Characters' ages: setting the record straight

MrProphet · Post by **MrProphet** » Mon Apr 26, 2004 11:48 pm

Alright. I've heard and seen a lot of opinions on this matter. @How old is everybody?" And since there are a couple of misconceptions (in my opinion) about the subject, I though we could summarize the things we know in this topic. Please, feel free to point out, if this was already discussed.

The characters, whose ages we know for certain are Tawara (20) and the duo of Bob and Nagi. The latter are definitely 16(!), not 15, as some have said.

If you take a look at volume 8, chapter 48, where Nagi douses Mitsuomi with gasoline, it specifically says that Nagi and Bob are "16 year old high school students". There is even a roman character for "16".

Thus, if we add grades, we now see that Aya is 16 as well, Masataka is 17, while Mitsuomi, Maya and Emi are 18, not 17, as everybody I've talked to seems to think.

Am I wrong somewhere? Please share your thoughts

jacko · Post by **jacko** » Mon Apr 26, 2004 11:52 pm

Well, Nagi and Bob are supposed to be 15, because they are freshman. So is Aya.

I think they just made a typo.

kujoe · Post by **kujoe** » Tue Apr 27, 2004 12:03 am

The anime refers to Maya as 17. Well, maybe it's not always a good idea to refer to the anime all the time--but that's something to think about nevertheless.

No..wait. I just checked it. Maya also refers to herself as 17 years old in the manga. (see TTvol1, p24) You can probably start from there.

MrProphet · Post by **MrProphet** » Tue Apr 27, 2004 12:11 am

Tha could mean that Maya was born in the Summer, or Fall, while Nagi and Bob were born early in the year.

That would make Nagi 16 (ichinensei), while Maya would still be 17 (sannensei). Her 18th birthday just hasn't come yet this year.

Could be one explanation.

burrowowl · Post by **burrowowl** » Tue Apr 27, 2004 12:13 am

jacko wrote:Well, Nagi and Bob are supposed to be 15, because they are freshman. So is Aya.

I think they just made a typo.

Freshmen at a fictional Japanese high school. Japanese compulory education ends before "high school" and most people are 15 when they finish. This means they are 15 years old, minimum. Keep in mind that both are severe disciplinary problems, and neither has demonstrated interest or aptitude for academics... but as Mr Prophet points out, they are 16.

Maya could be 15, Masataka is at least 16, and Maya, Isuzu, and such (the third year students other than Bunshichi) are at least 17.

But we really only know the ages of three characters: Bob, Nagi, and Bunshichi.

kujoe · Post by **kujoe** » Tue Apr 27, 2004 12:16 am

Yeah, I know. After all, it's just the start of a new school year. But I was just wondering...how many times has Bunshichi repeated the senior year? 3 times right? I was just assuming that Maya's 17 years old based also on that. Or am I wrong?

burrowowl · Post by **burrowowl** » Tue Apr 27, 2004 12:22 am

kujoe wrote:Yeah, I know. After all, it's just the start of a new school year. But I was just wondering...how many times has Bunshichi repeated the senior year? 3 times right? I was just assuming that she's 17 years old based also on that. Or am I wrong?

Nothing wrong with it, but there are other possibilities too. Bunshichi flunked twice in one grade, why not once in another? He also could have been born earlier in the year or later....

Anyhow, I wouldn't be suprized in Maya was mentioned as 17 for the sole reason that big-breasted heroines tend to be exactly 16 years old in anime, and Maya is Aya's older sister, so having them be the same age would just seem odd and require an explanation for nitpicky fans like us.

Shihbang · Post by **Shihbang** » Tue Apr 27, 2004 12:26 am

I've been waiting for this thread :-p Been wondering about the ages - hard to keep track of so many characters. Aya is 15, the boys are 16, Maya is 17, Bunshichi is 20...would Shin have been 19? Mitsuomi would be 17/18? I wonder if there is ever any additional information about Chiaki - I guess she's really important, except as the damsel in distress and the obligatory good cook. Are the other Enforcer squad members seniors like Maya?

MrProphet · Post by **MrProphet** » Tue Apr 27, 2004 12:35 am

Is it customary for students to start high school at 15?

As for Tawara, his motive to stay beyond his 3rd year probably came from his desire to be by Mitsuomi's side and keep him cool. What would be the reason for him to flunk out one year before that? Any speculation? Unless it was simply bad grades.

But hey, Maya came to classes about one time, slept through it AND she went from 1st year to 3rd year just fine.

So unless Tawara had some personal reason, I don't know how would he flunk out. But we don't know that reason, and it probably doesn't matter anyway.

Tachibana · Post by **Tachibana** » Tue Apr 27, 2004 12:38 am

so wait, maya's 17, but turning 18? masa's 16 going 17 and nagi, aya, and bob's 15 going 16? damn this age thing is confusing..

kujoe · Post by **kujoe** » Tue Apr 27, 2004 12:45 am

MrProphet wrote:Is it customary for students to start high school at 15?

According to the Japanese educational system, yes. Not always of course, but just like burrowowl pointed out, 15 years old is usually the mininum.

elementary: 6 years
jr. high school: 3 years
high school: 3 years
university: normally 4 years

MrProphet · Post by **MrProphet** » Tue Apr 27, 2004 12:57 am

Tachibana wrote:so wait, maya's 17, but turning 18? masa's 16 going 17 and nagi, aya, and bob's 15 going 16? damn this age thing is confusing..

As far we've established, the most likely possibility is:

Bob & Nagi - 16
Maya - 17, going on 18.
Aya - 15 OR 16 (probably 15, since she's such a goody-two-shoes)
Masataka - 16 OR 17 (same as Aya, could be both)
Mitsuomi - 17, going on 18 (same as Maya).
Bunshichi - 20.

The rest is speculatory, since we don't know their exact birthdays.

solidis1 · Post by **solidis1** » Tue Apr 27, 2004 1:04 am

I always thought of it like this:

Freshman 15
Sophomore 16
Junior 17
Senior 18

however I am a senior and 18 but my other friend, also a senior, is 17.
give or take, Maya could easily be a seventeen year old senior and Mitsuomi could still be 18. Nagi, Bob and Aya are a little tough to pinpoint. I thought Nagi was 15, as was Bob, but since the manga said 16 I believe it. It's not a typo. Aya could still be 15, slightly younger than them, maybe.

Tachibana · Post by **Tachibana** » Tue Apr 27, 2004 1:06 am

but there's 3 parts right?? by that i mean that maya and the old jyuukenbu members are the first group, then masa the 2nd group by himself, and aya, nagi, and bob the 3rd group. by that i don't mean those who are in the group all have the same age, but it's broken up that way.

solidis1 · Post by **solidis1** » Tue Apr 27, 2004 1:13 am

Right. I think it was said that Maya was a senior and the Bob/Nagi/Aya group are freshman. What was Masataka, a junior or sophomore though.

MrProphet · Post by **MrProphet** » Tue Apr 27, 2004 1:26 am

The problem is, they don't have birthdays the same day they start school. So, in any given schoolyear, they can be either x years old, or x+1 years old.

So, if Maya, or Mits, were born somewhere mid-school year, they could be either 17, or very close to 18, if not over 18. That's the logic. Same for Masataka, except that he's in his 2nd year, so he's either 16, or very close to, or over, 17.

Anyway, this is getting too detailed.

burrowowl · Post by **burrowowl** » Tue Apr 27, 2004 1:31 am

MrProphet wrote:Anyway, this is getting too detailed.

But dammit, I need to chart out Masataka's astrological chart to figure out if he'll end up with Madoka or Aya or Kurei.

Oh, and their blood types. Such things are very important.

MrProphet · Post by **MrProphet** » Tue Apr 27, 2004 1:58 am

burrowowl wrote:
MrProphet wrote:Anyway, this is getting too detailed.
But dammit, I need to chart out Masataka's astrological chart to figure out if he'll end up with Madoka or Aya or Kurei.

Oh, and their blood types. Such things are very important.

Oh, that's easy.

Masataka will go for Madoka, Aya, being a possesive dominatrix that she is, tries to get him back, setting up an Aya-Masa-Madoka triangle, while Nagi goes back to finish off his fight with Mitsuomi over Maya. Everyone is pleased.

Shihbang · Post by **Shihbang** » Tue Apr 27, 2004 1:58 am

In Japan, as far as I know, High School is only 3 years. As such, the systems we use (1st, 2nd 3rd year) and (freshman, sophomore, etc) don't exactly apply the same way.

Based on the way Fugu-san and the anime fansubbers are subbing it...

10th Grade = Freshman = 1st Year Students (Souichirou, Bob, Aya)
11th Grade = Junior = 2nd Year Students (Masataka)
12th Grade = Senior = 3rd Year Students (Maya, Mitsuomi, etc)

I think...

One big issue is what time in the school year the story starts at. Nagi and Bob are freshman, but if they've already gone through 99 schools, it seems unlikely that it's still the beginning of their fall semester, or whatever system they use. Thus...it's likely that people will already have had their birthdays unless they're born REALLY late in the year, or even early the next year. Makes perfect sense that Nagi and Bob are 16...it is also possible that the Natsume family sends their girls to school earlier...to make them mature faster, etc...just a thought.

*edit*

On a side note, Maya and Ayukawa should duke it out...man, that would be cool...

MrProphet · Post by **MrProphet** » Tue Apr 27, 2004 2:11 am

OK, here's the thing.

Japanese school starts in April. This is when Bob and Nagi come to Todou Gakuen.

Fast forward 2 months till Bowling Alley, and some more time since then, we have June, which is now in TenTen universe. Now, we know that we are in the summetime right now (Aya and Nagi commented on that when they went to Kyushuu).

The Tournament starts at the end of the first trimester in July, that is 3 months after the beginning of the year. That fits into what's been going on: 2 months for the initial training (Nagi's words) + 1 month till the Tournament from now on.

So, according to these calculations, Bob and Nagi stated their 1st year at the very beginning.

PS This Madoka is Mawari, not Ayukawa. Ayukawa Madoka is from KOR.

Althouhg, on a side note.... KOR's Madoka vs. Maya would've been super cool.

Banorac · Post by **Banorac** » Tue Apr 27, 2004 1:17 pm

Well, if a first year student is 15, than Mitsuomi is 17 ( not 18 ) in the present story, since he was a first year student in the past arc that took place 2 years in the past

TakCWAL · Post by **TakCWAL** » Tue Apr 27, 2004 10:45 pm

Seeing how both main characters admitted of being deliquents and dumbasses, I would not be surprised that their age may be a little older than most people of their class. Standard age calculation might not even work here, heh.

Hell, since Maya's rarely attends classes, there is a good chance that she is repeating herself.

After all, you've got a 20 year old in the school repeating courses...

Natsume Maya · Post by **Natsume Maya** » Tue Apr 27, 2004 11:59 pm

MrProphet wrote:The rest is speculatory, since we don't know their exact birthdays.

Maya is 17, born on 20 August.
Aya is 15, born on 10 March.

burrowowl wrote:Oh, and their blood types. Such things are very important.

Maya: B
Aya: AB

MrProphet · Post by **MrProphet** » Wed Apr 28, 2004 12:12 am

Well, here you go. Just as I've though. Thanks.

By any chance you know others' birthdays as well. Nagi, Mitsuomi, Emi, Masataka?

pv82 · Post by **pv82** » Wed Apr 28, 2004 7:38 am

I think the May limited edition of Ultra Jump says that it will include all this info (ages, family secrets, etc..) I'm still looking for a place to preorder

TakCWAL · Post by **TakCWAL** » Wed Apr 28, 2004 11:31 pm

Heh, anime character ages are just arbitrary. How often do we even see a character that acts his/her age... heh

Isuzu · Post by **Isuzu** » Thu Apr 29, 2004 3:43 am

TakCWAL wrote:Heh, anime character ages are just arbitrary. How often do we even see a character that acts his/her age... heh

That's a good point. They don't look right according to their age, too...

Natsume Maya · Post by **Natsume Maya** » Fri Apr 30, 2004 12:46 am

MrProphet wrote:By any chance you know others' birthdays as well. Nagi, Mitsuomi, Emi, Masataka?

Sorry for the late reply. Extremely busy at the moment. Unfortunately I don't know any other characters' birthdates. No time to check materials either. I've seen blood type for a few other characters, but am not sure of the source of that information.

pv82 wrote:I think the May limited edition of Ultra Jump says that it will include all this info (ages, family secrets, etc..) I'm still looking for a place to preorder

I don't recall it being expressly stated that the special TenTen issue of Ultrajump will include information such as ages and birthdates. Doesn't mean that it won't, but I haven't seen any statement that it will.

As to where to preorder, it's available for preorder at Mangaoh Club:
www.mangaoh.co.jp

pv82 · Post by **pv82** » Fri Apr 30, 2004 5:24 am

Spawn wrote:http://natsumemaya.terminus.net.au

- Ultrajump magazine has announced that a special Tenjou Tenge issue of Ultrajump will be published on 21 May 2004 containing the entire Dark Side Story (past arc) of Tenjou Tenge as well as info on the anime, character data, "secrets" of the 12 families. The cover will be a new illustration by Oh!great. The issue will come with a TenTen (anime version) clear file. 796 pages, B5 size, 700 yen (including tax).

- Volume 12 of Tenjou Tenge will be published on 19 August 2004. The first limited edition version with Natsume Aya figure will cost 2,980 yen (including tax) while the regular edition will cost 530 yen (including tax). Pre-order cutoff date for the limited edition version is 1 June 2004. To have a look at the figure by Miyagawa Takeshi, download this Quicktime movie - basically a pic which you can rotate left and right and up and down. I think Miyagawa's done better with the Aya figure than the Maya one. So the dragon was included.

- sales of Tenten in Japan : 5 000 000 sales for 10 volume

Sorry about that

, I sort of assumed Character data covered some of that. I already preordered it along with a vol12 w/ statue. I love that site. Thanks for the guide you set up to shop there

Chello · Post by **Chello** » Fri Apr 30, 2004 5:44 am

So let me get this straight

Freshman

Bob
Nagi
Aya

Sophmores

Masataka

Seniors

Mitsuonmi
Maya

Super Super Senior

Tawara

Its weird how Nagi and Bob are both called 16 when Freshman don't normally turn 16 until the summer...

I guess it doesn't matter much though.

TakCWAL · Post by **TakCWAL** » Fri Apr 30, 2004 9:34 am

"Its weird how Nagi and Bob are both called 16 when Freshman don't normally turn 16 until the summer... "

That is because the East Asian equavalent of a Freshmen in highschool is 10th grade in the United States.

You get 3 years of middle school education and 3 years of high school education (the situation may change though, depending on which of the 3 east asian country you are from, for example, I don't know about Korea).

You'd already be 16 when you entered high school.

burrowowl · Post by **burrowowl** » Fri Apr 30, 2004 12:30 pm

I suppose this confusion about Bob & Souichiro's age is based upon the Standardized Birth Practices laws in Japan. All Japanese children are required to be born on July 15, but apparently these two didn't get the memo. This normally ensures that all schoolkids are the exact same age as their classmates. How iconoclastic of them!