|
|
 Kanzaki Megu-chan is a 15 year old girl who is a possible successor to the throne of the Magic World. As part of her test, she is required to go to the Human World to learn about how human beings live on Earth. You see, in Meg's world, there are no families - they don't even understand the concept of family... Megu-chan will stay with a woman named Mami while she's in the Human World. Mami was once a witch from the Magic World, but she fell in love with a human man and married him, giving up her place in the Magic World to remain on Earth and raise a family. Megu-chan has a lot to learn - she is not the only contender for the Throne... Another young girl named Non is also a contender. Non is the protege' of Mami's former rival, Kiran, and is much more skilled with her magic than Meg, initially. She's very superior in her attitude, but she doesn't want to beat Meg through unfair practices, so there are actually times when she helps Meg with her problems.  Mami-sempai uses her magic to "alter" everyone's memory so that they think that Megu-chan is her eldest daughter. Even her husband and children, Rabi & Apo, believe that Meg is the elder sister of the family. Meg's bedroom is in the upper floor of the house (the house is in the shape of a witch's hat! ^_^) Learning how to cope with a family is very difficult for Megu-chan; Rabi is especially difficult for her to tolerate. Rabi is a typical young boy and loves to play pranks - some of his favorite pranks involve getting pictures of "big sis Megu-chan's" panties or in her sheer nightgowns! ^_^ Rabi can get very creative with his tricks in order to capture Meg in various states of undress, but at least he's her younger brother (in essence, if not in fact). However, the same cannot be said for another guy named Chou-san, who is a total pain in Meg's arse. Chou-san was sent to the Human World to keep an eye on Megu & Non, but he's actually trying to sabotage Meg's chances at winning the contest.  He has two lackeys helping him in this task: a crow named Kurou ("Crow" ^_^) and a cat named FuruFuru. Fortunately for Meg, these three are about as clutzy and foolish as anyone could be - unfortunately for Meg, Chou-san is actually more interested in getting some "shots" of Meg for himself than in accompishing his task. ^_^ Majoko Megu-chan was originally broadcast in 1974, making her one of the earliest magical girl stories. Many shoujo stories from this time period have a somewhat violent or brutal beginning, and Megu-chan is no different - in episode #1, a family fight almost leads to Meg dying! Despite the age of the show, you will notice that the art and animation for it is actually fairly good for this time period, especially considering the fact that it's a story for young girls (shoujo stories generally have not had as high of budgets as shonen stories since the market for them is smaller).  The story elements for Majoko Megu-chan are a wonderful mixture of drama and comedy. They range from slapstick and etchi comedy to interpersonal drama, stressing family and friend relationships. Initially, Meg has no concept of family, or of truly caring about anyone else; she's very selfish and self-centered. Seventy-two episodes later, she's taken a completely opposite viewpoint, and is willing to give up everything she's been trying to achieve for her family. Considering many of the problems contemporary society has with maintaining family values, perhaps stories like Majoko Megu-chan have better lessons for kids than much of what is created today. 
|