History Manga / Beck1999

* BlandNameProduct: The Anime is full of them, the characters shirts often have Band names usually with one letter swapped, like [[ThePixies The Pixis]], [[TheRamones The Rammones]], [[TheWho Tho Who]], also a common one is Samsang. Episode 5 features a bottle of Dack Janiels.

* BlandNameProduct: The Anime is full of them, the characters shirts often have Band names usually with one letter swapped, like [[ThePixies The Pixis]], [[TheRamones The Rammones]], [[TheWho Tho Who]], also a common one is Samsang.

** As a matter of fact, we learn in the manga that, of the five members of BECK, Ryusuke is ''the only one who can speak English'', which leads to loads of lost-in-translation when they go to the USA. And it's rather ironic, since Chiba sings mostly in English. So he wouldn't have a clue of what the songs mean if Ryusuke didn't explain (assuming that he did)?
*** It's possible that Chiba knows some (and he raps mostly in Japanese, by the way). We see that Taira later gets to learn as well, leaving only Saku (who is frequently asking "What's he saying?" to Taira) and Koyuki lost in translation.

** Taira is one to RedHotChiliPeppers bassist Flea, from the playing style to the bleached hair.
*** Pretty much expected since Sakuishi is apparently a big RedHotChiliPeppers fan.
** The name BECK is more than likely an obvious reference to the musician of the same name.
*** Considering the [[ThemeNaming naming conventions]] for pets in the series, such as the cockatoo [[Music/LedZeppelin Page]] and the other dog [[Music/KeithRichards Keith]], it's more likely BECK's named after Jeff Beck from Music/TheYardbirds.
*** This becomes unfortunate when Funimation was (eventually) forced to rename their release of the anime, allegedly because the real {{Music/Beck}} complained.

* TechnicianVersusPerformer: the feud between Ryuusuke and Eiji, Ryuusuke being the Performer, Eiji being technician.

** as Eiji disappeared, it's more Koyuki and Hyoudo.

** It should be noted that BECK plays both more technically challenging music than Belle Ame as well as more sonically pleasing music. I don't know if this is an aversion of the trope but it should be noted.

** Particularly weird when it results in a band that [[InkSuitActor the anime uses actual The Pillows songs for the performances of]], but it's not actually supposed to be ThePillows.
*** Actually that band is called "the Heroes" which when written in Japanese katakana is almost the same as the "the pillows" except for an accent mark, so its more of a {{Captain Ersatz}} situation.
*** Does Koyuki's dream (which the others also had) count here?

* WeddingCrashers: [[spoiler:Late in the manga, Saitou wins Momoko back by bursting into her wedding in swimming attire.]]

* FiveManBand:
** TheHero: Ryusuke (not in terms of focus, but he ''is'' the leader of BECK after all)
** TheLancer: Taira (always the one with the better thought out judgment)
** TheBigGuy: Chiba (to BoisterousBruiser levels)
** TheSmartGuy: Saku (an aversion of AllDrummersAreAnimals, is calm and rational)
** TheChick: Koyuki (who is the one with the least experience, and [[spoiler:because he doubles as TheHeart]])

* Ryuusuke Minami: The lead guitarist and front man for BECK. Raised in America, he and his sister Maho often stick out because of their personalities. While in America, He had befriended Eddie Lee, a prodigious guitarist who goes on to be famous in his later years. Ryuusuke vows to Eddie that he will make a band worthy enough to play alongside him, and goes on to learn guitar. Ryuusuke himself is rather talented, and has a bit of an ego.

** If [[Music/{{REM}} Michael Stipe]] wore sunglasses and had drinking problems, he'd be Matt Reed.

Ryuusuke is also setting up a band, which eventually gets named Beck, after the dog. After Koyuki has learned to play the guitar to a somewhat passable level, he gets accepted into the band. There he impresses everyone with his fantastic voice. From then on, the whole story is mainly about Beck's struggles to become famous, both nationally in Japan and internationally. Well, that and Koyuki's romantic troubles with Ryuusuke's sister, Maho.

* BigDamnHeroes: Ryuusuke has a bad habit of making impossible bets. [[spoiler:Later in the manga, at Avalon Fest, he wagers that Beck will get the most viewers, everyone else goes out of their way to help. Matt Reed flies Koyuki in with his helicopter when it seems like Koyuki will be late for the show, and colleague band Room 13 tells people to go to their performance. Even Hype's singer Dexter Adams tells his fans to head to the show. Even the festival's organizer, Jodie Riley, helps out by opening up the gates and let anyone into the stage, even those without passes (since they would end up rioting to get in anyway). Unfortunately, it doesn't quite work out.]]

** TheHero: Ryusuke (not in terms of focus, but he ''is'' the leader of Beck after all)

* AGoodNameForARockBand; Well, no. ''Beck'' gets settled on because all other options Ryuusuke and Chiba can come up with suck ''worse''. By the time they make their international debut, their first agent comes up with the name "Mongolian Chop Squad". It's used whenever they're outside Japan, usually abbreviated to [=MCS=].
** LineOfSightName: How they settle on "Beck"; they name the band after the dog, who was there at the time.

* GratuitousEnglish: The lyrics to Beck's songs are full of it, though not completely ("Spice of Life", for example, does have verses in Japanese).

* ItWillNeverCatchOn: What Eiji thinks when he sees Beck and bands like Room 13 (which made their breakthrough thanks to Beck) making their break in the international scene, stemming from his disillusion after Belle Ame's failure to make an impression. Of course, things work differently for different people...

** Also, Kevin in the manga. He does everything to push the members of Beck (rather, MCS) around while they are touring the USA as the opening act for F.V.E. (the band for which he and his brother, David, who is sympathetic towards the guys, play) just for the hell of it. But then again, he justifies this by the fact that MCS' performances in USA are subpar (which they had been, until Ryusuke rejoined them in Seattle). From what David tells Ryusuke later on, this may be simply prejudice since [[spoiler: Kevin had a Japanese girlfriend in high school, but she cheated on him.]]

** Heck, any prominent character under Ran's wing (including Ran himself) is one of these. Eiji seems to enjoy looking down on Beck as a whole, while Yoshito outright ''hates'' Koyuki just because of Maho. As for [[CorruptCorporateExecutive Ran]], well...

** Chiba could also count. He is, by far, the loudest of the members of Beck.

** Doggie, Leon Sykes' manga-only second bodyguard, is a dead-on {{Expy}} of SnoopDogg.

* OrdinaryHighSchoolStudent: Koyuki, at least until he ditches school for Beck. Also Saku. Izumi and Hiromi fit this too, though they are mostly secondary in different points in Koyuki's life (e.g. once he starts attending high school, Izumi is PutOnABus - as are almost all of his middle school colleagues - , with Hiromi serving as a replacement of sorts, because she starts dating Saku).

** As a matter of fact, we learn in the manga that, of the five members of Beck, Ryusuke is ''the only one who can speak English'', which leads to loads of lost-in-translation when they go to the USA. And it's rather ironic, since Chiba sings mostly in English. So he wouldn't have a clue of what the songs mean if Ryusuke didn't explain (assuming that he did)?

*** Considering the [[ThemeNaming naming conventions]] for pets in the series, such as the cockatoo [[Music/LedZeppelin Page]] and the other dog [[Music/KeithRichards Keith]], it's more likely Beck's named after Jeff Beck from Music/TheYardbirds.

** Also, aside from rock, another of Sakuishi's great passions is soccer. That can be seen by the soccer player names scattered about in the backgrounds, especially in the late chapters (for example, there's a bookstore named after Spanish midfielder Cesc Fàbregas, and one of the new opening acts at the underground club where Beck started off is named Aguero, after Argentine forward Sergio Agüero). There are even cameos for Ronaldinho (at the Avalon Fest, twice) and Lionel Messi (just before Greatful Sound 9).

* StartMyOwn: Both Ryuusuke and Eiji, disbanding Serial Mama and starting Beck and Belle Ame, respectively.

** In general, Beck and Belle Ame also follow this: Beck being Performer, Belle Ame being Technician, and other bands associated with Beck, such as The Dying Breed and Ciel-Bleu also being Performer. Hyoudo's band also was technician, as Ryusuuke pointed out. In general the Performer beats the Technician, except in best guitar when both Koyuki and Hyoudo won.
** It should be noted that BECK plays both more technically challenging music than Belle Ame as well as more sonicly pleasing music. I don't know if this is an aversion of the trope but it should be noted.
* TomboyishName: Kazuo Sato, the manager and co-idealizer of Greatful Sound, and the one who helps Beck get their big break to stardom, is a woman.

* [[FourTemperamentEnsemble Five-Temperament Ensemble]]: a more accurate description of the group's dynamics. Ryusuke (phlegmatic), Chiba (choleric), Taira (melancholic), Koyuki (leukine), and Saku (sanguine).

* FourTemperamentEnsemble: a more accurate description of the group's dynamics. Ryusuke = phlegmatic; Koyuki = supine; Taira = melancholic; Chiba = choleric; and Saku = sanguine.

* Yoshiyuki Taira: The bassist of BECK. As the oldest, he is the most mature member and has the most experience with music (his father was the bassist of a jazz band.) He has no problem with staying in the background, but will speak up if he feels he needs to. His play style is based off Michael 'Flea' Balzary of The Red Hot Chili Peppers fame. He also has bleach blonde hair and doesn't wear a shirt on stage.

* Yuuji 'Saku' Sakurai: The drummer of BECK, and a transfer student. He quickly befriends Koyuki through the music of The Dying Breed. Not one to conform, he is unafraid to speak to Koyuki after a school-wide silence is imposed on him. He is surprisingly talented, and the moment the band hears him play, they recruit him.

* AbsurdlyHighStakesGame: Ryuusuke ''likes'' making impossible bets involving Beck, and somehow he seems to expect his band to win. It might have to do with him believing that his band can win crowds over with their soulful and skillful performances, and not management touch-ups.

** Hype's frontman Dexter Adams looks like a cross between [[Music/ThePolice Sting]] and [[{Music/{Coldplay}} Chris Martin]] (with a dash of [[Music/{{Radiohead}} Thom Yorke]] for good measure).

[[OrdinaryHighSchoolStudent Ordinary Middle School Student]] Yukio 'Koyuki' Tanaka wonders if his life will ever be interesting enough to write an autobiography. This all starts to change as he steps in to rescue a frankenstein-looking dog from a bunch of pestering kids. The dog, Beck, turns out to belong to Ryuusuke 'Ray' Minami, a Japanese kid with a checkered past that was largely spent in New York in the company of [[NoCelebritiesWereHarmed a currently world-famous singer/songwriter]]. Ryuusuke introduces Koyuki to rock music and lends him a guitar.

** Guy Sexton, the lead singer of Powergate, is a carbon copy of [[LimpBizkit Fred Durst]] if he shared the same tattooist as [[LinkinPark Chester Bennington]].

** Hype's frontman Dexter Adams looks like a cross between [[ThePolice Sting]] and [[{{Coldplay}} Chris Martin]].

!!Tropes:

* BigDamnHeroes: Ryuusuke has a bad habit of making impossible bets. [[spoiler:In the finale, when he pulls another Greatful Sound and wagers that Beck will get the most viewers, everyone else goes out of their way to help. Matt Reed flies Koyuki in with his helicopter when it seems like Koyuki will be late for the show, and colleague band Room 13 tells people to go to their performance. Even Hyde, a popular American artist, tells his fans to head to the show. Unfortunately, it doesn't quite work out.]]

* ArtShift: The characters are much more detailed in the manga than in the anime - especially noticeable when they are seen on profile (Sakuishi has a rather unique way of drawing noses).

** Also Ryuusuke always wears a [[BlandNameProduct Red Hot Chili Ppers]] shirt

* GangstaStyle: Frequently employed by the actual gangsters who appear in the manga.
* AGoodNameForARockBand; Well, no. ''Beck'' gets settled on because all other options Ryuusuke and Chiba can come up with suck ''worse''. By the time they make their international debut, their first agent comes up with the name 'Mongolian Chop Squad'. It's used whenever they're outside Japan, usually abbreviated to [=MCS=].

* IntergenerationalFriendship: Saitou and Kayuki

** Be honest, Eddie Lee gives off the feel like he's a more upbeat version of [[Music/{{Nirvana}} Kurt Cobain]].

* ScaryShinyGlasses: {{BigBad}}s Ran and Leon Sykes have these. Overlaps with SunglassesAtNight.

** Also, aside from rock, another of Sakuishi's great passions is soccer. That can be seen by the soccer player names scattered about in the backgrounds, especially in the late chapters (for example, there's a bookstore named after Arsenal's Spanish midfielder Cesc Fàbregas, and one of the new opening acts at the underground club where Beck started off is named Aguero, after Atlético de Madrid's Argentine forward Sergio Agüero).
** A strange shout out is the cover illustration of the english EP of the band, which consist of a baseball bat in the bottom of a well, as described in ''Haruki Murakami's'' novel ''The Wind-up Bird Chronicle''.

* StartMyOwn: Both Ryuusuke and Eiji, disbanding Serial Mama and starting Beck and Belle-Aime, respectively.

** In general, Beck and Belle-Aime also follow this: Beck being Performer, Belle-Aime being Technician, and other bands associated with Beck, such as The Dying Breed and Ciel-Bleu also being Performer. Hyoudo's band also was technician, as Ryusuuke pointed out. In general the Performer beats the Technician, except in best guitar when both Koyuki and Hyoudo won.

* {{Tsundere}}: Maho, in a slightly more deredere way than usual.

* Yoshiyuki Taira: The bassist of BECK. As the oldest, he is the most mature member and has a large history of music (his father was the bassist of a jazz band.) He has no problem with staying in the background, but will speak up if he feels he needs to. His play style is based off Michael 'Flea' Balzary of The Red Hot Chili Peppers fame. He also has bleach blonde hair and doesn't wear a shirt on stage.

* BigDamnHeroes: Ryuusuke has a bad habit of making impossible bets. [[spoiler:In the finale, when he pulls another Greatful Sound and wagers that Beck will get the most viewers, everyone else goes out of their way to help. Matt Reed flies Koyuki in with [[BeyondTheImpossible his helicopter]] when it seems like Koyuki will be late for the show, and colleague band Room 13 tells people to go to their performance. Even Hyde, a popular American artist, tells his fans to head to the show. Unfortunately, it doesn't quite work out.]]

* {{Fanservice}}: Maho definitely has her moments, Usually for Koyuki. Also, [[ShirtlessScene Taira]] for the [[http://www.mangareader.net/291-20693-10/beck/chapter-76.html male side]].

* HollywoodPudgy: Koyuki, with no sense of sarcasm chides ''Maho'' of not eating so much or she'll get fat. Unfortunately, that's [[ValuesDissonance Japan for ya.]]

* HoYay: A bit between Koyuki and Ray in the beginning.
** Koyuki and Shiingo pull this off a bit in England, where [[spoiler:Koyuki waits for Maho to show up at Abbey Road for their big reunion in London, only for her not to show up. CueTheRain. Then Shiingo shows up with an UmbrellaOfTogetherness...]]
** Minor in-universe example with Koyuki and ''Matt Reed'', of all people, where [[spoiler:Matt flies Koyuki and Maho into the Avalon Festival in his helicopter... except that the gossip mags had said Matt would show up with his girlfriend. When Koyuki exits the chopper with Matt, several fans are quick to assume that Matt must [[BiTheWay swing both ways]]. "Just what I'd expect from a rock star!", indeed.]]

* {{Narm}}: ''GET THE FUCK OUTTA HERE!!!'' (Ryusuke calling out on Koyuki, after the latter unintentionally breaks a guitar the former had given him in an early episode. [[spoiler:Turns out that the guitar, which Ryusuke cherished for thinking it belonged to Eddie Lee, was a replica of Eddie's usual one, and all was good between them again.]]) It's only funny because of Ryusuke's accentized English.
** Averted in the English dub, where the lack of an 'Engrish' accent helps the line's effectiveness. That scene is still hard to watch for this troper.

[[redirect:Anime/{{Beck}}]]