BECK is a manga by Harold Sakuishi published by Kodansha in Monthly ShÅ?nen Magazine. It was adapted as an anime television series with the title BECK: Mongolian Chop Squad. It tells the story of a group of Japanese teenagers who form a rock band. The manga was licensed in North America by Tokyopop, but after the release of the 12th volume in June 2008, the manga went on a hiatus. Tokyopop has recently confirmed they will continue publishing the manga from the 13th volume onwards starting from June 2009. The series has also spawned three guidebooks. The manga won the 2002 Kodansha Manga Award for shÅ?nen. The 26-episode anime television series was aired on Japan's TV Tokyo from October 2004 to March 2005. It was directed by Osamu Kobayashi, animated by Madhouse and produced by Takeshi Shukuri and Yoshimi Nakajima. A live-action film adaptation will be released in 2010. The film stars Hiro Mizushima as Ray and Takeru Satoh as Koyuki.