is a magical girl

Magical girl

belong to a sub-genre of Japanese fantasy anime and manga. Magical girl stories feature young girls with superhuman abilities, forced to fight evil and to protect the Earth. They often possess a secret identity, although the name can just refer to young girls who follow a plotline involving magic...

 series. 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...

 was written by novelist Yasushi Akimoto

Yasushi Akimoto

is a Japanese television writer, lyricist, record producer, professor and vice president at Kyoto University of Art and Design. He also created some of Japan's top idol groups, Onyanko Club and the AKB48 franchise.- Career :...

 and illustrated by Koi Ikeno, and ran in Ribon Magazine. 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....

 based on it ran in the summer of 1995 and has 35 episodes, and is renowned director Daichi Akitaro's debut as a series director.

Introduction

The heroine, Ririka Moriya, is a bubbly (but slightly clumsy) 4th grader who has a crush on Nozomu Kanō, a transfer student from England

England

England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Scotland to the north and Wales to the west; the Irish Sea is to the north west, the Celtic Sea to the south west, with the North Sea to the east and the English Channel to the south separating it from continental...

. On her 10th birthday, Kanō (whom Ririka always calls Kanō-senpai

Senpai

and are an essential element of Japanese seniority-based status relationships, similar to the way that family and other relationships are decided based on age, with even twins being divided into elder and younger sibling...

) gives her a magical cap, which allows Ririka to transform into the heavenly guardian, Nurse Angel. Kanō-senpai tells her that he is really named Kanon, and he comes from the planet Queen Earth, which has been overrun by the evil organization Dark Joker. Dark Joker has poisoned that world, and so he was sent to find the legendary Nurse Angel, who would save both Earth

Earth

Earth is the third planet from the Sun, and the densest and fifth-largest of the eight planets in the Solar System. It is also the largest of the Solar System's four terrestrial planets...

 and Queen Earth from destruction by finding Flower of Life (命の花 Inochi no Hana). With help from Kanō-senpai and her friend and neighbor Seiya Uzaki, she soon learns to fight as Nurse Angel to protect her friends.

Main characters

(Japanese), Giusy Di Martino (Italian), Kathryn Bernardo

Kathryn Bernardo

Kathryn Chandria M. Bernardo is a Filipina actress. Best known for her role as "Mara" with Julia Montes as "Clara". Kathryn is currently a contract artist of Star Magic.-Television:-Movies:-External links:...

 (Tagalog)

A cheerful, outgoing girl who wants to be a nurse when she grows up. She is a 4th grade student at White Dove Academy (白鳩学園), a school of some repute. Ririka lives in a household of five, including her parents, grandmother, and her little brother. In the course of the series a dog, Herb, joins the family. She loves Kano-senpai. However, love to her of Seiya is not noticed at all.

Ririka uses the magical phrase, "Holy Power, Holy Prayer, be here!" to transform into Nurse Angel. In the manga she both says this line and places the nurse cap on her head, while in the anime the cap simply appears. Ririka seems to become somewhat older after she transforms. Her hair is longer, and she has a more serious demeanor. Nurse Angel's primary weapon is a baton, and she can perform a wide variety of energy attacks. Her source of power for these attacks is a powerful healing agent called Green Vaccine, which is made from the Flower of Life. In the anime, she has a finite supply of Green Vaccine, and once it is gone there is very little she can do as Nurse Angel.

(Japanese), Patrizio Prata

Patrizio Prata

Patrizio Prata is an Italian voice actor and dubbing director.He contributes to voicing characters in anime,cartoons,movies, videogames,and more content....

 (Italian), Joshua Dionisio

Joshua Dionisio

Ralph Joshua Dela Cruz Dionisio, better known as Joshua Dionisio, is a Filipino child actor working in television.Born on December 14, 1994 in Quezon City, he has a younger brother, Jacob, his co-star on Super Inggo. Joshua Dionisio began his career as a commercial model at the age of 8. He was...

 (Tagalog)

Ririka's next-door neighbor and her childhood friend, is the son of a doctor, and aspires to follow in his father's footsteps. He is about the same age as Ririka, and in the same 4th grade class. Though he is not good at study and is the mood maker of the class, the turn of the head is fast. He is very much the mischievous young boy - he likes video games, playing sports, and teasing Ririka. On the other hand, he is honest with himself about his affection for Ririka, and will go to any length to protect her. While in the beginning of the series Ririka and Kanō-senpai hide their secret war from Seiya, he eventually finds out and is entrusted with power and a mission by Kanon and succeeds him and becomes Nurse Angel's number one supporter and grows up manlily. He uses Psionics and, his clothes do not change into a Battle costume. He uses a boomerang in the manga, has put on clothes of the Queen Earth only once. Seiya is the source of most of the show's one-liners and cool quotes.

/(Japanese), Simone D'Andrea

Simone D'Andrea

Simone D'Andrea is an Italian voice actor.He contrbutes to voicing characters in anime,cartoons,movies,video games,and other content...

 (Italian)

An emissary from Queen Earth who was sent by Princess Helena to search for the Flower of Life and the legendary Nurse Angel. He a uses sword and Psionics. In his earthly disguise he is a 6th grader at White Dove Academy. Kanon becomes Ririka's mentor after she accepts her duty as Nurse Angel, but he doubts whether she is capable of managing that task without him. In the anime he is a serious, duty-bound character - he rarely smiles, and mostly only at Ririka. Kanon was undermined in Black Vaccine and knows that one's life is short and One's Psionics is given to Seiya in hopes to defend Ririka and he suffers a fatal injury by Keto and refuses treatment of Green Vaccine and dies. He is later resurrected by Dark Joker and fights Nurse Angel, but she turns him back and he returns to Queen Earth and Princess Helena.

Secondary Characters

The Queen Earth royal who sent Kanon to Earth in search of Nurse Angel, and occasionally supports Ririka by using telepathy. The state of Queen Earth is reflected in Helena, and thus she is gravely ill. Kanon is a childhood friend and her lover. Though she is holding off the Black Vaccine of Dark Joker's invasion to the Queen Earth somehow by her own power, her state also gradually becomes aggravated as long as the Flower of Life is not found...

(Japanese), Federica Valenti

Federica Valenti

Federica Valenti is an Italian voice actress who has been featured as the voice of main characters in a number of anime television shows that have aired in Italy.-Anime :* Case Closed: The Time Bombed Skyscraper - Ayumi Yoshida...

 (Italian)

A close friend and classmate of Ririka. At school, she often hangs out with Anna and Ririka. A spunky, rather temperamental girl, Karin has made it her purpose in life to visit popular eateries that are staffed by "cool guys".

(Japanese), Renata Bertolas (Italian)

A close friend and classmate of Ririka. Anna is in many ways the opposite of Karin - she is a demure girl who speaks in a very polite fashion even to her friends. Together with Karin, she gives Ririka (and sometimes Seiya) relationship advice.

(Japanese), Emanuela Pacotto

Emanuela Pacotto

Emanuela Pacotto is an Italian voice actress from Milan who has dubbed over a number of notable roles in anime.-Television animation:*Atomic Betty *Cubix *Dragon Ball...

 (Italian)

A 4th grader at White Dove Academy and the daughter of the head of Kuwano General Hospital. Though she often boasts of that, In reality she feels lonely that her father can rarely care of her because of work. She has a strong dislike of dogs.

She also has formed a shin'eitai (親衛隊 - fan club/official guard) for Kanō with a couple of her flunkies. Because Senpai and Ririka are intimate with each other, she is ignored. She approach Senpai single-mindedly. Making atmosphere of the sacred school into pride, she often turn on Ririka and Seiya spoiling the atmosphere and she call Ririka "barbarian". However, she likes Ririka on some pretext or other. She is a girl with whom power overflows who never kicks rivals down by using unfair means.

Princess Helena's younger sister, who decides to come to Earth posing as Kanō's little sister in order to chastise Ririka for not doing a good enough job. Mimina develops a crush on Seiya. In the anime Mimina is accompanied by Maruru, who serves as her advisor/servant.

A creature from Queen Earth that resembles a stuffed animal. It has a more significant role in the manga than the anime.

(Japanese), Davide Garbolino

Davide Garbolino

Davide Garbolino is an Italian voice actor,dubbing director,and television presenter.Garbolino contributes to voicing characters in anime,cartoons,live action and videogame content....

 (Italian)

A former Dark Joker. In order to beat a Nurse Angel, he is made into "the body which does not feel pain" by Bross and thrown away as a tool. He is saved by Ririka with a Green Vaccine of the remaining few. Afterwards, he appears as a surprising helper for the purpose of returning a debt(?) and he destroys the container which Black Vaccine is, in the castle that Bross is in, and put the vaccine in the capsule which he borrowed from Ririka and handed it to Ririka. He is helped by Ririka and Seiya and he is a betrayed by Bross. He changes gradually touching Ririka and Seiya, with the warmth of people surrounding him. He becomes a reassuring companion who fights with Ririka and Seiya against the Dark Joker. He appears in the sequel of the manga as a Commander of Imperial Guards of Princess Helena and close friend of Kanon.

(Japanese), Antonio Paiola (Italy)

An inpatient at Uzaki Hospital, a comical character who only appears in the anime. Akasegawa-san has been hospitalized for so long he has the nickname Inchō, or Inpatient Chief. Despite this, he seems to be in very good health.

He is a member of the anime-exclusive inpatient trio. He earned his nickname Shijin, or poet, because he tends to wax poetic... or more often than not, melodramatic. Long-haired and a bit too thin, he is the very image of a starving artist.

He is a member of the anime-exclusive inpatient trio. He is a beefy fellow who is often seen with a barbell

Barbell

A barbell is a piece of exercise equipment used in weight training, weightlifting and powerlifting. Barbells range in length from to although bars above 7' in length are used primarily by powerlifters and aren't commonplace...

 in one hand and an IV stand in the other. His nickname seems to be inspired by his tough-guy talk, but he's really a fraidy-cat.

Dark Joker

Buros/(Japanese), Marco Balzarotti

Marco Balzarotti

Marco Balzarotti is an Italian voice actor. He contributes to voicing characters in anime, cartoons, video games, movies, and other content....

 (Italian)

The leader of Dark Joker. A remorseless, imposing being who dwells in a strange, amorphous palace in Earth's orbit, Buros' goal is to eliminate all life in the universe.

(Japanese), Davide Garbolino

Davide Garbolino

Davide Garbolino is an Italian voice actor,dubbing director,and television presenter.Garbolino contributes to voicing characters in anime,cartoons,live action and videogame content....

 (Italian)

He is one of Buros' lackeys - primarily an anime character, though he appears in a manga gaiden

Gaiden

is a Japanese-language word meaning "side story" or "tale", used to refer to an anecdote or supplementary biography of a person. This use of gaiden is commonly used in popular Japanese fiction to refer to a spin-off of a previously published work that is neither officially considered a sequel nor...

. He seems to be about the same age as Kanon, and thinks of the battle for Earth in the terms of a game. Dewey is a skilled swordsman, and prefers simple contests of might over elaborate schemes. He and Keto are bitter rivals.

(Japanese), Claudio Moneta

Claudio Moneta

Claudio Moneta is an Italian voice actor. Moneta contributes to voicing characters in animation, videogames, sitcoms and more. He is very well known for providing the voice of SpongeBob SquarePants in the Italian language version of the Nickelodeon animated series SpongeBob SquarePants...

 (Italian)

He is one of Buros' lackeys. He is a plotter, often employing disguises and taking advantage of innocents in order to catch his enemies in an unguarded moment. He is often accompanied by a black cat. He is dedicated to winning Buros' favor by outdoing Dewey.

Legi/

He is a character who appears only in the manga. Buros' younger brother, Legi is handsome, and a bit of a casanova.

Manga

The manga is generally a more comical and light-hearted affair in comparison to the anime. Some of the differences include:

• Kanon is less somber, and is involved in more gag sequences.
• Queen Earth is openly stated as being a parallel Earth, while the anime only implies it.
• Ririka is also a parallel existence to Princess Helena. However, if Helena dies, so will Ririka.
• Green Vaccine is more plentiful, and is supplied by Maruru.
• Nurse Angel can easily convert Black Vaccine into Green Vaccine.
• Nurse Angel receives increasingly powerful batons, ending with one that resembles that of the anime.
• The Flower of Life is found much more easily.
• There is elaboration on Kanon and Helena's past together.

Musical

For three weeks after the anime completed, footage of the Nurse Angel Ririka SOS musical was shown in its timeslot. Actress stars as Rirka - she also appears in the film Kamikaze Girls

Kamikaze Girls

is a 2002 light novel written by Novala Takemoto that has been adapted into a manga and film.Kamikaze Girls centers around two students, Momoko Ryugasaki and Ichigo "Ichiko" Shirayuri , who are from completely different backgrounds: one is a Lolita girl, the other, her gyaru antithesis, a Yankī...

. The three episodes are as follows: