Mahoraba should not be confused with Maburaho.
| Mahoraba | |
| Ja Kanji: | まほらば |
| Genre: | Romance, slice of life[1] |
| Type: | manga |
| Author: | Akira Kojima |
| Publisher: | Enix (2000-03) Square Enix (2003-06) |
| Demographic: | Shōnen |
| Magazine: | Monthly Gangan Wing |
| First: | January 2000 |
| Last: | July 2006 |
| Volumes: | 12 |
| Volume List: |
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| Type: | tv series |
| Mahoraba ~Heartful Days | |
| Director: | Shinichiro Kimura |
| Music: | bice |
| Studio: | J.C.Staff |
| Network: | TV Tokyo |
| First: | January 10, 2005 |
| Last: | June 26, 2005 |
| Episodes: | 26 |
| Episode List: |
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is a Japanese manga series by Akira Kojima. It was serialized in Square Enix' Monthly Gangan WING manga magazine between January 2000 and July 2006, spanning a total of 12 tankōbon volumes.
An anime television series adaptation, entitled, was animated by J.C.Staff, aired on TV Tokyo from January 10, 2005, to June 26, 2005, spanning a total of 26 episodes.
Shiratori Ryushi wants to become a children's picture book writer, and he moves to an apartment, Narutaki-Sou (Narutaki Villa), in order to go to an art school in Tokyo. Narutaki-Sou is an old Japanese style one-story house which doesn't fit in urban scenery. The complex is owned by his mother's cousin and the manager of the apartment is his second cousin, Aoba Kozue. They met each other when they were children, although Shiratori doesn't remember much of it. Kozue is in the second grade of a high school attached to Aoba Junior College.
There are seven residents of Narutaki-Sou. The first, Chanohata Tamami, lives in room #1 and she is Kozue's childhood friend and best friend. Shiratori Ryushi, the main character of the series, resides in room #2. In room #3 resides Momono Megumi, a person who goes her own way in life. Kurosaki Sayoko and her daughter Asami, who is in the first grade of middle school, live in room #5. Finally, in room #6, Haibara Yukio lives with his puppet Johnny.
Narutaki-Sou is filled with characteristic and eccentric people. However, the most eccentric person is Kozue herself. She has a secret of which even she does not know; when she is shocked at something, her personality changes. Not knowing this, Ryushi moves to Narutaki-Sou to realize his dream.
Note: All characters are voiced by Satomi Arai.
In the epilogue, it is shown that she and Ryūshi are married and have four kids, each of them similar to one of her four alternate personalities.
Yukio doesn't speak directly, but rather uses ventriloquism to speak through his puppet, Johnny. In the anime, he is at one point mistaken for Aleister Crowley by Vermilion, to his and Johnny's considerable distress. Yukio Haibara became Kozue's caretaker after her parents abandoned her at Narutaki Sou. In the manga, Haibara speaks using his own voice only once when he expresses his hope that Shiratori can heal Kozue.
She is the head of the occult research lab, of which Tamami, as well as Kozue are technically members. She is never named and only referred to as "" until the final chapter of the manga. "Erika Vermillion" is a stage name for her fortune-telling business. She has a masochistic slant as well, and enjoys Tamami's talent for insults and other unusual tortures. When at a shrine, she is strangely purified into a person exactly opposite (bright and kind, to a point of using a lot of money to wish for happiness of everyone).
Orchestra club president and conductor, who is the younger sister of Sakura.
She works for the bakery, which is famous for its taiyaki.
She works for the bakery, but is notorious for going through several, vastly unrelated jobs in quick succession — most likely because she is known for frequent slip-ups. She was previously a department jewelry store clerk, fortune teller, lifeguard, and various other jobs. She calls herself Hanako Suzuki.
He runs various prize games with items such as futon warmers and refrigerators as prizes. He often tells bad jokes and puns, mostly for his own amusement.
Sayoko's father and an established and wealthy sculptor. He has a tendency to be controlling.
Sayoko's mother, who cannot stand sunlight, and is therefore much more active at night. Yū Minazuki walks with a cane, which she applies to her husband's feet when he is rude.
Sayoko's younger sister and Asami's aunt, though they are closer to sisters in terms of their relationship. Mahiru Minazuki has been living in Italy since childhood, so she is somewhat awkward at speaking Japanese. She speaks little, and tends to employ a kind of formal monotone when she does.
The senior maid of the Minazuki household. She is an extremely skilled maid and is a capable martial artist and especially skilled with projectile weapons such as darts. Despite her tough appearance, she has a soft spot for things like teddy bears. She is very conscious of her height, thinking herself to be too tall (at the shrine, her wish is to shrink). She is extremely protective of Mahiru.
A maid of the Minazuki household. While her heart is in the right place, she is extremely careless and clumsy, a flaw which often lands her in trouble. In the epilogue, her little sister works as a maid in the house with her.
The personal chauffeur of the Minazuki household.
An artist who happens across Sayoko's carvings. After multiple attempts to track her down, she is now producing and selling sculptures with Sayoko whom she considers to be a genius.
Children's storybook sidestory
Ryushi Shiratori's children's story that is seen many times throughout the anime involves the story of a prince. The prince, who is a representation of Ryushi himself, discovers a castle with a princess living in it. The princess has a fondness for umeboshi and for various reasons concerning umeboshi, she multiplies into other princesses. These new princesses are the representations of Kozue, Saki, Chiyuri, Nanako and Natsume and the princesses appear in the same episode as each of the new personalities are introduced.
Comic panel sidestory
Often during the anime a vertical comic-style sketch related to the main story is shown. The art style and music are consistently used in this way as various situations are shown for comedic purposes. Each panel is displayed for several seconds until the next panel scrolls into view. Usually there are four per situation, reflecting the same yonkoma device that is used in the manga.
| width=17% | Mahoraba volume 1 | width=16% | July 2001 | width=16% | width=1% | width=17% | Mahoraba volume 7 | width=16% | September 2004 | width=16% | |||
| Mahoraba volume 2 | January 2002 | Mahoraba volume 8 | December 2004 | ||||||||||
| Mahoraba volume 3 | July 2002 | Mahoraba volume 8 | December 2004 | ||||||||||
| Mahoraba volume 4 | December 2002 | Mahoraba volume 9 | March 2005 | ||||||||||
| Mahoraba volume 5 | September 2003 | Mahoraba volume 10 | October 2005 | ||||||||||
| Mahoraba volume 5 [2] | September 2003 | Mahoraba volume 11 | April 2006 | ||||||||||
| Mahoraba volume 6 | December 2003 | Mahoraba volume 12 | July 2006 |
Opening
Ending
Together with King Records (Starchild label).
A set of 22 tarot cards with Mahoraba's characters exist. The drawings are done by the author, and in addition to original cards, others such as mass-production versions (simplified background), fake tarot cards (different pictures for card number), and special editions (holographic) exist. These are supplements for related merchandises, and cannot be collected in its entirety solely by buying the books; thus, it is hard to complete the collection.
| No | Card | Character | Merchandises bundled with card | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| I | The Magician | Natsume Konno (紺野 棗) | Volume 3, First Edition | ||
| II | The High Priestess | Mahiru Minazuki (水無月まひる) | Volume 4, First Edition | ||
| III | The Empress | Miyabi Shirogane (銀 雅) | Volume 4 + Gangan WING sweepstakes | ||
| IV | The Emperor | Mizuho Amane (亜麻根瑞穂) | Volume 4 + Gangan WING sweepstakes | ||
| V | The Hierophant | Risona Aizawa(藍沢理想奈) | Volume 4 + Gangan WING sweepstakes | ||
| VI | The Lovers | Chiyuri Midorikawa (緑川千百合) | Volume 4 + Gangan WING sweepstakes | ||
| VII | The Chariot | Megumi Momono (桃乃 恵) | Drama CD "Travels, Happenings, Mahoraba! | " (旅だ、事件だ、まほらばだ | ), First Edition |
| VIII | The Strength | Saki Akasaka (赤坂早紀) | Volume 7, First Edition | ||
| IX | The Hermit | Yukio Haibara & Ryuusei Johnny (灰原由起夫&流星ジョニー) | Volume 8, First Edition | ||
| X | The Wheel of Fortune | Yu Minazuki (水無月 夕) | Gangan WING supplement, March 2005 | ||
| XI | The Justice | Michiyo "Mi-chan" Asagi(浅葱三千代) | Gangan WING supplement, April 2005 | ||
| XII | The Hangedman | Ryushi Shiratori (白鳥隆士) | Gangan WING supplement, May 2005 | ||
| XIII | The Death | Sayoko Kurosaki (黒崎沙夜子) | Volume 9, First Edition | ||
| XIV | The Temperance | Asami Kurosaki (黒崎朝美) | Gangan WING supplement, June 2005 | ||
| XV | The Devil | Erika Vermillion (部長) | Gangan WING supplement, July 2005 | ||
| XVI | The Tower | Tamami Chanohata (茶ノ畑珠実) | Gangan WING supplement, August 2005 | ||
| XVII | The Star | Nanako Kanazawa (金沢魚子) | Gangan WING supplement, September 2005 | ||
| XVIII | The Moon | Satsuki Matsuba (松葉五月) | Gangan WING supplement, October 2005 | ||
| XIX | The Sun | Ryouko Shiratori (白鳥隆子) | Volume 10, First Edition | ||
| XX | The Judgement | Tachibana (タチバナ) | Volume 11, First Edition | ||
| XXI | The World | Kozue Aoba (蒼葉梢) | Volume 12, First Edition | ||
| 0 | The Fool | Tsubasa Yamabuki (山吹 翼) | Gangan WING supplement, February 2005 | ||
| EX | The Wand | Sakura Utsuki & Hiro (空木 桜&尋) | Gangan WING supplement, November 2005 | ||
| EX | The Sword | Ushimitsu Minazuki (水無月丑三) | Gangan WING supplement, November 2005 | ||
| EX | The Cup | That Thing (それ) | Gangan WING supplement, November 2005 | ||
| EX | The Pentacle | Hwang Yo "Yo-chan" Lee (黄有麗) | Gangan WING supplement, November 2005 | ||
| SP | THANK YOU! | Narutaki Sou residents (鳴滝荘メンバー) | Gangan WING supplement, July 2006 |