Sally the Witch (é"法使ã„サリー, MahÅtsukai SarÄ«) is the first magical girl genre anime in Japan. This may (even more broadly) be the first shÅjo anime as well.
History and legacy
Sally the Witch was one of the first ongoing anime series produced. The series was originally black and white but later started producing episodes in color.
The first Sally manga series was drawn by Mitsuteru Yokoyama in 1966 and was, according to Yokoyama, inspired by the American sitcom, Bewitched (known in Japan as Oku-sama wa Majo, or The Missus is a Witch). The anime series was produced and aired from 1966 to 1968 in Japan by Toei Animation. Unlike Yokoyama's Tetsujin 28-go, the series never received a U.S. broadcast. It was aired in Italy (Sally la Maga), French-speaking Canada (Minifée), Poland (Sally Czarodziejka â€" based on the Italian version) and South America (Bolivia, Chile, Paraguay, and Peru as La princesa Sally).
A second Sally the Witch anime, also made by Toei, aired for 88 episodes on Japanese TV from 1989 to 1991. It was released in French (Sally la Petite Sorcière), Italian (Un regno magico per Sally), Polish (Sally Czarownica), Spanish (Sally la Brujita) and Russian (Ð'едьма Салли). The 1989 series is a sequel to the original, in which an older Sally returns to the human world, reunites with her old friends, and embarks on a new round of magical adventures.
Notable features this anime established in the mahÅ shÅjo genre:
- The heroine must keep the secret of her magic. If she reveals the secret, she will be punished.
- When heroine uses magic, she needs her magical phrase and an enchanted object like a wand. (Sally's magical phrase is "Mahariku Maharita Yanbarayan," which has as much meaning as "Bibbidi-Bobbidi-Boo" (from Disney's Cinderella.)
- A magical servant follows a heroine in a mundane world.
- Two sub-heroines of tomboy and girly girl are established as the heroine's sidekicks.
These features influence the magical girl genre in today's anime.
Story
Sally is the witch princess of the Magic Kingdom who longs to visit the mortal realm â€" presumably to make friends her own age. One day, Sally teleports to the "mid world" (Earth), where she uses her magic to fend off a couple of burglars menacing two schoolgirls. Immediately befriended by her new acquaintances â€" tomboyish Yoshiko Hanamura (known affectionately as "Yotchan") and girly Sumire Kasugano â€" Sally decides to stay on indefinitely, leading to mischief. As with Samantha Stevens in Bewitched, Sally tries to keep her supernatural abilities secret, assuming the role of a human child.
In the final episode, Sally's grandma informs her she must return to the Magic Kingdom. Before leaving, Sally tries to tell her friends about her origins, but no one will believe her. Then her elementary school catches on fire, and Sally uses her magic to put it out. Her powers thus exposed, Sally's time to leave has finally come. She waves farewell to her friends, and returns to the Magic Kingdom.
The second series ended with the movie/TV special Sally the Witch: Mother's Love is Eternal. In it Sally becomes queen of the Magic Kingdom but worries about leaving her friends behind.
The main strength of Sally the Witch lays in its strong characterizations and detailed continuity. The basic storyline would be incorporated into many later magical girl programs, particularly the concept of a magical princess relocating to the human world (as in MahÅ Tsukai Chappy, 1972, and Majokko Megu-chan, 1974).
Characters
Names are in Western order, with the family name after the given name.
- Sally Yumeno (夢野サリー, Yumeno SarÄ«) â€" the main character of the series. Sally is the daughter of the King, and therefore princess of the Magic Kingdom. Yumeno means "dream field" but is a homophone to "in a dream" in Japanese.
- Yoshiko Hanamura (花æ'よã—å, Hanamura Yoshiko) â€" one of Sally's best friends in the mortal realm. Yoshiko is a tomboy. Sally usually refers to her as "Yotchan."
- Sumire Kasugano (春日野ã™ã¿ã‚Œ, Kasugano Sumire) â€" another of Sally's human friends.
- Kabu (カブ) - Sally's magical, shape-changing assistant. Assuming the form of a five-year-old boy, Kabu poses as Sally's younger brother.
- The Hanamura Triplets: Tonkichi (花æ'トンå‰, Hanamura Tonkichi), Chinpei (花æ'ãƒãƒ³å¹³, Hanamura Chinpei), and Kanta (花æ'カン太, Hanamura Kanta) â€" Yoshiko's kid brothers. Incorrigible boys adept at landing themselves in trouble.
- Poron (ãƒãƒãƒ³) â€" A little witch girl who appears in the later part of series. Saucy, selfish and rather lovable, she frequently casts spells she can't reverse, such as shrinking herself down to mouse-size, then being unable to "grow up."
- DaimaÅ (大é"王, Great Magical King) â€" Sally's grandfather. An original character to the anime.
- Sally's Dad (サリーã®ãƒ'ãƒ', SarÄ« no Papa) â€" the ruler of the Magic Kingdom. A pompous blowhard who dislikes humanity on principle, he nonetheless has a good heart where his daughter is concerned (a quality shared with Endora from Bewitched.)
- Sally's Mom (サリーã®ãƒžãƒž, SarÄ« no Mama) â€" Queen of the Magic Kingdom. She's friendly, modest, a dutiful wife and a devoted mother, holding firmly the head the King. She appears to be always knitting. Her name was Cima (シーマ, Shima) in the original manga.
Release
The first 17 episodes of the original 1960s TV series were filmed in black and white, and the remainder of the series was filmed in color, making it one of the earliest color anime. Black-and-white and color versions exist of the opening animation sequence.
A movie/TV special was made called Sally the Witch: Mother's Love is Eternal, which was the finale to the second series.
Episode list
In popular culture
Author Robert Jay Lifton stated that Sally Yumeno "has long been one of the most popular of all manga and animation characters." In December 1994 police found a pamphlet at the headquarters of Aum Shinrikyo which included a song called "Sarin the Magician," a parody of the theme song of Sally the Witch. Lifton said that Sally "was undoubtedly a prominent figure in the childhoods of leading Aum members."
References
- ^ a b Patricia Duffield (October 2000). "Witches in Anime". Animerica Extra Vol 3, No.11. Retrieved 2011-10-15.Â
- ^ (Japanese) "Kinema JunpÅ Bessatsu: DÅgaÅ vol.2: Super Majokko Taisen" (ã‚ãƒãƒžæ—¬å ±åˆ¥å†Š å‹•ç"»çŽ‹vol.2 スーãƒ'ーé"女ã£å大戦) Kinema JunpÅsha, July 14, 1997. p. 21.
- ^ (Japanese) "Super Majokko Taisen" p. 18-21 and 26.
- ^ a b Lifton, Robert Jay. Destroying the World to Save It: Aum Shinrikyo, Apocalyptic Violence, and the New Global Terrorism. Henry Holt and Company, 1999. First Edition. p. 185. ISBN 0-8050-5290-9.
External links
- Toei website about Sally, the Witch (Japanese)
- TV-Tropes.com's Sally, The Witch article
