Cheeky Angel (天使な小生意気) is a Japanese manga series written and illustrated by Hiroyuki Nishimori. It was serialized in Shogakukan's manga magazine Weekly Shōnen Sunday from June 1999 to August 2003, with its chapters were collected in 20 volumes. The story revolves around the adventures of 15-year-old schoolgirl Megumi Amatsuka, a popular and beautiful tomboy that always get into fights with a secret: she used to be a boy. A 50-episode anime television series adaptation by TMS Entertainment was broadcast on TV Tokyo between April 2002 and March 2003. In 2001, the manga won the 46th Shogakukan Manga Award for the category.

Story

At the age of nine, Megumi is an aggressive boy prone to always fighting. One day he saves a strange man from a gang of other children. In return, Megumi receives a magical book. After accidentally bleeding on the book, a genie named Pierrot appears and offers to grant him a wish. Megumi wishes to become a strong man's man. Pierrot, a trickster, inadvertently turns Megumi into a woman. Megumi, furious, throws the book into the riverbank. Believing the only way to reverse the spell is to retrieve the book, Megumi begins a 6-year-long search.

Characters

Megu-chan Protection Club

Other characters

Media

Manga

Written and illustrated by Hiroyuki Nishimori, Cheeky Angel was serialized in Shogakukan's manga magazine Weekly Shōnen Sunday from June 2, 1999, to August 27, 2003. The individual chapters were compiled and published by Shogakukan in twenty volumes, released between September 18, 1999, and September 18, 2003. The manga was published in English by Viz Media. The twenty volumes were released between July 7, 2004, and January 9, 2008, Viz Media re-published the series digitally between May 12, 2015, and February 23, 2016. In March 2021, Viz Media confirmed that they no longer holds the series' license.

Volumes

Anime

A 50-episode anime television series adaptation, produced by TMS Entertainment and directed by Masaharu Okuwaki, was broadcast on TV Tokyo from April 6, 2002, to March 29, 2003. The series two opening themes are performed by Aiko Kitahara; grand blue (ep. #1–26) and "Sun rise train" (ep. #27–50). The series four ending themes are performed by U-ka Saegusa in dB; "Whenever I think of you" (ep. #1–13), "It's for you" (ep. #14–26), "Tears Go By" (ep. #27–37) and "Secret and Lies" (ep. #38–49), while the last episode featured the series first opening theme grand blue by Aiko Kitahara as ending theme.

Reception

In 2001, the manga won the 46th Shogakukan Manga Award for the Shōnen manga category. Eduward M. Chavez, reviewing the first volume of the manga for Anime on DVD, said that the protagonist, Megumi "entertains and creates situations that are shocking and equally hilarious," praised the supporting case for being "pretty solid" and called the title "entertaining." In a review of volume 3, Chavez praised the character development of Megumi and the characters as a whole. Liann Cooper, in a review of Volume 1 of the manga, called it "quite funny and charming," the artwork ok, and an amusing concept, although he said that "Megumi's situations get old" and hoped that later volumes would have more storyline, saying he only found the manga "mildly entertaining. Cooper later said that he enjoyed volume 2, saying it blew him away artistically, fitting "the bill for being an enjoyable series." Janet Crocker called Volume 1 of the manga enjoyable, saying that while it seemed like Ranma ½, the story is "highly interesting," has fast pacing, a lot of "fight action," the issue of gender identity taken "very seriously," and calls it a "great manga." Holly Ellingwood, who reviews Volume 16 of the anime called it a "very unusual drama" which is "intriguing" and how she is trying to accept herself with the "full knowledge the she is a guy despite her female body," adding that the manga is "distinct story with an equally uniquely stylized art style." J.P. Arevalo describes the anime as having " laugh-out-loud humor" and praised its blend of drama and comedy. B. Zuleika of Fandom says that the series addresses several gender identity questions, like what it means "to be a woman or a man" and how a person decides "who they are inside."