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Sister Princess (anime)
Encyclopedia
is an anime
television series, based on the manga and video game series of the same name
. The television series was aired from April 4 - September 26, 2001, ran for 26 episodes, and 6 volumes of videos were released on VHS
and DVD
. ADV Films licensed the show for its North America
n release. E-Kids handles the Chinese
dubs of the show in DVD and VCD
under the title 妹妹公主 (Mèi Mèi Gōng Zhǔ).
lifestyle in Tokyo
or be in Promised Island together with his sisters.
for the information about Wataru and the twelve sisters.
:
:
:
:
Dream Girl:
already lists the Japanese addresses, the table is a comparison of the different addresses with original ones and those used in the English and Mandarin Chinese dubs. This only applies to the anime as the Sister Princess games were never released internationally.
Note that seven of the sisters and Mami call Wataru the same way in the Chinese version (哥哥, gēgē) probably due of the lack of more expressive ways in the Chinese language in addressing one's brother.
The first twelve episodes in this season are each divided into two parts. The first part features the sisters spending their time with Wataru (who is actually nameless here). The second part highlights a particular sister's story about herself and the brother and is loosely based on the magazine stories published in G's Magazine. The thirteenth episode is a full-length one.
Mami and Yamada each have a small appearance in this series.
Hiroaki Miura
plays the brother in this season, which also features Aria's maid, Jiiya.
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....
television series, based on the manga and video game series of the same name
Sister Princess
is a popular Japanese seinen series written by Sakurako Kimino and illustrated by Naoto Tenhiro. It began as a serialized light novel series in 1999. In 2001, a manga series and a bishōjo game for the Sony PlayStation were released. Sequels to the game were released for the PlayStation and Game Boy...
. The television series was aired from April 4 - September 26, 2001, ran for 26 episodes, and 6 volumes of videos were released on VHS
VHS
The Video Home System is a consumer-level analog recording videocassette standard developed by Victor Company of Japan ....
and DVD
DVD
A DVD is an optical disc storage media format, invented and developed by Philips, Sony, Toshiba, and Panasonic in 1995. DVDs offer higher storage capacity than Compact Discs while having the same dimensions....
. ADV Films licensed the show for its North America
North America
North America is a continent wholly within the Northern Hemisphere and almost wholly within the Western Hemisphere. It is also considered a northern subcontinent of the Americas...
n release. E-Kids handles the Chinese
Chinese language
The Chinese language is a language or language family consisting of varieties which are mutually intelligible to varying degrees. Originally the indigenous languages spoken by the Han Chinese in China, it forms one of the branches of Sino-Tibetan family of languages...
dubs of the show in DVD and VCD
Video CD
Before the advent of DVD and Blu-ray, the Video CD became the first format for distributing films on standard 120 mm optical discs. The format is a standard digital format for storing video on a Compact Disc...
under the title 妹妹公主 (Mèi Mèi Gōng Zhǔ).
Synopsis
Wataru Minakami fails an entrance exam and therefore is left behind by his friends. He suddenly finds out that his father has enrolled him in a school in Promised Island and is suddenly whisked there. Upon arrival, he finds out that he has twelve sisters who look forward to spend his time with them. He has to face to a decision to go back to his possibly stereotypicalStereotype
A stereotype is a popular belief about specific social groups or types of individuals. The concepts of "stereotype" and "prejudice" are often confused with many other different meanings...
lifestyle 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...
or be in Promised Island together with his sisters.
Anime-exclusive characters
The following characters listed here are those who appear only in the anime. One can refer to the main articleSister Princess
is a popular Japanese seinen series written by Sakurako Kimino and illustrated by Naoto Tenhiro. It began as a serialized light novel series in 1999. In 2001, a manga series and a bishōjo game for the Sony PlayStation were released. Sequels to the game were released for the PlayStation and Game Boy...
for the information about Wataru and the twelve sisters.
:
- Mamimi, or Mami (眞深) for short, is initially regarded by those new to the anime as the "13th sister." In fact, like the sisters, she has a pet name for Wataru: An-chan (あんちゃん). However, she is just a girl posing as one of Wataru's sisters after he mistakes her as such, and she is sent by someone to watch over him and break him away from the sisters so she can bring him back to Tokyo.
- Mami can be regarded as a pseudo-antagonistAntagonistAn antagonist is a character, group of characters, or institution, that represents the opposition against which the protagonist must contend...
because of her mission, but she mostly acts as comic reliefComic reliefComic relief is the inclusion of a humorous character, scene or witty dialogue in an otherwise serious work, often to relieve tension.-Definition:...
, even learning why the sisters love him very much. Eventually, she becomes a source of advice to Wataru and even goes after him when he returns to Tokyo, hoping to return him to the island.
- In marked contrast to the sisters themselves, Mami treats him differently, acting as if she is more of a friend than a sibling (though towards the ending of the series, however, there are some hints that Mami might be developing deeper feelings towards Wataru). Furthermore, she doesn't bring a lot of things to Promised Island (only clothes and camping gear) with a hand-held computer and possibly a sewing machine as (arguably) her only luxuries.
- Although she is not really Wataru's sister, she is somebody's sister. She always receives e-mails from her real brother, demanding whatever happened to Wataru and her plans to bring him back, much to her chagrin.
- Towards the end of the series, it is confirmed that Akio, Wataru's friend in Tokyo, was Mami's older brother. The two are initially seen to have a bad relationship, with Akio treating his sister more as an agent than as a sibling and her caring little for him. Akio accuses Mami of having grown decadent on Promised Island, whereas she finds his intentions for Wataru to be distasteful. Later, they seem to be growing a little closer to each other, Mami managing to playfully tease Akio and him reminiscing a little about their past together; apparently she used to address her brother with the nickname she has bestowed on Wataru, 'An-chan'.
- Voiced by: Kyoko HikamiKyoko Hikamiis a Japanese voice actress who was born in Kobe. She is part of the voice actress trio Furil which also consists of Wedding Peach voice castmates Yūko Miyamura and Yukana Nogami.-Notable voice roles:*Sudou in Atashinchi...
(Japanese), Christine AutenChristine AutenChristine McPeters Auten is an American voice actress, ADR Director, and ADR Script Writer who works for Funimation Entertainment and ADV Films...
(English)
:
- Yamada is the third ferry passenger who goes with Wataru and Mami to Promised Island so he would enroll at the school there.
- Like Mami, he also provides comic relief to the show, acting as an odd-ball casanova and makes friends with Wataru so he can have a girlfriend. This is especially evident when he calls Wataru lucky for having very pretty sisters and dreams of spending his time with them. To this purpose, he would do anything to get their attention. Despite his odd behaviour, Yamada does have some redeeming traits; he can work very hard if he is properly motivated and refrains from doing anything truly scandalous.
- It is worth noting that although none of the sisters shows any romantic interest in Yamada, they do seem to place a considerable amount of trust in him, probably because he is vocal about being friends with Wataru. Karen enlists his aid as a sympathetic ear for Wataru on one occasion, and Shirayuki listens to him when he says Wataru needs "nutrition for the heart", meaning she should make him much more food because it makes him feel manly (Yamada only said this because he wanted some of Shirayuki's cooking for himself and thought he could eat whatever Wataru can't).
- When he is not spending his time with the sisters, Taro focuses his attention to anything related to a fictional anime called Garban (a parody of GundamGundamThe is a metaseries of anime created by Sunrise studios that features giant robots called "Mobile Suits" ; usually the protagonist's MS will carry the name Gundam....
). Some of the episodes actually end with him watching Garban; these often involve either Yamada or one of the characters to make a comment that mimicks Wataru's own situation. Eventually, he manages to outgrow this obsession, when he is provided with a surplus of Garban material. His fascination with the fairer sex remains as strong as ever, though.
- Voiced by: Kappei YamaguchiKappei Yamaguchi, better known by his stage name of , is a Japanese voice actor and actor from Fukuoka, affiliated with Gokū and 21st Century Fox.He is best known for the roles of Ranma Saotome , Jackson Neil , Tombo , Yattaro , InuYasha , Ryuichi Sakuma , L , Usopp...
(Japanese), Greg AyresGreg AyresGregory Scott Ayres is an American voice actor who works for anime series at Funimation Entertainment, ADV Films, Seraphim Digital, and OkraTron 5000. He has provided voices for a number of English language versions of Japanese anime films...
(English)
:
- Akio is Wataru's best friend back in Tokyo and the recipient of Wataru's e-mailE-mailElectronic mail, commonly known as email or e-mail, is a method of exchanging digital messages from an author to one or more recipients. Modern email operates across the Internet or other computer networks. Some early email systems required that the author and the recipient both be online at the...
s which the latter writes at the beginning and end of almost every episode.
- He has plans to have himself, Wataru, and another friend, Minai, to go to the same high school together and eventually become the elite men in society. But this plan fails after Wataru's failure in the entrance exam. The continuation of his plan is the reason why he sent his little sister Mami to watch over Wataru. At the end of the anime, Akio is jarred from his own vision of the future by Wataru's refusal to stay in Tokyo. He follows Wataru to Promised Island in the company of Mami and enrolls there, according to him in an effort to find out 'what is truly cool', based on a comment from Mami that his original plans for the future weren't.
- Considering the fact that Akio transfers into the same class as Mami and Wataru, he and Mami must be nearly the same age. It is unknown whether they share only one parent or both.
- Voiced by: Ryotaro OkiayuRyotaro Okiayuis a Japanese voice actor, who was born in Kitakyushu, Fukuoka Prefecture, and raised in Osaka, Osaka Prefecture. He has been active since 1989, and is currently affiliated with Aoni Production....
(Japanese), Chris PattonChris PattonChristopher David Patton is an American voice actor who works on anime for Funimation Entertainment, ADV Films, Seraphim Digital, and OkraTron 5000...
(English)
:
- Jiiya (or JeevesJeevesReginald Jeeves is a fictional character in the short stories and novels of P. G. Wodehouse, being the valet of Bertie Wooster . Created in 1915, Jeeves would continue to appear in Wodehouse's works until his final, completed, novel Aunts Aren't Gentlemen in 1974, making him Wodehouse's most famous...
in the English dub) is, simply put, Wataru's old butlerButlerA butler is a domestic worker in a large household. In great houses, the household is sometimes divided into departments with the butler in charge of the dining room, wine cellar, and pantry. Some also have charge of the entire parlour floor, and housekeepers caring for the entire house and its...
, who reports to Wataru in the first episode that he was leaving because he had promised Wataru's father that he would take care of Wataru until he graduated from junior high school and then sent Wataru to Promised Island. However, since then, Jiiya has been seen in numerous different guises just to watch over him, too, especially on his past.
- One should take note that he should not be confused with Aria's maid, whom she also calls Jiiya.
- Voiced by: Toshihide Tsuchiya (Japanese), John SwaseyJohn SwaseyJohn Swasey is an American actor, voice actor, ADR Director, and Script Writer who works at Funimation Entertainment, ADV Films, Seraphim Digital, and OkraTron 5000...
(English)
Dream Girl:
- This young girl's ghost, wearing a yellow dress and hat, is somehow related to Wataru in some way and frequently appears in strange places. Her identity is never fully established and there is speculation about who she really is. The only certain thing about her is that before Wataru left Promised Island when he was a boy, he made a promise with her and she disappeared soon after for reasons unknown.
- In the last episode, part of her face is finally revealed and it resembles a younger version of Karen; many fans believe that Karen was the Dream Girl whom Wataru met many years ago on Promised Island, but it was never confirmed. Alternatively, she may be an amalgam of Wataru's buried memories of his sisters, forgotten until he experienced a time of great stress and lost the way he'd set out on in Tokyo, allowing her to manifest again.
- Voiced by: Sakura NogawaSakura Nogawa' is a voice actress born in Toyohashi, Aichi on March 1, 1978. Her height is 153 cm and her weight is 54 kg.-Notable voice roles:*Ryunmei Ranka in Arad Senki: Slap Up Party*Tsubasa in Angel Tales*Misha Arsellec Lune in Ar tonelico...
(Japanese), Kim PrauseKim PrauseKim Prause is an American voice actress and theatre actress. She has done several anime voice roles for ADV Films.-Voice roles:* Air - Kano's Mother* Angelic Layer - Chitose Tanaka* Aquarian Age: Sign for Evolution - Arayashiki East...
(English)
- Minai is a friend of Akio and Wataru back in Tokyo. When Wataru failed the entrance exam, he was the one who passed instead. His attitude towards Wataru implies that he never treated Wataru as a friend, but only as a rival. He appears in the first and penultimate episodes.
- Voiced by: Hisayoshi Izaki (Japanese), Mark X. Laskowski (English)
Ways of address
Below are the forms of addresses that each sister calls Wataru, in order of their first appearance in the anime. Although the main articleSister Princess
is a popular Japanese seinen series written by Sakurako Kimino and illustrated by Naoto Tenhiro. It began as a serialized light novel series in 1999. In 2001, a manga series and a bishōjo game for the Sony PlayStation were released. Sequels to the game were released for the PlayStation and Game Boy...
already lists the Japanese addresses, the table is a comparison of the different addresses with original ones and those used in the English and Mandarin Chinese dubs. This only applies to the anime as the Sister Princess games were never released internationally.
Note that seven of the sisters and Mami call Wataru the same way in the Chinese version (哥哥, gēgē) probably due of the lack of more expressive ways in the Chinese language in addressing one's brother.
| Sister | | How she addresses Wataru | ||
|---|---|---|---|
| In Japanese (with Romanization) | In English (ADV Dub) | In Mandarin (with Pinyin Pinyin Pinyin is the official system to transcribe Chinese characters into the Roman alphabet in China, Malaysia, Singapore and Taiwan. It is also often used to teach Mandarin Chinese and spell Chinese names in foreign publications and used as an input method to enter Chinese characters into... Romanization) |
|
| Karen | お兄ちゃん (Onii-chan) | Big Brother | 哥哥 (gēgē) |
| Sakuya | お兄様 (Onii-sama) | Dear Brother | 哥哥 (gēgē) |
| Kaho | お兄ちゃま (Onii-chama) | Brother | 哥哥 (gēgē) |
| Hinako | おにいたま (Onii-tama) | Bro-Bro | 哥哥 (gēgē) |
| Mamoru | あにぃ (Anii) | Big Bro | 老哥 (lǎogē) |
| Haruka | 兄君さま (Anigimi-sama) | Beloved Brother | 哥哥大人 (gēgē dàrén) |
| Marie | 兄上様 (Aniue-sama) | Brother Mine | 哥哥殿下 (gēgē diànxià) |
| Chikage | 兄くん (Ani-kun) | Brother Darling | 大哥 (dàgē) |
| Shirayuki | にいさま (Nii-sama) | Elder Brother | 哥哥 (gēgē) |
| Rinrin | アニキ (Aniki) | Bro | 老哥 (lǎogē) |
| Yotsuba | 兄チャマ (Ani-chama) | Brother Dearest | 哥哥 (gēgē) |
| Aria | 兄や (Nii-ya) | Mon Frère | 哥哥 (gēgē) |
| Mami | あんちゃん (An-chan) | Bud | 哥哥 (gēgē) |
- : Literally "my brother" in FrenchFrench languageFrench is a Romance language spoken as a first language in France, the Romandy region in Switzerland, Wallonia and Brussels in Belgium, Monaco, the regions of Quebec and Acadia in Canada, and by various communities elsewhere. Second-language speakers of French are distributed throughout many parts...
. - : Not really a sister as noted above, but she pretends to be one, so she too has an address.
Sister Princess RePure
Many fans of Sister Princess were disappointed at the outcome of the anime's first season. To answer this, a 13-episode second season, called Sister Princess RePure was produced, one that is faithful to the magazine stories.The first twelve episodes in this season are each divided into two parts. The first part features the sisters spending their time with Wataru (who is actually nameless here). The second part highlights a particular sister's story about herself and the brother and is loosely based on the magazine stories published in G's Magazine. The thirteenth episode is a full-length one.
Mami and Yamada each have a small appearance in this series.
Hiroaki Miura
Hiroaki Miura
is a Japanese voice actor from Nagano Prefecture. He is affiliated with the studio Aoni Production and has starred in several voice-over roles for anime, video games, and film since 1998.-Anime:* Air Master...
plays the brother in this season, which also features Aria's maid, Jiiya.