The Secrets of Akko-chan (1988 anime)

Sweet Little Angel

The World of Magic

Mirror Fairy Lala

**The Secrets of Akko-chan** (ひみつのアッコちゃん *Himitsu no Akko-chan*) is a second, 1988 anime adaptation of Fujio Akatsuka's manga. It was produced by Toei Animation, and ran on Fuji TV from October 9, 1988 to December 24, 1989.

It was the second of the late 80s "Akatsuka strategy" projects produced through Fuji TV, Kodansha, and Yomiko Advertising, as a way to challenge Shogakukan and Fujiko Fujio's wave of newer adaptations in the 1980s.

## Overview

When it came time for a new adaptation of Akko-chan, the producer Hiromi Seki had recalled how she loved *Sally the Witch* but had found the original *Akko-chan* anime to be boring. After a consultation with Kenji Yokoyama (a producer of the first series and the co-producer for the remake), she was told that they could freely change elements as they pleased.

The director Hiroki Shibata had recalled wanting to do this anime in the vein of the first series, with more serious and dramatic stories. However, the higher-ups at the three involved companies demanded a brighter, more comedic series, so compromises had to be made. Akko was changed from a melancholy honor student to a brash tomboy, and her parents' careers were changed for the 1980s along with other contemporary setting updates; the teachers Sato and Moriyama received overhauled designs.

Yoshiko Ota was originally slated to reprise her role as Akko, but the producers' choice to have singer Mitsuko Horie voice Akko instead resulted in Ota voicing the character's mother.

The character of Kio the Mirror Prince was created for this series, along with the Akatsuka-designed "Strange Old Man".

The series was originally planned for a four-cour, 52-episode run to go through the entire year. However, audience ratings of 20.7% and requests from the sponsors gave way to the decision of extending the series for a further 26-episode run (bringing the count to 78). In the process, a new compact was created for Akko to signify the new portion of the series and to allow for further merchandise. Although the sales of the Tekumakumayakon Mirror Compact were high and ensured the series would have a strong broadcast, plans for an adaptation of Momoko Sakura's *Chibi Maruko-chan* to be next in the timeslot put pressure on the staff and network as both Sakura and Fuji TV asked them how long the wait would be.

With that in mind, it was decided to cut the new order of episodes down from 26 to 13, and the staff became confused over the situation on if their show was extended or cancelled. The increasing pressure made for the episode count to be reduced even further, with the show ending at episode 61 (rather than an episode 65 or 78). The ending of the series was not without controversy or complaints, as fans angrily inundated the sponsors with complaints about the show ending so soon after new merchandise was put out. Still, in comparison to both the first and third series, the staff still left a loophole in the final episode so that Akko's magic and the plots could continue despite the message of "The End".

The staff were given hope that after *Maruko*'s half-year broadcast had concluded, they could put forth a sequel to the 1988 show and produce the other episodes that were in the original order along with possibly more. Unfortunately for them, *Maruko*'s explosive popularity meant that it would be continuously extended, ultimately wrapping up with 142 episodes in 1992 before a later (and still ongoing) series would start in 1995. These factors and the staff moving on in the wait left for there to be no chance for them to continue this particular version of *Akko-chan*, with an all-new reboot being produced instead in 1998.

## Staff

### Voice Cast

* Akko- Mitsuko Horie
* Moko- Kazuko Sugiyama
* Taisho- Yoku Shioya
* Shosho- Katsue Miwa
* Kankichi, Taisho's mother- Noriko Uemura
* Ganmo- Noriko Tsukase (ep.1-15), Yuko Mita (all others afterward and movies)
* Chikako, Moko's mother- Keiko Yamamoto
* Gyoro- Michitaka Kobayashi
* Goma- Noriko Tsukase (ep.1-18), Chie Sato (all others afterward and movies)
* Papa- Banjo Ginga
* Mama- Yoshiko Ota
* Sato, Dora- Masaharu Sato
* Moriyama- Kyoko Irokawa
* Shippona- Naoko Watanabe
* Queen of the Mirrors- Eiko Masuyama
* Kio- Shigeru Nakahara
* Taisho's father- Ginzō Matsuo
* Strange Old Man- Kazumi Tanaka
* Okiku- Miyoko Aso
* Ganmo's father- Hirohiko Kakegawa
* Ganmo's mother- Maki Yagisaki
* Moko's father- Masato Hirano
* Additional Voices by- Miyoko Aso, Shinobu Satouchi, Junko Hagimori, Tomoko Maruo, Koji Totani, Mariko Takigawa, Koji Yada, Yusaku Yara, Masashi Hironaka, Saori Sugimoto, Hinako Kanamaru, Chika Sakamoto, Nana Yamaguchi, Chieko Honda, Hiroko Emori, Yasuro Tanaka, Takeshi Kusao, Yoko Kawanami, Keiichi Nanba, Ryo Horikawa, Kozo Shioya, Michie Tomizawa, Michiyo Yanagisawa, Kyoko Tongu, Tomie Kataoka, Joji Yanami, Kohei Miyauchi, Megumi Urawa, Masaya Onosaka, Aya Hisakawa, Reiko Suzuki, Maria Kawamura, Tsutomu Kashiwakura

During the run of the series, Noriko Tsukase was hospitalized for rectal cancer, resulting in replacements for her characters of Ganmo and Goma. After she passed away on May 15, 1989, these roles were permanently taken over by the respective new actresses.

## Theme Song

### Opening theme

**"The Secrets of Akko-chan"**

Lyrics- Hisashi Inoue, Takeshi Yamamoto/Composition- Asei Kobayashi/Arrangement- Nozomi Aoki/Singer- Mitsuko Horie

#### Lyrics

* English
* Kana&Kanji
* Romanji

In front of it, it's a girl

Looking so aloof, what is it?

It's a mirror, and out of the mirror, here she comes

Tsun, tsun, tsun

Cinderella has appeared from the mirror

Tsun, tsun, tsun

Who is it, really?

It's a secret, secret, secret

Akko-chan's secret!

All day long, imitating

Good at mimicking, what is it?

It's a mirror, and out of the mirror, here he comes

Eheheh

Mischievous boy has appeared from the mirror

Eheheh

Who is it, really?

It's a secret, secret, secret

Akko-chan's secret!

そいつの前では　女の子

ツンとおすまし　それはなあに

それは鏡　鏡の中から

ツン　ツンツン

シンデレラ姫が現れた

ツン　ツンツン

それはだあれ

それはひみつ

ひみつ　ひみつ

ひみつの　アッコちゃん

朝から晩まで　マネばかり

人マネ上手　それはなあに

それは鏡　鏡の中から

エッヘヘ

いたずら坊主がとびだした

エッヘヘ

それはだあれ

それはひみつ

ひみつ　ひみつ

ひみつの　アッコちゃん

Soitsu no mae de wa onnanoko,

tsunto osumashi sore wa naani?

Sore wa kagami, kagami no naka kara

Tsun, tsun, tsun

Shinderera hime ga arawareta

Sore wa daare?

Sore wa himistsu,

himitsu, himitsu,

himitsu no Akko-chan!

Asakara banma de manebakari

Hitomane jouzu

Sore wa naani?

Sore wa kagami, kagami no naka kara

Ehehe

Itazura bouzo ga tobidashita

Ehehe

Sore wa daare?

Sore wa himistsu,

himitsu, himitsu,

himitsu no Akko-chan!

### Ending theme

**"DON'T YOU...?"**

Lyrics- Fumiko Okada /Composition- Hiroaki Serizawa /Arrangement - Nozomi Aoki /Singers- Mitsuko Horie, Time Five

## Episode List

1. 勝負！雪ダルマ合戦
2. 走れ！名馬ハヤテ
3. 噂のあのコは白魔術
4. 季節はずれの蝶々
5. コンパクトが使えない
6. 狼はひとりぼっち
7. 憧れのスチュワーデス
8. 父ちゃんのお花見物語
9. アイドルって大変！
10. フォアグラ将軍の反乱
11. お見合いはお上品に
12. カン吉と青い目の少女
13. 幽霊屋敷のタヌキ騒動
14. 悪役女子レスラーの恋
15. 鏡の中に消えたキーオ
16. ハッケヨイのこった！
17. 花嫁さんはホラー好き
18. モコと夢見る王子さま
19. ガンバレひよこちゃん
20. アッコのアフリカ物語
21. 父と娘の仁義なき戦い
22. エンマ大王の大将征伐
23. グルメラーメン繁盛記
24. 夢見るバレリーナ！
25. カエルの子はカエル
26. 花のお江戸の捕物帳
27. 真夏の夜のホタル
28. 素敵な兄貴が欲しい！
29. アリとキリギリス
30. アッコたちの漂流記
31. 水の中のオバタリアン
32. 愛のわんこそばツアー
33. 月夜に泣くかぐや姫
34. パパとママの青春物語
35. 階段の怪談で大ピンチ
36. アッコは名ピッチャー
37. エッ！最後の変身？
38. ワン・ニャン物語
39. 牧場の少女の願いごと
40. 大将のスキスキ大作戦
41. 大マジックのマドンナ
42. ママのテニス教室
43. Ｔ.Ｖゲーム少年を救え！
44. アッコは美人ＯＬ!?
45. 森山先生、お幸せに！
46. キーオのいなくなる日
47. 私の心のコンパクト

## Overseas Broadcast and Adaptations

*See also: List of foreign dub names for characters of Akko-chan's Got a Secret!*

### Hong Kong

A Cantonese-dubbed version under the title of ***Mirror Mirror*** (魔鏡魔鏡) was aired by TVB Jade in 1990.

### France

A 52-episode dub titled ***Caroline*** aired on TVF1's block Club Dorothée, starting from April 5, 1990. The dubbing for this version was inconsistent, with some characters' voices changing often (and even the name of Moriyama-sensei in one case). Its opening and ending themes were replaced with new songs in French.

It has never received a home video release, although reruns had appeared as late as 2007 on the channel Mangas.

### Italy

As with the first series, this version would be dubbed and aired on the channel Italia 1. The dub, titled ***The World of Magic*** (*Un mondo di magia*), was broadcast in 1990.

This version was notable for having localized more of the characters' names in comparison to the 1969 series' dub; Kankichi and Ganmo had their names changed to "Guilio" and "Luigi", and Taisho was now "Tano".

### Mainland China and Taiwan

Two different Mandarin dubs appeared for the series, under the title of ***Sweet Little Angel*** (甜蜜小天使). The mainland Chinese version ran on China Vision from May 9, 1991 to June 22, 1992. Another version ran on TV Chinese Taiwan, with different name and term translation choices.

### South Korea

The Korean dub was re-titled as ***Mirror Fairy Lala*** (거울요정 라라), and it was entirely localized for Korean audiences. Character names were changed, text on-screen was replaced by Hangul, and the songs were also dubbed. It aired on Tooniverse in 1996, but did not re-broadcast afterwards.

## Merchandise and Artwork

Cover to DVD-BOX 1.Cover to single for opening and ending themesCD soundtrack
## References

1. ↑ As used by Toei Animation's catalog, where it is titled "The Secrets of Akko-chan 2".

## External Links

* Toei Animation USA licensing catalog, under "Magic Girls" (English)
* 1988 series page, Toei Animation official site (Japanese)
* Planet Jeunesse page on *Caroline* (French)