Sugar Sugar Rune - A sweet story of magic and heart The TV anime series "Sugar Sugar Rune," which aired from 2005 to 2006, is based on the manga of the same name by Moyoco Anno. It is a magical love fantasy that depicts the struggles of two witches, Chocolat and Vanilla, in the human world as they take part in an exam to decide the next queen of the demon world. The series has gained many fans as it is an appealing work that depicts the world of friendship, romance, and magic. ■Overview of the work Sugar Sugar Rune is a 51-episode series that aired on TV Tokyo from July 2, 2005 to June 24, 2006. It is based on the manga by Moyoco Anno that ran in Kodansha's Nakayoshi magazine from 2003 to 2007. It was animated by Studio Pierrot and directed by Yukihiro Matsushita. It was co-produced by TV Tokyo and Marvelous Entertainment, and copyright is shared between Moyoco Anno, Kodansha, Marvelous Entertainment, Pierrot, and TV Tokyo. ■ Story Chocola and Vanilla have come to the human world to take a test to decide who will be the next queen of the demon world. The test involves collecting human "hearts" (crystals of feelings towards oneself). The rule is that whoever collects the most will become queen. Hearts change color depending on emotions, and there are various types such as red, pink, and orange. Each color has a different "Ecru (value)," and you can use the Ecru you collect to purchase goods from the demon world. Chocolat and Vanilla transfer to a school in the human world and struggle to collect hearts. However, Chocolat, who was popular in the demon world, struggles in the human world where values are different. Meanwhile, Vanilla, who was shy and unpopular in the demon world, is popular in the human world. Furthermore, Chocolat falls in love with a mysterious beautiful boy named Pierre. Witches only have one heart, and if it is stolen, they lose their soul forever, so the main focus of the story is whether Chocolat can protect her heart and how the Queen's Exam will turn out. ■Explanation "Sugar Sugar Rune" is a magical love fantasy by Moyoco Anno, set in a test to decide the Queen of the Demon World. It depicts two witches, Chocolat and Vanilla, competing for the heart of a man. The story is full of highlights, including the outcome of their friendship and romance, as well as the cute worldview that only witches can create. In 2005, it won the 29th Kodansha Manga Award in the Children's category, and was also made into an anime. ■Cast The voice actors for the main characters are as follows: - Chocolat Meilleur (Kato Chocolat) - Marika Matsumoto
- Vanilla-Mu (Aisu Vanilla) - Juri Ibata
- Pierre - Hiroki Konishi
- Rockin' Robin - Kenjiro Tsuda
- Woo - Ryohei Kimura
- Sole - Naoya Iwahashi
- Duke - Yuichi Yasoda
- Blanka - Chisa Yokoyama
■ Main staff The main staff are as follows: - Original story: Moyoco Anno (serialized in Kodansha's "Monthly Nakayoshi")
- Director - Yukihiro Matsushita
- Series Composition - Reiko Yoshida
- Character design - Noriko Otake
- Guest character design - Sayuri Sugito
- Makai Art Concept - Shinji Aramaki
- Prop design - Koichi Ohata, Seiji Uda
- Art director: Mio Isshiki
- Color design - Iwami Mika
- Director of photography - Yuko Orikasa
- Edited by Masahiro Matsumura
- Sound Director - Takuya Hiramitsu
- Music: Yasufumi Fukuda, Yasuharu Konishi, Yutaka Minobe, Tomoko Sasaki
- Sound Production - Jinnan Studio
- Producers: Noriko Kobayashi, Yoshiro Kataoka, Ken Hagino
- Animation production: studio Pierrot
- Produced by: TV Tokyo, Marvelous Entertainment
■ Main Characters The details of the main characters are as follows: - Chocolat Meilleur (Kato Chocolat)
A strong-willed and cheerful girl. She is the daughter of the legendary witch Cinnamon, and a candidate to become the next Queen of the Demon World. She was very popular in the Demon World, but is struggling in the human world where values are different. She is popular with girls. Her hobbies are playing frog catching and spider man, and her catchphrase is "I'll blow them away!". - Vanilla Mew (Aisu Vanilla)
A shy and kind girl. She is the daughter of the current Queen of the Demon World, Candy, and is a candidate for the next Queen, just like Chocolat. She was not popular in the Demon World, but she is very popular in the human world and is steadily collecting hearts. She has a surprisingly steady personality. Her hobby is making sweets. - He is a popular, beautiful boy at Moeka Academy, where Pierre Chocolat and her friends transfer. He is the student council president of the middle school division and the captain of the tennis and fencing clubs. He is surrounded by a group of beautiful girls called the Members. He can only eat cold food. He is interested in Chocolat and is always bothering her.
- Rockin' Robin Chocola and Vanilla's instructor and guardian in the human world. Although he can be narcissistic, he is actually a great magician. He is a popular rock star in the human world. His special skill is making women stop crying.
- A childhood friend of Chocolat from the demon world of Woo . She is always with her twin sister Sol. She loves Chocolat and travels with her when she comes to the demon world without permission. She later comes to the human world and attends the same school as Chocolat and her friends. She has a kind personality.
- He is Chocolat's childhood friend in the Soul Demon World. He is always with his twin sister Wu. Like Wu, he loves Chocolat very much. He later comes to the human world and attends the same school as Chocolat and her friends. He has a boyish, mischievous personality.
- Duke Chocolat's familiar frog. It has red and black stripes. It investigates human behavior for Chocolat and gives her advice on how to be popular. However, it's not very useful. Sometimes it helps Chocolat with her magic.
- Blanka is Vanilla's familiar mouse. Not just a mouse, but a house mouse. For some reason, he is always saying mean things to Chocolat. He loves Vanilla and is surprisingly good at giving her advice on collecting hearts. He also helps Vanilla with her magic.
■ Main robot items The main terms and spells that appear in the work are as follows: Terminology- Heart: A crystal in the heart that changes color depending on emotions. Humans create many hearts, but wizards can only have one in their lifetime. Hearts picked up in the "Heart Summoning Spell" are converted into Ecru in the Demon World and used as energy or money. Professor Robin explains the meaning of each heart.
- A unit of money and energy used in the Ekuru Demon World. The value of an Ekuru changes depending on the color of its heart.
- Noir: A black heart made from the darkness of jealousy. If it dwells in your heart, it will eat away at your soul. Hatred and evil in your heart nourish Noir.
- Ogle is a group of wizards who are enemies of the kingdom, led by the Dark Prince Glas. Some of them have human forms, but most of them have been transformed into strange forms. They live behind the palace, which is filled with the kingdom's misfortunes.
- A wizard who can purify Philtre Noir. Most wizards die or become Ogres when they touch Noir, but Philtre is the only one who can turn it into a pure white heart. It seems that the white heart has a special power...?
- A palace in the demon world of Pare . It is the residence of Queen Candy, and also houses a corridor and a meeting place for the senate.
- The Chocolate Cauldron is an entrance to the human world in the Demon Realm. It is boiling like magma, but the contents are chocolate.
- The Moon Door is a door that connects the human world and the demon world. The black part of the moon is the passage.
- Ville Violet is a purple town in the demon world. It is the main street of the demon world, with a theater, library, and more.
- Cocoa Desert A desert on the edge of the demon world where cocoa crystals rain down. A mysterious place where pieces of ecru are mixed in with the sand and rocks.
- Forgotten Passage A constantly shifting passageway that connects the demon world and the human world. It is unstable, and once you enter it, you may not be able to leave.
Spells- Aglandisman [Creates a barrier when taking a heart]
A magic spell that creates a barrier when picking up a human heart. - Chocolat Fate [Chocolate Party]
Strawberry, milk, bitter, banana... a sweet magic that makes your favorite chocolate rain down all at once. - Larm-Grell [Hail of Tears]
A magic spell that draws out the saddest thing for that person from their heart. - Fleur Spiral [Flower Spiral]
You can make your favorite flowers bloom in the space. - Sanctification [Conquer]
A magic spell to collect Noir. - Brie-Etoile [Shining Star]
A magic that can illuminate and make shine what you want to shine. - Efficious voice
A magic spell that allows you to whisper your favorite words in the ear of the person you are casting it on, in an effective voice. It can make the other person's heart flutter. - Etoile Eclair [Starlight]
A magic spell that can produce lightning bolts. - Jarzy Aiguille [Needle of Jealousy]
A spell that stirs up jealousy and causes suffering. It makes your heart ache as if it were being stabbed with a black needle. - Ruban-Durreul [Ribbon of Pain]
A spell that restrains the opponent with ribbons containing spice needles. The more they resist, the more tingling pain they feel. - Fille-Epee [Leaf Sword]
A magic spell that allows you to cut up anything you want with a leaf-shaped sword. - Fujy-Ecum [Bubble Gun]
A magic spell that attacks the opponent with a large amount of bubbles. - Amelioration [Improve]
You can split one house into two or improve it however you like. - Perpetuel Air [Immortal Wings]
A magic spell that allows you to fly anywhere, anytime, and can be used by attaching an indigo stone to the stick. - Mule de Lierre [Ivy Wall]
A magic spell that creates a sturdy wall with ivy. Use it when you want to protect something. - Butt [Purpose]
A magic that brings together things that are scattered. - Filtre [Purification]
Magic that weakens and purifies evil. - Renaissance = Fou = D'Artifis [Fireworks of Rebirth]
A magic spell that awakens things or people that have stopped in time.
■Subtitle The subtitles for each episode are as follows: - Rune 1/Chocolate and Heart Shooting Star (2005/07/02)
- Rune 2/Love Battle between Frog and Mouse (2005/07/09)
- Rune 3 / Interview with the Newspaper Club (2005/07/16)
- Rune 4 / Magic Lips Premonition of Love (2005/07/23)
- Rune 5: An Exciting and Suspenseful Home Visit (2005/07/30)
- Rune 6 / Aim for the Heart! Fencing of Love (2005/08/06)
- Rune 7: Disqualified as the Chocolate Queen Candidate!? (2005/08/13)
- Rune 8: A Ladylike Vacation Date (2005/08/20)
- Rune 9: What the Green Heart Gave Me (2005/08/27)
- Rune 10: Learn from Robin! Love Love Strategy (2005/09/03)
- Rune 11: More important than love!? The magic of friendship (2005/09/10)
- Rune 12 / Chocolat becomes a cat (2005/09/17)
- Rune 13: Shine Heart! Queen Candidate Exam (2005/09/24)
- Rune 14 / Wizard Transfer Student Wu and Sol (2005/10/01)
- Rune 15: Upside-down Macarons Cause Chaos!? (2005/10/08)
- Rune 16: Chocolat Becomes an Idol! (2005/10/15)
- Rune 17: Grandpa Attacks! Love Dance Showdown (2005/10/22)
- Rune 18: Super Scary! Halloween Test of Courage!? (2005/10/29)
- Rune 19 / Familiar Blanka's Little Love (2005/11/05)
- Rune 20 / Chocolat in Trouble? A Cute Witch Aspires (2005/11/12)
- Rune 21 / Magical Teacup Feels Like a Dream (2005/11/19)
- Rune 22: Chocolat & Vanilla Love Triangle? (2005/11/26)
- Rune 23 / Run! Friendship Relay (2005/12/03)
- Rune 24: Bye-bye, Heart Hair Ornament (2005/12/10)
- Rune 25 / Pierre's Secret, the Secret of the Notebook (2005/12/17)
- Rune 26 / Heart in Love at Christmas (2005/12/24)
- Rune 27: Small Heart, Bright Red Heart (2006/01/07)
- Rune 28: Danger! Aquarium Date (2006/01/14)
- Rune 29 - The Genesis of the Demon World, The Secret of Oguru (2006/01/21)
- Rune 30 / Ogle declares war! Heart Factory in dire straits (2006/01/28)
- Rune 31: The Troublesome Witch Waffle Appears! (2006/02/04)
- Rune 32 / Chocolat, the feelings put into chocolate (2006/02/11)
- Rune 33: Hearts of Friendship, Precious Feelings (2006/02/18)
- Rune 34 / Chocolat, Vanilla and the Dream Star (2006/02/25)
- Rune 35 / Waffle becomes a queen (2006/03/04)
- Rune 36: Stop the old man! Grandma's (secret) plan (2006/03/11)
- Rune 37 - Black Heart and Ogle's Trap (2006/03/18)
- Rune 38: Pierre's Temptation, Friendship Torn Apart (2006/03/25)
- Rune 39 / Birth of the Queen of Ogle (2006/04/01)
- Rune 40 / Black Needle of Jealousy (2006/04/08)
- Rune 41: Confronting Vanilla! The Secret Spice (2006/04/15)
- Rune 42: Chocolat and Pierre's Adventure (2006/04/22)
- Rune 43 / Invitation to Walpurgis Night (2006/04/29)
- Rune 44 / Message from Mama (2006/05/06)
- Rune 45 - Pierre's Tactics, Vanilla's Heart (2006/05/13)
- Rune 46 / Amber, the Witch of the Cocoa Desert (2006/05/20)
- Rune 47: Frozen Memories, Pierre's Past (2006/05/27)
- Rune 48 / Noir and Tears of Friendship (2006/06/03)
- Rune 49 / Queen's Final Exam Begins (2006/06/10)
- Rune 50 / A Challenge from the Unicorn, a Test of the Mind (2006/06/17)
- Rune 51 / Shining Heart: Next Queen Decided (2006/06/24)
■ Theme songs and music The theme songs and insert songs are as follows: - OP1
・Chocolat ni Muchuu ・Lyrics by Moyoco Anno ・Music by Yasuharu Konishi ・Arrangement by Yasuharu Konishi ・Singer by Karia Nomoto - ED1
・The World Beyond the Moon ・Lyrics by Moyoco Anno ・Composition by Yasuharu Konishi ・Arrangement by Yasuharu Konishi ・Singer by Karia Nomoto - ED2
・Date☆Date ・Lyrics by Moyoco Anno ・Music by Yasuharu Konishi ・Arrangement by Yasuharu Konishi ・Singer by Chocolat & Vanilla (Marika Matsumoto, Juri Ibata)
■ Appeal and evaluation of the work "Sugar Sugar Rune" has attracted many fans with its sweet worldview and charming characters. In particular, the portrayal of the friendship and romance between Chocolat and Vanilla deeply touched viewers. In addition, the contrast between the demon world and the human world and the setting of a test to collect hearts were also unique, and were elements that attracted the interest of viewers. The quality of the animation is also high, and Studio Pierrot's careful drawings and color design further enhance the charm of the work. In particular, the scenery of the demon world and the magical scenes are beautifully drawn, making it a visual treat. The music also matches the atmosphere of the work, and the theme song and inserted songs add excitement to the story. The voice actors for the characters are also excellent, with Marika Matsumoto as Chocolat and Juri Ibata as Vanilla, who really bring out the personalities of their characters, and Daiki Konishi as Pierre, who perfectly portrays the image of a cold, beautiful boy. ■ Recommendation points "Sugar Sugar Rune" can be recommended for the following reasons: - The contrast between the demon world and the human world, and the magical world view are fascinating. In particular, the setting with a chocolate and sweets motif gives the viewer a sweet feeling.
- The charm of the characters The friendship and love between Chocolat and Vanilla is depicted in depth, moving the viewers. In addition, the supporting characters such as Pierre and Rockin' Robin are also unique and attractive.
- Beautiful animation
Studio Pierrot's careful drawings and color schemes add to the charm of the work, especially the landscapes of the demon world and the magical scenes. - A moving story . Chocolat and Vanilla grow as they take part in a heart-gathering test. The story of their friendship and love is touching and deeply moving to viewers.
- The appeal of the music The theme song and insert songs match the atmosphere of the work and liven up the story. In particular, Karia Nomoto's singing voice enhances the appeal of the work.
■ Related Products The following related products are available for "Sugar Sugar Rune": - The original manga by Moyoco Anno was serialized in Kodansha's Nakayoshi magazine. A book version is also available, so you can learn more about the story.
- DVD/Blu-ray
The anime series is available on DVD and Blu-ray, with all 51 episodes available to watch, and includes bonus footage and booklets. - Soundtracks containing music from the works have been released, allowing you to enjoy theme songs and insert songs.
- Character Goods Character goods for Chocolat, Vanilla, and other characters are also available, including figurines, key chains, straps, and more.
■ Summary "Sugar Sugar Rune" has attracted many fans with its sweet worldview and charming characters. The portrayal of friendship and romance between Chocolat and Vanilla, as well as the beautiful animation and music, enhance the appeal of the work. The viewers are deeply moved by the sight of the two characters growing through the heart-collecting test. There are also many related products, allowing you to enjoy the world of the work even more. Please give it a watch. |