Misako (みさこ ) is a fictional character in the Kunio-kun series. She first debuted in Nekketsu Kōkō Dodgeball Bu: Soccer Hen as the Soccer Club manager of Nekketsu High School, and appears in all versions of the game. She has made recurring appearances in the series' soccer games, including Nekketsu Kōkō Soccer Bu: World Cup Hen, Kunio-kun no Nekketsu Soccer League and River City Soccer Hooligans.
Concept and creation[]
Misako, like many characters in the series, appears differently depending on the game. Most art, as well as her sprite appearance in Kunio no Oden and model in River City Soccer Hooligans, depict her as having medium-length blue hair, worn naturally and with a bow, but the 8-Bit sprites depict her as having black hair worn in a ponytail, with no noticeable bow. In Shin Nekketsu Kōha: Kunio-tachi no Banka, she has blue hair but cut shorter and without a bow, and in River City Girls, she has short black hair with a red hair clip.
Appearances[]
Nekketsu Kōkō Dodgeball Bu: Soccer Hen[]
In the NES version, she searches for Kunio to ask for help as majority of the soccer team players got intoxicated from eating sushi and needs more players to play in the soccer tournament.
Misako is voiced by Yumi Tōma in the PC Engine version of Nekketsu Kōkō Dodgeball Bu: Soccer Hen.
Kunio-kun no Nekketsu Soccer League[]
Misako appears in the intro of game, telling your team that she can't go with them to the Technos Cup, but will be in close contact to cheer them up.
Shin Nekketsu Kōha: Kunio-tachi no Banka[]
In this game, she appears as Kunio's girlfriend and is one of the playable characters.
Later in the story, she and Kyoko were both woundedly shot by Sabu, rendering them unplayable for the latter part of the game. They are taken to the hospital by Takayama, who later reveals to Kunio and Riki that both girls were out of harm's way after prevailing against the Sanwakai boss.
Kunio no Oden[]
She is also featured in Kunio no Oden, though she only appears in cameos and in the title screen of game with Kunio.
Super Dodge Ball[]
River City Soccer Hooligans[]
Nekketsu Kōha Kunio-kun Special[]
Misako appears as an NPC in the Story Mode of Nekketsu Kōha Kunio-kun Special. She tries to convince Kunio to join Kōji and Ichirō in the dodge ball club and to stop fighting in the streets.
In this game and its sequel: River City: Tokyo Rumble, Kunio's homeroom teacher Madoka acts as the damsel-in-distress and is the closest to a love interest that Kunio has in the game.
River City: Tokyo Rumble[]
Misako returns as an NPC in the game. Like in the previous game, she tries to stop Kunio from getting involved in street fights and instead wants him to dedicate himself to sports by joining the dodge ball club.
River City Super Sports Challenge ~All Stars Special~[]
Misako became a playable character once again in River City Super Sports Challenge ~All Stars Special~ as part of Team Misuzu. Along with Misuzu, she is joined by Kumiko (one of the enemies in the original Nekketsu Kōha Kunio-kun) Miyuki from Nekketsu Kōha Kunio-kun Special, Kyoko (who first debuted in Shin Nekketsu Kōha: Kunio-tachi no Banka), and Miho (from Shodai Nekketsu Kōha Kunio-kun). In this game, Misako has her Shin Nekketsu Kōha: Kunio-tachi no Banka design. Misako comes equipped with a bokken before each match. Her special moves are the Dragon Tail Kick and the Spin Attack.
River City Melee: Battle Royal Special[]
Misako returns as part of Team Misuzu in this game and is involved in the Story Mode.
River City Girls[]
Misako is one of the playable characters and protagonists of River City Girls. Kunio's hot-blooded girlfriend, snarky, impulsive and always ready for a fight. Kayli Mills provides her voice in the game.
Move Name | Input | Special Meter? | Learned From | Level Required | Description |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
Jump Hammer | Heavy Attack in midair | No | Leveling Up | 3 | Misako attacks downward with her backpack, knocking enemies down. |
Rolling Punch | Heavy Attack while running | No | Leveling Up | 4 | Misako performs a combat roll, then punches forward. The roll acts as a screw attack and can hit enemies as well, while the punch knocks enemies forward. |
Bruce Backhand | Block and Heavy Attack simultaneously | No | Leveling Up | 5 | Misako uses Kunio's Back Fist from Tachi-no Banka. This acts as her back attack. |
Haymaker | Directional Pad Left/Right + Heavy Attack | No | Leveling Up | 7 | Misako throws an aggressive hook while moving forward, knocking enemies down. |
Stone Hands | Special Attack (up to three times) | Yes | Dojo | 0 | A variant of Riki's trademark move, Misako can throw three punches while lunging forward. Each separate punch uses the Special Meter. |
High Kick | Light Attack | No | Dojo | 0 | An extension of Misako's Light Attack combo. This becomes her third attack. |
Hop Knee | Directional Pad Up + Heavy Attack | No | Dojo | 0 | A variant of the Rhino Kick, Misako makes a short hop and hits enemies with her knee, launching them upwards. Can be used to end combos. |
Nutcracker | Directional Pad Down + Heavy Attack | No | Dojo | 0 | Misako's "special interrogation technique", she throws a football kick to the groin, which launches enemies straight up. Combo-ending attack. |
Spiral Uppercut | Directional Pad Up + Special Attack | Yes | Dojo | 5 | A variant of Riki's Screw Upper, Misako performs a rising uppercut which knocks enemies down. |
Backflip Kick | Special Attack while running | Yes | Dojo | 5 | Misako performs a somersault kick, launching enemies straight up. |
Back Fist | Light Attack | No | Dojo | 5 | Another extension to Misako's Light Attack combo, becoming her fourth attack. |
Dropkick | Directional Pad Left/Right + Special Attack | Yes | Dojo | 8 | Misako performs a dropkick, knocking enemies forward. It can also be performed in midair by pressing the Special Attack button. |
German Suplex | Heavy Attack after grabbing stunned enemy from behind | No | Dojo | 8 | The suplex from Shodai Nekketsu Kōha Kunio-kun. |
Stungun | Special Attack after grabbing stunned enemy from the front | Yes | Dojo | 8 | Misako kicks the opponent, then performs a three-quarter facelock jawbreaker. |
Backpack Swing | Directional Pad Down + Special Attack | Yes | Dojo | 12 | Misako swings her backpack, "Grand Slam"-style around her, hitting multiple enemies. |
Powerbomb | Heavy Attack + Special Attack near enemy in midair | Yes | Dojo | 12 | A midair throw, Misako grabs an opponent in midair and slams them to the ground. |
River City Melee Mach!![]
Misako returns as part of Team Misuzu in the game. Her moveset has been completely changed, as she now has two of her original moves from Kunio-tachi no Banka: the Hyper Tornado (Whirlwind Kick) and the Rolling Attack (Screw).
Stamina | 200 |
---|---|
Punch | 6 |
Kick | 9 |
Weapon | 6 |
Throw | 10 |
Agility | 8 |
Strength | 10 |
Special Techniques | Hyper Tornado Rolling Attack |
Kunio-kun no Sangokushida yo Zen'in Shūgō![]
The ARC version of Misako assumes the role of Zhuge Liang, and is playable in both Story and Battle of Red Cliffs Mode. The version from River City Girls can also be downloaded for play in Battle of Red Cliffs Mode.
Other games[]
CODE SHIFTER[]
She and Kyōko are a "double character". A remix of the shop theme plays when playing as them in Story Mode.
Baseball Superstar 2020[]

Other media[]
Nekketsu Kōha Kunio-kun (TV series)[]
Kaho Takashima plays the role of Misako in the Nekketsu Kōha Kunio-kun 2013 TV series from NOTTV (her full name in the series is Enjōji Misako (えんじょうじ みさこ, Enjōji Misako). Ami Maeda played the role of Misako in a stage performance.
Nekketsu Kōha Kunio-kun (4koma Manga Kingdom)[]
Nekketsu Kōha Kunio-kun: Rantō Enbu-hen[]
Trivia[]
- Misako's combat-style in most Kunio games is largely based around kicking and conventional martial arts, perhaps in relation to her interest in soccer. Three of her four special moves in Shin Nekketsu Kōha: Kunio-tachi no Banka utilize her lower-body; a flying knee, spin-kick, and mule kick; the remaining special is an aerial somersault. Her moveset in River City Girls is substantially different, focused more on upper body attacks and fighting dirty, likely to make her more distinguished from Kyōko. In one memorable scene of Kunio-Tachi no Banka, Kunio and Riki delegate to Misako the responsibility of torturing a boss to confession by kicking him in the groin.
- Her launcher move in RCG called "Nutcracker" even refers to it as an interrogation technique.
- The Student ID Card showcased in a limited physical release for River City Girls reveals that she is in her Senior year (18 years old).
- A flashback sequence in River City Girls depicts Misako more akin to how she appeared in Technos character art, with a bow and natural hairstyle. In this scene she also performs an aerial spin kick that is not part of her moveset in River City Girls, but resembles a move she has in many other games.