Kamichama Karin
| Kamichama Karin | |
| File:Kamichama Karin logo.png Kamichama Karin logo | |
| Genre | Magical girl, Romance |
|---|---|
| Manga | |
| Written by | Koge-Donbo |
| Published by |  Kodansha |
| Manga | |
| Kamichama Karin Chu | |
| Written by | Koge-Donbo |
| Published by | Kodansha |
| Anime | |
| Directed by | Takashi Anno |
| Studio | Satelight |
Kamichama Karin (かみちゃまかりん, lit. Little God Karin) is a Japanese series originally written by Koge-Donbo about a thirteen year-old girl named Karin who finds out that she can transform into a goddess. The series began as a manga first serialized in January 2003 in the Japanese shōjo manga magazine Nakayoshi published by Kodansha. While the first manga series ended at seven bound volumes, a second entitled Kamichama Karin Chu began serialization in the same magazine in July 2006, and as of September 2007, five bound volumes have been released. Kamichama Karin has been licensed in the U.S. and Canada by Tokyopop.
An anime series based on the original manga began airing in Japan on April 6 2007 on TV Tokyo produced by the animation studio Satelight and directed by Takashi Anno.
Plot
Karin is just an average middle school student. She has terrible grades and is a poor athlete. She lives alone with her aunt after the death of her parents when she was young. But after the death of her beloved cat Shii-chan, her luck changes. Karin soon discovers that her only inheritance from her mother, a mysterious silver ring, can help her transform into a goddess with the help of Athena. Soon after, she becomes friends with others with rings like hers and they try to solve the mysteries surrounding their lives.
The story is set in Kazune and Himeka Kujyou's home and at Sakuragaoka Academy, the most prestigious school in Japan.
History
Kamichama Karin is often considered a parody of the mahou shoujo (magical girl) genre. Examples include battle cries (which, on page 183 in volume 1, Koge Donbo admits the point of Karin's "I am God" was to have her say something stupid and how the manga started as a gag). Kamichama Karin was originally going to be a two chapter one-shot manga, according to Koge-Donbo. Due to its unexpected popularity, she continued the story.
Characters
- Karin Hanazono (花園 花鈴, Hanazono Karin) Voiced by: Mai Nakahara
- Age: 12-13
- Karin is the protagonist of the series. Her name literally means "The Flower Bell of the Flower Garden," with the "Flower Garden" as her surname and "Flower Bell" as her given name. Karin used to live with her aunt because her parents died a long time ago, but she moved in with Kazune and Himeka after they found out about her goddess powers. She is an outgoing person, and sticks up for her friends. The ring Karin originally thought was her mother's ring allows her to borrow godly power. Her ring is silver and has the power of the goddess Athena (Aphrodite in Chu). Karin, at first, was in love with Kirika Karasuma but later falls in love with Kazune, not just because she finds out that Kirika is a woman. It is later revealed in the last volume of Kamichama Karin (Volume 7) that Karin is actually Kazuto Kujyou's wife, which was stated in Volume 7 that Karin is not a clone, and in the anime that Karin is Suzuka, but turned back into a baby by Kazuto to protect her from Karasuma Kirihiko.
- Kazune Kujyou (九条 和音, Kujō Kazune) Voiced by: Miyuki Sawashiro
- Age: 12-13
- Kazune is the main male protagonist. His ring has the power of Apollo Greek god of sun (In the sequel, he has a different ring with the power of Uranus). While he acts cool during much of the story, Himeka states that in the past, he was weak and cried frequently, only becoming his present self when he turned ten years old, after knowing who he was. While Himeka loves bugs, Kazune hates and fears them; in Kamichama Karin, Himeka reveals that Kazune's fear of bugs developed when he had tried to save Himeka from some bugs when they were little, but instead, fell into a ditch where the bugs started to attack him until he passed out he is even at risk of dying. Even though he is a clone of professor Kazuto Kujyou, he is incomplete and passes out after transforming in god form. He often speaks Karin that she deems sexist, talking about things like the inherent stupidity or weakness of girls. Kazune is in love with Karin (and tells Michiru such), and has known since the age of ten that Karin is his father's wife Suzuka. He himself is the clone of his 'father'.
- Himeka Kujyou (九条 姫香, Kujō Himeka) Voiced by: Noriko Shitaya
- Age: 12-13
- Himeka is Karin's friend and Kazune's "cousin". She is one half of a goddess; the other half is Kirio's younger sister who is also named Himeka. When one Himeka becomes stronger, the other becomes weaker. Since she was a young girl, she has always defended Kazune, who was a bit of a crybaby when they were little. She speaks slowly, loves bugs, and is a good cook. Like Karin, she does poorly in school. It is later revealed that she is Kazuto and Suzuka's daughter. She tells Karin at one point that while she has a strong affection for Kazune, it is not necessarily a romantic attachment, as Kazune is "kind of like a brother and kind of like a dad" to Himeka (referencing Kazune's identity as a clone of Himeka's father). She also witnessed Kazune and Karin kissing (anime only; to replace Ami).
- Kirio Karasuma (烏丸 キリオ, Karasuma Kirio) Voiced by: Shintaro Asanuma
- Age: 15
- Kirio is the main antagonist. He is the student body president of Sakuragaoka Academy. He tests the protagonists and fights them outside the campus. Karin refers to him as "Mr. Glasses Man." (meganekko) or "Four eyes-san" or "Glasses Guy." His only true relative is his twin sister Kirika, but he does have another ‘sister’ by the name of Himeka. In the anime, he is a running gag character; often leaving before ever winning and revealing his plot to Karin and the others while they didn't know, thinking they did. His ring has the powers of the god Ares. Later in the series, his ring is destroyed by Kazune. He gets possesed in Kamichama Karin but in the end Karin and Kazune saved him.
Adaptations
Manga
The Kamichama Karin manga series has been released into a total of seven full volumes. The story continues on in a sequel series Kamichama Karin chu. Currently, there are five regular edition volumes (通常版), and five special edition (tokusouban 特装版) volumes of the Kamichama Karin chu manga released in Japan. The special edition volumes include the same basic content as the regular editions but include additional content making them highly valuable to manga collectors. The special editions feature different cover artwork including a gold foiled logo on a clear plastic dust jacket. Each special volume is accompanied by booklets which contain whole extra chapters (bangaihen 番外編) to the story (usually the information in these extra chapters is supplimentary, and not critical, to the main story).
Sequel
The adventure continues in Kamichama Karin Chu with the main cast now in the eighth grade. As Kazune comes back from his trip to London, Karin and the gang are back together again. Karin and the gang travel through time, along with a new comrade: a celebrity named Jin Kuga, fighting a new enemy, the Seeds of Chaos. Besides Jin, there are 2 more (known) new characters: Rika Karasuma and Suzune Kujyou. Rika is later revealed to be the Himeka Karasuma from the future. Suzune is a cute little boy, actually Karin and Kazune's future child, that appears to Karin to warn her of the danger. Rika seems to be trying to make Jin their comrade. And to Jin, Karin is apparently "his goddess". Jin and Kazune fight over Karin once in a while. Himeka Kujyou goes to England to study abroad.
There will be an English adaption of 'Kamichama Karin-chu' from Del Rey Manga schedule to come out on June 24, 2008. The second volume is schedule to come out on September 30, 2008, as confirmed by Del Rey Manga. [1].
Anime
An anime of Kamichama Karin debuted in Japan on April 6 2007. Animation was done by the animation studio Satelight.
The story starts off in Kamichama Karin Chu, the sequel to Kamichama Karin. Karin and Suzune are running through a park when Rika attacks Karin. Karin's Chronos Clock (which has the power to time-travel) gets the Seed of Chaos implanted into it and brings her to the first time she met Kazune at Shii-chan's grave. After that, the events follow the storyline of the manga. Kamichama Karin was shown in Japan every Saturday. An original soundtrack has been released.
Theme songs
- Opening theme
- "Ankoku Tengoku" (暗黒天国, Dark Heaven) by ALI PROJECT
- Ending theme
- "Anemone" (アネモネ) by Mai Nakahara
- Ending theme #2
- "Kuuchuu Meiro" (空中迷路, Labyrinth in the Sky) by marble