Esper Mami
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is a
manga are comics or graphic novels originating from Japan. Most manga conform to a style developed in Japan in the late 19th century, and the form has a long history in earlier Japanese art. The term is used in Japan to refer to both comics ...
series created by in 1977 and serialized in '' Shōnen Big Comic''. It tells stories about Mami, a middle schoolgirl who one day finds out she has various psychic powers, and how she uses them to help people. The series was later adapted into an
anime is a Traditional animation, hand-drawn and computer animation, computer-generated animation originating from Japan. Outside Japan and in English, ''anime'' refers specifically to animation produced in Japan. However, , in Japan and in Ja ...
series in 1987 and an anime film in 1988. This series has a similar premise to one of Fujiko F. Fujio's earlier shorts titled '' Akage no Anko'' ("Redheaded Anko"), later retitled ''Anko Ōi ni Okoru'' ("When Anko Really Gets Angry"), which is about Anko Aoyama, a teenage girl who discovers her psychic powers and the dark secret of her mother's lineage of true witches, and who also poses nude for her own father.


Plot

Mami Sakura used to be a normal junior high school student, but she happened to acquire supernatural powers. Using her powers and with the help of her childhood friend, Kazuo Takahata, she solves mysterious occurrences. She then saves people in trouble with her psychic powers, such as telekinesis and telepathy. When she senses someone needs help, she uses the "Teleportation Gun" (a heart-shaped brooch Takahata designs) and transports herself there. Mami's teleportation is only triggered when a projectile is flying toward her, and this locket that shoots out tiny marbles is a portable gadget for teleporting in a controlled way, rather than by chance. Her telekinesis can be precise to a cellular level, which enables her to transport cancerous cells out of one of her father's art critics. Her telepathy allows her to access people's thoughts and dreams.


Character

; (voiced by
Keiko Yokozawa , better known by the stage name , is a Japanese voice actress, actress, and narrator. She is most well known for the roles of Dorami (''Doraemon''), Mami Sakura ('' Esper Mami''), Benio Hanamura ('' Haikara-san ga Tōru''), and Sheeta ('' Cast ...
) :The chief character. A student of Tobita Junior High School in "the Sama hill", in the suburbs of Tokyo. Her powers are awakened by an unexpected coincidence and she uses the power for acts of kindness afterward. She is bright, but careless and rather meddlesome. Mami isn't very good at studying or housework, especially cooking, which becomes a recurring joke throughout the series. Her father is an artist, and Mami usually poses as a nude model for his painting in exchange for more allowances. She was going to reveal her supernatural power to her father, but her friend Kazuo told her that her French ancestors were hunted as witches, and refrains from telling him. She is sometimes called "Mami-kō" by her father (with 公 ''kō'', literally "
duke Duke is a male title either of a monarch ruling over a duchy, or of a member of Royal family, royalty, or nobility. As rulers, dukes are ranked below emperors, kings, grand princes, grand dukes, and above sovereign princes. As royalty or nobi ...
" or " European sovereign prince", being used in a disdainful way). Mami has a red hair. She wears a white shirt with a sailor neckerchief, a light blue scarf, blue skirt, white socks and black shoes. When Mami prepared to fly in the sky every night, she wears a white shirt with short sleeves, blue dress, white socks and black shoes. Mami's main power is
telekinesis Telekinesis () (alternatively called psychokinesis) is a purported psychic ability allowing an individual to influence a physical system without physical interaction. Experiments to prove the existence of telekinesis have historically been cri ...
. She also possesses a
levitation Levitation, Levitate, or Levitating may refer to: Concepts *Levitation (illusion), an illusion where a magician appears to levitate a person or object *Levitation (paranormal), the claimed paranormal phenomenon of levitation, occurring without an ...
ability (she can float not only herself but several objects at the same time),
telepathy Telepathy () is the purported vicarious transmission of information from one person's mind to another's without using any known human sensory channels or physical interaction. The term was first coined in 1882 by the classical scholar Frederic ...
and
teleportation Teleportation is the hypothetical transfer of matter or energy from one point to another without traversing the physical space between them. It is a common subject in science fiction and fantasy literature. Teleportation is often paired with tim ...
, although, she often collides with objects and other people. Takahata created a teleportation gun, so that Mami can control her teleportation. ; (voiced by Hiroyuki Shibamoto) :A student of Tobita Junior High School and Mami's best friend. He originally thought Mami's supernatural powers are his, which upset him greatly when he found the truth but later supports Mami in developing her powers. He is a real genius, helping Mami understand her powers and develop them. Although he really likes amateur baseball, he is awful at it, which make Mami sometimes secretly interfere to help his team. He often comes up with alibis for Mami whenever she gets in trouble with her parents. He has a good understanding of Mami, and often supports her. ; (voiced by
Akari Hibino is a Japanese voice actress best known for her role as the young Tsubasa Oozora in the soccer anime ''Captain Tsubasa''. Other major roles include Konpoco in '' Esper Mami'', Asa in ''Project A-Ko'', and Shinji in ''Sonic Soldier Borgman''. In ' ...
) :A dog which looks more like a
raccoon dog ''Nyctereutes'' (Greek: ''nyx, nykt-'' "night" + ''ereutēs'' "wanderer") is a genus of canid which includes only two extant species, both known as raccoon dogs: the common raccoon dog (''Nyctereutes procyonoides'') and the Japanese raccoon do ...
or
fox Foxes are small-to-medium-sized omnivorous mammals belonging to several genera of the family Canidae. They have a flattened skull; upright, triangular ears; a pointed, slightly upturned snout; and a long, bushy tail ("brush"). Twelve species ...
, and Mami's pet. He loves fried bean curd, and often cries "Fyan Fyan". Mary, the neighbor's dog, likes him. He understands human words and always gets offended if being mistaken for a fox/raccoon dog (a trait shared by another Fujiko F. Fujio character,
Doraemon is a Japanese manga series written and illustrated by Fujiko F. Fujio. First serialized in 1969, the manga's chapters were collected in 45 volumes published by Shogakukan from 1974 to 1996. The story revolves around an earless robotic ...
the robot cat). Originally he hates Kazuo because he often accidentally sing songs about raccoon dogs but later becomes friend when Kazuo saved Mami from a collapsed tunnel. ; (voiced by Hiroshi Masuoka) :Mami's father and a painter. He often holds private exhibitions (but the pictures don't sell very well) and also works as art lecturer in a municipal senior high school. He is a laid back, clumsy person who enjoys pickled radish and smoking pipe. His grandfather married a French painter, whose lineage is believed to be the source of Mami's powers. He made an evacuation of schoolchildren in Yamanashi during the war. Because his father was affiliated with Europe and America, he was often bullied in his youth. He calls his daughter "Mami-kō" (Mami duke). He has a younger brother named Hyakuro, and Ichiro, an older brother in the country. ; (voiced by
Yoshiko Sakakibara is a Japanese actress, voice actress and narrator. Career In 1981, Yoshiko made her voice acting debut as Flore in '' Six God Combination Godmars''. In addition to her voice acting roles, she has worked as a narrator for various news program ...
) :Mami's mother. She works at the foreign desk of Asauri Newspaper. She is a person of high morals. She often scorns Mami over her study and housework. ; (voiced by Yumi Nakatani) :The woman who lives in the same town as the Sakuras. She likes gossip. ; (voiced by
Nozomu Sasaki is a Japanese voice actor and singer. He is represented by the voice actor management firm, Aoni Production, and was previously represented by Arts Vision and 81 Produce. In 1988, he voiced the character Tetsuo Shima in the movie '' Akira'' ...
) :Mami's classmate and a baseball friend of Takahata. He seems to be Yukiko's boyfriend. A person with strong sense of justice, he is a member to the newspaper club, though rather unreliable, but does not yield to threats from delinquents. ; (voiced by Yuriko Fuchizaki) :One of Mami's friends. Her pet name is "Non". She is a very optimistic person. She loves to cook, and often feeds Mami and Takahata. ; (voiced by Hiroko Emori) :One of Mami's friends. Her pet name is "Sacchan". She is the calmest of the group. She seems to be Takenaga's girlfriend. ; (voiced by Yoku Shioya) :The delinquent. Mami's powers first surfaced when his group attacked Takabata. Mami's powers once temporarily shifted to him by accident. ; (voiced by Yoshikazu Hirano) :Mami's classmate. Wears glasses and is a classic music enthusiast. ; (voiced by
Hirotaka Suzuoki was a Japanese actor, voice actor and narrator from Nagoya, Aichi Prefecture, who graduated from Tokyo Keizai University. His best known roles include Bright Noa in ''Mobile Suit Gundam'', Kojirou Hyuga in ''Captain Tsubasa'', Dragon Shiryū ...
) :Director of the movie club at Tobita Junior High School. He planned to do a movie called "Transparent Dracula", featuring a character like Mami, but he wanted a nude scene of the character. ; (voiced by
Nobuo Tobita is a Japanese voice actor and narrator from Ibaraki Prefecture. He is represented by Arts Vision. He is most known for the roles of Kamille Bidan ('' Mobile Suit Zeta Gundam''), Albert Heinrich/004 ('' Cyborg 009'' (2001)), and Sueo Maruo ('' Ch ...
) :Vice Director of the Tobita movie club. He was engaged in film photography when he spotted manipulation had been added to the picture (by Mami). He began to believe that Mami was an esper, and started following her around. His father is a director of a first-class business company. ; (voiced by
Hiromi Tsuru was a Japanese actress and narrator. During her life, she was attached to the Himawari Theatre Group as a child and then to Aoni Production at the time of her death. She was most known for voicing the character of Bulma ('' Dragon Ball'') for ...
) :A childhood friend of Takahata. She calls Takabata "Kazuo" and is called "the wonder" from Takahata. She is in her early twenties, and usually rides a motorcycle. She likes disco and liquor.


Media


Anime

The animated adaptation of the series aired in Japan from April 7, 1987, to October 26, 1989, with 119 episodes and a TV special being broadcast. Four pieces of
theme music Theme music is a musical composition which is often written specifically for radio programming, television shows, video games, or films and is usually played during the title sequence, opening credits, closing credits, and in some instances at ...
were used for it: two opening themes and two ending themes. The first opening theme is by Hashimoto Ushio, which was used for episodes 1–107, and the TV special. The second opening theme is "S・O・S" by Hashimoto Ushio and SHINES, which was used for episodes 108–119. The first ending theme is by Hashimoto Ushio, which was used for episodes 28-107. The second ending theme is by Hashimoto Ushio, which was used for episodes 108–119. Episodes 1-27 did not have an ending theme because they were aired as part of a block of other Fujiko F. Fujio anime, which had its own ending theme for the entire block. One insert song was also featured in episode 30, entitled by Junichiro Oda, and was originally composed as an image song based on the popular 1987
Shōjo manga is an editorial category of Manga, Japanese comics targeting an audience of adolescent girls and young adult women. It is, along with Shōnen manga, manga (targeting adolescent boys), Seinen manga, manga (targeting young adult and adult men ...
series, "Nanairo Magic" by Yū Asagiri. The series was not available on home video in any form until 2003, in which 12 of the 119 episodes were released on 6 VHS cassette tapes、(each tape having two episodes). The "Dancing Dolls in the Starlit Sky"
short film A short film is a film with a low running time. The Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences (AMPAS) defines a short film as "an original motion picture that has a running time of not more than 40 minutes including all credits". Other film o ...
, which had originally premiered in Japanese theaters on March 12, 1988, as a pre-movie bonus before Doraemon: The Record of Nobita's Parallel Visit to the West, was also released on a 2003 VHS cassette tape with the "Pro Golfer Saru" short film. These VHS tapes were marked only for use in rental video shops in Japan, and could not be sold in stores. The complete TV series was first released as individual rental-only DVDs in October 2007, and as retail DVDs for purchase beginning on December 20, 2007. The retail DVDs were released in two box sets, the first of which contained episodes 1-60, and the second containing episodes 61-119 and "My Angel, Mami-chan", the main story from the TV special that originally aired on December 27, 1988. However, due to manufacturing issues, the next episode previews that originally followed each episode were left off of the first box set. In order to make up for their error, the publisher of the DVDs included a mail-in form in which those who bought both box sets could send in proof of purchases for them and receive a "ESPer Mami Special DVD" that contained the next episode previews for all 119 episodes, along with the unaired pilot film for the series, creditless opening and ending theme songs, promotional videos used to promote the series prior to it first premiering, and the animated interstitials for the TV special that were edited out of the main DVDs. Due to the many problems with the two original DVD releases, the animated series was re-released as a single 21-disc "Anniversary DVD Box" on October 29, 2014. This new anniversary set was released with the same material as the two previous 10-disc box sets and the Special DVD, except that the previews for episodes 1-60 were included at the end of each episode, and the space that was used for the previews on the Special 21st disc was replaced with the "Dancing Dolls in the Starlit Sky" animated movie that had not previously been released on DVD. In May 2018, it was announced that the Yahoo! Japan had picked up the rights to stream a new digitally remastered 1080p HD version of the ESPer Mami series on their "GYAO!" online video streaming service. As it is a remaster, this version does not have the faded colors and mis-coloring that had been present on the DVD versions. GYAO! began streaming the remastered series for free on May 22, 2018, with one new episode being added to the service each day, and each episode being available for viewing for 14 days after it first appeared on the website, after which it was removed. The series was also translated and dubbed in various countries.


Television drama

A 12-episode live action
drama Drama is the specific Mode (literature), mode of fiction Mimesis, represented in performance: a Play (theatre), play, opera, mime, ballet, etc., performed in a theatre, or on Radio drama, radio or television.Elam (1980, 98). Considered as a g ...
adaptation aired on
NHK Educational TV , abbreviated on-screen as NHK E, is the second television service of NHK (Japan Broadcasting Corporation). It is a sister service of NHK General TV, showing programs of a more educational, documentaries, cultural, children's or intellectual n ...
from January 5 to March 23, 2002.


See also

* ''
Perman is a Japanese manga series written and illustrated by about a clumsy boy, Mitsuo Suwa, who is chosen to become a powerful superhero to save the world along with other superheroes. The manga series was serialized in ''Weekly Shōnen Su ...
'', a manga about grade school superheroes.


Notes


References


External links

* {{Shin-Ei TV series 1977 manga 1987 anime television series debuts 1988 anime films 1988 films 1989 Japanese television series endings Anime series based on manga Animated films based on manga Fujiko F Fujio Manga adapted into films Fiction about psychic powers Shōnen manga TV Asahi original programming Shin-Ei Animation Shogakukan franchises Shogakukan manga Magical girl anime and manga