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is a Japanese shōjo
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 written and illustrated by Suzue Miuchi, serialized in ''
Hana to Yume , also known as , is a semi-monthly Japanese manga magazine published by Hakusensha on the 5th and 20th of every month. The magazine is B5-size, and always comes with or free supplements, such as drama CDs, pencil boards (shitajiki), manga ...
'' from January 1976, and collected in 49
tankōbon A is a standard publishing format for books in Japan, alongside other formats such as ''shinsho'' (17x11 cm paperback books) and ''bunkobon''. Used as a loanword in English, the term specifically refers to a printed collection of a manga that w ...
volumes as of October 2012. The story has also been adapted into
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 ...
and a live-action television series. As of 2006, the collected volumes had sold 50 million copies in Japan, making it the second best-selling shōjo manga ever. After not publishing a new chapter of the story for more than two years, Miuchi re-launched ''Glass Mask'' in
Hakusensha is a Japanese publishing company. It is headquartered in Chiyoda, Tokyo. The company mainly publishes manga magazines and is involved in series' productions in their games, original video animation, music, and their animated TV series. The com ...
's ''
Bessatsu Hana to Yume , also known as , was a Japanese manga magazine published by Hakusensha from 1977 to 2018. It was a sister magazine to . History was launched in July 1977 as a sister magazine to . After 41 years, it ceased publication with the release of it ...
'' magazine in July 2008. Miuchi announced in 2009 that she intended to end the series "soon", however, it is currently on an extended hiatus, with the latest chapter released in October 2012.


Plot

''Glass Mask'' is a saga depicting the devotion of Maya Kitajima to the performing arts as a professional stage actress, and her competition with her skilled rival, Ayumi Himekawa. They are both pursuing the degree of acting proficiency and career success required to play the lead role of the legendary stage play "The Crimson Goddess" ("Kurenai Tennyo"). Maya is not particularly beautiful or smart in school, but her passion for acting is all-consuming, to the point where she literally puts her own life on the line several times for the sake of a role. Always told by her mother that she was good for nothing, Maya wants to prove to the world and to herself that she has worth. On the other hand, everyone expects the gifted and multi-talented Ayumi to succeed, so she is determined to reach the top on her own without the help of her prestigious parents. As the story unfolds it encompasses the tangled human relationships of many characters, including Maya's mentor, Chigusa Tsukikage, who discovered Maya's tremendous talent for acting during her search for a successor capable of performing the role of "The Crimson Goddess", and Masumi Hayami, the young president of Daito, who often interacts with Maya as a crafty and cold-hearted entrepreneur, while giving her faithful support and warm encouragement in the disguise of an anonymous fan ("The Purple Rose Person", or "murasaki no bara no hito" as Maya calls him for his trademark gift of purple roses). Hajime Onodera, a director for Daito, wants the rights to "Kurenai Tennyo", which were given to Tsukikage by the playwright; since Tsukikage refuses to sell him the rights, Onodera tries to drive Tsukikage's acting school out of business through a series of nefarious schemes. Since Onodera is working for Hayami, Maya (unaware that Hayami is "The Purple Rose") hates him. Though there is an age difference of eleven years, Masumi falls in love with Maya and gives her encouragement in subtle ways.


Characters

*. A talented young actress (a 13-year-old at the beginning of the story) who originally worked as a waitress in a Chinese restaurant alongside her mother. Her father died when she was a little girl and her mother, Haru (''Louise'' in the French anime localization), who is mentally unstable, considers Maya useless due to Maya's tendency to be sidetracked by anything to do with acting while in the middle of working. She is discovered by the former diva Chigusa Tsukikage and starts a promising, yet thorny acting career under the older woman's wing. Her mother discourages her daughter from an acting career, believing that her daughter would be a laughingstock. She even refused to attend a school play Maya was in because Maya's role was that of a pitiful and wretched minor character. So Maya gave the role more depth and sadness to a character who was originally meant to be portrayed as laughable and pathetic. Later on, Maya is given the opportunity to make a living as an actress. Tsukikage cuts off Maya's ties with her mother, making the decision of becoming an actress. However, Maya is consistently given encouragement through an anonymous fan who sends her a bouquet of purple roses which is none other than Hayami Masumi, whom Maya shows an immense hatred towards, especially since he took malicious enjoyment in bringing down Tsukikage's acting school. A few years later, Haru dies of
tuberculosis Tuberculosis (TB), also known colloquially as the "white death", or historically as consumption, is a contagious disease usually caused by ''Mycobacterium tuberculosis'' (MTB) bacteria. Tuberculosis generally affects the lungs, but it can al ...
and blindness, traumatizing Maya for many weeks. :Maya's talent for acting comes from both her natural skill and emotional personality, unlike Ayumi whose skills are more technically driven; in fact, Maya practically 'becomes' her characters when she plays, so brutal her training methods are and so intensely she performs. During the beginning of her training sessions, Maya has always displayed unconventional performances of the assigned tasks, such as laying on the floor to "sit on" a toppled chair. People often note how unremarkable Maya is until she takes the stage. In fact, the prodigy actress Ayumi comments that Maya knows how to captivate the audience, even though she isn't aware of doing so. Despite having enormous potential and raw talent, Maya often doesn't recognize her abilities. She thinks of herself as unremarkable and "useless", as her mother constantly referred to her as, though she is compelled to pursue a career in acting because "acting is all she has". She also harbors moments of inferiority in comparison to Ayumi, who is beautiful, talented, and rich. Despite all this, Maya doesn't harbor any malice or ill will toward Ayumi, though Ayumi is secretly competitive toward Maya. Maya has three nicknames. One is "The Stage Storm," referring to her innate ability to drown out other actors' importance in a play even while in a bit part. Tsukikage refers to Maya as "the girl with a thousand masks" in tribute to her versatility whenever taking on character roles. And she is addressed as by Masumi Hayami, a
diminutive A diminutive is a word obtained by modifying a root word to convey a slighter degree of its root meaning, either to convey the smallness of the object or quality named, or to convey a sense of intimacy or endearment, and sometimes to belittle s ...
nickname he's given to her due to their broad disparity in age and height, to satirize her naivete, and eventually out of true affection. * Maya's biggest rival, the honor-bound and noble Ayumi was born as the daughter of a very famous actress, Utako Himekawa (once the student of Tsukikage) and a successful director and producer, Mitsugu Himekawa, and has been touted as a prodigy from an early age. Ever since learning she got her first acting role just because of her family links, Ayumi has striven to shine on her own and never falls into arrogance. Ayumi becomes aware of Maya's prodigious gift for acting when they first meet in a practice session; from then on she views the younger girl as a life-rival. She is ambitious enough to try to surpass her own mother, who is a widely recognized actress. People have jokingly told Utako that her daughter will steal the role of the Crimson Goddess from her. Even though Ayumi is young, she believes that she will re-vitalize the renowned role. Thus, she takes it upon herself to get as much experience as she can by trying out for any roles, including minor ones. At first, when Ayumi took on the role of Tom in
The Prince and the Pauper ''The Prince and the Pauper'' is a novel by American author Mark Twain. It was first published in 1881 in Canada, before its 1882 publication in the United States. The novel represents Twain's first attempt at historical fiction. The plot conce ...
, the children in attendance didn't like the performance because they were used to seeing Ayumi as a beautiful young woman rather than a dirty and homely boy. Yet Ayumi soon draws the children's favor by begging for "money" in a hat, to which the children offer her their candy. The people behind the stage were surprised that Ayumi would do such a thing, particularly since Ayumi generally would have thought such things beneath her. Her passion to become the Crimson Goddess is undeniable, however, as she continually strives for perfection to attain the role. Even though critics generally favour her over Maya, Ayumi is upset at being unable to reach the sort of emotional peaks Maya does when she performs. * Maya's mentor and a former street urchin. She once was a very talented and beloved actress, most notable for her role at the legendary play whose performance was so acclaimed that its author left the rights over it solely to her in his will, but she got horribly scarred in an onstage accident (a lamp lighter hit her and burned half her face off) and had to leave the acting scene, opening an acting school instead. She has very weak health and is hospitalized several times during the story. Yet she is a woman of unstoppable will, refusing to give the rights of "The Crimson Goddess" to Masumi Hayami and his father, as according to her, currently there is not an actress suitable for the main role. After finding potential in Maya, she takes her under her wing despite her mother's objections and strives to shape her into the best actress ever, so she can contest with Ayumi for the leading role in "The Crimson Goddess". Tsukikage understands that an actress's face is her most important feature, and she covers Maya when Maya's incensed mother tries to throw a kettle in her daughter's face. * An abused stepson of the president of the . His real father died by accidentally falling off a building when he was 2 years old. He is brutally attempting to obtain the performance rights for "The Crimson Goddess" from Chigusa, efforts which ultimately led to her acting school burned. When he sees Maya act as Beth in "
Little Women ''Little Women'' is a coming-of-age novel written by American novelist Louisa May Alcott, originally published in two volumes, in 1868 and 1869. The story follows the lives of the four March sisters— Meg, Jo, Beth, and Amy—and details th ...
" despite a high fever, he is impressed with her strong will and devotion to her acting dreams. He secretly sends her purple roses and financial support as encouragement (thus Maya refers to her anonymous fan as "The Purple Roses Man"; her friends call him '' Daddy Long-Legs''), but acts mocking, cynical and even cruel in front of her to conceal his anonymous identity. Originally a normal, happy child, his cold exterior grew from the death of his mother, Aya, when he was a child, and his bad relationship with his stepfather Eisuke, who murdered the Crimson Goddess' author. As the manga proceeds, he becomes more and more infatuated with Maya and finally falls deeply in love with her. He doesn't reveal either his alternate identity or his true feelings for many reasons, one of which is the belief that Maya hates him since he indirectly caused her mother's death.


Anime

There have been several anime adaptations since the manga began its serialization. The first adaptation was a 22-episode TV series produced by Eiken in 1984 which was directed by
Gisaburō Sugii is a Japanese anime director and Nihonga artist. He is best known for his work as director of the '' Touch'' series, the movie adaptation of the '' Arashi no Yoru ni'' children's book series, and the movie '' Night on the Galactic Railroad''. ...
with animation contributions from
Shingo Araki was a Japanese animation artist and character designer. Career He developed an interest for drawing at age five. He graduated in Aichi Prefecture. In 1955, at age sixteen, he debuted as a cartoonist in the "Machi" magazine. He then joined Mushi ...
and Michi Himeno (for the opening) and character designs by Makoto Kuniyasu. The main voice cast featured Masako Katsuki as Maya Kitajima, Taeko Nakanishi as Chigusa Tsukikage,
Minori Matsushima was a Japanese actress, voice actress and narrator that worked for Aoni Production. She was most known for the roles of Candice White Adley (''Candy Candy''), Hiyoko Isu ('' The Song of Tentomushi''), Alexandria Meat (''Kinnikuman''), Sayaka ...
as Ayumi Himekawa and
Nachi Nozawa was a Japanese actor, voice actor, narrator and theatre director from Tokyo. He was affiliated with Office PAC at the time of his death. His real name was . Nozawa was the official dub-over artist of Al Pacino and Alain Delon, and also dubbed th ...
(and later
Katsuji Mori is a Japanese actor, Voice acting in Japan, voice actor and narrator from Tokyo. He is most known for the roles of Go Mifune (''Mach GoGoGo''), Joe Shimamura/009 (''Cyborg 009'' 960s, Ken the Eagle (''Science Ninja Team Gatchaman''), Jouji Mi ...
from episode 19 onwards) as Masumi Hayami. The opening and ending theme, and was performed by Mariko Ashibe. This adaptation was broadcast by
Nippon TV JOAX-DTV (channel 4), branded as (NTV) or Nippon TV, is a Japanese television station serving the Kantō region as the flagship station of the Nippon News Network and the Nippon Television Network System, owned and operated by the , a sub ...
. A three episode OVA, titled as , was the remake of the first 3 arcs of the manga series. The OVA was released by
TMS Entertainment , formerly known as the is a Japanese animation studio owned by Sega Corporation. TMS is one of the oldest and most renowned animation studios in Japan, known for its numerous anime franchises such as '' Detective Conan'', '' Lupin the Third ...
in 1998. The voice cast from the 1984 series was not used and instead featured
Megumi Ogata is a Japanese actress and singer from the Greater Tokyo Area. As a singer, she goes by the name em:óu. She is best known for voicing Shinji Ikari in '' Neon Genesis Evangelion'', Yugi Mutou and Dark Yugi in the Toei version of ''Yu-Gi-Oh ...
as Maya Kitajima,
Keiko Toda is a Japanese actress, singer and narrator. Her most famous role is the voice of the children's hero Anpanman on the long running anime ''Soreike! Anpanman''. She was also the voice of Thomas the Tank Engine in the Japanese dub of ''Thomas & F ...
as Chigusa Tsukikage,
Naoko Matsui is a Japanese voice actress and narrator from Hakodate, Hokkaido. Matsui was a member of Production Baobab for 20 years before becoming a freelancer. Matsui is most notable for the roles of Uru Chie in '' High School! Kimengumi'', Rem Ayano ...
as Ayumi Himekawa and
Jūrōta Kosugi is a Japanese voice actor. His major roles include Arlong in ''One Piece'', Asuma Sarutobi in ''Naruto'', Akio Ohtori in ''Revolutionary Girl Utena'', Isamu Kenmochi in ''Kindaichi Case Files'', Big Zenki in '' Zenki,'' and Jotaro Kujo in '' ...
as Masumi Hayami. The OVA was directed by
Tsuneo Kobayashi was a Japanese 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. Howe ...
with scripts written by Nobuaki Kishima, Tomoko Konparu and Yoshiyuki Suga as well as animation character designs by Satoshi Hirayama and Masako Gouto. In 2005, TMS Entertainment, the company who produced the OVA began a TV series which was directed by Mamoru Hamatsu with series composition done by Toshimichi Saeki, animation character designs by Satoshi Hirayama and music composed by Tamiya Terashima. This adaptation was broadcast by
TV Tokyo JOTX-DTV (channel 7), branded as is a Japanese television station that serves as the flagship of the TX Network. and there were 2 opening themes, ''Promise'' which was performed by Candy for episodes 1-26 and ''zero'' by Aiko Ikuta for episodes 27–51. There were 4 ending themes which were for episodes 1-13 by Aina, ''Step One'' by Sister Q for episodes 14–24, by Splash Candy for episodes 27-39 and ''Hello Hello'' by Core of Soul for episodes 40–51. Like the other adaptations, the voice cast was not reused and Maya Kitajima was voiced by
Sanae Kobayashi is a Japanese voice actress formerly affiliated with Production Baobab, and now with Sigma Seven. She has voiced in a number of anime shows and films. Some of her major roles are Allen Walker in '' D.Gray-man'', Miyuki Tanokura in '' Kaze no ...
, Chigusa Tsukikage by
Toshiko Fujita was a Japanese actress, singer and narrator. She was affiliated with Aoni Production at the time of her death. Biography At the age of eight, Fujita worked in radio and television as an actress, singer and comedian. She also sang theme son ...
,
Akiko Yajima is a Japanese voice actress from Kashiwazaki, Niigata. Her best-known role is as the title character Shinnosuke Nohara in the long-running anime series '' Crayon Shin-chan''. She also voices Mipple in the original '' Futari wa Pretty Cure' ...
as Ayumi Himekawa and Masumi Hayami was voiced by
Toshiyuki Morikawa is a Japanese voice actor, narrator and singer who is the head of Axlone, a voice acting company he founded in April 2011. His name is sometimes, although incorrectly, transliterated as Tomoyuki Morikawa. In 2003, he and Fumihiko Tachiki formed ...
. The original voice actor for Maya Kitajima in the 1984 adaptation returned to voice Ayumi's mother, Utako Himekawa. The 2005 adaptation was licensed in North America by Sentai Filmworks, and distributed by
Section23 Films SXION 23 LLC, doing business as Section23 Films, is an American multimedia distributor based in Houston, Texas specializing in releasing anime and Japanese films. Established in 2009, Section23 is one of five successors to ADV Films; alongside ...
. The first half of the season was released on DVD, on January 19, 2010; however, the second half of the season has been cancelled reportedly due to low sales. In 2013, a 17-episode short
flash Flash, flashes, or FLASH may refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media Fictional aliases * The Flash, several DC Comics superheroes with super speed: ** Flash (Jay Garrick) ** Barry Allen ** Wally West, the first Kid Flash and third adult Flash ...
series was launched by DLE. The series reimagined Maya and Ayumi as a pair of rival delinquent girls vying to become the new leader of the Crimson Goddess gang. In 2016, a 13-episode parody version, which "re-imagines the manga and its characters in a school gag comedy focused on satirizing modern society", and with the title , was broadcast on Tokyo MX starting on October 3. A film based on the anime titled, , premiered on July 22, 2017 as a "VR film" where the characters were projected onto a stage using live
holographic Holography is a technique that allows a wavefront to be recorded and later reconstructed. It is best known as a method of generating three-dimensional images, and has a wide range of other uses, including data storage, microscopy, and interfe ...
technology.


Film

In 2013, an animated film dubbed ''It’s Glass Mask But... the Movie: Female Spy’s Love! The Purple Rose Has a Dangerous Scent!?'' was released. Like the flash series, the film was a parody which reimagined Maya and Ayumi as a pair of students who become junior spies after their mentor, Chigusa, is kidnapped.


Live-action

A live-action version adapted the first 38 volumes of the series in 1997, and continued in 1998 as "Garasu no Kamen 2." Both productions starred
Yumi Adachi is a Japanese actress and singer. Personal life Adachi married comedian Jun Itoda of the comedy duo "Speed Wagon" in September 2005, they later welcomed their first child, a daughter, in May of the following year. The two announced their di ...
as Maya Kitajima.


Cast

*
Yumi Adachi is a Japanese actress and singer. Personal life Adachi married comedian Jun Itoda of the comedy duo "Speed Wagon" in September 2005, they later welcomed their first child, a daughter, in May of the following year. The two announced their di ...
as Maya Kitajima * Seiichi Tanabe as Masumi Hayami *
Megumi Matsumoto is a Japanese voice actress who works for Ken Production. She is known as the voice of Kouya Marino in '' Crush Gear Turbo''. Selected filmography Television animation *'' 009-1'' – Tony *'' Beyblade G-Revolution'' – (Ep. 9) *'' Cardfigh ...
(Aimi Nakamura in the special) as Ayumi Himekawa * Kenji Kohashi as Yū Sakurakōji * Kazuko Katō as Utako Himekawa * Kenta Satoi as Hajime Onodera * Kyōko Togawa as Saeko Mizuki * Naomasa Musaka as Genzō Kobayashi * Kaya Saeki as Shiori Takamiya * Hinako Saeki as Suzuko Tashiro (Norie Otobe) * Mariko Fuji as Haru Kitajima * Yōko Nogiwa as Chigusa Tsukikage Season 2 *
Yasutaka Tsutsui is a Japanese novelist, science fiction author, and actor. His ''Yumenokizaka bunkiten'' won the Tanizaki Prize in 1987. He has also won the 1981 Izumi Kyoka award, the 1989 Kawabata Yasunari award, and the 1992 Nihon SF Taisho Award. Writin ...
as Eisuke Hayami * Yūichi Haba as Ryūzō Kuronuma * Gamon Kaai as Takuya Kazama


Spinoff - The Crimson Goddess

The play within Glass Mask, the Crimson Goddess, will be adapted in 2020 as a "creative opera".


References


External links


''Glass Mask'' 1984 anime at Eiken

''Glass Mask: The Young Girl Who Hold The Thousand Masks'' at TMS Entertainment

Official TV Tokyo ''Glass Mask'' 2005 anime site

''Glass Mask'' 2005 anime at TMS Entertainment

ANN Review of 2005 anime eps.1-26

ANN review of Sub DVD Collection 1
* {{Authority control 1984 Japanese television series endings 2006 Japanese television series endings Anime series based on manga Eiken (studio) Hakusensha franchises Hakusensha manga Japanese television dramas based on manga Maiden Japan Nippon Television original programming Sentai Filmworks Shōjo manga Theatre in anime and manga TMS Entertainment TV Tokyo original programming