Hasebe (長谷部, はせべ), full name Kazumi Hasebe (長谷部和美, はせべ かずみ), is a third year student at Reihō Academy and is the school's Vice-President of the Student Council. She is a recurring character and is the heroine of the Downtown Nekketsu series that was first featured in Downtown Nekketsu Story. Hasebe is considered cute, reliable, and is popular with the students, but isn't afraid to get violent with those who cause trouble. She was once known nationwide as a legendary sukeban feared throughout her school's district and still has many female friends from that previous life.
Hasebe would attend the same middle school as her childhood friends Kunio and Taiki Yamada[2]. She is always supportive of Kunio and has grown a distaste towards Yamada and Mamoru Tōdō due to their grudges against Kunio.
Appearances
Downtown Nekketsu Story
Hasebe debuted in Downtown Nekketsu Story as a supporting character. It is explained in the past she and Yamada were once close friends of Kunio back in middle school, but the two later went to Reihō Academy and were separated from Kunio. At Reihō Academy, Yamada became the Student Council President with Hasebe as his Vice President.
When Yamada snapped due to his jealously of Kunio and used his evil power to kidnap Mami Shimada, organize a plan to unite all high school delinquents to take out Kunio and to reign supreme, Hasebe cut ties with him and sought out Kunio. Hasebe will meet the player at Treasure River and warn Kunio of Ryūichi and Ryūji Hattori, asking him to be careful. If Riki is only present, she will tell him that she is indebted to Mami. Regardless of the character currently present, she will emphasize that although she is a Reihō Academy student, she will still be rooting for Kunio.
In the game, Hasebe uses the same face as the school girls that walk around at the malls. Unused graphics remain in the Famicom version[3] of Hasebe's face, a walk cycle, a wave animation, and an animation of her bowing nervously handing out a letter to someone which is rumored to be a confession letter to Kunio.
Downtown Nekketsu March Super-Awesome Field Day!
In this game, Hasebe acts as the master of ceremonies (MC) for the athletic meet sponsored by Mamoru Tōdō.
Downtown Special Kunio-kun's Historical Period Drama!
Hasebe plays the role of Okoto, the daughter of Bunzō. This is the only game in the series in which Hasebe acts as a damsel-in-distress.
Okoto sees Kunimasa again after not seeing each other in a long time. Kunimasa is introduced to Okoto's fiancé Asajirō and then head inside to see Bunzō, who has fallen ill. Okoto is later kidnapped by Asajirō and safely returns home after Kunimasa defeats Tatsuichi and Tatsuji. During the ending of the game, Bunzō asks Kunimasa to marry Okoto, to which the player is then given the choice on doing so. If the player declines, Kunimasa and Tsurumatsu take their leave to which Okoto will chase after Kunimasa and give him a kiss.
Surprise! Nekketsu New Records! The Distant Gold Medal
Hasebe is featured on the game's cover art and makes a cameo in the game's intro.
Kunio's Dodgeball Time, C'mon Guys!
Downtown River City Baseball Story ~Play Ball, Kunio!~
Hasebe makes an appearance as the sports announcer. She is additionally able to be seen on one of the ending screens.
Kunio's Oden
Hasebe will appear in the music selection menu and hand the next foods to Kunio when playing alone. In the versus mode, Hasebe will appear as the fourth opponent when playing against CPU and is instead randomly chosen as the opponent if there is a second player.
Downtown Nekketsu Monogatari EX
Hasebe appears in the same role as she did in the original versions of the game. It is additionally mentioned by Kuniko Ashino in a conversation with Kunio and Riki that she was requested by Hasebe to save Saori Gōda from Ryūichi and Ryūji.
Nekketsu Kōkō Online: Yamada no Fukushū
River City: Knights of Justice
Hasebe plays the role of Kazumi.
Kazumi is able to be talked to inside of her home in Nazfard and will recognize Cooney Valford, though she struggles to piece together who he is and mentions that she has a hazy memory. She assumes that Cooney has no memory of her and decides to introduce herself. Although she is uncertain on how they're connected, Kazumi is certain that the two of them are from another world and that in this other world, they were not enemies. She mentions that in her vivid memory of this other world, they were in the world together and that the Imperial Army's leader was also from their world and that he was once friends with Cooney. Kazumi then laughs it off under the assumption that what she had thought was all a crazy daydream, though she expresses that if they could somehow return to this world and Cooney would remember who she was, she'd be happy. Kazumi then hands the player a few items.
In the international version of the game, Hasebe was renamed to Roxana.
River City Super Sports Challenge ~All Stars Special~
This remake of Super-Awesome Field Day re-imagines the events of that game. The story takes place after River City: Rival Showdown.
In the story mode, Hasebe angrily approaches Tōdō about the upcoming athletic meet and voices her concerns about there being no rules in the tournament. Throughout the story, Hasebe acts as the master of ceremonies (MC) for the tournament. Hasebe goes to meet with Kunio before the finals glad to know that he's recovered and informs Kunio that she was kicked out of the broadcasting room for attempting to prevent Tōdō from further messing with the tournament. Hasebe wishes Kunio and his team good luck for the final match. During the ending of the game, Hasebe scolds Tōdō for his attempted scheme after being beaten up by Reihō Academy students and takes him to the hospital. In the hidden ending, Hasebe overhears Tōdō, Yamada, and Michael Tobioka scheming to get revenge on Kunio after losing their challenge match, to which she then sends all three flying offscreen using her Tetsuzankō move.
Downloadable content released for the game allowed players to use the Cheering Girls (Cheerleader in the localized version of the game) team, which is led by Hasebe, includes Akane Kōzuki (Reihō's Director of the Broadcasting Division) and the cheerleaders of the default teams (Satomi Momozono, Mami, Shizuka Aihara and Yūko Kirishima). The team is unique in that they have three special techniques instead of two. Hasebe uses the Nitro Attack, the Mach Chop, and the Tornado Kick. This DLC marked the first playable appearance of Hasebe in an official Kunio-kun game.
Downtown Nekketsu Jidaigeki
River City: Rival Showdown
River City: Rival Showdown is a remake of Downtown Nekketsu Story. The game takes place before River City Super Sports Challenge ~All Stars Special~.
In the main story, Hasebe sees Kunio on the Hanazono Bridge during the second day and mentions their old middle school friend Yamada now going to Reihō Academy and replacing Takashi Onizuka as the Student Council President. Hasebe is curious as to why a switch even happened, as Onizuka was well liked by the students. Hasebe can later be talked to on the third day and will talk to Kunio about how she tried to save Mami from being used as leverage against Riki, though states she's been unable to get a hold of her.
During the final day, Hasebe stops Kunio to alert him of Reihō's planned attack on Nekketsu High School, though comes to the conclusion Kunio is already on his way to the school. Hasebe will tell Kunio that Hanazono High School has knuckled under to Reihō because they heard Mami has been kidnapped. Hasebe states that Mami is being guarded by Ryūichi and Ryūji on the top floor of Reihō and tells Kunio that she will keep an eye on the twins to make sure they don't try to harm her. Before Kunio continues walking towards Reihō's campus, Hasebe hands him a rice ball she made and wishes him good luck. Hasebe and Mami meet up with Kunio and Riki after they successfully defeat the Dragon Twins, to where Hasebe is then able to piece together Yamada's involvement in the whole ordeal. Knowing that Kunio was going to win against Yamada, Hasebe insists on waiting for Kunio's fight to end before leaving the school with everyone. Hasebe and Mami are later brought to safety by Riki after Yamada comes outside for his final showdown against Kunio. Sometime after things return to normal, Hasebe is seen angrily approaching Tōdō about the invitations for the upcoming athletic meet.
In Riki's story, Hasebe seeks out Riki and introduces herself before informing him that Ryūichi and Ryūji were heard by someone mentioning Mami directly by name. Riki mentions that he hasn't heard from Mami since the day prior and has been looking for her which concerns Hasebe and leads her to believe that she got wrapped up in something. Riki states that he's worried but thinks that it's hard to get mad at a pair of body double brothers, though Hasebe attempts to correct him before asking Riki to protect Mami. She then states that she'll be in touch with him if she hears anything else. On the final day, Hasebe will be seen inside of Reihō Academy and is distraught over all the chaos happening inside of the school. Upon seeing Riki, Hasebe gets angry with him for not protecting Mami and asks if he's found her. Riki states that he doesn't know where she currently is but claims that everything will be settled when he lifts his belt to the sky on the roof as his wish will be granted. Hasebe then believes she was a fool for ever relying on Riki and goes out to look for Mami herself. After Riki and Kunio are struct by lightning on the roof, Hasebe comes in with Mami and is happy to see the two are alive. When Riki and Mami leave, Hasebe notes that Kunio is still putting himself on the line for others. Kunio is confused at how she knew it was him, to which she states that he's made a mess of themselves and the school, but thinks of it as a happy ending anyway.
In the Double Dragon Duel mode, Hasebe's River City Ransom counterpart Roxy appears as an unlockable character.
River City Melee: Battle Royal Special
Hasebe returns as the captain of the Cheerleader team and is involved in the story mode. Hasebe is able to use the Tornado Kick, the Dragon Fist, and the Body Check. She is able to perform up to three strikes with the Body Check if angered.
River City Girls
In this continuity, Hasebe and Mami are re-imagined as snobby, diva-esque 'popular girls', with there being hints that the two have a long-running unfriendly rivalry with Kyōko and Misako.
Hasebe and Mami are repeatedly seen throughout different parts of town and will belittle the protagonists while suggesting that Kunio and Riki are in love with in them instead. While in Uptown, Hasebe rudely informs Misako that an offering is needed in order to meet with Hibari. Flashbacks are seen throughout the story where it's shown that Hasebe and Mami knew the protagonists since they were young, where they'd frequently bully Kyōko until Misako stepped in to kick Hasebe in the head. In Yamada's backstory, it is shown that he had feelings for Hasebe, though was heartbroken to find out his then best friend Kunio also had feelings for her.
Hasebe and Mami replace Sabuko as a secret final boss if the player equips both of their charms, which are obtained by clearing the story once and destroying all of the Sabu statues respectively. In this fight, Hasebe mirrors parts of Misako's moveset with her version of the Stone Hands having a farther reach and being able to home in on her target. After losing the fight against Misako and Kyōko, the two admit defeat and begrudgingly accept the protagonists being Kunio and Riki's girlfriends.
River City Melee Mach!!
River City Saga: Three Kingdoms
Hasebe plays the role of Zhang Liao, a calm and collected general in Cao Cao (Yamada)'s army.
Zhang Liao is first seen during the third chapter as a subordinate to Lu Bu (Misuzu). Lu Bu and Zhang Liao are given permission by Liu Bei (Gōda) to temporarily stay in Xuzhou. Later in the chapter, Zhang Liao warns Guan Yu (Kunio) that Lu Bu has gotten into a heated argument with Zhang Fei (Godai) and has taken over the castle in Xiapi. In the fourth chapter, Zhang Liao is seen as a general of Cao Cao's army after Lu Bu's death and captures a surrendered Guan Yu to take him to Cao Cao's castle in Xu. Zhang Liao joins Guan Yu in the battle against Yan Liang (Kamijō) in order to ensure Guan Yu does not try to run away. When Guan Yu is getting ready to depart with Mi Zhu (Saori) to find Liu Bei and Zhang Fei, he is informed by Zhang Liao that Liu Bei has joined Yuan Shao (Tōdō)'s army. In the ending of the Romance route on chapter 4, Hasebe gets angry with Guan Yu for bruteforcing his way through Cao Cao's checkpoints and notifies him that Cao Cao has now given him a sign of passage.
During the final chapter, Zhang Liao is seen as the last person standing between Cao Cao and will ask Guan Yu if he truly wishes to fight him. Guan Yu will not respond, and Xiahou Dun (Ryūichi) and Xiahou Yuan (Ryūji) will step in to fight Guan Yu in her place. In the Hot-Blooded route of this chapter, Guan Yu is able to accept wanting to fight Cao Cao, where Zhang Liao will attempt to stop him in a fight. Once Cao Cao is defeated, Zhang Liao thanks Guan Yu for helping him feel at peace and leaves with Cao Cao, as Guan Yu was unable to deal the final blow.
In the China Heroes gamemode, Hasebe is able to be unlocked by completing the Hard-Liner difficulty in the story mode. Hasebe is able to use the Lightning Chop, Spin Kick, Bow Kick, Rocket Kick, Tornado Kick, and the Tetsuzankō move as her super special.
River City Girls 2
Hasebe and Mami make a brief cameo in the game's ending looking for a rematch against Misako and Kyōko, though are too late as the protagonists have already finished their adventure.
Hasebe's River City Ransom counterpart Roxy appears as a clerk at the Vegan & Out restaurant seen in Technos. Roxy is similar in appearance and personality to this continuity's version of Hasebe.
River City Saga: Three Kingdoms Next
Hasebe retains her role as Zhang Liao.
Zhang Liao is first seen during the second chapter as part of a sidequest. After hearing the distant sounds of a child crying, Zhang Liao rushes all the way over from Hefei in order to find out who was responsible, in which she spots Guan Yu (Kunio) and assumes he was the one that made her cry. He attempts to explain that its a misunderstanding, though she begins to fight against him. After being defeated, she apologizes for jumping to conclusions and explains why she's in the area. Zhang Liao attempts to comfort the child to get her to stop crying, though after a few unsuccessful attempts she shouts at the kid which made her go quiet. Zhang Liao happily tells Guan Yu that she got the crying to stop, though Guan Yu points out that she may have traumatized the kid. The player's Freeze tactic is then leveled up.
In the third chapter, Cao Cao (Yamada) is seen stressed over Guan Yu quickly approaching Xuchang and is desperately asking his generals for advice on what to do next. Zhang Liao chimes in and points out how pathetic Cao Cao is starting to sound. Surprised to see her, Cao Cao mentions that he thought she was on the frontlines with Wu, though she explains that she came running after hearing the Wei was in trouble and asks if he heard from her messenger. Cao Cao is unable to recall this which worries her as she tells him to chill out. After briefly talking about the current state of things with Xiahou Dun (Ryūichi), Zhang Liao asks him on how Xiahou Yuan (Ryūji) is doing. Xiahou Dun claims that he's been tossing and turning the entire time murmuring things about tigers and masks which confuses her. Xiahou Dun assures that Xiahou Yuan will be ready to fight once he recovers and suggests that they focus on stopping Guan Yu. She asks if Yu Jin (Tobioka)'s backup will be enough to stop him, though is surprised to see him turn up out of nowhere. Sima Yi begins to secretly discuss a strategy with Cao Cao and refuses to tell Zhang Liao about it as he believes strategies are best executed when done in secret. She takes offense to this and assumes Sima Yi doesn't trust her to not leak the plan, though he states that's not the case and that it is instead one of the most basic rules for a tactician to follow. He then informs Zhang Liao that he had sent a gift to Wu and that she no longer needs to be on the frontlines there. She then decides to stay behind to prepare for the battle against Guan Yu. After Sima Yi leaves, she talks to Xiahou Dun about how something about him doesn't seem right and points out his strange way of talking. She then angrily questions how he is possibly going to stop Guan Yu.
On the fifth chapter, Zhang Liao is seen angrily discussing with the older members of Cao Cao's army over Sima Yi's sudden decision to change their name from Wei to Jin. Xiahou Dun claims that it was a request from Cao Cao before his sudden illness, but he mentions that he's still hospitalized in Chang'an. Zhang Liao begins to think if the sudden talks of changing the capital to Chang'an are also related. Xiahou Yuan suddenly shows up and explains that after his injury healed up, he decided to escape after hearing that he needed a thorough exam. Zhang Liao points out how she'd normally scold him for pulling such a thing, but believes this case was a better idea than sticking around. When asked if he heard anything about Cao Cao being in the same hospital, Xiahou Yuan states that he had no clue. The generals suspect that Sima Yi may be up to something with Zhang Liao thinking that Cao Cao is being held captive under the guise of hospitalization as Sima Yi takes control over Wei. Feeling no obligation in obeying Sima Yi, the generals begin to leave the Jin in search of Cao Cao. Later as Guan Yu is rescuing Ma Su (Mika) at Mount Liupan, he runs into Zhang Liao who has been hiding from the Jin after the old generals all lost to Sima Yi's army of robots. After explaining the current situation to Guan Yu, she questions why the Shu would setup a base on the mountaintop with Ma Su profusely apologizing for her mistake. Guan Yu mentions how its been harder for Zhuge Liang (Misako) to get intel as of late, to which Zhang Liao explains that its all Sima Yi's doing. Although she doesn't know what Sima Yi is after, she assures that they cannot let him take over the nation and that Cao Cao is the rightful leader of Wei. Knowing that she's not able to hide forever, Guan Yu suggests to Zhang Liao that they make a temporary alliance and fight off the Jin surrounding them together. After descending from the mountain, Zhang Liao is shocked to see Zhang He (Kinoshita) standing guard and blindly following Sima Yi's orders, in which she calls him an imbecile. The two then face off against Zhang He and his men until Wei Yan (Kumada) comes in to buy them time to escape. Later in Tianshui, Wei Yan asks Guan Yu why Zhang Liao is with him, to which he says he'll fill him in once things calm down and assures him that she's not their enemy at the moment. She thanks the two for their help and makes it clear she's still a Wei general at heart and will not be siding with the Shu. She vows to do everything in her power to take the Wei back from Sima Yi and leaves after thanking Guan Yu one more time.
During the final chapter, Zhang Liao is seen deep within Sima Yi's secret base in Chang'an confronting him and Cao Cao. After noticing something was wrong with Cao Cao, she angrily asks Sima Yi what he did to him, in which he reveals that he implanted a special chip into him that brainwashed him. He notes that for whatever reason Cao Cao was susceptible to brainwashing with a low powered chip being able to doing the job just fine. With Cao Cao being ordered to buy Sima Yi time to let his ultimate robot finish charging, Zhang Liao and Guan Yu team up to take on Cao Cao and the robots accompanying him. Upon being defeated, Cao Cao returns back to normal and mentions that his tooth fell out. Zhang Liao asks him if after his front tooth came out during the battle in Hanzhong he replaced it with a prosthetic one, in which Cao Cao admits he did and asks if she saw it as it was expensive. With the topic beginning to derail after Guan Yu found the tooth, Zhang Liao points out that it was the brainwashing device Sima Yi used on Cao Cao. She begins to show signs of pain, so Guan Yu asks Cao Cao to stay behind to check on her injury as he goes after Sima Yi to settle things once and for all. Zhang Liao then warns Guan Yu to be careful as she believes he still has something up his sleeve. During the ending as the Shu, Wu, and Wei are all face to face with each other, Zhang Liao asks Guan Yu what he plans on doing next, to which he responds by saying he'll continue to fight, as nothing else came to mind.
Other video games
Bakura no Koshien! Pocket
CODE SHIFTER
Hasebe and Mami's River City Girls counterparts appears as an assist character. In this game, the color of their outfit is incorrectly swapped.
Other media appearances
Nekketsu Kōha Kunio-kun (4koma Manga Kingdom)
Kunio-kun! Nekketsu Battle!
Ā, Nekketsu Kantai Gayuku!
Nekketsu Kōha Kunio-kun Gaiden River City Girls
Hasebe was to be played by Hitomi Kato, though the play would be cancelled due to one of the cast members testing positive for COVID.[4]
Localized versions
- In River City Ransom, Hasebe was renamed to Roxy. In this game she is Slick's girlfriend and is familiar with Alex. In the EX version, Slick states Roxy always preferred Alex over him. The backstory of Slick, Alex and Roxy being childhood friends is retained.
- In the international version of River City: Knights of Justice, Hasebe was renamed to Roxana.
Trivia
- Hasebe's birth date is the same birth date of Sekimoto's wife.[5]
- While the team she leads in River City Super Sports Challenge ~All Stars Special~ is called Cheering Girls, Hasebe herself has not been depicted as a cheerleader. For the Historical Drama team, she will be the cheerleader as Okoto.
- In River City Super Sports Challenge ~All Stars Special~ because Hasebe also serves as the game's MC and the cheerleaders also affiliate with other teams in a non-playable capacity, playing as them in will result in two instances of a girl appearing in some scenes.
- After the secret fight in River City Girls, Mami and Hasebe bitterly mention the fact that Kyōko and Misako only dated Kunio and Riki in an "obscure 16-bit game that wasn't even released in the USA", which is a meta reference to Shin Nekketsu Kōha: Kunio-tachi no Banka.
- Their statement there is actually incorrect, as Kyoko was also depicted as Riki's girlfriend in River City: Tokyo Rumble, which had in fact been released in the USA.
- In River City Girls 2, Hasebe and Mami were planned to be playable characters, though the idea didn't pan out and they were instead relegated to a minor cameo.[6]
- Small remnants of them being playable are able to be found in the game's files. The two were given unused selfie art as part of the side mission where the player is instructed to take photos at points across the map.
Gallery
Artwork
Sprites
Screenshots
Other Media
Videos
References
- ↑ Hasebe's bio in the Downtown Nekketsu Monogatari Seteibon published by Miracle Kidz.
- ↑ Miracle Kidz QA with Sekimoto and Yoshida
- ↑ Unused sprites for Hasebe in Downtown Nekketsu Story
- ↑ River City Girls stage play cancellation announced by Solid-Star.
- ↑ Kunio Mania, Hasebe's birth date
- ↑ River City Girls director Adam Tierney on Hasebe and Mami being cut playable characters in River City Girls 2.
