Nurse Angel Ririka SOS (ナースエンジェルりりかＳＯＳ) is a Japanese manga series created by music producer and television writer Yasushi Akimoto and manga creator Koi Ikeno. The manga was serialized in Shueisha's shōjo manga magazine Ribon from January 1995 to June 1996, and subsequently collected into four bound volumes published by Shueisha. The story follows Ririka Moriya, an elementary school student who receives the power to transform into the legendary guardian, Nurse Angel. As Nurse Angel, she is the only person capable of protecting the Earth from world-destroying invaders. NAS and TV Tokyo produced a 35-episode anime television series based on the manga. The animation for the series was handled by Studio Gallop. The show aired on TV Tokyo affiliates from July 1995 to March 1996. Additional media produced include novelizations and a theatrical musical that aired in digest form in the show's time slot after its conclusion.

Plot

Ririka Moriya is a bubbly, clumsy 4th grader who has a crush on Nozomu Kanou, a transfer student from England. On her 10th birthday, Nozomu gives her a magical nurse cap, which allows Ririka to transform into the heavenly guardian, Nurse Angel. Nozomu later tells her that his real name is Kanon, and he comes from the planet Queen Earth, which has been overrun by the evil Dark Joker Organization, who has tarnished Nozomu's world through mass pollution. He was sent to find the legendary Nurse Angel, who would save both Earth and Queen Earth from destruction by finding the Flower of Life (命の花 Inochi no Hana). With help from Nozomu and her friend and neighbor Seiya Uzaki, Ririka learns to fight as Nurse Angel to protect her friends.

Characters

Main characters

Ririka Moriya

Seiya Uzaki

Kanon

Secondary Characters

Queen Helena

Karin Mizuhara

Anna Kazami

Miyuki Kuwano

Mimina

Maruru

Dewey

"Inchō" Akasegawa

"Shijin" Nishitokorozawa

"Great" Yamazaki

"Great" Yamazaki ("グレート" 山崎) is the third member of the anime-exclusive inpatient trio. He is a beefy fellow who is often seen with a barbell in one hand and an IV stand in the other. His nickname seems to be inspired by his tough-guy talk, but he is in fact a coward.

Dark Joker

Buros

Keto

Legi

Musical

For three weeks after the anime completed, footage of the Nurse Angel Ririka SOS musical was shown in its timeslot. Actress Kanako Irie (入絵加奈子) stars as Ririka - she also appears in the film Kamikaze Girls. The three episodes are as follows: