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is a 1985 manga
series by Masami Yuki
(best known for his manga and anime series Mobile Police Patlabor). The main character is a young would-be idol singer and high school student, Maron Namikaze, who has superhuman strength. She battles a mecha
organization, Demon Seed, which has been terrorizing Tokyo
. The manga was adapted into a 2 episode anime
OVA
in 1989. The series is a parody of Japanese pop culture.
Three CDs were released: a single on September 20, 1989, an image soundtrack on October 25, 1989, and a concert CD March 5, 1990.
Manga
Manga is the Japanese word for "comics" and consists of comics and print cartoons . In the West, the term "manga" has been appropriated to refer specifically to comics created in Japan, or by Japanese authors, in the Japanese language and conforming to the style developed in Japan in the late 19th...
series by Masami Yuki
Masami Yuki
, real name Shūji Satō , is a manga artist.Yuki graduated from Kutchan High School. He is a member of the artist group known as Headgear...
(best known for his manga and anime series Mobile Police Patlabor). The main character is a young would-be idol singer and high school student, Maron Namikaze, who has superhuman strength. She battles a mecha
Mecha
A mech , is a science fiction term for a large walking bipedal tank or robot, including ones on treads and animal shapes.-Characteristics:...
organization, Demon Seed, which has been terrorizing Tokyo
Tokyo
, ; officially , is one of the 47 prefectures of Japan. Tokyo is the capital of Japan, the center of the Greater Tokyo Area, and the largest metropolitan area of Japan. It is the seat of the Japanese government and the Imperial Palace, and the home of the Japanese Imperial Family...
. The manga was adapted into a 2 episode anime
Anime
is the Japanese abbreviated pronunciation of "animation". The definition sometimes changes depending on the context. In English-speaking countries, the term most commonly refers to Japanese animated cartoons....
OVA
Original video animation
, abbreviated as media , are animated films and series made specially for release in home-video formats. The term originated in relation to Japanese animation...
in 1989. The series is a parody of Japanese pop culture.
Three CDs were released: a single on September 20, 1989, an image soundtrack on October 25, 1989, and a concert CD March 5, 1990.
Plot
In near-future Tokyo, a group called the Demon Seed has been antagonizing the city with its thefts and giant robotic Power Suits. After various failed attempts against the Demon Seed, the Special Operations Anti-Demon Seed Team (five men in a downtown office) begins to look for an idol to pilot a robotic suit against the Demon Seed. A talent show is held, and after a particularly dull line-up of contestants, the extremely strong Maron Namikaze is discovered. She is fitted with a metal costume and sent to take the Demon Seed down, all the while having an idol singer career forced upon her.Characters
- Maron Namikaze: The 13 year-old protagonist. She is very timid and nervous, but has been gifted with immense natural strength. Maron is trained to become a J-Pop idol and becomes popular enough to be entered for the Newcomer's Award in the music awards. For the American DVD release, Maron was claimed to be a high school senior, even in the subtitles.
- Chief Hattori: The leader of the Special Operations team, later Maron's manager and coach. He wrote and submitted the Idol Project plans when he was drunk, and later to his chagrin, it was approved. Hattori was slightly modelled after Masami YukiMasami Yuki, real name Shūji Satō , is a manga artist.Yuki graduated from Kutchan High School. He is a member of the artist group known as Headgear...
's editor at the time. - Dr. Ryouhei Shimokobe: The dwarf-sized researcher whom created Maron's costume. Before he knew the idol was a girl, he created a PatlaborPatlaborPatlabor also known as , is an anime and manga franchise created by Headgear, a group consisting of director Mamoru Oshii, writer Kazunori Itō, mecha designer Yutaka Izubuchi, character designer Akemi Takada, and manga artist Masami Yūki.The popular franchise included a manga, a TV series, two OVA...
-esque robot, which he later gave to the Demon Seed. He is very arrogant and proud of his work, soon becoming disgusted when Maron is converted into a singer instead of a fighter. - Professor Kyozaburo Demon: The leader of the Demon Seed. Very confident with his work, he believes the group can spend as much money as they want, thinking they can get more at any time. However, he runs out of money to fix the Power Suits after Maron's first interference, and takes the Demon Seed into hiding for a few months.
- Kagiri Sonoba: An idol singer known for her provocative costumes. She gets into a one-sided rivalry with Maron after both girls turn out to be competing for the Newcomer's Award.
Trivia
- The two actresses in the vitamin drink parody commercials are "Assemble Insert" voice actresses Hiroko KasaharaHiroko KasaharaHiroko Kasahara is a popular seiyū and J-pop singer.She sang the ending theme song of the PlayStation 2 RPG, Shadow Hearts, titled Ending Theme ~ Shadow Hearts, and the ending theme of the PC and Playstation 2 visual novel Ever17: the Out of Infinity, titled Aqua Stripe- Notable voice roles :*...
(Maron's voice actress) and Maria KawamuraMaria Kawamura, better known by the stage name , is a Japanese voice actress. Kawamura is a freelancer and was a former affiliate of Arts Vision.On November 8, 1991, she married Japanese manga artist Mamoru Nagano, of Five Star Stories fame...
(Kagiri's voice actress).
- In 1989, two live concerts were held in Tokyo and Osaka called "Maron-Chan Concert Ohirome" featuring the vocals of Hiroko Kasahara, Maron's voice actress. The concert was done to promote the anime. A CD recording of the concert was released on March 25, 1990, with a final track featuring fans talking to Kasahara.
- The "Kougaman" anime segment at the beginning of OVA 1 is a parody of sentaiSentaiin Japanese language is a word for a military unit and may be literally translated as "squadron", "task force", "group" or "wing". The terms "regiment" and "flotilla", while sometimes used as translations of Sentai, are also used to refer to larger formations....
(super team) anime. The characters used are from Masami Yuuki's Kyūkyoku Chōjin RKyukyoku Chojin Ris a manga series written and illustrated by Masami Yuuki. It was serialised in Shogakukan's Shōnen Sunday from 1985 to 1987. The series revolved around a teenage robot named R. Ichiro Tanaka. Later, it was revealed that R's creator Dr. Narihara only built R for a failed attempt to take over the...
series, with the character R Tanaka reappearing twice in the rest of the series. In turn, Chief Hattori originally appeared in the first volume of Kyūkyoku Chōjin RKyukyoku Chojin Ris a manga series written and illustrated by Masami Yuuki. It was serialised in Shogakukan's Shōnen Sunday from 1985 to 1987. The series revolved around a teenage robot named R. Ichiro Tanaka. Later, it was revealed that R's creator Dr. Narihara only built R for a failed attempt to take over the...
as a detective who was hunting down R, because of rumours that R was actually a weapon of mass destruction.