Line #58 Manga/LevelE


1	[[quoteright:275:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/rsz_levele.png]]
2
3	->''"Currently, hundred of different alien species come and go, living their lives on the Earth. Species that come in peace, aggressive warlike species... Aliens with all kinds of personalities live among us, maintaining a precarious balance."''
4	-->--'''OpeningNarration'''
5
6	Contrary to the belief of its native inhabitants, Mankind isn't the only sentient species living on Earth. Actually, individuals of about five hundred alien species call Earth home for reasons as diverse as their biological peculiarities. The Diskun and Erald, for example, come to Earth because HumansAreSpecial to them; others are refugees, like the cursed inhabitants of the dead planet Conwell; some come looking for love, like the future Mucbak Queen; and not everyone has a choice on the matter, like one of the last mermaids of Horn. Their existence is a secret to the average human citizen; however, with so many aliens around, it's inevitable some humans eventually get tangled in their bizarre stories. These humans are said to have entered the ''Level E''.
7
8	''Level E'' is one of the least known works of Creator/YoshihiroTogashi, of ''Manga/YuYuHakusho'' and ''Manga/HunterXHunter'' fame. Prone to ArtShift, GenreShift and MoodWhiplash, it can go from a wacky parody of PrettyFreeloader shows to a tragic Horror story without missing a beat, and it lacks a definite protagonist, having an EnsembleCast whose most recurring character is a [[MagnificentBastard certain Prince]] from the planet Dogra.
9
10	The manga was originally serialized in ''[[Magazine/ShonenJump Weekly Shonen Jump]]'' from 1995 to 1997, and compiled into three volumes. An 13-episode {{anime}} adaptation by Creator/StudioPierrot aired in 2011.
11
12	----
13	!! ''Level E'' the manga has examples of...
14
15	* AffablyEvil -> FauxAffablyEvil: The Prince, though he's not completely evil, just a jerk.
16	* AffectionateParody: The RPG is one of ''VideoGame/DragonQuest''. Which makes it pretty funny when you realize [[Creator/AkiraToriyama who does character designs on that series]]...
17	* AIIsACrapshoot: Sometimes the Prince is just ''[[BatmanGambit too]]'' [[BatmanGambit smart]].
18	* AliensAreBastards: Some species are said to have exterminated others for [[HairTriggerTemper the pettiest]] [[GreenEyedMonster of reasons]]. And individuals don't fare better, acting as ruthless, greedy and fanatical as the worst of humans.
19	** And then there is the [[{{Jerkass}} Prince]].
20	* AliensSpeakingEnglish: Actually, what they don't speak is Japanese. Not even their {{universal translator}}s come with it.
21	* AmusementParkOfDoom: Calvary, ''planet-sized''.
22	* ArrangedMarriage: Meet Princess Luna.
23	* BatmanGambit: [[spoiler: The first arc was all orchestrated by the [[MagnificentBastard Prince]].]]
24	* BecomingTheMask: [[spoiler: Tachibana-sensei]] feels pretty comfortable in her new job.
25	* BeePeople: The Mucbaks -- an insectoid OneGenderRace, but lacking a HiveMind.
26	* BerserkButton: For Kraft, everything [[TheGadfly The Prince]] does.
27	* BittersweetEnding: [[spoiler: The mermaid story.]]
28	* BizarreAlienReproduction: Conwellians. [[spoiler: Males ''eat'' the females after falling in love with them, with the female's eggs being fertilised inside the male's body after the females are digested and the young being expelled unharmed.]]
29	* BlackWidow: [[spoiler: Both InterspeciesRomance stories feature a version of this, with the Conwell variant in particular having TheBluebeard as the species' racial hat.]]
30	* BlatantLies: Captain Kraft didn't want to harm the prince. [[SarcasmMode Sure, not one bit.]]
31	* ButNowIMustGo: She belongs to the sea, even if it is an alien sea to her.
32	* TheCaligula: The Prince.
33	* ChildhoodFriendRomance: Of the Unlucky kind: [[spoiler: Princess Luna.]]
34	* CreepyChild: Aliens come in all sizes and ages.
35	* CreepyCrossdresser: The Prince looks good as a Princess, of course.
36	* CuteMonsterGirl: [[spoiler: Tachibana-sensei.]]
37	* CuteSportsClubManager: Fujii.
38	* DarwinistDesire: The Mucbak find mates from other species by looking for those who are fittest in the belief it'll result in stronger children.
39	* DecoyProtagonist: If this were a typical PrettyFreeloader series, Yukitaka would have been the OrdinaryHighSchoolStudent protagonist.
40	* {{Delinquent}}: Yukitaka is often mistaken for one, though his argument with Kraft proves he just may have been one.
41	* DepopulationBomb: By SyntheticPlague. [[spoiler: What the Mucbak drop onto the species from which they take mates. Just for ''jealousy''.]]
42	* DidYouJustRomanceCthulhu: Mikihisa doesn't realize what that cute foreign girl is and what dire consequences dating her might have for mankind.
43	* DoesNotKnowHisOwnStrength: A local street gang tries to pick up a woman. The Dogran Prince [[TheDulcineaEffect goes Dulcinea]], [[TakingTheBullet taking kicks long enough for the woman to escape]], but the gang goes too far, [[NowItsMyTurn so he took one of them by the head and proceeds to smash it onto the ground]], fatally wounding him. [[spoiler:[[PlayingPossum Not]]. Unfortunately, these guys are {{Hair Trigger Temper}}ed, HotBlooded [[HumanAliens Diskunians]] in human disguise]].
44	** As told by [[UnreliableNarrator the Prince]]...
45	* DownerEnding: [[spoiler: The Conwellian story. Nope, the show was trolling you.]]
46	* DudeLooksLikeALady: The Prince, he is as good-looking as he is annoying.
47	* DyingRace: The Conwellians
48	* EasternRPG: The asssociated tropes are {{invoked\|Trope}} and PlayedForLaughs by the Prince in one of the stories.
49	* EveryoneCallsHimBarkeep: The Prince of Dogra, real name Baka Ki El Dogra. Really.
50	** Averted in the anime's dub, as several characters call him Prince Baka.
51	** JerkWithAHeartOfJerk: The guy he helped out [[spoiler:turned out to be part of his [[BatmanGambit plan]]]].
52	* {{Fanboy}}: The Diskunians are big fans of baseball.
53	* GenreBusting: The mermaid story is at heart an SF FilmNoir FairyTale.
54	* GirlNextDoor: Miho.
55	* HairAntennae: Kraft and Princess Luna (Luna's looks like a spider).
56	* HappyEnding: [[spoiler: It took breaking about a hundred galactic laws, but in the end Earth is safe and Mikihisa finally has a body to match his mind.]]
57	* HeroicComedicSociopath: The Prince ''does'' try to help the Earth... while having fun (from his point of view).
58	* HonorBeforeReason: Mikihisa won't date lesbians; he wants girls to love him as if he were a guy, hoping to eventually find someone who feels IfItsYouItsOkay for him.
59	* HorrorHunger: The "invisible stomach".
60	* HotBlooded:
61	** Hotheads Yukitaka and Captain Kraft. The former gets hypertension from the Prince's wacky antics. The latter, well... he's just irritable.
62	** The Diskunian race, of the HairTriggerTemper kind. Hinted to be bloodthirsty, [[RoaringRampageOfRevenge revengeful beings]]. Picking a fight with them is more or less like asking for a full-scale interracial war. [[spoiler: [[DoesNotKnowHisOwnStrength The Prince accidentally]] [[NotQuiteDead kills one of them... NOT!!]]]]
63	* HumanAliens: Dograns, except for being MadeOfIron and having AlienBlood.
64	* HumansAreSpecial: For the Diskunians and Eralds, humans are off limits. [[spoiler: Who knows which human might be a potential ''baseball'' star or parent to one?]] The Mucbaks think humans have great genetic potential.
65	* InterspeciesRomance: Two of the stories are about this. [[spoiler: Things get [[BlackWidow really messy]] because of the BizarreAlienReproduction involved.]]
66	* ItAmusedMe: The Prince is apparently unable to do anything without twisting it into some convoluted prank.
67	* KidHero: Both lampshaded ''and'' subverted in one of the stories. [[spoiler: The kids who the Prince dragged into one of his crazy anti-boredom schemes completely called him out on actually picking kids to fight monsters. They eventually go along with it kicking and screaming, sometimes literally.]]
68	* KlingonsLoveShakespeare: [[spoiler: ''Baseball'']] is SeriousBusiness for Diskun and Eralds.
69	* LaughingMad: Captain Kraft when Prince Baka pressed his button WAY TOO MANY times at once.
70	* LivingLieDetector: It comes handy if your species evolved in a planet where your predators look just like you.
71	* LoadsAndLoadsOfRaces: Almost every chapter or episode deals with at least one new alien, though there are recurring ones, like the Prince.
72	* LongHairedPrettyBoy: The Prince.
73	* {{Malaproper}}: Captain Iwata's [[{{Poltergeist}} "pornguys"]] phenomenon.
74	* MoodWhiplash: Constantly. This show can and does transition from dramatic to tense to comedic in the span of about 60 seconds, all with the same characters.
75	* [[MarsNeedsWomen Mucbak Needs]] [[GenderFlip Men]]
76	* OffscreenTeleportation: Good ''golly'', Prince! Don't show up in front of us like that!
77	* OlderThanTheyLook: The kids are in 5th grade (11-12 years old) and Yokota already has a tween PermaStubble, but Shimizu and Mayuzumi look younger than their grade suggests.
78	* OhCrap: ...is not enough to describe the look on Kraft's face, when [[spoiler:he thought that]] his Prince [[spoiler: [[FakingTheDead killed a Diskunian]]]].
79	* OrganicTechnology: Dograns and Mucbaks.
80	* OutGambitted: [[spoiler:The Prince eventually finds someone even sneakier than him. And is absolutely ''thrilled'' by the fact.]]
81	* OurMermaidsAreDifferent: Alien mermaids with two tails and a deadly reflex.
82	* PlayingPossum: [[spoiler:The dead Diskunian isn't really dead after all.]]
83	* PlagueMaster: [[spoiler: All Mucbak royalty.]]
84	* PrettyFreeloader: Thats what Yukitaka finds as he enters the living room of the flat he has just moved to. HilarityEnsues.
85	* ProudWarriorRaceGuy: Diskun and Eralds. The Diskun have exterminated species for insulting a single member of its race.
86	* PsychicPowers: One of the team is a RealityWarper. But which one?
87	* ScheherezadeGambit: The Princess uses a variant to delay her wedding night. Long story.
88	* {{Seinen}}: Despite having been published in ''Weekly Shonen Jump'', this series is {{Seinen}} to the core.
89	* {{Sentai}}: The Prince just throws them in his JRPG.
90	* ShoutOut: To ''Film/ETTheExtraterrestrial''.
91	** "Clive from the planet Jacqueline Ess" is a reference to the ''[[Creator/CliveBarker Books of Blood]]''. Come to think of it, the whole series might have been inspired by that famous horror anthology, given the episodic structure, some of the themes explored, the black humour and occasional forays into the weird and macabre.
92	** [[Manga/CaseClosed Professor Edogawa from Konan Laboratory?]]
93	** [[NoCelebritiesWereHarmed Yukitaka]] [[Literature/{{Paprika}} Tsu]][[Anime/TheGirlWhoLeaptThroughTime tsui]] is one of the protagonists.
94	** The last episode of the anime has one to ''WesternAnimation/TheLionKing1994''.
95	** The dub throws in its share of references too -- on separate occasions Baka imitates [[Franchise/StarTrek Capt. Kirk]] and [[Franchise/StarWars Yoda]].
96	* SourSupporter: [[spoiler: Kraft]], who has been a bodyguard for the Prince for ten years, hates his guts intensely but keeps protecting him solely out of loyalty to the King and Queen of Dogra.
97	* SpellMyNameWithAnS: Diskun/Disc(k)on, Mucbak/Makubaku/Macbac, Dogran/Doguran.
98	* SternTeacher: Tachibana-sensei.
99	* StoryWithinAStory: [[spoiler: One of the stories turns out to be just a VeryLooselyBasedOnATrueStory manga written by the Prince.]]
100	* TakeMeInstead: [[spoiler: The mermaid agreed to become an assassin so her sisters were spared.]]
101	%%* TouchedByVorlons: The grade school Five Man Band.
102	* TransTribulations: Kyoko Mikihisa is biologically female, but has identified as male since he was at least 4 years old. He has always asked to be referred to by his family name, and has had many women reject him because they saw him as a woman.
103	* TrappedInAnotherWorld
104	* TwistEnding: [[spoiler: What do you know, humans aren't the only sentient beings native to Earth. Good news for a certain [[TheWoobie Woobie]] mermaid.]]
105	** Regarding the Conwell story: [[spoiler: Apparently, the entire arc was just Prince Baka pitching a story to an executive which gets rejected for being too dark. Even though the Prince suggests that the Conwell aliens exist, it's hard to know if he's telling the truth knowing his usual habits]].
106	* UnreliableNarrator: Take ''anything'' the Prince says with a grain of salt.
107	* TheUnreveal: After discovering that he had a minor [[MacGuffin McGuffin]] all along, the Prince proceeded to [[TheReveal use the McGuffin to reveal the suspenseful truth about him]] to Yukitaka. [[spoiler: Yes it was about him... having a weird pet, that is.]] [[ManipulativeBastard He claims]] [[RefugeInAudacity to have never said that the truth was all about him, though]], much to Yukitaka's dismay.
108	* UnusualEuphemism: In some translations, Miho is a +0x who probably likes to +0x+. In others the translator uses SymbolSwearing for same effect.
109	* VoluntaryShapeshifting: [[spoiler: The Prince's pet.]]
110	* WalkingShirtlessScene: Captain Iwata has a hard time keeping his shirt on.
111	* WelcomeToCorneria: During the RPG arc, one of the [=NPCs=] would keep saying "Welcome to Hamajiri enjoy your stay."
112	* WithThisRing: Even Dogran wedding rings are beyond Earth's technological level.
113
114	!! ''Level E'' the anime has examples of...
115
116	* TwoDVisualsThreeDEffects: All over the place, to the point where it's even used to animate ''hand puppets.''
117	* AllJustADream: The fourth episode, which was just one of the Prince's attempts to convince humans that aliens exist.
118	* AmusingInjuries: I mean, ''come on'', people! Yukitaka punished Prince with a ''reverse roundhouse kick'', SloMo and all!
119	** Not to mention Captain Kraft doing the same thing only with a RepeatCut and then throwing the prince in the air, kicking him multiple times while falling and ending with [[WrestlerInAllOfUs a piledriver]].
120	** And later Shimizu gives him a MegatonPunch followed by him and Momochi using the king as [[ImprovisedWeapon a hammer]].
121	* BaitAndSwitchCredits: The OP presents the series as an actioner with a blonde alien bishie hunting uglier aliens.
122	* CastingGag: This is the [[Manga/HanasakeruSeishounen second series]] where Creator/DaisukeNamikawa has played a prince while Creator/TakehitoKoyasu has played his primary attendant. However, their roles in terms of character interaction are completely reversed.
123	* CliffHanger: Of the surprise reveal variety, complete with ToBeContinued.
124	* EarlyBirdCameo: Yukitaka's baseball team captain, Iwata, and Yokota and Shimizu are seen briefly in the first episode.
125	** The video game Yukitaka plays in an early episode features the Color Rangers.
126	* EarWorm: Lampshaded with the Color Rangers theme song in episode 6.
127	-->'''Akagawa:''' The song's gonna be stuck in my head for days!
128	* {{Fanservice}}: The animated [[spoiler: Tachibana-sensei]] gets NonMammalMammaries and a ShowerScene.
129	* GogglesDoSomethingUnusual: Kraft's subordinate, Sado, can [[StatOVision Stat-O-Vise]] a dead human body. [[spoiler: [[OhCrap Which turns out to be a Diskunian.]]]]
130	* HyperspaceWardrobe: Where does the Prince keep those {{Cosplay}} outfits?
131	* PragmaticAdaptation: The animated version adds {{fanservice}} and action sequences to some arcs and removes some scenes from other in order to make them fit into the tv episodes.
132	* SayingSoundEffectsOutLoud: Prince is a regular offender (this may be due more to ActorAllusion than anything, though).
133	--> "Boink!" "Kapow!"
134	* TheStinger: After the end credits of the final episode, it is revealed that [[spoiler: the cat was a spy all along]].

Context Manga / LevelE