Misao Amano/Alternate Versions

Overview

Pretty Sammy

Magical Project S

Alternate Versions

Overview

Misao Amano, across her incarnations, remains a shy, introverted girl with a kind heart, often burdened by loneliness and self-doubt. Bullying, illness, and a harsh family situation often cause her suffering. In those incarnations where she possesses magic, it is both a blessing and a curse, allowing her respite of a harsh life, and express her true feelings, but forcing her to confront her inner darkness and the hidden depths of her soul, and often placing her at odds with her best friend, Sasami.

Her character draws heavily from Magical Project S and Pretty Sammy, but her spin-off versions exist in distinct universes. These portrayals retain ties to the Pretty Sammy series while introducing subtle nuances and significant changes that set them apart from the originals.

Battle Programmer Shirase

Despite her younger appearance BPS’ Misao is one year older than most versions.

Overview

Though not part of the Tenchi Muyo! multiverse, this Misao is included for completeness. Overall, she is one of the happiest and most well-adjusted versions, contrasting her more troubled magical girl counterparts.

Background and Family Life

Misao enjoys a stable family life in Japan. Her father, Shigeki, is the breadwinner, often working overseas, while her mother, Kotoe, is a dedicated stay-at-home parent. This contrasts with other versions, where family dynamics are strained, like Kotoe as an emotionally distant breadwinner or Shigeki abandoning his family. Kotoe fosters a close bond with Misao, encouraging hobbies like calligraphy, ballet, and piano lessons, though Misao shows no particular passion for piano, unlike her Pretty Sammy selves.

Personality and Daily Life

Misao retains her shy, gentle personality but lacks the chronic illnesses, loneliness, or difficult home life of other versions. She has an average daily life at school as a timid sixth-grader, one year older than her Pretty Sammy counterparts. Without Sasami, Misao adopts her nurturing traits, managing household chores for her great-uncle, Akira Shirase, the series’ main character, whom she frequently visits.

Unique Characteristics

• Lack of Magical Powers: She never becomes Pixy Misa or gains magical abilities, unlike most versions ( Misao Shinohara never became Pixy Misa either).
• Physical appearance: Has brown eyes instead of Misao’s trademark light green eyes.
• Absence of Sasami: First version not to know or be friends with Sasami.
• Speech Affectation: Uses “Mau Mau” to emphasize her cute, innocent personality. It has no meaning and it’s just meant to sound cute.
• New Family Members: Includes her maternal grandmother Mitsuko Shirase and Akira Shirase, a genius hacker, and her maternal great Uncle.
• Ecchi series humor: a running gag is her and the main character Akira being found in compromising positions that in reality are completely innocent but seem sexually suggestive.

Role in the Series

As a supporting character, Misao contrasts her Pretty Sammy complex counterparts with her normal stable, carefree childhood. She highlights how Misao’s life might have been without Sasami or magic. She takes Sasami's usual role of being the "moe" cute appeal character.

Magical Night 1 (Radio play)

Overview

In the Pretty Sammy radio play Magical Night 1, Misao Amano is an ordinary Japanese schoolgirl and the temporary antagonist Pixy Misa. She retains her gentle personality and friendship with Sasami.

This Misao had a fairly average life compared to her other incarnations in the Pretty Sammy franchise. Unlike other versions, she lacks a troubled home life or chronic illnesses and enjoys amicable relationships with classmates, notably participating in a gardening club. This contrasts with other iterations, who often face social struggles with cram school as her only extracurricular activity.

Due to the radio play’s brevity, little is revealed about Misao’s civilian life beyond these details.

Artsyle: Based on Pretty Sammy OVA

Role as Pixy Misa

Misao is chosen by Rumiya, on behalf of Ramia, to become Pixy Misa, selected for her cuteness to rival Sasami (Pretty Sammy). Unlike other versions , Ramia’s medling is public knowledge, tied to an open competition for Juraihelm’s throne and a magical dreamstone’s restoration. This Ramia harbors a grudge against humanity, overshadowing her ambitions for the throne.

This Pixy Misa favors psychological warfare over direct magical attacks, using standard abilities like summoning "Love-Love Monsters" and casting spells. She uniquely gets directly involved with Tenchi’s relationships, such as faking a love letter to disrupt his love triangle with Ayeka and Ryoko, rather than encountering Tenchi by chance as usual. Her signature tactic involves music to create despair. In the finale she used the song "Double Mind"—sung in Misao’s gentle voice to express sadness—to spread despair globally in her final battle against Pretty Sammy, who ultimately defeats her.

Ultimate Fate

Misao’s time as Pixy Misa is brief, with fewer than five confrontations with Pretty Sammy. After their final battle, both lose their magical powers and memories as magical girls. Misao presumably resumes her life as an ordinary japanese schoolgirl.

Magical Night 2 – “Evil Kiyone” Universe

This universe features a Pretty Sammy who is actually a Galaxy Police officer, along with Princess Kiyone—known in the fandom as “Evil Kiyone.” In a crossover with the Pretty Sammy novel universe, characters from this world appear, and Novel Universe Misao briefly mentions her counterpart, though that version of Misao never appears on-screen.

Novel Misao wonders if her alternate self also has asthma or feels lonely and miserable like she does. She hopes this version of herself is at least friends with Sasami and still visited by her bird friend (Rumiya). However, no Misao has ever appeared in the “Evil Kiyone” universe, nor has she been mentioned as being Sasami’s friend. It’s possible she never met Sasami, never became involved with magic, or simply doesn’t exist in that universe. This hope isn’t empty however, as proven by this article, other universes do feature happier versions of herself

Pixy Misa also seems absent from this timeline, as the Pretty Sammy native to the “Evil Kiyone” universe does not recognize her.

Pretty Sammy Novel Universe

Overview

The Misao Amano from the pretty Sammy Novels is a tragic hybrid of her ''Magical Project S'' and OVA counterparts, blending shared classmates and events from both while following a uniquely grim path. She is one of the the most, if not the most, miserable version of the character, Misao’s life is marked by profound sorrow, with her only moments of happiness occurring alongside her best friend, Sasami Kawai. However, their friendship is complicated by Misao’s mistaken belief that Sasami only stays close out of pity and doesn’t truly like her.

Artsyle is based on the Pretty Sammy OVAs

Character traits

Misao is characterized by persistent depression, a condition first recognized by Ramia. This depression is notably alleviated only in the presence of Sasami, whom Misao deeply envies for her vibrant life, outgoing personality, and robust health. Misao suffers from chronic asthma, leading to frequent and painful coughing episodes. During severe exacerbations of her illness, she experiences profuse sweating, debilitating sluggishness, and weakness, sometimes rendering her unable to stand . She also struggles with slow eating, which causes other kids to mock her. Her physical frailty makes her perform poorly in physical education classes.

Misao endures relentless bullying, primarily from her classmate Konoha, who targets her both at school and cram school. This bullying predates her friendship with Sasami. Misao has difficulty making friends, making Sasami her first and only friend. But as Misa she seems to be fond of Rumiya too. She is emotionally sensitive; witnessing Tenchi and Ayeka's arguments triggers painful memories of her parents' conflicts. Consequently, she associates people fighting, even the usual Ayeka and Ryoko’s fights, with abandonment.

Her home life is also bleak, with an emotionally distant and strict mother, Kotoe, who neglects her and once slapped her. Misao’s father appears to have left on bad terms, further isolating her. The death of a kind grandmother, and the abandonment from her father, deepens her loneliness.

Role as Pixy Misa

As Pixy Misa, Misao channels her pain into chaotic magic. Just like her animated counterparts, she creates chaos to sabotage Tsunami, on behalf of Ramia, with Rumiya at her side. Like her OVA counterpart she seems to have romantic feelings for Rumiya.

Once Misao's secret is revealed. Sasami is initially unsympathetic, and her classmates react harshly upon learning Misao’s alter ego too. Unlike other versions, Sasami does not readily forgive her for being Pixy Misa, because In their final confrontation, Misao, as Pixy Misa, had left Tenchi severely injured and hospitalized.

Eventually, Misao reconciles with Sasami a both share their feelings, strengthening their friendship.

Unique Transformations

• Adult Pixy Misa: Empowered by Team Sexy Madams with "sexy power," Misao transforms into a provocative adult form with a very mature and well endowed body.
• Black-Haired Pixy Misa: Merging Misao’s reserved nature with Pixy Misa’s boldness, this alter ego confronts Sasami with raw, dark emotions, lacking the whimsy of the standard Pixy Misa.

Ultimate Fate/Death

Misao’s story ends in tragic ambiguity, marking her as the first version to die. After a four-year time skip studying abroad, a 14-year-old Misao, now with short hair, prepares to reunite with Sasami. Distracted, she fails to notice an oncoming car, leading to an accident that appears to claim both their lives, as onlookers react with horror. The epilogue presents a surreal sequence where they awaken unharmed in a rainbow-lit world with cherry blossoms, symbolizing transience and suggesting an afterlife. The author’s afterword, citing his sister’s death as inspiration, supports this, though a literal reading leaves a slim chance of survival.

Misao Amano Manga Universe

Misao Amano as she appears in the Manga

Overview

The manga Misao is nearly identical to her Magical Project S (MPS) counterpart, making her story a retelling or alternate timeline. Explicitly Ramia’s kindred spirit, her early events mirror MPS. After Pixy Misa’s first clash with Pretty Sammy, the story diverges into unique adventures.

Art Style: Based on Magical Project S

Misao Amano (Manga)

Unlike her MPS counterpart, a pianist with musical aspirations who fears the spotlight, this Misao is a talented artist often praised for her kindness. She never plays piano but accidentally wins a beauty contest, gaining fame as a model and therefore she has far less fear of the spotlight compared to her MPS counterpart. Her crush on classmate Hiroto is explicit but unreciprocated, as he later dates Konoka Haida.. Misao confides in Sasami about her depression, finding comfort in her support, though her inability to form friendships and loneliness persists.

She has the exact same amnesia mental block when she transforms into Pixy Misa as her MPS counterpart up until the last arch of the Manga, Misao fulfills the same role of being Sasami’s best friend as Misao and trying to sabotage her as Pixy Misa on behalf of Ramia.

Pixy Misa (Manga)

Pixy Misa’s Manga design is based on Magical Project S.

As Pixy Misa, Misao becomes bold and provocative, appearing older with a more mature body and confident demeanor. She more explicitly expresses Misao’s suppressed emotions, such as flirting with Hiroto, punishing Konoha for bullying herself as Misao, and even pursuing a thief that stole from her civilian self. In one occasion, in a rainy day, she trapped Sasami and her parents in a board game simply because as Misao she had wanted to play with them in a rainy day.

She largely retains her clownish magical trickster role, often mocks Sasami’s childish appearance, contrasting her own more mature magical form. Unlike MPS Pixy Misa’s, who is slightly, more clownish, and childish, with fourth-wall-breaking antics, this version is less “innocent” and is far more eager to flaunt her body. In one occasion she even wore a BDSM suit for a beach beauty contest.

This Pixy Misa speaks only Japanese and drops the English phrases. She notices Rumiya’s crush on her Misao self, unlike MPS. She retains her cowardly tendencies compared to the original, but is also far less less lazy and gluttonous.

As Ramia's Kindred spirit she is both Misao and Misa, a fact she later confirmed when she, mistakenly, believed her Misao self had been erased. This is reflected in her behaviour. For instance, she was initially harsh with Ryo-ohki but then, she softens and even compliments him after he had praises Misao’s kindness, indirectly praising Misa. And even when she thought her Misao side was gone, she was still hurt about being being bullied as Misao.

Ultimate Fate

As Tsunami nears victory, Ramia gets desperate. But instead of enhancing Pixy Misa’s powers like she did in “The magic Fades Away”, she fools Rumiya to use a device to erase Misao’s identity, believing her gentleness weakens Pixy Misa (in reality Misao’s personality was merely suppressed by the magic trinket). This unleashes Misa’s full potential, making her far more dangerous and capable of easily overpowering Pretty Sammy. While Ramia’s magic device did intend for Pixy Misa to be the sole personality, the situation was more complex than initially thought. Misao, had “closed her heart” after repeated pain and being mocked for not having friends and having a desire to be “different” this made her wish her Pixy Misa side to be dominant and buried the vulnerable part of herself in her subconscious therefore Misao’s desires seem to have influenced the result of the spell.

With no chance of winning a direct fight against her, Sasami and her classmates inspired by Sammy, offered their friendship, this gave Misao the strength to overpower her Pixy Misa side in her subconscious, thus returning back to normal. In other words she regained control by “opening her heart" as she explained it. It’s unclear if she fully controls her alter ego, like she does in MPS, but she mentions how she is now “co-existing” with her Pixy Misa self and she offers to help Sasami against “Love me Eimi”, possibly as a magical girl or simply as a support role (In MPS she was powerless when Eimi first appeared which might be the case here too) .

Differences from Magical Project S

• Talents and Persona: Manga Misao has an affinity for drawing and she also became a famous model, unlike her MPS’s pianist and singer talents who avoids the spotlight.
• Romantic Interests: Her crush on Hiroto is explicit; Pixy Misa noticed Rumiya’s feelings earlier than in MPS. In the manga she even teased him whereas in the tv show she was genuinely surprised.
• Pixy Misa’s Behavior: Manga Misa is provocative, overtly fulfilling Misao’s desires, and far more raunchy while MPS’s Misa is a more clownish prankster. Manga Pixy Misa doesn’t use English phrases. MPS’s family-friendly tone makes Misa slightly more subdued, though both share goofy traits.
• Transformation Mechanics: Manga’s Misao might have a subconscious magical control, given she has transformed without Ramia or Rumiya’s involment.
• Resolution: Manga Ramia suppressed Misao’s identity, unlike MPS’s Ramia enhancing her power, therefore completely changed the finale in both versions.

Powers and Abilities

This Pixy Misa is significantly more powerful than Pretty Sammy, and the strongest version so far, with superior magical and physical prowess without enhancements, unlike MPS. Misao’s gentle nature restrains Misa, preventing decisive blows due to her subconscious desire not to harm Sasami. When Ramia suppresses Misao, Misa’s restraints vanish, enabling her to overpower Pretty Sammy effortlessly.

• Super Strength: She knocks out foes with a finger flick, overpowers Konoha, and dominates Pretty Sammy. She lacks the physical frailty of her MPS counterpart.
• Unique Form - "Perfect Misa" / "Sexy Misa": Post-suppression, this is how Pixy Misa calls herself once she stops holding back.

Unique Spells:

• Magical Black Hole Spell: Attracts people magnetically.
• Pixy Space: Seemingly her equivalent to Sammy's pretty space. She used it against Pretty Sammy in their final battle.
• Pixy Cutter: Summons several arrow shaped blades that can cut and hurt others.
• Pocket Dimension Creation: Crafts a pocket realm she control. It was used to force the Kawai family to play board game with them as the player pieces.
• Pixy Flash: Blinds and stuns with light.
• Breast Pixy Fire: Emits energy from her chest, unlike baton-based “Pixy Sexy Fire.”
• Pixie Snake Ring: Summons snakes to bind opponents.
• Unnamed Hand Magic Energy Spells: Baton-free energy attacks she can cast from her hand to harm enemies.

Pretty Sammy Manga (Extra)

Misao as seen in the bonus stories of the Manga.

Art Style: Based on the Magical Girl Pretty Sammy OVA

Two extra stories in the first volume of The Pretty Sammy Manga appear to be set in the Magical Girl a Pretty Sammy OVAs but include a contradiction: Mihoshi is a teacher, unlike her OVA role as a college student working at Sasami’s mother’s music store. This may be a continuity error or suggest a parallel universe. Thus, this Misao is either the OVA Misao or a very similar variant.

This Misao transformed off screen into Pixy Misa spontaneously, seemingly still outside her control, but without Ramia or Rumiya’s involvement—e.g., at a dinosaur egg exhibit, triggered by separation themes, or after running away during a school camp trip. Otherwise, she mirrors her OVA incarnation, summoning “Love-Love Monsters” that Sasami easily defeats.

Sasami:14

Misao/Misa returns with a different art sytle.

Sasami: 14's Misao was intended to be not a new version of Misao but a continuation of her story from Magical Project S, set after a four-year time skip. The concept was pitched through a crowdfunding campaign that ultimately failed.

Little was revealed about the project, except that Misao would temporarily lose her powers at the story's start, attend the same junior high as Sasami, and be portrayed as a seasoned heroic magical girl alongside Sasami, continuing her redemption arc from the Magical Project S finale. As the crowdfunding project was abandoned, it remains unknown whether any of these pre-production ideas would be retained if a sequel to Magical Project S is ever produced.

Sasami: Magical Girls Club

Misao Shinohara is a multiversal variant of Misao Amano in a distinct spin-off universe. She is soft-spoken, shy, and shares a close bond with her universe’s Sasami, her first friend. Despite a normal family life, she has faced bullying and rejection at school, struggling with fear of rejection, loneliness, and low self-esteem.

Unlike most frail Misao incarnations, Misao Shinohara is physically strong and exceptionally powerful as a magical girl, born with unique insect-like dark magical abilities. She is a magical girl of the cute witch variety as opposed to the transforming Sailor Moon type. Her arc sees her evolve from a shy, self-doubting girl to a villain, ultimately achieving redemption. Eventually, thanks to the club, and Sasami she ends up gaining many friends and even a mentor. She has the distinction of never becoming Pixy Misa.

For details, see here for her full article.

Not-Alternate Versions.

Both of the Windows 98/Plastation Pretty Sammy games were intended as a grand finale to the Pretty Sammy OVAs.

Likewise Okuda’s Pretty Sammy Manga chapters, and the “Extra” story of the “Magical Girl Pretty Sammy Manga” by Yasuhiro Makino are, presumably, part of the OVA continuity. This is presumed due to the fact that those stories seem to be set in the OVA universe, and they had Yōsuke Kuroda as a guest writer who oversees that specific universe, very likely to preserve continuity.

The Sega Saturn Pretty Sammy games, on the other hand, are interquels to Magical Project S.

While the canonicity of the events is uncertain due to the one-shot story being a crossover with Battle Athletes, the Azumanga Recycle manga featured a story titled "Pretty Sammy 4999." This compilation of official 1998 Tenchi Muyo Pioneer comics included a version of Misao clearly intended to be the Magical Project S rendition after the season finale,” Magical Victory”. This is supported by Pixy Misa, stating she was now friends with Sasami, which has only happened in the tv version, indicating she's simply the established Magical Project S version.

Therefore, those versions of Misao are not included in this list as they are mere extensions of their respective continuities and not true new versions.

Gallery

Pixy Misa's adult form after she uses "Sexy power" in the 7th Pretty Sammy novel.

Misao Amano, now 14, and with a short hair style, before her traffic accident.

Misao in a cheerleader outfit as she appears in Battle Programmer Shirase

Pixy Misa as she appears in the "Extra" chapters of the first Pretty Sammy Manga.

Trivia

• AIC uses Battle Programmer Shirase's Misao as their Twitter ( X ) profile picture (archive.ph/exXR3).
• The novel universe and Sasami: Magical Girls Club feature Misao with a short hairstyle.
• The canceled Sasami: 14 sequel to Magical Project S, and the novel universe depict Misao at age 14, her oldest official age (without magic artificially making her older).
• Rumi Kasahara, Misao’s voice actress, asked listeners not to hate “Double Mind,” concerned its role as an “evil song” in Magical Night 1’s finale would make it unpopular.
• In the novel universe, Misao has a deceased grandmother, which might retroactively be an alternate version of Mitsuko Shirase.
• Misao’s magic transformation words, “Pixy Mutation Magical Recall,” were willingly used onscreen only once by Misao in Magical Project S. However, they predate the show, as they were first mentioned by Ramia in the first Pretty Sammy novel.