Esper Mami

Esper Mami
The cover of the first tankōbon, released in Japan by Shogakukan
エスパー魔美 (Esupā Mami)
Genre	Comedy-drama, Fantasy, Romance
Manga
Written by	Fujiko Fujio
Published by	Shogakukan
Demographic	Shōnen
Magazine	Shōnen Big Comic
Original run	1977 – 1982
Volumes	9
Anime television series
Directed by	Keiichi Hara
Produced by	Junichi Kimura & Yoshiaki Koizumi (TV Asahi) Soichi Besshi & Hitoshi Mogi (Shin-Ei Animation)
Written by	Akira Okeya, Sukehiro Tomita, Ryo Motohira, Keiichi Hara, & Shoei Tsukada
Music by	Kohei Tanaka
Studio	Shin-Ei Animation
Network	TV Asahi (1987-1989)
Original run	April 7, 1987 – October 26, 1989
Episodes	119
Anime film
Esper Mami: Hoshizora no Dancing Doll
Directed by	Keiichi Hara
Produced by	Soichi Besshi, Yoshiaki Koizumi, & Junichi Kimura
Written by	Sukehiro Tomita
Music by	Kohei Tanaka
Studio	Shin-Ei Animation
Released	March 12, 1988
Runtime	41 minutes

Esper Mami (エスパー魔美, Esupā Mami) is a manga series created by Fujiko Fujio in 1977 and serialized in Shōnen Big Comic. It was later adapted into an anime series in 1987 and an anime film in 1988.

Plot

Mami Sakura used to be a normal junior high school student, but she happened to acquire supernatural powers. Using her powers and with the help of her best friend, Mr. Takahata, she solves mysterious occurrences. When she senses someone needs help, she uses the "Teleportation Gun" and transports herself there. She then saves the world in trouble with her psychic powers, such as telekinesis and telepathy.

Character

• Mami Sakura (佐倉 魔美, Sakura Mami) (voiced by Keiko Yokozawa)

The chief character. A student of Tobita Junior High School in "the Sama hill", in the suburbs of Tokyo. Her powers are awakened by an unexpected coincidence and she uses the power for acts of kindness afterward. She is bright, but careless and rather meddlesome. Mami isn't very good at studying or housework, especially cooking, which becomes a recurring joke throughout the series. Her father is an artist, and Mami usually poses as nude model for his painting. She was going to reveal her supernatural power to her father, but her friend Kazuo told her that her French ancestors were hunted as witches, and refrains from telling him. She is sometimes called "Mami duke" by her father. Mami has a red hair. She wears a white shirt with a sailor neckerchief, a light blue scarf, blue skirt, white socks and black shoes. When Mami prepared to fly in the sky every night, she wears a white shirt with short sleeves, blue dress, white socks and black shoes. Mami's main power is telekinesis. She also possesses a levitation ability (she can float not only herself but several objects at the same time), telepathy and teleportation, although, she often collides with objects and other people. Takahata created a teleportation gun, so that Mami can control her teleportation.

• Kazuo Takahata (高畑 和夫, Takahata Kazuo) (voiced by Hiroyuki Shibamoto)

A student of Tobita Junior High School and Mami's best friend. He originally thought Mami's supernatural powers are his, which upset him greatly when he found the truth but later supports Mami in developing her powers. He is a real genius, helping Mami understand her powers and develop them. Although he really likes amateur baseball, he is awful at it, which make Mami sometimes secretly interfere to help his team. He often comes up with alibis for Mami whenever she gets in trouble with her parents. He has a good understanding of Mami, and often supports her.

• Konpoco (コンポコ) (voiced by Akari Hibino)

A dog which looks more like a raccoon dog or fox, and Mami's pet. He loves fried bean curd, and often cries "Fyan Fyan". Mary, the neighbor's dog, likes him. For a while, it seemed that he understood human words. He dislikes being mistaken as a fox/raccoon. Originally he hates Kazuo because he often accidentally sing songs about raccoon dogs but later becomes friend when Kazuo saved Mami from a collapsed tunnel.

• Juro Sakura (佐倉 十朗, Sakura Juurou) (voiced by Hiroshi Masuoka)

Mami's father and a painter. He often holds private exhibitions (but the pictures don't sell very well) and also works as art lecturer in a municipal senior high school. He is a laid back, clumsy person who enjoys pickled radish and smoking pipe. His grandfather married a French painter, whose lineage is believed to be the source of Mami's powers. He made an evacuation of schoolchildren in Yamanashi during the war. Because his father was affiliated with Europe and America, he was often bullied in his youth. He calls his daughter "Mami-kō" (Mami duke). He has a younger brother named Hyakuro, and Ichiro, an older brother in the country.

• Naoko Sakura (佐倉 菜穂子, Sakura Naoko) (voiced by Yoshiko Sakakibara)

Mami's mother. She works at the foreign desk of Asauri Newspaper. She is a person of high morals. She often scorns Mami our her study and housework.

• Hosoya (細矢さん, Hosoya-san) (voiced by Yumi Nakatani)

The woman who lives in the same town as the Sakuras. She likes gossip.

• Satoru Takenaga (竹長 悟, Takenaga Satoru) (voiced by Nozomu Sasaki)

Mami's classmate and a baseball friend of Takahata. He seems to be Yukiko's boyfriend. A person with strong sense of justice, he is a member to the newspaper club, though rather unreliable, but does not yield to threats from delinquents.

• Noriko Momoi (桃井 のり子, Momoi Noriko) (voiced by Yuriko Fuchizaki)

One of Mami's friends. Her pet name is "Non". She is a very optimistic person. She loves to cook, and often feeds Mami and Takahata.

• Yukiko Mamiya (間宮 幸子, Mamiya Yukiko) (voiced by Hiroko Emori)

One of Mami's friends. Her pet name is "Sacchan". She is the calmest of the group. She seems to be Takenaga's girlfriend.

• Tsuyoshi Banno (番野 兆治, Banno Tsuyoshi) (voiced by Yoku Shioya)

The delinquent. Mami's powers first surfaced when his group attacked Takabata. Mami's powers once temporarily shifted to him by accident.

• Takashi Tomiyama (富山 高志, Tomiyama Takashi) (voiced by Yoshikazu Hirano)

Mami's classmate. Wears glasses and is a classic music enthusiast.

• Narihiro Arihara (有原 成宏, Arihara Narihiro) (voiced by Hirotaka Suzuoki)

Director of the movie club at Tobita Junior High School. He planned to do a movie called "Transparent Dracula", featuring a character like Mami, but he wanted a nude scene of the character.

• Shohei Kurosawa (黒沢 庄平, Kurosawa Shouhei)

Vice Director of the Tobita movie club. He was engaged in film photography when he spotted manipulation had been added to the picture (by Mami). He began to believe that Mami was an esper, and started following her around. His father is a director of a first-class business company.

• Taeko Kuroyuki (黒雪 妙子, Kuroyuki Taeko) (voiced by Hiromi Tsuru)

A childhood friend of Takahata. She calls Takabata "Kazuo" and is called "the wonder" from Takahata. She is in her early twenties, and usually rides a motorcycle. She likes disco and liquor.

External links

• Esper Mami (anime) at Anime News Network's encyclopedia