is a Japanese manga series written and illustrated by Shinji Wada. It was serialized in Hana to Yume from 1975 to 1982 and collected into 22 volumes. has been adapted into three live-action television series, an original video animation (OVA) series, and three feature films, the last of which was released as Yo-Yo Girl Cop in 2006. It has also inspired four spin-off manga: , a short story collection published in 2004, and , , and , three ongoing series that premiered in Monthly Princess in 2021.
Plot A 16-year-old (delinquent schoolgirl) named Saki Asamiya is offered by the police to become an undercover detective to escape prison. She initially refuses, so the police blackmail her by offering to pardon her mother, who is on death row for killing her husband, eventually forcing her to accept. Put under the tutelage of officer Kyouichiro Jin, she is given a metal yo-yo that doubles as a weapon as well as a police badge, and is made to infiltrate high schools around Japan to investigate and stop criminal activities. Her first destination is her former school, Takanoha High School, where Saki's place has been taken by the three Mizuchi sisters and their ring of illegal activities.
Characters
The bitter heroine of the story, a natural born fighter who enjoys getting into scuffles with various people. Saki is blackmailed into becoming a secret investigator. She never backs down and is very stubborn. Her main weapon is a steel loaded yo-yo capable to function as a weapon.
Saki's mentor in the police, a long-haired, English-Japanese man who worked for Scotland Yard. He is cold-blooded and protective of Saki.
The man who recruited Saki, a shady police officer who is in charge of the Sukeban Deka program.
Saki's mother. She only loved her other daughter Miyuki and abused Saki as a result, and was arrested for beating her husband to death in front of Saki. Despite Saki's efforts to save her from execution, Natsu hates her, especially after Miyuki's death, and later joins Shigaraki in order to have Saki dead. In the TV series, she is a completely different character. She never abused Saki and was not guilty of her husband's death, although she certainly thought so and could not forgive herself for it.
Saki's ardent admirer, who calls her "his goddess" and follows her all over the school campus.
Saki's best friend. A shy, quiet girl, Junko is a talented artist and she is seen as a threat by Emi Mizuchi who vows to sabotage her. In the OVA after Emi finds her beautiful painting, she has it stolen. Junko is kidnapped, forcefully drugged and then left dead on train tracks. Her death makes Saki's mission personal. In the manga, she was killed by Ayumi and her gang, who made it look like a suicide initially, but Saki noticed that Junko was bitten by a venomous snake.
Saki's rival in prison. Agura is a tough, masculine looking woman who dislikes Saki at first but then begins to respect her. Eventually she is released from reform school with Chie, and acts as her bodyguard. She only appeared in the manga. / Saki's kind friend in prison. She only appeared in the manga. She has a pleasant demeanor and is less aggressive than the other girls. She is released from reform school and returns to high school. Chie joins a biology club that loves to collect insects, and since then discovered a species of butterfly that was named after her. She and Agura are eventually involved in a missing persons case that Saki investigates.
Saki's hyper friend who is also very vulnerable and ends up being attacked a lot by the other girls in the prison. To help Saki escape from prison, she ends up seducing the prison warden who is a lesbian. She used to be in a drama club, and often played the roles of men. She only appeared in the manga.
Jin's partner. She only appeared in the manga. Hikuidori A scheming, sly cellmate of Saki's. She has a mole under one eye. Hikuidori becomes friends with Saki at first but then betrays her and turns out to be an informant of Remi's. She only appeared in the manga.
The patriarch of the antagonist Mizuchi crime family. Gozo uses his influence to control his family's power over Takanoha High school. He is a politician, and frames his rivals for the crimes committed by his daughters.
The youngest sister who is an artist. Emi is an egomaniac who sees herself as a great artist when at best her talent is borderline, which leads her to use her father's influence to bribe judges and copy the works of other artists. Emi steals Junko's work and copies from it to win an art contest. In the OVA she is killed along with her father by a brainwashed assassin sent by Remi. In the manga, Emi is shot by an assassin sent by Remi but survives and is taken to the hospital.
The dark haired middle child of the Mizuchi family. She has four hulking bodyguards who follow her around for protection. Ayumi is a drug addict and dealer, and is extremely greedy. However, she is the least evil out of the Mizuchi sisters. Despite her cold demeanor, she is loyal to her father and sisters. In both the OVA and manga, she is betrayed and killed by Remi, who gives her a malfunctioning shotgun that backfires, and steals all her money. In the manga, Ayumi rides a motorcycle and controls her own biker gang. She bets on the races for money, and anything goes, including harming the other racers, using traps, or killing other racers. Her favorite tactic is to throw venomous snakes at racers behind her, which bite and kill them.
The eldest daughter, a beautiful blonde who is completely ruthless and sociopathic. When Remi first arrives at the high school, many of the students admire her because of her striking beauty. She is a former friend to Saki, but she serves as a deadly antagonist to her. She seems to be the least dangerous of the three sisters but in fact is the most. She is responsible for Junko's death, setting up Ayumi's death to steal her money with a malfunctioning shotgun to fight Saki, and a brainwashed assassin to kill her father Gozo and sister Emi. She refers to Saki about their "blood of madness" but the drama version expands on it by using Saki's mother's past. Throughout the manga series, Remi goes as far to impersonate Saki's sister Miyuki. She even cruelly murders Sanpei to get revenge on Saki as well.
Ayumi's four bodyguards. Only one does all the talking. He is the tallest and his weapon is a wooden sword. Another bodyguard uses brass knuckles, the third uses a bike chain, and the fourth bodyguard uses a pair of nunchucks. They appear in the OVA only. Ayumi's followers In the manga, Ayumi's followers are two girls, one named Chibi and the other one's name is not mentioned. Chibi is small and thin with dark hair while the other girl has feathered blonde hair and is obese. These two girls are very skilled fighters. Remi's followers In the OVA, Remi's control method is explained as computer programs and drugs.
Her true name being Aoko Shigaraki, she is the adoptive granddaughter of Ro and a former close friend of Remi Mizuchi. Trained by Natsu to defeat Saki, she seeks revenge for the death of Remi.
The elderly founder of the world-famous evil organization Cat (Neko), he's implied to be superhuman, as he has been alive since the Tokugawa shogunate. He manipulates Aoko into following his plans.
The leader of the , a sinister organization bent on controlling the schools of the country. He allies dangerously with Shigaraki.
Media Manga The creation of was the result of a misunderstanding between the author Shinji Wada and the editors at Hakusensha. Wada was developing a high school drama, but the publisher expected a detective story starring a high school student. At an impasse, Wada decided to combine the two concepts. Wada first published a pilot chapter titled in the August 5, 1975 ( 15) issue of Hana to Yume magazine. Later, became a serial, starting in the January 5, 1976 ( 1) issue of the same magazine, released in 1975.References for the serialization starting in 1975: Disappointed that he could never end a complete serial before, Wada planned earlier in production a dramatic final scene in which the protagonist would die. The last chapter of this original planning was serialized in the December 20, 1977 ( 24) issue, and was followed by an epilogue in the January 20, 1978 ( 2) issue.
Following 's conclusion, Wada started a new serial, , in the March 20, 1978 ( 6) issue of Hana to Yume. However, after one year of serialization, the series was poorly received by readers, and Wada stopped it to restart . Wada dubbed it as "part 2", and resumed in the February 5, 1979 ( 3) issue, announced as a "new series". The manga ran regularly in Hana to Yume until its December 5, 1982 ( 24) issue.
Since the original serialization, has been printed in four different collected editions; the original twenty-two volume publication started on April 20, 1976, and ended on April 25, 1983. Hakusensha released a six-volume edition between March 3, 1987, and April 29, 1987, and a twelve-volume edition between March 23, 1995, and June 21, 1995. The last reprint was done by Media Factory, who published twelve collected volumes between August 23, 2004, and July 23, 2005.
During their panel at Otakon 2026, KiraKira Media announced that they had licensed the series for English publication and will add it to their Omoi app.
Spin-offs Wada published two short stories set in a parallel universe in the October 1998 and May 1999 issues of Hakusensha's Melody magazine. He published two more installments in the March and April 2003 issues of Media Factory's Monthly Comic Flapper magazine. Media Factory later collected the chapters in a volume titled , which they published under the MF Comics imprint on June 23, 2004.
In 2021, almost a decade after Wada's death, Akita Shoten launched three spin-off manga series in Monthly Princess magazine. The first, , is written and illustrated by Saori Muronaga. It was serialized from the February 2021 issue of Monthly Princess on January 6, 2021 to the July 2023 issue on June 6, 2023. The second, , is written and illustrated by . It was serialized from the March 2021 issue of the magazine on February 5, 2021, to the August 2025 issue on July 4, 2025. The third, , is written by and illustrated by Shingi Hosokawa. It was serialized from the September 2021 issue of Monthly Princess on August 6, 2021, to the April 2024 issue on March 6, 2024.
Television series The television series, though technically one series made up of three seasons, are essentially self-contained and separate, aside from sharing the same basic themes and premise, and starring popular Japanese idol singers in the main roles, each one replacing the previous as the new Saki Asamiya, taking on her cover identity and yo-yo weapon.
Sukeban Deka, the first series from 1985, starred Yuki Saito as the titular character Saki Asamiya. Saito's own song "Shiroi Honō" was used as the theme song. Actress Yasuko Endō played Ayumi Mizuchi. Lasting 24 episodes, the series adapted the first part of the manga and was relatively faithful to it, only changing minor points, though it deviated more towards its conclusion. Unlike the manga, where Saki died at the end of a late arc unrelated to the Mizuchi sisters, the series produced an early ending in which Saki seemingly died in a burning building along with her enemy Remi Mizuchi.