Figure 17

is a Japanese anime television series animated by OLM, Inc. and directed by Naohito Takahashi. The series features character designs by Yuriko Chiba and music by Toshihiko Takamizawa (of The Alfee), and ran a monthly one-hour time slot per episode rather than the standard weekly half hour time slot.

Figure 17 follows Tsubasa Shiina, a young girl who discovers a crashed alien spacecraft piloted by an injured alien known as D.D. who had been transporting the seeds of monsters known as Maguars. After these events, Tsubasa along with her newly formed clone Hikaru Shiina and D.D. join forces to fight the remaining Maguars now present on planet Earth. Episodes of Figure 17 also frequently observe the school lives of the titular characters Tsubasa and Hikaru, exploring their developing bond as well as themes involving coming of age and emotional connection.

Plot

Tsubasa Shiina is a timid grade schooler who is forced to move to Hokkaido from Tokyo with her father, as he pursues his dream of being a baker in the aftermath of her mother's death. At her new school, she is very shy and unsociable with her classmates ignoring her at best, and abusing her inability to defend herself at worst.

One night shortly after the Tsubasa and her father begin to settle in their new home, an alien spaceship comes crashing down to earth in the forest behind their house. Stumbling across the ship with her dog, Tsubasa discovers the alien pilot, unconscious and wounded, as well as a monster attempting to kill him. The alien awakes and attempts to fight off the monster, while Tsubasa, in her fright, tries to hide from the monster inside of the ship. The monster quickly overtakes the alien, seemingly killing him and in the process releasing him from some sort of transformation, before attempting to reach Tsubasa within the ship. In its effort, the monster accidentally cracks a mysterious container open, causing the mostly-liquid contents to leak onto the floor next to Tsubasa. After the liquid makes contact with Tsubasa, it converges onto her as a strange substance, which then transforms her into what appears to be the teenage female equivalent of the form that the alien had transformed into while fighting the monster. With the aid of this mysterious power, Tsubasa is able to defeat the monster, although somewhat accidentally.

Once the battle is over, Tsubasa reverts back to her normal form, though the strange substance turns into an visually identical copy of herself upon separation. The alien awakens, and together, all three return to Tsubasa's house to stay the night in her room. The next day, the alien introduces himself as D.D. and explains that he was transporting the seeds of a monster called a "Maguar", however one of the seeds had hatched and attacked him, forcing his ship to crash land on Earth. The copy of Tsubasa, who claims the name of Hikaru, is revealed as a type of combat suit known as a Figure which has for some reason assumed its current form and retained all of Tsubasa's memories. The Maguar which Tsubasa had defeated was only one of the six Maguars D.D. had been transporting, as the rest are now scattered unknowingly throughout Hokkaidō. As Earth's atmosphere has enhanced both Hikaru and the Maguars, and one of the original Maguars is later revealed to have laid eggs, it becomes clear that D.D. must have the girls help to carry out the secret eradication of the Maguar infestation.

To resolve the issue of Hikaru's sudden presence, D.D., disguising himself as a visiting photographer friend, modifies the memories of Tsubasa's father, which makes him believe that he had twin daughters all along, and that Hikaru was simply living elsewhere with an aunt, and so Tsubasa and Hikaru begin living together in Tsubasa's house, go to school together at Tsubasa's school, and fight together as Figure 17 against the Maguar, growing the emotional bond between the two in the process.

Characters

Main characters

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:A shy and timid 10-year-old girl originally from Tokyo. Her mother died during childbirth, leading Tsubasa to sometimes blame herself for her death. Throughout the series, Tsubasa's self-esteem slowly improves after coming into contact with the artificial being that names herself Hikaru.
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:A , or a techno-organic being that fuses with its user to become a , an advanced battle armor. When she first comes into contact with Tsubasa, they combine into Figure 17, whose abilities surpass those of other Figures. Instead of reverting into her dormant state, the Ribers becomes a clone of Tsubasa and calls herself Hikaru. In contrast to Tsubasa, Hikaru is more lively and outgoing.
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:A galactic police officer originally on his way to his home planet with six eggs when one of them suddenly hatches during warp, forcing him to crash on Earth. He is given the name D.D. by Hikaru, as it is the closest way to pronounce his native name. While staying in Hokkaido, D.D. uses the pseudonym Daisuke Domoto and poses as a landscape photographer.
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:A galactic police officer sent to Earth in response to D.D.'s distress signal. Once Orudina discovers the circumstance, she becomes frustrated that D.D. broke protocol by crashing on Earth and involving Tsubasa with the Maguar threat.

School children

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:A boy in Tsubasa and Hikaru's class. Sho is unable to participate in sports activities due to health reasons, but he is exceptionally talented in music and stage play writing.
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:An antisocial boy in Tsubasa and Hikaru's class. He is often confrontational and hesitates to take his responsibilities seriously.
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:The class representative and a close friend of Tsubasa and Hikaru.
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:A girl who is friends with Tsubasa, Hikaru, and Asuka.
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:A boy who hangs out with Kenta.
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:An arrogant girl who frequently looks down on Tsubasa.
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:A boy from the opposite class who often gets into fights with Kenta and has a crush on Hikaru.

Adults

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:Tsubasa's father. Originally from Tokyo, Hideo moves to Hokkaido with Tsubasa to pursue a career as a baker at the Ibaragi ranch.
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:The homeroom teacher of Tsubasa and Hikaru's class.
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:Owner of the Ibaragi bakery.
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:Shinichi's wife.
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:Shinichi and Kyoko's daughter. As a teenager, Sakura is rebellious towards her parents and has a heated argument with her mother over going to a concert in Sapporo.
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:Shinichi's father and the owner of the Ibaragi ranch, which produces milk and cheese for the bakery.
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:Rokuro's wife.
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:A cultural journalist who investigates the sudden deterioration of Hokkaido's forestry due to Maguar activity.

Episodes

Production notes

''Figure 17'' first aired on TV Tokyo