Himitsu no Akko-chan

Himitsu no Akko-chan (ひみつのアッコちゃん) is an early magical girl manga series written and illustrated by Fujio Akatsuka. The story centers around an elementary school girl who is gifted a magic mirror that allows her to transform into anything she chooses, and the misadventures that follow. It was published in Shueisha's monthly Ribon magazine from 1962 to 1965. While Akko-chan predates the Sally the Witch manga, the Sally anime adaptation predates Akko-chan's.

The first Himitsu no Akko-chan anime adaptation ran for 94 episodes from 1969 to 1970. It was animated by Toei Animation and broadcast by TV Asahi (formerly known as NET). It has been remade twice, in 1988 (61 episodes, featuring Mitsuko Horie in the role of Akko-chan and singing the opening and ending themes) and in 1998 (44 episodes).

Two movies were produced. Himitsu no Akko-chan Movie and 'Umi da! Obake da!! Natsu Matsuri' both released in 1989. It was adapted into a live-action film released on September 1, 2012.

An adaptation of the series ran as a web manga, ひみつのアッコちゃん μ (Himitsu no Akko-Chan μ, pronounced "myu"), written by Hiroshi Izawa, and drawn by Futago Kamikita.

Plot
Atsuko Kagami is a childlike, arrogant elementary school girl who has an affinity for mirrors. One day, her favorite mirror which was given to Akko by her mother (or in some versions, by her father, as a present from India) is broken, and she prefers to bury it in her yard rather than throw it in the trash can.

In her dreams, she is contacted by a spirit (or in some cases the Queen of the Mirror Kingdom) who is touched that the girl would treat the mirror so respectfully and not simply throw it away. Akko-chan is then given the gift of a magical mirror and taught enchantments, "tekumaku mayakon, tekumaku mayakon" and "lamipus lamipus lu lu lu lu lu". that will allow her to transform into anything she wishes.

Characters

 * Atsuko Kagami (鏡厚子, 加賀美あつ子, 加賀見アツコ, 加賀美あつこ, アッコちゃん)
 * Voiced by Yoshiko Ōta (1969), Mitsuko Horie (1988), Wakana Yamazaki (1998), Aya Hirano (2012) Haruka Ayase (movie)
 * The titular protagonist. Atsuko Kagami is often called Akko-chan for short. 鏡アツ子, from the name 加賀美あつ子 but with the family-name part 加賀美, "Kagami" ("mirror"), replaced by 鏡.


 * Kyoko Kagami (加賀美恭子)
 * Voiced by Reiko Senō (1969), Yoshiko Ōta (1988), Miina Tominaga (1998)
 * Akko's mother.


 * Kenichiro Kagami (加賀美健一郎)
 * Voiced by Ichirō Murakoshi (1969), Banjō Ginga (1988), Ken Yamaguchi (1998)
 * Akko's father.


 * Moko (モコ)
 * Voiced by Sumiko Shirakawa (1969), Kazuko Sugiyama (1988), Kikumi Umeda (1998)
 * Akko's best friend.


 * Kankichi (カン吉)
 * Voiced by Akiko Tsuboi (1969), Noriko Uemura (1988), Harumi Ikoma (1998)
 * Moko's younger brother.


 * Ganmo (ガンモ)
 * Voiced by Junko Hori, Mariko Takigawa (1969), Noriko Tsukase, Yuko Mita (1988), Junko Takeuchi (1998)
 * Kankichi's friend.


 * Chikako (チカ子)
 * Voiced by Hiroko Maruyama (1969), Keiko Yamamoto (1988 and 1998)
 * A young girl who likes to spy on Akko.


 * Taisho (大将, 赤塚大作)
 * Voiced by Hiroshi Ōtake (1969), Yoku Shioya (1988), Takuma Suzuki (1998)
 * A hefty boy and rival to Akko. He has a secret crush on her.


 * Shosho (少将)
 * Voiced by Sachiko Chijimatsu (1969), Michiko Hirai (1969, episodes 56 and 61), Katsue Miwa (1988), Satomi Korogi (1998)
 * Taisho's younger brother.


 * Gyoro (ギョロ)
 * Voiced by Junko Hori (1969), Michitaka Kobayashi (1988), Yoshihiko Akida (1998)
 * Henchman of Taisho.


 * Goma (ゴマ)
 * Voiced by Kōko Kagawa, Junko Hori, Mariko Takigawa (1969), Noriko Tsukase, Chie Sato (1988), Yasuhiro Takato (1998)
 * Henchman of Taisho.


 * Shippona (シッポナ)
 * Voiced by Sachiko Chijimatsu, Kōko Kagawa (1969), Naoko Watanabe (1988), Ai Nagano (1998)
 * Akko's cat.


 * Dora (ドラ)
 * Voiced by Ichiro Murakoshi, Hiroshi Otake (1969), Masaharu Sato (1988), Yasuhiro Takato (1998)
 * Taisho's cat.


 * Kenji Sato (佐藤健二, 佐藤先生)
 * Voiced by Osamu Ichikawa (1969), Masaharu Sato (1988), Hiroki Takahashi (1998)
 * Homeroom teacher of Akko and Moko.


 * Moriyama (森山先生)
 * Voiced by Naoko Takahashi, Kōko Kagawa (1969), Kyoko Irokawa (1988), Ai Nagano (1998)
 * English teacher.


 * Queen of the Mirror Country (ドラ)
 * Voiced by Reiko Senoo, Kōko Kagawa (1969), Eiko Masuyama (1988), Mitsuko Horie (1998)
 * A queen from the distant "Magic Country". She provides Akko with her compact mirror.

Exclusive to 1969 Anime

 * Narrator
 * Voiced by Shun Yashiro
 * Gabo (ガア坊)
 * Voiced by Shun Yashiro
 * A talking parrot.
 * A talking parrot.

Exclusive to 1988 Anime

 * Kio (キーオ)
 * Voiced by Shigeru Nakahara
 * Prince of Mirror Country


 * Gentaro (源太郎)
 * Voiced by Kazumi Tanaka
 * Elderly servant of Kio


 * The Strange Old Man (変なおじさん)
 * Voiced by Kazumi Tanaka
 * A strange man who shows up randomly.

Exclusive to 1998 Anime

 * Ippei (一平)
 * Voiced by Junko Takeuchi
 * A penguin who joins Akko and friends.

Exclusive to 2012 Movie

 * Naoto Hayase (早瀬尚人)
 * Voiced by Masaki Okada