is a multimedia franchise beginning with a

Japanese television drama , also called or J-drama, are television programs that are a staple of Television in Japan, Japanese television and are broadcast daily. Format All major Television networks, TV networks in Japan produce a variety of Drama (genre), drama serie ...

series created and produced by International Television Films, a division of the film company

Toho is a Japanese entertainment company that primarily engages in producing and distributing films and exhibiting stage plays. It is headquartered in Chiyoda, Tokyo, and is one of the core companies of the Osaka-based Hankyu Hanshin Toho Group. ...

. Directed by Ōtsuki Yoshikazu and written by Mamoru Sasaki, it stars Japanese singer and actor Yumiko Kokonoe in its lead role as Comet, a mischievous girl from the Beta Star sent to Earth after causing mischief who must learn responsibility while using her magical powers to solve her problems. The series aired on TBS from July 3, 1967, to September 24, 1979. A short associated

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 and illustrated by

Mitsuteru Yokoyama was a Japanese manga artist. Considered to be one of the greatest and most influential figures in the history of manga and anime, his works have had a significant impact in the creation and establishment of many genres. These include: mecha (''T ...

was released from June 10, 1967, to November 11, 1967. A second series, created 10 years after the original, is aired on the same network from June 12, 1978, to September 24, 1979, while an anime remake based on aspects from both live action series is produced by

Nippon Animation is a Japanese animation studio. The company is headquartered in Tokyo, with its headquarters in their Tama, Tokyo, Tama City studio and an administrative office in the Ginza district of Chūō, Tokyo, Chūō. Nippon Animation is known for prod ...

and aired on

TV Osaka JOBH-DTV (channel 7), branded as , is a Japanese television station serving as the affiliate of the TX Network for the Osaka prefecture. Owned-and-operated by , the station's headquarters and studios are in the Chūō-ku, Osaka, Chūō-ku ward of ...

and

TV Tokyo JOTX-DTV (channel 7), branded as is a Japanese television station that serves as the flagship of the TX Network.magical girl is a Genre#Subgenre, subgenre of primarily Japanese fantasy media (including anime, manga, light novels, and live-action media) centered on young girls who possess magical abilities, which they typically use through an ideal alter ego into wh ...

series produced in Japan, while the first series is the first live-action series released in color.

Plot

Yumiko Kokonoe series

Far away in the deep reaches of space lies the Beta Star on where magical human-like people live. Comet is one of those people who is a student in a school in the Beta Star. But one day, she made an accident in the school, causing the principal to get angry at her and banish her to Earth in hopes it can teach her to be responsible for her actions. In Earth, she made her residence with both the Kawagoe and Ishihara families as she uses her magic to solve some problems with a little guidance.

Kumiko Ohba series

Comet is a student living in the Virgo Star System, in which she embarked on a studies trip in hopes for her to graduate. Her assignment for her studies is to "search for the most beautiful things on the planet she chose to settle on." She stayed with the Sawano family as a house maid she forms a bond with them while she uses her magic baton to solve her problems.

2001 series

Deep within the universe lies the Triangle Nebula, a star cluster ruled by three monarchs of the Harmonica Star country, the Castanet Star country and the Tambourine Star country and either two of the three kingdom's union could unite the Triangle Nebula into a new star. The story revolves Comet, a twelve-year-old princess and heir of the Harmonica Star country. However, one day when the prince of the Tambourine Star country is reported to be missing, Comet, alongside her assistant Rubabou, are tasked to be sent to Earth in hopes for her to find the missing prince with her only clue being "He will be known by the twinkling in his eyes." She made her residence with the Fujiyoshi Family after they took her in and became a babysitter and friend to twins Tsuyoshi and Nene. Using her magic skills, Comet uses it to solve her problems as she navigates herself in Earth, while Princess Meteor, the heiress of the Castanet Star country learns of Comet's orders to find the prince, arrives on Earth planning to marry the prince before Comet gets the chance. The series is set in

Kamakura, Kanagawa , officially , is a Cities of Japan, city of Kanagawa Prefecture in Japan. It is located in the Kanto region on the island of Honshu. The city has an estimated population of 172,929 (1 September 2020) and a population density of 4,359 people per k ...

Japan Japan is an island country in East Asia. Located in the Pacific Ocean off the northeast coast of the Asia, Asian mainland, it is bordered on the west by the Sea of Japan and extends from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north to the East China Sea ...

Media

TV drama

The original live-action drama series, widely known by fans as , was produced by International Television Films with A Production animating some of its animated segments done by Tsutomu Shibayama and Yoshio Kabashima. It was first broadcast by

Tokyo Broadcasting System (formerly ) is a Japanese media and licensed broadcasting holding company. It is the parent company of the television network TBS Television and radio network TBS Radio. It has a 28-affiliate television network called Japan News Network, as ...

(TBS) from July 3, 1967, to December 30, 1968, with a total of 79 episodes. Beginning in Episode 49, it became the first live action series to be aired in color. A second series, known to fans as to differentiate it to the first, was produced 10 years after the original. Directed by Noriaki Yuasa and Yoshiharu Tomita, it stars Kumiko Ohba as the titular character, while the story is vastly different from the original series. It aired on Tokyo Broadcasting System from June 12, 1978, to September 24, 1979, with a total of 68 episodes.

Manga

A short manga adaptation of the first series was serialized in

Shueisha is a Japanese publishing company headquartered in Chiyoda, Tokyo, Japan. Shueisha is the largest publishing company in Japan. It was established in 1925 as the entertainment-related publishing division of Japanese publisher Shogakukan. The ...

's monthly ''

Margaret Margaret is a feminine given name, which means "pearl". It is of Latin origin, via Ancient Greek and ultimately from Iranian languages, Old Iranian. It has been an English language, English name since the 11th century, and remained popular thro ...

'' from July to November 1967, illustrated by

, starting slightly before the first drama series.

Anime

An anime series titled was animated by

and

SynergySP is a Japanese animation studio founded on September 24, 1998, as ''Synergy Japan'' which originally split off from Studio Junio (which itself was founded by Toei Animation staff). In 2005, the company became associated with Shogakukan-Shueish ...

, directed by Mamoru Kanbe and written by Akira Okeya, with character designs done by Kazuaki Makida. The series premiered on

and

TV Tokyo JOTX-DTV (channel 7), branded as is a Japanese television station that serves as the flagship of the TX Network.Nayu Nibori performed the first opening theme while Shizuka Nakayama performed the second theme song .

Saeko Chiba is a Japanese voice actress and singer. She grew up in Tokyo and married in 2007. She is contracted to the Space Craft Produce. Biography Chiba took up ballet at a young age with ambitions of becoming part of Takarazuka Revue. However, havi ...

performed the first ending theme while Sayuri Tanaka performed the second ending theme . The music is composed by Moka. For audiences outside Japan, the series was licensed by

Animax , stylized as ANIMAX in all caps, is a Japanese animation satellite television network, dedicated to broadcasting anime programming. Launched on July 1, 1998, Animax is the first 24-hour network in the world dedicated to anime.The Anime Biz' - ...

under the title "Princess Comet". The anime starred Aki Maeda as Comet and

Chieko Honda was a Japanese actress and voice actress. During her life, she was attached to Tokyo Actor's Consumer's Cooperative Society and Mix Max; she was attached to Aoni Production at the time of her death. On 18 February 2013, Honda died of multiple ...

as Meteo. An associated manga by Sayori Abe was serialised on

Shogakukan is a Japanese publisher of comics, magazines, light novels, dictionaries, literature, non-fiction, home media, and other media in Japan. Shogakukan founded Shueisha, which also founded Hakusensha. These are three separate companies, but ...

's educational magazines and a Korean game was made by Sonokong. An officially authorised, fan-operated

internet radio Internet radio, also known as online radio, web radio, net radio, streaming radio, e-radio and IP radio, is a digital audio service transmitted via the Internet. Broadcasting on the Internet is usually referred to as webcasting since it is not ...

, "Hoshi no Ko Internet Radio", aired during the period of broadcast.

Episode list

References

External links

Official TV Osaka Anime website

TOHO's Official website
* {{Nippon Animation 2001 anime television series debuts Japanese drama television series Japanese television series with live action and animation Magical girl anime and manga Mitsuteru Yokoyama Nippon Animation