Kamichu!

Infobox animanga/Header
name = Kamichu!


caption = Cover of the first Japanese DVD
ja_name = かみちゅ！～かみさまでちゅうがくせい～
ja_name_trans = Kami-chu! ~Kamisama de Chugakusei~
genre = Magical GirlInfobox animanga/Anime
title =
director = Koji Masunari
studio = Brain's Base
licensor = flagicon|USA flagicon|Canada Geneon
network = flagicon|Japan Animax, TV Asahi
network_other = flagicon|KOR flagicon|Philippines Animax
flagicon|Romania flagicon|Hungary A+
first = 28 June 2005
last = 27 September 2005
episodes = 16 [12 tv, 4 dvd only] Infobox animanga/Manga
title =
author = Hanaharu Naruko
publisher = MediaWorks
demographic = Shōnen
magazine = Dengeki Daioh
first = June 2005
last = January 2007
volumes = 2

nihongo|"Kamichu!: Teenage Goddess"|かみちゅ!～かみさまでちゅうがくせい～|Kami-chu! ~Kamisama de Chugakusei~|lit. "A Deity as a Middle School Student" is a Japanese anime television series, strongly influenced by the Shinto religion, that follows the adventures of teenage goddess Yurie Hitotsubashi and her friends. The series was created by nihongo|Besame Mucho|ベサメムーチョ|Besamemūcho, which is the joint pen name of Tomonori Ochiai, Koji Masunari, and Hideyuki Kurata. It was broadcast by the anime television network Animax on its respective networks worldwide, including Japan, East Asia, South Asia, Southeast Asia, where it received its first English-language broadcast.

The series was adapted as a manga serialized in "Dengeki Daioh", a shōnen manga magazine, and collected in two tankōbon volumes.

At the 2005 Japan Media Arts Festival, "Kamichu!" received an Excellence Prize for animation.cite web | title=Award-winning Works | year=2005 | url = http://plaza.bunka.go.jp/english/festival/2005/animation/000461/index.php | work=Japan Media Arts Plaza | accessdate=January 8 | accessyear=2007]

On July 3, 2008, Geneon Entertainment and Funimation Entertainment announced an agreement to distribute select titles in North America. While Geneon Entertainment will still retain the license, Funimation Entertainment will assume exclusive rights to the manufacturing, marketing, sales and distribution of select titles. "Kamichu!" was one of several titles involved in the deal.cite press release|url= http://www.animenewsnetwork.com/press-release/2008-07-03/funimation-entertainment-and-geneon-entertainment-sign-exclusive-distribution-agreement-for-north-america |title=FUNimation Entertainment and Geneon Entertainment Sign Exclusive Distribution Agreement for North America|publisher=Anime News Network|date=2008-07-03|accessdate=2008-07-22]

tory

Yurie is a petite, shy, and otherwise ordinary middle-school girl who suddenly discovers that, overnight, she has become a nihongo|kami|神, a god in the Shinto sense. She has no idea what kind of god she is or what her powers are. Her friends give her the nickname "kamichu" from "kami" (god) and "chūgakusei" (middle school student). In her journey she meets many gods and learns the ways of the gods in order to become a great god herself. During the course of the series, Yurie grows more in being a better god, but she also grows as a person.

"Kamichu!" is set in the city of Onomichi in Hiroshima prefecture, on the shores of Japan's Inland Sea. Many of the temples and landmarks shown in the anime are real places in and around the city, faithfully depicted. It is set in the Spring of 1983 to Spring of 1984.Episode 14 contains a scene in which Yurie is reading a newspaper with date printed as January 1st, 1984.]

Main characters

;nihongo|Yurie Hitotsubashi|一橋 ゆりえ|Hitotsubashi Yurie:anime voices|MAKO |Megan Harvey :Yurie is the protagonist of the series. In the first episode, she tells her best friend Mitsue that overnight she has become a goddess. It is not explained how she becomes one throughout the entire series. She is remarkably naive and simple-minded but always has the best intentions. She has had a crush on Kenji Ninomiya for a long time, and gets very nervous and red-faced around him.

;nihongo|Matsuri Saegusa|三枝 祀|Saegusa Matsuri:anime voices|Rika Morinaga |Stephanie Sheh :Matsuri is the person in charge of the Raifuku Shrine in Onomichi. She runs the shrine with her sister, Miko, and is always thinking of schemes to earn money for or bring more visitors to the shrine- usually by exploiting Yurie. Unlike Miko, she cannot see spirits without the charms that Yurie usually writes (thought it is stated in the manga by Miko that she too could once see spirits). Her name means "worship".

;nihongo|Mitsue Shijo|四条 光恵|Shijō Mitsue:anime voices|Kaori Mine|Erika Weinstein:Mitsue is Yurie's best friend. She's very down-to-earth, and serves as the "straight man" for her friends, but wishes that her life were more exciting. Yurie often goes to her for advice and although her advice is simple, and usually is just common sense, she is always right. She is usually possessed by Yashima when he needs to communicate with people or when he wants to play the guitar.

;nihongo|Miko Saegusa|三枝 みこ|Saegusa Miko:anime voices|Ai Nonaka |Rachel Hirschfeld :Miko is Matsuri's shy younger sister. She does the cooking in the house, and is very polite and respectful to everyone. She helps out in the shrine and has the ability to see spirits. She has a crush on Yashima. Her name, Miko, is also the term for a Shinto shrine attendant.

;nihongo|Kenji Ninomiya|二宮 健児|Ninomiya Kenji:anime voices|Issei Miyazaki |Johnny Yong Bosch :Kenji is the president and only member of his school's calligraphy club. He is quite aloof and a bit slow on the uptake. He loves his brushes, and he often does calligraphy for the Raifuku shrine. He only does calligraphy when he is 'inspired', yet it takes him a while to realize that most of his sources of inspiration revolve around Yurie.

;nihongo|Yashima-sama|八島様|Yashima-sama:anime voices|Kousuke Okano |Yuri Lowenthal :Yashima is the local god of the Raifuku shrine. He wishes to be a rock star, resulting in him often possessing Mitsue in order to rock out (who is totally against this). He is also often seen with an Akita Inu that talks. He seems to be close friends with Miko Saegusa, but it is implied that he is more interested in Matsuri.

;Shoukichi Hitotsubashi:anime voices|Makoto Tsumura|J.D. Stone: Shoukichi is Yurie's younger brother, who like Miko attends the same school as his older sister, one grade below. Often he acts more mature than his sister, and he often teases her, but he does love her. He has a crush on Miko, and acts differently and blushes whenever he's around her.

;Bin-chan: A poverty god Yurie takes in after he saves Tama's life. He shares Tama's body.

;Tama: Yurie's pet cat. After she began to share her body with Bin-chan, she exhibits a number of human traits which make Shoukichi suspicious.

;Ino, Shika, Chou:The three tiny spirits that the God Association sends as Yurie's assistants. Their names are puns, as they were given by Yurie for unrelated reasons but correspond to the animals that they resemble. Chou is a butterfly, Ino is a boar and Shika is a deer. "Ino-Shika-Chou" is a winning hand in Hanafuda.

Production staff

Reception and awards

The anime received an Excellence Prize at the 2005 Japan Media Arts Festival.

Media

Anime episodes

There are sixteen episodes in the anime series. Twelve episodes were broadcasted on TV Asahi in 720p, omitting episodes 8, 11, 13, and 16. The DVD release included all sixteen episodes.cite web | year=2005 | title=Kamichu! (TV) | url=http://www.animenewsnetwork.com/encyclopedia/anime.php?id=5356 | work= [http://www.animenewsnetwork.com/ Anime News Network] | accessdate=January 8 | accessyear=2007]

The titles of several episodes are from Japanese pop songs from the 1980s and 1990s.cite web | title=Kamichu! (TV) | url=http://www.animenewsnetwork.com/encyclopedia/anime.php?id=5356&page=22 | work= [http://www.animenewsnetwork.com/ Anime News Network] | accessdate=2007-10-09]

Music

Opening Theme:
*nihongo|"Fair Weather Followed by Fair Weather"|晴れのちハレ!|Hare Nochi Hare!:Lyrics by: Bee':Composition and arrangement by: Junpei Fujita:Song by: Maho Tomita

Closing Theme:
*nihongo|"Ice Candy"|アイスキャンディー|Aisu Kyandī:Lyrics by: Bee':Composition and arrangement by: Noriyasu Agematsu:Song by: MAKO

CDs
3 "Kamichu!" CD's have been released:

# アイスキャンディー Maxi - 2005-08-24 [ [http://www.amazon.co.jp/exec/obidos/ASIN/B000A4KR8Q/] , Amazon.co.jp, retrieved on 2007-10-19]
# 晴れのちハレ! Maxi - 2005-08-24 [ [http://www.amazon.co.jp/exec/obidos/ASIN/B000A4KR8G/] , Amazon.co.jp, retrieved on 2007-10-19]
# Kamichu OST - 2005-10-26 [ [http://www.amazon.co.jp/exec/obidos/ASIN/B000BD0WHW/ OST] Amazon.co.jp, retrieved on 2007-10-19]

Manga

"Kamichu!" was adapted as a manga serialized by MediaWorks in "Dengeki Daioh", a shōnen manga magazine, and collected in two tankōbon volumes.web cite | url=http://www.animenewsnetwork.com/encyclopedia/manga.php?id=5929 | title=Kamichu! (manga) | publisher=Anime News Network | accessdate=2008-02-22]

ee also

*Arahitogami: More information on human being as a God(dess) in Shinto religion.

References

External links

* [http://www.sonymusic.co.jp/Animation/kamichu/ Official "Kamichu!" website] by Sony Music ja icon
* [http://www.kamichudvd.com/ Official "Kamichu!" website] en icon
* [http://www.style.fm/as/13_special/mini_050802.shtml Interview with Hideyuki Kurata and Koji Masunari] ja icon - about the anime "Kamichu!"
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