Sonokawa (園川, そのかわ), full name Kaoru Sonokawa (園川薫, そのかわ かおる), is a second year student at Senridai High School and is leader of the "Senridai Bombers", a group he'd create for self-defense. He is recurring character in the Downtown Nekketsu series and was first featured in Downtown Nekketsu Story.
He would later become a follower of Kunio and would start referring to him as his boss. Although he doesn't specialize in fighting, Sonokawa excels at solving puzzles.
Appearances[]
Downtown Nekketsu Story[]
Sonokawa is one of the Senridai High School enemies that appear in the game.
In River City Ransom and Street Gangs, Sonokawa is renamed to Harry, while Senridai High School is changed to the Generic Dudes.
Downtown Special Kunio-kun's Historical Period Drama![]
Sonokawa plays the role of Tsurumatsu, Kunimasa's brother and faithful companion.
Similarly to Downtown Nekketsu Story, players start the game with the option to play as Kunimasa or Tsurumatsu. If the game is played in the singleplayer mode, it is possible to play as either, Kunimasa or Tsurumatsu. The CPU will take control of the character that was not selected. Tsurumatsu and Kunimasa have the same stats at the beginning of the game, but Tsurumatsu starts with two techniques: the Mach Twist and the Big Bang.
If the player chooses to recruit Jūkichi later on in the game, Tsurumatsu will disappear from Bunzō's and appear as a boss fight on the map. Upon being defeated, the player will be given the option to forgive Tsurumatsu. If accepted, he will become a selectable ally once again for the rest of the game.
Kunio-kun no Dodgeball da yo Zen'in Shūgō[]
Downtown Nekketsu Baseball Monogatari: Yakyū de Shōbu da! Kunio-kun[]
Sonokawa appears in the story's cutscenes following Kunio around. When Kunio makes his entrance and joins Nekketsu High School's baseball team, Sonokawa attempts to strike a pose with Kunio though is kicked off by him.
Kunio no Oden[]
Sonokawa appears in the versus mode as your final opponent when playing against CPU or is instead randomly chosen if there is a second player.
Downtown Nekketsu Monogatari EX[]
Sonokawa appears as an enemy in the game, much like the original. However, if the game is being played with Kunio on his own, it is possible to recruit Sonokawa and all of the Senridai Bombers in the first area of Hanazono Town. If Kunio agrees to let them join him, Sonokawa joins permanently, while the remaining members of the Senridai Bombers take up the remaining slots.
In River City Ransom EX, Sonokawa is renamed to Phil instead of Harry. The character that is recruited is named Conan, who acts as the leader of the Generic Dudes, just like Sonokawa in the Japenese version of the game.
Nekketsu Kōkō Online: Yamada no Fukushū[]
Nekketsu Kōha Kunio-kun Special[]
River City: Tokyo Rumble[]
River City: Knights of Justice[]
River City Super Sports Challenge ~All Stars Special~[]
Sonokawa appears as the captain of the Senridai High School team and a member of the Historical Drama team as Tsurumatsu and is able to be played outside of the story mode. Sonokawa is able to use the Big Bang and Super Dash, while Tsurumatsu is only able to use the former.
Downtown Nekketsu Jidaigeki[]
River City: Rival Showdown[]
River City: Rival Showdown is a remake of Downtown Nekketsu Story. The game takes place before River City Super Sports Challenge ~All Stars Special~.
In the story mode, Sonokawa appears on the second day at Hanazono High School, who believes their students have been attacking students from Senridai High School and are now fed up. If Kunio prevents Riki from being jumped by Taira at Starpark Café, Riki will appear and attempt to de-escalate the situation, though Sonokawa demands proof that Hanazono High School wasn't involved. Kunio will step in and read Taira's text messages which prove that he had his goons dress up as Hanazono students to start a fight with Senridai High School. Now believing Hanazono High School weren't responsible for anything, Sonokawa calls off the fight. If Kunio does not help Riki, a fight against the two schools ensue with Kunio joining to assist Saotome, Maeda, and Wataru.
River City Melee: Battle Royal Special[]
Sonokawa returns as the captain of Senridai High School's team and a member of the Historical Drama team as Tsurumatsu and is involved in their respective stories. Sonokawa is able to use the Big Bang, Compression Shot, and the Human Helicopter while Tsurumatsu is able to use the Big Bang and the Mach FumiFumi.
River City Ransom: Underground[]
Calvin, one of the bosses in the game, mentions that Conan is his father after he is defeated. Conan himself does not make an appearance in the game.
River City Melee Mach!![]
River City Saga: Three Kingdoms[]
Sonokawa plays the role of Zhou Cang, a follower of Guan Yu (Kunio) who only appears in the novel.
In the story mode, Zhou Cang is first seen during the game's tutorial with Guan Yu on the run from authorities as Guan Yu has punched an officer instead of handing over a bribe. Shaking off the patrols, the two find themselves facing against some bandits. From this point on, Zhou Cang is not mentioned in dialog and will only appear as the one speaking during tutorial segments explaining new mechanics in the first chapter.
In gameplay, Sonokawa is controlled by the second player and will always fight alongside Kunio. When playing on local co-op, Sonokawa will share the same specials, level, equipment, and tactics as Kunio. If playing online, Sonokawa will be able to equip his own items and have non-story progress carried over from their own save file. When activating a tactic, Sonokawa will temporarily shift into Kunio's outfit as if he was the one calling the tactic.
River City Girls 2[]
In this continuity, Sonokawa was previously a student at River City High, though has recently founded Technos, became a trillionaire, and now has the appearance of a robot.
Sonokawa is seen inside of Technos where he will greet the protagonists and briefly explain his new status as a tech giant when asked if he was a student at River City High. The protagonists ask him for some money, though Sonokawa profusely declines. Sonokawa then tells the protagonists to enjoy their time while at Technos and states that if he is seen again any of his responses will be automated. The protagonists then comment that they liked him more when he was poor and dorky.
Other video games[]
CODE SHIFTER[]
Sonokawa appears as Tsurumatsu as an assist character.
Other media appearances[]
Ore wa Otoko Da! Kunio-kun[]
Sonokawa is a recurring character in the manga debuting in the eleventh chapter. He proves himself to be a big fan of Kunio, but is unable to fight like him.
Nekketsu Kōha Kunio-kun (4koma Manga Kingdom)[]
Kunio-kun! Nekketsu Battle![]
Trivia[]
- Sonokawa is modeled after a former employee of Technōs Japan.
Gallery[]
Artwork[]
Sprites[]
Screenshots[]
Other Media[]
