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* TheWorfEffect: During the Kobe war, all the previous main antagonists in the story and Morigami get their asses handed to them by Jinrai and his Four Devils.
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* TheWorfEffect: TheWorfEffect:
** During the Kobe war, all the previous main antagonists in the story and Morigami get their asses handed to them by Jinrai and his FourDevils.Devils.
** Jinrai returns as an ally against the Tokyo Alliance, but each of its four captains are nearly as strong as him and he's forced to set off a fire alarm on the ruined West Shinjuku School to drive two of them away. Furthermore, Jinrai lets Takagi hit him head-on with a Fa jin just to see if the hero has what it takes to challenge each of the villains one-on-one, [[WorfHadTheFlu which removes him as a viable fighter]] for the rest of the arc.
** During the Kobe war, all the previous main antagonists in the story and Morigami get their asses handed to them by Jinrai and his Four
** Jinrai returns as an ally against the Tokyo Alliance, but each of its four captains are nearly as strong as him and he's forced to set off a fire alarm on the ruined West Shinjuku School to drive two of them away. Furthermore, Jinrai lets Takagi hit him head-on with a Fa jin just to see if the hero has what it takes to challenge each of the villains one-on-one, [[WorfHadTheFlu which removes him as a viable fighter]] for the rest of the arc.
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* SoLastSeason: The Fa jin is a mighty Ki manipulation techquine that Takagi is forced to learn to even stand a chance against Jinrai, the first major antagonist in the series. Once Takagi moves to Tokyo, it turns out everyone and their dog now knows the Fa jin exists and attempts to keep the man from performing it properly. During the conflict against the Tokyo Alliance, Katsunari is able to fire a Fa jin even stronger than Takagi's for unexplained reasons, only for Takagi to suddenly reveal he had been taught a counter to the technique at some unknown point and use that to win the fight.
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* SuddenlyAlwaysKnewThat: Katsunari shows he somehow can perform the Fa jin and uses it to blast Takagi into the floor. Once the hero gets himself back in the game, it is revealed that at some point or another Liu-yun had taught him the "100-step God Fist", a parrying aura that turns the opponent's Fa jin against themself. Once Katsunari is beaten into submission, Jinrai even asks when Takagi even learned that new technique.
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* SuddenlyAlwaysKnewThat: Katsunari shows he somehow can perform the Fa jin and uses it to blast Takagi into the floor. Once the hero gets himself back in the game, it is revealed that at some point or another Liu-yun had taught him the "100-step God Fist", a parrying aura that turns the opponent's Fa jin against themself. Once After Katsunari is finally beaten into submission, Jinrai even asks when Takagi even learned that new technique.
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Changed line(s) 131 (click to see context) from:
** After defeating the female Shadow Five members with only intimidation tactics (tossing large steel beams near them), Takagi quips that they should live like women and leave the fighting to the men. Once two of them attempt to HoldTheLine against a crowd of thugs but are overwhelmed and smashed against the wall, Jinrai rescues them while saying the same thing as Takagi.
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** After defeating the female Shadow Five members with only intimidation tactics (tossing large steel beams near them), Takagi quips that they should live like women and leave the fighting to the men. Once Later on, once two of them attempt to HoldTheLine against a crowd of thugs but are overwhelmed and smashed against the wall, Jinrai rescues them while saying the same thing as Takagi.
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Changed line(s) 131 (click to see context) from:
** After defeating the female Shadow Five members with only intimidation tactics (tossing large steel beams near them), Takagi quips that they should live like women and leave the fighting to the men.
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** After defeating the female Shadow Five members with only intimidation tactics (tossing large steel beams near them), Takagi quips that they should live like women and leave the fighting to the men. Once two of them attempt to HoldTheLine against a crowd of thugs but are overwhelmed and smashed against the wall, Jinrai rescues them while saying the same thing as Takagi.
* SuddenlyAlwaysKnewThat: Katsunari shows he somehow can perform the Fa jin and uses it to blast Takagi into the floor. Once the hero gets himself back in the game, it is revealed that at some point or another Liu-yun had taught him the "100-step God Fist", a parrying aura that turns the opponent's Fa jin against themself. Once Katsunari is beaten into submission, Jinrai even asks when Takagi even learned that new technique.
* SuddenlyAlwaysKnewThat: Katsunari shows he somehow can perform the Fa jin and uses it to blast Takagi into the floor. Once the hero gets himself back in the game, it is revealed that at some point or another Liu-yun had taught him the "100-step God Fist", a parrying aura that turns the opponent's Fa jin against themself. Once Katsunari is beaten into submission, Jinrai even asks when Takagi even learned that new technique.
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** On volume 23, Raiden badly injuries Takagi and wonders if he'll get to take over the series.
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* AintTooProudToBeg: Takagi tries peacefully begging his Osakan rivals to stop fighting over the title of Soul of Osaka since it's obviously a plot from the Shikoku Alliance to take over the city, but runs out of patience as his allies are hurt and tackles them all at a tournament with the assistance of Sagawa, Rikizan and Sakuma.
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* AintTooProudToBeg: A RecurringElement of each arc is Takagi being willing to bend the knee to villains for the sake of his underlings only for them to wreak havoc upon everyone anyway, forcing Takagi into paying their violence back with interest.
** Takagi tries peacefully begging his Osakan rivals to stop fighting over the title of Soul of Osaka since it's obviously a plot from the Shikoku Alliance to take over the city, but runs out of patience as his allies are hurt and tackles them all at a tournament with the assistance of Sagawa, Rikizan andSakuma.Sakuma.
** When Sato takes Takagi to negotiate with the Tokyo Alliance's captains, he tells the hero they cannot risk an all-out war even as each one goes out of their way to insult Takagi and beat Sato to a pulp. After plenty of comical humiliation, Takagi decks Katsunari on the face and tells the captains to just fight him like men.
** Takagi tries peacefully begging his Osakan rivals to stop fighting over the title of Soul of Osaka since it's obviously a plot from the Shikoku Alliance to take over the city, but runs out of patience as his allies are hurt and tackles them all at a tournament with the assistance of Sagawa, Rikizan and
** When Sato takes Takagi to negotiate with the Tokyo Alliance's captains, he tells the hero they cannot risk an all-out war even as each one goes out of their way to insult Takagi and beat Sato to a pulp. After plenty of comical humiliation, Takagi decks Katsunari on the face and tells the captains to just fight him like men.
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* CrucifiedHeroShot: In volume 23, Takagi has a nightmare of Takeuchi and Igari being executed by the Tokyo Alliance while he is chained to a cross. It then turns out the two have been kidnapped for real and are restrained with their arms tied and nailed to planks.
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* MookHorrorShow: There are many instances of Takagi being an OneManArmy despite dealing with terrible injuries, like him casually beaten dozens of minions while climbing a flight of stairs and then checking his wrist watch to see it barely took 3 seconds.
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A Date With Rosie Palms is no longer a trope
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* ADateWithRosiePalms: The story starts with the karate club freshmen being forced to quickly masturbate as training for whatever reason.
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Asskicking Leads To Leadership is the new name of the trope.
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* AsskickingEqualsAuthority: In chapter 3, the Boxing Club starts pushing everyone around after Takagi loses a duel to Ando, but as soon as Takagi settles the score Matsushita and Saito suddenly become able to humiliate the boxing students in revenge.
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* AsskickingEqualsAuthority: AsskickingLeadsToLeadership: In chapter 3, the Boxing Club starts pushing everyone around after Takagi loses a duel to Ando, but as soon as Takagi settles the score Matsushita and Saito suddenly become able to humiliate the boxing students in revenge.
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Then it's not this trope.
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* AsskickingEqualsAuthority:
** In chapter 3, the Boxing Club starts pushing everyone around after Takagi loses a duel to Ando, but as soon as Takagi settles the score Matsushita and Saito suddenly become able to humiliate the boxing students in revenge.
** After Takagi fakes his death, Kabada becomes the new Karate Club captain and Matsushita and Saito are both made the vices. Not because they're any strong, but because of their passion for the Club and their fellow members.
** In chapter 3, the Boxing Club starts pushing everyone around after Takagi loses a duel to Ando, but as soon as Takagi settles the score Matsushita and Saito suddenly become able to humiliate the boxing students in revenge.
** After Takagi fakes his death, Kabada becomes the new Karate Club captain and Matsushita and Saito are both made the vices. Not because they're any strong, but because of their passion for the Club and their fellow members.
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* AsskickingEqualsAuthority:
**AsskickingEqualsAuthority: In chapter 3, the Boxing Club starts pushing everyone around after Takagi loses a duel to Ando, but as soon as Takagi settles the score Matsushita and Saito suddenly become able to humiliate the boxing students in revenge.
** After Takagi fakes his death, Kabada becomes the new Karate Club captain and Matsushita and Saito are both made the vices. Not because they're any strong, but because of their passion for the Club and their fellow members.revenge.
**
** After Takagi fakes his death, Kabada becomes the new Karate Club captain and Matsushita and Saito are both made the vices. Not because they're any strong, but because of their passion for the Club and their fellow members.
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* NonNaziSwastika: One of the KFTH Karate Club members is nicknamed Manji because his hair is shaved in that shape. Takagi is also seen wearing a mask with a manji mark at some points.
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Changed line(s) 2,3 (click to see context) from:
''Osu! Karate Club'' (押忍!!空手部; ''Osu!! Karate-bu'') is a 1985 manga written and illustrated by Takahashi Kouji that was published in Shuukan Young Jump.
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''Osu! Karate Club'' (押忍!!空手部; ''Osu!! Karate-bu'') is a 1985 manga written and illustrated by Takahashi Kouji that was published in Shuukan Young Jump.
''Young Jump'' from 1985 to 1996.
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* AmbiguouslyGay: Mizuguchi, a minor character who's part of the titular Karate Club. He has a notably [[CampGay campy]] way of talking, and is overrall quite effeminate but aside from that, nothing about his sexuality is really made obvious.
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* ArtEvolution: Takahashi Kouji's art style notably evolves as the series evolves, with the most notable change being the characters having more proportionately sized faces alongside being drawn in a more detailed fashion in contrast to the beginning, which had the characters drawn with simplistic faces that are somewhat small and simplistic anatomy.
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* IdenticalStranger: Raiden Taro looks like a much smaller version of Matsuhita, with the only physical difference besides their height is that Raiden has perm-textured hair. [[spoiler:This actually ends up becoming relevant, as Takagi hallucinates him as being Matsuhita during his battle with Raiden due to being high on morphine, causing him to hesitate.]]
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* CoolOldLady: Hanamori Shizuka, the principal of West Shinjuku Academy. Not only is she supportive of Takagi and his do-good actions, but her response to the Shibuya Corps invading her school is to not only rally the students and have them summon all the martial artists and general badasses to fight back, but she also promises them that for every person they defeat, she'll add a point to their grade.
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Changed line(s) 96 (click to see context) from:
* ProgressivelyPrettier: Tatsuya Sakamoto undergoes this after being beaten by Takagi and turns over a new leaf, as he gains a full set of teeth and becomes a lot less exaggeratedly ugly in general to the point where he's almost unrecognizable. Other people still remark on how scary his face is though.
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* ProgressivelyPrettier: Tatsuya Sakamoto undergoes this after being beaten by Takagi and turns turning over a new leaf, as he gains a full set of teeth and becomes a lot less exaggeratedly ugly in general to the point where he's almost unrecognizable. Other people still remark on how scary his face is though.
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* MeaningfulName: Raiden Taro, the captain of the Sumida Corps. He's named after a god of thunder and wields a pair of taser gloves.
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* AmbiguouslyJewish: David Furuta. Aside from his first name, curly hair, and his [[JewishAndNerdy ludicrously high intelligence]], he also wields a Jericho 941, an Israeli-made gun.
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Changed line(s) 94 (click to see context) from:
* ProgessivelyPrettier: Tatsuya Sakamoto undergoes this after being beaten by Takagi and turns over a new leaf, as he gains a full set of teeth and becomes a lot less exaggeratedly ugly in general to the point where he's almost unrecognizable. Other people still remark on how scary his face is though.
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* ProgessivelyPrettier: ProgressivelyPrettier: Tatsuya Sakamoto undergoes this after being beaten by Takagi and turns over a new leaf, as he gains a full set of teeth and becomes a lot less exaggeratedly ugly in general to the point where he's almost unrecognizable. Other people still remark on how scary his face is though.
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* ProgessivelyPrettier: Tatsuya Sakamoto undergoes this after being beaten by Takagi and turns over a new leaf, as he gains a full set of teeth and becomes a lot less exaggeratedly ugly in general to the point where he's almost unrecognizable. Other people still remark on how scary his face is though.
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Changed line(s) 78 (click to see context) from:
** David Furuta killing his enemies with a Jericho 941 gun in this kind of story and under Japan's gun control laws paints him as extremely dishonorable. He and his allies then dump Takagi on a junkyard known as the Graveyard of Dreams.
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** David Furuta killing his enemies with a Jericho 941 gun in this kind of story and under Japan's gun control laws paints him as extremely dishonorable. He and his allies then dump Takagi on a junkyard known as the Graveyard of Dreams.Dreams and then destroy West Shinjuku Academy.
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* LawfulStupid: The Student Council President of Kangokou High tries to end the Karate Club for encouraging violence, and she forbids them to fight even as they are beaten by thugs who are holding her hostage. The conflict only ends when she turns a blind eye to let Takagi save her.
* LetsGetDangerous: Kabada was only trusted with the role of vice captain by his hero Morigami for his strong dedication to the Karate Club. He is a cowardly and weak bully, but when a rival school tries burning the uniform gifted to him by Morigami, he's enraged and is able to lead the Karate Club to success.
* TheLostLenore: Yuuko, the first leader of the Bad Girls who got kidnapped and raped by thugs just for being Takagi's girlfriend and ended up run over by a car while in shock. Her successor Megumi also dies in the exact same way after Takagi was starting to warm up to her.
* LetsGetDangerous: Kabada was only trusted with the role of vice captain by his hero Morigami for his strong dedication to the Karate Club. He is a cowardly and weak bully, but when a rival school tries burning the uniform gifted to him by Morigami, he's enraged and is able to lead the Karate Club to success.
* TheLostLenore: Yuuko, the first leader of the Bad Girls who got kidnapped and raped by thugs just for being Takagi's girlfriend and ended up run over by a car while in shock. Her successor Megumi also dies in the exact same way after Takagi was starting to warm up to her.
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* LawfulStupid: The Student Council President of Kangokou High JustShootHim: When first facing the four most powerful Tokyo gang leaders, Takagi tries to end the Karate Club for encouraging violence, and she forbids convince them to fight even as they are beaten by thugs who are holding her hostage. The conflict only ends when she turns a blind eye to let him one-on-one. David gladly accepts, saying he can finish Takagi save her.
* LetsGetDangerous: Kabada was only trusted with the role of vice captain by his hero Morigami for his strong dedication to the Karate Club. He is a cowardly and weak bully, but when a rival school tries burning the uniform gifted to him by Morigami, he's enraged and is able to lead the Karate Club to success.
* TheLostLenore: Yuuko, the first leader of the Bad Girls who got kidnapped and raped by thugs just for being Takagi's girlfriend and ended up run over by a car whileoff in shock. Her successor Megumi also dies in the exact same way after a mere 30 seconds. Takagi was starting to warm up to her.prepares a Fa jin... but David whips out a Jericho 941 and ruthlessly shoots him down.
* LetsGetDangerous: Kabada was only trusted with the role of vice captain by his hero Morigami for his strong dedication to the Karate Club. He is a cowardly and weak bully, but when a rival school tries burning the uniform gifted to him by Morigami, he's enraged and is able to lead the Karate Club to success.
* TheLostLenore: Yuuko, the first leader of the Bad Girls who got kidnapped and raped by thugs just for being Takagi's girlfriend and ended up run over by a car while
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** Boku Majima nearly kills Retsu and then stabs his little sister too for witnessing the crime -- an act that terrifies even Sayuri, who had hired him for revenge. Takagi is so outraged that he disregards his code of honor and attempts to kill both of them in return.
** David Furuta killing his enemies with a Jericho 941 gun in this kind of story and under Japan's gun control laws paints him as extremely dishonorable. He and his allies then dump Takagi on a junkyard known as the Graveyard of Dreams.
* LawfulStupid: The Student Council President of Kangokou High tries to end the Karate Club for encouraging violence, and she forbids them to fight even as they are beaten by thugs who are holding her hostage. The conflict only ends when she turns a blind eye to let Takagi save her.
* LetsGetDangerous: Kabada was only trusted with the role of vice captain by his hero Morigami for his strong dedication to the Karate Club. He is a cowardly and weak bully, but when a rival school tries burning the uniform gifted to him by Morigami, he's enraged and is able to lead the Karate Club to success.
* TheLostLenore: Yuuko, the first leader of the Bad Girls who got kidnapped and raped by thugs just for being Takagi's girlfriend and ended up run over by a car while in shock. Her successor Megumi also dies in the exact same way after Takagi was starting to warm up to her.
** David Furuta killing his enemies with a Jericho 941 gun in this kind of story and under Japan's gun control laws paints him as extremely dishonorable. He and his allies then dump Takagi on a junkyard known as the Graveyard of Dreams.
* LawfulStupid: The Student Council President of Kangokou High tries to end the Karate Club for encouraging violence, and she forbids them to fight even as they are beaten by thugs who are holding her hostage. The conflict only ends when she turns a blind eye to let Takagi save her.
* LetsGetDangerous: Kabada was only trusted with the role of vice captain by his hero Morigami for his strong dedication to the Karate Club. He is a cowardly and weak bully, but when a rival school tries burning the uniform gifted to him by Morigami, he's enraged and is able to lead the Karate Club to success.
* TheLostLenore: Yuuko, the first leader of the Bad Girls who got kidnapped and raped by thugs just for being Takagi's girlfriend and ended up run over by a car while in shock. Her successor Megumi also dies in the exact same way after Takagi was starting to warm up to her.
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** Takagi defeats Boku Majima by breaking his limbs while claiming to be able to move through the power of the people who were nearly killed by Boku.
--->''"Sorry... I ain't trying to do this... But my body's movin' itself. It's sayin' 'Break his leg!'"''
--->''"Sorry... I ain't trying to do this... But my body's movin' itself. It's sayin' 'Break his leg!'"''
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* HopeBringer: Takagi commands the respect of all delinquents in Osaka with his dedication for the city, which the more agressive Soul of Osaka candidate Kira couldn't understand.
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* HopeBringer: Takagi commands the respect of all delinquents in Osaka with his dedication for the city, which is something the more agressive Soul of Osaka candidate Kira couldn't understand.
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** After defeating the female Shadow Five members with only intimidation tactics, Takagi quips that they should live like women and leave the fighting to the men.
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** After defeating the female Shadow Five members with only intimidation tactics, tactics (tossing large steel beams near them), Takagi quips that they should live like women and leave the fighting to the men.
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* ArtifactTitle: The early chapters revolve around Matsushita's woes at the titular Karate Club, but as focus changes to Takagi the story becomes more about delinquent gang wars even though he sets up a second Karate Club in Tokyo with a TitleDrop by its door.
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Changed line(s) 125 (click to see context) from:
* TheWorfBarrage: Despite how powerful the Fa Jin is, Takagi either just bloodily grazes people with it, unconsciously holds it back or straight up misses it 99% of the time except for the final blow on arc villains.
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* TheWorfBarrage: Despite how powerful the Fa Jin jin is, Takagi either just bloodily grazes people with it, unconsciously holds it back or straight up misses it 99% of the time except for the final blow on arc villains.
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* WouldntHitAGirl: Takagi threatens to destroy Asuka if she doesn't listen to reason and stop her revenge attempt on the gangs of Osaka, but no matter how much she injures him he only half-heartedly gestures a punch at her direction while crying for her plight. He then tells Morigami there's nothing in his fists that could harm a woman. It's averted, however, when Sayuri nearly gets Retsu and his sister murdered by Boku. Takagi slams her against a wall when he finds out and nearly punches her head off, only missing when a doctor barges in declaring the siblings [[DisneyDeath are still hanging on]].
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* WouldntHitAGirl: WouldntHitAGirl:
** Takagi threatens to destroy Asuka if she doesn't listen to reason and stop her revenge attempt on the gangs of Osaka, but no matter how much she injures him he only half-heartedly gestures a punch at her direction while crying for her plight. He then tells Morigami there's nothing in his fists that could harm awoman. woman.
** It'saverted, subverted, however, when Sayuri nearly gets Retsu and his sister murdered by Boku. Takagi slams her against a wall when he finds out and nearly punches her head off, only off despite her begging for forgiveness, barely missing when a doctor barges in declaring the siblings [[DisneyDeath are still hanging on]].on]] and Sayuri volunteers to donate blood to them. Upon calming down and noticing how regretful she is, Takagi apologizes for treating her so harshly.
** Takagi threatens to destroy Asuka if she doesn't listen to reason and stop her revenge attempt on the gangs of Osaka, but no matter how much she injures him he only half-heartedly gestures a punch at her direction while crying for her plight. He then tells Morigami there's nothing in his fists that could harm a
** It's
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Changed line(s) 73 (click to see context) from:
* KiAttacks: The fourth secret of Tai Chi Chuan is performing energy blasts called Fa Jin. While Jinrai is only able to emulate the technique with his strength, Takagi ends up performing the original version of it that's designed for killing and is urged by Liu-yun [[ThouShaltNotKill to not use it]].
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* KiAttacks: The fourth secret of From Jinrai's arc on, the most powerful characters are Tai Chi Chuan is performing energy blasts called chi practicioners who can use Fa Jin.jin to deflect attacks and release explosive bursts of energy. While Jinrai is only able to emulate the technique with his strength, Takagi ends up performing the original version of it that's designed for killing and is urged by Liu-yun [[ThouShaltNotKill to not use it]].
** Takagi becomes outraged at Boku's [[DisneyDeath apparent]] assassination of Retsu [[AndYourLittleDogToo and his sister]] and calls for a Fox Hunt to drag him out. He completely discards his honor code, almost killing Sayuri for hiring Boku and then tossing the assassin off a building fully intending to kill him.
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* WouldntHitAGirl: Takagi threatens to destroy Asuka if she doesn't listen to reason and stop her revenge attempt on the gangs of Osaka, but no matter how much she injures him he only half-heartedly gestures a punch at her direction while crying for her plight. He then tells Morigami there's nothing in his fists that could harm a woman.
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* WouldHitAGirl: Katsuhiro obeyed Sayuri because he was in love with her, but he hated her brutal rule over Shibuya and didn't hesitate to deck her in the face once he saw how he meant nothing to her. After Katsuhiro is defeated, she tries to run Takagi over with her minions but they refuse to dishonor the conflict any longer. Retsu finishes Sayuri's deposal by blasting her several feet away with another punch to the face.
* WouldntHitAGirl: Takagi threatens to destroy Asuka if she doesn't listen to reason and stop her revenge attempt on the gangs of Osaka, but no matter how much she injures him he only half-heartedly gestures a punch at her direction while crying for her plight. He then tells Morigami there's nothing in his fists that could harm a woman. It's averted, however, when Sayuri nearly gets Retsu and his sister murdered by Boku. Takagi slams her against a wall when he finds out and nearly punches her head off, only missing when a doctor barges in declaring the siblings [[DisneyDeath are still hanging on]].
* WouldntHitAGirl: Takagi threatens to destroy Asuka if she doesn't listen to reason and stop her revenge attempt on the gangs of Osaka, but no matter how much she injures him he only half-heartedly gestures a punch at her direction while crying for her plight. He then tells Morigami there's nothing in his fists that could harm a woman. It's averted, however, when Sayuri nearly gets Retsu and his sister murdered by Boku. Takagi slams her against a wall when he finds out and nearly punches her head off, only missing when a doctor barges in declaring the siblings [[DisneyDeath are still hanging on]].
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The manga has been digitally released in English via Media Do.
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''Osu!! Karatebu'' (押忍!!空手部; ''Go!! Karate Club'') is a 1985 manga written and illustrated by Takahashi Kouji that was published in Shuukan Young Jump.
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[[quoteright:267:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/imagem_2021_02_06_004920.png]]
''Osu!! Karatebu'' (押忍!!空手部; ''Go!! Karate Club'') is a 1985 manga written and illustrated by Takahashi Kouji that was published in Shuukan Young Jump.
It began as a comical SliceOfLife series about Japan's teenage delinquent gang subculture told from the perspective of Matsushita Tadashi, a 2nd year student at Kangokou High and a constant target of numerous bullies who beat him up routinely after school. He is accompanied by his best friend Saitou Takaki, who is also constantly harassed.
As the pair grows tired of being victimized they decide to join the titular Karate Club, which is notorious throughout Osaka's youth gangs for training and producing the city's most hardened teenage thugs while maintaining the facade of a legit school sports club. But when they join, they find themselves picked on just as much if not worse by their new upperclassmen.
The story gradually changed its tone to a more serious and violent martial arts manga, with the perspective changing from Matsushita to his mentor Takagi Yoshiyuki, the streetwise, tough-as-nails captain of the Kangokou Karate Club as he faces the power struggles between delinquent gangs in both Osaka and its neighbouring cities.
The series was influenced by ''Aa!! Hana no Ouendan'' and influenced stories like ''Manga/CromartieHighSchool'' in turn. It spawned a four episode OVA mini-series released from 1990 to 1992, a 1990 live action movie, and a 1994 UsefulNotes/SuperFamicom fighting game.
----
!!This manga features the following tropes:
* AintTooProudToBeg: Takagi tries peacefully begging his Osakan rivals to stop fighting over the title of Soul of Osaka since it's obviously a plot from the Shikoku Alliance to take over the city, but runs out of patience as his allies are hurt and tackles them all at a tournament with the assistance of Sagawa, Rikizan and Sakuma.
* AndThisIsFor:
** In chapter 3, Takagi dedicates his beatdown of Ando to Matsushita and Saito.
** Takagi defeats Rick Powered with the signature attacks of his allies before dedicating the finishing blow to his Club and himself.
* AsskickingEqualsAuthority:
** In chapter 3, the Boxing Club starts pushing everyone around after Takagi loses a duel to Ando, but as soon as Takagi settles the score Matsushita and Saito suddenly become able to humiliate the boxing students in revenge.
** After Takagi fakes his death, Kabada becomes the new Karate Club captain and Matsushita and Saito are both made the vices. Not because they're any strong, but because of their passion for the Club and their fellow members.
* AtopAMountainOfCorpses: In chapter 201, Takagi sits atop a pile of Shibuya Corps mooks he had just defeated.
* BadassBoast: Takagi introduces himself to his new classmates at West Shinjuku Academy by asking one guy to hold a table for him, blasting them both with Fa Jin all the way to the next classroom and then sternly telling the others to just get along with him.
* BreakingTheFourthWall: Interestingly, Takagi starts doing this regularly after setting a TitleDrop signboard on his new Karate Club in Tokyo.
** One of the volume covers has Takagi asking the viewer to purchase it. In the story itself, on chapter 162, while daring a line of students of West Shinjuku Academy to hit him as a show of resolve, Takagi jokingly asks one to buy ''Osu!! Karatebu'' volumes.
** On chapter 195, Takagi shouts that if he misses his final Fa Jin than the next chapter will be the last.
** On chapter 198, Takagi asks Takeuchi if he's inviting him to read past issues of the manga together.
* BreakoutCharacter: Matsushita and Saito are the focus of the first few chapters, but their mentor Takagi proved far more popular and upstaged them as the true protagonist.
* TheBusCameBack: Kitamura from the Sumo Club shows up a hundred chapters later as one of the strongest Osaka fighters looking to dethrone Takagi, complete with a 4th wall break joke to him first appearing in volume 1. He remains a WarmUpBoss, though...
* ButtMonkey: Matsushita and Saito are weaklings compared to everyone else and on top of suffering under their upperclassmen's antics also frequently get their asses kicked [[BeingGoodSucks while fighting for justice]], though Takagi appreciates their strong morals and always ropes them along on adventures. Even as they do slowly grow as fighters, their misfortune gets to the point Matsushita openly expresses shame to Takagi over how weak they are.
* CampingACrapper: The Shadow Five try ambushing Takagi on the toilet, but he expected this and had his friends in wait for a counterattack. Unfortunately, they still get their asses kicked and Takagi is left hospitalized for some time.
* CarFu: Sato, the Shadow Five leader, takes a faceful of a speeding motorcycle twice, once by Takagi's decoy and then on a DynamicEntry by Takagi himself.
* CerebusSyndrome: The story gets increasingly serious as it goes on, and arcs such as the war between Osaka and Kobe and the following revenge of the Bad Girls gang on Takagi have little to no comic relief. Characters like Momochiyo were even [[ShooOutTheClowns noticeably absent]] during that war.
* ChekhovsGag: There's a running gag of the chicks that Takagi raises to cook into friend chicken standing atop him in various scenes. During the battle against the Shinjuku Corps, they keep popping out despite the serious tone of the arc until one actually plays a role by carrying over an energy drink to bring an unconscious Takagi back into action.
-->"Well, I'll be damned!! You see, we Osakans tend [[LampshadeHanging to make jokes even at important times]]... But I drank an Alinamin V, so I won't miss this time!"
* CombatPragmatist:
** Takagi acts like something of a CowardlyLion sometimes, avoiding facing too many thugs at once or fighters he knows he would take a ton of damage from and fighting dirty unless he is facing a WorthyOpponent.
** Yuji accidentally killed a man after stuffing his mouth with shogi pieces and punching him square in the face. He also tosses sand at Takagi's eyes during their fight.
* CompressedAdaptation: The [=OVAs=] adapt some of the early stories and then the invasion from Kobe, but leave several key scenes out. One example is how Morigami is introduced in Kabada's backstory, leaving out how he met Takagi and chose him as his successor in the first place. Morigami's defeat to the Twin Reapers of Kobe is then offscreened and the rematch is abridged, to the point of leaving out the part where he goes berserk and his shared backstory with Jinrai is first mentioned.
* DarkestHour: After Takagi is unable to prevent the invasion of Osaka by the Kobe gangs, he returns to find KFTH and all the other local highschools destroyed. He decides to go into hiding until he recovers from his injuries and so the villains start torturing all the Karate Club's members and allies to draw him out.
* ADateWithRosiePalms: The story starts with the karate club freshmen being forced to quickly masturbate as training for whatever reason.
* DeathGlare:
** When Takagi first met Rikizan the Devil Bear, he wound up a punch but flinched in fear upon getting a good look on his face. Rikizan sneered down at Tagaki and... then dropped on his knees apologizing for the trouble, only further confusing him.
** Rikizan then first faced defeat upon being overwhelmed by five hundred men who glared back with such intense hatred for his actions that he was paralyzed with regret for how he had lead his life.
* DefeatMeansFriendship: Takagi is said to have a fist that draws people to him. Former enemies such as the Pillars of Kobe willingly help him in times of need, stating they don't hold a grudge for their previous defeat.
* DistantFinale: 16 years after the Saga of Good and Evil, a tougher-looking Matsushita goes to a reunion party with his former classmates and other people who cared for Takagi. They're told by Morigami that Takagi, who's been missing since he was arrested for his part in the final battle, is living somewhere in Africa [[HappilyEverAfter with Momochiyo]] and working as a merc [[AndTheAdventureContinues to take down criminal organizations]] in conflict zones.
* DropTheHammer: Hiroyuki Tanaka of the Shikoku Alliance wields a large hammer.
* DudeLooksLikeALady: Yoshimura [[AtrociousAlias "The Fag"]], the girly-looking mechanics geek who helped Takagi to race Hirayama Keiji.
* DumbMuscle: Takagi is the sort of guy who starts bleeding from the nose if he reads anything for more than four minutes. Him being BookDumb and not getting history or even vocabulary right is a running gag.
* EarlyInstallmentWeirdness:
** The lighthearted early chapters focus on Matsushita and emphasize the ridiculous spartan training of the karate club. Takagi is also portrayed as more of a jerkass whose first training lesson is telling the freshmen to shakedown people. By the time Takagi defeats Jinrai, the tone of the story has shifted so much he has to lean on the fourth wall to remind readers he's supposed to be an OrdinaryHighSchoolStudent.
** The first time Takagi is seen in his berserk mode, he laughs like "Gehehehe" instead of "Tralala".
* EliteMooks: The Shinjuku Young Bloods members surprise Takagi by not going down in a single like like other generic mooks in the story... not that it matters at all once other antagonists show up to beat them senseless.
* EyeScream:
** Morigami has his right eye damaged and the left one destroyed in his battles against Jinrai.
** To defeat Hayashi, Shimotori turns ruthless and shoves his fingers inside the guy's eyes, declaring even being branded a criminal for this is worth it for not being humiliated by him ever again.
* FakingTheDead: Following the battle against the Shinkoku Alliance, Takagi is stabbed by a random thug he was helping and takes the chance to fake his own death so he [[ThatManIsDead can be free from all the burden he's accumulated]] and move on to Tokyo. Only Matsushita, Saito, Momochiyo and Morigami are told the truth and send him off.
* GoodScarsEvilScars: Morigami's right side of his face has a slash scar from Jinrai's lightning punch, and Jinrai had the left side of his face burned by acid when he was assaulting Itsuki.
* GracefulLoser:
** Takagi tells Morigami the word "defeat" doesn't exist in his dictionary, but after deciding to fight him fairly out of respect and being unable to win that way he simply smiles and remarks he'll add the word "concede" instead.
** Takagi incapacitates Kira in a single blow, but then extends him a friendly hand. The nearby crowd shouts Kira's name in a gesture of forgiveness, and so he accepts Tagaki as the one Soul of Osaka.
* HandicappedBadass: Morigami is said to have beaten Jinrai and his many followers in a gruesome battle, but was left with a [[EyeScream damaged right eye]] and this is exploited by the later opponents he faces. To make things worse, Jinrai then destroys his left eye on their next battle.
* HeroicBSOD: When Takagi learns his former master Jinrai has become evil, he loses all willpower and leaves with Momochiyo to Kobe. The Three Pillars of Kobe ambush and rough Takagi up for a bit before taking him to their master Liu-yun, who inspires him to fight and teaches the powerful techniques of Tai Chi Chuan.
* HisNameIs: Rikizan gets stomped by Kira when he's warning Takagi about the Red Lightning of Shikoku, which actually makes it clear to Takagi that the Red Lightning is former Soul of Osaka Jinrai and that Kira, Jinrai's best pupil, is really TheMole.
* HopeBringer: Takagi commands the respect of all delinquents in Osaka with his dedication for the city, which the more agressive Soul of Osaka candidate Kira couldn't understand.
* ImportantHaircut: Morigami has his hair shaved into the same star shape as Jinrai's out of admiration and later had Takagi get the same hairstyle as well to mark him as a fellow Soul of Osaka.
* InferioritySuperiorityComplex: Both Jinrai and Kira grew obsessed with power and control as they felt inferior to the more approachable Morigami and Takagi. Morigami willingly working as a subordinate, hoping Itsuki to fall for Jinrai despite also loving her and showing mercy to Jinrai even after he raped Itsuki only worsened that complex.
* InsaneTrollLogic: As the Karate Club is threatened by the school's student counsellor, Gantetsu forces Takagi to crossdress "until he graduates" so that the other gangsters won't pick up trouble with him.
* LawfulStupid: The Student Council President of Kangokou High tries to end the Karate Club for encouraging violence, and she forbids them to fight even as they are beaten by thugs who are holding her hostage. The conflict only ends when she turns a blind eye to let Takagi save her.
* LetsGetDangerous: Kabada was only trusted with the role of vice captain by his hero Morigami for his strong dedication to the Karate Club. He is a cowardly and weak bully, but when a rival school tries burning the uniform gifted to him by Morigami, he's enraged and is able to lead the Karate Club to success.
* TheLostLenore: Yuuko, the first leader of the Bad Girls who got kidnapped and raped by thugs just for being Takagi's girlfriend and ended up run over by a car while in shock. Her successor Megumi also dies in the exact same way after Takagi was starting to warm up to her.
* KiAttacks: The fourth secret of Tai Chi Chuan is performing energy blasts called Fa Jin. While Jinrai is only able to emulate the technique with his strength, Takagi ends up performing the original version of it that's designed for killing and is urged by Liu-yun [[ThouShaltNotKill to not use it]].
* KickTheDog:
** Jinrai raped Itsuki upon realizing she and Morigami loved each other but Morigami still wanted him to have her. He's later confused by her behaving as if she wants him to prove himself despite her hatred, and then finds some cruel amusement in her being tied to him for conceiving a ChildByRape.
** The Shinjuku Corps set a record on scumbaggery when they go on a "fox hunt", rampaging around Tokyo to murder the families and friends of their targets.
* LukeIAmYourFather: Takagi becomes so distraught to learn that his mentor and brother figure Jinrai is leading the Shikoku forces that he can't help but roll up on a blanket like a kid.
* MadeOfIron: Takagi and most of the other fighters in the story can handle a ridiculous amount of punishment. Even Matsushita is a IronButtMonkey and ultimately [[NobodyCanDie no one except for very minor background characters ever dies]].
* MyGreatestFailure: Takagi deeply regrets how Yuuko and Megumi were raped and killed as a result of his involvement in gang violence, to the point that when Megumi's sister Asuka brutally lashes out at him and the other delinquents in revenge, even injuring Momochiyo in the process, he doesn't hold it against her and makes a point to not let anyone harm the Bad Girls until he can convince her to stop with words alone.
* NoBadassToHisValet: Even Takagi owes respect to his own upperclassmen, though he will lash out and beat some of them if they prove too irritating. Out of them, the one who he truly respects is the Second Soul of Osaka, Morigami.
* NoGoodDeedGoesUnpunished:
** Matsushita and Saito are beaten up at various points for trying to do the right thing, requiring Takagi to show up and save their asses.
** After defeating Jinrai and saving Osaka, Takagi is expelled from school and is made the subject of various rumors as people begin attacking him for fame and glory more than ever before. He takes pity on some thugs he walloped just to end up stabbed in the gut as he was taking the last one home, which at least gives him the chance to fake his own death and try to start anew in Tokyo.
* NoSell: Rick Powered is able to prevent damage from nearly any attack by concentrating and flexing his muscles. Takagi manages to put an end to that by leaving them both hanging by the side of a high cliff, making Rick too scared to fight properly.
* NonNaziSwastika: One of the KFTH Karate Club members is nicknamed Manji because his hair is shaved in that shape. Takagi is also seen wearing a mask with a manji mark at some points.
* PintsizedPowerhouse: Tetsuya Sotogawa is shorter than the other best Osaka fighters, but he's as muscular as the others and is an expert grappler. Ironically, it's the massive Rikizan that takes on him during the tournament for the Soul of Osaka.
* PowerUpFood: Alinamin V energy drinks. Takagi is first fed one by his [[RecurringExtra pet chick]] and afterwards he stocks up on them like it's an RPG game.
* PreciousPuppy: Matsushita once adopts a dog left inside a box on a river... who naturally contracts leptospirosis and dies by the end of chapter after escaping from a health center to reunite with him.
* PutOnABus: Takagi moving to Tokyo results in the entire cast of supporting characters being replaced for some time.
* RapeIsASpecialKindOfEvil: The most despicable villains in the story rape their female victims. In particular, Jinrai completely turns to madness when he rapes Itsuki after finding she was in love with Morigami, who becomes outraged and attempts to fight him to the death. Later, Jinrai even finds a certain enjoyent in learning that Itsuki conceived a child from that encounter.
* RapidFireFisticuffs: Downplayed with Sagawa's Four-hit Thrust, which Takagi improves into a five-hit combo.
* RememberTheNewGuy:
** It is eventually revealed Takagi was requested to make Megumi disband the Bad Girls by her sister Asuka, who was a friend of Yuuko who blamed Takagi for her death.
** Chapter 102 introduces a group of the most powerful brawlers in Osaka. Among them, Kira challenges Takagi for the position of Soul of Osaka, criticizing his behaviour during the war with Kobe in which most of them didn't do anything of note either due to not yet existing in the story.
* RevengeByProxy:
** Takagi's former classmate Yuji starts brutally beating down the Karate Club members after stuffing their mouths with Shogi pieces because he was previously arrested for accidentally killing someone while saving Takagi during a school brawl.
** Asuka and the Bad Girls gang try to destroy all the gangs in Osaka to avenge Yuuko and Megumi who were murdered because of their connection to Takagi.
* RoaringRampageOfRevenge:
** After Megumi is raped and dies in a traffic accident, Takagi beats the perpetrator half-dead and crushes him under a motorcycle with [[TranquilFury cold-blooded]] [[CurbStompBattle efficiency]].
** After Momochiyo is heavily injured from falling down a flight of stairs while trying to escape from Ootsuka and his goons, Takagi takes her to a hospital while only leaving Ootsuka a threat. He then begs Andou to let him take his place on the upcoming boxing championship, not to simply beat Ootsuka but to leave him [[CareerEndingInjury crippled from a broken jaw]] on live television.
* RunningGag:
** On chapter 3, Takagi purchases and protects a handful of chicks... just to fry and eat them some time later. Since then, chicks standing over his head and shoulder are a recurring visual gag.
** Takagi going "Tralala" when panicking or going berserk starts from chapter 12 onwards.
** Momochiyo breaking windows and ears with her loud crying, which is even her super move in the Super Famicom fighting game.
* SamusIsAGirl: Takagi discovers that at least two of the Shadow Five are masked women after accidentally groping one of them.
* ShroudedInMyth: Rumors say Morigami fought Jinrai and his men in a great battle where he displayed his true murderous nature to earn the title of Soul of Osaka, but their backstory shows Morigami lost badly and Jinrai's followers were actually curb stomped for immediately turning on ''him'' for his cruel actions.
* ShoutOut:
** To fight the Cheering Squad of West Shinjuku, Yamamoto is taught to channel Rikiishi Toru of ''Manga/TomorrowsJoe'' and perform a deadly Razor Uppercut counter.
** The cover for chapter 198 has Takagi wearing a hair bow and riding a broom like he's [[Anime/KikisDeliveryService Kiki]].
* SmokingIsCool: Takagi and some other underage delinquents are occasionally shown smoking.
* TheSmurfettePrinciple: The Kangokou High Karate Club has Momochiyo as the only female fighter, and the West Shinjuku Academy Karate Club only has Marimo.
* SpellMyNameWithAnS: Various sources spell the series' title as either "Karatebu", "Karate Bu" or even "Karate-bu".
* SpiritAdvisor: The heavily injured Morigami appears as a spirit to Takagi, begging him to not simply defeat Jinrai in his stead, but to somehow restore him to the good-natured man he once knew. After Morigami fades away, Takagi receives the news his condition [[DisneyDeath actually has stabilized]].
* StayInTheKitchen:
** Takagi is at first upset to have the girly Momochiyo managing and training under the sausagefest that's the Karate Club, but he also gives her genuinely good self-defense lessons anytime she's in trouble, with a gentleness and patience he usually doesn't show to anyone else.
** By Asuka's request, Takagi demands Megumi disbands the Bad Girls gang out of worry for their safety, and right afterwards she is killed for helping him escape from an enemy gang.
** After defeating the female Shadow Five members with only intimidation tactics, Takagi quips that they should live like women and leave the fighting to the men.
* ThereCanBeOnlyOne: Because of Takagi hiding away during the war against Kobe until he recovered, the other strongest brawlers in Osaka start a ruckus fighting amonsgt themselves to take his place as the Soul of Osaka.
* TitleDrop: When Takagi establishes a new Karate Club at West Shinjuku Academy, he sets a "Go!! Karate Club" signpost by the door.
* UseYourHead: Takagi defeats Tofukuji with a chain of headbutts after luring him into close range.
* WeUsedToBeFriends:
** Takagi and Kira were both students of Jinrai since their childhood, but Kira grew intensely resentful of how people only seemed to appreciate Takagi no matter what he did.
** Morigami and Jinrai likewise were friends, but Jinrai grew obsessed and overly violent when Itsuki told him she liked all-powerful men. He began resenting Morigami's kindness and was driven to madness when it turned out Itsuki and Morigami had feelings for each other.
* TheWorfBarrage: Despite how powerful the Fa Jin is, Takagi either just bloodily grazes people with it, unconsciously holds it back or straight up misses it 99% of the time except for the final blow on arc villains.
* TheWorfEffect: During the Kobe war, all the previous main antagonists in the story and Morigami get their asses handed to them by Jinrai and his Four Devils.
* WouldntHitAGirl: Takagi threatens to destroy Asuka if she doesn't listen to reason and stop her revenge attempt on the gangs of Osaka, but no matter how much she injures him he only half-heartedly gestures a punch at her direction while crying for her plight. He then tells Morigami there's nothing in his fists that could harm a woman.
* YoungerThanTheyLook: Most of the male highschoolers in the story look far older than they actually are.
----
''Osu!! Karatebu'' (押忍!!空手部; ''Go!! Karate Club'') is a 1985 manga written and illustrated by Takahashi Kouji that was published in Shuukan Young Jump.
It began as a comical SliceOfLife series about Japan's teenage delinquent gang subculture told from the perspective of Matsushita Tadashi, a 2nd year student at Kangokou High and a constant target of numerous bullies who beat him up routinely after school. He is accompanied by his best friend Saitou Takaki, who is also constantly harassed.
As the pair grows tired of being victimized they decide to join the titular Karate Club, which is notorious throughout Osaka's youth gangs for training and producing the city's most hardened teenage thugs while maintaining the facade of a legit school sports club. But when they join, they find themselves picked on just as much if not worse by their new upperclassmen.
The story gradually changed its tone to a more serious and violent martial arts manga, with the perspective changing from Matsushita to his mentor Takagi Yoshiyuki, the streetwise, tough-as-nails captain of the Kangokou Karate Club as he faces the power struggles between delinquent gangs in both Osaka and its neighbouring cities.
The series was influenced by ''Aa!! Hana no Ouendan'' and influenced stories like ''Manga/CromartieHighSchool'' in turn. It spawned a four episode OVA mini-series released from 1990 to 1992, a 1990 live action movie, and a 1994 UsefulNotes/SuperFamicom fighting game.
----
!!This manga features the following tropes:
* AintTooProudToBeg: Takagi tries peacefully begging his Osakan rivals to stop fighting over the title of Soul of Osaka since it's obviously a plot from the Shikoku Alliance to take over the city, but runs out of patience as his allies are hurt and tackles them all at a tournament with the assistance of Sagawa, Rikizan and Sakuma.
* AndThisIsFor:
** In chapter 3, Takagi dedicates his beatdown of Ando to Matsushita and Saito.
** Takagi defeats Rick Powered with the signature attacks of his allies before dedicating the finishing blow to his Club and himself.
* AsskickingEqualsAuthority:
** In chapter 3, the Boxing Club starts pushing everyone around after Takagi loses a duel to Ando, but as soon as Takagi settles the score Matsushita and Saito suddenly become able to humiliate the boxing students in revenge.
** After Takagi fakes his death, Kabada becomes the new Karate Club captain and Matsushita and Saito are both made the vices. Not because they're any strong, but because of their passion for the Club and their fellow members.
* AtopAMountainOfCorpses: In chapter 201, Takagi sits atop a pile of Shibuya Corps mooks he had just defeated.
* BadassBoast: Takagi introduces himself to his new classmates at West Shinjuku Academy by asking one guy to hold a table for him, blasting them both with Fa Jin all the way to the next classroom and then sternly telling the others to just get along with him.
* BreakingTheFourthWall: Interestingly, Takagi starts doing this regularly after setting a TitleDrop signboard on his new Karate Club in Tokyo.
** One of the volume covers has Takagi asking the viewer to purchase it. In the story itself, on chapter 162, while daring a line of students of West Shinjuku Academy to hit him as a show of resolve, Takagi jokingly asks one to buy ''Osu!! Karatebu'' volumes.
** On chapter 195, Takagi shouts that if he misses his final Fa Jin than the next chapter will be the last.
** On chapter 198, Takagi asks Takeuchi if he's inviting him to read past issues of the manga together.
* BreakoutCharacter: Matsushita and Saito are the focus of the first few chapters, but their mentor Takagi proved far more popular and upstaged them as the true protagonist.
* TheBusCameBack: Kitamura from the Sumo Club shows up a hundred chapters later as one of the strongest Osaka fighters looking to dethrone Takagi, complete with a 4th wall break joke to him first appearing in volume 1. He remains a WarmUpBoss, though...
* ButtMonkey: Matsushita and Saito are weaklings compared to everyone else and on top of suffering under their upperclassmen's antics also frequently get their asses kicked [[BeingGoodSucks while fighting for justice]], though Takagi appreciates their strong morals and always ropes them along on adventures. Even as they do slowly grow as fighters, their misfortune gets to the point Matsushita openly expresses shame to Takagi over how weak they are.
* CampingACrapper: The Shadow Five try ambushing Takagi on the toilet, but he expected this and had his friends in wait for a counterattack. Unfortunately, they still get their asses kicked and Takagi is left hospitalized for some time.
* CarFu: Sato, the Shadow Five leader, takes a faceful of a speeding motorcycle twice, once by Takagi's decoy and then on a DynamicEntry by Takagi himself.
* CerebusSyndrome: The story gets increasingly serious as it goes on, and arcs such as the war between Osaka and Kobe and the following revenge of the Bad Girls gang on Takagi have little to no comic relief. Characters like Momochiyo were even [[ShooOutTheClowns noticeably absent]] during that war.
* ChekhovsGag: There's a running gag of the chicks that Takagi raises to cook into friend chicken standing atop him in various scenes. During the battle against the Shinjuku Corps, they keep popping out despite the serious tone of the arc until one actually plays a role by carrying over an energy drink to bring an unconscious Takagi back into action.
-->"Well, I'll be damned!! You see, we Osakans tend [[LampshadeHanging to make jokes even at important times]]... But I drank an Alinamin V, so I won't miss this time!"
* CombatPragmatist:
** Takagi acts like something of a CowardlyLion sometimes, avoiding facing too many thugs at once or fighters he knows he would take a ton of damage from and fighting dirty unless he is facing a WorthyOpponent.
** Yuji accidentally killed a man after stuffing his mouth with shogi pieces and punching him square in the face. He also tosses sand at Takagi's eyes during their fight.
* CompressedAdaptation: The [=OVAs=] adapt some of the early stories and then the invasion from Kobe, but leave several key scenes out. One example is how Morigami is introduced in Kabada's backstory, leaving out how he met Takagi and chose him as his successor in the first place. Morigami's defeat to the Twin Reapers of Kobe is then offscreened and the rematch is abridged, to the point of leaving out the part where he goes berserk and his shared backstory with Jinrai is first mentioned.
* DarkestHour: After Takagi is unable to prevent the invasion of Osaka by the Kobe gangs, he returns to find KFTH and all the other local highschools destroyed. He decides to go into hiding until he recovers from his injuries and so the villains start torturing all the Karate Club's members and allies to draw him out.
* ADateWithRosiePalms: The story starts with the karate club freshmen being forced to quickly masturbate as training for whatever reason.
* DeathGlare:
** When Takagi first met Rikizan the Devil Bear, he wound up a punch but flinched in fear upon getting a good look on his face. Rikizan sneered down at Tagaki and... then dropped on his knees apologizing for the trouble, only further confusing him.
** Rikizan then first faced defeat upon being overwhelmed by five hundred men who glared back with such intense hatred for his actions that he was paralyzed with regret for how he had lead his life.
* DefeatMeansFriendship: Takagi is said to have a fist that draws people to him. Former enemies such as the Pillars of Kobe willingly help him in times of need, stating they don't hold a grudge for their previous defeat.
* DistantFinale: 16 years after the Saga of Good and Evil, a tougher-looking Matsushita goes to a reunion party with his former classmates and other people who cared for Takagi. They're told by Morigami that Takagi, who's been missing since he was arrested for his part in the final battle, is living somewhere in Africa [[HappilyEverAfter with Momochiyo]] and working as a merc [[AndTheAdventureContinues to take down criminal organizations]] in conflict zones.
* DropTheHammer: Hiroyuki Tanaka of the Shikoku Alliance wields a large hammer.
* DudeLooksLikeALady: Yoshimura [[AtrociousAlias "The Fag"]], the girly-looking mechanics geek who helped Takagi to race Hirayama Keiji.
* DumbMuscle: Takagi is the sort of guy who starts bleeding from the nose if he reads anything for more than four minutes. Him being BookDumb and not getting history or even vocabulary right is a running gag.
* EarlyInstallmentWeirdness:
** The lighthearted early chapters focus on Matsushita and emphasize the ridiculous spartan training of the karate club. Takagi is also portrayed as more of a jerkass whose first training lesson is telling the freshmen to shakedown people. By the time Takagi defeats Jinrai, the tone of the story has shifted so much he has to lean on the fourth wall to remind readers he's supposed to be an OrdinaryHighSchoolStudent.
** The first time Takagi is seen in his berserk mode, he laughs like "Gehehehe" instead of "Tralala".
* EliteMooks: The Shinjuku Young Bloods members surprise Takagi by not going down in a single like like other generic mooks in the story... not that it matters at all once other antagonists show up to beat them senseless.
* EyeScream:
** Morigami has his right eye damaged and the left one destroyed in his battles against Jinrai.
** To defeat Hayashi, Shimotori turns ruthless and shoves his fingers inside the guy's eyes, declaring even being branded a criminal for this is worth it for not being humiliated by him ever again.
* FakingTheDead: Following the battle against the Shinkoku Alliance, Takagi is stabbed by a random thug he was helping and takes the chance to fake his own death so he [[ThatManIsDead can be free from all the burden he's accumulated]] and move on to Tokyo. Only Matsushita, Saito, Momochiyo and Morigami are told the truth and send him off.
* GoodScarsEvilScars: Morigami's right side of his face has a slash scar from Jinrai's lightning punch, and Jinrai had the left side of his face burned by acid when he was assaulting Itsuki.
* GracefulLoser:
** Takagi tells Morigami the word "defeat" doesn't exist in his dictionary, but after deciding to fight him fairly out of respect and being unable to win that way he simply smiles and remarks he'll add the word "concede" instead.
** Takagi incapacitates Kira in a single blow, but then extends him a friendly hand. The nearby crowd shouts Kira's name in a gesture of forgiveness, and so he accepts Tagaki as the one Soul of Osaka.
* HandicappedBadass: Morigami is said to have beaten Jinrai and his many followers in a gruesome battle, but was left with a [[EyeScream damaged right eye]] and this is exploited by the later opponents he faces. To make things worse, Jinrai then destroys his left eye on their next battle.
* HeroicBSOD: When Takagi learns his former master Jinrai has become evil, he loses all willpower and leaves with Momochiyo to Kobe. The Three Pillars of Kobe ambush and rough Takagi up for a bit before taking him to their master Liu-yun, who inspires him to fight and teaches the powerful techniques of Tai Chi Chuan.
* HisNameIs: Rikizan gets stomped by Kira when he's warning Takagi about the Red Lightning of Shikoku, which actually makes it clear to Takagi that the Red Lightning is former Soul of Osaka Jinrai and that Kira, Jinrai's best pupil, is really TheMole.
* HopeBringer: Takagi commands the respect of all delinquents in Osaka with his dedication for the city, which the more agressive Soul of Osaka candidate Kira couldn't understand.
* ImportantHaircut: Morigami has his hair shaved into the same star shape as Jinrai's out of admiration and later had Takagi get the same hairstyle as well to mark him as a fellow Soul of Osaka.
* InferioritySuperiorityComplex: Both Jinrai and Kira grew obsessed with power and control as they felt inferior to the more approachable Morigami and Takagi. Morigami willingly working as a subordinate, hoping Itsuki to fall for Jinrai despite also loving her and showing mercy to Jinrai even after he raped Itsuki only worsened that complex.
* InsaneTrollLogic: As the Karate Club is threatened by the school's student counsellor, Gantetsu forces Takagi to crossdress "until he graduates" so that the other gangsters won't pick up trouble with him.
* LawfulStupid: The Student Council President of Kangokou High tries to end the Karate Club for encouraging violence, and she forbids them to fight even as they are beaten by thugs who are holding her hostage. The conflict only ends when she turns a blind eye to let Takagi save her.
* LetsGetDangerous: Kabada was only trusted with the role of vice captain by his hero Morigami for his strong dedication to the Karate Club. He is a cowardly and weak bully, but when a rival school tries burning the uniform gifted to him by Morigami, he's enraged and is able to lead the Karate Club to success.
* TheLostLenore: Yuuko, the first leader of the Bad Girls who got kidnapped and raped by thugs just for being Takagi's girlfriend and ended up run over by a car while in shock. Her successor Megumi also dies in the exact same way after Takagi was starting to warm up to her.
* KiAttacks: The fourth secret of Tai Chi Chuan is performing energy blasts called Fa Jin. While Jinrai is only able to emulate the technique with his strength, Takagi ends up performing the original version of it that's designed for killing and is urged by Liu-yun [[ThouShaltNotKill to not use it]].
* KickTheDog:
** Jinrai raped Itsuki upon realizing she and Morigami loved each other but Morigami still wanted him to have her. He's later confused by her behaving as if she wants him to prove himself despite her hatred, and then finds some cruel amusement in her being tied to him for conceiving a ChildByRape.
** The Shinjuku Corps set a record on scumbaggery when they go on a "fox hunt", rampaging around Tokyo to murder the families and friends of their targets.
* LukeIAmYourFather: Takagi becomes so distraught to learn that his mentor and brother figure Jinrai is leading the Shikoku forces that he can't help but roll up on a blanket like a kid.
* MadeOfIron: Takagi and most of the other fighters in the story can handle a ridiculous amount of punishment. Even Matsushita is a IronButtMonkey and ultimately [[NobodyCanDie no one except for very minor background characters ever dies]].
* MyGreatestFailure: Takagi deeply regrets how Yuuko and Megumi were raped and killed as a result of his involvement in gang violence, to the point that when Megumi's sister Asuka brutally lashes out at him and the other delinquents in revenge, even injuring Momochiyo in the process, he doesn't hold it against her and makes a point to not let anyone harm the Bad Girls until he can convince her to stop with words alone.
* NoBadassToHisValet: Even Takagi owes respect to his own upperclassmen, though he will lash out and beat some of them if they prove too irritating. Out of them, the one who he truly respects is the Second Soul of Osaka, Morigami.
* NoGoodDeedGoesUnpunished:
** Matsushita and Saito are beaten up at various points for trying to do the right thing, requiring Takagi to show up and save their asses.
** After defeating Jinrai and saving Osaka, Takagi is expelled from school and is made the subject of various rumors as people begin attacking him for fame and glory more than ever before. He takes pity on some thugs he walloped just to end up stabbed in the gut as he was taking the last one home, which at least gives him the chance to fake his own death and try to start anew in Tokyo.
* NoSell: Rick Powered is able to prevent damage from nearly any attack by concentrating and flexing his muscles. Takagi manages to put an end to that by leaving them both hanging by the side of a high cliff, making Rick too scared to fight properly.
* NonNaziSwastika: One of the KFTH Karate Club members is nicknamed Manji because his hair is shaved in that shape. Takagi is also seen wearing a mask with a manji mark at some points.
* PintsizedPowerhouse: Tetsuya Sotogawa is shorter than the other best Osaka fighters, but he's as muscular as the others and is an expert grappler. Ironically, it's the massive Rikizan that takes on him during the tournament for the Soul of Osaka.
* PowerUpFood: Alinamin V energy drinks. Takagi is first fed one by his [[RecurringExtra pet chick]] and afterwards he stocks up on them like it's an RPG game.
* PreciousPuppy: Matsushita once adopts a dog left inside a box on a river... who naturally contracts leptospirosis and dies by the end of chapter after escaping from a health center to reunite with him.
* PutOnABus: Takagi moving to Tokyo results in the entire cast of supporting characters being replaced for some time.
* RapeIsASpecialKindOfEvil: The most despicable villains in the story rape their female victims. In particular, Jinrai completely turns to madness when he rapes Itsuki after finding she was in love with Morigami, who becomes outraged and attempts to fight him to the death. Later, Jinrai even finds a certain enjoyent in learning that Itsuki conceived a child from that encounter.
* RapidFireFisticuffs: Downplayed with Sagawa's Four-hit Thrust, which Takagi improves into a five-hit combo.
* RememberTheNewGuy:
** It is eventually revealed Takagi was requested to make Megumi disband the Bad Girls by her sister Asuka, who was a friend of Yuuko who blamed Takagi for her death.
** Chapter 102 introduces a group of the most powerful brawlers in Osaka. Among them, Kira challenges Takagi for the position of Soul of Osaka, criticizing his behaviour during the war with Kobe in which most of them didn't do anything of note either due to not yet existing in the story.
* RevengeByProxy:
** Takagi's former classmate Yuji starts brutally beating down the Karate Club members after stuffing their mouths with Shogi pieces because he was previously arrested for accidentally killing someone while saving Takagi during a school brawl.
** Asuka and the Bad Girls gang try to destroy all the gangs in Osaka to avenge Yuuko and Megumi who were murdered because of their connection to Takagi.
* RoaringRampageOfRevenge:
** After Megumi is raped and dies in a traffic accident, Takagi beats the perpetrator half-dead and crushes him under a motorcycle with [[TranquilFury cold-blooded]] [[CurbStompBattle efficiency]].
** After Momochiyo is heavily injured from falling down a flight of stairs while trying to escape from Ootsuka and his goons, Takagi takes her to a hospital while only leaving Ootsuka a threat. He then begs Andou to let him take his place on the upcoming boxing championship, not to simply beat Ootsuka but to leave him [[CareerEndingInjury crippled from a broken jaw]] on live television.
* RunningGag:
** On chapter 3, Takagi purchases and protects a handful of chicks... just to fry and eat them some time later. Since then, chicks standing over his head and shoulder are a recurring visual gag.
** Takagi going "Tralala" when panicking or going berserk starts from chapter 12 onwards.
** Momochiyo breaking windows and ears with her loud crying, which is even her super move in the Super Famicom fighting game.
* SamusIsAGirl: Takagi discovers that at least two of the Shadow Five are masked women after accidentally groping one of them.
* ShroudedInMyth: Rumors say Morigami fought Jinrai and his men in a great battle where he displayed his true murderous nature to earn the title of Soul of Osaka, but their backstory shows Morigami lost badly and Jinrai's followers were actually curb stomped for immediately turning on ''him'' for his cruel actions.
* ShoutOut:
** To fight the Cheering Squad of West Shinjuku, Yamamoto is taught to channel Rikiishi Toru of ''Manga/TomorrowsJoe'' and perform a deadly Razor Uppercut counter.
** The cover for chapter 198 has Takagi wearing a hair bow and riding a broom like he's [[Anime/KikisDeliveryService Kiki]].
* SmokingIsCool: Takagi and some other underage delinquents are occasionally shown smoking.
* TheSmurfettePrinciple: The Kangokou High Karate Club has Momochiyo as the only female fighter, and the West Shinjuku Academy Karate Club only has Marimo.
* SpellMyNameWithAnS: Various sources spell the series' title as either "Karatebu", "Karate Bu" or even "Karate-bu".
* SpiritAdvisor: The heavily injured Morigami appears as a spirit to Takagi, begging him to not simply defeat Jinrai in his stead, but to somehow restore him to the good-natured man he once knew. After Morigami fades away, Takagi receives the news his condition [[DisneyDeath actually has stabilized]].
* StayInTheKitchen:
** Takagi is at first upset to have the girly Momochiyo managing and training under the sausagefest that's the Karate Club, but he also gives her genuinely good self-defense lessons anytime she's in trouble, with a gentleness and patience he usually doesn't show to anyone else.
** By Asuka's request, Takagi demands Megumi disbands the Bad Girls gang out of worry for their safety, and right afterwards she is killed for helping him escape from an enemy gang.
** After defeating the female Shadow Five members with only intimidation tactics, Takagi quips that they should live like women and leave the fighting to the men.
* ThereCanBeOnlyOne: Because of Takagi hiding away during the war against Kobe until he recovered, the other strongest brawlers in Osaka start a ruckus fighting amonsgt themselves to take his place as the Soul of Osaka.
* TitleDrop: When Takagi establishes a new Karate Club at West Shinjuku Academy, he sets a "Go!! Karate Club" signpost by the door.
* UseYourHead: Takagi defeats Tofukuji with a chain of headbutts after luring him into close range.
* WeUsedToBeFriends:
** Takagi and Kira were both students of Jinrai since their childhood, but Kira grew intensely resentful of how people only seemed to appreciate Takagi no matter what he did.
** Morigami and Jinrai likewise were friends, but Jinrai grew obsessed and overly violent when Itsuki told him she liked all-powerful men. He began resenting Morigami's kindness and was driven to madness when it turned out Itsuki and Morigami had feelings for each other.
* TheWorfBarrage: Despite how powerful the Fa Jin is, Takagi either just bloodily grazes people with it, unconsciously holds it back or straight up misses it 99% of the time except for the final blow on arc villains.
* TheWorfEffect: During the Kobe war, all the previous main antagonists in the story and Morigami get their asses handed to them by Jinrai and his Four Devils.
* WouldntHitAGirl: Takagi threatens to destroy Asuka if she doesn't listen to reason and stop her revenge attempt on the gangs of Osaka, but no matter how much she injures him he only half-heartedly gestures a punch at her direction while crying for her plight. He then tells Morigami there's nothing in his fists that could harm a woman.
* YoungerThanTheyLook: Most of the male highschoolers in the story look far older than they actually are.
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