is a popular magical girl anime series. The manga was created by Tomô Inoue and Makiho Narita, while the 72-episode anime series was produced by Toei Animation between 1974 and 1975. This series is considered an important forerunner of the present day magical girl genre, as the series' characterization and general structure exerted considerable influence over future shows in the same genre. Most notably, several of the show's recurring motifs were recycled in Toei's Sailor Moon, AIC's Pretty Sammy, and (to a lesser degree) Wedding Peach.
Synopsis
Megu-Chan follows the experiences of a powerful (but accident-prone) young witch who comes to Earth as part of her initiation into larger society. Megu is a contender for the throne of the Witch World but knows very little of human relationships. Sent to Mid-World (Earth) in her early teens, she is adopted by Mammi Kanzaki, a former witch who gave up her royal ambitions to wed a mortal. Mammi bewitches her husband and their two children, Rabi and Apo, into believing that Megu has always been the eldest child of the family (the concept of using magic to alter memory would turn up again in future magical girl series, such as Majokko Tickle and Sailor Moon). Under Mammi's tutelage, Megu learns to control both her abilities and impulses in order to prove her worthiness for the crown.
This rite-of-passage subtext is continued throughout the series. A free spirit in the purest sense of the word, Megu-chan discovers emotions she'd never known existed – loneliness, compassion, grief, love, desperation, and (perhaps most importantly) self-sacrifice. As the story progresses, she proves the nobility of her character through the various trials and tribulations of youth, evolving from a willful and rather selfish little girl into a kind, generous, loving young woman. She battles monsters, demons, and rival sorcerers (including her nemesis, Non), but quickly realizes that her true enemy is the darker side of human nature.
Main characters
The European dub versions made generally minimal changes to the character names. In Italian, the only major name change was "Megu" to "Bia" (although "Non" became "Noa"), and Megu's family's name was changed from "Kanzaki" to "Giapo" (from "Giappone," the Italian spelling of "Japan"), "Chou-San"/"Cho-San" changed just only a bit and became "Ciosa" or "Ciosah", "Kurou" ("Crow"/"Claw") became "Cra Cra" from the Italian onomatopoeia of the song of the crows, "Furu Furu" cat was changed (as it was French) with the correct spelling of "Fru Fru" ("Frou Frou"). In the French dub, Mammi Kanzaki became "Mamine" Kanzaki, and Rabi and Apo became "Robin" and "Apolline" (the younger daughter was still called "Apo" for short).
Initially, Megu experiences severe difficulties adapting to 'normal' society, even at the simplest levels. Family relationships are completely beyond her. She argues with her Father and squabbles constantly with her younger siblings, Rabi and Apo, who love to play tricks on her. She confronts Boss, the school bully, in an escalating battle of wills and gets into trouble with her teachers. She falls in love with the new boy and weeps in secret when he returns to his home country. Basically, her behaviour resembles that of any other girl her age, given the social norms in mid-seventies Japan. As with the magical girl programs of the sixties, the main focus was on family and friendship; domestic disputes were normally handled with light-hearted humor. , Aurélia Bruno (French - Meg), Cinzia de Carolis (Italian - "Bia Giapo")
Blue-haired and pale-skinned, Non is one of the most powerful sorcerers of the Witch-World. Non is Megu's main contender for the crown; a cold, alien being almost devoid of emotion. Setting a precedent for many later mahou shōjo anime, Non attempts to murder Megu during their very first meeting and continues to plague her throughout the series. Eventually, Non comes to admire her rival's innate courage, even joining forces with her against mutual enemies (such as the demonic witch-queen Saturn and her devious henchman, Chou-san) in several episodes. While true friendship is never an option (in Non's view anyway), the two reach an uneasy truce by the middle of the series, agreeing to hold off their final confrontation (for possession of the throne) as long as possible, and by the end of the series, Non becomes far frequently a source of help than hindrance to Megu. , Hélène Chanson (French), Liliana Sorrentino (Italian - "Noa")
Megu's adopted mother. , Dany Laurent (French - Mamine), Claudia Ricatti (Italian - "Mammi Giapo")
Megu's adopted father. , Mario Pecqueur (French), Renzo Stacchi (Italian - "Sr. Giapo")