is 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....

 OVA

Original video animation

, abbreviated as media , are animated films and series made specially for release in home-video formats. The term originated in relation to Japanese animation...

 as well as an anime television series.

Story

Long, long ago, there existed a world of magic and science. But having both powers was making people conceited and lazy. So God split the world in to the world of science, Elde(or the Earth), and the world of magic, Phandavale. One day in Fandavale, a terrible witch named Cendrillon revives. Cendrillon plots to rule both worlds, and searches for the "key of Elde" and the "key of Phandavale" which holds tremendous power.

A young boy from Elde by the name of Sōta meets a mysterious girl from Phandavale, Akazukin (Red Riding Hood), and her talking wolf companion, Val. Sōta learns that he is the key of Elde. Now it is up to Akazukin, Val, and the other Musketeers, Shirayukihime (Snow White)and Ibara (Sleeping Beauty) to protect Sōta from Cendrillon and her Nightmarians who wish to obtain the power he mysteriously possesses.

Differences between the OVA and television series

Differences exist between the OVA and the television series due to length. For example, Shirayukihime (Snow White) only appears at the end of the OVA, and Ibarahime (Sleeping Beauty) only being mentioned in passing in the OVA.

Another difference is the darker feel in the OVA. The majority of the enemies in the OVA are wolves of the same race as Val, but ones who have chosen to serve Cendrillon, and have undergone transformations as a result. In addition to having hybrid forms, such as wolves crossed with spiders or bats, they seem be to undead, being little more than a wolf pelt draped over a shadow. Each has a large ring in their torso to which the edges of their pelt is attached, with nothing visible inside.

The television series, by comparison, has a much lighter feel, being made as 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...

 anime.

Characters

The titular heroine from the magic world Fandavale (Magic). She is one of the Three Musketeers, and has come to the Elde world to protect Souta who holds the Elde Key. She uses magic, but her speciality seems to be physical attacks. She can control fire magic. Later on she gets an upgrade in her powers when the Three Musketeers try to obtain the ultimate magic. She was the one that received it, and when she activated it she called it Princess Mode, due to the fact it makes her look like a princess like the other two Musketeers. The power is like the other card magic she usually uses. The only thing is, it does not stay active all the time, only when used. She was born in Vise village, the same village where she met Val for the first time: the morning after the village was destroyed. Eleven years before the story, the village was destroyed by werewolves led by Jed. Jed attacked the village to kill his younger brother Cain, who is really Val. During the destruction, she lost her parents and Cain's mother. She has some feelings for Souta. Age: 14. Voiced by: Yukari Tamura

Yukari Tamura

, is a popular Japanese singer-songwriter and voice actress, affiliated with the talent agency I'm Enterprise. Affectionately called Yukarin by her fans, she is also known for her high-pitched voice and interest in Lolita fashion...

The protagonist from the real world Elde (Science). He has a tendency to talk to flowers in the morning on his way to school, and after talking to them they mysteriously become more charming. He cares about the flowers a lot, and they help him out in return. Souta seems to have some power of his own: this was first discovered in an attempt to save Ringo from falling by Hansel's push (he unknowingly used an unknown flash and destroyed every opposing monster in the building). After he used it, he did not realize that he contained that power and thought it was Shiryuki's. He also reacted to a story card given to him by an elderly lady. So far he has collected 5 story cards of the Two World fairy tale stories (which tells the story of how Marlene turned into Cendrillon and the reason for her hatred). He is a kind and caring person, who can tell good people from bad. He is also smart and helps out in situations that the group befalls. His key power is activated whenever he feels strong emotion. He is the key of Elde, because his mother Soya was one of the sages who defeated Cendrillon 1000 years ago, and went to Elde afterwards to give birth to the child who would be safer in Elde then Fandavale. Age: 14. Voiced by: Motoko Kumai

Motoko Kumai

is a Japanese voice actress employed by 81 Produce. Her most notable roles are Takao Kinomiya on Beyblade and Syaoran Li on Cardcaptor Sakura. From December 21, 2006 until October 2007, Motoko left her voice career due to an illness requiring medical treatment....

 (OVA and TV 1-25), Yūko Sanpei

Yuko Sanpei

is a female Japanese voice actress currently affiliated with Production Baobab.-TV Anime:2000:*Daa! Daa! Daa! '2001:*Ojarumaru 2002:...

 (TV 26+)

From the magic world Fandavale. She is also one of the Three Musketeers, and came to Souta to protect him. She uses intellectual magic, as she was top in her magic classes. Her specialty is magic attacks. She likes Souta and always hugs him or tries to get close to him, much to Ringo's dismay. She can control ice magic and water magic. She a princess as her name suggests; however after her father remarried to a woman controlled by Cendrillon, the kingdom was taken away. Age: 14Voiced by: Kanako Tateno

Kanako Tateno

is a Japanese voice actress from Miyagi Prefecture. She is currently affiliated with Aoni Production.-Television animation:*Battle B-Daman *Captain Tsubasa: Road to Dream *Chocotto Sister...

Souta's childhood friend, who is quite close to him. She wakes him up in the morning. She is the only one who understands Souta when he talks to flowers. She also worries about him a lot, and does not want to be away from him, like when Souta was going to go to Fandavale. She gets angry whenever Shirayuki clings on to Souta. She is a very good cook, especially with meat and potatoes. She has a crush on Souta. Age: 14. Voiced by: Rie Kugimiya

Rie Kugimiya

is a Japanese voice actress affiliated with I'm Enterprise.Kugimiya's most famous roles include Alphonse Elric in Fullmetal Alchemist, Happy in Fairy Tail, Kagura in Gintama, Nagi Sanzenin in Hayate no Gotoku!, Shana in Shakugan no Shana, Louise in Zero no Tsukaima, Taiga Aisaka in Toradora!, and...

Akazukin's companion who fights alongside her. He, like Akazukin, loves food from Elde, and even at serious moments would worry about food first. He seems to dislike Jed-same, a Lycan (werewolf). This was noticed when Souta was going to tell him that he saw a Lycan named Jed, and Val stopped him from saying it. He is Cain, Akazukin's childhood friend and Jed's younger brother, but ever since the night he was wounded by Jed, he lost the ability to transform into human form. Age: approximately 20. Voiced by: Nobuyuki Hiyama

Nobuyuki Hiyama

is a Japanese voice actor currently affiliated with Arts Vision.-Profile:* Sometimes credited as: Shuji Hiyama , Osamuyuki Hiyama * Year Enrolled into the Voice-Acting Industry: 1987...

From the magic world Fandavale. She is the 3rd of the Three Musketeers. She represents Sleeping Beauty, hence the reason she is usually half asleep. She uses a thorn whip to attack. Since her specialty is the Earth element, she can heal plants. It's discovered later that she is actually the princess of the Elf race, and was born with a magic talent, unlike those who have to learn it. She is always sleepy because she does not sleep at night; if she does her magic would go out of control and hurt people. Age: 14. Voiced by: Miyuki Sawashiro

Miyuki Sawashiro

is a female Japanese voice actress and singer who works for Mausu Promotion.She voiced Puchiko in the English dubbed releases of Di Gi Charat the Movie and Leave it to Piyoko, making her one of the few Japanese voice actors to have reprised a role in English in addition to the original Japanese...

She is the evil witch that is trying to get Elde's key. Her real name is Marlene. In the beginning she was good, but ever since the boy she liked from Elde had to go back she started to hate the concept of two worlds. Her hatred grew when one day she found a way to get to Elde and saw through the mirror that the person she liked was now with another girl. This led her to aim for dark magic and get revenge on God. Her final transformation to Cenderillon happened when the boy she loved came back to stop her, got in the way of an attack and died. Age: unknown. Voiced by: Misa Watanabe

Misa Watanabe

is a Japanese voice actress . She is currently affiliated with Aoni Production. She is well known for voicing Nefertari Vivi in One Piece. She is the official Japanese dub-over artist for Cameron Diaz.-Television Animation:*Absolute Boy - Hana Tokimiya...

One of Cendrillon's minor servants, who is no threat to the main cast. He tries to capture Souta many times but always fails. He has three followers, and as a group they use musical magic. He always carries a backpack with canned food with him. His aim is to be in Cendrillon's main army. Age: 100+. Voiced by: Akiko Kobayashi

He hates the weak, and even goes far as making his sister (who was hurt) feel bad. He was taught dark magic by Cendrillon, and the more he learned, the less he cared for his sister. Before he met Cendrillon, he was kind to his sister and others. Age: 17. Voiced by: Kaori Shimizu (OVA, TV (as a child)), Daisuke Hirakawa

Daisuke Hirakawa

is a Japanese voice actor. He is sometimes mistaken for fellow voice actor Daisuke Namikawa, as their names only differ by one character when written in kanji. He is the official Japanese voice actor for Orlando Bloom. For some roles, he is also known as Hirai Tatsuya.- Career :At first, as he...

/

She is Hansel's sister and cares for him. In the beginning she transferred into Souta's school and acted like a nice girl in front of him, but it was soon found out it was a trap to try to kidnap Souta. After losing the first fight against Akazukin and Shirayuki, she has tried to capture Souta many times in order to be acknowledged by her brother. It seems that when she and her brother were lost in the Forest of Okashi, they used to be on good terms, living in a house built of candy. All she really wants is to go back to being how they used to be, instead of fighting for Cendrillon. Even though she is an enemy, Souta always treats her nicely and even protects her, because he knows that she is a good person. Age: 13. Voiced by: Sayuri Yahagi

Sayuri Yahagi

is a Japanese voice actress from Tokyo, Japan. She has also been the narrator of Animax since October 2007.-Anime:*Asu no Yoichi! - Sakon Saginomiya*Asura Cryin - Ania Fortuna*Bakugan Battle Brawlers - Ai...

He is a Leaf Knight who guarded the Fandavale Castle. He was given orders from the King to wait at the captured castle until Souta the key holder came, and tell him, "I believe in you"(meaning the King believes Souta will save the magic world). After he finished his mission, he went his own way to try to save the King on his own, for he prefers doing things alone. He specializes in musical magic. He hates pumpkins because of Akazukin, as she used to wear a pumpkin mask when she was little and scared him with it, and ever since he has been afraid of them. He seems to have feelings for Ringo. Age: 15. Voiced by: Kenji Nojima

Kenji Nojima

is a Japanese seiyū who was born in Tokyo. He is employed by Japanese voice talent agency Aoni Production. He is the son of veteran seiyū Akio Nojima and is the younger brother of seiyū Hirofumi Nojima...

King Fernando

He is the King of Fandavale as well Fandavale's Key. He is a kind hearted person (as described by the Three Musketeers). In the series, he spends most of his time in Cendrillon's castle as a prisoner. Even though he is in prison, he continues to smile and stay optimistic. He also has the ability to control wind magic. Age: 17. Voiced by: Hideki Tasaka

Hideki Tasaka

is a Japanese voice actor who currently works for Sigma Seven. He is best known as the voice of Reks in the original Japanese version of Final Fantasy XII and Duelo McFile in Vandread.-TV Anime:*Blood+ - Gestas*Diamond Daydreams - Tezuk...

Trude

Servant of Cendrillion. She is actually Souta's mother manipulated by Cendrillion's dark magic. She can turn anyone who looks into her eyes into a doll, as well as turn anything to stone. Voiced by: Kaori Shimizu

Episodes

1. 2006-07-01
2. 2006-07-08
3. 2006-07-15
4. 2006-07-22
5. 2006-07-29
6. 2006-08-05
7. 2006-08-12
8. 2006-08-19
9. 2006-08-26
10. 2006-09-02
11. 2006-09-09
12. 2006-09-16
13. 2006-09-23
14. 2006-09-30
15. 2006-10-07
16. 2006-10-14
17. 2006-10-21
18. 2006-10-28
19. 2006-11-04
20. 2006-11-11
21. 2006-11-18
22. 2006-11-25
23. 2006-12-02
24. 2006-12-09
25. 2006-12-16
26. 2006-12-23
27. 2007-01-06
28. 2007-01-13
29. 2007-01-20
30. 2007-01-27
31. 2007-02-03
32. 2007-02-10
33. 2007-02-17
34. 2007-02-24
35. 2007-03-03
36. 2007-03-10
37. 2007-03-17
38. 2007-03-24
39. 2007-03-31

Theme songs

OVA

Opening theme: "Ever-Never-Land" by Yukari Tamura

Yukari Tamura

, is a popular Japanese singer-songwriter and voice actress, affiliated with the talent agency I'm Enterprise. Affectionately called Yukarin by her fans, she is also known for her high-pitched voice and interest in Lolita fashion...

Ending theme: "Clover" by marhy

Marhy

, is a Japanese artist, singer-songwriter, and arranger based on Japan.- Biography :marhy showed a talent for song and dance from the age of 2.At 4 years of age, she began to take keyboard lessons...

Television series

Opening theme 1: by Yukari Tamura

Opening theme 2: "Princess Rose" by Yukari Tamura

Ending theme 1: "Clover" by marhy

Ending theme 2: by Yukari Tamura, Kanako Tateno

Kanako Tateno

is a Japanese voice actress from Miyagi Prefecture. She is currently affiliated with Aoni Production.-Television animation:*Battle B-Daman *Captain Tsubasa: Road to Dream *Chocotto Sister...

 and Miyuki Sawashiro

Miyuki Sawashiro

is a female Japanese voice actress and singer who works for Mausu Promotion.She voiced Puchiko in the English dubbed releases of Di Gi Charat the Movie and Leave it to Piyoko, making her one of the few Japanese voice actors to have reprised a role in English in addition to the original Japanese...

Ending theme 3: "CROSS ROAD" by marhy

Episode 18: Happy Loop by Yukari Tamura

Episode 18: Jasmine no Namida by Kanako Tateno

Episode 18: Yumesaki Garden by Miyuki Sawashiro

Special video: Sympathy by Sayuri Yahagi (Watchable on youtube by typing in "Otogi Jushi Akazukin - Sympathy")

Merchandising

The television series features a fair amount of merchandising tie-ins, such as the "sweet phones" used for casting most magic spells by inserting cards. Akazukin acquires a transformation sequence, with little change to her costume.

External links

• Official web site for Otogi-Jushi Akazukin
• Crunchyroll Show Info and Watch Show Legally (USA and Canada Only)