Sally the Witch | |
Ja Kanji: | 魔法使いサリー |
Ja Romaji: | Mahōtsukai Sarī |
Genre: | Magical girl |
Type: | manga |
Author: | Mitsuteru Yokoyama |
Publisher: | Shueisha |
Demographic: | Shōjo |
Magazine: | Ribon |
First: | July 1966 |
Last: | October 1967 |
Volumes: | 1 |
Type: | tv series |
Director: | Toshio Katsuta Hiroshi Ikeda |
Studio: | Toei Animation |
Network: | NET |
First: | 5 December 1966[1] |
Last: | 30 December 1968 |
Episodes: | 109 (list of episodes) |
Type: | tv series |
Sally the Witch 2[2] | |
Director: | Osamu Kasai |
Studio: | Toei Animation |
Network: | ANN (TV Asahi) |
First: | 9 October 1989 |
Last: | 23 September 1991 |
Episodes: | 88 (list of episodes) |
Type: | film |
Director: | Osamu Kasai |
Studio: | Toei Animation |
Released: | 10 March 1990 |
Runtime: | 27 minutes |
Portal: | yes |
, originally titled, is a Japanese manga series written and illustrated by Mitsuteru Yokoyama. It was serialized in Shueisha's monthly Ribon magazine from July 1966 to October 1967. Its 1966 anime adaptation was one of the most popular magical girl series of what would eventually become a genre in Japan. Due to its characteristics, it may be considered the first shōjo anime as well;[3] while titles such as Himitsu no Akko-chan predate Sally in manga form, the Sally anime predates Himitsu no Akko-chan, which came out in 1969.
Sally is the witch princess of the Magic Kingdom who longs to visit the mortal realm, presumably to make friends her own age. One day, by mistake, Sally teleports to the "mid world" (Earth), where she uses her magic to fend off a couple of burglars menacing two schoolgirls. Immediately befriended by her new acquaintances – tomboyish Yoshiko Hanamura and girly Sumire Kasugano – Sally decides to stay on Earth indefinitely, leading to mischief. Sally tries to keep her supernatural abilities secret, assuming the role of a human child.
In the final episode of the anime, Sally's grandma informs her she must return to the Magic Kingdom. Before leaving, Sally tries to tell her friends about her origins, but no one will believe her. Her elementary school catches on fire, and Sally uses her magic to put it out. Her powers thus exposed, Sally's time to leave has finally come. She waves farewell to her friends, and returns to the Magic Kingdom.
Written and illustrated by Mitsuteru Yokoyama, Sally the Witch, was serialized in Shueisha's monthly Ribon magazine from July 1966 to October 1967. It was originally titled Sunny the Witch, before being changed as Sony owns the trademark to "Sunny". The series was inspired by the American TV sitcom, Bewitched (known in Japan as Oku-sama wa Majo, or The Missus is a Witch).[3] [4]
Mahōtsukai Sally runs half hour per episode and has 109 episodes.[5]
The second season runs half-hour per 88 episodes.[6]
Metropolitan Books author Robert Jay Lifton stated that Sally Yumeno "has long been one of the most popular of all manga and animation characters".[7] In December 1994, police found a pamphlet at the headquarters of the Aum Shinrikyo cult which included a song titled "Sarin the Magician", a parody of the opening song of Sally the Witch with the lyrics changed to refer to the poison known as "sarin" which Aum Shinrikyo used during the attempted assassination of judges in a case against the cult in June 1994 and later in March 1995 when it carried out a terrorist attack on the Tokyo subway. Lifton said that Sally "was undoubtedly a prominent figure in the childhoods of leading Aum members."[7]