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....

 and 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...

 series about a kindergarten

Kindergarten

A kindergarten is a preschool educational institution for children. The term was created by Friedrich Fröbel for the play and activity institute that he created in 1837 in Bad Blankenburg as a social experience for children for their transition from home to school...

 student who has many of the features of a child prodigy

Child prodigy

A child prodigy is someone who, at an early age, masters one or more skills far beyond his or her level of maturity. One criterion for classifying prodigies is: a prodigy is a child, typically younger than 18 years old, who is performing at the level of a highly trained adult in a very demanding...

 but at the same time displays many bizarre habits and an odd personality.

Characters

Kiko Himemaya

Kiko is a four-year-old girl who attends a private kindergarten in Tokyo

Tokyo

, ; officially , is one of the 47 prefectures of Japan. Tokyo is the capital of Japan, the center of the Greater Tokyo Area, and the largest metropolitan area of Japan. It is the seat of the Japanese government and the Imperial Palace, and the home of the Japanese Imperial Family...

. She is capable of doing many things most four-year-olds are not capable of; these include cooking, unassisted grocery shopping, limited acrobatics

Acrobatics

Acrobatics is the performance of extraordinary feats of balance, agility and motor coordination. It can be found in many of the performing arts, as well as many sports...

. Despite the title of the series, it is very rare to actually see Kiko smile and almost as rare for her to speak. Despite this, Kiko is quite popular with her classmates. She also has a wide variety of interests, including ballet

Ballet

Ballet is a type of performance dance, that originated in the Italian Renaissance courts of the 15th century, and which was further developed in France and Russia as a concert dance form. The early portions preceded the invention of the proscenium stage and were presented in large chambers with...

, learning English

English language

English is a West Germanic language that arose in the Anglo-Saxon kingdoms of England and spread into what was to become south-east Scotland under the influence of the Anglian medieval kingdom of Northumbria...

, playing video games and interfering with her teacher's love life.

Mama and Papa

(Mama) and (Papa)

Kiko's parents. Papa is a salaryman

Salaryman

refers to someone whose income is salary based; particularly those working for corporations. Its frequent use by Japanese corporations, and its prevalence in Japanese manga and anime has gradually led to its acceptance in English-speaking countries as a noun for a Japanese white-collar...

, Mama is a housewife

Housewife

Housewife is a term used to describe a married woman with household responsibilities who is not employed outside the home. Merriam Webster describes a housewife as a married woman who is in charge of her household...

, and both find their daughter a source of much puzzlement and frustration. Still they are devoted parents.

Megumi-sensei

Sensei

' is a Japanese word that basically means "person born before another." In general usage, it means "master" or "teacher," and the word is used as a title to refer to or address teachers, professors, professionals such as lawyers, CPA and doctors, politicians, clergymen, and other figures of authority...

Kiko's kindergarten teacher. She is twenty years old, and this is her first job out of teaching college. Kiko's eccentricities

Eccentricity (behavior)

In popular usage, eccentricity refers to unusual or odd behavior on the part of an individual. This behavior would typically be perceived as unusual or unnecessary, without being demonstrably maladaptive...

 nearly make it her last, but Kiko is fond of her and turns her happiness into a personal project. Kiko also interferes with her love life, and helped her to find a boyfriend whom she married in the last episode. She hates carrot

Carrot

The carrot is a root vegetable, usually orange in colour, though purple, red, white, and yellow varieties exist. It has a crisp texture when fresh...

s, to the point of fainting when she sees one. But carrots are her boyfriend's family's favourite food, so she often had to ask Kiko for help on the dates. She is extremely careless, even losing her wedding ring

Wedding ring

A wedding ring or wedding band is a metal ring indicating the wearer is married. Depending on the local culture, it is worn on the base of the right or the left ring finger. The custom of wearing such a ring has spread widely beyond its origin in Europe...

.

Neko-chan or Tenshi

An angel

Angel

Angels are mythical beings often depicted as messengers of God in the Hebrew and Christian Bibles along with the Quran. The English word angel is derived from the Greek ἄγγελος, a translation of in the Hebrew Bible ; a similar term, ملائكة , is used in the Qur'an...

 who has come to 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...

 in the form of a black cat on a mission to spread happiness throughout the world. Unfortunately he is unable to communicate with humans (who hear his speech as cat noises), and even more unfortunately for him Kiko adopts him. Even more problematically, he falls hopelessly in love with a vain female cat named Rosa, who eventually reciprocates his affection long enough to bear a litter of five kittens, who she leaves to his (and, without her knowledge, Kiko's) care.

Neko-chan's litter

They're named 'pa','pi','pu','pe',and 'po' by Kiko. They are also angels, and they are able to use supernatural powers. Like normal kittens, they are mischievous and energetic, and they proved themselves to be smarter than Neko-chan, such as the time when Kiko wanted a hippo

Hippo

A hippo or hippopotamus is either of two species of large African mammal which live mainly in and near water:* Hippopotamus* Pygmy HippopotamusHippo may also refer to:-Given names:...

, Neko-chan went to Africa

Africa

Africa is the world's second largest and second most populous continent, after Asia. At about 30.2 million km² including adjacent islands, it covers 6% of the Earth's total surface area and 20.4% of the total land area...

 by holding onto a plane, while the kittens just went to the local zoo

Zoo

A zoological garden, zoological park, menagerie, or zoo is a facility in which animals are confined within enclosures, displayed to the public, and in which they may also be bred....

. They like chocolate

Chocolate

Chocolate is a raw or processed food produced from the seed of the tropical Theobroma cacao tree. Cacao has been cultivated for at least three millennia in Mexico, Central and South America. Its earliest documented use is around 1100 BC...

 and are able to sing.

Trivia

Kiko's name and the title of the series are a pun on the Japanese Royal Family.

Anime Staff

• Story: Wings 布浦
• Executive Producer: Murata Hidenori
• Producer: Ono Tatsuo, T. Desaki
• Technical team: Yoshiyuki Matsuzaki (Magic Bus)
• Literature: Kazumi Koide, Suenaga Mitsuyo
• Screenplay: 一巳 Koide, permanent Ito, Hoshikawa Hiroko, Maruo Miho addition 敬 Tsutiya Satoshi
• General Director: Setsuko Shibuichi
• Assistant Director: Tanahashi Kazunori
• Storyboard/Director: Setsuko Shibuichi, Tanahashi Kazunori, S. Kimiya, Mikuriya Kiyousuke, H. dance rock, Akira Taka Ishiyama, Osamu Inoue, Shigeharu Takahashi, Shinjiro Sakai, T. Shima Kunioka the righteous Hata, Masaru Hideki Hall, Tateno Seiiti, Tada Shiyunsuke In addition Ooba Hideaki
• Chief animation director/character setup: Kobayashi Yukari
• Animation director: Yukari Kobayashi, Ikeda Yuuzi, Matsumoto Katsuzi, Masayuki Fujita, Hiraoka Masayuki, Shinichiro Kajiura, M. spear high Hatakeda Saburou, Shinichi Suzuki, tail Shindou Minoru, H. Oda, other Kawaguti Yukiharu
• Video Inspection: Ohara Makoto, Masayuki Yamashita Hazime, Ryoko Yoshimura, Sato Husae, Huzioka Masanori, et al. Sugawara Hideki
• Art Director: Matsumoto Manami (please Jatsu studio)
• Background: Urata Kenkiti, Hibino Masako, Mayumi next stage, Kobayashi Atsuo, Aihara Sumiko, Yonemoto Noriko, et al. Katou Yukiko
• Color Settings: Zyou Rumiko bell
• Coloring: Mihashi Youko (Shaft), Yokota Kozue, Ootawa Yuri addition Hukuwara Natsuko
• Special Effects: Maekawa Takashi
• Director of Photography: Okazaki Hideo (IMG)
• Camera assistant: T. Masuzawa, Naoyuki Taniguchi, Nakamura Masaki, Satoshi Mitsu Motomiya, Nishi Shigenari (or, IMG) Other
• Editing: Inoue Kazuo
• Sound Director: Satoshi Kato (TOHOKUSHINSHA FILM)
• Sound Effects: Yokoyama Masakazu
• Recording Adjustment: Abe Kayoko
• Sound Production: TOHOKUSHINSHA FILM
• Development: IMAGICA
• Titles: Maki Pro
• Animation Production: Magic Bus
• Animation Production Cooperation: Shaft, Easy film, in addition to the office Blue
• Producer: Aiken, TBS