Follow TV Tropes

Following

Context Manga / Gangsta

Go To

1[[quoteright:350:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/gangsta_anime_poster.png]]
2[[caption-width-right:350:Handymen, at your service.]]
3
4''Gangsta.'' (often stylized ''GANGSTA.'') is a {{Seinen}} action manga written and drawn by Kohske, which began serialization in ''Monthly Comic @BUNCH'' in 2011 and is still ongoing. It's set in [[WhereTheHellIsSpringfield what appears to be a Mediterranean country]] and follows the exploits of two NeighbourhoodFriendlyGangsters, Nicolas and Worick. You see, Nicolas and Worick are "Benriya," ("Handyman") bodyguards-for-hire. They take jobs from gangs to prostitutes to cops and everyone in-between. While on a job, they cross paths with Alex, a former prostitute and hire her as their secretary.
5
6A character page is still in the works. Additions are welcomed.
7
8An anime adaptation by {{Creator/Manglobe}}, its last series before shutting down due to financial issues, began airing in July as part of the Summer 2015 season. {{Creator/Funimation}} releases subbed episodes for members to stream.
9
10The series has a spin-off mini-series focusing on Marco Adriano's past called ''GANGSTA:CURSED.: EP_Marco Adriano''.
11
12Not to be confused with GangstaRap, GangstaStyle, NeighborhoodFriendlyGangsters or DamnItFeelsGoodToBeAGangster, though that pops up quite a lot. Also, [[NonIndicativeName despite the name]], conventional GangBangers are a no-show in Gangsta.
13
14----
15! '''Gangsta. includes examples of:'''
16* AbusiveParents:
17** Worick's father [[spoiler:put a lit cigarette out in [[EyeScream Worick's eye]]]]. It's implied that [[spoiler:Nicolas killed him for it]].
18** Nicolas' dad doesn't think of him as human, and treats him like he's eventual garbage to throw away. In fact, Nicolas' father [[spoiler:had him just so he wouldn't have to pay for a Twilight mercenary. He killed Nicolas' mother after she gave birth to him and then decided to raise Nicolas as his personal weapon.]]
19* AbsurdlySharpBlade:
20** Nic's [[KatanasAreJustBetter katana]] is apparently so sharp that it can cut through stone walls, as well as [[spoiler:Doug's [[KukrisAreKool kukris]]]].
21** Speaking of [[spoiler:Doug]], he wields some [[AbsurdlySharpBlade sharp blades]] of his own. His [[KukrisAreKool kukris]] are apparently sharp enough to slice through guns.
22* AdultsAreUseless: Or big fat [[FantasticRacism speciests]] to Nicolas during his childhood. Or just out and out villains.
23%% AffablyEvil: Most of the gangsters we see.
24* AllOfTheOtherReindeer: Most people do not like the Twilight species. Not helped by the fact that most of the Twilight we've seen have been violent, if not just jerks.
25%% AudienceSurrogate: Alex. Also, the UnfazedEveryman.
26%% AxCrazy: Nicolas and many other members of the Twilight.
27%%* BadassInANiceSuit: Oh, so many.
28* BadBoss: A B-level Twilight smashes one of his underlings into a wall when he tells him some bad news. And then that Twilight is [[LaserGuidedKarma killed by]] ''[[LaserGuidedKarma his]]'' [[LaserGuidedKarma boss]].
29%% TheBaroness: Gina Paulklee has this vibe.
30* BerserkButton: Badmouthing Nicolas is one way to make Worick consider attacking an unarmed woman.
31* BewareOfTheNiceOnes: Right as Alex is about to turn an alley during her search for one of Worick's clients' missing cat, she hears the threats and beatings of a bunch of men to a homeless, half-starved-looking Twilight girl, [[spoiler:and just as they begin talking about doing worse to her, ''Alex suddenly leaps out to smash the man saying so in the face with a steel pipe''. Definitely awesome]].
32* BizarreBabyBoom: The Twilights are the children of those who used ''Célèbre'', a drug that enhanced strength, speed and agility and was used during wartime. Twilights inherit these traits but are most often affected by genetic, mental and physical deficiencies and are not particularly long-lived (hence the name).
33* BrokenBird: Alex, being a former prostitute.[[spoiler:Though considering her daydream nightmare about Barry, there's more to it than that.]]
34* AChildShallLeadThem: The Cristiano family is led by Loretta Cristiano Amodio, who is 14 years old.
35%% ChildSoldiers: [[spoiler:Nicolas.]]
36* ChivalrousPervert: Worick. It's one of the reasons he convinced Nicolas to spare Alex.
37* ComedicSociopathy: Dr. Theo trying to stab Nicolas with a poisoned syringe for letting his hospital get damaged by the black Twilight man.
38%% CoolOldGuy: Chad the police officer and Monroe the mafioso.
39* CoolOldLady: Big Mama Georgiana, the head of the Corsica brothel. She's even nice to [[AllOfTheOtherReindeer Nic]].
40* CreepyChild: Mikhail, [[spoiler:who began the most recent Twilight Hunt that has led to the escalating violence and massacres against Twilights, has no sense of the height of what he's done besides "wanting [their] dog tag", and seems to have enjoyed slaughtering those he had already done so, possibly due to being raised and twisted into thinking that way, considering his young age]].
41%%* DamnItFeelsGoodToBeAGangster
42%%* DarkAndTroubledPast
43* DeadlyDoctor: Dr. Theo may be missing a few fingers but he is not to be messed with. And [[PapaWolf stay away from Nina]].
44* DefrostingIceKing: It's been a while since Nic has been around a woman for long stretches of time and it shows.
45* DeliberatelyCuteChild: Doug, a Twilight wielding kukris, who isn't [[OlderThanTheyLook actually a child]].
46* DifferentlyPoweredIndividual: The Twilight, a "race" of people who are technically human but are for the most part considered monsters due to their SuperStrength, SuperSpeed, etc. The genesis of the Twilight comes from the PsychoSerum ''Célèbre'', a highly addictive drug created a century ago for use in wartime -- but when it was found that Twilights had both drastically decreased lifespans compared to normal humans ''and'' that the child of any Twilight would almost certainly be born Twilight themselves the minority group was [[WhatMeasureIsANonHuman quickly shafted into becoming a]] SlaveRace [[SuperhumanTrafficking for the majority]].
47%%* DopeSlap
48* DreadlockWarrior: Galahad of the Cristianos, one of Loretta's enforcers.
49%% DynamicEntry:
50* EarlyBirdCameo: Gina and Ginger make a very brief cameo in the first episode of the anime, seen only in shadow.
51%% EarlyInstallmentWeirdness: Remember when [[ThouShaltNotKillMuggles Nic]] [[OffWithHisHead beheaded someone]] in the first chapter? Yeah, so do I.
52%%* EmpoweredBadassNormal: Twilights. Although, this is used in universe to describe [[spoiler:the Destroyers]].
53%% EyepatchOfPower: Worick.
54* EyeScream: We're treated a brief flashback of how Worick lost one of his eyes via one of his AbusiveParents.
55%% FangsAreEvil: Mikhail.
56* FantasticRacism:
57** It's solidly established that Twilights are second class citizens at best, and considered vermin to be exterminated at worst. Systematic oppression is everywhere: they're marked from birth with tags, legal slavery only recently ended, Ergastulum was established as a [[FantasticGhetto Twilight ghetto]], only one clinic in the ''entire city'' helps Twilight orphans, and they're erased from city records immediately after death (not to mention that they don't even have single graves with headstones).
58** It's stated the [[spoiler:government itself]] is backing the extermination going on now with [[spoiler:the Destroyers]].
59* FeelNoPain: Nicolas sometimes [[spoiler:takes an overdose of his Twilight meds to give himself an edge over his opponents]]. This is also a sign of imminent death among Twilights.
60%% FemaleGaze: ''Hello, Nicolas and Worick.''
61* {{Fingore}}:
62** Happened to Dr. Theo at some point, as he's missing [[{{Yubitsume}} his pinky and ring finger]] on one of his hands.
63** When [[spoiler:Connie's left arm]] is discovered, [[spoiler:her ring finger]] is missing.
64* {{Foreshadowing}}: In chapter 12, Worick can be seen reading ''Theatre/{{Hamlet}}''.
65%% TheGadfly: Worick and Nicolas sometimes just delight in annoying people.
66* GenderBlenderName: Paulklee, the head of the city's Twilight guild, is a woman. [[SubvertedTrope Though as it turns out]], "Paulklee" is her surname. Her first name is "Gina."
67* GetAHoldOfYourselfMan: Worick has to headbutt Alex to [[spoiler:keep her from going into hysterics as a result of her PsychoSerum]].
68%% GirlWithPsychoWeapon: Doug is a Boy with a Psycho Weapon.
69%% TheGunslinger: Worick, despite [[EyepatchOfPower his handicap]].
70%%* HandicappedBadass: Worick's missing an eye and Nicolas is deaf.
71* HarmfulToMinors:
72** Alex is annoyed that Nina knows ''[[HookerWithAHeartOfGold exactly]]'' what Worick's day job is. He's been doing it since [[spoiler:he was ''thirteen years old''. Not to mention he's an orphan whose family died horribly]].
73** Nicolas is a [[spoiler:former child soldier]].
74%% Being born a Twilight tends to cause this.
75* HandSignals: Nicolas communicates almost entirely in sign language. Alex and Nina are currently learning it.
76%% HeroicComedicSociopath: Whenever it's funny.
77* HeterosexualLifePartners: Nicolas and Worick have been together for about 20 years. Not even the most traumatic of events can separate them.
78* HookerWithAHeartOfGold: Alex used to be this. Gender-inverted in Worick; he's a [[SpearCounterpart Gigolo]] with a Heart of Gold. He's [[ReallyGetsAround quite popular too]].
79* HollywoodSilencer: In the second episode of the anime, Worick shoots a couple of criminals with a silenced pistol, needless to say, it plays this trope straight.
80%% InASingleBound: Twilights are fond of doing this.
81%% InscrutableOriental: Nic.
82%% JerkWithAHeartOfGold: Nicolas.
83* KatanasAreJustBetter: Nicolas wields one that is apparently capable of [[spoiler:breaking both of Doug's kukris]].
84%% KnightOfCerebus: The plot finally arrived when Doug showed up.
85%% KukrisAreKool: Doug the Twilight.
86* LamarckWasRight:
87** Twilights are most often the children and descendants of Célèbre users. Célèbre was a body modification drug created during wartimes to enhance strength, speed and agility, all of which it did, at the cost of being mostly toxic in large or repeated dosages. Besides gaining physical strength similar to their parents, Twilights are most often affected by genetic, mental and physical deficiencies and are not particularly long-lived (hence the name [[MeaningfulName "Twilight"]]). Because a Twilight must take Célèbre to control their withdrawal symptoms, it's assumed that if a Twilight has children, they will also be Twilights.
88** It's revealed that half-Twilights live longer than full-blooded Twilights, and that half-Twilights with Twilight mothers and normal fathers are less healthy than Twilights with reverse parents.
89** Often invoked. See RapeAsDrama.
90%% LethalChef: Do NOT let Nicolas in your kitchen.
91%% LightningBruiser: Of the Hard-Hitting Speedster variety.
92%% LittleMissSnarker: Loretta, to go with her NervesOfSteel.
93%% LongHairedPrettyBoy: Worick.
94* LyricalDissonance: In print form, anyway. Provided by a beatdown of Anti-Twilight attackers to "Stand By Me".
95* MadeASlave: Back when Nicolas was a child, people took to finding young, stray Twilight children and making them into {{Tyke Bomb}}s. Apparently, it was legal until the [[ThreeLawsCompliant three principles]] were established.
96%%* TheMafia
97%% MaleGaze: Planted firmly on Alex.
98* MeaningfulName: Many, but the name of the city the Benriya lives in stands out -- Ergastulum, derived from a term for the dark confines whereupon Roman slaves were chained up and/or punished by way of back-breaking work.
99* TheMedic: Dr. Theo and Nina.
100* TheMole: [[spoiler:Ivan Glaziev]] for the Corsica Family. Subverted when we find out that [[spoiler:his boss is also in on the Twilight extermination plan]].
101%% MoralityPet: Nina to Nicolas.
102%% MrFanservice: Worick. Also Nicolas, to a certain extent.
103%% MsFanservice: Alex.
104* NaiveNewcomer: Alex, due to her being unaware of the Twilights and a lot of the aspects of the city, which revolve heavily around said Twilights.
105%% Cody the police officer.
106* TheNapoleon:
107** While not a midget, Nicolas is shorter than most of the other men in the manga. Mentioning it doesn't send him into a violent rage but it does annoy him. He certainly doesn't like women taller than he is.
108** Doug, the kukri-wielding Twilight, turns out to be [[spoiler:an adult with a body that hasn't aged properly since he was 12, although his [[VocalDissonance larynx seems to have developed]]]]. Either way, he's a total badass.
109%% NeighborhoodFriendlyGangsters: Everywhere, including Worick and Nicolas.
110* NoEnding: The anime ends on a very abrupt note with virtually nothing resolved. And due to Manglobe going bankrupt, a second season is most likely never happening. So those who wants to know what happens next will have no choice but to pick up the manga.
111* OlderThanTheyLook:
112** Nicolas points out that he hasn't changed much physically since he was 17.
113** Surprise, that [[KukrisAreKool kukri-wielding]] Twilight is an adult!
114* {{Omake}}: So far, about the cast taking care of a [[RidiculouslyCuteCritter baby sparrow]].
115* OOCIsSeriousBusiness: Did Nicolas just [[SilentBob speak]]? Has Worick stopped acting like a HandsomeLech? SHIT JUST GOT REAL.
116* PhotographicMemory: Worick. After flipping through a book of crime scene notes, he proceeds to rattle off various details about the people in them shown dismembered. [[spoiler:He doesn't even need 5 minutes to go through the information outlining the purge of Ergastulum]].
117* PintsizedPowerhouse: Nicolas is the most powerful member of the main cast. He is also one of the shortest men in it.
118* PoliceAreUseless: The police in Ergastulum are highly corrupt and powerless to act against the major crime families that run the city. Not to mention the police are all normal people, meaning they'd stand no chance against high powered Twilights, anyways.
119%% PosthumousCharacter: [[spoiler:Worick's wealthy family]].
120* PsychoSerum:
121** What goes into making a Twilight it seems, making them more or less super-powered ill girls and boys.
122** [[spoiler:Barry used this to control his prostitutes, notably Alex]].
123* RapeAsDrama:
124** It was common back in the day to rape female Twilights in order [[LamarckWasRight to obtain more Twilights]].
125** Alex dreams a memory in which [[spoiler:she's raped by a Twilight]], and it's pretty clear [[spoiler:Barry sexually abused her as well]].
126* ReasonableAuthorityFigure: So far... Chad the police officer, Daniel of the Monroe family, Big Mama Georgiana the madame, and Loretta of the Cristianos.
127%% RedRightHand: Tagged people and their... [[ExactlyWhatItSaysOnTheTin tags]].
128* RedShirtArmy:
129** Generally all of the normal {{mooks}} when they face off against Twilights.
130** Later, [[spoiler:the Twilight mercenaries from the Paulkee Guild, including Doug, are slaughtered by just two Hunters]].
131* ReligiousAndMythologicalThemeNaming: The Twilights of the Paulklee Guild include [[Myth/ArthurianLegend Galahad, Gawain, Bors, Tristan, Lancelot, and Arthur]].
132%% ScaryBlackMan: The B-level Twilight. He also has SuperStrength. Galahad is a heroic one.
133%% SexySecretary: Alex's job.
134* SheIsNotMyGirlfriend: {{Inverted|Trope}}. When Alex goes out on a errand with Nic, an old lady asks why she (a former hooker) is still hanging around with Benriya. Nic says because "She's my woman." He's lying for the sake of simplicity though.
135* ShootTheShaggyDog: In chapter 20, a Twilight is forced to attack the heroes to save his family. He ultimately fails and dies in his mission but as it turns out, [[spoiler:his family was killed before he even made it to his destination]].
136* ShownTheirWork: Nicolas' voice actor in both Japanese and English emulates the slightly slurred speech of real-life deaf people fairly well in both languages. This is because due to a lack of hearing, deaf individuals have a tough time gauging things like their volume or speech patterns. A demonstration of this in the English dub can be seen [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Y85f_yFx5KY here]].
137%% ShrinkingViolet: Nina, [[{{Moe}} awwwww]]. Also Ginger the Twilight, but she's still [[BewareTheNiceOnes a Twilight]].
138* TheSilentBob: Nicolas, who usually communicates using sign language and hand gestures. He can talk but being deaf, he'd rather not.
139%% SilentSnarker: Nicolas, [[HandSignals constantly]].
140* SlasherSmile: Mikhail's is especially frightening because he is a 10 year old ''child''.
141%% If you see either Worick or Nic sporting one, that's your cue to run. Run ''fast.''
142%% SociopathicHero: Nicolas again.
143%% SonOfAWhore: Lots. Nicolas, Worrick, and Loretta are just a few mentioned.
144%% SpiritualSuccessor: To the ''VideoGame/{{Gungrave}}'' anime series and, to a lesser extent, ''Manga/BlackLagoon''.
145%% StoicSpectacles: Dr. Theo, [[NotSoStoic unless]] you [[BerserkButton damage his hospital]].
146* STDImmunity: Both Alex and Worick are prostitute and gigolo respectively, but they're shown to be quite healthy and in peak condition. No sign of AIDS, syphilis or anything nasty, common in the work.
147* SuperSpeed: All Twilights to some degree, along with SuperStrength. Ginger seems to be known for her speed.
148* SuperhumanTrafficking: The [[DifferentlyPoweredIndividual Twilights]], all of whom have SuperStrength, SuperSpeed, etc., constantly face FantasticRacism and were legal to enslave until just a few years before the main story starts. The only reason [[{{Muggles}} normals]] got away with this sort of treatment is because Twilights are a very small minority of the population and all of them are hopelessly addicted to the pricey drug ''Célèbre'', which many slave masters used to control them. For example, [[spoiler:one of the main reasons Nicolas never ran away from his highly abusive owners as a child was because they provided him with just enough ''Célèbre'' to keep him barely lucid]].
149* TattooedCrook: Worick and Nicolas have tribal tattoos across their upper back.
150* TeamDad: Chad. We even see him patching Nicolas up in a flashback, just like you'd expect a father to.
151%% Monroe is this to his group, the Cristianos.
152* ThouShaltNotKillMuggles: The cornerstone of the "Three Principles" that all Twilights in the city live with.
153* ThreeLawsCompliant: Non-robotic version, the "Three Principles" for Twilights that Danny Monroe set up.
154## Twilights must not intentionally kill humans.
155## Twilights must obey an order given to them by a human, so long as it doesn't conflict with Article 1.
156## A Twilight has the right to defend its own existence, so long as it doesn't conflict with Articles 1 and 2.
157* TogetherInDeath: [[spoiler:Marco and his love die next to one another]].
158%% ToThePain: Told to a Twilight [[spoiler:about his family]].
159%%* TwoGuysAndAGirl
160%% {{Tsundere}}: Alex, Type B. Mostly to [[HandsomeLech Worick]].
161* UnderestimatingBadassery:
162** When the B-level Twilight threatens Nicolas. Nicolas is, for the record, an [[EvilerThanThou A-level]] Twilight. [[CurbStompBattle Guess what happens]].
163** Doug underestimates Delico, who is a D-level Twilight because Doug himself is an A-level. This is [[PlayingWithATrope played with]] because while Doug is mostly right, Delico manages to disrupt Doug's attempts on Monroe's life long enough for [[BigDamnHeroes Nicolas to show up]].
164* WhereTheHellIsSpringfield:
165** In the beginning it seems as though all the action is happening in a Mediterranean country, with Italian (especially) and Greek naming conventions prominent; however, there are odd names out, such as Cody, and in chapter 8 a man is seen passing what look like American hundred dollar bills, with the vague profile of Ben Franklin on them. Then it's finally revealed that Ergastulum is its own city-state on/by an unnamed continent, with its own history. Not long after that, it's heavily implied to be either part of an alternate history or possibly even part of a completely different world from Earth (this is not entirely clear from the get-go, considering the otherwise realistic backdrop).
166** It seems likely to be an alternate history (or perhaps future?), since there's mention of Alex possibly being [[spoiler:part Chinese as well as black, which would be an acknowledgement of China existing in the world]].
167** In episodes three and four of the anime, Italy is mentioned in newspaper articles, reinforcing the alternate history theory.
168%% VocalDissonance: EvilSoundsDeep, doesn't it, Doug?
169%% TheWatson: Alex, again.
170%% WhatMeasureIsANonHuman: At work with the Twilights, though technically they ''are'' human too.
171%% WiseBeyondTheirYears: Loretta.
172%% WretchedHive: Ergastulum is not a happy place to live.
173* WouldHitAGirl: Nic suggested killing Alex in the first chapter. Worick talks him out of it. [[spoiler:Implied to be what happened to the Twilight girl Veronica.]]
174* WouldHurtAChild: A rather disturbing amount of people in the manga show a willingness to hurt children, innocent or otherwise. Often for no reason at all other than the child in question being a Twilight usually.
175* YouHaveFailedMe: The B-level Twilight is killed by his boss [[spoiler:for failing to kidnap Dr. Theo.]]
176* YouHaveOutlivedYourUsefulness: [[spoiler:All of the Twilights as well as the Destroyers barring Erika since they've managed to find a means of mass producing similar hunters as disposable units near instantly. That means they have no need for either Twilights or Ergastulum, and have put together an extermination unit to purge them as a show of force.]]

Top