Attacker You! - Mila & Shiro

Attacker YOU! is a spokon and shōjo manga written and illustrated by Jun Makimura and Shizuo Koizumi and published in Japan in 1984. It was based on an anime television series produced by Knack Productions and broadcast on TV Tokyo from 1984 to 1985. The series arrived in Italy in 1986 and was broadcast from February 25 on Italia 1 with the title of Mila and Shiro - Two hearts in volleyball. The Italian edition of the manga dates back to 2003, published by Star Comics with the original title and the subtitle Mila & Shiro.

The series tells the adventures of Mila Hazuki, a country girl who moves to the city to attend middle school. At school Mila comes into contact with the game of volleyball, becoming a champion over time, until she is called up for the national team.

The two versions of the manga and anime story differ a lot from each other: in particular, the plot of the animated version is more complex and there are various unpublished characters since the first episode.

In 2008, on the occasion of the Beijing Olympics, a sequel to the animated series entitled Mila and Shiro - The dream continues.

## Trama

### Mila Hazuki in the anime

Attacker You! is the story of the ambitious and energetic Mila Hazuki (Yu Hazuki in the original version), a country girl who, after having lived her childhood at her grandparents' house, moves to Tokyo to live with her father Toshiko, a photographer recently returned from Peru, a country where he had been for a long time for work, and to attend middle school. Mila's mother, whom the protagonist believes dead, is a former volleyball champion, who had also played in the Japanese national team and who, to continue playing, abandoned her family when Mila was a few years old; the father, in order not to make his daughter suffer, had thus decided to make the child believe that her mother was dead. Mila also has an adoptive younger brother, Sunny, who is very attached to her and who follows her wherever she goes.

At school Mila comes into contact with volleyball, becoming a champion over time. In fact, her dream soon turns out to be to become part of the Japanese women's national team and to participate in the 1988 Seoul Olympics. Initially the girl will play in the Hikawa volleyball team, the school she attends, soon becoming one of the owners, although the coach, Daimon, is abusive in his ways and averse to the girl, preferring the captain and receiver Nami Hayase. However, the two girls will soon become friends, despite their rivalry both in sport and in love: Mila falls in love with the captain of the men's volleyball club, her senpai Shiro Tachiki (So Tachiki in the original), of whom Nami also seems to be enamored.

Mila will soon prove to be very skilled and powerful in the dunks, but poor in reception, which the skill of the central and receiver Nami Hayase will make up for. Despite Daimon's rude methods (who will be forced to leave the team for this and will be replaced by the school principal, completely ignorant in volleyball), the girls will reach the final of the student championship, where however they will lose against Sunlight, Kaori's team. Takigawa (Eri Takigawa in the original), a volleyball player who had already been called up for the Olympic national team at the age of thirteen, with whom Mila will make a very strong friendship.

After the period of middle school Mila will enter the professional team of the Seven Fighters, making friends among the others with a rather robust partner, Yogina Yokono, and later (after winning the championship) with a colleague and competitor for the same role in spiker camp, Sori Shinoda. With this club Mila will win both the championship and the open tournament, being called up to the national team. It is only at this point that he will discover the truth about his mother, Kyushi Tajima, from the woman's own words with the related story of abandoning her to continue playing volleyball. The backlash for Mila is strong and the girl leaves training. Shiro, who is now almost her boyfriend, will find her and convince her to retrace her steps. Mila thus returns to the retirement of the national team, also reconnecting relations with her mother.

The Olympic national team, after the friendly match won against the USSR, is divided into two teams: the National A (composed of Kaori, Rayaka Omori, Clara Ohsugi, Asai Iromine and some Sunlight players, Nabiki Yokono (Yogina's sister, called "Moby Dicki") and National B (made up of Mila, Tulia Kaido, Nami Hayase, Monia Takami, the lifters Vera Oriki and Oki Samoto as well as some components of the Seven Fighters). The one that wins the three friendlies between them will have more hopes of bringing players to the 1988 Seoul Olympics. Mila within her team will find a powerful rival in the rough and energetic Tulia Kaido, who by imposing herself with her apparent arrogance and rudeness will ruin the harmony of the team. prove to be the best in the field when Tulia will make the exchange with Maomi Masuda, passing to the National A. In the end, Mila's team will manage to win and then it will come to the formation of a team Four Nations Tournament. Only at this point will Tulia admit her mistakes and become friends with Mila.

The series ends with Mila batting for the first match against Czechoslovakia with a formation that naturally sees in the field, among others, the irreplaceable companions and friends Nami and Kaori in their respective roles of central defender and setter.

## Characters

### The main characters

Mila Hazuki (葉 月 優 Hazuki Yu?): At the beginning of the story she is fourteen and attends Hikawa Middle School. She is a fairly tall girl, athletic, with red hair and a great passion for volleyball (in the anime initially opposed by her father Toshiko). She joins the school volleyball team after being noticed by the coach, Daimon. In the team, the girl takes on the role of spiker and meets captain Nami Hayase who will later become her great friend and will begin her friendship-rivalry relationship with Kaori Takigawa, a Sunlight Players player. In the same period, Mila falls in love with Shiro Tachiki, captain of the men's volleyball team. Towards the end of high school Mila is noticed by mister Mitamura, who will train her in the following years (albeit in different situations between anime and manga), refining her sports class and leading her to be selected for the Seoul Olympics by the Japanese national team. Voiced by Yūko Kobayashi (original), Barbara De Bortoli (Italian).

Kaori Takigawa (多 岐 川 絵 理 Takigawa Eri?): Kaori Takigawa is a young red-haired girl, who at only thirteen is famous for her lifts. She is the best promise of Japanese volleyball, so much so that she was selected for the Los Angeles Olympics despite her young age. She will become, with Nami, Mila's best friend. She is also capable of playing the role of spiker very well, but excels at dribbling, a role in which she sets and commands the team's play. Immovable element of the Sunlight Player, which will always remain his team of belonging. Voiced by Yumi Takada (original), Laura Boccanera, Monica Ward (ep 57-58, Italian).

Nami Hayase (早 瀬 奈 美 Hayase Nami?): Nami Hayase at the beginning of the series is the owner of the Hikawa school volleyball team. At first she hates Mila, she is grumpy and sour; over time she turns out to be sweet, good, sensitive and will grow fond of Mila, becoming one of her best friends. He plays in the role of central defender, but he also knows how to finish well on the net and also has an excellent service (the "swallow's flight"). Voiced by Naoko Matsui (original), Rita Baldini (Italian).

### Secondary characters

Shiro Tachiki (立 樹 爽 Tachiki Sō?): Mila's senpai in high school and a promising young man in volleyball. In the manga, the boy will never reveal his feelings for her, while still remaining a source of support for the girl. In the anime, while reciprocating his feelings, he will ensure that their relationship does not interfere with the girl's passion for volleyball. In the comic's finale, his team (the Seinan) wins the men's Inter-high tournament (the national championship of high school volleyball clubs). Although in the Italian title he was elevated to co-star, in reality Shiro is a minor character in the story. Voiced by Ken'yū Horiuchi (original), Vittorio Guerrieri (Italian).

Toshiko Hazuki (nicknamed by daughter Toshi [3]): Mila's father and famous photographer. In the anime he will initially be opposed to his daughter's choice to play volleyball due to past disagreements with the ex-wife (and the girl's mother) Kyushi, also a volleyball player. Voiced by Michihiro Ikemizu (original), Mauro Bosco (Italian).

Daisaku Daimon (大門 松 五郎 Daimon Matsugorō?): Coach of the Hikawa women's volleyball club, he proposes to Mila to join the team after seeing her play against Nami. In the anime he is characterized as a trainer who uses even brutal training methods (including beating the players with his bamboo sword or slapping them for even futile reasons), a feature absent in the manga. Later he will move to the Unicorn team, where he will coach Nami Hayase and subsequently join the Japanese national team coaching circle. He will initially be entrusted with team B, and will compete with Yamahoka (during the regular-season coach of Sunlight), coach of team A. Voiced by Shigezou Sasaoka (original), Gabriele Carrara (Italian).

Dani Mitamura (三 田村 慎 吾 Mitamura Shingo ?, Kunihiko Mitamura in the manga [4]): ex-player and coach of the Seven Fighters, he takes Mila under his wing up to the senior national team, of which he will first become an international observer and later co-director technician together with Daimon. Voiced by Kazuyuki Sogabe (original), Francesco Prando, Roberto Del Giudice (ep 57-58, Italian).

Chibi (Meiko Nanao, aka Mei): Mila's best friend at Hikawa. Her role should be setter, as Mila says in one episode "there is no one on the team who can dribble better than you". From the 17th episode onwards Chibi assumes a marginal role, appearing only in Mila's flashbacks or being mentioned in speeches to remember moments in high school. Voiced by Satoko Kitô (original), Monica Ward (Italian).

### Exclusive characters of the manga

Naito

Rumi Mishiro

Michiyo Kogure and Nobuko Kumashiro

Matsuo

### Exclusive anime characters

Sunny Hazuki (葉 月 サ ニ ー Hazuki Sani?): Born in Peru, he is Mila's adoptive younger brother. Isamu Sato, his real father, had emigrated to Peru and brought volleyball to the highest level. Upon the death of his parents, Sunny is adopted by Toshiko (longtime friend of the child's father) and immediately becomes attached to his new big sister Mila. In addition to Mila, Sunny has another foster older sister in Peru named Roche, who was raised by Sato as her daughter. Voiced by Runa Akiyama (original), Rita Baldini (Italian).

Kyushi Tajima (田島 カ ナ コ Tajima Kanako?): Former volleyball player, TV commentator and coach. In reality it is the mother of Mila, who the girl believed dead. The woman, many years earlier, after her husband had forced her to choose between a competitive career and a family, had abandoned him with her daughter. Voiced by Kumiko Takizawa (original), Rosalinda Galli (1st voice), Anna Teresa Eugeni (2nd voice, Italian).

Yoghina Yokono: paciarotta spiker who will often compete with Mila for the title role in the Seven Fighters, but who will also prove to be her friend Voiced by? (original), Rita Baldini (1st voice), Maura Cenciarelli (2nd voice, Italian).