Welcome to Tokyo
To play Tokyo Brain Pop youll
Brain Pop!
Tokyo Brain Pop is a game where
players work together to tell a
story about teenage school girls
who have psychic powers and
fight demons. Well sit in a circle
and take turns creating scenes,
describing what our characters do
and maybe acting out their actions
and speaking in their voices. If
you like telling stories, acting,
or using your imagination then
youre going to have a ton of fun.
A game of Tokyo Brain Pop can
be super intense, dramatic and
suspenseful, but it will also often
be very funny!
A game of Tokyo Brain Pop will
usually last about 3 hours, and if
we want we can play again later
and continue our story. One of us
will take the role of Superintendent,
acting as a narrator and a guide
for the other players. The rest of us
will play Students.
What will we need to play?
need a copy of this book (of course)
and some dice (the normal, 6-sided
dice you can find in any board
game will work just fine). Youll
also need a pencil and a School
Record sheet for each player, which
you can find at atarashigames.
com. A comfortable place to play
is also very important. A big table
or comfortable living room will
work great, and an empty floor
does in a pinch. A school club
room, the library, local parks or
a quiet cafe are good choices too.
Just make sure that you choose a
location where everyone can feel
safe and comfortable, and wont be
embarrassed by doing things that
afterward may seem a little silly.
Make sure to have beverages and
snacks handy if your group likes
that kind of thing.
But what is it about?
Deep in the sprawling heart
of Tokyo there is a mysterious,
infamous high school where the
supernatural is just another fact
of life. A dangerously haunted
place where restless spirits stalk the
halls and demons roam the school
grounds. Some say the school was
built on top of the remains of an
abandoned Shinto shrine, while
others whisper of ancient curses
and wartime atrocities. One thing
is certain, the school has become
both a magnet and a haven for the
strange, bizarre, and supernatural.
Theres a special group of students
who dont have the luxury of
ignoring the bizarre and sinister
threats that plague their school.
When the blood thirsty Demon
Prince of Shinjuku comes looking
for souls or the swim team is once
again possessed by the ancient
spirits of vengeful ninja, its up to
the few brave young women with
barely restrained psychic powers
to defend their classmates. These
are the stories of the psychic school
girls, tragic young women doomed
to lives of violent combat, using
powers they can barely control to
fight monstrosities whose existence
they can scarcely comprehend!
Psychic powers are as much a
curse as they are a gift, and most
psychic school girls have little
understanding or control of their
strange abilities. Since psychic
powers often manifest themselves
in strange and unsettling ways,
most psychic girls hide their powers
from their friends. Many are
driven to suicide or insanity. Some
schoolgirls revel in their power,
using it to humiliate and hurt
their rivals. These girls are often
the quickest to draw the attention
of the demons, ghosts and other
monsters who crave not just their
psychic energy, but also their flesh
and minds that have been tainted
by malevolence and hatred.
Even without brain-eating
monsters and deranged teenage
psychics the Japanese school
system is notoriously daunting,
with demanding exams and fierce
competition to get into the best
schools. Many students suffer
breakdowns under the exhaustive
workload and pressure from their
family and teachers to succeed, or
fall victim to vicious bullying from
classmates. Compared to the terror
of academic failure, fighting flesh-
eating ghosts and tentacled shadow
beasts is almost a vacation!
Brainstorm!
Before we do anything else well
spend some time talking about
the kind of game experience we
want to have. Tokyo Brain Pop
is about psychic teens and nasty
supernatural monsters, but its
very likely were all bringing dif-
ferent expectations and ideas to
the game. Some of us may want
a dramatic game about the harsh
lives of troubled young women,
while others might want a brutal,
violence-filled showdown against
giant, toothy monsters or a sexy
comedy with plenty of embar-
rassing situations. Well all have
ideas inspired by our favorite
manga, anime and films, so its
a really good idea to talk about
exactly what we want to see in
our game before we even start
creating our Students. Youll be
surprised how different everyones
ideas actually are!
Getting started
Before we can start playing each
of us will need to create a Student.
Our Students will all be teenage
girls who attend Atarashi high
school. Lets start with a list of yess
and nos:
No, you cant play a boy. This is a
game about school girls, not school
boys.
Yes, you can play a cross-dressing
boy, as long as your character
identifies as a girl and attends
school as a female student.
No, you cant play a teacher. You
cant play an adult of any kind.
Yes, you can play an alien, demon,
exchange student or robot, if thats
what your group decides that it
wants.
Creating a Student: While
playing Tokyo Brain Pop well keep
track of each Students information
on her Student Record. This is a
little sheet of paper that you can
set in front of you as you play to
help everyone remember who your
character is. You can download a
full set of Student Records at
atarashigames.com. Its really
handy. If you follow all the
instructions below youll have a
filled-out Student Record in no
time.
Does the Superintendent
create a Student? Sure,
the player who chooses the
Superintendent role can make
and play a Student if they want
to. This means that for scenes
where their Student is the focus
another player can take care of the
Superintendents duties.
Each Student is made up of
just a few parts:
- Your Students name
- Details
- Goal
- Your Best Friend and Rival
- Your Popularity
Choosing a name
Since our Students are Japanese
well want to choose Japanese
names. Sally wont work, and
neither will Naruto or Pokemon,
no matter how Japanese they
sound to you. Remember, in Japan
family names come first, followed
by given names. Once you choose
a name make sure you write it on
your Student Record.
Heres a list of names you can draw
from:
Japanese girl names: Sawano,
Hinano, Yukino, Naho, Kaho,
Megumi, Momoka or Momoko,
Mai or Maiko, Kana, Maki or
Makiko, Kaoru or Kaori, Toshiko,
Ami, Chie, Yuki, Mari, Marie or
Mariko, Chika, Ann, Kurumi,
Haruko, Haruna or Haruka,
Natsuki, Fuyumi, Chihiro, Rie, Nao,
Aya, Ayana, Ayano, Ayako, Risa,
Saya, Yuri or Yurie, Hiromi, Midori,
Nozomi, Ayumi, Ai, Tomomi,
Hitomi, Kaori, Miwako, Mayumi,
Mao, Chiaki, Eri, Manami, Naomi,
Tomoyo, Ran, Akane, Asami, Saki,
Hisae, Jun, Nana, Shiori, Kazumi,
Urara, Marina
Japanese family names:
Sato, Suzuki, Takahashi, Tanaka,
Watanabe, Ito, Kimura, Sasaki,
Narita, Kikuchi, Endo, Arai,
Nakamura, Saito, Yamada,
Hayashi, Abe, Mochizuki, Kato,
Inoue, Maeda, Fukazawa,
Mochizuki, Hara, Komatsu, Ochi,
Oshiro, Arakaki, Higa, Goto, Kai
Choosing Details
Each one of our Students has
quirks of personality, special
interests, strange powers,
unique relationships, important
possessions or embarrassing secrets
that help make them a complete
and unique person. These are
called Details. Some Details
represent significant parts of our
Students life that are obvious to
everyone, others describe small
things that may be important only
to her. Some Details are secrets the
Student keeps from even from her
family, others embody moments
of pride that can be shared with
everyone. Prettiest girl in class
and Everyone treats me like a boy
are good Details. So are I hate my
sister or Rides a bike to school.
Not all Details need to be positive.
My parents just got divorced or
Super embarrassing pimples are
pretty awesome Details. Details
can also represent the supernatural
elements of the game, focusing on
your Students psyhic powers or
past encounters with demons and
ghosts. Dueled with the Demon
Prince of Shinjuku or Haunted by
my dead mother are great Details
that bring out your Students
supernatural flavor!
Well each choose two Details for
our Students. We can choose to
replace an old Detail with a new
one as a reward for completing our
Goal, but we can never have more
then 2 Details at a time.
- Im the Class President. You have
to listen to what I say.
- Im shy around people my own
age.
- My Mothers ghost follows me
wherever I go.
- I can beat up anyone!
- Its not my fault that everyone
else is an idiot!
- I was trained to fight by a Tengu.
- Im more into video games than
people.
- I dont know why Im so popular.
- I can outrun anyone on the track
team.
- I have a secret boyfriend.
- I once beat the Demon Prince of
Shinjuku in a duel!
- I dont want anyone to know that
Ive been possessed by a demon.
- I carry this sword wherever I go.
- I have to be careful to hide my
cat ears.
- Im not conceited, but I know Im
the prettiest girl in my class.
- I spend all of my time
drawing doujinshi. Its a little
embarrassing!
- I always make sure to leave
offerings at the family shrine.
- No one in class likes me. I dont
think I have any real friends.
- Im in a band. I practice my guitar
as much as I can.
- I... Im afraid Im going to hurt
someone.
- I wear my hair long to hide my
scars.
- My sister is my best friend.
- I tell jokes when Im scared.
- I live by myself.
- At night my eyes glow, and my
teeth get sharp and pointy!
- My family is rich.
- My chest is too big.
- I come from a long line of ninja.
- Our teacher likes me best!
- I know the secret to fighting
demons.
- I dont believe in the
supernatural!
- Im kind of clumsy.
How do I use Details? Details
can be used to get advantages
when our Students are challenged
during scenes, so youll want to
select things that you think would
be useful and reflect the kind of
conflicts you want your Student to
get into. Specifically, if a detail is
relevant to a challenge, you can use
it to lower the target number you
need to roll to beat the challenge.
For example, if your Student has
a Detail like Toughest girl in the
world youll want to use that
anytime you get into a challenge
involving fighting! Well talk more
about using Details in the Playing
Tokyo Brain Pop section.
Choose a Best Friend and a
Rival
Every Student has someone she
trusts more than anyone else. A
friend who she tells her secrets to,
a constant companion or a person
she admires. Each of us will choose
another players Student to be our
Best Friend. Youll select a different
Student as your Rival. A Rival may
be someone your Student hates
with all her heart, a good friend
she competes against or the one
person in her group of friends that
she likes a little less than the rest.
Remember to write the names of
your Best Friend and Rival on your
School Record in the spots provided.
Keep in mind that your admiration
or dislike for other Students may
not be mutual. The Student you
choose as your Best Friend may not
choose you to be her Best Friend.
She may even decide to make you
her Rival! Well talk more about
the role of our Best Friends and
Rivals in the Playing Tokyo Brain
Pop section.
Make it easy: The easiest
way to choose and keep track of
Best Friends and Rivals is to have
everyone choose the player to their
right as their Best Friend and the
player to their left as their Rival. Not
only does this create a really easy
way to keep track of friendship, but
it also lets everyone have a chance
to play each role.

Select Goals
Each of our Students has a
Goal, a task that theyll want to
complete before our game ends.
Anything that your Student wants
to accomplish can be a Goal, but
life changing undertakings and
urgent problems are much more
fun then mundane daily tasks!
Well each choose a Goal for our
Student at the beginning of every
session. When we choose a Goal
were telling everyone else what
were interested in doing during
the game, so we should all make
sure to listen to each others Goals
so we can address them as we play.
The Demon the Students will face
in each session is strengthened by
the Students unresolved Goals,
so its important for the Students
to choose Goals they can actually
complete!
When your Student completes her
Goal she can choose to replace one
of her old Details with a new one
related to that Goal. Uncompleted
Goals are always carried over to
the next session. Try not to let your
Goals stack up!
Heres a list of Goals you
can choose from. Its a lot of
fun to select your Goal at random,
but if you see one you like go ahead
and take it. Feel free to modify these
Goals to fit with the kind of story
you want to tell, or just make your
own! Its best to talk about your
Goals with the other players so we
all know what you want out of the
game and can help you get it. Its
smart to choose Goals that allow
for some inter-student conflict,
which is a never-ending source of
fun!
- I need to get a perfect score on
the upcoming test. Nothing else
matters!
- I want to join the swim team,
but the swimsuits are just so
embarrassing!
- I need to find a way to control my
psychic powers.
- Ill kill the psychic who destroyed
my family!
- I need to finally tell my best friend
how I feel about her.
- I have to discover what the swim
team is up to.
- Im tired of our teacher teasing
me. I crave revenge!
- I need to kill the demon that has
enslaved my brothers soul!
- My parents still treat me like a
kid. They need to see how much
Ive grown.
- I need to do something about the
ghosts that live in my home before
they drive me crazy!
- The ancient spirit that lives in my
familys ancestral sword cries out
for blood! I must appease it.
- I wish I could get that cute boy
from class 3 to notice me.
- Im tired of being ignored. Its
time for me to make my debut!
- Ill become the leader of the
toughest gang in school.
- I want to make some new friends
at my new school.
- Were choosing a Class President
tomorrow, and Im going to make
sure its me.
- I want to start a demon hunting
club.
- My sister is missing, and I need to
find her!
- I have to prove that my teacher is
a monster before she kills us all.
- Im going to make sure my
class takes first place at the sports
festival.
- I need to find out how to control
the demon thats hiding inside me
before it eats my soul!
- My skill with a sword is nearly
unmatched, but I could be better.
I need to learn the ultimate
technique!
- There is something within me and
I must discover what it is before it
is too late.
- The math teacher has begun
forming a club of hand-selected
students and Im not one of them!
What is wrong with me?
- Dogs, including Mr. Fuwafuwa
have gone missing into the woods.
Now people are claiming they are
being attacked. I need to rescue my
dog!
- Yu in room C is cute but hes
going out with that awful Hinako.
I must break them up so he can go
out with me.
- My cousin is possessed by an evil
spirit. I will find a way to exorcise
the spirit.
- Nanami is so cool and confident.
I need to switch into the occult club
that she is chairperson of.
- Ew, Eiji just professed his love for
me. I have to let him down easy so
he wont spread any rumors about
me.
- Yume and Yudai always sit next
to each other and eat the same
thing everyday. Theyre weird and
I need to expose them.

Pschic Powers, Ancient
Sword Techniques, Demon
Possession and all that
stuff.
Atarashi High School is full of
students with strange, destructive
powers. Some are aware of their
abilities, while others live their lives
ignorant of their potential. Most
of the students have the deeply
hidden ability to manifest psychic
powers, talk to spirits or ward off
monsters. Some girls are possessed
by demons, others are the victims
of scientific experimentation,
masters of martial arts, agents of
ancient cults and ninja clans or
the beneficiaries of powers from
celestial beings. Some girls have
nothing to defend themselves
with but a blunt object and a
fiery temper!
On your Student Record sheet
youll see a check box for psychic
powers. New Students will always
start the game without active
psychic powers. You can find
out how to use these powers to
get an advantage in the Psychic
Powers part of the Playing Tokyo
Brain Pop section.
Popularity Votes
Not every Student is equal.
Theres always one girl who rises
above the rest and is admired
and praised by her friends. And
there is always a girl who is
bullied by her fellow students;
teased and made fun of.
Popularity is determined by
secret vote at the beginning
of each game. Each player
will write down the name
of the Student they like the
most (please dont vote
for yourself). The Student with
the most votes becomes the Most
Popular girl, while the Student with
the least votes (usually 0) becomes
Least Popular. Everyone else is
simply average. In the case of a
tie the Superintendent can name
a Most or Least Popular girl. Any
player can call for a Popularity
vote once per game after a scene
has ended.
Since psychics are hated and
feared, a Student cannot be voted
Most Popular during a session
where theyve used their psychic
powers.

Playing Tokyo Brain
Pop
A game of Tokyo Brain Pop is
a series of scenes that tell our
students story, with each scene
focusing on one Student and her
Goal. A scene will usually last 5 to
15 minutes. Well each take turns
as the focus Student, attempting
to complete our Gaol within our
scene. After our scene is over the
next Student will take a turn.
Youll find that often you wont be
able to complete your Goal in your
first scene. Thats fine. Each of us
can have two scenes as the focus
Student. If you cant complete your
Students Goal within those two
scenes youll have to let the Goal
go uncompleted. Dont worry, you
can always try again next session!
If several Students have related
Goals we can use a single scene to
focus on several Goals at once. This
means that we can either have
small scenes that only focus on a
single Goal and involve just one
Student, or larger scenes that focus
on multiple goals and have lots of
Students!
At the beginning of your scene
youll tell the Superintendent about
the Goal you want to focus on, and
together youll come up with an
idea for the scene. Of course, the
rest of us can make suggestions,
but it will be up to you and the
Superintendent to decide which
suggestions make it into the scene.
If its your turn to be the focus
Student you can ask to have a
scene about the Demon instead of
your Goal. This works just like any
other scene, but instead of focusing
on a Students Goal, the scene is
about a Students encounter with
the Demon. The Demon can also
make appearances in any of our
normal scenes, as youll see later.

Remember, the purpose of each
scene is to either give a Student
a chance to complete her Goal,
have an encounter with the
Demon, or both!
Playing a scene
The Superintendent and
focus Student will start by
describing where the scene
takes place, which characters
are around and whats currently
happening. Well play out
scenes by describing what our
Students do. If we want to we
can speak in our Students
voices and have conversations
with each other. We can even
stand up and act out the scene
if we want! Any player, even
those without Students in the
scene, can describe whats
happening around our students
and introduce new characters
and ideas into the scene. A
scene always continues until
the Superintendent or the focus
Student decide its over.
Scenes may start slow, but
eventually the Student who is
the focus of the scene will try to
complete her Goal or engage the
Demon. Thats when Challenges
happen!
Challenges
Its the job of both the Rival and
the Demon to try to keep the
focus Student from reaching
her Goal. A Rival can call for
a Challenge any time the focus
student tries to do anything, but
most especially when they try
to do something that will help
her accomplish her goal! The
Superintendent and other
players can also call for
Challenges by using the Demon
(well get to that in a bit).
What counts as
a Challenge? Well,
if a bully gets in your
way to keep you from
reaching your Goal,
thats definitely a
Challenge. If your
Goal is to win a
karaoke contest, then
the other contestants
represent the
Challenge. Generally, any time a
player says my Student tries to...
her Rival or the Demon can call for
a Challenge. Challenges exist to
keep a Student from getting what
she wants, so any opportunity to
stand in her way is an opportunity
for a Challenge! Of course, we
all want to make sure everyones
Student can complete her Goal, but
thats no reason to go easy on each
other and not call for Challenges.
Remember, a story about a girl
who easily got everything she ever
wanted is pretty boring. No one
likes that girl. Do your friends a
favor and make sure their Students
have to struggle to get what they
want!
Here are the 5 parts of a challenge.
It sounds like a lot, but once you
try it youll see its pretty simple!
Part 1: When do we call for
Challenges?
Part 2: Who calls for the
Challenge?
Part 3: Beat the Challenge!
Part 4: Tell us what happens!
Part 5: The End!
Part 1: When do we call for
Challenges? We can call for a
Challenge any time a Student is
trying to do something during a
scene. Any time! Is Hiromi trying to
hide from a demon? Challenge! Is
Yumi trying to work up the courage
to make a love confession to the
class president? Challenge! Is Kim
trying to suck the ghost out of her
dead mothers brain? Challenge!
Is Junko trying to not fall asleep
in class? Thats a pretty lame
challenge, but it still works.
Part 2: Who calls for the
Challenge? A Students Rival
can call for a Challenge any time
that Student tries to do something
during a scene. When a Rival calls
for a Challenge it means that shell
be in that scene, actively doing
something to cause the Challenge.
For example, if Yumi wants to call
a Challenge on Hiromi to keep her
from hiding from a demon, shell
have to describe what she does
to try to ruin Hiromis attempt to
hide.
Other Students and the
Superintendent can also call for
Challenges, even if theyre not the
Rival. Instead of inserting their
own Students into the scene theyll
narrate how the Demon disrupts
the Students plans and causes a
Challenge. The Student will have
to overcome the Demon to get
what she wants!
Part 3: Beat the Challenge!
The Student tells us how shes going
to try to beat the Challenge, then
rolls her die. If she gets a success
then her Best Friend gets to describe
how she overcomes the Challenge.
If she fails, her Rival will describe
what happens!
The number you need to roll to
get a success is determined by
your Students Popularity. Popular
Students only need to roll a 3 or
better. Average Students need at
least a 4, while Unpopular girls
only succeed on a 5 or 6.

Part 4: Tell us what happens! Part
Its up to the Best Friend or the
Rival to describe what happens.
As Best Friend or Rival you should
feel free to be as descriptive as you
want. Dont be afraid to use your
description of the Students success
or failure to move the scene in new
directions, bring the Student closer
to her Goal or do her some serious
and lasting harm! Whether you get
to describe the success or failure,
your goal should be to move the
scene in an interesting direction!
5: The end! The
Challenge is over. The Student
either succeeded at what she was
trying to do or failed. Probably the
scene has moved in an interesting
direction. But just because the
Challenge has ended doesnt mean
the scene is over (although it might
be). Another Challenge can be
introduced as soon as the Student
tries to do anything else. You can
even call for a new Challenge
based on the descriptions provided
by the Best Friend or Rival if they fit
the criteria from Step 1!
Using Details in Challenges
If a Student has a Detail that
applies to the current Challenge
she can use it to lower her success
target number by one. For example,
an Average girl can use one of her
Details to reduce her success target
shell also be in the scene (or at
number from 4 or better to 3 or
better. Each Detail can only be used
once per session.
Lets answer questions about
Challenges:
What makes a good
Challenge?
Challenges are all about keeping
other Students from completing
their goals or getting what they
want. Challenges should always
be active. When you introduce a
Challenge tell us exactly what it
is and how it keeps the Student
from getting what she wants. The
ghost shouldnt just appear, it
should appear and viciously attack
Hiromi just as shes about to use
her psychic powers to destroy the
haunted shrine!
Youll want your Challenge to be
something that could actually keep
the Student from getting what they
want. At the same time, not every
Challenge has to be about ghosts,
monsters or bullies. Even small
obstacles can stop a Student dead
in her tracks if theyre introduced
well. Having Yumi spill her drink
all over the Class President right
as shes about to make her love
confession is a great Challenge
that pushes the scene in a really
neat direction!
Which characters are
involved in the Challenge?
The Student who was the focus
of the scene is usually the focus
of the Challenge. If the Students
Rival called the Challenge then
least somewhere close enough to
cause trouble), and shell get to
describe the Challenge. If another
player uses the Demon to call the
Challenge then that player will
get to describe the Challenge and
the Demon will be involved in the
Challenge in some way.
Who gets to narrate?
Depending on the outcome of
the Challenge the Best Friend or
Rival will get to describe what
happens. If thats you then
youll have complete control over
the description and can narrate
anything you want. No one can
contradict you or add extra details,
even the Superintendent and
the Student who was the focus of
the Challenge. Of course, youre
welcome to take input from the
rest of the players, but you have
the final word.
Can more then one Student
be the focus of a Challenge?
Sure. You can call a Challenge on
more then one Student as long as
both are in the
same scene and
youre the Rival
of at least one
of them. You
can also use
the Demon to
call a Challenge
on multiple
Students!
Do I have to turn everything How Popularity
into a Challenge? Students
No, of course not. That would
really slow down the game and
be kind of annoying. Challenges
are fun, but you should only call
for one when a Student is trying to
complete her goal, fight a Demon
or do something else important.
How many Challenges can
we have in a row?
You can keep calling Challenges
until a scene ends, and a scene only
ends when either the focus Student
or the Superintendent says it does.
Remember, Challenges move the
scene forward, so keep calling
those Challenges until the Student
gets what she wants or gives up!
My Rival just narrated my
Students death. Can she
do that?
Sure. Sometimes Students die. If
you mess with a monster its not
unreasonable to expect that you
might get eaten. If your Student
does die, go ahead and make a
new one. Or play her as a ghost!
affects
Students popularity affects the
game in a very important way.
As mentioned earlier, Popularity
determines the number your
Studnet will need to roll to beat a
Challenge.
Most Popular: Roll 3, 4, 5 or 6 to
beat a Challenge!
Average: Roll 4, 5, 6 to beat a
Challenge!
Least Popular: Roll 5 or 6 to beat a
Challenge! Good luck!
Remember, a girl who has used her
psychic powers (as described below)
cannot be voted Most Popular for
the rest of the session.
Psychic Powers
Nothing good ever came of psychic
powers. Psychic powers will destroy
your Students life. She will be
hunted and persecuted by her
fellows, stalked by demons and
hounded by government agencies.
However, her mysterious powers
will allow the psychic schoolgirl to
stand up and face the demons that
lurk in the shadows of her life and
deal punishment to her enemies.
Every Student has the potential to
use psychic powers, but once she
Levitation: The Student can
levitate in the air, slowly spinning
uses them shell become a known
as psychic lightening fills the space
psychic! When a Student takes on
around her. Everyone can see up
a conflict she can decide to use
the students skirt, but the whole
her psychic powers. If she does her
thing is still pretty scary.
action will always be a success, but
that success will be described by her
Rival instead of her Best Friend. The
Rival has to describe the success
as a success, but should also try
to work in as much awfulness as
possible, including loss of control,
accidental injury to herself and
others, humiliation, property
damage, exposed undergarments
and any other really awful stuff
they can think of!
Once you use your psychic powers
you can never go back to being a
normal teenage girl. Even when
Make Heads Explode: The
Student can make someones head
youre doing your best to suppress
explode, causing the head to burst
your dark powers people will still
apart and spray gore and bone
think of you as really creepy and
strange, and youll find that dogs
fragments in all directions. Its
pretty gross.
bark and bite when you get too
close, plants wilt as you pass and
foreigners feel compelled to ask
you for directions. Since psychic
powers corrupt and influence
everything a psychic does, Best
Friends and Rivals should add
some supernatural flavor any time
they narrate the success or failure
of a known psychic, even if she
didnt use her powers during that
Challenge.
Psychics can use their powers to
Of course, you can use psychic
do all kinds of crazy things, so
power to represent all kinds
dont hold back when describing
of strange supernatural and
how youre going to use your
extraordinary abilities. Does you
supernatural abilities to beat
Student carry a cursed demon
a Challenge. If youre stuck for
sword? Is she a vampire, a time
ideas remember that there are two
traveler or a martial art expert?
powers that every psychic has:
Can she transform into a magical
super heroine? You can use psychic
powers to represent each of these
options.
Completing Goals What happens if I dont
Each scene will give one of the
Students a chance to complete
complete my Goal?
Well, its the job of your Rival and
her goal. At the end of any scene
the Demon to do everything they
that your Student was in you can
can to keep you from completing
tell everyone else that her Goal
your Goal, so its totally possible
has been completed. You have to
that this might happen. Each
get your Best Friend to agree with
Student will get two scenes to try to
you though, and she can totally
complete their Goal. If they cant
deny you your Goal and make
complete their Goal in two scenes
you try again in another scene if
then theyll have to carry that Goal
she wants! Once your best Friend
over to the next session! If your
does agree, your Goal is complete!
Student is unable to complete their
You can replace one of your Details
goal because theyve been eaten
with a new one that reflects how
by the Demon or otherwise killed...
you accomplished your Goal. Youll
well, youll have to make a new
still get to participate in the rest of
Student for the next session!
this session, playing your Student
in other scenes, narrating as a Best
Friend and Rival and taking control
of the Demon. You just wont have
to worry about completing your
Goal. Congratulations, youve won
the game!

The
Superintendent
and the Demon
The Superintendent is responsible
for overseeing the game and
making sure it runs smoothly. You
can think of the Superintendent as
part babysitter, part tour guide and
part teacher. The Superintendent
can choose to also play a Student
character, or can decide to just focus
on the Superintendent role. Playing
the Superintendent is less about
knowing the rules and more about
guiding your friends through their
story and making sure everyone
has a good time. If that sounds
like fun to you then youll make a
great Superintendent! Heres what
the Superintendent does:
Tell the story:
Its easy for the other players to
get wrapped up in their own goals
and challenges. Its your job to
make sure that these goals and
challenges come together as a cool
story. Youll do this by making sure
each Student gets a scene (or more
than one) to follow her Goal, and
by finding a way to connect the
scenes together. Encourage players
to choose complimentary goals,
or work together to complete their
goals. A game of Tokyo Brain Pop
is about how a bunch of teenage
girls beat up a demon and lived to
tell about it. Thats the story. Thats
what youre working towards.
Use the Demon to create
conflicts:
The Demon is a tool to move
the story forward. You should
encourage the other players to use
the Demon to create challenges as
often as possible. If they dont want
to do it, you should do it yourself.
The Demon is the big, scary, nasty
thing that brings the girls together.
Very likely at least a few of the girls
will have Goals tied directly to the
Demon, so shoving the Demon
in their face as often as possible
will help push them toward their
goals. Remember, the Demon +
Student Goals = the plot of the
game, so use the Demon to create
challenges that keep the Students
from reaching their Goals!
Create Scenes:
One of the most important things
youll do is create scenes. While
everyone gets to add things to the
scenes, its up to you to get a scene
started, and youll be the one who
decides what goes in and what
gets left out. Youll also very often
decide when a scene is over. Dont
let a scene drag on too long. If you
see a good ending spot go ahead
and declare the scene done and
move on to the next one.
Keep the Peace:
Sometimes youll have to be a
referee. Sometimes youll have
to decide who is right and who is
wrong. Dont play favorites and
dont be rude.
Get everyone on the same
page:
Before your game starts you should
spend a few minutes talking about
what you want out of your game
and what kind of themes youre
interested in exploring. Tokyo Brain
Pop is a supernatural action game
with a focus on social relationships,
but it can also be used for comedy,
horror and romance. It helps to
decide which of these aspects your
group wants to focus on before play
starts. Having this conversation
before you start playing will set
the tone of the game and allow
everyone to start with the same
expectations. Dont skip this part!
Creating a School:
The school your Students attend
will be the stage on which most
of the game unfolds, so its a good
idea to take some time before the
game starts to develop it and give
it little character.
- Is your school co-ed, or is the
student body entirely female?
- How old is the school building
itself? Many Japanese high schools
were built after the Second World
War. Theres been a recent surge
in the construction of new schools,
but many of these relics from the
last century are still in use, and
there are several schools that
actually predate the war and can
claim to have stood for more than
a century.
-What kind of clubs and
associations does the school offer?
Your Students will likely choose to
be involved in a club of some kind,
but there will certainly be other
school organizations which your
Students arent a part of. Making a
list of these clubs, sports teams and
groups can give your school a sense
of size and population. They can
also be very useful for providing
story ideas and characters for your
Students to interact with.
-Does your school have a secret
history? Was it built over a Shinto
temple? Was it used as a prison
during the war? Were several
schoolgirls found dead there under
mysterious circumstances? Does
the school have a history of abuse
complaints or suicides? A schools
history can provide a lot of neat
story ideas, and helps it feel like a
real place.
-Does the school have any
outstanding or unique features?

Many Japanese high schools have
a gym, swimming pool and outdoor
track. Does your school connect
to underground maintenance
tunnels? Does it have a shrine?
Is it near a park? Does it have
strange or unusual architecture?
Does it have closed-off sections
or buildings where Students are
not allowed? A secret portal to
unknown dimensions? A closed-off
classroom where the ghosts of dead
students continue their education?
-What about the school staff? The
students need teachers!
Creating a Demon:
The Demon is the main event, the
big, nasty challenge the students
will have to face before the end of
the session. Its a good idea to talk
about what kind of Demon you
want for your game before you
start playing, even if you dont get
into anything too specific. Some
players will prefer a giant, slimy
tentacle monster from another
dimension that spits acidic slime
and drags young women off into
the shadows. Other players might
want a more low key ghost story,
full of vengeful spirits that make
their presence known in subtle
ways. You dont have to come out
and tell everyone exactly what
kind of Demon will appear in the
game, but make sure you have a
good idea of what everyone wants
and is comfortable with before you
start.
The Demon is usually an actual
Demon, or a similar supernatural
monster. If you want, the Demon
can also be a non-supernatural
threat, like a natural disaster,
a shadowy secret organization,
an abusive teacher, ninjas, a
paramilitary anti-psychic
squad, or a sci-fi style threat like a
giant robot or alien invaders. The
Demon can even be completely
mundane and non-lethal. Stress
from college entrance exams,
nasty bullies and peer pressure,
or apprehension over making a
love confession can all be great
Demons!
Because of this the Demons target
Demon Attacks number for success will decrease by
Youve decided what sort of Demon
one for every unresolved Goal the
to use in the story you want to tell.
Students have when they face it!
Great. Now how will it antagonize
So a Demon facing Students with
the students? Demons can take
2 unresolved Goals would have a
actions, just like Students, and
target number for success of 2, 3,
unless someone calls a Challenge
4, 5 or 6! A Demon will always fail
to stop them the Demon will get
on a roll of 1, no matter how many
to do whatever it wants (up to and
unresolved Goals the Students
including destroying the school or
have.
eating a student)!
The Demon is defeated once the
Any Student can call a Challenge
Students win at least 3 Challenges
to keep a Demon from getting
against it (if you want a tough
what they want, and usually what
Demon wed recommend increasing
they want is to eat school girls! A
this number to 5 or 6). After beating
Demon will initially succeed on a
the third Challenge the Best Friend
roll of 4, 5 or 6, and always gets to
describing the action gets to tell us
describe its own successes! Of
how the Demon is defeated!
course, the Students get to describe
a Demons failures.
Demon retreat!
If the Demon appears in the
first 2 scenes of the session it can
choose to retreat from the scene
after its wounded by a Students
successful action, and will always
retreat if its wounded twice in a
row. The Demon can never retreat
if every player has already had a
scene focusing on their Student.
To defeat a Demon the Students
must take at least 3 successful
actions against it (usually an
attack, or some other kind of
harmful action). Each successful
action raises the Demons target
number for success by 1. For
example, if the Students take a
successful action against a Demon,
hit
its target number for success will
be increased from 4, 5 or 6 to just
5 or 6!
Demons become more powerful
when they face students with
unresolved issues and fears.

Demons, Ghosts,
Agents, Teachers and
other Monsters
There are at least five hundred
sixty two thousand three hundred
twenty one known forces that
actively work against the common
Japanese high school girl, with at
least half that number seeking the
destruction of the psychic subset of
these young women. These forces
range from demons and ghosts to
school administrators, the military
and the ever-present unnamable
secret government organizations.
Demons have always been wary
of dangerous teenage psychics,
and while the CIA only discovered
their potential power after the
Second World War, it is rumored
that the Japanese military has
been harnessing the power of these
young girls since the late Heian
period.
Evil forces throughout Japan
have developed a wide array of
ways to ensnare, enthrall, abuse,
take advantage of and ultimately
destroy young psychics. Whether
it is through brutal combat,
demonic possession, mind control,
blackmail, peer pressure or the
dangers of young love, these
sinister powers will find a way to
humiliate and destroy as many
psychic teenagers as possible.
Heres a selection of the monsters,
both supernatural and mundane,
that our Students may encounter.
Some of these may be friends or
allies that will help our Students or
even protect them, but most will be
vicious enemies that wish to feast
on our Students minds, flesh and
fluids!
dressing up in their skins after hes
Agents: Government agents come eaten them!
in all shapes and sizes, and include
employees of the sinister Ministry of Ama-no-zako: This daughter
Education, agents of the JSDF, CIA, of the god Susano-o-No-Mikoto
NSA, KGB or corperate spies bent on has a ghastly face with a large
capturing psychic young women to nose and ears and teeth so sharp
use in secret experiments. These they can bite through steel. She
agents infiltrate schools pretending will happily hide her living victims
to be teachers or students and will away for days or weeks until she
sometimes launch outright attacks has time to eat them!
on suspected psychics. Watch out,
these agents are also some of the
only people in Japan that carry
guns!
Ao-nyobo: Ao-nyobo is a
deceptively beautiful ghoul found
haunting the locations of ancient
palaces and shrines. Though she
looks like a refined lady dressed in
a kimono, her decaying, blackened
Ama-no-jaku: With a horn teeth and festering tongue will give
sticking out of its forehead and
her away. Plus, she has a ravenous
clawed hands this strange little
appetite for the flesh of young
creature looks a bit like a scaled
men!
down Oni, but with chicken
feet! Unlike Oni, Ama-no-jaku
prefers cunning to brute force,
using its mind-reading powers to
ruin its victims lives. Ama also
likes to cosplay as his victims by
Boys: Nothing confounds high
school girls more then their male
counterparts. Boys will either
ignore you, be terrified by you or
want to date you. Beware!
Futa-kuchi-onna: More of a
curse than an actual demon or
monster, the Futa-kuchi-onna is a
ravenous, slavering mouth found
on the back of a normal womans
head. The mouth demands food and
if not fed will scream obscenities at
anyone around and bite anyone
who tries to touch it. If the curse is
powerful enough the mouth can
actually use the womans hair as
grasping tentacle-like appendeges!
Girls: Your fellow students can
be your greatest friends or your
worst enemies. The girls that sit
next to you in class may be over-
achievers destined for government
jobs, creative geniuses waiting
to blossom, introverts doomed to
a life as a shut in or the meanest
bullies in the world. Only in Japan
are girls the biggest perpetrators
of bullying, shunning and other
forms of abuse. Pick your friends
carefully, and beware your rivals!
Inu-gami: The spirits of horribly
abused dogs, these ghost hounds
are used by more powerful demons
and psychics to hunt and torment
their victims. As useful as they
are, Inu-gami are hard to control,
and will often turn on their master
before fleeing into the wild. Inu-
gami are extremely territorial, and
once a pack takes up residence in
a neighborhood or forest they are
almost impossible to get rid of!
Joro-gumo: This spider ghost
takes the form of a beautiful
woman in order to lure its victims
to its feeding grounds. Moonlight
will always reveal its true form, the
slender torso of a young woman
with 8 hairy spider legs and a
fanged face with glassy, arachnid
eyes. Joros hobbies include
spinning webs and sucking the
blood out of school girls, which is
just about what youd expect from
a spider ghost!
Jubokko: A man-eating tree
that has soaked up the blood from
centuries of brutal battles, the
Jubokko craves only sweet, sticky
human nectar. Stray too long
alone under such an ancient tree
and it may snatch you up and
devour you whole!
Kami-kiri: Angry bird head?
Check! Lobster claws? Check! The
body of a deformed eight-year-old
and the skin of a ninety-year-old
burn victim? The lecherous Kami-
kir has it all! This particularly
creepy monster stalks school girls,
waiting hidden in restrooms,
striking to cut off large locks of its
victims hair!
Kappa: The Kappa are hairless
monsters that sometimes have a
shell on their backs and always
have a hollow filled with water
in the top of their head. These
lecherous creatures have a
reputation for molestation, rape
and drowning small children,
and will happily eat human flesh
(starting with the anus). If Kappa
have a single redeeming feature its
that they are very honest, and once
a deal has been struck a Kappa will
always keep its word. Kappa lose
all of their powers if the water in
their head is spilled.

Kitsune: These elusive fox spirits Ningyo:
are neither ghosts nor demons,
but semi-divine creatures who
love to cause trouble. You can tell
how old and powerful a Kitsune
by counting its tails. Occasionally
a fox spirit will fall in love with a
human, taking a human form to
jealously guard the one they love.
Neko-mata: This cat demon
can manipulate the dead, and
will often sell its services to more
powerful monsters. The neko mata
has a forked tail and can grow to
be over five feet tall. Once upon
a time it was common to cut the
tails of young kittens short so they
could not grow to become such a
monster.
Sometimes called
Japanese Mermaids, Ningyo have
monkey or fish faces and sticky,
webbed fingers. If you eat the
flesh of a Ningyo youll become
immortal, but will be cursed with
bad luck for the rest of your life.
In fact Ningyo are just bad luck
all around. Ningyo can be found
in streams and caves, and will
sometimes disguise themselves as
humans. You can force a Ningyo
to reveal its true form by making
it cry.
Noppera-bo: A spooky faceless
monster that feeds off the sweat of
its victims.
and only seeing their families on
the weekends or even every few
months. Mothers are often lost
in their own jobs or housework,
unable or unwilling to relate to
their daughters problems, their
sole support the ubiquitous boxed
lunch prepared every morning. Ask
any teenage girl about her parents
and shell tell you the truth: They
just dont understand!
Oni: With giant, muscled bodies,
brightly colored orange or purple
skin and huge horns sticking
out of their heads, these demons
almost look like the bad guys from
a cheesy shonen anime. Dont be
fooled! An Oni is strong enough
to rip a horse in half, and their
bizarre appearance disguises their
natural cunning! Youll find Oni
in deep forests, remote islands,
cursed mountains and far below
the surface of the earth.
Psychic Schoolgirls: They will
kill you dead. Stay away!
Parents: Parents are often
distant and self-involved, with little
Teachers: Teachers are the
idea of the trials their daughters
guardians and guides that lead
face on a daily basis. Fathers
young women through high
often seem to be absent from the
school and into their adult life.
lives of their daughters, and when
Unfortunately, Teachers are also in
they are there they can be overly
an excellent position to ruin their
strict or aloof. Many fathers are
students lives, and some just cant
completely disconnected from their
resist the temptation! Whether its
families daily life, often working
long conversations about living up
a good distance away from home
to your full potential, undeserved
poor test scores, privacy invading
questions, lecherous looks or
outright bullying, teachers have a
nearly unlimited range of options
for making a teenage girls life a
living hell!
Tengu: Sometimes appearing
as a giant with a birds head or a
tall, long nosed man in a cloak of
feathers, this expert warrior will
train anyone in the ways of the
sword... if you can first defeat him!
Tengu live in secluded mountain
passes or similarly remote areas,
and enjoy debate, puzzles and
sake. Pretty young men and women
should be wary when approaching
this monster, for the Tengu despises
vanity more than anything else.
Tentacles: Writhing, mindless
masses of tentacles are the psychic
school girls most ancient predator.
Often attached to murderous
demons, lecherous aliens,
bloodthirsty spectres or deep sea
monsters, these slimy appendages
can entangle and bind their
victims in moments, leaving them
vulnerable to more gruesome
attacks.
Getting to know the
neighborhood
Despite its spooky reputation
Atarashi high school rests
in the heart of a pretty neat
neighborhood.
The School
Welcome to our
school. Its very
busy around here
as the day starts at
8am and many of us dont leave
here until 7:30pm! We have classes
for most of the day and then we get
a whole hour off before after school
clubs start, though some of the
juniors and seniors leave school
then to go to cram schools to get
ready for the college entrance
exams! Bleh!
As for me, Im in the kendo club.
I used to be in the track and field
club in middle school but I am
really enjoying kendo.
There are sooo many clubs here.
There are clubs for go, shogi,
ikebana, clubs for all kinds of
sports, just tons of things to get
involved in. I really like it here!
But our school has some
problems. Theres that
lecherous science teacher,
and students from the rival
high school giving us problems
sometimes, and then theres that
girl who made that boy step in front
of the train, and our vice principal
died last year and parts were found
in five spots around the school. Im
just saying, that there are a lot
of ideas you can use to keep the
story going here at Atarashi High.
The Arcade
This is the shopping arcade. Its
kind of lame. My mom sends me
here to get her herbal medicine
for her back aches. This arcade
has been around like forever and
theres no motor traffic allowed on
it because the road and buildings
all date to the 1930s or something.
Anyways, theres the pachinko
parlor; Nanamis aunt is often
there and above it is the mystics
shop where they have rocks and
do palm readings. Over there is the
izakaya that dad stops at whenever
hes coming home late from work.
That lamp post is where they found
that girl tied up, you know, the one
who had all of her blood removed.
Oh and theres the bookstore. I like
it, its quiet and on the right side is
a used manga section.

Sometimes boys from the rival
high school come here looking for
students from Atarashi to get into
fights but there are worse things
here. Dont tell anyone, but I once
saw a ghost here. Yeah, its true.
It was looking for someone, a girl
with a tear drop pin.
The Spooky
Forest
Of course the woods
are haunted! Havent you heard
the story? I mean there is the old
story about the lovers suicide but
dont you remember the story
about that school bus of kids
who all died? Sure they said that
a passing freight truck hit the
bus but theres no way and there
were those hikers that said they
saw a demon strike the bus and
that the kids trapped inside all
stopped screaming at once and
everything went silent as the oni
faded away.
Then theres that Shinto shrine
up on the hill. That creepy
girl from room C is one of the
daughters of the family that
tends the shrine. Her older sister
went here several years ago
but she went insane during her
senior year.
The Shopping District
This is one of my favorite places to
eat but I cant afford it often but
I always take pictures of the food
in the window. Anyways, I cant
afford it because Im always in this
area shopping for new clothes. I
can find new clothes that I can
then modify to fit my style. Its just
the best place in the world! So
many places to shop.
Yes, there was that creepy
guy who wanted me to go on
a compensated date with him
and there were those otaku
I saw trying to get up-skirt
pictures. Sickos. But I like
this place anyways, though
Ive heard some things about
a lady who is seen at night
around here crying and that
she has lured men away to never
be seen. Well so long as its that
one creep I guess he got what he
deserved.
Im going to stop at that bakery for
a dessert before I go home.
A quick guide
to Japanese
high schools
The formal term for Japanese
high school is kootoo gakkoo,
meaning upper secondary school,
but most Students use the common
abbreviation kookoo, meaning
high school. School is the center
of the typical teens life and
considering the large amount
of time that Japanese students
spend in schools it is little wonder
that the education system plays a
tremendous role in determining
the fabric of Japanese society.
The classes start at 8:30 am, but for
a student the day begins well before
she arrives in the classroom, and
for many students how they get to
school is an important part of their
daily life. Most students walk or
ride bicycles to school if they live
close enough, and those that live
farther away must rely on public
transportation, often having to
transfer to several different trains or
buses to reach their school. It is not
uncommon for students to spend
two or more hours each day on
public transportation. Students take
advantage of these long commutes
in several ways. Some sleep or
study during their long commute,
or use their time to listen to music
or read their favorite manga.
For others public transportation
provides a chance to talk to friends
outside the confines of school, or to
chat or text on cell phones. Student
behavior on the way to school is
regulated by school policies which
often prohibit certain activities
in public that may reflect poorly
on the school, including talking
loudly, chewing gum, holding
hands with young men or playing
portable video games. Schools
often require students to stand on
buses and trains even if empty
seats are available, leaving seats
open for other passengers in order
to demonstrate consideration. Most
students tend to only observe these
practices when they are close to
their schools.
At School
By 8:30 am students have arrived
at school and assembled in their
homerooms. The school day starts
with classroom management
tasks, such as taking attendance
and making announcements. The
Students themselves usually take
turns doing these tasks determined
by a rotating duty schedule called
toban. Each homeroom has an
average of about 40 students who
stay in the room for most of the
school day while different teachers
move from room to room. Students
leave the homeroom for physical
education and classes that require
special facilities. Students eat their
lunches in their homeroom. Most
Students bring a box lunch from
home, often including rice, fish,
eggs, vegetables, and pickles. Some
schools have a cafeteria, but most
do not.
Japanese students spend 240 days
a year at school, 60 days more then
American students. Many of these
extra days are spent preparing for
annual school festivals and events
such as Culture Day, Sports Day,
and school trips. Many schools
require students to attend for half a
day on Saturdays. Students typically
take three years of mathematics,
social studies, Japanese, science,
and English. Other subjects include
physical education, music, art, and
moral studies.
After classes are over for the day
all students participate in o soji,
the cleaning of the school. They
sweep the classrooms and the
hallways, empty trashcans, scour
restrooms, clean chalkboards and
chalk erasers and pick up trash
from the school grounds. After o
soji, school is dismissed and most
students go to different parts of the
school for club meetings, catch a
train to cram school or head home
for the day.
School Events
The Japanese school year starts in
April, beginning with an entrance
ceremony for new students. Most
schools have a day-trip excursion
in spring (or autumn), and during
one of the three years of high school
the students go on a longer trip that
lasts a few days. Summer vacation
starts in mid-July and continues
until the end of August. There is a
short winter vacation around New
Years, and another round of final
exams before graduation for third-
year students in late March.
Autumn is the season for
field days and school festivals.
School festivals give students a
chance to showcase their talents
and achievements for teachers and
family. Classes put on performances
and skits; display paintings and
drawings created in art class and
make presentations. School clubs
often use these events to raise
money, organizing student-run
cafes, game booths and auctions.
After School Activities
Every school has clubs that meet
each day after classes. There are
clubs for almost any interest.
Sporting clubs are popular, and
national baseball, soccer and
rugby club competitions are often
televised. Educational, social and
cultural clubs are also popular,
and students with interests as
diverse as history, mahjong,
mathematics, manga, computers,
broadcasting or astronomy can
find a club that suits them. The
students themselves determine
the clubs daily activities. Students
can join only one club, and they
rarely change clubs from year to
year. New students are encouraged
to select a club shortly after the
school year begins in April, and
club members actively recruit new
members during this time. Clubs
meet for two hours after school
each day and many clubs continue
to meet during school vacations.
Clubs are the most encouraged
way for students to engage in peer
group socialization.
Many students choose to take
on part-time jobs to earn extra
spending money. Students
commonly find jobs as waiters and
kitchen helpers or as attendants in
convenience stores, supermarkets,
fast food restaurants, and gas
stations. Some students make extra
money tutoring their classmates or
work in family owned businesses.
For some Students school isnt
over when classes end for the day.
Many Students attend special
privately-run cram schools where
they take supplemental lessons
in nonacademic subjects like
art, swimming, computers and
calligraphy as well as the academic
subjects that are important for
college entrance examinations.
Surprisingly, many students enjoy
cram school, where the teachers
are usually more interesting and
challenging and where they have
a chance to interact with students
from other schools.
Entrance Examinations
The college entrance exams required
to get into Japanese universities are
notoriously grueling, and students
often spend an entire year or more
preparing for them either in cram
school, exam clubs or with intense
private study. Because of this high
school is often a tense and stressful
time for students who hope to get
into good universities.
Free Time
For most students free time
is at a premium. School and after
school activities take up most
of the students day, and with
homework and commuting time
many students are left with very
little free time to themselves.
Students enjoy watching television,
listening to music, getting online,
playing games, casual reading
(often popular manga or teen
oriented magazines) and spending
time with friends. Most students
only have limited time for
socializing outside of school, and
popular hangouts include places
where other teens are likely to be
found. Fast-food restaurants and
coffee shop chains, especially
McDonalds and Starbucks, are
popular hangouts, as are the small
convenience stores called konbini
that sell prepared foods, beverages,
cigarettes and magazines.
Japanese adults often think of
students as large children instead
of young adults. Because of this
parents and teachers strongly
discourage teenage dating and
most young people do not begin to
date until after high school. School
crushes and flirtations are common,
but serious dating is rare.
School Uniforms
School Uniforms are an ever present
part of student life. Japans famous
Western style sailor uniforms
were first introduced at the
beginning of the last century, and
today are almost universal in the
public and private school systems.
The Atarashi high school uniform
is just one example of a common
style. The high school uniform
traditionally consists of a military
style outfit called gakuran for boys
and a sailor dress known as sara
fuka for girls. Some schools have
moved away from the military style
uniform and have instead adopted
a type of uniform more familiar to
European private schools. These
uniforms consist of a white dress
shirt, necktie, blazer with school
crest and dress trousers for boys
and a white blouse, necktie, blazer
with school crest and plaid skirt for
girls.
Uniforms create a sense of
conformity in schools, but many
students seek to subvert this by
adding accessories or altering their
clothing. Loose baggy socks have
become popular, and altering skirts
to a shorter length or forgetting
neck ties at home are common.
Students often express themselves
with the items that schools dont
regulate, such as backpacks, coats,
hats and socks. Stockings, hairclips
and ties, glasses, hairstyles,
umbrellas and cell phones all give
students a chance to show their
personality. Some students take
more extreme approaches, dying
their hair or piercing their ears.
Some schools enforce a strict dress
code that prohibits such personal
alterations, but most allow their
students some room for self
expression.
Self Injury
Wrist-cutting and other forms of
self-injury are becoming more
common problems in Japanese
schools. Wrist-cutting had been
cited as a problem in high schools
in the past, but recent surveys
show that over 14 percent of the
female Japanese students said they
had purposely injured themselves
at least once, while 6 percent said
they had done so at least 10 times.
When asked why they had injured
themselves, most students talked
about frustration, anger or stress
related to the expectations to do
well in school and go on to a good
college. Japans college entry exams
are famously grueling and stressful,
with students often preparing years
ahead of time. Since the exams
determine which college a student
can attend, and since the choice of
college often determines whether
the student will be able to find a
good job, preparing for them can be
especially intense. The suicide rate
of Japanese high school students,
especially those preparing for their
exams, has been on the increase
for over a decade.
Abuse
Studies claim that molestation and
statutory rape is not uncommon
in schools across Japan, and that
victims rarely come forward. To
do so would violate a lifetime of
learned social conventions. While
there are no generally accepted
statistics on classroom sexual abuse
in Japan, the Education Ministry
claims there were 122 reported
cases of molestation by teachers
in 2001, a number which parents
say reflects students unwillingness
to come forward. This number has
continued to increase.
Students are not just vulnerable
to abuse in the classroom. Japans
commuter trains have long been
famous for reports of groping
and harassment. Female students
commonly report groping in
crowded train cars and buses,
especially on express trains that
go long distances without many
stops. Because these trains are
often crowded to standing room
only it can be difficult to identify
an assailant. Many students are
embarrassed by the assaults and
hesitant to call for help, and
convictions of train molesters are
notoriously rare. Some students
have taken to stabbing gropers
hands with needles, forks or
scissors.
Bullying
Bullying among students has
become a serious problem in
Japan. Bullying is usually carried
out by a group, the targets often
being unpopular, weak or delicate
teens. Usually the bullies dont see
the bullying as anything serious,
and often consider it a joke. When
a victim of bullying hurts or kills
her self as a result, the perpetrators
are usually surprised and often
find it hard to believe that their
actions were the cause. Shunning,
a kind of bullying which involves
entire classes completely ignoring
a student to the point of denying
her existence, has been growing
more and more common in the last
decade.