is a shōjo

Shojo

The term refers to manga marketed to a female audience roughly between the ages of 10-18. The name romanizes the Japanese 少女 , literally: "little female". Shōjo manga covers many subjects in a variety of narrative and graphic styles, from historical drama to science fiction — often with a strong...

 manga

Manga

Manga is the Japanese word for "comics" and consists of comics and print cartoons . In the West, the term "manga" has been appropriated to refer specifically to comics created in Japan, or by Japanese authors, in the Japanese language and conforming to the style developed in Japan in the late 19th...

 created in the early 1980s by Kaoru Tada

Kaoru Tada

, was a Japanese manga artist.-Biography:Tada made her debut in 1977, when still a high school student, on Shueisha's "Deluxe Margaret" magazine. Tada's stories belong to the shōjo genre of manga and feature love stories centred around young female characters and their love interests...

. An anime

Anime

is the Japanese abbreviated pronunciation of "animation". The definition sometimes changes depending on the context. In English-speaking countries, the term most commonly refers to Japanese animated cartoons....

 version of the story in 42 episodes was also produced in 1983-1984 by Toei Animation

Toei Animation

Toei Animation Co., Ltd. is a Japanese animation studio owned by Toei Co., Ltd. The studio was founded in 1948 as Japan Animated Films . In 1956, Toei purchased the studio and it was reincorporated under its current name...

, and features episodes supervised by Shingo Araki

Shingo Araki

was a Japanese animation artist and character designer. He developed an interest for drawing at age five. He graduated in Aichi Prefecture. In 1955, at age eighteen, he debuted as a cartoonist in the "Machi" magazine. He then joined Mushi Production as animator in 1965 and later founded Studio...

 (a well-known character designer who worked on many other Toei series, such as Cutey Honey, Majokko Megu-chan

Majokko Megu-chan

is a magical girl anime series. The manga was created by Tomo Inoue and Akio Narita, while the 72-episode anime series was produced by Toei Animation between 1974 and 1975. This series is considered an important forerunner of the present day magical girl genre, as the series' characterization and...

, and Saint Seiya

Saint Seiya

, also known as Saint Seiya: Knights of the Zodiac or simply Knights of the Zodiac, is a Japanese manga series written and illustrated by Masami Kurumada and serialized in Weekly Shōnen Jump from 1986 to 1991, and adapted into an anime TV series by Toei Animation from 1986 to 1989.The story follows...

).

Plot summary

"Ai Shite Knight" is set in Osaka

Osaka

is a city in the Kansai region of Japan's main island of Honshu, a designated city under the Local Autonomy Law, the capital city of Osaka Prefecture and also the biggest part of Keihanshin area, which is represented by three major cities of Japan, Kyoto, Osaka and Kobe...

, and tells the story of Yaeko "Yakko" Mitamura, an 18 year old girl working in her father's Okonomiyaki

Okonomiyaki

is a Japanese dish containing a variety of ingredients. The name is derived from the word okonomi, meaning "what you like" or "what you want", and yaki meaning "grilled" or "cooked" . Okonomiyaki is mainly associated with Kansai or Hiroshima areas of Japan, but is widely available throughout the...

 restaurant. One day Yakko casually meets a little boy, Hashizo, and his odd cat Juliano. Hashizo has lost both parents when still a baby and has been brought up by his elder brother. Hashizo's brother Go Kato is the lead singer of the emerging rock band "Bee Hive". When Yakko meets Go and his friend and "Bee Hive" member Satomi Okawa an unexpected series of events and a tangled romance unfolds.

Whereas the main narrative of "Ai Shite Knight" is essentially based on a love story, interesting and innovative elements were introduced by Kaoru Tada, most notably the portrayal of the Japanese music scene in the early '80s. In creating characters such as Go, Satomi and their band "Bee Hive", Tada was inspired by well-known bands of the time such as "The Stalin

The Stalin

were an influential Japanese punk rock band formed in June 1980, by leader and vocalist Michiro Endo. After numerous member changes, he disbanded the group in February 1985. In May 1987 Michiro formed a group called Video Stalin, which mostly made videos instead of albums, they disbanded in 1988...

", "Novela", "Primadonna" and "44Magnum

44 Magnum (band)

44 Magnum is a heavy metal/hard rock band from Japan, originally formed in 1977. After the band disbanded in 1989, they had a thirteen-year hiatus before reuniting and releasing their seventh album, Ignition, in 2002...

". Tada also plays with sexual provocation and ambiguity, mainly embodied by the character of "Kiss Relish" vocalist Kazuma Kataoka/Sheila, although these elements were considerably toned down in the anime

Anime

is the Japanese abbreviated pronunciation of "animation". The definition sometimes changes depending on the context. In English-speaking countries, the term most commonly refers to Japanese animated cartoons....

 version of the story.

characters

18 years old at the beginning of the story, Yakko works at her father's okonomiyaki restaurant "Mambo" in Osaka as well as attending evening classes at the university. Yakko is romantic and a little naive, and she is flattered by the attention paid to her by one of the regular customers of her father's restaurant, handsome and long-haired Satomi Okawa. One day she casually meets two people that will change her life: Go Kato and his little brother Hashizo. Yakko soon discovers that Go and Satomi are friends and both members of an emerging rock band, "Bee Hive". She is attracted to them both, but soon she will have to make a choice between them. She becomes Go's girlfriend, although his career as a musician causes more than one problem for their relationship.

Go is the lead singer of "Bee Hive" and a student at the university. He lives with his little brother Hashizo in a small apartment and he is trying to become a professional and successful musician. He is cocky but charming, and has a reputation of being a playboy. However, when he falls in love with Yakko, he becomes totally devoted to her, although he has to struggle juggling his musical career and taking care of his girlfriend.

his real name is actually Hideki, but he was renamed "Hashizo" by his brother Go when he went to live with him after the death of his parents. Hashizo is actually Go's half-brother, being the son of Go's father and his mistress. After their death in car crash, Go decided to look after his baby brother although still very young himself, and they have been living together ever since. Hashizo is a very responsible little boy and, because of Go's career as a musician, he spends a lot of time alone with his best friend, the cat Juliano. When he meets Yakko, he becomes very attached to her, and the "Mambo" becomes his second home.

he is Hashizo's cat, his pet and also best friend. Juliano is very intelligent and faithful, although grumpy and diffident of strangers. He provides comic relief throughout the story.

Go's best friend and keyboard player of "Bee Hive", he comes from a wealthy family and is an incredibly talented musician. Opposite to Go, he is calm and more introverted. He is also a university student and gives private keyboard lessons in his spare time. He falls in love with Yakko even before Go does, and when he finds out that Go is also after Yakko, he leaves the band for some time. He finally realises that Yakko has chosen Go, and he returns to the band. He helps Yakko and Go throughout difficult times as a good and faithful friend.

Shigemaro is Yakko's father and owner of the okonomiyakia "Mambo". A widower since Yakko was very young, he has raised her practically on his own. He is very attached to his only daughter and, being somewhat narrow-minded and conservative, opposes her involvement with a rock musician such as Go. Shige-san is very fond of Hashizo and Juliano, and -in the end- he accepts Go as well. He is a great fan of enka

Enka

is a popular Japanese music genre considered to resemble traditional Japanese music stylistically. Modern enka, however, is a relatively recent musical form which arose in the context of such postwar expressions of modern Japanese nonmaterial nationalism as nihonjinron, while adopting a more...

.

Isuzu is Yakko's best friend and fellow student. She is a beautiful and outgoing girl, and a big fan of "Bee Hive" since their beginnings. She has a crush on Go and tries to seduce him, although he turns her down for Yakko. After getting over losing Go to her friend, she falls for "Bee Hive" guitarist Eiji Tono and eventually marries him.

Meiko is Satomi's admirer and fan. To be closer to him, she pays him to give her private keyboard lessons, although he is oblivious to the fact that she really is in love with him. Meiko also joins an amateur rock band and finally finds a musician boyfriend, although her feelings for Satomi have not entirely disappeared.

• Kazuma Kataoka (Sheila)

Sheila is the leader of "Kiss Relish", a popular rock band and "Bee Hive"'s most dangerous competitors. Sheila plays with innuendo, camp and sexual ambiguity; he apparently has a crush on Go and always tries to embarrass him by hugging and kissing him in public. In reality, Sheila is married to the "Kiss Relish" manager Marino. A very talented singer, Sheila becomes Go and Yakko's good friend and advises Go on his musical career.

• Ryotaro Kitaoji

The leader of the punk band Insuubunkai, he becomes Shige-san's assistant at "Mambo" by a strategem. He makes Shige-san believe that he is an orphan looking for a job and lodgings; in reality Ryotaro has run away from home to play with his punk band and is only 17 years old. He is the cause of much trouble between Yakko and Go, relentlessly pursuing Yakko and challenging Go.

Eiji is "Bee Hive"'s guitar player. He marries Yakko's friend Isuzu Fujita.

• Hiroyuki Sugi

Hiroyuki is "Bee Hive"'s bass player. He briefly leaves the band to return to Kyoto

Kyoto

is a city in the central part of the island of Honshū, Japan. It has a population close to 1.5 million. Formerly the imperial capital of Japan, it is now the capital of Kyoto Prefecture, as well as a major part of the Osaka-Kobe-Kyoto metropolitan area.-History:...

, his hometown, and take over his parents' business with his fiancee' Izumi, but he comes back, encouraged by Izumi, when his friends need him the most.

• Shin'ichi Matsudaira

Shin'ichi is the "Bee Hive"'s drummer.

• Marino Kataoka

Marino is the manager of "Kiss Relish" and wife of Sheila. During the series the couple has a baby daughter, Hatoko.

• Kaoru Chiba and Gonta Sanada

Kaoru and Gonta both attend playschool with Hashizo. Kaoru has a crush on Hashizo, whereas Gonta is trying to attract the little girl's attention to himself. When Hashizo helps Gonta in a difficult situation, he decides to repay him by ensuring his and Kaoru's happiness at all costs.

• Yoko Kato

Yoko is Go's mother. The two of them are not very close, as Yoko still hasn't quite overcome her hard feelings towards Hashizo, the son that her husband had with his mistress. Capricious and temperamental, Yoko does not approve of Go's choice of girlfriend and gives Yakko a hard time.

• Yamadazaka

Yamadazaka is the manager of "Bee Hive". His main interest is making the band successful and Go into a rock star. He does not hesitate to interfere into the members' private lives to achieve his goal.

Anime

The anime version of "Ai Shite Knight" was produced by Toei Animation

Toei Animation

Toei Animation Co., Ltd. is a Japanese animation studio owned by Toei Co., Ltd. The studio was founded in 1948 as Japan Animated Films . In 1956, Toei purchased the studio and it was reincorporated under its current name...

 in 1983-1984, for a total of 42 episodes directed by Osamu Kasai, a veteran Toei director. The "Ai Shite Knight" anime presents some significant changes in the storyline and modifications in the characters' stories, and covers only one part of the story narrated by Tada in the manga

Manga

Manga is the Japanese word for "comics" and consists of comics and print cartoons . In the West, the term "manga" has been appropriated to refer specifically to comics created in Japan, or by Japanese authors, in the Japanese language and conforming to the style developed in Japan in the late 19th...

. It was targeted on a younger audience than that of the manga, some aspects were subsequently toned down and simplified.

One notable difference between the graphic style of the manga and that of the anime is in the characters' hair colors. The hair of both Yakko and Hashizou is frequently shown as blond in Tada's colorized manga artwork. In the anime, Hashizou has blue hair and Yakko has reddish-brown hair. However, Yakko was drawn as a blonde in the anime's opening sequence, which perhaps confused some European viewers who hadn't read or heard of the original manga.

Famous voice actress and pop idol Mitsuko Horie

Mitsuko Horie

is a Japanese seiyū and singer. She was born on March 8, 1957 in Yamato, Kanagawa, Japan. She has voiced several characters throughout her career, such as Sailor Galaxia in Sailor Moon: Sailor Stars and Remi in the Nippon Animation World Masterpiece Theater series Remi, Nobody's Girl...

 provided the voice of Yakko in the anime. Isao Suzuki was the voice of Go, Katsuji Mori

Katsuji Mori

is a Japanese voice actor often accredited as the Casey Kasem of Japan. He is most known for the roles of Go Mifune , Joe Shimamura/009 , Ken the Eagle , Jouji Minami , and Garma Zabi .- Anime :*Nephrite in Sailor Moon*Seiji Hayami in Cutey Honey*Go Mifune in Mach Go Go Go/Speed Racer is a...

 of Satomi, Takeshi Aono

Takeshi Aono

is a Japanese voice actor and actor from Asahikawa, Hokkaidō affiliated with Aoni Production. He graduated from Hokkaidō Asahikawa Higashi High School....

 of Shige-San, and Yūko Mita

Yuko Mita

is a Japanese voice actress. She is known for playing gentle, sexy bishōjo as well as many roles of young boys. Her hobbies include tennis and skiing...

 of Hashizo. Masa Amamori provided the voice of Juliano.
Mitsuko Horie

Mitsuko Horie

is a Japanese seiyū and singer. She was born on March 8, 1957 in Yamato, Kanagawa, Japan. She has voiced several characters throughout her career, such as Sailor Galaxia in Sailor Moon: Sailor Stars and Remi in the Nippon Animation World Masterpiece Theater series Remi, Nobody's Girl...

 also sang "Koi wa Totsuzen" ("Love is sudden"), the song featuring in the opening credits of each episode.

Music

The main reason why the anime version of "Ai Shite Knight" is particularly famous is because it features, for the first time ever, original songs within the episodes, a plot device which will be very successful in subsequent anime series such as Mahou no Tenshi Creamy Mami and -more recently- Nana

Nana (manga)

is a Japanese shōjo manga series written and illustrated by Ai Yazawa, serialized in Cookie published by Shueisha. The manga derives its title from the name of the two main characters, both of whom are called Nana. Nana Komatsu is a small town girl who goes to Tokyo to follow her boyfriend and...

. The songs were performed by "Bee Hive" and the rival band "Kiss Relish" and they were so successful to be released in an album. Joe Hisaishi

Joe Hisaishi

, known professionally as , is a composer and director known for over 100 film scores and solo albums dating back to 1981.While possessing a stylistically distinct sound, Hisaishi's music has been known to explore and incorporate different genres, including minimalist, experimental electronic,...

, who has composed the music for Hayao Miyazaki

Hayao Miyazaki

is a Japanese manga artist and prominent film director and animator of many popular anime feature films. Through a career that has spanned nearly fifty years, Miyazaki has attained international acclaim as a maker of animated feature films and, along with Isao Takahata, co-founded Studio Ghibli,...

's movies, collaborated with composer Nozomu Aoki in writing and arranging the songs. The original songs featured in the anime are:

Performed by "Bee Hive"

• Rockin' all night
• Fire
• Midnight Rock'n'Roll Star
• Lonely Boy
• Baby, I Love You
• Freeway
• Someday on Sunday
• Love Again

Performed by "Kiss Relish"

• Let Me Feel
• Boxer

A collection of all the original songs featured in an album called Debut-Bee Hive which was produced in Japan immediately after the end of the anime series. Subsequently, a tribute album titled Aishite Night - Hit Kyoku Shu "Yakko, I Love You" was also released, and it included the opening and closing songs of the series, as well as tribute songs for the various characters arranged on some of the background music used throughout the anime.

Internationalization

The anime also became extremely popular in Europe with the title "Rock'n'roll kids" in Germany, "Embrasse-moi, Lucile" and "Lucile, Amour et Rock 'n Roll" in France, and "Kiss me Licia" in Italy, as well as "Bésame Licia" in Spanish. In fact, the anime series was so popular in Italy that it spawned a domestically-produced live-action teen soap opera, which ran for 145 episodes through four seasons ("Love me Licia," "Licia, dolce Licia," "Teneramente Licia," and "Balliamo e cantiamo con Licia") on Italian TV from 1986 to 1988. Cristina D'Avena

Cristina D'Avena

Cristina D'Avena is an Italian singer and actress. She sings for television and animation series, and has recorded numerous albums, selling nearly 6 million copies....

, who performed the Italian theme song to the anime series, played Licia (Yakko) in the live-action version.

Versions of the songs in several languages also exist because of the popularity of "Ai Shite Knight" outside of Japan

Japan

Japan is an island nation in East Asia. Located in the Pacific Ocean, it lies to the east of the Sea of Japan, China, North Korea, South Korea and Russia, stretching from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north to the East China Sea and Taiwan in the south...

.
In Italy and Switzerland, "Bee Hive" became teenagers' idols, epecially when the live action sequels to "Ai Shite Knight" were aired and featured new songs performed by the band, which were awarded even gold and platinum discs.
The "Bee Hive" members in the live action series were:

• vocals Go/Mirko Pasquale Finicelli (voiced by Enzo Draghi)
• keyboards Satomi Sebastian Harrison
• drums Matsudaira/Matt Manuel De Peppe
  Manuel De Peppe
  Manuel De Peppe is an Italian actor, musician, composer, and producer. He spent the majority of his career as an actor and singer, but in 2000 moved to the United States primarily to act as a composer and producer of music.-Early life:...
  
  
• bass Sugi/Steve Marco Bellavia
• guitar Tono/Tony Giovanni Colombo

Manuel De Peppe, Marco Bellavia and Giovanni Colombo left for the third season, so three new characters were introduced:

• drums Mike Vincenzo Rinaldi
• bass Jim Germano Di Mattia
• guitar Paul Luciano De Marini

Marco Bellavia returned for the fourth and final season.