65 Atsuko Kagami

## Atsuko Kagami

**Atsuko Kagami** (加賀美あつ子 *Kagami Atsuko*, see "Trivia" for other spellings), known as **Akko** (アツコ) for short, is the lead of Akko-chan's Got a Secret! and an occasional part of Akatsuka's Star System.

She is notable for being an early example of a magical girl, and one of Akatsuka's few shojo manga heroines after his switch to a more gag-centric career. Her personality and details are known to significantly be altered through each adaptation, to adjust to the settings of each new decade and to put in newer trends.

## Overview

Although her personality and even aspects of her appearance may indeed vary through each version, Akko is generally a cheery and friendly 5th grade girl who happens to have a most incredible secret: Due to a mirror or compact that was gifted to her from the World of Mirrors, she can use it to transform into whatever she may please. However, she must keep this confidential.

In creating Akko, Fujio Akatsuka relied on his then-wife Tomoko to help him craft what a successful young girl character would be like and how her experiences would be. Tomoko's initial draft design of Akko was combined with other possibilities that she had sketched up, with Akatsuka's final product giving Akko her unique "bun and pigtails" hairstyle as a result. His wife would also contribute fashion ideas in sketches, for both Akko and other female characters that would show up.

Akko's name was also derived from Akatsuka's connection to Tomoko, as it came from the childhood nickname of Tomoko's sister Akiko (while Tomoko herself would have her name sourced for Moko).

Surprisingly enough, Akko's design would be duplicated after her debut, for the identical Totoko in Osomatsu-kun. Despite the clear design re-use, these two were later clarified by Akatsuka as being separate, and him even denying any particular reason for them looking the same by 1989.

## Physical Appearance

Akko is a tall, slender young girl who is most notably recognized by her distinctive hairstyle of pigtails and a large, fluffy bouffant-like swell in the crown of her hair. She wears a headband and ribbons as accessories with such a style. In anime adaptations, her hair is shown to be rather straight and waist-length if she'd wear it down, or if it becomes such a way through transformations.

In the original manga, she can often be seen wearing a variety of dresses or wearing separate tops and skirts. The 1969 anime opts to have her wear a short-sleeved white blouse, a red vest, and red skirt through any type of weather. The 1988 anime updates her fashion to be a red "A" jacket and yellow skirt, while the 1998 anime gives her an identical outfit but changes the skirt to be pink.

Although she is entirely identical to Totoko within the pages of the manga, the character designers for each anime adaptation tended to differentiate her design a little more with her face and pigtails being tweaked to each artists' own preference. Her hair color is also usually changed to be a medium brown, or a deep purple in the case of the 1988 anime.

It is believed that the one way to tell apart Totoko and Akko in illustrations would be their eyes; It is said that Akko's eye highlights are farther apart while Totoko's are closer together, and Akko's eyes are rounder and lacking the angle at the end that Totoko's have. Such claims cannot always be reflected consistently in artwork, and sometimes Akko may actually have sharper-looking eyes. However, the apparent differences in the eyes do seem to be more evident in their Koredeiinoda website artwork.

## Personality

Akko's personality is always bound to change, even through her appearances in the manga when comparing the original Ribon run to the Nakayoshi revival. In the case of the anime, this is due to giving her ideal characteristics of a "modern heroine" for whichever decade, or to do away with aspects deemed unsuccessful in the previous iteration.

In the original manga, she is a bright, innocent and friendly young girl who is nonetheless a bit mischievous and bearing a strong will. She is seen in a quarrel with a bully early on, and with her favorite mirror being broken by a baseball, she sets out to get revenge before bumping into the Man from the Mirror Country.

Her magic mirror enables her to help or prank people all the same, though her means are usually done for the greater good in resolving some kind of situation or out of a curiosity (such as seeing how it'd be to shrink to the size of a doll). There are times where she will lose the mirror or break it, or be in fear of having it taken away from her due to her carelessness, but the strange man in the black suit will always manage to return it to her. In the case of the Mushi Pro reprints, there comes to be an occasion where this new mirror was even redrawn to be the new compact of the Toei anime adaptation (although this presents discontinuity with the actual origin story in the serialized second run, showing her to get it from the Mirror Spirit).

Whatever the case, she must keep her item a great secret from others, though there are times she is nearly exposed, and one time where she is able to share the secret with her grandfather in order to let him use it. Starting in the 1969 anime adaptation, the penalty of "Your reflection will disappear" is introduced, leading to higher stakes for Akko to have to hide the secret of her transformations.

In the Nakayoshi run of the manga, which coincided with the second anime adaptation, Akko's usage of the mirror is much more casual and she'll use it for more chaotic means against other characters in certain occasions. She also once gains permission from the Queen from the Mirror Country to turn a schoolgirl named Mika beautiful, though this has an unforeseen negative effect not resolved in the end (Mika's parents don't recognize her and won't let her back into the house).

## Relationships with Other Characters

### Mother

Akko is obedient to her mother, but may sometimes wind up in a bind when her mother discovers her home late or nearly discovering the secret of her mirror. She is the only parent seen in the first run as well as the remade chapters in Ribon.

Even while transformed, Akko once nearly blows her cover when rushing towards her mother and greeting her, causing confusion for the woman and for others around them. In the 3rd run of the manga, the new origin story for Akko involves her mother breaking her daughter's original mirror by mistake, rather than a baseball doing so.

### Father

Akko's father is never seen or mentioned in the original manga, though he is a ship captain in the first anime to explain why he is away from home. The later adaptations give him more of a presence among the family.

In the Nakayoshi run, Akko has a decent if somewhat still distant relationship and interactions with her father, who is shown to be a newscaster. She once manages to disguise herself to see him on his job and spend the night out, leaving him unaware that his daughter is there with him.

### Moko

Akko and Moko are best friends and often seen getting along quite well together, though there can occasionally be some petty strain between the two that will wind up resolved.

In the *Weekly Young* one-shot, a source of conflict exists in Akko's mind over a boy that both her and Moko have feelings for. After seeing he's a mazacon ("mama's boy") type and immature, she opts to let Moko believe she's the one he likes more, leaving Moko to be thrilled while Akko is disturbed over the entire situation.

### Kankichi

Akko can treat Kankichi much like her own younger brother, whether in being gentle towards him or in hitting and punishing him for cowardice or acting out (just as much as Moko would do to him herself).

In some instances, Akko will become curious of his problems and opt to disguise herself as his friend Mimiko to hear him out.

### Taisho

The first chapter of the manga features Akko having gotten in a scuffle with a prototypical "Bratty Taisho" character who's the local neighborhood bully. However, it would not be until the first anime and the remake run in Ribon that a fully-formed Taisho would be seen.

In their interactions, Taisho is often a rough, abrasive type who nonetheless tries to get close to Akko despite her clear disinterest in him. He tends to be a source of conflict that Akko must get involved with as well, be it him solely causing the trouble or being joined by his usual brother and henchmen. He is shown to be jealous when Akko may be seen with other boys, even if it's a relative like her cousin, and become fight-happy in such a way.

### Chikako

Chikako exists as a minor character in the manga, but seen to be one of Akko's friends as early as chapter 1. She is usually relegated to interactions with Kankichi and Ganmo, although her snitching and spying abilities are once witnessed early on when she makes Akko and Moko give her yen for information.

In the Nakayoshi run, Chikako becomes suspicious when Akko may slip up while in disguise, but can't find any proof of what's up. In one instance, however, a photograph she takes of a disguised Akko shows Akko's natural appearance instead, causing her great shock and confusion.

### Ganmo

There are not many outright points of contact between Ganmo and Akko in the original manga, with him more often being part of Kankichi and Chikako's social group or him being seen hanging around Taisho and the other boys.

In one instance though, Akko must rescue Ganmo from falling through the ice, after he spends time initially having made trouble for her (while she was in the guise of Kankichi's mom). This results in Akko's new replacement mirror also falling through the ice, but the Man from the Mirror Country is shown to have salvaged it later on.

### Sato-sensei

Akko's homeroom teacher. She has somewhat of a close and friendly enough relationship with him to where she and Moko get invited to go along with him on his visits to relatives in the countryside.

Whenever Akko just so happens to take the form of Moriyama, his feelings for that other teacher can be seen.

### Moriyama-sensei

The English teacher at the school, who wants her students to succeed in their studies (though some students such as Moko get no score points at all).

Akko has taken her form on occasion to either try to resolve a problem or out of fun, causing confusion to unfold if Sato-sensei happens to interact with her or see her in that form and then wind up seeing the actual Moriyama later.

### Kobayashi

Existing exclusively in the first run of the manga, this young man comes to board at Akko's house. He is seen by her as an older brother-type figure to the point where she even attempts to lie and use him as her "big brother" to look cool in his debut.

Kobayashi only appears once more through the series, but their sibling-like relationship is still visible there.

### Shippona

Akko's cat, a creation of the first anime adaptation and appearing in later media. She exists solely as a cute pet character for Akko, though the anime adaptations may show Akko to use her as one of her many disguise ideas as well.

Her name was given to her by Akko's father, from the word "ship owner", although as the captain aspect of her father is absent in later adaptations this name has become an artifact of the original.

### The Man from the Mirror Country

A mysterious man in a black suit from the original manga. He gifts Akko the magic mirror after seeing her original mirror was broken, and explains how to use it.

He shows up at other random intervals in the manga to assist her, even once gifting her a new magic mirror (or compact, in the instance of redrawn chapters) when the first is shattered. However, Akko also has nightmares of what may happen when she's in a bind and when he'll refuse to ever help her again.

### The Queen of the Mirror Country

A queen existing in another dimension, introduced in the second anime adaptation after somewhat existing as an unseen "Mirror Spirit" in the first anime. She is responsible for giving Akko the compact, but warns her of the limits it has and that she must keep it a secret. Akko breaking the rule winds up instrumental in the climax and conflict of the second anime adaptation, as well as in the finale of the third anime.

Even so, in the Nakayoshi manga, the queen grants Akko the permission to help Mika, stating "Just this once!".

## Lookalikes

### Totoko Yowai

*Main article: Totoko Yowai*

As mentioned before, Akko and Totoko are virtually identical to one another to where there may be confusion as to which of them may be meant to be represented in works featuring many Akatsuka characters. It is thus often left up for debate among readers or even those at Fujio Pro as to if they are meant to be the same or separate, though Akatsuka's own claims usually settled upon them being pointedly different characters; mainly that Totoko was a different girl but that when he drew her face, Akko's design just happened to naturally spring forth. Yet even then, there are also other claims that he had stated "Totoko equals Akko".

In Fujio Pro series published during Akatsuka's lifetime, it is notable that the two were never really seen interacting or ever in the same title. The only instance in which they both could be seen was a mere frontispiece gag in *Reading Dai-sensei,* where both introduced themselves as an allusion to the chapter's theme about lookalikes.

The Q&A section on the Koredeiinoda site goes with the answer that the two are separate people, citing their "different names and different personalities" as the rationale. Even so, Akko seems to serve perfectly fine as a substitute for Totoko in instances where she may be depicted around the sextuplets, such as in the Nyarome learning book series.

An even more amusing point of connection between the two would be that Totoko was also once shown to have Moko as a best friend in one chapter of -kun, likely as a way to allude to the *Akko* series in the way that the sextuplets' guest roles had them cross paths with a girl that looked like/could double as Totoko (and a little boy that looked like a smaller counterpart of them).

### Momoko

Yet another lookalike for Akko (and thus for Totoko as well) exists solely in the 1990 animated adaptation of Extraordinary Ataro and its own short-lived remake manga that ran in both Comic BomBom and TV Magazine in that time.

While Momoko's design in the anime can be said to be slightly more distinctive, in looking like a much smaller, younger Akko, this is not the case for the tie-in manga where she is entirely identical (other than the rougher art style not being too favorable for her). Her personality in the manga also could be said to have overlap with both Akko and Totoko, in her being a friendly tomboy with an intimidating yet enchanting atmosphere, yet she continues to remain vague as a character.

## History

### Original run of "Akko-chan's Got a Secret!"

One day, Akko was left to watch the house all alone while her mother was out and decided to try on makeup and look at herself in her mirror to pass boredom. After her mirror was busted by a stray baseball, she became angered but wound up hitting a strange man dressed all in black... who just so happened to be a visitor from the "Mirror Country". He conveniently had a magic mirror to give to Akko as gratitude for her valuing mirrors, and would tell her of its abilities. After testing out the mirror for herself and seeing it actually worked, Akko's adventures began to unfold.

Mid-way through the series, Akko's original mirror was broken by Ganmo, resulting in the Man from the Mirror Country giving her a somewhat smaller mirror to transform with (and changed to the compact in Mushi Pro reprints). After saving Ganmo from falling through a hole in ice, she despaired over losing the new mirror, but the Man from the Mirror Country had salvaged it for her after seeing how she had gone out of her way to save the child.

The series itself is mostly played as rather episodic, with very minor to no continuity although some characters such as Kobayashi-kun and Sato-sensei's mother are shown twice as guests. Unlike the anime adaptations where there is some dramatic climax, Akko's series ends abruptly and just as any other chapter, with her and Moko having gone to a haunted house attraction that Kankichi had decided to work at and Akko deciding to prank with her mirror.

### Remade origin in 2nd run and other details

In the 1968-1969 run for Ribon done to tie into the first anime series, Akko was shown to have broken her mirror from carelessly fooling around with it. She was then contacted in her sleep by the Mirror Spirit, who gifted her the mirror compact and told her of its ability. Akko proceeded to use her compact to turn into a policewoman, after hearing that Moko's brother Kankichi was involved in a fight with Taisho.

The events of the 2nd run proceed similarly, as many chapters were reprints or redraws from the original with various tweaks. New chapters created for the run also showed Akko to have a cousin named Sankichi, who Moko grew close to.

### 3rd run

After Akko's mother accidentally broke her mirror, Akko buried it in the yard and made a grave. She was then contacted by the Queen of the Mirror Country, who gifted her the mirror compact. The events of this run proceed much differently than the previous two, as Akko gets into more mischievous exploits in using her mirror though occasionally may also use it for a heartfelt story.

## Appearances in other works

*See also: Akatsuka's Star System*

* *Nyarome's World Expo Surprise Surprise Surprise Guide*
* *Run Away, Run Away*
* *Nyarome's Fun Cosmology Classroom*
* *Nyarome's Fun Biology Classroom*
* *Nyarome's Fun Computer Exploration*
* *Nyarome's Fun Sexual Education Classroom*
* *Nyarome's Big Blood Type Studies*
* *Fujio's Waru Waru World*
* *Chibita and Nyarome and Akko-chan*
* *Sheeh! Comeback*
* *TOKIO and Kakeru* (frontispiece gag)
* *What Will Fujio Akatsuka Do!?*
* *Japan Laughter Story*
* *Reading Dai-sensei*
* *The Genius Bakabon*
* *The Collapse of the Sheeh! Religion*

## Appearances in Animation

### 1969 series

In the first anime, the sentimental part of Akko's character is emphasized, and she is a smart young girl but one that will nonetheless do impulsive things or act out occasionally, and be a sort of crybaby.

There are times when her curiosity in using her compact will lead to disastrous results, such as her not realizing that wishing herself to be deaf and mute like a boy she'd encountered would render her unable to speak and undo her state easily. This adaptation also goes with a further twist that Akko was not her parents' first child, a fact which leaves her shaken until she's able to come to terms with the fact that the first Akko was stillborn (and that she was named after her).

By the end of the series, Akko exhausts the power of her compact in using it to save her father from a storm out in the sea, having used it to harness all the mirrors in the world to provide him a guiding light.

In this version, Akko attends Hibarigaoka Elementary School (ひばりヶ丘小学校)

### Furious Ataro (1969)

Akko makes some cameos in this series, but solely within the context of her being a fictional show watched by Boss Kokoro on his TV or in her being seen on a Toei Manga Movie Festival poster.

### We are Manga-ka: The Tokiwa-so Story

Akko appears as one of a few shojo heroines tormenting Akatsuka in his mind, as he becomes sick of having to write shojo manga. She is then seen taking care of the sick Akatsuka, providing him with a wet towel for his head.

As this special was a Toei production, her design from their 1969 anime adaptation was recycled.

### 1988 series

Starting with this version, tomboyish elements were added to Akko, to make her a proactive and bolder character compared to the last adaptation. After using her compact to solve various issues throughout the series, however, Akko eventually winds up breaking the Queen's rule of never letting anyone know of its existence when the others catch her transforming. This comes with the consequence of her reflection disappearing from mirrors.

However, Akko is given a new compact and the others' memories are wiped of the incident. In the final episode, she attempts to save Moko from a car accident, but finds that her compact has vanished afterwards. She must rely on her own courage through the rest of the plot, up until her compact returns and it's stated by the Queen that it will be able to be used again when she is once more in true need of it. This was to leave a loophole in the ending of the series, in the case that the staff would be allowed to make more of it later on (as the series itself had been cut short for the first *Chibi Maruko-chan* adaptation to air in its former timeslot).

This version of the series has her and the other students attending a Migaoka Elementary (美が丘小学校).

### Furious Ataro (1990)

Akko, in her 1988 Toei design, briefly shows up in a cameo in a crowd scene in town.

### 1998 series

Akko is still a tomboy in the series, but now has more pink in her clothing when compared to before. By the end of the series, she winds up having to save Moko from a fire but as a result, her compact is revealed and vanishes when all is said and done.

In this series, Akko and friends all attend a Shinragawa Ward Elementary (新良川区立万住小学校).

## Portrayals

### Voice Acting

* 1969- Yoshiko Ota
* 1988- Mitsuko Horie
* 1998- Wakana Yamazaki

### Live Action

* 1987 TV Drama- Saori Yagi
* 2012 Film- Ai Yoshikawa (10 years old), Haruka Ayase (Adult)

The Monday Dramaland special presents a most dysfunctional scenario for Akko to wind up in, where she is split into three copies of herself and thus not only played by Yagi, but has two other popular young idol actresses portraying her other two halves (Shinobu Horie as her double named Yuki, and Mami Otsuka as the other named Sayaka).

## Foreign Names

 Mandarin (Mainland China)
 Mandarin (TV Chinese Taiwan dub)
 Korean

## Trivia

* In the original manga, her name was spelled out as 鏡厚子, with "Kagami" (itself meaning "mirror") being represented by the actual kanji for mirror. In the 1960s anime and current Fujio Pro media, her name notation is given as 加賀美あつ子. Other variants include the 1988 anime notation of 加賀見アツコ and the 1998 anime's own 加賀美あつこ.
* While it may be ambiguous as to what the mass of hair on Akko's head ultimately is in the final product, there does exist a brief gag between both her and Totoko where the "bun" would shoot off from the rest of their hair when shocked. Many of Tomoko's sketches involved the incorporation of some sort of bun or bouffant/beehive at the top of the head and either left it at that, or had long loose hair also incorporated into the look.
* Akko's very name provided inspiration for the character of Atsuko "Akko" Kagari (アツコ・カガリ) in the Studio Trigger anime *Little Witch Academia*, which is assigned number 201 in the CTA. These two characters should not be confused.