.

* AbsurdlyPowerfulStudentCouncil: Subverted -- Medaka and Zenkichi solve various problems, but don't enjoy the ability to override school rules and regulations.
** [[spoiler: And played straight with Kumagawa's student council, where he plans to introduce an absurd set of rules, and the chairman is apparently too afraid of him to do anything about it.]]

* AdaptationDyeJob: In the anime, some changes are more subtle than others - they range between a slightly different shade of colour and Moji, who went from having brown hair to bright blue.
** Which may or may not be ActorAllusion or a ShoutOut to [[Anime/TengenToppaGurrenLagann another blue-haired male leader of a bunch of delinquents]] who is also voiced by Creator/KatsuyukiKonishi.

* NonuniformUniform: Everyone in the student council. The default student council uniform itself is black rather than the regular student white, supposedly to symbolize that the student council is meant to be servants to the student body. However, all the student council members have made their own modifications to the uniform:

* AuthorityEqualsAsskicking: All of the shown student council president have been some of the strongest people on the academy. Both Medaka and [[RetiredBadass Hinokage]] were undoubtedly the most powerful students in their time and [[spoiler: Zenkichi isn't exactly weak either]]. Heck they even had Kumagawa as a president during their middle school time.

* [[InSeriesNickname In-Series Nickname]]: Ajimu insists that people call her Anshin'in.

* {{Cliffhanger}}: The anime ''Medaka Box Abnormal'' actually ends in Episode 11 with the appearance of Kumagawa. The twelfth episode (really Episode -12) begins with an introduction from Ajimu [[BreakingTheFourthWall telling the viewers that]] [[TakeThatMe the writers didn't plan things properly]]. She then explains the episode will be an adaptation of the "Good Loser Kumagawa" side-story.

--> [[spoiler:'''Ajimu''': [[MillionToOneChance The enemy's special attack won't miss a vital area. You won't be told "you have the luck of the devil".]] [[CrashIntoHello You won't bump into a girl around the corner.]] [[ConspiracyRedemption You won't be caught up in a murder.]] [[WildCard You won't be spared by the whim of your enemy.]] [[BeachEpisode You won't coincidentally meet your friends on vacation.]] [[MoralityPet You won't become acquainted with the younger sister of your enemy.]] [[TournamentArc You won't fight from weakest to strongest in a tournament.]] [[IndyPloy When all is lost, you won't come up with a strategy that turns the tables.]] ]]

** In the early chapters, Medaka always attempts to justify the wrongdoings of other by theorizing that they have some FreudianExcuse, by saying stuff like: "''You were undoubtedly once passionate kendo club lovers. I can only presume that there's some great reason, some great tragedy which has lead you astray''" as an example from the first chapter. When she first shows her [[FourIsDeath fourth trump card]], [[UnstoppableRage War God]] [[SuperMode Mode]], against [[KnightOfCerebus Unzen]] though, she begins the battle by saying "''How pathetic. I'm sure you were once a cute kid walking down the right path. And I can only think that something really painful happened to you that made you like this. HOWEVER!! EVEN IF THAT'S THE CASE!! YOU ARE GONNA PAY FOR THIS!!!''".

*** The Kurokami family - Kajiki (swordfish), Maguro (tuna), Kujira (whale), and Medaka (Japanese killifish). [[MeaningfulName There's a reason]] [[OddNameOut why one of them is a mammal.]]

* WhatHappenedToTheMouse: Class 13's Plus Six appear for one scene, get [[OffscreenMomentOfAwesome utterly]] [[CurbStomp curbstomped]] by Kumagawa, are mentioned once about a hundred chapters later, make a one-panel appearance in the final arc, and that's about it for six of the most powerful people in the school.

* {{Expy}}: Oudo, of [[VisualNovel/FateStayNight Gilgamesh]]. First appearing to forcibly marry the female protagonist? Check. Similar appearance, down to the red pointy earrings? Check. God complex? Check and double check.

* LoveYouAndEverybody: After being kissed by Medaka, Kikaijima wonders whether that means Medaka loves her. Zenkichi explains to her that Medaka loves ''everyone''[[note]]Whether this is true or she actually has no ''real'' empathy is up for debates.[[/note]] and she used to kiss people indiscriminately when she was in junior high. What a let-down.

* PoisonousFriend: Surprisingly, [[spoiler: one of the protagonists]]. Hell, [[spoiler: Zenkichi]] himself even stated at the beginning that his job was to go around bringing people down that [[spoiler: Medaka]] didn't.

* BigDamnVillains: The Plus Six. Also, the Minus 13 Class.

* CryCute: Weaponized by Medaka. Also applies to Namanie Nienami.

** Myouri Unzel uses superballs filled with ''gunpowder'', while his sister Myouga wields four 30kg wrecking balls.

** And Hitomi Hitoyoshi somehow manages to use sewing needles, thread, and even garden shears in combat.

* InsaneTrollLogic: How most of the... "unique" situations and powers in the series are explained.
* InterruptedSuicide: The end result of [[spoiler: Ajimu's GenreSavvy mental disorder.]] She gets frustrated at the situation and tries to shoot herself, fortunately for all involved [[spoiler: Medaka is ''very'' fast, the action knocks Medaka out of her HeroicBSOD, and gives both of them a reason to keep on living.]]

* CookingDuel: In chapter 106.
* CooldownHug: Zenkichi gives one to Medaka in episode 10 of Season 2 in an attempt to break Oudo's brainwashing effect on her.

* CooldownHug: Medaka gets two of these; one by Zenkichi [[spoiler: when she's going berserk after being brainwashed]], and the whole Student Council [[spoiler: when she's about to kill Unzen]].

* PantyShot: Appears several times in the manga. Mostly of Medaka's panties, due to her skirt not only falling short (literally) of the dress code length, but also frequently suffering clothing damage.

* AdaptationDyeJob: In the anime, some changes are more subtle than others - they range between a slightly different shade of colour and Moji, who went from having brown hair to [[YouGottaHaveBlueHair bright blue]].

* {{Cliffhanger}}: The anime ''Medaka Box Abnormal'' actually ends in Episode 11 with the appearance of Kumagawa. The twelfth episode (really Episode -12) begins with an introduction from Ajimu [[BreakingTheFourthWall telling the viewers that]] [[TakeThatMe the writers didn't plan things properly]]. She then explains the episode will [[SomethingCompletelyDifferent be an adaptation of the "Good Loser Kumagawa" side-story]].

* SomethingCompletelyDifferent: Episode 12 of Season 2 shows Good Loser Kumagawa doing stuff at a previous school. It only alludes to the main characters in the very beginning.

* TooGiftedToTeachOthers: Medaka has a hard time wrapping her head around the fact that other people just aren't like her, so much so that when she takes a request to teach a remedial course she spends the entire course focusing on penmanship since it never occurs to her that her students wouldn't just automatically know the answer.

[[folder: A B]]

[[folder: C D]]

[[folder: E F]]

[[folder: G H]]

[[folder: I J K]]

[[folder: L M]]

[[folder: N O P]]

[[folder: Q R S]]

[[folder: T U]]

[[folder: V W X Y Z]]

* LoveYouAndEverybody: After being kissed by Medaka, [[SchoolgirlLesbians Kikaijima wonders whether that means Medaka loves her]]. Zenkichi explains to her that Medaka loves ''everyone''[[note]]Whether this is true or she actually has no ''real'' empathy is up for debates.[[/note]] and she used to kiss people indiscriminately when she was in junior high. What a let-down.

''Medaka Box'' went from a quirky SliceOfLife high school comedy to a fighting manga, then SerialEscalation as each BigBad's defeat brought a newer, more dangerous one onto the scene. An anime adaptation by Creator/StudioGainax was announced; the first season aired from April 4 through June 21, 2012. A second season ran between October 11 and December 27, 2012, but it has not been renewed for a third season.

* CharacterTics: Kumagawa constantly does a blasé pose [[http://www.batoto.net/read/_/76893/medaka-box_ch128_by_cxc-scans/13 where his arms are bent and his palms are pointing up.]] It's even shown in a flashback before he is properly introduced!

* CryCute: Weaponized by Medaka. Also applies to [[http://www.batoto.net/read/_/101082/medaka-box_ch145_by_cxc-scans/20 Namanie Nienami.]]

* TakeThat: [[http://i17.mangareader.net/medaka-box/100/medaka-box-2514727.jpg Against intellectual elitism.]]

* IronicEchoCut: When Hitoyoshi is asked who he think would win in a battle between Kumagawa and Munekata, he ask that he would say that they are probably NotSoDifferent and they might unexpectedly get along. Cut to the two locked in fierce battle to the death.