Video Girl Ai
Encyclopedia
is a manga
series created by Masakazu Katsura
and published by Shueisha
's Weekly Shōnen Jump
. It also has an anime
adaptation. The manga is published in English
by Viz Communications. It was formerly published in the anthology Animerica Extra
by Viz.
It was started in 1989 and continued until 1992, and fifteen manga volumes were produced.
A live-action movie of Video Girl Ai was released in 1991. The plot starts much like the first volume of the manga, but differs later, and the ending is quite different from the OVA and manga, with Ai fading away and Youta only retaining a shadow memory of her. The movie was never commercially translated into English, but a fansubbed version exists on the internet.
The Video Girl Ai anime
is a six part OVA series which was produced by I.G. Tatsunoko. The series was released in 1992 by Jump Video. It roughly covers most of the material found in volumes 1 and 3 of the manga (and some of Volume 2). The character designs for the anime remained faithful to the manga style.
It is commonly speculated that the author, Masakazu Katsura
, used this series as what could be described as a pilot; although he wanted to write a straight romantic comedy, he included sci-fi and action elements, so that the series would guarantee to be a success with both his publishers and (teenage male) audience.
Video Girl Ai was followed in 1993 with another sci-fi/romantic comedy manga DNA²
and by the straight romantic comedy I"s in 1997.
. In fact, a pun is present here which is lost in translation; the two video girls' names, "Ren" and "Ai", combine to form ren'ai – a Japanese word used to describe the type of romantic comedy that Video Girl Ai is. Although they have different protagonists, the "Ai" and "Len" sub-stories are not entirely unrelated; they take place in the same setting, with a similar premise. Two characters from the first 13 volumes also appear in volumes 14 & 15. Volume 15 concludes with a bonus chapter about Video Girl Haruno. Her story is totally separate from the stories of Ai and Len.
However, Yota plays the video on a broken video recorder, which causes Ai to come out "broken"; among other effects she has the ability to feel emotions. This additional feature of Ai causes her to eventually fall in love with Yota; a feeling which, after giving up on Moemi, Yota begins to return. However, a mysterious man related to Gokuraku known as Rolex enters the story and tries to recall Ai as she is faulty, and the fact that Ai's tape is nearing the end of its playing time makes matters even worse.
From this point on, the story changes focus slightly and concentrates on Yota and Ai attempting to overcome the difficulties presented by Gokuraku. Various other complications come into the story; for example Yota's continuing love for Moemi, and his relationship with a new character, Nobuko Nizaki.
Initially, Ai spends some of her time teasing Yota mercilessly in various sexual manners i.e. pretending to initiate intercourse, or joining Yota "innocently" in the bath "to help him wash". Yota's resulting embarrassment and attempt to extricate himself from the situation results, as always, in some slapstick humor and more resulting sexual tension.
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 created by Masakazu Katsura
Masakazu Katsura
is a Japanese manga artist who is best known for several works of manga, including Dream Fighter Wingman, Shadow Lady, DNA², Video Girl Ai, I"s, and Zetman. He has also worked on the character designs for Iria: Zeiram the Animation, which was based on the movie Zeiram.-History:He was born in the...
and published by Shueisha
Shueisha
is a major publisher in Japan. The company was founded in 1925 as the entertainment-related publishing division of Japanese publisher Shogakukan. The following year, Shueisha became a separate, independent company. Magazines published by Shueisha include Weekly Shōnen Jump, Weekly Young Jump,...
's Weekly Shōnen Jump
Weekly Shonen Jump
is a weekly shōnen manga anthology published in Japan by Shueisha under the Jump line of magazines. The first issue was released with a cover date of July 2, 1968, and it is still circulating. One of the longest-running manga magazines in Japan, it has a circulation of 2.8 million copies...
. It also has 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....
adaptation. The manga is published in 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...
by Viz Communications. It was formerly published in the anthology Animerica Extra
Animerica Extra
Animerica Extra is a monthly shōjo manga magazine that was published in North America by Viz Media from 1998 until 2004. Established as a complement to its monthly review magazine Animerica, Animerica Extra was the first manga anthology to be published by Viz.The titles published in Animerica Extra...
by Viz.
It was started in 1989 and continued until 1992, and fifteen manga volumes were produced.
A live-action movie of Video Girl Ai was released in 1991. The plot starts much like the first volume of the manga, but differs later, and the ending is quite different from the OVA and manga, with Ai fading away and Youta only retaining a shadow memory of her. The movie was never commercially translated into English, but a fansubbed version exists on the internet.
The Video Girl Ai 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....
is a six part OVA series which was produced by I.G. Tatsunoko. The series was released in 1992 by Jump Video. It roughly covers most of the material found in volumes 1 and 3 of the manga (and some of Volume 2). The character designs for the anime remained faithful to the manga style.
It is commonly speculated that the author, Masakazu Katsura
Masakazu Katsura
is a Japanese manga artist who is best known for several works of manga, including Dream Fighter Wingman, Shadow Lady, DNA², Video Girl Ai, I"s, and Zetman. He has also worked on the character designs for Iria: Zeiram the Animation, which was based on the movie Zeiram.-History:He was born in the...
, used this series as what could be described as a pilot; although he wanted to write a straight romantic comedy, he included sci-fi and action elements, so that the series would guarantee to be a success with both his publishers and (teenage male) audience.
Video Girl Ai was followed in 1993 with another sci-fi/romantic comedy manga DNA²
DNA²
is a science fiction manga series written and illustrated by Masakazu Katsura. It was serialized across Shueisha's Weekly Shōnen Jump magazine between 1993 and 1994, spanning a total of five tankōbon volumes....
and by the straight romantic comedy I"s in 1997.
History
It was started in 1989 and continued until 1992, and fifteen manga volumes were produced. The first 13 volumes tell a story about a video girl named Ai Amano. The last two volumes, which came years later, focus on a video girl named Len, hence the new name for these two volumes – Video Girl LenVideo Girl Len
Video Girl Len is a manga series by Masakazu Katsura, following a similar theme and story to Video Girl Ai. The story of Video Girl Len is 2 volumes long, and is distributed as Volumes 14 and 15 of the Video Girl Ai manga series.-Story:...
. In fact, a pun is present here which is lost in translation; the two video girls' names, "Ren" and "Ai", combine to form ren'ai – a Japanese word used to describe the type of romantic comedy that Video Girl Ai is. Although they have different protagonists, the "Ai" and "Len" sub-stories are not entirely unrelated; they take place in the same setting, with a similar premise. Two characters from the first 13 volumes also appear in volumes 14 & 15. Volume 15 concludes with a bonus chapter about Video Girl Haruno. Her story is totally separate from the stories of Ai and Len.
Story (manga)
The story starts when Yota Moteuchi finds out that the girl he likes, Moemi Hayakawa, is in love with his best friend, Takashi Niimai. Disappointed by this fact, he decides to rent a video from a mysterious video store that appeared in front of him on his way home. The video store was called "Gokuraku" ("Paradise"). The unique thing about this video store was that the videos in the store contained "video girls", girls which literally come to life and out of the user's television when the video tape is played to cheer the renter up. Not knowing about the video girls, Yota chooses to rent the video 'I'll Cheer You Up!', starring Ai Amano. Ai comes to life with the purpose to brighten up Yota's life and encourage him to pursue his love.However, Yota plays the video on a broken video recorder, which causes Ai to come out "broken"; among other effects she has the ability to feel emotions. This additional feature of Ai causes her to eventually fall in love with Yota; a feeling which, after giving up on Moemi, Yota begins to return. However, a mysterious man related to Gokuraku known as Rolex enters the story and tries to recall Ai as she is faulty, and the fact that Ai's tape is nearing the end of its playing time makes matters even worse.
From this point on, the story changes focus slightly and concentrates on Yota and Ai attempting to overcome the difficulties presented by Gokuraku. Various other complications come into the story; for example Yota's continuing love for Moemi, and his relationship with a new character, Nobuko Nizaki.
Initially, Ai spends some of her time teasing Yota mercilessly in various sexual manners i.e. pretending to initiate intercourse, or joining Yota "innocently" in the bath "to help him wash". Yota's resulting embarrassment and attempt to extricate himself from the situation results, as always, in some slapstick humor and more resulting sexual tension.
Characters
- Ai Amano (天野あい Amano Ai) Beautiful, full of boundless energy. Hard to say what she is really like, versus what she was intended to be. Video girls are generally supposed to be comforting, nubile, excellent cooks and socially graceful, but the malfunction of Yota's VCR has made her tomboyish, at times rude, prone to violence, a terrible cook (actually, she learns to cook all by herself), but full of heart and able to feel human emotion. Her chest endowment has also shrunk considerably due to said VCR malfunction. Seiyū – Megumi HayashibaraMegumi Hayashibarais a Japanese voice actress, singer, radio personality, and lyricist from Tokyo. She is currently affiliated with Aksent. Her nicknames include: Megu-san, Megu-nee, Bara-san, Kakka, and Daijin...
(OAV), Minami TakayamaMinami Takayamais a popular Japanese singer and voice actress. She was married to manga artist Gosho Aoyama on May 5, 2005 but they divorced on December 10, 2007. Minami is also a member of the pop group Two-Mix, and a part of DoCo when it was active....
(CD-drama), and by Maggie Blue O'HaraMaggie Blue O'HaraMaggie Blue O'Hara is a Canadian actress, noted for her voice acting and her recognizable "young teenage girl" voice. In addition to anime roles, she was the voice of Shadowcat in X-Men: Evolution....
in the English dub.
- Yota "Dateless"* Moteuchi (弄内洋太 Moteuchi Yōta) Yota is the stereotypical loser, unable to declare his feelings to his unrequited love, Moemi, socially awkward, with a tendency to get nervous and clumsy around women. Seiyū – Takeshi KusaoTakeshi Kusaois a Japanese voice actor who works for Aoni Production.Among his many roles, he is best known as the voices of Future Trunks , Hanamichi Sakuragi , Lamune , Ryo Sanada , Cless Alvein , Yukimura Sanada , and Dororo is a Japanese voice actor who works for Aoni Production.Among his many roles, he is...
(OAV), Nozomu SasakiNozomu Sasakiis a Japanese voice actor. He is a client of the voice actor management firm, 81 Produce. In 1988, he voiced the well known character, Tetsuo Shima, in the movie, Akira, which was adapted from the manga of the same name. He also performed the role of Yusuke Urameshi in the popular anime adaptation...
(CD-drama), and Brad SwaileBrad SwaileBradley "Brad" Swaile is a Canadian voice actor. He has acted in several animated series, known mostly for his anime roles; particularly that of Amuro Ray in the original Mobile Suit Gundam series, Mousse in Ranma 1/2, and Quatre Raberba Winner in Gundam Wing...
in the English dub.
- Moemi Hayakawa (早川もえみ Hayakawa Moemi) An attractive girl, though almost hopelessly moon-eyed over Takashi, who is too popular to really appreciate Moemi's affectations. Seiyū – Yuri AmanoYuri Amanois a Japanese voice actor. She was born .- Films :* Soreike! Anpanman: Baikinman no Gyakushuu , Akachanman* Mobile Suit Gundam F91 , Jessica* Tobé! Kujira no Peek...
(OAV), Kotono MitsuishiKotono Mitsuishiis a prolific Japanese voice actor from Tokyo. As a young girl, Mitsuishi lived in Nagareyama, Chiba. Mitsuishi graduated from high school in 1986, and entered the Katsuta Voice Actor's Academy. While attending the academy, she began working part time as an elevator girl in the Sunshine 60 building...
(CD-drama), and Jennifer Copping in the English dub.
- Takashi Niimai (新舞貴志 Niimai Takashi) Your typical "tall, dark, and handsome" popular guy. He is one of Yota's best friends, and rejects Moemi's advances because he knows Yota's feelings for her. Seiyū – Koji TsujitaniKoji Tsujitaniis a Japanese voice actor credited for voicing many anime and video game characters. Tsujitani is formerly affiliated with Sigma Seven.-Notable voice work:*3x3 eyes *Blood+ *Bola Kampung *Bondage Queen Kate...
(OAV), Kazuhiko InoueKazuhiko Inoueis a veteran voice actor from Yokohama, Kanagawa, Japan.-Biography:Since his debut in 1973, Kazuhiko Inoue has become one of Japan's most well established voice actors. His early roles from the 1970s include Anthony in Candy Candy, and later as Joe in the 1979 remake of Cyborg 009...
(CD-drama), and Sam VincentSam VincentSam Vincent may refer to:*Samuel Vincent, Canadian voice actor*Sam Vincent , American basketball player and former Charlotte Bobcats head coach...
in the English dub.
- Nobuko Nizaki (仁崎伸子 Nizaki Nobuko) A girl, one year behind Yota, who developed a crush on him in art class two years earlier and now, with Moemi and Ai temporarily sidelined, can pursue romantic ties with Yota. She first appears midway through volume 3 and only appears in the manga.
- Natsumi Yamaguchi (山口夏美 Yamaguchi Natsumi) A girl, an orphan and a runaway, who had played with Yota in kindergarten. Her family then moved away. Her theme is misfortune. Her attribute is a hand extended to help one up. She first appears in volume 6 and only appears in the manga. She seems to have a weak heart.Later on in the series she dies in the hospital, and becomes Ai's role model in love.
- This nickname is based on a pun with the Japanese verb 持てる (moteru), which means to be well liked or popular (or to have something). A second way to read Moteuchi would be "Motenai," which is the negative conjugation for moteru (in other words, to not have something). An attempt to get the joke across to English speaking audiences was made by Ai, who reads his name and declares, "Motenai?!? As in LOSER?" Yota corrects her, but the image has already been planted into the audience's mind.
Len story characters
- Len Momono Star of 'Let's Fall in Love.' A new and untested video girl. She was created by the nameless "Old Man" who once worked in the Gokuraku store. Unlike Ai and the original Video Girls, she's allowed to feel emotions of her own.
- Hiromu Taguchi and Toshiki Karukawa The boys who rent the tape. Hiromu is the center character of this new story arch, and is pretty much as shy as Yota used to be. He has a keen interest on Ayumi, but there are some problems in their relationship because of his shyness and because of the bad reputation she has. Later, they engage, but Hiromu becomes too happy to pay attention to Ayumi, and they break up temporarily until he can "find her again" in his memories. Toshiki, on the other hand, is more emotionally expressive and prone to teenage-typical reactions, like spying on Len (which makes her angry).
- Ayumi Shirakawa The girl Hiromu wants to love. However, their relationship is made difficult because of a rumor spread out by her ex-boyfriend, which gave her a bad reputation in her school and beyond (Hiromu and Ayumi attend different schools). Len then devised a plan to reapproach them, just to make Ayumi see who she was dealing with all along. She breaks up with her ex-boyfriend for good and starts dating Hiromu.
- Yota Moteuchi Now eight years older than he appeared at the end of "Video Girl Ai", Yota now teaches at an art school in the afternoon, which Hiromu and Ayumi attend. He is Hiromu's mentor and they talk often about Len. Yota tells Ayumi that Len went through the same experiences that she is going through. He does mention at one point in the series that Ai is doing well.
Volumes
ISBNs are for the 2nd edition by VIZ Media- Volume 1 – American Edition: ISBN 1-59116-074-X
- Volume 2 – American Edition: ISBN 1-59116-075-8
- Volume 3 – American Edition: ISBN 1-59116-075-8
- Volume 4 – American Edition: ISBN 1-59116-104-5
- Volume 5 – American Edition: ISBN 1-59116-146-0
- Volume 6 – American Edition: ISBN 1-59116-607-1
- Volume 7 – American Edition: ISBN 1-59116-748-5
- Volume 8 – American Edition: ISBN 1-59116-303-X
- Volume 9 – American Edition: ISBN 1-59116-304-8
- Volume 10 – American Edition: ISBN 1-59116-305-6
- Volume 11 – American Edition: ISBN 1-59116-306-4
- Volume 12 – American Edition: ISBN 1-59116-307-2
- Volume 13 – American Edition: ISBN 1-59116-308-0
- Volume 14 – American Edition: ISBN 1-59116-309-9
- Volume 15 – American Edition: ISBN 1-4215-0295-X