| HiGH&LOW (High and low) | |
|---|---|
| Created by | Exile Hiro |
| Original work | High&Low: The Story of S.W.O.R.D. (2015) |
| Print publications | |
| Comics | See below |
| Films and television | |
| Film(s) | See below |
| Television series | See below |
| Games | |
| Role-playing | High&Low: The Game – Another World |
| Audio | |
| Original music |
|
| Official website | |
High&Low (stylized as HiGH&LOW) is a Japanese action media franchise centred around the Exile Tribe. Produced by Exile Hiro, the High&Low entertainment project consists of television series, various films and other media, including music, stage productions, live tours, official SNS accounts, mobile games, books, manga, anime, and temporary themed establishments, comprising an all-encompassing fictional universe.[1][2] In 2016, it grossed 2.7 billion yen and was the 15th-highest-grossing media franchise of Japan that year.[3]
The High&Low franchise started in 2015 with a television drama High&Low: The Story of S.W.O.R.D., which was broadcast in October.[4] One of its slogans was that every character in the franchise was a leading character.[5]
High&Low's story began in a town that was once under the rule of a powerful organization called "Mugen". But after a fight with the enemy they could not crush, the Amamiya Brothers, Mugen suddenly broke apart and became a legend of the past. Afterwards, five new gangs were formed and took control of the area; based on the initials of the five gangs that lead each territory, the town began to be known as the "S.W.O.R.D. Area".[1][6]
Theme Song: Sandaime J Soul Brothers from Exile Tribe - "Mugen Road"
Founded by Kohaku, Tatsuya, and Tsukumo, and later joined by Cobra and Yamato, Mugen was the gang that used to control the area. It disbanded after a fight with the Amamiya Brothers.
Theme Song: Ace of Spades feat. Hiroomi Tosaka - "Sin"
Masaki and Hiroto Amamiya are the brothers that even the powerful Mugen could not defeat. They have superior martial arts skills that can knock down hundreds of opponents. Their eldest brother, Takeru, disappeared years ago and they were looking for him.
Theme Song: Doberman Infinity - "Do or Die"
Sannoh Rengokai was led by former Mugen's member Cobra. They took control of the northeastern part of the S.W.O.R.D. Area and strived to protect the citizens of the "Sannoh Shopping Street".
Sannoh Rengokai's member Dan, Tettsu, Chiharu formed a small sub-unit called DTC. They often met in the Itokan Diner and joked together.
Theme Song: PKCZ® feat. Exile Shokichi - "Whiteout"
Getting their name from their all white attire, the White Rascals were based in a hip nightclub called "Heaven", which was run by their boss, Rocky. Following the principle of their boss, they fought to protect the women within their area.
Theme Song: Doberman Infinity - "Jump Around ∞"
Oya Koukou was the high school where bad boys from all over Japan went to. As many of its graduates became yakuza, it was often considered a reserve force for various gangs.
The Part-Time School gang consisted of bad boys who refused to graduate and continued to fight each other, many of whom were older than 20. Their leader was Murayama.
The Full-Time School was for high school students who went to school to fight. They were led by Todoroki. However, as new students like Fujio Hanaoka came to the school, the equilibrium of Oya Koukou's Full-time School collapsed into various factions that competed for hegemony.
Theme Song: Generations from Exile Tribe - "Run this Town"
Led by Smoky, the Rude Boys consisted of orphans who lived together in the "Nameless Street" as a family. All skillful in the use of Parkour, they formed this army on their own to protect their home.
Theme Song: DJ Daruma from PKCZ® - "Voice of Red feat. GS"
Daruma Ikka was led by the menacing Hyuga Norihisa, whose family's gang was defeat by Mugen. Daruma Ikka was a gang of people who hated Mugen and controlled all the rights of festivals in the area. Accompanied by his friend, the Tousetsu Brothers, Ukyo and Sakyo, they gather people who hates the Mugen gang and establish the Daruma Ikka.
Theme Song: PKCZ(R) feat. Afrojack, CRAZYBOY, ANARCHY, SWAY, MIGHTY CROWN (MASTA SIMON & SAMI-T)- "Mighty Warriors"
The highly fashionable and musically inclined Mighty Warriors, led by ICE, were a bunch of fierce fighters. Based in the coastal regions near the S.W.O.R.D. Area, they would do anything to accumulate money to achieve their dream of music and fashion.
Theme Song: Exile the Second - "One Time One Life"
Literally meaning "Nine Dragons", the Kuryu Group is an organization made up of nine yakuza groups who control the dark underbelly of Japan.
Theme Song: E-girls - "STRAWBERRY サディスティック"
The female counterpart of Sannoh Rengokai in the Sannoh district. All dressed in pink bosozoku-style jackets, they drove around on their re-modeled bikes.
The Korean gang who sought to control the S.W.O.R.D. Area and then expanding into the rest of Japan.
Theme Song: Exile the Second - "ASOBO! feat. Far East Movement"
The vicious gang that kidnapped and sold women, this naturally puts them at odds with the chivalrous White Rascals.
Theme Song: HONEST BOYZ - "YO!"
The general name for all gangs inside the prisons of the "Rasen Area", which is located near the S.W.O.R.D. Area, there are several gangs in those prisons. Normally, when a street gang member is thrown inside one of those prisons, he would be forced to join one of them in order to protect himself within the dangerous environment. However, Jesse, later known as the "King of the Prison", creates a new gang on his own after he is imprisoned, and very soon his gang becomes the strongest of all. Jesse's gang consists only of people from the same "Little Asia Area" as himself, which ensures their unity remains strong even when "outside" of the prison.
| Series | Season | Episodes | Originally aired / released | NetWork | Total Director | Notes | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| First | Last | ||||||
| High&Low: The Story of S.W.O.R.D. | 1 | 10 | October 22, 2015 | December 24, 2015 | Nippon TV | Sigeaki Kubo | |
| 2 | 10 | April 17, 2016 | June 26, 2016 | ||||
| High&Low: The DTC | 1 | 11 | August 11, 2017 | August 25, 2017 | Hulu Japan | Norihisa Hiranuma | |
| The Worst Episode.O | 1 | 6 | July 18, 2019 | August 22, 2019 | Nippon TV | Sigeaki Kubo | |
| High&Low: The Best Bout | 1 | 8 | October 3, 2019 | November 21, 2019 | A summary of best scenes of the High&Low Series | ||
| 6 from High&Low: The Worst | 1 | 6 | November 19, 2020 | December 24, 2020 | |||
| Film | Japan Release Date | Director | Screenplay by | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Road to High&Low | May 7, 2016 | Sigeaki Kubo | Team HI-AX | |
| High&Low: The Movie | July 16, 2016 | Kei Watanabe, Norihisa Hiranuma, Team HI-AX | ||
| High&Low: The Red Rain | October 8, 2016 | Yūdai Yamaguchi | Yûko Matsuda, Keisuke Makino, Kei Watanabe, Norihisa Hiranuma | Spin-off |
| High&Low: The Movie 2 – End of Sky | August 19, 2017 | Sigeaki Kubo, Tsuyoshi Nakakuki | Kei Watanabe, Norihisa Hiranuma, Shōhei Fukuda, Daisuke Kamijô, Team HI-AX | |
| High&Low: The Movie 3 – Final Mission | November 11, 2017 | |||
| DTC -Yukemuri Junjou Hen- from High&Low | September 28, 2018 | Sigeaki Kubo | Kei Watanabe, Norihisa Hiranuma, Shōhei Fukuda, Daisuke Kamijô | Spin-off |
| High&Low: The Worst | October 4, 2019 | Hiroshi Takahashi, Kei Watanabe, Shoichiro Masumoto, Norihisa Hiranuma | Spin-off | |
| High&Low: The Worst X | September 9, 2022 | Norihisa Hiranuma, Daisuke Ninomiya | Norihisa Hiranuma, Shoichiro Masumoto, Kei Watanabe | Spin-off |
| Title | Year | Director | Lead Cast | Venue |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| HiGH&LOW -The Prequel- | 2022 | Kousaku Noguchi | Suzuho Makaze, Hana Jun, Toa Serika, Minato Sakuragi, Hikaru Rukaze, Chiaki Takato | Takarazuka Grand Theater, Tokyo Takarazuka Theater |
| HiGH&LOW -The Sengoku- [7] | 2024 | TEAM GENESIS | Ryota Katayose, Maito Minami, RIKU, Yuria Seo, Itsuki Fujiwara, Yuki Sakurai | THEATER MILANO-Za |
| Year | Title |
|---|---|
| 2017 | High&Low g-sword Animation DVD Special Edition |
| Title | Genre | Japan Release Date | Publisher | Developer | Platforms | Official Website |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| High&Low: The Game – Another World | ARPG | October 28, 2019 | enish | HI-AX & enish | iOS/Android | https://high-low-thegame.com/ |
| Title | Manga Artist | Magazine | Original run | Ref. |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| High&Low: The Story of S.W.O.R.D. | Masami Hosokawa | Bessatsu Shonen Champion | 2015.vol.11-2016.vol.10. | [8] |
| High&Low g-sword | Clamp | Weekly Shōnen Magazine | 2017.vol.16-2017.vol.36&37/2018.vol.43. | [9] |
| DTC Original Another Story | Akira Hiramoto | Weekly Shōnen Magazine | 2018.09.26-10.03 | [10] |
| Title | Publisher | Published Date |
|---|---|---|
| High&Low: The Book | LDH | July 19, 2016 |
| Title | Album details | Peak chart positions | Sales |
|---|---|---|---|
| JPN Oricon [11] | |||
| High&Low Original Best Album |
|
1 |
| Title | Release Date | Artist | Record | Notes | Ref. |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Time Flies | October 12, 2016 | Ace of Spades ×PKCZ® feat. Hiroomi Tosaka | Time Flies | Theme song for High&Low The Red Rain | [12] |
| The Red Rain | Soundtrack for High&Low The Red Rain | ||||
| Break into the Dark | August 16, 2017 | Valentine feat. Rui & Afrojack | Break into the Dark(digital) | Soundtrack for High&Low The Movie 3 / Final Mission | [13] |
| High&Low The Mighty Warriors | October 25, 2017 | Mighty Warriors | High&Low The Mighty Warriors | [14] | |
| Yo! | November 7, 2017 | Honest Boyz | Yo!(digital) | Soundtrack for High&Low The Movie 2 / End of Sky | [15] |
| BEPPING SOUND feat. HIROOMI TOSAKA | June 16, 2018 | BEPPING SOUND feat. HIROOMI TOSAKA(digital) | Soundtrack for DTC -Yukemuri Junjou Hen- from High&Low | [16] | |
| You &I | September 26, 2018 | Doberman Infinity | YOU &I | Theme song for DTC -Yukemuri Junjou Hen- from High&Low | [16] |
| Futen Boyz | October 3, 2018 | Exile Shokichi | Futen Boyz | [17] | |
| Snake Pit | September 25, 2019 | Generations from Exile Tribe | EXPerience Greatness | Soundtrack for High&Low The Worst | [18] |
| Swag & Pride | October 2, 2019 | The Rampage from Exile Tribe | Swag & Pride | Theme song for High&Low The Worst | [19] |
| Fired Up | Soundtrack for High&Low The Worst | [19] | |||
| On Fire | Sway | On Fire(digital) | [19] | ||
| Nostalgie | October 3, 2019 | Ryuto Kazuhara | Nostalgie(digital) | [20] | |
| Ain't Afraid To Die | October 4, 2019 | Exile The Second | Ain't Afraid To Die(digital) | [19] | |
| Top Down | Top Down(digital) | [19] | |||
| Mada Tarinee | November 27, 2019 | Doberman Infinity | We are the one / Zutto | [21] | |
| Don't | December 4, 2019 | Salu | Gifted | [22] |
| Title | Artist | Notes | Ref. |
|---|---|---|---|
| Welcome Back | Mighty Warriors | ||
| traffic light | DTC | Soundtrack for DTC -Yukemuri Junjou Hen- from High&Low | |
| IIKOTO | DTC with Tate fue kyōdai | ||
| Shura BANBAN |
| Title | Details | Peak chart positions | |
|---|---|---|---|
| JPNDVD | JPNBD | ||
| High&Low The Live |
|
1 | 1 |
High&Low The Live (2016)[23]
