Mai the Psychic Girl
Encyclopedia
Mai, the Psychic Girl, known simply as in Japan
, is a manga
written by Kazuya Kudō and illustrated by Ryoichi Ikegami
.
The main character is Mai Kuju, a 14-year-old Japanese girl with powerful psychic abilities. She is being pursued by the Wisdom Alliance, an organization which secretly strives to control the world. The alliance already controls four other powerful psychic children, and it has hired the Kaieda Intelligence Agency to capture Mai.
. It, along with The Legend of Kamui
and Area 88
, were published in North America
by Eclipse Comics
and Viz Comics
in a bi-weekly comic book
format starting on May 26, 1987. As it was one of the forerunners of manga popularity in the West, Mai was chosen for localization due its middle-ground artwork: neither "too Japanese or too American". It was present in the "flipped" format that was the norm with early localized manga. Mai proved popular enough that second printings were needed of the first two issues.
In 1989, Viz publications eventually released a four volume collection of "Mai, The Psychic Girl". The collection featured a brief nude scene that had been edited out of the comic book edition. This was one of the first manga to be released in the "digest" format that serialized manga series are printed in, when they are collated into a collection. The series was later re-released in three volumes as Mai, the Psychic Girl: Perfect Collection.
attempted to make Mai, the Psychic Girl into a musical, with interest from Tim Burton
and Carolco Pictures
, who purchased the film rights
in August 1991. Carolco hoped Burton would start production in 1992, but he chose to work on The Nightmare Before Christmas
and Ed Wood
for Disney. The option on the film rights eventually expired, and Burton dropped out. Francis Ford Coppola
later developed the property in the 1990s. In June 2000, Sony Pictures Entertainment
started on a new different project with Kirk Wong
attached to direct. By February 2001, a script had been written by Lisa Addario and Joey Syracuse for Sony's Columbia Pictures
. The release of The Seduction of Ingmar Bergman
, a radio musical by Sparks, in August 2009, was informed by the six years the band spent trying to get their Mai, the Psychic Girl produced. The album generated new interest, and gained a "second wind", vocalist Russell Mael
explained. "The music is all ready and we are hoping that this still might see the light of day.”
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...
, is a 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...
written by Kazuya Kudō and illustrated by Ryoichi Ikegami
Ryoichi Ikegami
is a manga artist. He was assistant to manga artist Shigeru Mizuki in 1966. In 2001, he won the Shogakukan Manga Award for general manga as the artist of Heat. He became a professor at Osaka University of Arts in 2005...
.
The main character is Mai Kuju, a 14-year-old Japanese girl with powerful psychic abilities. She is being pursued by the Wisdom Alliance, an organization which secretly strives to control the world. The alliance already controls four other powerful psychic children, and it has hired the Kaieda Intelligence Agency to capture Mai.
English release
Mai, the Psychic Girl is one of, if not the, first manga series to be fully published in EnglishEnglish language
English is a West Germanic language that arose in the Anglo-Saxon kingdoms of England and spread into what was to become south-east Scotland under the influence of the Anglian medieval kingdom of Northumbria...
. It, along with The Legend of Kamui
The Legend of Kamui
is a manga by Sanpei Shirato. Set in feudal Japan, it tells the story of a low-born ninja who tries to flee his clan. The series combines historical adventure with social commentary and themes of oppression and rebellion that reflect Shirato's Marxist convictions...
and Area 88
Area 88
is a Japanese manga series by Kaoru Shintani serialized between 1979 and 1986. The story is about a young pilot named Shin Kazama and his experiences at Area 88, a mercenary air force base secluded in the desert of a war torn country...
, were published in North America
North America
North America is a continent wholly within the Northern Hemisphere and almost wholly within the Western Hemisphere. It is also considered a northern subcontinent of the Americas...
by Eclipse Comics
Eclipse Comics
Eclipse Comics was an American comic book publisher, one of several independent publishers during the 1980s and early 1990s. In 1978, it published the first graphic novel intended for the newly created comic book specialty store market...
and Viz Comics
VIZ Media
VIZ Media, LLC, headquartered in San Francisco, is an anime, manga, and Japanese entertainment company. It was founded in 1986 as VIZ LLC. In 2005, VIZ LLC and ShoPro Entertainment merged to form the current VIZ Media LLC, which is jointly owned by Japanese publishers Shogakukan and Shueisha, and...
in a bi-weekly comic book
Comic book
A comic book or comicbook is a magazine made up of comics, narrative artwork in the form of separate panels that represent individual scenes, often accompanied by dialog as well as including...
format starting on May 26, 1987. As it was one of the forerunners of manga popularity in the West, Mai was chosen for localization due its middle-ground artwork: neither "too Japanese or too American". It was present in the "flipped" format that was the norm with early localized manga. Mai proved popular enough that second printings were needed of the first two issues.
In 1989, Viz publications eventually released a four volume collection of "Mai, The Psychic Girl". The collection featured a brief nude scene that had been edited out of the comic book edition. This was one of the first manga to be released in the "digest" format that serialized manga series are printed in, when they are collated into a collection. The series was later re-released in three volumes as Mai, the Psychic Girl: Perfect Collection.
Film adaptation
Beginning in the late-1980s, New Wave rock band SparksSparks (band)
Sparks is an American rock and pop band formed in Los Angeles in 1968 by brothers Ron and Russell Mael , initially under the name Halfnelson...
attempted to make Mai, the Psychic Girl into a musical, with interest from Tim Burton
Tim Burton
Timothy William "Tim" Burton is an American film director, film producer, writer and artist. He is famous for dark, quirky-themed movies such as Beetlejuice, Edward Scissorhands, The Nightmare Before Christmas, Ed Wood, Sleepy Hollow, Corpse Bride and Sweeney Todd: The Demon Barber of Fleet...
and Carolco Pictures
Carolco Pictures
Carolco Pictures, Inc., Carolco International N.V., or Anabasis Investments was an American independent film production company that, within a decade, went from producing such blockbuster successes as Terminator 2: Judgment Day and the first three movies of the Rambo series to being bankrupted by...
, who purchased the film rights
Film rights
Film rights are the rights under copyright law to make a derivative work—in this case, a film—derived from an item of intellectual property. Under U.S...
in August 1991. Carolco hoped Burton would start production in 1992, but he chose to work on The Nightmare Before Christmas
The Nightmare Before Christmas
The Nightmare Before Christmas, often promoted as Tim Burton's The Nightmare Before Christmas, is a 1993 stop motion musical fantasy film directed by Henry Selick and produced/co-written by Tim Burton. It tells the story of Jack Skellington, a being from "Halloween Town" who opens a portal to...
and Ed Wood
Ed Wood (film)
Ed Wood is a 1994 American comedy-drama biopic directed and produced by Tim Burton, and starring Johnny Depp as cult filmmaker Edward D. Wood, Jr. The film concerns the period in Wood's life when he made his best-known films as well as his relationship with actor Bela Lugosi, played by Martin Landau...
for Disney. The option on the film rights eventually expired, and Burton dropped out. Francis Ford Coppola
Francis Ford Coppola
Francis Ford Coppola is an American film director, producer and screenwriter. He is widely acclaimed as one of Hollywood's most innovative and influential film directors...
later developed the property in the 1990s. In June 2000, Sony Pictures Entertainment
Sony Pictures Entertainment
Sony Pictures Entertainment, Inc. is the television and film production/distribution unit of Japanese multinational technology and media conglomerate Sony...
started on a new different project with Kirk Wong
Kirk Wong
Kirk Wong Chi Keung is a Hong Kong based film director and actor. He is probably most famous for directing the John Woo produced action comedy The Big Hit.-Filmography as director:...
attached to direct. By February 2001, a script had been written by Lisa Addario and Joey Syracuse for Sony's Columbia Pictures
Columbia Pictures
Columbia Pictures Industries, Inc. is an American film production and distribution company. Columbia Pictures now forms part of the Columbia TriStar Motion Picture Group, owned by Sony Pictures Entertainment, a subsidiary of the Japanese conglomerate Sony. It is one of the leading film companies...
. The release of The Seduction of Ingmar Bergman
The Seduction of Ingmar Bergman
The Seduction of Ingmar Bergman is the 22nd album by American rock/pop group Sparks, released in August 2009. The duo's first pop musical, Seduction is built around an imaginary visit to Hollywood by Swedish film director Ingmar Bergman in the mid-1950s. Its storyline focuses on the divides between...
, a radio musical by Sparks, in August 2009, was informed by the six years the band spent trying to get their Mai, the Psychic Girl produced. The album generated new interest, and gained a "second wind", vocalist Russell Mael
Russell Mael
Russell Mael is an American singer and songwriter who, with his older brother Ron, is in the band Sparks....
explained. "The music is all ready and we are hoping that this still might see the light of day.”