Attacker You!
Encyclopedia
is a 1984 Japan
ese manga
series by Jun Makimura and Shizuo Koizumi published by Kodansha
. An anime
series, consisting of 58 episodes of 24 minutes each, was produced by Knack Productions and broadcast by TV Tokyo
from April 13, 1984 to June 21, 1985. The DVD
version was released in Japan on August 20, 2004.
Never released in the United States, the Attacker You! anime achieved a strong level of popularity in several Europe
an countries, including Italy
(Mila e Shiro, due cuori nella pallavolo), France
(Jeanne et Serge), Spain
(called both Dos fuera de serie and Juana y Sergio) and Poland
(Pojedynek Aniolow). The anime has been rerun several times in Italy since its original broadcast there, and the manga was also released in Italy. The European dubs were reportedly so popular that they inspired many young female viewers in countries where the series aired to join volleyball teams at their own schools.
from the Japanese countryside to live with her father Toshihiko, a cameraman recently returned from Peru
, and attend school. You's mother is not in the picture, having left when You was very young. Also living with You and her father is her younger brother Sunny, who is very attached to his older sister and tends to follow her everywhere she goes, including to school and to her volleyball matches. However, You's father is not supportive of her volleyball playing, and You is puzzled as to why he gets so angry about it.
You, who has exceptional jumping abilities, is passionate about volleyball
and dreams of one day being a part of Japan's national women's volleyball team
in the 1988 Seoul Olympics. She joins her school's girls' volleyball team and quickly becomes one of the top players, although Daimon
, her coach, is brutal and behaves violently toward his players when they make mistakes or fail to live up to his expectations.
You makes a loyal friend in the kindhearted Meiko (nicknamed "Chibi") and an instant enemy in the captain of the girls' volleyball team, Nami Hayase, a cold, arrogant girl whose entire life is volleyball and who doesn't take kindly to her bubbly new teammate. You and Nami also become rivals for the affections of Sho Takiki, the handsome, dashing captain of Hikawa's boys' volleyball team. You puts as much energy into trying to get Sho's attention as she does into her game, and even takes to attending extra training sessions coached by Sho in the morning before school just to be near him. Eventually, You and Nami form a tumultuous friendship, which comes to a head when Nami joins an opposing professional team coached by Daimon. You also befriends ace attacker Eri Takigawa, a girl from a rival team, the "Sunlight Players"; You and Eri eventually join the same professional team.
is also considered a classic in Italy, and the French and Spanish theme songs use the same melody in the vernacular language.
Although Attacker You! was not released in the German market, it is interesting to note that Kozue, the heroine of the earlier volleyball drama Attack No. 1
, was named Mila (as You Hazuki was for the Italian Attacker You!) in the German-dubbed version of that 1969 series (retitled Mila Superstar, which also curiously uses the same theme song melody as the Italian, French and Spanish Attacker You! dubs).
European versions of the Attacker You! anime also created a link between this series and Attack No. 1 which did not exist in the original Japanese versions. In the Italian version, Mila (You) is a cousin of Mimi Ayuhara (the Italian name for Kozue of Attack No. 1), and dreams of becoming a volleyball star just like her. This alteration to the storyline carried over into the French- and Spanish-dubbed versions of the anime. Thus, Attacker You! is sometimes considered a spinoff of Attack No. 1, although there is in Japan no connection between the two series. Nippon Animation
's 1977 TV series Attack on Tomorrow
is the closest thing to an actual "sequel" or "spinoff" to Attack No. 1, although it also technically is not a spinoff or sequel as it too was based on an existing manga by a different artist than that of Attack No. 1.
In addition, the Italian production staff censored some potentially objectionable content from the original Japanese version, namely scenes of Coach Daimon's brutal and violent behavior toward his players and occasional scenes of bare breasts in shower scenes. These edits carried over into the French dub, while the cut scenes were retained in the Spanish version.
of 52 episodes, production Japanese
and Chinese
sequel
of the famous Attacker You! realized after 24 years after the first airing. This second animated series was produced by Knack Productions in 2008 during the Beijing Olympics of the same year. The series, directed by Tomoharu Katsumata
, first aired in China on the issuer Darian Cartoon and then distributed directly to DVD
in Japan without going through the TV.
In the original series has two dubbings; the Chinese which was launched in China, and then the Japanese executed at the company Aoni Production
, which features a cast entirely new respect to the classic series. It was also transmitted on 'channel
Hero in Philippines
. Outside of 'Asia
, the series not is especially well known. In Italy, the series was entitled Mila e Shiro - Il sogno continua, and aired in 2011.
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...
ese 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...
series by Jun Makimura and Shizuo Koizumi published by Kodansha
Kodansha
, the largest Japanese publisher, produces the manga magazines Nakayoshi, Afternoon, Evening, and Weekly Shonen Magazine, as well as more literary magazines such as Gunzō, Shūkan Gendai, and the Japanese dictionary Nihongo Daijiten. The company has its headquarters in Bunkyō, Tokyo...
. 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....
series, consisting of 58 episodes of 24 minutes each, was produced by Knack Productions and broadcast by TV Tokyo
TV Tokyo
is a television station headquartered in Toranomon, Minato, Tokyo, Japan. Also known as , a blend of "terebi" and "Tokyo", it is the key station of TX Network. It is one of the major Tokyo television stations, particularly specializing in anime...
from April 13, 1984 to June 21, 1985. The DVD
DVD
A DVD is an optical disc storage media format, invented and developed by Philips, Sony, Toshiba, and Panasonic in 1995. DVDs offer higher storage capacity than Compact Discs while having the same dimensions....
version was released in Japan on August 20, 2004.
Never released in the United States, the Attacker You! anime achieved a strong level of popularity in several Europe
Europe
Europe is, by convention, one of the world's seven continents. Comprising the westernmost peninsula of Eurasia, Europe is generally 'divided' from Asia to its east by the watershed divides of the Ural and Caucasus Mountains, the Ural River, the Caspian and Black Seas, and the waterways connecting...
an countries, including Italy
Italy
Italy , officially the Italian Republic languages]] under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages. In each of these, Italy's official name is as follows:;;;;;;;;), is a unitary parliamentary republic in South-Central Europe. To the north it borders France, Switzerland, Austria and...
(Mila e Shiro, due cuori nella pallavolo), France
France
The French Republic , The French Republic , The French Republic , (commonly known as France , is a unitary semi-presidential republic in Western Europe with several overseas territories and islands located on other continents and in the Indian, Pacific, and Atlantic oceans. Metropolitan France...
(Jeanne et Serge), Spain
Spain
Spain , officially the Kingdom of Spain languages]] under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages. In each of these, Spain's official name is as follows:;;;;;;), is a country and member state of the European Union located in southwestern Europe on the Iberian Peninsula...
(called both Dos fuera de serie and Juana y Sergio) and Poland
Poland
Poland , officially the Republic of Poland , is a country in Central Europe bordered by Germany to the west; the Czech Republic and Slovakia to the south; Ukraine, Belarus and Lithuania to the east; and the Baltic Sea and Kaliningrad Oblast, a Russian exclave, to the north...
(Pojedynek Aniolow). The anime has been rerun several times in Italy since its original broadcast there, and the manga was also released in Italy. The European dubs were reportedly so popular that they inspired many young female viewers in countries where the series aired to join volleyball teams at their own schools.
Plot
Attacker You! is the story of ambitious and energetic thirteen year-old junior high schoolgirl You Hazuki, who moves to TokyoTokyo
, ; officially , is one of the 47 prefectures of Japan. Tokyo is the capital of Japan, the center of the Greater Tokyo Area, and the largest metropolitan area of Japan. It is the seat of the Japanese government and the Imperial Palace, and the home of the Japanese Imperial Family...
from the Japanese countryside to live with her father Toshihiko, a cameraman recently returned from Peru
Peru
Peru , officially the Republic of Peru , is a country in western South America. It is bordered on the north by Ecuador and Colombia, on the east by Brazil, on the southeast by Bolivia, on the south by Chile, and on the west by the Pacific Ocean....
, and attend school. You's mother is not in the picture, having left when You was very young. Also living with You and her father is her younger brother Sunny, who is very attached to his older sister and tends to follow her everywhere she goes, including to school and to her volleyball matches. However, You's father is not supportive of her volleyball playing, and You is puzzled as to why he gets so angry about it.
You, who has exceptional jumping abilities, is passionate about volleyball
Volleyball
Volleyball is a team sport in which two teams of six players are separated by a net. Each team tries to score points by grounding a ball on the other team's court under organized rules.The complete rules are extensive...
and dreams of one day being a part of Japan's national women's volleyball team
Japan women's national volleyball team
The Japan women's national volleyball team, or All-Japan women's volleyball team, is the volleyball national team of Japan, currently ranked 3rd by the FIVB...
in the 1988 Seoul Olympics. She joins her school's girls' volleyball team and quickly becomes one of the top players, although Daimon
Daimon
Daimon is an Ancient Greek word referring to lesser supernatural beings, including minor gods and the spirits of dead heroes.It may also refer to:- People :* Daimon Shelton , professional American football player...
, her coach, is brutal and behaves violently toward his players when they make mistakes or fail to live up to his expectations.
You makes a loyal friend in the kindhearted Meiko (nicknamed "Chibi") and an instant enemy in the captain of the girls' volleyball team, Nami Hayase, a cold, arrogant girl whose entire life is volleyball and who doesn't take kindly to her bubbly new teammate. You and Nami also become rivals for the affections of Sho Takiki, the handsome, dashing captain of Hikawa's boys' volleyball team. You puts as much energy into trying to get Sho's attention as she does into her game, and even takes to attending extra training sessions coached by Sho in the morning before school just to be near him. Eventually, You and Nami form a tumultuous friendship, which comes to a head when Nami joins an opposing professional team coached by Daimon. You also befriends ace attacker Eri Takigawa, a girl from a rival team, the "Sunlight Players"; You and Eri eventually join the same professional team.
Cast
- Yuko KobayashiYuko Kobayashiis a Japanese seiyū who was born on February 6, 1961 in Tokyo. She is currently affiliated with 81 Produce and is married to fellow seiyu Mitsuaki Hoshino.-Notable voice roles:*Washu Hakubi in Tenchi Muyo*Shigeru in Pokémon...
as You Hazuki - Naoko MatsuiNaoko Matsuiis a Japanese voice actress from Hakodate. Matsui was a member of Production Baobab for 20 years before becoming a freelancer. She is also a voice acting instructor....
as Nami Hayase - Kazuyuki SogabeKazuyuki SogabeKazuyuki Sogabe was a Japanese voice actor born in Chiba Prefecture. Sogabe retired from voice acting on December 31, 2000 when he felt a weakness in his own voice. After his retirement, many of his current roles went to voice actors Tetsu Inada and Ryotaro Okiayu. Kazuyuki, however, was active in...
as Shingo Mitamura - Michihiro IkemizuMichihiro Ikemizuis a Japanese voice actor from Kanagawa Prefecture and a graduate of Waseda University who works for Aoni Production.Among his other roles, he has performed the characters Onsen-Mark , Isao Ohta and Kinnikuman Super Phoenix .-TV anime:*Ashita no Joe 2 *Attacker You!...
as Toshihiko Hazuki (Yu's father) - Yumi TakadaYumi Takadais a Japanese voice actress employed by 81 Produce.-Notable voice roles:*Yoshinaga-sensei in Crayon Shin-chan*Etsuko in Hanappe Bazooka*Ayeka Masaki Jurai in Tenchi Muyo!*Ayeka Takada /Romio , Ghost Girl in Pretty Sammy...
as Eri Takigawa
Staff
- Creator: Shizuo Koizumi
- Director: Kazuyuki Okaseko, Masari Sasahiro
- Scripts: Hideki Sonoda, Yoshihisa Araki, Susumu Yoshida
- Animation Director: Satoshi Kishimo
- Character Designs: Jun Makimura, Teruo Kigure, Kyomu Fukuda
- Music: Shiro SagisuShiro Sagisuis a well-known Japanese music producer and composer. With a career spanning over 25 years , he is best known for his work as a record producer for acts including Misia, Satoshi Tomiie, and Ken Hirai...
- Theme Songs: OP- Seishun Prelude (Prelude of Youth), ED- Twinkle, Twinkle, performed by Harumi Kamo
- Theme Song Performance: Harumi Kamo (original version), Cristina D'AvenaCristina D'AvenaCristina 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....
(Italian version)
Western Versions and Connection to Attack No. 1
Many of the character names were changed for the Italian, French, and Spanish versions of the Attacker You! anime. In the Italian version, You is Mila Hazuki and Sho is Shiro Takiki. In the French version, You becomes Jeanne, Sho is Serge, Nami Hayase's name is changed to Peggy Hayase (interestingly, her name remains Nami in the Italian version), Eri Takigawa becomes Marie Takigawa (Kaori Takigawa in the Italian version); the Spanish dub, which was based on the French version, used the French names for Nami and Eri, although You was renamed Juana and Sho became Sergio (the Spanish versions of the characters' respective French names). The Italian theme song sung by Cristina D'AvenaCristina 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....
is also considered a classic in Italy, and the French and Spanish theme songs use the same melody in the vernacular language.
Although Attacker You! was not released in the German market, it is interesting to note that Kozue, the heroine of the earlier volleyball drama Attack No. 1
Attack No. 1
is a Japanese manga series by Chikako Urano. It also became the first televised female sports anime series in the shōjo category.The anime is an adaptation of Chikako Urano's 1968 volleyball manga serialized in Weekly Maragaret Magazine under the same name. Chikako was considered one of the...
, was named Mila (as You Hazuki was for the Italian Attacker You!) in the German-dubbed version of that 1969 series (retitled Mila Superstar, which also curiously uses the same theme song melody as the Italian, French and Spanish Attacker You! dubs).
European versions of the Attacker You! anime also created a link between this series and Attack No. 1 which did not exist in the original Japanese versions. In the Italian version, Mila (You) is a cousin of Mimi Ayuhara (the Italian name for Kozue of Attack No. 1), and dreams of becoming a volleyball star just like her. This alteration to the storyline carried over into the French- and Spanish-dubbed versions of the anime. Thus, Attacker You! is sometimes considered a spinoff of Attack No. 1, although there is in Japan no connection between the two series. Nippon Animation
Nippon Animation
is a Japanese animation studio. The company is headquartered in Tokyo, with chief offices in the Ginza district of Chūō and production facilities in Tama City....
's 1977 TV series Attack on Tomorrow
Attack on Tomorrow
was an anime series aired in 1977 in Japan. There were 23 episodes aired at 25 minutes each. It is often mistakenly believed to be a spinoff of the earlier, and more popular, series Attack No...
is the closest thing to an actual "sequel" or "spinoff" to Attack No. 1, although it also technically is not a spinoff or sequel as it too was based on an existing manga by a different artist than that of Attack No. 1.
In addition, the Italian production staff censored some potentially objectionable content from the original Japanese version, namely scenes of Coach Daimon's brutal and violent behavior toward his players and occasional scenes of bare breasts in shower scenes. These edits carried over into the French dub, while the cut scenes were retained in the Spanish version.
Sequel
is a television series animeAnime
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....
of 52 episodes, production Japanese
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...
and Chinese
China
Chinese civilization may refer to:* China for more general discussion of the country.* Chinese culture* Greater China, the transnational community of ethnic Chinese.* History of China* Sinosphere, the area historically affected by Chinese culture...
sequel
Sequel
A sequel is a narrative, documental, or other work of literature, film, theatre, or music that continues the story of or expands upon issues presented in some previous work...
of the famous Attacker You! realized after 24 years after the first airing. This second animated series was produced by Knack Productions in 2008 during the Beijing Olympics of the same year. The series, directed by Tomoharu Katsumata
Tomoharu Katsumata
is a Japanese film director best known for his work on various anime works. A leading director at the Toei Animation studio during the 1960s, 1970s, and 1980s, Katsumata worked as a director on several of Toei's TV anime adaptations of manga by Go Nagai, including Devilman , Mazinger Z , Cutey...
, first aired in China on the issuer Darian Cartoon and then distributed directly to DVD
DVD
A DVD is an optical disc storage media format, invented and developed by Philips, Sony, Toshiba, and Panasonic in 1995. DVDs offer higher storage capacity than Compact Discs while having the same dimensions....
in Japan without going through the TV.
In the original series has two dubbings; the Chinese which was launched in China, and then the Japanese executed at the company Aoni Production
Aoni Production
Aoni Production is a Japanese talent agency representing a fair number of voice actors and other Japanese entertainers.-Voice actors currently affiliated with Aoni:...
, which features a cast entirely new respect to the classic series. It was also transmitted on 'channel
Channel
Channel, Channels, and similar terms may refer to:* Channels , a rock band fronted by ex-Jawbox singer/guitarist J. Robbins* Channels , a 2008 film* Channel, synonym for pre-chorus in popular song structure...
Hero in Philippines
Philippines
The Philippines , officially known as the Republic of the Philippines , is a country in Southeast Asia in the western Pacific Ocean. To its north across the Luzon Strait lies Taiwan. West across the South China Sea sits Vietnam...
. Outside of 'Asia
Asia
Asia is the world's largest and most populous continent, located primarily in the eastern and northern hemispheres. It covers 8.7% of the Earth's total surface area and with approximately 3.879 billion people, it hosts 60% of the world's current human population...
, the series not is especially well known. In Italy, the series was entitled Mila e Shiro - Il sogno continua, and aired in 2011.