Himitsu no Akko-chan

Himitsu no Akko-chan

Cover of the DVD box of the 1969 anime series.
ひみつのアッコちゃん
Genre Comedy, Magical girl, Romance
Manga
Written by Fujio Akatsuka
Published by Shueisha
Demographic Shōjo
Magazine Ribon
Original run July 1962 – September 1965
Volumes 3
Anime television series
Directed by Hiroshi Ikeda
Studio Toei Animation
Network TV Asahi
Original run 6 January 1969 – 26 October 1970
Episodes 94
Anime television series
Directed by Hiroki Shibata
Studio Toei Animation
Network Fuji TV
Original run October 9, 1988 – December 24, 1989
Episodes 61
Anime film
Studio Toei Animation
Released March 18, 1989 (1989-03-18)
Anime film
Himitsu no Akko-chan Umi da! Obake da!! Natsu Matsuri
Studio Toei Animation
Released July 15, 1989 (1989-07-15)
Anime television series
Directed by Hiroki Shibata
Studio Toei Animation
Network Fuji TV
Original run April 5, 1998 – February 28, 1999
Episodes 44
Live-action film
Directed by Yasuhiro Kawamura
Released September 1, 2012 (2012-09-01)
Runtime 120 minutes

Himitsu no Akko-chan (ひみつのアッコちゃん The Secrets of Akko-chan[1]) is a popular pioneering magical girl manga and anime[2] that ran in Japan during the 1960s.

The manga was drawn and written by Fujio Akatsuka, and was published in Ribon from 1962 to 1965. It predates the Mahōtsukai Sunny (whose name became Sally in the Mahōtsukai Sally anime) manga, printed in 1966. However, that title is the first magical girl anime as Himitsu no Akko-chan was not broadcast until 1969.

The original anime ran for 94 episodes from 1969 to 1970. It was animated by Toei Animation and broadcast by TV Asahi (then known as NET). It has been remade twice, in 1988 (61 episodes, featuring Mitsuko Horie in the role of Akko-chan and singing the opening and ending themes) and in 1998 (44 episodes). Four movies were produced. "Circus Da Ga Yattekita" in 1969, "Namida no Kaiten Receive" in 1970 and "Himitsu no Akko-chan Movie" and "Umi da! Obake da!! Natsu Matsuri" both were released in 1989. It also adapted into a live action film released in September 1, 2012.[3]

Plot

Atsuko Kagami is a childlike, arrogant elementary school girl who has an affinity for mirrors. One day, her favorite mirror which was given to Akko by her mother (or in some versions, by her father, as a present from India) is broken, and she prefers to bury it in her yard rather than throw it to the trash can. In her dreams, she is contacted by a spirit (or in some cases the Queen of the Mirror Kingdom) who is touched that the little girl would treat the mirror so respectfully and not simply throw it away. Akko-chan is then given the gift of a magical mirror and taught enchantments, "tekumaku mayakon, tekumaku mayakon" and "lamipus lamipus lu lu lu lu lu," that will allow her to transform into anything she wishes.[4]

Heroine's name

Atsuko Kagami is often called Akko-chan for short. 鏡アツ子, from the name 加賀美あつ子 but with the family-name part 加賀美, "Kagami", replaced by 鏡. In Japanese, Kagami means mirror. She is known as "Stilly," "Caroline," or "Julie" in Western versions of the anime.

Cast

1969

1988

1998

2012

Foreign distribution

Largely unknown in the English-speaking world, Himitsu no Akko-chan enjoyed a good deal of success when it was exported to the European market in the 1980s. In fact, all three Akko-chan series have been screened on TV in Italy.

References

  1. ↑ "Toei Animation TV Series". Toei Animation. January 24, 2016. Retrieved June 24, 2016.
  2. ↑ Thompson, Jason (2007). Manga: The Complete Guide. Del Rey. p. 8. ISBN 0345485904.
  3. ↑ "Haruka Ayase Stars in 1st Live-Action Himitsu no Akko-chan Film". Anime News Network. October 4, 2011. Retrieved October 6, 2011.
  4. ↑ "Himitsu no Akko-chan". Fujio Productions. Retrieved 29 May 2014.
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