In the late 80s, a new buddy cop manga appeared on the scene. Not quite in the vein of American buddy cop series, You're Under Arrest's Natsumi Tsujimoto and Miyuki Kobayakawa are both incredibly talented women that become a perfect combination on the streets of Sumida, Tokyo.
Despite their presumably “normal” premise, the series was incredibly popular, with a manga that ran for the better part of a decade. Its anime adaptation was even more popular, as the series ran for three seasons across twenty years, with the most recent series being You’re Under Arrest: Full Throttle in 2007. But, what other versions managed to pop up over the years, and is it worth it to check the manga out? This list will give viewers everything they need to know before checking out the comedy series.
10 Created By Kosuke Fujishima
You're Under Arrest is a series created by Kosuke Fujishima. Fujishima's known for a number of series, with You're Under Arrest being the first one he ever did. He's better known for his second series, though, that being Oh My Goddess, which launched in 1988, a couple of years after You’re Under Arrest was published. He's also known for being the head designer for several series including Sakura Wars and Tales.
9 Published By Monthly Afternoon
You're Under Arrest as a series is a seinen manga, meaning it was aimed at older men. It was published in the anthology Monthly Afternoon, which has been running since the late 80s. This magazine is known for a number of different series, including Genshiken, Blade of the Immortal, and Vinland Saga. More recently, it's given us the series getting an adaptation this season, Wave, Listen to Me.
8 Connected To Dark Horse Comics
You're Under Arrest is an older series. As such, it comes from an era long before it was common to have specific companies that only worked on adapting anime series or manga. you're under arrest was specifically brought over to America by Dark Horse Comics.
However, it wasn't adapted fully. Apparently, only volumes six were brought over to the west, making it rather difficult for anyone to get invested in the manga. Since then, no one has made any new attempts to localize the manga, most likely because of the series' age and how many new manga are being made.
7 Lots of Ship Teases
This series is notorious for its number of ship teases. The main characters are given romantic interests later in the series, but, initially, the two of them seem more like they're more than just partners. There's romantic tension that's kept up throughout the series, but it never actually pays off in most forms of the series. Instead, they're content to let things remain in the air, allowing pretty much any fan to pick whatever they want.
6 Not Just Everyday Crime
You're Under Arrest normally deals with day to day issues like getting cats out of trees or an overzealous costumed nut who attacks people with baseballs for violating the law. But, occasionally, things rev up, leading to story arcs like having the main characters protecting a billionaire's preteen son from getting kidnapped from people wanting control over the son's inheritance.
5 There's a Live-Action Series
Unsurprisingly, You're Under Arrest received a live-action Japanese drama adaptation in 2002. The series didn't even try to adapt any of the manga, telling its own story. Nonetheless, the characterization is fairly accurate for most of the main cast, right down to having Miyuki be a total gear-head who loves tricking out her patrol car. The drama starred Misaki Ito as Natsumi Tsujimoto, who's also known for her role in Maison Ikkoku, and being in Densha Otoko.
4 Super Cops
It seems a bit ridiculous to have normal cops dealing with absurd situations, and the anime seemed to agree, which is why the main lead characters both receive some pretty insane training.
Natsumi goes to train with the Japanese Self-Defense Force, with Miyuki traveling to America to study forensic science. Considering they're only meant to be traffic cops, they would normally be drastically overqualified... except that they get thrown into situations requiring everything they know.
3 There's A Video Game
In the early 2000s, You're Under Arrest received a video game. This was still the era where every anime got it's own video game, though this was near the end of that era. Despite the PS2 being a thing by that point, this game released on the original PlayStation. It was a visual novel rather than an action game and seemed to focus around the usual shenanigans of the Bokuto Traffic Police.
2 Animated By Studio DEEN
The You're Under Arrest anime series was produced by Studio DEEN. Studio DEEN is best known for its work on series like Ranma ½, Maison Ikkoku, and the original Fruits Basket. They've lately been responsible for shows like KonoSuba, GuraZeni, and Sakimoto. Ultimately, they've been known more recently for drops in animation quality than being famous, but, in the 90s and 2000s, their series had much better fan responses.
1 Check Out The Manga
It's worth saying that, despite the manga for You're Under Arrest finishing before the anime even started, there's a massive difference between the two series. Since the story isn't plot-focused, there's more room to make up stories, and, as a result, there was no reason to do a straight-up adaptation. This is worth keeping in mind, as it means the manga is also worth checking out, though it's a bit more difficult to find an English translation. The anime, on the other hand, is available subbed for all seasons.