Psycho Trader Chinami

Psycho Trader Chinami (サイコトレーダー ちなみ) is a manga by Akihiro Kimura.

A comedy manga in the stylistic tradition of magical schoolgirls who cause large-scale destruction, this series is set in the near future. Psychics have been manifesting their powers amongst normal humans to the extent that there is now a "Psychic Code" of laws for them to obey. Chinami has dreamed since youth of joining the Psycho Police and enforcing the code, but fails the test. Getting into trouble, she finds herself saved by the Psycho Traders - a loosely organized group of mercenaries, bounty hunters, private security guards, and quasi-legal ne'er-do-wells. Fujisaki, the Director, takes her in after being asked by Captain Takanouchi.

He believes that Chinami can work on her powers at the Psycho Trader Co., and retake the Police test next year. There's just one problem-Chinami can't control her powers!

Psycho Trader Chinami faintly echoes some aspects of cyberpunk works such as Snow Crash and Neuromancer. Convenient oppression of minority groups, personalized miniature high-tech devices, advanced monitoring systems, corporations performing government functions, and vast conspiracies are displayed or hinted at throughout the work, and resolved in a surprise ending. Despite the similarities to more serious works, Psycho Trader Chinami is far more lighthearted than the aforementioned depictions of the future. Much of the series might be considered a send-up of either manga character stereotypes or the cyberpunk genre.

Characters
Chinami
 * A young girl who wants nothing more than to become a member of the police force. After failing, she bumps into a young man, and is told she must repay him. Being unable to do so, she is nearly raped, but is saved by the Psychic Trader Co. During the fight, she is so scared, she causes an explosion. Captain Takanouchi is impressed with her powers, and convinces Director Fujisaki to take her in as community service.


 * He tells her that she can work on her powers, and retake the test next year. Since her power to make things explode is really rare, it would be great if she could handle it. But she can't control them, and since her emotions trigger explosions, that means big repair fees to pay. At the end of the first book, she is expelled for accidentally destroying the school. In the second volume, she is given a device that will inhibit her power. It is revealed at the end that she is the Untainted Queen. When she learns that Kyuudo, the boy she fell in love with, is fake, she is so upset and angry she wants to destroy the Earth. Masaru manages to get through to her, and she uses her powers to deal with the real Kyuudo once and for all.


 * As well as her psychic blast power, she possesses the ability to create barriers. During a tennis match with Ayame, she develops the ability to explode tennis balls. During the final battle, she develops a teleportation ability.

Captain Takanouchi
 * The chief of the Psychic Police. Chinami has a crush on him. He was Ayame's tutor. Kyuudo is his brother.

Director Fujisaki
 * The head of the Psychic Trader Co. She is rather greedy when it comes to money. She is really a Psycho Police Elite Investigator, and uses the Psychic Traders to take on any missions the police cannot legally take on.

Masaru
 * 16 years old. He likes to gamble. He has a short temper and seems to dislike Chinami, although he does "teach" her to play tennis. He possesses the power of telekineses, and thinks that it is the best power ever. However, he does like Chinami, as he refuses to let her die when she causes the biggest explosion yet.

Kotone
 * A 10-year-old scanner. Unlike Masaru, she likes Chinami, and is willing to help her. She possesses the ability to sense when another psychic is near, However, it turns out she is just a psychic image created by Kyuudo.

Ayame
 * Chinami's classmate and fellow psychic. Everyone calls her "Lady Ayame". Her family owns the Kuribayashi Corporation. She is the leader of "Kuriko Hearts", a rival psychic team, consisting of her, a clever girl named Runa, a strong girl named Heidi and a speedy girl named Kasui. She hates Chinami, because she sees her as an embarrassment to psychics.

Yanagi
 * An old man, he is also a member of the Psychic Traders. He first meets Chinami when pretending to be an old man who mistakes her for his granddaughter. After she shows him around Tokyo, a thief (really Masaru in disguise) "steals" his bag, and Chinami stops him. He is a very kind man who comforts Chinami, and tells her that she will become a great psychic one day. He is the one who realises the truth about Kotone.

"Kyuudo"
 * Chinami's biggest fan. He knows everything about her. He first meets her when he is injured in one of her explosions. He was bullied at school, and would like nothing more than to be a psychic. He helps Chinami with her powers, telling her to concentrate. He seems to have romantic feelings for her. Unfortunately, it turns out that he was possessed by a telepath, and once restored to normal, he remembers nothing about Chinami, breaking her heart. His real name is Kota.

Kyuudo
 * A powerful psychic, and the brother of Takanouchi. He wants to retrieve the Untainted Queen (Chinami), so that psychics can rule the world. He is behind the whole story, getting Chinami into Psychic Traders, posing as Kotone to befriend her, and causing several psychic riots. He awakens Chinami's full power by breaking her heart. At the end of the story he either escapes or is killed.