Himitsu no Akko-chan (ひみつのアッコちゃん) is an early magical girl manga series 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 Sally anime 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). The movies Himitsu no Akko-chan Movie and 'Umi da! Obake da!! Natsu Matsuri' were both produced and released in 1989. The live-action feature film adaptation was released on September 1, 2012. Directed by Yasuhiro Kawamura, it stars Haruka Ayase, Masaki Okada, Takeshi Kaga, and Teruyuki Kagawa. 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.

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.

Characters

Exclusive to 1969 Anime

Exclusive to 1988 Anime

Exclusive to 1998 Anime

Exclusive to 2012 Movie