Bengoshi no Kuzu (弁護士のくず, lit. Scum of Lawyers) is a Japanese manga series written and illustrated by Hideo Iura [ja]. It started in Shogakukan's seinen manga magazine Big Comic Original in August 2003. In 2010, the manga was re-titled Bengoshi no Kuzu Dai-2 Shin, and continued until June 2014. The overall series' chapters were collected in 21 tankōbon volumes. The series follows Mami Takeda, a new lawyer, and her partnership with fellow attorney Motohito Kuzu, as they deal with challenging court cases.
A 12-episode television drama adaptation was broadcast on TBS from April to June 2006.
Written and illustrated by Hideo Iura [ja], Bengoshi no Kuzu started in Shogakukan's seinen manga magazine Big Comic Original on August 5, 2003.[a] The manga reached 99 chapters on June 5, 2010,[5][6] and starting on July 5 of that same year, it changed its title to Bengoshi no Kuzu Dai-2 Shin (弁護士のくず 第二審).[7] The series finished on June 20, 2014.[8] Shogakukan collected the overall series' chapters in 21 tankōbon volumes; the first part was collected in ten volumes, released from July 30, 2004,[9] to January 29, 2010,[10] and the second part was collected in eleven volumes, released from December 25, 2010,[11] to August 29, 2014.[12]
Copyright infringement lawsuit
In February 2008, Tokyo lawyer Masatoshi Uchida alleged that Iura had plagiarized a novel that he wrote, and petitioned the Tokyo District Court to ban sales of Big Comic Original.[1] In August 2010, the Intellectual Property High Court ruled out in favour of Iura and Shogakukan, stating that Uchida's work is not a novel, but "a document that clearly describes social events that were widely reported at the time", and that the manga is "merely based on these real-life events, and there is no copyright infringement."[13]
Drama
A 12-episode television drama adaptation was broadcast on TBS from April 13 to June 29, 2006.[14]
