Sunset Angel (夕やけ天使 Yuuyake Tenshi), subtitled as Sunset Angel: 2-Ko 2-Ko Life (夕やけ天使:２コ２コ人生 Yuuyake Tenshi: 2-ko 2-ko Jinsei) in its original run, is a manga adaptation of Aoi Takagaki's childrens' drama series. While there were a few different adaptations published during the show's run, this article will focus on the version by Fujio Akatsuka, which ran in Ribon from November 1961-April 1962.
Overview[]
The original Sunset Angel TV drama ran from August 7, 1960 to September 30, 1962 on KR TV's Takeda Hour block. For its first year up until the renewal in August 6, 1961, the drama focused on a young boy named Kenchi and his father Ryouzo who lived on the houseboat "Kamomemaru" in the Sumida River, and their meeting with a pair of poor siblings named Machiko and Chibo.
However, with the renewal of the series, it was decided to overhaul the concept and change up some of the characters and their settings. This second season, titled "Sunset Angel Part 2: 2-Ko 2-Ko Life" (夕やけ天使第二部・2コ2コ人生) became the base for Akatsuka's tie-in manga as well.
The lead of the series became a young boy named Kentaro (or "Ken-chan", "Kenbo"). He and his older sister Keiko (better known as "Okei-chan") decide to live alone and away from their drunk and unreliable shoe salesman father. The two wind up cohabiting with another pair of siblings, Machiko and Chibo, and the four wind up living in a split eight-tatami room in a boarding house.
Akatsuka's Sunset Angel wound up being the reason for Matsuge-chan's abrupt departure from Ribon magazine a month later, as Akatsuka found it difficult to work on two features at the same time. Despite its TV show running for some time after, the manga tie-in would not last too long itself and wrap in April 1962. It was succeeded by Akko-chan's Got a Secret!
All footage of the original Sunset Angel TV drama has been lost to time, with only archived newspaper clippings and other print media showing proof that it ever existed to begin with. Aoi Takagaki was originally credited for the scripts of the manga, which were based off certain episodes of the show, but his credit was scrubbed out in the only existing reprint.
Characters[]
Kentaro ("Kenbo")[]
(ケン太郎, ケン坊)
A boy of late elementary school age. He is a resourceful but also fiery and strong-willed young boy who may wind up in a fight easily outside the home. He acts as an older brother figure to Chibo.
After the end of this manga feature, it would appear that Kentaro's design evolved into O-chan, of O-chan's Eleven Friends (after he experienced some late-term redesigning with his nose before that new feature).
Keiko ("Okei-chan")[]
(ケイ子, おケイちゃん)
Kentaro's much older sister, who acts in the absence of a mother for their family. She dresses in a mature and fashion-forward way for the times. As the actress who played Keiko was much older than the actor for Kentaro, to the point where she could be confused for a mother, this seems to have been reflected in this version as well.
Machiko Matsuyama[]
(松山マチ子)
A young girl who was unable to find a home or work after her grandfather returned to Chiba. She and her younger brother Chibo decided that they'd find a way of living in Tokyo, and applied to a boarding home. Through easier and harder times, she comes to rely upon the other two siblings on the other side of the room.
After the wrap-up of this feature, Machiko's design (which had since also experienced a bit of tweaking) appears to have been re-purposed for Yuki of Yuki's Blue Eyes.
Chibo Matsuyama[]
(松山チー坊)
A little boy of early grade school age, who is assisted by Kentaro in dealing with different matters.
The Landlord and Wife[]
The two middle-aged owners of the boarding home, who check up on the tenants and get involved in some situations.
Kentaro's Father[]
A shoe salesman who is only really shown mostly when his children stop by his store, or if he is required to be involved in a plot. He is a heavy drinker and not too bright.
Serialization[]
- Ribon: November 1961-April 1962
There are six chapters in total.
Reprints[]
Five of the six chapters were digitized for the "1960s" book in the Fujio Akatsuka Complete Works DVD-ROM collection and later put as part of the print-on-demand version on ComicPark. Unfortunately, other than this release, there is not a current way to be able to read the manga in an easy to access format.
Some frontispieces were edited for this particular reprint; One original in the magazine depicted the television set by Machiko broadcasting an image of the actual Sunset Angel drama and cast. In the reprint, the screen is blacked out and appears blank, likely to avoid any risk of copyright issues. Another reprinted chapter is similarly censored to remove references to any imagery of the TV drama.
The chapters are also put out of order, creating some confusion in the chronology of events.
Alternative Manga Adaptations[]
The other two tie-ins in existence for Sunset Angel cover the original portion of the show before the "2-Ko 2-Ko" rebranding, and were each short-lived as well:
- The first adaptation was by Namiko Sato, running in Akita Shoten's Hitomi from October 1960 to March 1961
- A second by Minetaro was serialized in the April and June 1961 issues of Kodansha's Fun Third Grader
Neither of these have seen reprint on their own.