Mermaid Melody

Plot
See also: List of Mermaid Melody Pichi Pichi Pitch characters and List of Mermaid Melody Pichi Pichi Pitch episodesLucia, Mermaid Princess of the North Pacific Ocean, sets out to land to find the boy she saved from a tsunami wave seven years before the beginning of the story, to whom she had entrusted her pink pearl. She eventually finds the boy: a surfer named Kaito Dōmoto. But as the human form Lucia assumed, named Lucia Nanami, bears very little resemblance to her mermaid form, Kaito cannot recognize her. She cannot tell Kaito who she really is; otherwise, according to mermaid folklore, she would turn into sea-foam. She tries to convince Kaito into figuring out who she really is (since the legend does not say anything about the other person discovering a mermaid's true identity by himself).

At the same time, Lucia has been told that a group of water demons or suiyō (水妖) have invaded the marine world and she must gather the six other Mermaid Princesses and their pearls to bring back the legendary goddess, Aqua Regina, to stop them. To fulfill this, she joins forces with Hanon and Rina, Mermaid Princesses who came up to dry land, use their pearls, turn into singing idols, and use their voices as an offensive power.

[edit] Manga
The original manga, created by Yokote with illustrations by Hanamori, began serializing in the September 2002 issue of Nakayoshi. There are a total of 32 chapters, with final one published on the April 2005 issue of the said magazine (released March 2005). There are a total of seven tankōbon volumes byKodansha, the first six containing five chapters each and final one having two. They were released between March 20, 2003 and April 30, 2005.

Del Rey Manga acquired the rights to publish the manga for the North American audience. It began releasing the manga on April 2006 under the title Pichi Pichi Pitch: Mermaid Melody.[1] The English translations of the seven volumes were released from April 25, 2006 to October 30, 2007. The seventh volume, aside from the final two chapters, also contains two preview chapters from other manga.

[edit] Anime
See also: List of Mermaid Melody Pichi Pichi Pitch episodesAn anime adaptation produced by TV Aichi, We've, and Synergy SP and directed by Yoshitaka Fujimoto aired in Japan in two seasons. The first season, simply named Mermaid Melody Pichi Pichi Pitch and covers manga chapters 1 to 20, aired between April 5, 2003 and March 27, 2004. They were compiled into 14 DVD volumes. The second season, Mermaid Melody Pichi Pichi Pitch Pure, which adapts events from chapters 21 to 30, was aired between April 3 to December 25, 2004. Unlike the first season, Pure was compiled into two DVD box sets containing a total of 11 discs.

ADV Films acquired the license to the anime on June 2004 for its North American release, but was eventually dropped due to difficulty in finding backers and securing a TV airing deal.[2] While the acquisition of the license and the production of the English anime predated that of the manga, it is unknown if a release will occur. That is because as of 2009, the anime has been completely dubbed but is being held by TV Aichi.

A total of six theme songs were composed for the anime. The first opening theme, "Taiyō no Rakuen ~Promised Land~" (太陽の楽園 ~Promised Land~?, lit. "Paradise of the Sun ~Promised Land~") by Miyuki Kanbe, and the first ending theme "Daiji na Takarabako" (大事な宝箱? , lit. "Important Treasure Box") byAsumi Nakata, are used in the first 28 episodes. For 29th to the 52nd episodes, "Rainbow Notes♪" by Kanbe and "Sekai de Ichiban Hayaku Asa ga kuru Basho" (世界で一番早く朝が来る場所?, lit. "The Place Where Morning Comes First") by Nakata, Hitomi Terakado, and Mayumi Asano, are the second opening and ending themes respectively. For Pure, the opening theme is "Before the Moment" byEri Kitamura while "Ai no Ondo °C" (愛の温度℃<span class="t_nihongo_icon" style="color: rgb(0, 0, 238); font: normal normal bold 80%/normal sans-serif; text-decoration: none; padding-right: 0.1em; padding-left: 0.1em; ">?, lit. "The Temperature of Love°C") by Nakata, Terakado, and Asano is the ending song.

[edit] Other music
<p style="line-height: 1.5em; ">There are also other pieces of music used in the anime, either as battle songs performed by the Mermaid Princesses or their enemies or as insert songs. All songs listed below are compiled in several character singles, soundtrack, and vocal albums (which also include the theme songs listed above):
 * Mermaid songs
 * "Legend of Mermaid" by Asumi Nakata, Hitomi Terakado, and Mayumi Asano
 * "Koi wa Nandarō" (恋はなんだろう<sup style="line-height: 1em; "><span class="t_nihongo_icon" style="color: rgb(0, 0, 238); font: normal normal bold 80%/normal sans-serif; text-decoration: none; padding-right: 0.1em; padding-left: 0.1em; ">?, lit. "Just What is Love?") by Asumi Nakata
 * "Super Love Songs!" by Asumi Nakata, Hitomi Terakado, and Mayumi Asano
 * "Kizuna" (lit. "Bonds") by Asumi Nakata, Hitomi Terakado, and Mayumi Asano
 * "Yume no Sono Saki e" (夢のその先へ<sup style="line-height: 1em; "><span class="t_nihongo_icon" style="color: rgb(0, 0, 238); font: normal normal bold 80%/normal sans-serif; text-decoration: none; padding-right: 0.1em; padding-left: 0.1em; ">?, lit. "To the Place After a Dream") by Asumi Nakata, Hitomi Terakado, and Mayumi Asano
 * "Splash Dream" by Asumi Nakata
 * "Ever Blue" by Hitomi Terakado
 * "Star Jewel" by Mayumi Asano
 * "Aurora no Kaze ni Notte" (オーロラの風に乗って<sup style="line-height: 1em; "><span class="t_nihongo_icon" style="color: rgb(0, 0, 238); font: normal normal bold 80%/normal sans-serif; text-decoration: none; padding-right: 0.1em; padding-left: 0.1em; ">?, lit. "Riding on the Winds of the Aurora") by Ema Kogure
 * "Return to the Sea" by Kana Ueda
 * "Kodou ~Perfect Harmony~" (lit. "Heartbeat ~Perfect Harmony~") primarily by Asumi Nakata, Hitomi Terakado, Mayumi Asano, and Ema Kogure (second version includes Satomi Arai and Ryoko Nagata; third version also includes Kana Ueda)
 * "Mother Symphony" by Asumi Nakata, Hitomi Terakado, and Mayumi Asano
 * "Mizuiro no Senritsu" (水色の旋律<sup style="line-height: 1em; "><span class="t_nihongo_icon" style="color: rgb(0, 0, 238); font: normal normal bold 80%/normal sans-serif; text-decoration: none; padding-right: 0.1em; padding-left: 0.1em; ">?, lit. "Aquamarine Melody") by Hitomi Terakado
 * "Piece of Love" by Mayumi Asano
 * "Nanatsu no Umi no Monogatari ~Pearls of Mermaid~" (七つの海の物語 ~Pearls of Mermaid~<sup style="line-height: 1em; "><span class="t_nihongo_icon" style="color: rgb(0, 0, 238); font: normal normal bold 80%/normal sans-serif; text-decoration: none; padding-right: 0.1em; padding-left: 0.1em; ">?, lit. "The Tale of the Seven Seas ~Pearls of Mermaid~") by Asumi Nakata, Hitomi Terakado, and Mayumi Asano
 * "Beautiful Wish" by Seira Eri Kitamura
 * "Kibou no Kaneoto ~Love goes on~" (希望の鐘音〜Love goes on〜<sup style="line-height: 1em; "><span class="t_nihongo_icon" style="color: rgb(0, 0, 238); font: normal normal bold 80%/normal sans-serif; text-decoration: none; padding-right: 0.1em; padding-left: 0.1em; ">?, lit. "The Sound of Hope ~Love goes on~") primarily by Asumi Nakata, Hitomi Terakado, and Mayumi Asano (second version also includes Ema Kogure, Satomi Arai and Ryoko Nagata; third version also includes Eri Kitamura)
 * "Birth Of Love" by Seira (Eri Kitamura)
 * Other songs
 * "Kuro no Kyōsōkyoku ~concerto~" (黒の協奏曲 ～concerto～<sup style="line-height: 1em; "><span class="t_nihongo_icon" style="color: rgb(0, 0, 238); font: normal normal bold 80%/normal sans-serif; text-decoration: none; padding-right: 0.1em; padding-left: 0.1em; ">?, lit. "Concert of Darkness ~concerto~") by Miki Tsuchiya and Noriko Shitaya
 * "Yami no Baroque" (闇のBAROQUE -バロック-<sup style="line-height: 1em; "><span class="t_nihongo_icon" style="color: rgb(0, 0, 238); font: normal normal bold 80%/normal sans-serif; text-decoration: none; padding-right: 0.1em; padding-left: 0.1em; ">?, lit. "Dark Baroque") by Miki Tsuchiya and Noriko Shitaya
 * "Ankoku no Tsubasa" (暗黒の翼<sup style="line-height: 1em; "><span class="t_nihongo_icon" style="color: rgb(0, 0, 238); font: normal normal bold 80%/normal sans-serif; text-decoration: none; padding-right: 0.1em; padding-left: 0.1em; ">?, lit. "Wings of Darkness") by Sanae Kobayashi
 * "Hana to Chou no Serenāde" (花と蝶のセレナーデ<sup style="line-height: 1em; "><span class="t_nihongo_icon" style="color: rgb(0, 0, 238); font: normal normal bold 80%/normal sans-serif; text-decoration: none; padding-right: 0.1em; padding-left: 0.1em; ">?, lit. "Serenade of the Flowers and Butterflies") by Megumi Kojima
 * "Star MeroMero Heart" (Star☆メロメロ Heart<sup style="line-height: 1em; "><span class="t_nihongo_icon" style="color: rgb(0, 0, 238); font: normal normal bold 80%/normal sans-serif; text-decoration: none; padding-right: 0.1em; padding-left: 0.1em; ">?, [MeroMero referring to an onomatopoeic sound that represents the feeling of being drunk]) by Masayo Kurata
 * "Oh Yeah! Alala" by Masayo Kurata
 * "Tsubasa wo Daite" (翼を抱いて<sup style="line-height: 1em; "><span class="t_nihongo_icon" style="color: rgb(0, 0, 238); font: normal normal bold 80%/normal sans-serif; text-decoration: none; padding-right: 0.1em; padding-left: 0.1em; ">?, lit. "Embraced in Wings") by Junko Minagawa
 * "Ashita ga Mienakute" (明日が見えなくて<sup style="line-height: 1em; "><span class="t_nihongo_icon" style="color: rgb(0, 0, 238); font: normal normal bold 80%/normal sans-serif; text-decoration: none; padding-right: 0.1em; padding-left: 0.1em; ">?, lit. "Unable to See Tomorrow") by Ryoko Shintani