Dear Boys is a Japanese sports manga written and illustrated by Hiroki Yagami, published by Kodansha in Monthly Shōnen Magazine. As of June 2007, the Dear Boys series has 25 volumes in total, including the Dear Boys: The Early Days and Dear Boys: Act 2. In 2007, Dear Boys: Act 2 was awarded the Kodansha Manga Award for the shōnen manga. The story concerns the progress of the Mizuho High School basketball team as it attempts to win the prefectural championship. It also deals heavily with the relationship between the players on the team, especially the two main characters Kazuhiko Aikawa and Takumi Fujiwara.
Plot
At the outset of the manga, the Mizuho High School basketball team is in trouble, as there are not enough players to play a game. Additionally, the coach has left after a conflict with Fujiwara. However, Aikawa transfers to Mizuho and through his enthusiasm and sheer love of the game, infuses the few remaining members with a sense of purpose. Despite the fact that there are only five of them, they manage to get the coach of the girls' team to coach them as well. At first, she seems very strict, but later reveals her attachment to her "Dear Boys". Together, they do their best to make their dreams come true and take their team to the top of the prefecture. The manga isn't only focused on the Mizuho team, but also on several rival teams. In fact, the manga artist spends a bit of time developing the characters of other teams' members.
The anime version of Dear Boys, also known as Hoop Days, was released on TV in Japan in 2003. Like many Kodansha adaptations, it was made on a rather low budget. As a result, it had somewhat lower quality animation than many other shōnen anime that came out in the same year. It follows the storyline of the manga quite closely. Eurobeat music is played during the games, much like how the music genre is featured during the mountain pass races in Initial D. Since the company that produced Hoop Days also produced Initial D, they featured an episode of the cast watching scenes from the then-upcoming Initial D Fourth Stage.
:Kazuhiko Aikawa has recently transferred to Mizuho High School. When asking a teacher why there was no boys' basketball team he was told that they were not a functioning team and that they were about to be disbanded. Aikawa then declared that he was to be the fifth member of the team so that they could attempt the championship.
:The episode starts with a flashback showing how the star ace from Tendōji High's basketball team wound up at Mizuho. Basketball practice starts and once again the boys, barring Aikawa, don't show up. However the episode shows them all gathering things for basketball or practicing. The final day for the ban has come and Aikawa shows up to the gym to practice a little only to find Miura, Ishii, and Dobashi already there. When Aikawa comments on Fujiwara not being there, he is told that it's not a problem that he'll show up. The next day all five members of the boys' basketball team show up at practice. They play a brief game against the girls only to fail horribly showing that they don't play well together. In order to give them a little initiative coach Akiyoshi pits them against Narita high school in a practice match. The very same team whose coach is Shimojou, the previous captain of the boys' team.
