(german: Regenbogenfarbener Papagei) is a manga series created by Osamu Tezuka dealing with the adventures of the eponymous

phantom thief A gentleman thief, gentleman burglar, lady thief, or phantom thief is a stock character in fiction. A gentleman or lady thief is characterised by impeccable manners, charm, courteousness, and the avoidance of physical force or intimidation to ...

. Collected in seven

volumes Volume is a measure of occupied three-dimensional space. It is often quantified numerically using SI derived units (such as the cubic metre and litre) or by various imperial or US customary units (such as the gallon, quart, cubic inch). The defi ...

, it has been published in France by

Asuka Asuka may refer to: People * Asuka (name), a list of people * Asuka (wrestler), professional wrestler * Asuka (wrestler, born 1998), professional wrestler also known as Veny outside of Japan Places In Japan * , an area in Yamato Province (now ...

Plot

Rainbow Parakeet is a genius as an

actor An actor or actress is a person who portrays a character in a performance. The actor performs "in the flesh" in the traditional medium of the theatre or in modern media such as film, radio, and television. The analogous Greek term is (), li ...

, and a thief at the same time. As he is not a full-time , he is usually hired as a replacement. During the performance, he steals from the wealthiest members of the audience or even actors, depriving them of the contents of their purses or their jewelry. True to his alias name "Rainbow Parakeet", he can assume the role of almost any part and change into any costume, and his repertoire is immense. His methods are a mystery, even to the detectives charged with apprehending him: Police Inspector Senri and his daughter, Police Detective Mariko Senri.

Characters

;Rainbow Parakeet A thief who is also a professional mimic (although he called himself a layman in acting), he usually steals from the rich among the audience, causing Detective Senri and her daughter Mariko to pursue him. ;Police Inspector Senri ;Police Detective Mariko Senri Inspector Senri's daughter. While she is passionate about capturing Rainbow Parakeet, she is also in love with him. ;Tamasaburō A dog who is as good at disguising himself as Parakeet. Tamasaburo soon joins Parakeet in his work. ;Chochin Odawara ;Mozuku Tengusa ;Clown Tommy

General remarks

The work was serialized in the '' Weekly Shonen Champion'' and ran from 1981 to 1982. Each typical episode adapted or paid homage to a play from the West, or from the Japanese theater, both traditional and modern. Examples include Ibsen (Episode 3. ''

Doll's House A dollhouse or doll's house is a toy home made in miniature. Since the early 20th century dollhouses have primarily been the domain of children, but their collection and crafting is also a hobby for many adults. English-speakers in North America ...

'') and

Shakespeare William Shakespeare ( 26 April 1564 – 23 April 1616) was an English playwright, poet and actor. He is widely regarded as the greatest writer in the English language and the world's pre-eminent dramatist. He is often called England's natio ...

(Episode 35. The dog Tamasaburō faces the threat of being fed to a lion named Shylock). The work has been adapted into several stage plays. The 2000 adaptation starred

Goro Inagaki is a Japanese musician and actor from Itabashi, Tokyo. Inagaki was a member of the Japanese pop group SMAP. A year after the group's dissolution, Inagaki, alongside his former bandmates Tsuyoshi Kusanagi and Shingo Katori formed the group Atar ...

as Rainbow Parakeet and

Rie Miyazawa is a Japanese actress and former teen idol. She is regarded as one of Japan's top actresses, and her accolades include six Japan Academy Film Prizes and three Kinema Junpo Awards Miyazawa began her career as a child model, seeing wide exposur ...

as Mariko. The 2018 adaptation featured an all-female cast, with as Rainbow Parakeet and

Konoka Matsuda is a Japanese singer, actress, television presenter, and radio personality. She is a member of the girl group Hinatazaka46. Early life Matsuda trained in classical ballet from the age of three until she joined Hiragana Keyakizaka46. She was al ...

as Mariko.

Appearances in other media

Astro Boy (1980 TV series)

Parakeet appeared as detective " Sherlock Homespun" in an episode of the 1980s series, where he was an English

cyborg A cyborg ()—a portmanteau of ''cybernetic'' and ''organism''—is a being with both organic and biomechatronic body parts. The term was coined in 1960 by Manfred Clynes and Nathan S. Kline.

private detective who helps

Astro Boy ''Astro Boy'', known in Japan by its original name , is a Japanese manga series written and illustrated by Osamu Tezuka. It was serialized in Kobunsha's ''Shōnen'' from 1952 to 1968. The 112 chapters were collected into 23 '' tankōbon'' ...

recover an artificial sun created to help exploration in

Pluto Pluto (minor-planet designation: 134340 Pluto) is a dwarf planet in the Kuiper belt, a ring of bodies beyond the orbit of Neptune. It is the ninth-largest and tenth-most-massive known object to directly orbit the Sun. It is the largest ...

Astro Boy (2003 TV series)

Parakeet is featured in several episodes of the 2003 TV incarnation of ''

'' as the terrorist Kato.

References

External links

''Rainbow Parakeet''
in the Tezuka World database * {{Weekly Shōnen Champion Akita Shoten manga Crime in anime and manga Musicals based on anime and manga Osamu Tezuka characters Osamu Tezuka manga Shōnen manga Theatre in anime and manga