Good Luck Girl!, known in Japan as Binbō-gami ga! (貧乏神が!, lit. "This God of Poverty!"), is a Japanese manga series written and illustrated by Yoshiaki Sukeno. The manga was serialized in Shueisha's shōnen manga magazine Jump Square from June 2008 to July 2013, with its chapters collected in 16 tankōbon volumes. A thirteen-episode anime television series adaptation by Sunrise aired in Japan between July and September 2012.
Plot
Ichiko Sakura is a 16-year-old high schooler who has always been pretty lucky throughout her life. This is due to her body possessing an extraordinary amount of Fortune energy, which draws from its surroundings, causing the world to fall out of balance. To rectify this, a God of Misfortune named Momiji is sent to the human world to target Ichiko and steal her Fortune energy in order to rebalance the world.
A 16-year-old high school girl who has a high amount of Fortune energy that gives her extreme beauty, high intelligence, wealth and health. Her Fortune levels are so high that she unconsciously absorbs luck from others, causing them to be less fortunate. She is adored by the boys in high school whilst being loathed by the girls, and her sweet looks hide a fierce personality. Due to a past trauma, she has a fear of getting close to others as she does not want to be betrayed, often leaving her lonely. Using a magical item given to her by Bobby known as the Somin Shōrai, Ichiko can manifest her Fortune energy into stuffed animal-like versions of the Chinese zodiac. When extracted from her body, Ichiko's Fortune energy can be given to others who are in danger in order to help them.
A god of misfortune who is a woman clad in plaid undershirt, red overalls and a missing right shoe. She is sent from another world to restore the energy balance on Earth by stealing the Fortune energy from Ichiko, although her Misfortune energy often loses out to Ichiko's Fortune energy. Her right arm is so concentrated with misfortune that she wraps it up in a cast, using it as a support for various gadgets such as syringes. She is also capable of transforming into a spirit form in order to pass through barriers. She is constantly clashing with Ichiko as she tries to steal her Fortune energy, becoming particularly irritated when her flat chest is made fun of. Nonetheless, she often finds herself taking pity on Ichiko, often encouraging her to try to use her Fortune energy to help others. Whenever she takes a bath in the human world, she loses her Misfortune energy and changes to a brighter personality, but will return to normal if made dirty again.
Humans
Bobby (懋琵威（ボビー）, Bobī)
Voiced by: Yoshihisa Kawahara (Japanese); Patrick Seitz (English)[2]
A perverted African-Americanmonk who travels the world to exterminate evil spirits or gods, though most of the time he is chasing after large-breasted women. He can sense Ichiko's happiness energy and is able to make Somin Shōrais.
A good-looking young man, and one of Ichiko's classmates. He works many part-time jobs in order to provide for his four siblings, which is also the cause of him sleeping through class; he serves as his siblings' guardian in the absence of his parents. Generally seen as the most serious of the cast, he will however take a keen interest in opportunities to make some money to provide for his family. It is later revealed that he actually was extremely popular with girls but due to the feelings and possessiveness Nadeshiko had toward him, Keita has never heard anything from other girls, as she uses various ways to prevent other girls from approaching Keita. After spending time with his family while she was in the form of a child, Ichiko gradually gains a romantic interest in him throughout the series. He similarly develops feelings for her after they become friends. By the end of the manga Ichiko and Keita are dating.
A masculine girl who transfers into Ichiko's class, usually dressing like a male delinquent, having been raised like a boy by her father in order to succeed his karatedojo. Despite being tough on the outside, she often yearns to be in more in touch with her girlish side and has a crush on Keita. After Ichiko saves her life with happiness energy, Ranmaru becomes her first true friend, and the second person she has truly cared for since Suwano. She seemingly develops feelings for Momo'o Inugami, but after his departure at the end of the series, she agrees to date any boy who can defeat her in a fight.
Voiced by: Sayaka Kanda (Japanese); Michelle Lee (English)[2]
Introduced late in the manga series, Nadeshiko is a short child-like ninja who prides herself as a girl of superior upbringing. She is skilled in her ninjitsu art form in that she was able to lay traps and hiding places around Ichiko's house much to her and Momiji's chagrin. She is in love with Keita, having been saved by him once when they were kids and has been stalking him since, which is why she self-taught herself ninja skills and she is also the reason why other girls cannot get close to Keita. In the anime, she shows up at the end of each episode to point out her cameo appearances.
Shinobu Daimon (大門 忍, Daimon Shinobu)
Nadeshiko's perverted butler, or specifically, perverted lolicon. He will never allow his master's breasts to grow more than the way they are.
Ichiko's former butler who had served as her guardian for a long time and was the first person she truly cared about. After he nearly dies as a result of all the fortune she had unconsciously taken from him over the years by Ichiko, Ichiko fires him from his position so he can live out his life in safety. He is currently travelling the world with his new wife. Throughout the story, Suwano continues to keeps in contact with Ichiko through a series of letters, which she treasures and keeps in a box.
One of Ichiko's classmates. She loathes Ichiko just like the other girls (except Ranmaru). She is always seen with her two friends. It is hinted that she cares about her appearance. She has long dark brown hair with her bangs styled into one side with two small hairpins. She develops a crush on Ranmaru Rindou, although any attempts to get closer to her result in comedic misinterpretations.
Misa Kobayashi (小林 魅沙, Kobayashi Misa)
One of Ichiko's classmates. She also loathes Ichiko. She is easily recognized because of her big and fat appearance, making her the only one of the few students who is unattractive. She has dark skin with yellow hair tied into two pigtails with pink flower bands on each pigtail. She also wears make-up which only consists of lipstick and blush-on. She is always seen carrying or eating food (most notably onigiri).
A seventh grader in middle school and one of Keita's younger siblings. She is a respectful and modest girl who wants her siblings to act respectful to their guests; she hated Ichiko at first after she had insulted their family, but then becomes more nicer to her after she rescues her brother Ryuuta from drowning.
Ryuuta Tsuwabuki (石蕗 龍汰, Tsuwabuki Ryuuta)
Voiced by: Asami Shimoda (Japanese); Ryan Reynolds (English)
One of Keita's younger siblings with a fascination for sports. He wants to play soccer but due to financial difficulties, his family cannot afford to put him in it.
A happy two year old toddler and the youngest of Keita's siblings.
Gods
Kumagai (熊谷)
Momiji's loyal sidekick who is a demonic stuffed bear. As he cannot talk, he often communicates by writing messages in a book. His body holds many of Momiji's Misfortune items, which she just casually rips out of him. His human form gives him the appearance of a man with a goatee and long black hair tied back into a ponytail. While he gains the ability to talk in this state, Kumagai retains the trademark line of stitches running down the right side of his face that were present in his teddy bear form.
Momiji's boss in the Misfortune God Realm, can be seen from her giant size. Implied to be a secret fan of glam rock. Her sidekick is Saffron, a panda-like stuff. Like Yamabuki, its size is bigger than Teddy.
A masochistic dog god that is usually summoned by Momiji. He is capable of transforming into a chihuahua with a keen sense of smell, though he will be forced back into human form if he experiences too much pleasure, masochistic or otherwise. He later trains alongside Ranmaru in order to become stronger, causing the two to develop strong bond of friendship based on their shared desire to protect Ichiko and Momiji from harm.
Tama (タマ)
Voiced by: Ayaka Mori (Japanese); Becca Shivers (English)[2]
A small kitten who Momiji arranges to have taken in by Ichiko to teach her what it is like to lose someone important to her. When Tama is put in danger due to Momiji's plan going too far, Ibuki injects Tama with some fortune energy but ends up using too much and transforming her into a Maneki-neko God.
Also a God of Misfortune and a colleague of Momiji, the two grew up together and were once childhood friends. She came to the Human World to do Momiji's duty so that she can have Yamabuki's affection. Despite her desire to take the credit for the mission, Kuroyuri is a loyal friend at heart. Her sidekick is Gouda, a frog similar in form and purpose to Kumagai.
A toilet god whose head is shaped like a large poop. He gave Ichiko a necklace that prevents her from absorbing the fortune of other people.
Media
Manga
Written and illustrated by Yoshiaki Sukeno, Binbō-gami ga! was serialized in Shueisha's shōnen manga magazine Jump Square from June 4, 2008,[3] to July 4, 2013.[1][4] Shueisha collected its chapters in 16 tankōbon volumes, published between November 4, 2008,[5] and September 4, 2013.[6]
A 13-episode anime television series adaptation by Sunrise was broadcast on TV Tokyo, TVA, and MBS from July 5 to September 27, 2012.[21][22][23] The opening theme is "Make My Day!" by Piko and the ending theme is "Koi Bōdō" (恋暴動, "Love Riot") by Happy Birthday.[23]
The series was licensed in North America by Funimation.[24] It was released on home video on November 19, 2013.[25][26]
"You Call Yourself a God, But Aren't You Less of a God of Misfortune and More of a God of Flat Chests?" Transliteration: "Kami wa Kami demo Binbō-gami ja nakute Hinnyū-Gami no Machigai ja nai no?" (Japanese: 神は神でも貧乏神じゃなくて貧乳神の間違いじゃないの?)
July 5, 2012 (2012-07-05)
The God of Misfortune, Momiji, is sent down to earth to greet a spoiled high-school girl named Ichiko Sakura, who has had good fortune all her life. Momiji explains that Ichiko has an abnormally high level of good fortune, and is also sucking up fortune from those near her. Momiji attempts to take some of Ichiko's fortune and make her a normal girl, but Ichiko manages to fight her off. The next day, however, Ichiko's butler, Suwano, has a heart attack and is left in a critical condition as a result of Ichiko taking his fortune over the years he served her. Ichiko agrees to let Momiji suck some good fortune out of her, but then she runs off with it and releases it at the hospital, saving Suwano's life. Afterwards, Ichiko decides to sack Suwano from his position so he can live his own life without being at risk. A week later, Ichiko's fortune levels soon return, as does Momiji.
2
"There Sure Is a "The Battle Between God and Girl Now Begins!" Feeling♥" Transliteration: "Kore zo Masani "Kami to Shōjo no Tatakai ga Ima, Hajimaru..." tte Kanji ne♥" (Japanese: これぞまさに『神と少女の戦いが今、始まる――』って感じネ♥)
July 12, 2012 (2012-07-12)
In order to get closer to Ichiko, Momiji transfers into her class, much to Ichiko's displeasure. As Momiji continues to bother her, Ichiko meets Bobby, a perverted travelling priest with the ability to detect fortune energy, giving her an item called the Soumin Shourai, allowing her to manifest her good fortune into various creatures. Momiji responds by manifesting her own monsters out of her misfortune, but they turn out to be useless and she is soundly beaten.
3
""Being Ordered Around by You Makes Me Really Angry Somehow!!!" "Whaddaya Mean, 'Somehow'!!?"" Transliteration: ""Omae ni Meirei Sareru no wa Nanka Haratatsu!!!" "Nankatte Nani!!?"" (Japanese: 「お前に命令されるのはなんか腹立つ!!!」「なんかって何!!?」)
July 19, 2012 (2012-07-19)
Figuring she needs a boyfriend, Ichiko takes an interest in her sleepy classmate, Keita Tsuwabuki. Upon finding and returning his ID card, Ichiko is invited by Keita to have dinner with his siblings, who are quite poor as their parents had left them. Keita soon takes a strong dislike to Ichiko when she rejects his ideal that being together is more important than money. The next day, Ichiko tries to make up with Keita's brother Ryūta by buying him a super rare trading card. However, he ends up dropping the card down a sewer and gets trapped in there whilst attempting to retrieve it just as a typhoon starts to settle in. As Ichiko is told by Keita how he does not want to be in anyone's debt, Momiji makes her aware of the danger Ryūta is in, prompting her to go and save him. As Ryūta gets swept into the river, Ichiko dives in after him, using a device given to her by Momiji to use her fortune to rescue him. Afterwards, Keita and Ryūta give their thanks to Ichiko, who feels a warmth in her heart.
4
"He Shrank!" Transliteration: "Chijindōru ya nāi ka!" (Japanese: 縮んど～るやな～いか！)
July 26, 2012 (2012-07-26)
Momiji ends up summoning the masochistic dog god, Momo'o Inugami, and has him transform into a puppy so he can get close to Ichiko and attempt to steal her fortune. However, Momo'o finds that getting the fortune off of Ichiko is not as easy as it looks. As Momo'o observes Ichiko's behavior, he notices her personality is different when reading letters from Suwano. That night, as Momo activates a Misfortune Item to spread misfortune, the box containing Suwano's letters falls from the top of the desk, and is thrown away by the cleaners the next day. When Ichiko learns of this, she goes to the trash dump and spends the entire night searching for the box, much to Momo's surprise. Against his better judgement, Momo finds the box for Ichiko. As Momo deduces that Ichiko may not be such a bad person after all, his cover is blown when he reverts to human form, prompting a swift punishment from Ichiko.
5
"Who's the Flat-chested One Now? Huh? Huh!? Huh!!?" Transliteration: "Docchi ga Hinnyū nanokana~? Un? Un!? Un!!?" (Japanese: どっちが貧乳なのかな～? ん? ん!? ん!!?)
August 2, 2012 (2012-08-02)
Momiji uses an Aging Box given to her by the turtle god Urushiyama on Ichiko in an attempt to turn her into an old lady, but it instead turns her into a little kid. As Ichiko escapes from Momiji, she encounters one of Keita's sisters, Mika. As Ichiko spends time with Mika in order to avoid Momiji, she encounters Bobby and Momo, who tell her she needs to find another Ageing Box to turn her back to her normal age, and manages to get them to search for it. Ichiko then goes over to Keita's home and requests to sleep over whilst trying to keep her identity a secret. The next day, Momiji follows Ichiko as she goes with Keita's family on a picnic and manages to capture her once she is separated from the others. As Keita tries to search for her, he falls down a cliff side.
6
"Open Your EYES!!!!" Transliteration: "Me o Akerooooo!!!!" (Japanese: 目を開けろぉぉぉぉ!!!!)
August 9, 2012 (2012-08-09)
Ichiko manages to escape from Momiji only to learn that Keita had gone missing trying to search for her. Realising that Keita had all the things she lacked when she was a child, Ichiko enlists the help of Momo'o to locate Keita, finding him in a near-death state. As Ichiko tries to revive him, Momiji extracts a small amount of Ichiko's fortune energy so she can save him. Keita awakens the next day with his injuries healed and reunites with his family. As Bobby and Momo'o manage to locate Urushiyama and retrieve a box from him, Ichiko says goodbye to Keita before meeting up with them and returning to her normal age. However, the experience has left her in a solemn state, only appearing to react to Keita's presence. This turns out to be as she wants to try to return the handkerchief he received from him. After managing to return the handkerchief, she returns to her usual noisy self.
7
"Is This That Pattern Where You Were Brought Up Like a Man? / I'll Never Forget What Happened Today!!" Transliteration: "Iwayuru Otoko Toshite Sodaterarechatta Patān? / Kyō no Koto wa Isshō Wasurenē yo!!" (Japanese: いわゆる男として育てられちゃったパターン？ / 今日のことは一生忘れねーよ!!)
August 16, 2012 (2012-08-16)
When Ichiko is misunderstood as a shoplifter by the police, she manages to ditch the blame on a tough-looking girl who was passing by in order to escape. This girl turns out to be a transfer student named Ranmaru Rindou, who enrolls in Ichiko's class the next day. Irritated over what happened, Ranmaru challenges Ichiko to a fight, but immediately loses due to Ichiko's great luck. Following the fight, Ranmaru gains a crush on Keita, which Ichiko and Momiji are quick to notice. With their own motives, the two decide to give Ranmaru a makeover into something more girly. Although Ranmaru is pleased with her new look, it does not go down well with her father, Genjurou, who beats her and tears up her new outfit. Exploding with anger, Ichiko challenges Genjurou to a fight to make him stop forcing his ideals onto Ranmaru. As Ichiko is about to win, due to her luck, Ranmaru stops her, telling her that he is the only parent he has got. The next day, as Genjurou gives Ranmaru permission to wear what she wants, she decides she is more comfortable in her tough guy outfit.
8
"Call Me By My First Name" Transliteration: "Namae de Yonde" (Japanese: 名前で呼んで)
August 23, 2012 (2012-08-23)
Noticing Ichiko does not seem to get along with the other girls, Ranmaru tries being friendly with her, but her pride rejects her offer. The next day, a zealous classmate named Akane Tenge and her gang kidnap Ichiko and take her to the old school building with a plan to put her in her place. Ranmaru arrives to rescue her but as Ichiko manages to sneak away, the building collapses with Ranmaru inside it. As Ichiko becomes conflicted over whether to save Ranmaru or not, she recalls when she was younger when her best friend turned against her over a boy, which has haunted her to this day. Telling her to get over her cowardness, Momiji extracts some of Ichiko's Fortune, which Ichiko gives to Ranmaru, allowing her to escape. After the incident, Ichiko lets Ranmaru use one of Momiji's gadgets to learn about her past trauma, which caused her to have a fear of getting close to others. After hearing her story, Ranmaru makes a promise to never betray Ichiko and the two become friends on a first name basis.
9
"What!!! Now You Say This!? / There's No Way That Could Happen In Just 2 Minutes!!!!" Transliteration: "Eh!!! Ima Saratto Ittane!? / Nifun de Kōnaru Wake Nē Daro!!!!" (Japanese: え!!!今さらっと言ったね!? / 2分でこうなるワケねーだろ!!!!)
August 30, 2012 (2012-08-30)
As the school practises some mixed doubles tennis, Ichiko enters a heated match with Momiji with little regard for their respective partners' safety. Later, as Ichiko tries to teach herself how to cook, another God of Misfortune named Kuroyuri attempts to steal Ichiko's energy as well, but is thwarted by Ichiko's terrible cooking. Momiji soon decides to challenge Ichiko to a match to see who is the better cook, which Kuroyuri is forced to judge.
10
"Getting Kids Who Hate Pumpkins to Eat Them by Sneaking Them Into a Stew" Transliteration: "Kabochagirai no Kodomo ni Kabocha Tabesasu tame Kossori Shichū ni Mazeteoku mitaina Mon Desu yo" (Japanese: カボチャ嫌いの子供にカボチャ食べさすためこっそりシチューに混ぜておくみたいなもんですよ)
September 6, 2012 (2012-09-06)
On a rainy day, Ichiko discovers an abandoned kitten outside her building and decides to take it in, naming it Tama. As Ichiko becomes curious as to why Momiji has not been around lately, a toilet god named Ibuki appears before her, but Ichiko refuses to hear him out. The next day, Ichiko learns Momiji has kidnapped Tama and goes to the school gym to confront her. Momiji reveals she was the one who brought Tama to Ichiko's place in order to teach her what it's like to lose someone important. Momiji then goads Ichiko into using the Somin Shōrai and absorbs almost all of her Fortune Energy. As Momiji takes her leave, the gym catches fire, trapping Ichiko and Tama inside without her Fortune to save them. Ibuki then appears, explaining his mission was to save Tama from having what little Fortune she had drained by Ichiko. Offering to save Tama, Ibuki uses a device that can inject Fortune Energy into its target. However, he overshoots it and fills Tama with so much Fortune Energy that she transforms into a Beckoning Cat God. In her new form, Tama leads Ichiko to a safe exit, where she coincidentally runs into Momiji, who had returned to try to save her, and gets her Fortune back. After putting out the fire, Ichiko agrees to wear a charm given to her by Ibuki which keeps her from absorbing other people's Fortune.
With her bath made a mess by Momiji, Ichiko goes with Ranmaru to the public baths, where they are joined by Keita and his family. The trip proves to be less than peaceful with Bobby and Momo'o trying to take a peek and Momiji up to her usual tricks. Realising Momiji has not had a bath in ages, Ichiko gives her and her familiar, Kumagai, a thorough cleaning. After Bobby makes light of Ranmaru's looks, she ends up busting down the wall between the men's and women's baths, leading to some embarrassing reveals. The next day, Ichiko is surprised to find Momiji with such a radiant personality.
12
"Someday, Call Me By My Name" Transliteration: "Itsuka Namae de Yonde" (Japanese: いつか名前で呼んで)
September 20, 2012 (2012-09-20)
Momiji's spry new personality, which has also extended to Kumagai, is a hit with everyone in school, but Ichiko remains suspicious that it is one of her plots. Momiji explains how, as a result of being washed in the human world, she has lost her powers and changed personality. Ichiko and the others attempt to turn Momiji back to her usual self with no avail. After some initial hesitation, Ichiko soon starts being friends with the new Momiji, finding it pleasantly peaceful. Some time later, Kumagai ends up getting dirty and reverting to normal, teaming up with Momo'o to try to revert Momiji to normal in the same manner.
13
"You Already Have the Answer" Transliteration: "Sore Mō Kotae Deteru daro" (Japanese: それもう答え出てるだろ)
September 27, 2012 (2012-09-27)
Deciding she likes Momiji the way she is, Ichiko grabs her and, with help from Ranmaru and Bobby, they make their escape from Kumagai and Momo'o on a delivery truck. As they give chase, Ranmaru stays behind to fend off Momo'o whilst Ichiko, armed with some power enhancing beads given to her by Bobby, fights against Kumagai to allow Momiji to escape. It is here that Kumagai tells her that if Momiji does not regain her powers by sunset, she will remain a human forever whilst the old Momiji will die. After some encouragement from Keita, Ichiko catches up to Momiji, who is being cornered on a bridge by Kumagai. As the wind blows Momiji off the bridge, Ichiko catches her, making the decision to drop her onto a garbage boat and return her to her normal self, resuming their love/hate relationship.
^2008年06月04日のアーカイブ. manganohi.jp (in Japanese). June 4, 2008. Archived from the original on September 25, 2008. Retrieved October 23, 2021. 【ジャンプスクエア】ジャンプSQ．7月号、6月4日発売!! 〔新連載 巻頭カラー！〕 助野嘉昭 『貧乏神が！』
