Ultra Maniac (ウルトラマニアック, Urutora Maniakku) is a manga series written by Wataru Yoshizumi. The romantic comedy series features seventh-grader Ayu Tateishi, a tennis club member, and her transfer student friend, Nina Sakura, who is actually a trainee witch from the magical kingdom. It premiered in Shueisha's Ribon manga magazine in February 2002 and ran until January 2004. It was also published in five collected volumes by Shueisha. Viz Media licensed and released an English translation of the series in North America.

The series was adapted into a 20-minute anime OVA, released August 6, 2002. Later, it was also adapted into a 26-episode anime television series. Both were produced by Ashi Productions and Animax. The anime series premiered on May 20, 2003 in Japan on Animax, and was later licensed for Region 1 distribution by Geneon Entertainment

Plot

Ultra Maniac
	Cover of the first volume of the English language manga release of Ultra Maniac
Genre	Magical girl, Romantic comedy
Manga
Written by	Wataru Yoshizumi
Published by	Shueisha
English publisher	VIZ Media
Magazine	Ribon
Demographic	Shōjo
Original run	February 2002 – January 2004
Volumes	5
Anime
Directed by	Nanako Shimazaki
Studio	Ashi Productions
Released	August 6, 2002
Anime
Directed by	Shin'ichi Masaki
Studio	Ashi Productions
Released	May 20, 2003 – November 11, 2003

==Manga== Ayu Tateishi is a well-adjusted 7th grade student, until the fateful day when she finds the crying dejected looking Nina Sakura outside the school. Manga == == Ayu Tateishi merupakan disesuaikan-murid kelas 7, sampai hari yang fatal ketika ia menemukan menangis sedih melihat Nina Sakura di luar sekolah. Nina explains that she lost something very dear to her earlier during the day. Being a kind girl, Ayu offers to help Nina look for her lost item. Nina menjelaskan bahwa ia kehilangan sesuatu yang sangat sayang kepadanya pada hari sebelumnya. Menjadi sejenis gadis, Ayu menawarkan untuk membantu Nina untuk melihat item itu hilang. Nina though seems reluctant to say what the item is that she lost and runs off. Nina walaupun tampaknya enggan untuk berkata apa item yang hilang dan ia tidak berjalan. On her way home Ayu finds what seems to be a mini-computer underneath the bench she knew Nina to be at earlier that day. Pada perjalanan pulang Ayu dia menemukan apa yang nampaknya merupakan komputer mini-hakim di bawahnya dia tahu Nina yang akan di hari yang sebelumnya. After returning the item to Nina, who starts to see Ayu as a very nice person, Nina struggles to decide whether to let Ayu in on the 'big secret' she keeps. Setelah kembali ke item Nina, yang mulai melihat Ayu sebagai orang yang sangat bagus, Nina perjuangan untuk memutuskan apakah akan membiarkan Ayu dalam 'rahasia besar' dia terus. In order to see if Ayu is truly nice she starts to follow Ayu around and eventually decides she can trust Ayu. Nina reveals that she is actually from the Magic Kingdom and is a witch. Dalam rangka untuk melihat apakah Ayu benar-benar bagus dia mulai mengikuti Ayu sekitar dan akhirnya dia memutuskan dapat kepercayaan Ayu. Nina, menunjukkan bahwa ia sebenarnya adalah dari Kerajaan Sihir dan penyihir. Ayu however doesn't believe Nina and thinks she is a bit crazy at first. Namun Ayu tidak percaya Nina dan berpikir dia sedikit gila di pertama. Ayu herself has always shunned the ideas of magic and fairy tales even admitting she has never read Harry Potter, so having someone tell her they are a witch truly isn't something she can easily come to terms with understanding. After several crazy mishaps with her magic Nina proves she is a witch, and a failure who is coming to Earth as her last chance to prove to everyone else that she is worthy to be a witch and can get things right. Ayu diri selalu shunned hasil pemikiran sihir dan dongeng admitting bahkan ia tidak pernah membaca Harry Potter, sehingga memiliki seseorang itu kirim mereka benar-benar terjadi adalah sesuatu yang tidak bisa dengan mudah mencapai kata sepakat dengan pemahaman. Setelah beberapa gila mishaps dengan sihir Nina membuktikan dia adalah penyihir, dan kegagalan yang datang ke Bumi itu sebagai kesempatan terakhir untuk membuktikan kepada semua orang lain bahwa dia adalah layak untuk menjadi penyihir dan dapat mendapatkan sesuatu kanan. These first crazy mishaps and the fact that Nina has shared her secret with Ayu, Nina attaches herself to Ayu as a friend and does everything she can to help Ayu with getting the attention of the boy she loves. As their adventures continue many friends from the magical kingdom come and visit Nina to the chagrin of Ayu. Gila ini pertama mishaps dan fakta bahwa Nina telah bersama-sama dengan dia rahasia Ayu, Nina Ayu attaches dirinya sebagai teman dan tidak semuanya bisa membantu Ayu dengan mendapatkan perhatian dari anak dia suka. Seperti mereka melanjutkan petualangan banyak teman dari ajaib kerajaan datang dan kunjungi Nina ke mengecewakan dari Ayu.

Anime

The anime adaptation has a very different plot starting after Ayu and Nina have first met.

Instead of coming as a witch failure who is trying to prove herself to be more than she is said to be, Nina has come to earth to find the five "Holy Stones". She tells Ayu that whoever collects all five will qualify to marry the prince of the Magic Kingdom.

Nina's childhood friend Maya is also on earth from the start, competing with Nina to find the stones.

Though Nina does collect them all first she learns that the prince and Maya are truly in love with one another, so Nina gives up the stones and her dream allowing Maya and the prince to be with one another.

Characters

Ayu Tateishi (立石亜由, Tateishi Ayu), (Seiyū: Yui Horie (TV series)/Yukino Satsuki (OVA)): One of the female protagonists of the story, Ayu constantly tries to stay calm and keep her cool about everything. This is quite a facade for her to keep up, because the only reason she wants to be "cool" is because Tetsushi Kaji (her crush-later on her boyfriend-, and the star of the school baseball team) told her once that he liked how cool she was about everything. (He said this because when given a pop quiz she was the only one in the class who didn't freak out but she was actually just tired.) However, after she met Nina, she was everything but cool and calm. She is the president of the girl's tennis club and one of the most popular girls in the school, and she works hard on keeping up her "cool, calm and collected" reputation.

Her seiyū in the TV series was Yui Horie, while her seiyū in the one-episode OVA was Satsuki Yukino. In Geneon's English dub, she was voiced by Stephanie Sheh.

Nina Sakura (佐倉仁菜, Sakura Nina), (Seiyū: Akemi Kanda (TV series)/Mayuko Omimura (OVA)): Nina Sakura is a second female protagonist in the story Ultra Maniac. Her first scene is when Ayu Tateishi finds her crying because she lost a small, pink "box". Later, when Ayu finds and returns to box to Nina Sakura, Nina realizes that she has found a perfect person to reveal her strange secret to. She later reveals it to Hiroki Tsujiai who also become her boyfriend in the manga. She is often seen in the anime trying to help Ayu with her love life. Nina is very peppy and perky, and she loves sweets.

Her seiyū in the TV series was Akemi Kanda, while her seiyū in the one-episode OVA was Mayuko Omimura. In Geneon's English dub, she was voiced by Carrie Savage.

Tetsushi Kaji (架地哲士, Kaji Tetsushi), (Seiyū: Hiroshi Kamiya): Considered an idol by the girls in his school, Kaji appears to be cool and always has a nice smile, but that's just his outer shell. In reality Kaji is a normal person who doesn't even like being an idol. He only acts like Prince Charming because Ayu unwittingly stated once that she liked him that way. (Ayu acted "cool" for the same reason). He later explains to Nina that he's being "the nice guy" because of Ayu and that he worked hard for the title. In the 2nd volume, Kaji finally dates Ayu.

His seiyū in both the TV series and OVA was Hiroshi Kamiya. In Geneon's English dub, he was voiced by Tony Oliver.

Hiroki Tsujiai (辻合宏基, Tsujiai Hiroki), (Seiyū: Susumu Chiba): Kaji's best friend, who is often seen together with him. He is the head of the boys' tennis club. He is a fan of many manga and has similar taste with Nina. He is very steadfast and has a good sense of self-worth. Hiroki is in love with Nina.

His seiyū in both the TV series and OVA was Susumu Chiba. In Geneon's English dub, he was voiced by Yuri Lowenthal.

Yuta Kirishima (桐島由多, Kirishima Yuta), (Seiyū: Isamu Hayashi): Coming from the Magic Kingdom, Yuta and Nina are childhood friends. He is adept enough with magic that he doesn't need a computer to cast spells like Nina does, and teases her about that frequently. He has a kind heart. At first, Yuta seems to show affection towards Ayu but he actually prefers Nina. In the anime, Yuta likes Luna (only in the last episode, towards the very end), but in the manga, he dates Sayaka.

His seiyū in the TV series was Isamu Hayashi. In Geneon's English dub, he was voiced by an uncredited Joshua Seth.

Rio (リオ, ), (Seiyū: Reiko Takagi): Nina's pet cat, Rio (called 'Leo' in the English translation of the manga) can change into the form of a little boy, with a magic candy. In the anime, all he has to do is a flip and he becomes human. In the anime, he starts to like Ayu's dog, Tamako.; His seiyū in the TV series was Reiko Takagi. In Geneon's English dub, he was voiced by an uncredited Mona Marshall.

Maya Orihara (折原マヤ, Orihara Maya), (Seiyū: Saeko Chiba): One of the candidates to be the princesses of the Magic Kingdom and Nina's childhood friend, Maya has a pet chameleon named Lulu. At the beginning of the story, Maya had a strong rivalry with Nina but in episode 26, the rivalry ends. Maya has a crush on the prince, who loved her since the time from their childhood when they danced together and she saved him, and later marries him to become princess of the Magic Kingdom. She does not appear in the manga, but in the epilogue chapter she is mentioned as the roommate of Nina in Eltoria.

Her seiyū in the TV series was Saeko Chiba. In Geneon's English dub, she was voiced by Vicky Green.

Sayaka Nakamura (仲村紗也香, Nakamura Sayaka): A beautiful girl at school, who is known as an "ice doll" because she is frosty towards all of her classmates. She is interested in dating Yuta, but has a secret agenda. Sayaka is revealed to be half-witch on her deceased mother's side. She taught herself magic, and as she grew up on Earth Yuta and Nina could not detect that Sayaka had magic powers. Due to bad experiences when she revealed her powers to friends in the past, she is envious of Nina who has so many magical and non-magical friends. She is a manga-exclusive character.

Jun Kawanakajima (Kawanakajima Jun): Another character exclusive to the anime. The first time around, Jun accidentally sees Nina use magic. He instantly becomes determined to expose her as a witch and is constantly trying to take pictures of her. Which is shown when he tries to convince Maya to undo the spell that summoned the Dark Zone.

Media

Manga

Ultra Maniac premiered in the February 2002 issue of Ribon, with new chapters appearing monthly until its conclusion in the January 2004 issue. It was also published in five collected volumes by Shueisha. Viz Media licensed and released an English translation of the series in North America.

Anime

The Ultra Maniac series was produced by the anime television network, Animax, who have broadcast the series exclusively across Japan, East Asia, Southeast Asia, South Asia, and other regions, dubbing and broadcasting the series into English and other languages. It has been licensed for North American distribution by Geneon Entertainment, who have released the series across the region via a 7-volume DVD release, the first of which was released on April 4, 2005 and the last of which was released on April 18, 2006.

References

1.http://www.animenewsnetwork.com/encyclopedia/anime.php?id=2287 2.http://www.shojobeat.com/manga/um/

External links

Official Animax Ultra Maniac website Template:Ja icon
Ultra Maniac ({{{type}}}) at Anime News Network's encyclopedia