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Himitsu no Akko-chan (ひみつのアッコちゃん, lit. "The Secrets of Akko-chan"[1]) is an early magical girlmanga series[2] written and illustrated by Fujio Akatsuka. The story centers around an elementary school girl who is gifted a magic mirror that allows her to transform into anything she chooses, and the misadventures that follow. It was published in Shueisha's monthly Ribon magazine from 1962 to 1965. While Akko-chan predates the Sally the Witch manga, the Sallyanime adaptation predates Akko-chan's.
The first Himitsu no Akko-chan anime adaptation ran for 94 episodes from 1969 to 1970. It was animated by Toei Animation and broadcast by TV Asahi (formerly known as NET). It has been remade twice, in 1988 (61 episodes, featuring Mitsuko Horie in the role of Akko-chan and singing the opening and ending themes) and in 1998 (44 episodes).
Two movies were produced. Himitsu no Akko-chan Movie and Umi da! Obake da!! Natsu Matsuri both released in 1989. It was adapted into a live-action film released on September 1, 2012.[3]
An adaptation of the series ran as a web manga, ひみつのアッコちゃん μ (Himitsu no Akko-Chan μ, pronounced "myu"), written by Hiroshi Izawa, and drawn by Futago Kamikita.[4]
Plot
Atsuko Kagami is a childlike, arrogant elementary school girl who has an affinity for mirrors. One day, her favorite mirror which was given to Akko by her mother (or in some versions, by her father, as a present from India) is broken, and she prefers to bury it in her yard rather than throw it in the trash can.
In her dreams, she is contacted by a spirit (or in some cases the Queen of the Mirror Kingdom) who is touched that the girl would treat the mirror so respectfully and not simply throw it away. Akko-chan is then given the gift of a magical mirror and taught enchantments, "tekumaku mayakon, tekumaku mayakon" and "lamipus lamipus lu lu lu lu lu". that will allow her to transform into anything she wishes.[5]
The titular protagonist. Atsuko Kagami is often called Akko-chan for short. 鏡アツ子, from the name 加賀美あつ子 but with the family-name part 加賀美, "Kagami" ("mirror"), replaced by 鏡.
