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Kekko Kamen
Kekko Kamen #1 (2008) published by D/visual
けっこう仮面 (Kekkō Kamen)
Genre	Comedy, Erotic
Manga
Author	Go Nagai
Publisher	Shueisha
Other publishers: D/visual
Demographic	Shōnen
Magazine	Monthly Shōnen Jump
Original run	September 1974 – February 1978
Volumes	5
Anime
Director	Koji Morimoto
Studio	Dynamic Planning
Licensor	ADV Films
Live-action film
Director	Hikari Hayakawa
Producer	Naokatsu Ito Ken Urasaki
Writer	Hikari Hayakawa
Studio	Japan Home Video
Released	March 22, 1991
Runtime	60 minutes
Light novel
Shosetsu Kekko Kamen
Author	Masashi Sogo
Illustrator	Go Nagai
Publisher	Asahi Sonorama
Imprint	Sonorama Bunko
Published	May 1991
Live-action film
Kekko Kamen 2: We'll be back...
Director	Yutaka Akiyama
Producer	Naokatsu Ito
Writer	Yutaka Akiyama
Composer	Masaya Abe
Studio	Japan Home Video
Released	March 27, 1992
Runtime	80 minutes
Live-action film
Kekko Kamen 3
Director	Yutaka Akiyama
Producer	Naokatsu Ito Toji Kato Gunya Sachimori
Writer	Yutaka Akiyama
Composer	Masaya Abe
Studio	Japan Home Video
Released	April 23, 1993
Runtime	95 minutes
Live-action film
Director	Takafumi Nagamine
Producer	Shin Yoneyama Shigeyuki Fukushima (associate producer) Junichi Matsushita (executive producer)
Writer	Yuki Okano
Composer	Mari Shimizu
Studio	Art Port
Licensor	Media Blasters
Released	February 6, 2004
Runtime	70 minutes
Live-action film
Kekko Kamen: Mangriffon no Gyakushu
Director	Takafumi Nagamine
Producer	Shin Yoneyama Shigeyuki Fukushima Junichi Matsushita
Writer	Yuki Okano Keiichi Sakano
Composer	Mari Shimizu
Studio	Art Port
Licensor	Media Blasters
Released	July 23, 2004
Runtime	70 minutes
Live-action film
Kekko Kamen Returns
Director	Takafumi Nagamine
Producer	Shin Yoneyama Shigeyuki Fukushima Junichi Matsushita
Writer	Yuki Okano
Composer	Mari Shimizu
Studio	Art Port
Licensor	Media Blasters
Released	October 31, 2004
Runtime	70 minutes
Live-action film
Kekko Kamen Surprise
Director	Takafumi Nagamine
Producer	Shin Yoneyama Shigeyuki Fukushima Junichi Matsushita
Writer	Yuki Okano
Composer	Mari Shimizu
Studio	Art Port
Licensor	Media Blasters
Released	October 31, 2004
Runtime	70 minutes
Live-action film
Kekko Kamen Royale
Director	Kosuke Suzuki
Producer	Junichi Matsushita
Writer	Rui Tsubota
Composer	Koji Endo
Studio	Art Port
Released	May 25, 2007
Runtime	70 minutes
Live-action film
Kekko Kamen Premium
Director	Kosuke Suzuki
Producer	Junichi Matsushita
Writer	Rui Tsubota
Composer	Koji Endo
Studio	Art Port
Released	June 22, 2007
Runtime	72 minutes
Live-action film
Kekko Kamen Forever
Director	Kosuke Suzuki
Producer	Junichi Matsushita
Writer	Rui Tsubota
Composer	Koji Endo
Studio	Art Port
Released	July 27, 2007
Runtime	70 minutes
Anime and Manga Portal

Kekko Kamen (けっこう仮面, Kekkō Kamen ^?, sometimes romanized as Kekkou Kamen, Kekko Masked, Mask of Kekkou or Mask the Kekkou, and translated as Splendid Mask) is originally a shōnen manga series from Japanese creator Go Nagai, which spawned an OVA series and several live-action films. The manga series is about the misadventures of a student named Mayumi Takahashi who attends a boarding school called Toenail of Satan's Spartan Institute of Higher Education that is run by sexual predators. The teachers are constantly looking for ways to torture or humiliate the students, and from this the teachers derive sexual satisfaction. Takahashi's only protection is from a mysterious figure known as Kekko Kamen.

Kekko Kamen is a female superhero whose costume consists solely of red boots, gloves, scarf and a mask with long bunny-like ears. Her fighting style is graceful, and her finishing move involves driving the opponent to the ground with a flying headscissors takedown which presses her groin into the victim's face. While regularly considered as a hentai series, it doesn't have many explicit sexual situations, neither in the manga, anime or live-action series, though there is abundant female nudity in all of them.

Kekko Kamen is a parody of Gekko Kamen. It was originally a joke that Nagai sent to his editor expecting him to reject it. His editor, however, loved the idea and that started Kekko Kamen^[1]. As well as the similarity in name, both Kekko Kamen's and Gekko Kamen's true identity is never revealed. Even the name of the main antagonist is a parody: in Gekko Kamen it's Claw of Satan (サタンの爪 - Satan no Tsume) while in Kekko Kamen it's Toenail of Satan (サタンの足の爪 - Satan no Ashi no Tsume)

Ten live-action films have been made of Kekko Kamen, along with one OVA series. A photobook has also been made, featuring a martial artist as Kekkō Kamen. A sequel photobook featuring Kekkō Kamen's daughter, Kurenai Kamen, has also been made.

The main character lurks around a corrupt, misogynistic "high education" high school called the Sparta Academy (スパルタ学園 - Suparuta Gakuen), where the penalty for any student (usually girls) making the slightest mistake is being sexually humiliated by the perverted teachers running the school, the mastermind being a demonic, jester-like villain named "Toenail of Satan" (サタンの足の爪 - Satan no Ashi no Tsume), an obvious parody of Moonlight Mask's popular adversary, Claw of Satan (サタンの爪 - Satan no Tsume). Before the teachers take their sexual advances too far, Kekkō Kamen breaks in and beats up the bad guy before performing a finishing attack by jumping into the air and landing crotch-first onto the opponent's face, breaking his neck with her legs. In death, the villain has a smile on his face.

The theme song for Kekkō Kamen (used in anime and tokusatsu adaptations as well as the original manga) uses the same lyrics for the theme song to Moonlight Mask, but with changes, of course.

Live-action films

There have been ten live-action films dedicated to Kekko Kamen. Go Nagai has been intricately involved in the production of the films.

The titles and order of the ten live-action Kekko Kamen films are as follows:

• Kekko Kamen (けっこう仮面)(1991)
• Kekko Kamen 2: We'll be back... (けっこう仮面２ Ｗｅ’ｌｌ ｂｅ ｂａｃｋ・・・)(1992)
• Kekko Kamen 3 (けっこう仮面３ aka Kekko Kamen in Love)(1993)
• Kekko Kamen (けっこう仮面 aka Kekkou Kamen, Mask of Kekkou, Kekko Kamen New)(2004)
• Kekko Kamen: Mangriffon no Gyakushu (けっこう仮面 マングリフォンの逆襲, also known as Kekko Kamen: The MGF Strikes Back)(2004)
• Kekko Kamen Returns (けっこう仮面 ＲＥＴＵＲＮＳ)(2004)
• Kekko Kamen Surprise (けっこう仮面 ＳＵＲＰＲＩＳＥ)(2004)
• Kekko Kamen Royale (けっこう仮面 ロワイヤル)(2007)
• Kekko Kamen Premium (けっこう仮面 プレミアム)(2007)
• Kekko Kamen Forever (けっこう仮面 フォーエバー)(2007)

Note that in both 1991 and 2004 films were produced under the simple title Kekko Kamen. In the West, the 2004 film is often differentiated from the original by the title Kekko Kamen New!. The first three and the last three films were released in direct-to-video format, while the four films of 2004 were theatrically released in Japan.

Staff of Kekko Kamen (1991)

• Studio: Japan Home Video
• Director: Hikari Hayakawa
• Producer: Naokatsu Ito, Ken Urasaki
• Associate Producer: Yasutada Uemura
• Original: Go Nagai
• Writer: Hikari Hayakawa
• Cinematography: Kazuhiko Nara
• Manufacture: Tadao Masumizu
• Illumination: Takeshi Nakasu
• General supervision: Go Nagai
• Art: Kiyoshi Kakui
• Cast: Chris Aoki (Keiko Natsuwata / Kekko Kamen*), Paul Maki (Satan no Ashi no Tsume), Yumi Goto (Mayumi Takahashi), Tsutomu Sekine (special appearance), Suzumi Hanai (Yuka Chigusa), Michie Watanabe (Kaori Wakatsuki), Miyuki Sawamura (Akane Aoyama), Makiko Nagata (female student A), Shohei Yamamoto (Mujo no Suke), Pretty Nagashima (Tachibana-sensei), Moroka Moro

The role of Kekko Kamen is credited as ?, to keep it as a secret as in the series. However, it is known that it was played by actress Chris Aoki.^[2]

Staff of Kekko Kamen 2: We'll be back... (1992)

• Studio: Japan Home Video
• Director: Yutaka Akiyama
• Producer: Naokatsu Ito
• Original: Go Nagai
• Writer: Yutaka Akiyama
• Cinematography: Haruhi Taguchi
• SFX: Hajime Matsumoto
• Music: Masaya Abe
• Theatrical combat: Satoru Fukasaku
• Art: Akio Fukuda
• Production: Japan Home Video, Dynamic Planning
• Cast: Rie Nakano (Mayumi Takahashi), Mirei Asaoka (Koichi Omote), Chris Aoki (Keiko Natsuwata / Kekko Kamen*), Chika Matsui (Kaori Wakatsuki), Hajime Tsukumo (Satan no Ashi no Tsume), Jiro Dan, Akira Oizumi, Kenji Yamaguchi, Rie Kondo, Go Nagai (special appearance), Masatoshi Igarashi

The role of Kekko Kamen is credited as ?, but it is known that it was played by actress Chris Aoki.

Staff of Kekko Kamen 3 (1993)

• Studio: Japan Home Video
• Director: Yutaka Akiyama
• Producer: Naokatsu Ito, Toji Kato, Gunya Sachimori
• Original: Go Nagai
• Writer: Yutaka Akiyama
• Cinematography: Haruhi Taguchi
• Music: Masaya Abe
• Cooperation: Yasutada Uemura
• Supervisor: Go Nagai
• Illumination: Masakatsu Izumi
• Audio: Kazuyuki Tsuchiya
• Art: Akio Fukuda
• Production: Matsushita Promotion, Japan Home Video, Dynamic Planning
• Costume player: Ippongi Bang
• Cast: Asami Katsuragi (Mayumi Takahashi), Mayumi Yoshioka, Mayumi Takahashi, Chika Matsui (Kaori Wakatsuki), Chris Aoki (Keiko Natsuwata / Kekko Kamen*), Rie Kondo, Mayumi Ozaki, Hajime Tsukumo (Satan no Ashi no Tsume), Akira Oizumi, Shun Sugata, Ai Ichinoki, Takayasu Komiya

The role of Kekko Kamen is credited as ?, but it is known that it was played by actress Chris Aoki.

Staff of Kekko Kamen (2004)

• Studio: Art Port
• Director: Takafumi Nagamine
• Producer: Shin Yoneyama
• Executive producer: Junichi Matsushita
• Associate producer: Shigeyuki Fukushima
• Planning: Toji Kato
• Original: Go Nagai
• Writer: Yuki Okano
• Cinematography: Eiichi Osawa, Toshiya Onishi
• Art: Akira Ishige
• Music: Mari Shimizu
• Cooperation: Dynamic Planning
• Cast: Shino Saito (Keiko Natsuwata / Kekko Kamen*), Juri Inahara (Mayumi Takahashi), Moa Arimoto (Wakana Nakai), Ren Suzuki (Kyoichi Furusawa), Nao Yuasa (Jun Takenochi), Hiromi Nagayama (Akira Oshima), Hiromitsu Suzuki, Kenjiro Ishimaru, Hideo Sako (Kajiro Suto), Satoshi Wada (Shatai Osuo), Nao Eguchi, Fang Suzuki, Keiko Kubo (Mizuho Sakuragi), Go Nagai (as himself)

The role of Kekko Kamen is credited as ? in the Japanese credits, but it is known that it was played by actress Shino Saito.^[3][4]

Staff of Kekko Kamen: Mangriffon no Gyakushu (2004)

• Studio: Art Port
• Director: Takafumi Nagamine
• Producer: Shin Yoneyama
• Executive producer: Junichi Matsushita
• Associate producer: Shigeyuki Fukushima
• Planning: Toji Kato
• Original: Go Nagai
• Writer: Yuki Okano, Keiichi Sakano
• Cinematography: Eiichi Osawa, Toshiya Onishi
• Art: Akira Ishige
• Music: Mari Shimizu
• Cooperation: Dynamic Planning
• Cast: Shino Saito (Keiko Natsuwata / Kekko Kamen*), Juri Inahara (Mayumi Takahashi), Maho (Chiyoko Nakamura), Tomomi Tsubaki (Natsumi Shibuya), Noriko Higashide (Gozo Kamao), Shinichi Oshima (Chutaro Sasaki), Keiko Kubo (Mizuho Sakuragi), Kenjiro Ishimaru, Hiromitsu Suzuki (Allsa Berdo / Dean), Moa Arimoto (Wakana Nakai), Nao Yuasa (Jun Takenochi), Ren Suzuki (Kyoichi Furusawa), Hiromi Nagayama (Akira Oshima), Hideo Sako (Kajiro Suto), Nao Eguchi (Shino Nakada child), Satoshi Wada (Shatai Osuo), Fang Suzuki (Fuko Kuremusa), Natsume Sano (Eri Saito), Karin (Sakura Oki), Kazuki Yamamoto (Mineto Osaki), Takuya Suzuki (Kurt Hining)

The role of Kekko Kamen is credited as ? in the Japanese credits, but it is known that it was played by actress Shino Saito.^[5][6][7]

Staff of Kekko Kamen Returns (2004)

• Studio: Art Port
• Director: Takafumi Nagamine
• Producer: Shin Yoneyama
• Executive producer: Junichi Matsushita
• Associate producer: Shigeyuki Fukushima
• Planning: Toji Kato
• Original: Go Nagai
• Writer: Yuki Okano
• Cinematography: Eiichi Osawa, Toshiya Onishi
• Art: Akira Ishige
• Music: Mari Shimizu
• Assistant director: Tatsuya Yamamoto
• Cooperation: Dynamic Planning
• Cast: Misaki (Kaori Wakatsuki/Kekko Kamen*), Aki Hoshino (Mayumi Takahama), Kenjiro Ishimaru (Seijin Mizuki), Tomomi Yoshino (Ayana Isono), Nana Usami (Yoko Hirano), Taichi Yamada (Iya~n Soap), Shinichi Oshima (Odajima), Ryuji Komiya (Kai Atsuta), Yumi Uchida, Maiko Tanaka, Mika Ojima, Akira Sakamoto

The role of Kekko Kamen is credited as ? in the Japanese credits, but it is known that it was played by actress Misaki Mori (credited as Misaki).^[8][9][10]

Staff of Kekko Kamen Surprise (2004)

• Studio: Art Port
• Director: Takafumi Nagamine
• Producer: Shin Yoneyama
• Executive producer: Junichi Matsushita
• Associate producer: Shigeyuki Fukushima
• Planning: Toji Kato
• Original: Go Nagai
• Writer: Yuki Okano
• Cinematography: Eiichi Osawa, Toshiya Onishi
• Art: Akira Ishige
• Music: Mari Shimizu
• Assistant director: Tatsuya Yamamoto
• Edition: Takahiro Watanabe
• Illumination: Michinori Tsuda
• Cooperation: Dynamic Planning
• Cast: Misaki (Kaori Wakatsuki/Kekko Kamen*), Aki Hoshino (Mayumi Uchita), Maki Yamakawa (Ritsuko Chono), Shoichiro Akaboshi, Kenjiro Ishimaru (big villain), Noriko Higashide (Kiyomi Otonashi), Risa Uemura (Kyoko Tsuruno), Nana Kasai (Risa Utagawa), Jiro Dan (Commanding officer), Tomoaki Hayashishita (Norio Fueki), Joji Yokozawa (Tsutomu Betto)

The role of Kekko Kamen is credited as ? in the Japanese credits, but it is known that it was played by actress Misaki Mori (credited as Misaki).^{[10][11][12][13]}

Staff of Kekko Kamen Royale (2007)

• Studio: Art Port
• Director: Kosuke Suzuki
• Manufacturing: Junichi Matsushita
• Original work: Go Nagai
• Writer: Rui Tsubota
• Cinematography: Nobuhisa Ito
• Music: Koji Endo
• Cast: Maria Ozawa (Chigusa Yuka/Kekko Kamen), Hitomi Kitamura (Mayumi Takahashi), Nene (Keiko Natsuwata), Sasa Handa (Koichi Omote), Koichi Obori, Masashi Kumada, Yoshiyuki Morishita, Nocchi (Satan no Ashi no Tsume)

Staff of Kekko Kamen Premium (2007)

• Studio: Art Port
• Director: Kosuke Suzuki
• Manufacturing: Junichi Matsushita
• Original work: Go Nagai
• Writer: Rui Tsubota
• Cinematography: Nobuhisa Ito
• Music: Koji Endo
• Cast: Maria Ozawa (Chigusa Yuka/Kekko Kamen), Hitomi Kitamura (Mayumi Takahashi), Nene (Keiko Natsuwata), Sasa Handa (Koichi Omote), Nocchi (Satan no Ashi no Tsume), Koichi Obori, Akio Seki, Yoshiharu Hayashi

Staff of Kekko Kamen Forever (2007)

• Studio: Art Port
• Director: Kosuke Suzuki
• Manufacturing: Junichi Matsushita
• Original work: Go Nagai
• Writer: Rui Tsubota
• Cinematography: Nobuhisa Ito
• Music: Koji Endo
• Cast: Maria Ozawa (Chigusa Yuka/Kekko Kamen), Hitomi Kitamura (Mayumi Takahashi), Nene (Keiko Natsuwata), Sasa Handa (Koichi Omote), Nocchi (Satan no Ashi no Tsume), Koichi Obori, Kenichi Endo, Karika

Parodies

• Angel Blade is a hentai parody produced in the Vanilla Series.

References

External links

Manga and anime

• Kekkou Kamen Anime, Manga and Live-Action at Okazu, The Yuri Blog
• (Japanese) Kekko Kamen (manga) at the World of Go Nagai webpage
• Kekko Kamen (OVA) at Anime News Network's Encyclopedia

Live-action films

• Kekko Kamen (1991) (Japanese) Official website at Japan Home Video
• Kekko Kamen (1991) (Japanese) at allcinema
• Kekko Kamen (1991) (Japanese) at the Japanese Movie Database
• Kekko Kamen (1991) at the Internet Movie Database
• Kekko Kamen 2: We'll be back... (1992) (Japanese) Official website at Japan Home Video
• Kekko Kamen 2: We'll be back... (1992) (Japanese) at allcinema
• Kekko Kamen 2: We'll be back... (1992) (Japanese) at the Japanese Movie Database
• Kekko Kamen 2 (1992) at the Internet Movie Database
• Kekko Kamen 3 (1993) (Japanese) Official website at Japan Home Video
• Kekko Kamen 3 (1993) (Japanese) at allcinema
• Kekko Kamen 3 (1993) (Japanese) at the Japanese Movie Database
• Kekko Kamen 3 (1993) at the Internet Movie Database
• Kekko Kamen theatrical films official website (Japanese) at Art Port
• Kekko Kamen theatrical films official website (Japanese) in the Internet Archive Wayback Machine
• Kekko Kamen (2004) official website (Japanese) at Art Port
• Kekko Kamen (2004) at the Internet Movie Database
• Kekko Kamen (2004) (Japanese) at allcinema
• Kekko Kamen (2004) (Japanese) at the Japanese Movie Database
• Kekko Kamen: Mangriffon no Gyakushu (2004) official website (Japanese) at Art Port
• Kekko Kamen: The MGF Strikes Back at the Internet Movie Database
• Kekko Kamen: Mangriffon no Gyakushu (2004) (Japanese) at allcinema
• Kekko Kamen: Mangriffon no Gyakushu (2004) (Japanese) at the Japanese Movie Database
• Kekko Kamen Returns (2004) official website (Japanese) at Art Port
• Kekko Kamen Returns at the Internet Movie Database
• Kekko Kamen Returns (2004) (Japanese) at allcinema
• Kekko Kamen Returns (2004) (Japanese) at the Japanese Movie Database
• Kekko Kamen Returns (2004) (Japanese) at Variety Japan
• Kekko Kamen Surprise (2004) official website (Japanese) at Art Port
• Kekko Kamen Surprise at the Internet Movie Database
• Kekko Kamen Surprise (2004) (Japanese) at allcinema
• Kekko Kamen Surprise (2004) (Japanese) at the Japanese Movie Database
• Kekko Kamen Surprise (2004) (Japanese) at Variety Japan
• Kekko Kamen Royale (2007) official website (Japanese) at Art Port
• Kekko Kamen Royale (2007) (Japanese) at allcinema
• Kekko Kamen Premium (2007) official website (Japanese) at Art Port
• Kekko Kamen Premium (2007) (Japanese) at allcinema
• Kekko Kamen Forever (2007) official website (Japanese) at Art Port
• Kekko Kamen Forever (2007) (Japanese) at allcinema