Wish (manga)
Encyclopedia
is a Japanese
Japanese language
is a language spoken by over 130 million people in Japan and in Japanese emigrant communities. It is a member of the Japonic language family, which has a number of proposed relationships with other languages, none of which has gained wide acceptance among historical linguists .Japanese is an...

 shōjo
Shojo
The term refers to manga marketed to a female audience roughly between the ages of 10-18. The name romanizes the Japanese 少女 , literally: "little female". Shōjo manga covers many subjects in a variety of narrative and graphic styles, from historical drama to science fiction — often with a strong...

 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 created by Clamp
Clamp (manga artists)
, is an all-female Japanese manga artist group that formed in the mid 1980s. Many of the group's manga series are often adapted into anime after release. It consists of their leader , who provides much of the storyline and screenplay for all their works and adaptations of those works respectively ,...

. It is published in English
English language
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 by Tokyopop
Tokyopop
Tokyopop, styled TOKYOPOP, and formerly known as Mixx, is a distributor, licensor, and publisher of anime, manga, manhwa, and Western manga-style works. The existing German publishing division produces German translations of licensed Japanese properties and original English-language manga, as well...

. The American translation was imported to Australia
Australia
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 by Madman Entertainment
Madman Entertainment
Madman Entertainment is an Australian company that distributes international films as well as Japanese anime and manga in Australia and New Zealand. The company is owned by Funtastic Limited and is one of the major entertainment companies in Australia. It employs 130 people and has an annual...

.

Plot

While walking home from work one day, a doctor named Shuichiro notices an angel, Kohaku, stuck on a tree while being attacked by a crow. He rescues Kohaku and, in return, Kohaku offers to grant him a wish. However, Shuichiro does not WANT one. His life is OK, his work is going well, he has no money problems and he believes in fulfilling his own dreams! What can an angel do? Kohaku decides that the best thing to do is hang around and help him till he DOES think of a wish she can grant.

During her stay, the angel Hisui, and two demons, Koryuu and Kokuyo, also begin living in the house, along with the Koryuu's servants Ruri and Hari. Kokuyo is the son of Satan and is in love with Hisui, who is one of the four Angel Masters controlling the four elements: earth, wind, fire, and water; with wind being her element. Kokuyo admits that he made love to Hisui and that is how they ended up together. This relationship, however, is forbidden in both Heaven and Hell, so the two sought refuge on Earth. Kohaku originally came to Earth to find Hisui, who had been a mentor and parental figure to her.

Despite his new housemates, Shuichiro remains as stoic as ever. Although he persists in not making a wish, without realizing it, he grows attached to Kohaku.

Eventually Kohaku is forced back to heaven against her will by God, because she has the important task of hatching the eggs from the Tree of Life by singing to them. However, Kohaku deeply misses Shuichiro and realizes she had developed feelings for him. Likewise, Shuichiro misses her and continues to hold on to one of her earrings to try to prevent her from staying in heaven. Unable to bear the separation, Kohaku returns without God's permission, and the couple is happily reunited. Their reunion is short-lived as the three remaining Angel Masters come to Earth to punish both Kohaku, and Hisui for being in love with a demon. Hisui is stripped of her Angel Master status and is banished from heaven, to her and Kokuyo's delight. Kohaku, in turn, is stripped of her powers and forced to remain in a small form for the next one-hundred years. She is devastated that she could not grant Shuichiro's wish, but as Shuichiro's wish was for Kohaku to stay with him forever, it was one he could not have fulfilled himself.

Shortly afterward, Shuichiro suddenly dies while on a walk with Kohaku. Kohaku is put into a hundred years sleep, so that Shuichiro will have been reincarnated by the time Kohaku awakens. Kokuyo and Hisui are sentenced to look after her sleeping form. One hundred years later, the reincarnation of Shuichiro, now 17, passes by his old house which awakens Kohaku. He has no memory of her, so their relationship starts anew.

Can some wishes be fulfilled alone or do you sometimes need help? If you didn't need help...why bother to fall in love?

Characters

The authors and the translators state both in the text and in the sidebars that there is no gender in either Heaven or Hell. They have adopted the convention of referring to angels by feminine pronouns and demons by masculine pronouns.
– The doctor who saves the angel Kohaku from a crow in the beginning of the story. He is sceptical of the fact Kohaku is indeed an angel (believing her at first to be a small child or even a talking doll), and is a bit slow to warm up to the truth, but she soon makes enough of an impact on his life for him to truly miss her when she is forced to return to Heaven. He is a very no-nonsense sort of man who seems stoic and unfriendly, and he insists he has no wishes for Kohaku to grant for him. However, this doctor hides quite a few secrets of his own.
– An angel from Heaven and the main protagonist of the tale. She has been sent to Earth to find her missing teacher; Hisui, the Angel Master of the Wind. However, since she is only an angel in training, she loses the majority of her powers on Earth when the sun sets, which turns her into a chibi
Chibi
is a Japanese slang word meaning "short person" or "small child". The word has gained currency amongst fans of manga and anime. Its meaning is of someone or some animal that is small. It can be translated as "little", but is not used the same way as chiisana [小さな] but rather cute...

 form of herself. It is in this vulnerable state that she falls under attack by a crow, and meets Shuichiro, with whom she is almost immediately taken. Though he insists he wants for nothing in his quiet life, she is bound by duty to pay off her debt to him. When Shinichiro Kudo comes to visit his grandson he addresses Kohaku as a woman. Kohaku corrects him, and also tells him that she isn't a man either. The topic is left at that.
– A demon of Hell, he can be considered Kohaku's demon equivalent; he too is only in training, and while on Earth he is forced to turn into a chibi version of himself during the daytime. He loves to cause trouble for the little angel, and toward the end of the series it is implied that he merely teases her because he has a crush on her. He is the one who sent the crow to attack Kohaku in the beginning of the story.
and – Twin cat girls only distinguishable from each other by their jewellery. They are servants of Koryu, and both of them adore him to the point of bickering with each other on occasion. They change to black cats when their master is in his smaller form.
– The Angel Master of Wind, and Kohaku's mentor, who disappeared after a meeting at the bridge between Heaven and Hell. When she finally reveals herself to Kohaku, she reveals that she and Kokuyo, a Prince of Hell, had fallen in love and consummated their relationship, making it impossible for either of them to return to Heaven or Hell as a result.
– One of the princes of Hell, who fell in love with Hisui, and now lives in exile on Earth with her. Out of consideration for Hisui he restrains his dietary cravings. Kokuyo is aware of Shuichiro's impending death, but God stops him from telling anyone else so as to make sure things go as they should.
– The Master Angel of Water in Heaven. Touki has a reputation for being cold-hearted, mostly because of the hardened look that's always on her face. She first appears to see why Usagi hasn't returned to Heaven and ends up bringing Kohaku back with her. She is very fond of Kohaku and protective of her in her own silent way. She has a very discreet relationship with Ransho and though she is very shy with her feelings for him, she does genuinely care about him.
– The Master Angel of Earth in Heaven. He comes off as one of the most easy-going Angels in all of Heaven despite his status. He loves to tease Kohaku and he's open with his affection for Touki. Like Touki, he's very discreet about their relationship but he can admit he loves her. But his loyalty to God is unwavering and he's not hesitant in delivering punishments handed out (as with the cases of Hisui and Kohaku).
– The Master Angel of Fire in Heaven. He has got a very hotheaded personality and is quick to act before thinking. He is madly in love with Hisui and is convinced she was kidnapped out of Heaven, often ranting about Hisui in the presence of the other Angel Masters, such that Ranshou often leaves Touki to deal with it. When he finds out Hisui left of her own volition and is deeply in love with Kokuyo, he's very hurt by it, but he wants Hisui to be happy and lets her go, though he vows to hate Kokuyo forever.
– Usagi is a small white rabbit with wings that relays messages from God. The messages it delivers look like flowers, that dissolve and automatically implant themselves in the receiver's mind. Usagi relays messages from Kohaku to God and back throughout the series. The messenger also appears in the same capacity in Kobato
Kobato
is a manga series by Clamp which premiered in Monthly Sunday Gene-X in January 2005. Seven chapters were released under the title of , but the series was put on hiatus in late 2005. It returned to publication in Newtype magazine's November 2007 Japanese edition; the story has subsequently been...

.
- Shuichiro Kudo's grandfather. He lives in Canada. He comes to visit Shuichiro. While visiting he tells Kohaku about some of Shuichiro's background.
- Shuichiro Kudo's mother, seen in a time travel to the past segment. She is blind and paraplegic. All the same she notices Kohaku and Koryu spying on the past. She is actually a wisteria tree fairy. She can see enough of the future to know that Shuichiro's father will soon die. She says goodbye to Shuichiro and wishes him a good future, then reverts back to her true form as a wisteria tree. It seems doubtful that Shuichiro or Shinichiro know that Hotaru was really a wisteria tree fairy. To them Hotaru disappeared.

Volume list

Drama CD

Voice cast for the drama CD:
  • Kohaku: Hiroko Konishi
    Hiroko Konishi
    is a Japanese voice actress. She is currently not affiliated with any production, and has largely retired from voice acting.- Notable voice roles :* Aida Rion in Agent Aika* Nene Romanova in Bubblegum Crisis Tokyo 2040...

  • Shūichirō Kudō : Kazuya Ichijō
    Kazuya Ichijo
    is a seiyū. He is married to fellow seiyuu Minami Hokuto.-Notable voice roles:*Fao Lafine in B't X*Kahyul in Crest of the Stars*Gurumet, Keisuke Kusanagi, Meteor in Gear Fighter Dendoh*Hokuto Umeda in the Hana-Kimi drama CDs*Kōichirō Kisaragi in Hell Girl...

  • Kōryū: Yuka Imai
    Yuka Imai
    is a freelance female Japanese voice actress who was previously represented by Gekidan Moonlight.-Anime:*Bakusou Kyoudai Let's & Go!! *Banner of the Stars *Boys Be.....

  • Hisui: Kikuko Inoue
    Kikuko Inoue
    is a popular Japanese voice actress and singer. She has been part of the singing groups DoCo and Goddess Family Club, among others, and is the manager of her voice-acting company, Office Anemone. Inoue tends to play the "perfect girlfriend" or "motherly" role in many series, but she has also played...

  • Kokuyō: Jūrōta Kosugi
    Jurota Kosugi
    is a Japanese voice actor. His deep voice is often used for rough and imposing characters. He is well known for playing the role of Sukashii from Kyattou Ninden Teyandee and Asuma Sarutobi from Naruto....

  • Ruri: Ikue Ōtani
    Ikue Otani
    is a Japanese actress and voice actress from Tokyo, most famous as the voice of Pikachu in the Pokémon anime series and products and the voice of Tony Tony Chopper in the manga and anime series One Piece. She is currently attached to Mausu Promotion...

  • Hari: Chinami Nishimura
    Chinami Nishimura
    is a Japanese voice actress who has voiced characters in both the Japanese and English-dubbed versions of Pokémon. Nishimura was born in Chiba Prefecture...


Appearances

Kohaku has made appearances in CLAMP in Wonderland
Clamp in Wonderland
Clamp in Wonderland is a series of music videos produced by Clamp, a creative team made up by Satsuki Igarashi, Ageha Ohkawa, Tsubaki Nekoi and Mokona ....

 2 and also in the manga and anime of Kobato
Kobato
is a manga series by Clamp which premiered in Monthly Sunday Gene-X in January 2005. Seven chapters were released under the title of , but the series was put on hiatus in late 2005. It returned to publication in Newtype magazine's November 2007 Japanese edition; the story has subsequently been...

.
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