"Magical Angel Creamy Mami" Review: The charm of 80s anime and its influence on the present

Creamy Mami, the Magic Angel: A monumental 80s magical girl anime

"Creamy Mami, the Magic Angel," which aired from 1983 to 1984, was the first magical girl anime series produced by Studio Pierrot, and is one of the most memorable works for anime fans of the 80s. This work went beyond the traditional framework of a magical girl anime, offering a new perspective by depicting the protagonist's emotional growth and daily life. In addition, Takako Ota, who was cast as the voice actress for the protagonist, was also a real-life idol, which attracted attention as a new attempt to mix fiction and reality.

story

One day, Morisawa Yu, an ordinary girl, is given a magic wand by a fairy she helps, which allows her to transform from 10-year-old Yu to 17-year-old Yu. While walking around in her transformed form, she is scouted and makes her debut in the entertainment industry! She becomes instantly famous as "Creamy Mami," but if anyone finds out that she is Mami, she will no longer be able to use her magic. Yu spends her busy days as both Yu and Mami, trying not to be noticed by anyone.

Commentary

"Creamy Mami, the Magic Angel" is the first in Studio Pierrot's magical girl series, and was produced as Pierrot's first original TV anime series. Like previous magical girl anime, it is based on a comedy, but the drama's emphasis on the emotional fluctuations of the impressionable protagonist and her everyday life gives it a fresh feel never seen before. The voice actress for the protagonist is new idol singer Ota Takako, who also sang the theme song. The groundbreaking new strategy of skillfully crossing over the fictional idol Creamy Mami with real-life idol Ota Takako attracted a lot of attention.

cast

・Yu Morisawa/Takako Ota・Creamy Mami/Takako Ota・Toshio Otomo/Yutaka Mizushima・Megumi Ayase/Saeko Shimazu・Shingo Tachibana/Kazuhiko Inoue・Tetsuo Morisawa/Akira Murayama・Natsume Morisawa/Mika Doi・Nega/Kentaro Kimotsuki・Positive/Yuko Mita・Midori Kisaragi/Masahiro Anzai・Manager Kidokoro/Sukekiyo Kameyama

Main Staff

・Planning: Yuji Nunokawa ・Producers: Toru Horikoshi (Nippon Television Network), Minoru Ohno (Yomiuri Advertising Agency), Yoshitaki Suzuki (Studio Pierrot)
・General Director: Osamu Kobayashi (Asiado)
・Original concept and composition / Kazunori Ito・Screenplay / Kazunori Ito, Mitsuru Shimada, Hiroshi Toda, Shigeru Yanagawa, Tokio Tsuchiya, Shusuke Kaneko, Hiroshi Konishigawa, Tomoko Kawasaki, Keiko Maruo・Storyboard / Direction / Osamu Kobayashi, Ryo Tachiba, Tomomitsu Mochizuki, Naoto Hashimoto, Takaya Mizutani, Takashi Ano, Harumi Tamano, Shigeru Omachi, Tomokazu Mukougo・Storyboard / Susuke Takahashi, Yuzo Aoki, Shinichi Ishida, Masami Anno・Direction / Goryo Ichikawa, Mitsuru Hongo・Character design / Akemi Takada・Chief animation directors / Hideo Kawachi, Shinya Takahashi, Akemi Takada, Noboru Furuse, Shojuro Yamauchi, Masako Goto, Takeshi Osaka, Asami Endo, Shinnosuke Kon, Junzo Chiba, and others・Art director / Shichiro Kobayashi・Director of photography / Akio Wakana・Key animation / Toshiyasu Okada, Toshiaki Kawabata Hiroshi, Noriko Yazawa, Takemi Tanemoto, Masahiro Neriki, Toshiya Niitome, Ichizo Kobayashi, Susuke Takahashi, Yoshiteru Kobayashi, Junzo Chiba, Hiromitsu Kaneshima, Noriko Shimura, Tamaki Shimizu, and others. Editing: Seiji Morita, Junko Kono. Production: Kuniko Tsufuku. Music: Koji Umano. Sound Director: Fusanobu Fujiyama. Sound Effects: Junichi Sasaki (anime sound).
・Song selection/Osamu Nakamura ・Adjustment/Tadami Ito ・Background/Kobayashi Production ・Animation photography/Studio Gallop ・Editing room/Morita Editing room ・Sound production/Zack Promotion ・Sound recording studio/Shinsaka ・Development/Tokyo Development Lab ・Production/Studio Pierrot ・Music production/Nippon Television Music, Tokuma Japan

Main Characters

・Yu Morisawa
A normal 10-year-old girl who has a crush on her childhood friend Toshio. She receives a magic wand from a fairy in the magical world, which gives her the ability to use magic for one year. With the power of magic, she transforms into Creamy Mami and becomes an idol singer.
Creamy Mami Yu is a 17-year-old girl who has been transformed by magical powers. She is scouted by an entertainment company while walking down the street, which leads to her debut as an idol.
・Toshio Otomo
A cheerful and energetic childhood friend of Yuu, she is a big fan of Mami. Although she is very curious, she is insensitive to girls' feelings and is completely unaware of Yuu's feelings.
A fairy from Nega Feather Star (the magical world), he is Yu's guardian. On Earth, he is dressed as a tomcat. He has a lazy and sarcastic personality.
・A fairy from Posifeather Star (the magical world), she is Yu's guardian. On land, she looks like a female cat. She has an optimistic and reliable personality.

subtitle

・Episode 1: Feather Star's Boat ・Episode 2: A Star is Born!
・Episode 3: Debut! Debut!!
・Episode 4/Scramble Top Ten ・Episode 5/Dangerous!? Mami's Secret!
・Episode 6: The Legendary Stag ・Episode 7: A Bouquet for the Boss!
Episode 8: The Miracle Duet of the Beach Episode 9: The Summer Fairy Episode 10: Hello Catherine Episode 11: My Dad is a Middle-Aged Rider Episode 12: The Studio is Suffering a Blackout!
Episode 13: Mami Beyond the Mirror Episode 14: My Mr. Dream Episode 15: Rainbow Angel Episode 16: Memory Lost in the Sea Episode 17: Forest of Time's Sleep Episode 18: Adventures of Zashiki Warashi Episode 19: Mami's Longest Day Episode 20: A Dangerous Gift!
Episode 21: Cute Love Party Episode 22: Midori and Pupu-Kupu Episode 23: Star Parasol Episode 24: Kuma-Kuma Audition Episode 25: Turbulence! Night of the Music Festival Episode 26: Bye-Bye Miracle Episode 27: To the Feather Star!
Episode 28: The Mysterious Transfer Student Episode 29: Ropeway Panic Episode 30: Dear Grandma Episode 31: Yu's Flashdance Episode 32: A Valentine's Day for Just the Two of Us Episode 33: The Scary Hakushon!
・Episode 34/Snake Joe's Counterattack ・Episode 35/Tachibana-san becomes a woman!?
Episode 36: Galaxy Circus 1984
・Episode 37/Marian's Eyes ・Episode 38/Tokimeki Fan Club ・Episode 39/Jurassic Monster Ojira!
Episode 40: The Kurimigaoka Flour War Episode 41: Beware of Studying Too Much Episode 42: Mom's Memories Stage Episode 43: Run, Yu! Faster than a Turtle Episode 44: SOS! Escape from the Dream Storm Episode 45: The Sad Psychic Boy Episode 46: My Wonderful Pianist Episode 47: Mami's First Kiss Episode 48: Yu and Midori's First Date!
・Episode 49: Infiltration! The Tachibana Family's Treasure ・Episode 50: Mami disappears...
・Episode 51/Toshio! Don't remember ・Episode 52/Final Stage

Theme songs and music

・OP
・Love Me Delicately・Lyrics by Yoshiaki Furuta・Music by Yoshiaki Furuta・Arrangement by Masaaki Omura・Singer by Takako Ota

・ED
・In My Pajamas・Lyrics by Yoshiaki Furuta・Music by Yoshiaki Furuta・Arrangement by Masaaki Omura・Singer by Takako Ota

・ED2
・Lyrics by Tomoko Miura ・Music by Yuichiro Oda ・Arrangement by Masatoshi Nishimura ・Singer by Takako Ota

・IN
・BIN・KAN Rouge ・Lyrics by Yuho Iwasato ・Music by Toshio Kamei ・Arrangement by Masaki Iwamoto ・Singer by Takako Ota

・IN
・Beautiful Shock
Lyrics: Tomoko Aran; Music: Tetsuro Oda; Arrangement: Masatoshi Nishimura; Singer: Takako Ota

・IN
・Whisper me - Je t'aime -
Lyrics: Tomoko Aran; Composition: Tetsuro Oda; Arrangement: Masaki Iwamoto; Singer: Takako Ota

・IN
・GOOD LUCK with a last kiss!
Lyrics by Yoshiaki Furuta, Composition by Yoshiaki Furuta, Arrangement by Koji Makaino, Singer by Saeko Shimazu

・IN
・Yuu no Creamy Mami ・Lyrics by Yoshiaki Furuta ・Music by Yoshiaki Furuta ・Arrangement by Koji Makaino ・Singer by Takako Ota

Evaluation and impact

"Creamy Mami, the Magic Angel" was one of the most highly acclaimed magical girl anime of the 1980s, and its influence remains strong even today. In particular, the setting in which the main character, Morisawa Yu, uses a magic wand to transform into Creamy Mami had a major influence on later magical girl anime. Also, the fact that Ota Takako was not only a voice actress but also an actual idol attracted attention as a new attempt to combine fiction and reality. This crossover strategy gave viewers a fresh surprise and contributed to further increasing the popularity of the work.

Furthermore, this work moved viewers deeply not only through its comedic elements, but also through its depiction of the protagonist's emotional growth and daily life. The series realistically portrays the emotional turmoil of a young impressionable girl, such as the conflict of having to hide her true identity while active in the entertainment industry as Mami, and her unrequited love for her childhood friend Toshio. These elements resonated with viewers and enhanced the appeal of the work.

Recommended points

"Magical Angel Creamy Mami" is a monumental magical girl anime from the 80s, and its appeal has not faded even today. In particular, the following points are recommended:

1. **New Attempts and Crossover Strategy**: Takako Ota's work as both a voice actress and an idol attracted attention as a new attempt to mix fiction and reality. This strategy gave viewers a fresh surprise and contributed to increasing the popularity of the work.

2. **The protagonist's emotional growth and depiction of her daily life**: The portrayal of Yu's emotional growth and daily life left a deep impression on viewers. The emotional fluctuations of a young girl at an impressionable age are depicted realistically, evoking sympathy.

3. **Balance of comedy and drama**: The perfect balance of comedy and drama will keep viewers entertained. You'll enjoy both laughter and emotion.

4. **The appeal of the music**: The theme songs and insert songs sung by Takako Ota are important elements that enhance the atmosphere of the work. In particular, "Delicately Love Me" and "In Pajamas" were popular idol songs in the 80s.

5. **Charm of the characters**: The work is filled with characters with rich personalities, such as Yu, Mami, Toshio, Nega, and Poji. In particular, Yu and Mami's double life and their relationship with Toshio are attractive and draw the viewers in.

summary

"Magical Angel Creamy Mami" is a monumental work of magical girl anime from the 80s, and its influence remains strong even today. Many elements enhance the work's appeal, including new attempts and crossover strategies, the protagonist's emotional growth and portrayal of her daily life, the balance of comedy and drama, the appeal of the music, and the appeal of the characters. This is a work that can be recommended not only to anime fans of the 80s, but also to current anime fans. Please give it a watch.