Sasami: Magical Girls Club, (砂沙美☆魔法少女クラブ Sasami: Mahō Shōjo Kurabu), is a magical girl anime which features the rather familiar likenesses of Sasami and other characters of the Tenchi Muyo! franchise, specifically those of Pretty Sammy. However, this series is not a direct sequel to either Pretty Sammy anime titles. The animation style is different and the anime itself is set in a very different alternate universe.
Magical Girls Club is a series only tangentially related to both Tenchi Muyo! and Pretty Sammy due to its lack of series characters, featuring only Sasami, Washu, Ryo-Ohki, Mihoshi, and an alternate iteration of Misao Amano from Pretty Sammy; even with these characters, none of them are voiced by their familiar voice actors.
Produced by AIC and BeSTACK and officially recognized as a Tenchi Muyo! spin-off, it is aired in WOWOW on Thursday nights, the show aired its first season from April 13, 2006 to July 13, 2006. On October 6, 2006, a second season had begun airing. Both seasons have now been licensed for a release in the U.S. by FUNimation Entertainment. On January 12, 2009, the series made its North American debut on the FUNimation Channel.
There was also a single-issue manga adaptation of the show, published by Kadokawa Comics' Dragon Jr magazine on July 1, 2006. Comprising 142 pages, it primarily follows the events of the show. [1]Given the franchise's lukewarm reception, no further adaptations or supplementary material were produced beyond this initial volume.
Premise
Sasami: Magical girls club is a classic “cute witch” anime
Unlike both of its predecessors Magical Project S, and Pretty Sammy, Sasami: Magical Girls Club is not a parody of the magical girl genre, and in fact the series lacks several of the elements associated with series like Pretty Cure or Sailor Moon such as transformation sequences, talking mentor mascots, or monsters that are fought almost every episode.
In fact given magic users are simply born with the innate ability to use magic, the girl’s magical girl outfits are worn just like any other clothes, and are designed to suppress their powers rather than enable their use. Also unlike most magical girl animes the girls lack of a secret identity, and in fact most of their parents are well aware of them having magic powers, albeit the existence of magic, and of the magic dimension are kept, for the most part, as a secret from regular humans,
It’s far more accurate to describe it as a “cute witch” anime as it more closely resembles series like “Sabrina The Teenage witch”, or “My Little Witch Academia”, as the story is far more focused on the girls learning to control their powers, and how to balance their mundane everyday lives, with their magic instead of “saving the world” or “fighting evil”. The girls even use classic brooms for flight, and pointy witch hats.
Magic takes a backseat to more slice of situations, such as the friendship of the girls, self discovery, and they learning how to use their powers. Albeit there is a major antagonist, and some action in the latter half, once the girls uncover a magic conspiracy, such elements are secondary.
Story
Sasami Iwakura has been endowed with magical powers since birth; but at age three, she is forbidden by her parents to use them. So she decides to keep her magical powers a secret. But at the start of a new term, she encounters the new transfer teacher Washu and her pet Ryo-Ohki, who are far more than meets the eye.
Her life changes forever once she, along Misao, are recruited into Washu’s “cooking club”, which is in reality the font of a secret “magical girls club”. Soon after Sasami discovers other special girls with magic powers such as herself. While initially the intent of the “magical girls club” was simply to help the girls to hide their powers and help them better integrate in the human world a conspiracy in the world of witches pushes the girls to learn how to better use their powers , and befriend each other instead.
The first series/season is dedicated to character development as we are introduced to magic girls Sasami, Misao, Makoto, Tsukasa, and An-an. As the girls discover their awakening powers, they also learn a bit about themselves as they train with Washu and Daimon as part of their "cooking club." This culminates in their taking a trip to the magic world, where they compete against other magic squad teams, some having boys in them.
The second series/season is dedicated to plot, where Sasami's magic girl squad's activities have impressed the Chief Sorceress. As such, she wants those girls as part of her plan to change the human world (Earth), which she sees as too corrupt. The girls, especially Misao, must not only learn to master their abilities and magics, but also learn to face their own fears, lack of understanding, and the like as they walk a dark road set down before them by the Chief Sorceress.
This anime also features Misao Shinohara and Sasami's homeroom teacher Mihoshi.
Characters
The Magical Girls Club (a.k.a. The Cooking Club)
- Sasami Iwakura (岩倉砂沙美 Iwakura Sasami?) - The lead character of the series. She is a bubbly girl who has magical powers which she uses only in secret. That is because she is forbidden by her parents to use it. It is only when her cooking teacher Washu discovered her magical powers that they are to be of use. Except for the absence of freckles and the triangular mark on her forehead, she looks similar to her metaseries counterpart. Voiced by: Mana Ogawa (Japanese), Alison Viktorin (English)
- Misao Shinohara (篠原美紗緒 Shinohara Misao?) - The second member of the magical girl club whom Sasami befriended. She comes off as an introvert because she attracts worm-like creatures around her whenever she gets scared and they envelop her body, making her scary to those around her. It is only after meeting Sasami that she becomes more outgoing. Except for the bow on her hair and her hair being more purple than purplish black, she resembles Misao Amano. Voiced by: Himeko Shimura (Japanese), Monica Rial (English)
- Makoto Hozumi (穂積真琴 Hozumi Makoto?) - The third member of the club, she has the ability to either shrink or enlarge herself at will. It is for this (and her short stature) that she drinks up the school's entire supply of milk and eventually goes to the restroom. Voiced by: Momoko Hatano (Japanese), Cherami Leigh (English)
- Tsukasa Takamine (高峰 司 Takamine Tsukasa?) - The fourth member of the club. Although emotionless, she has the ability to use and manipulate the wind. She has an overprotective father who does not want her to use her powers after her mother died, but he eventually lets go of that trait, knowing those powers she have are a reminder of her mother. Voiced by: Saharu Kawakami (Japanese), Brina Palencia (English)
- Anri Misugi (美杉杏莉 Misugi Anri?) - The fifth member of the club. She can do drawings and write words and also has the ability to make each of those words into tangible symbols. Although she acts like a princess, she actually comes from a rather large family with a lot of siblings. Anri has a strong infatuation with Tsukasa and lavishes words of love and flattery on her constantly. Voiced by: Marin Funayama (Japanese), Brittney Karbowski (English)
- Washu Kozuka (小塚鷲羽 Kozuka Washū?) - Cooking teacher and adviser of the magical girls' club (and of the cooking club). Although she is recruited by the school, she is in fact from the world of the witches. As advisor, she trains the girls to be good magical girls. Ironically, although she is the cooking teacher, she herself cannot cook. Fans of the Tenchi franchise can recognize this character as the Washu they know. People call her a hedgehog. Voiced by: Akiko Hiramatsu (Japanese), Luci Christian (English)
Other characters
- Ryo-Ohki - Washu's pet, whom she tortures a lot. This probably is the reason it eventually ends up with Sasami, much like its counterpart. Although its gender is not known, it can change its form, like its counterparts do. Voiced by: Ema Kogure (Japanese), Zach Bolton (English)
- Mihoshi (美星先生 Mihoshi-sensei?) - Sasami and Misao's homeroom teacher. Just like her counterpart in the Tenchi franchise, she is clumsy and goofs up a lot. Voiced by: Hyo-sei (Japanese), Colleen Clinkenbeard (English)
- Daimon (大門?) - Washu's helper and Sasami and Misao's friend. Like Washu, he is also from the world of the witches. Voiced by: Masakazu Suzuki (Japanese), Mike McFarland (English)
- Ginji and Honoka Iwakura (岩倉銀次, Iwakura Ginji; 岩倉ほのか, Iwakura Honoka) - Sasami's parents who both forbid their daughter to use magic. Ironically, Ginji, in particular, is also from the magical world, and he is a rank higher than Washu and Daimon. They were named after Sasami Kawai's parents in Magical Project S (Pretty Sammy TV). Voiced by: Kenji Hamada/Sonny Strait - Ginji Iwakura (Sasami's father); Ruri Asano/Stacey Oristano - Honoka Iwakura (Sasami's mother)
- Monta (もんた?) - Sasami's classmate who has feelings for her. Sasami does not know this; rather it is Misao who has feelings for him. His real name is Toshihiko Saruta (猿田寿彦 Saruta Toshihiko?). Voiced by: Yuka Nishigaki (Japanese), Todd Haberkorn (English)
- Kozue Matsubara (松原 梢 Matsubara Kozue?) and Chiaki Miyazawa (宮沢千晶 Miyazawa Chiaki?) - Sasami's friends. Kozue is the girl wearing glasses and Chiaki the tall girl. Voiced by: Aimi Yanagi/Majken Bullard - Kozue Matsubara; Natsuki Matsuzaki/Kate Oxley - Chiaki Miyazawa
- Itoki (衣斗紀?) - She is a messenger and magical girl trainer. She does not get along with Washu very well. Voiced by: Mai Kadowaki (Japanese), Carrie Savage (English)
- Amitav (アミターヴ Amitāvu?) A strange being whom Sasami meets at a pond in the magical world and teaches her the magical girls' song which Sasami memorizes very well. Sasami calls him *Ami-chan (アミちゃん Ami-chan?). Voiced by: Mitsuki Saiga (Japanese), J. Michael Tatum (English)
- Chief Sorceress - She is the leader of the magic world and her beliefs about how the corrupt human world needs to be lead by witches leads her to enact an ambitious plan which involves the magic girls from Earth, especially Sasami's group. Chief Sorceress is never addressed by name, only by title. Voiced by: Caitlin Glass (English)
- Mrs. Shinohara- While she was only credited as “Misao’s mom”, she physically resembles Kotoe Amano from Magical Project S (Pretty Sammy TV), sharing her same short hair style. Unlike her neglectful Pretty Sammy counterpart, she is a stay at home mother that is directly involved in Misao’s life as her parental guardian. Voiced by: D'Lytha Myers (English).
The Shining Star Magical girl team.
Yuri, Eimi, Ayane, Sonoko, and Chinako (from left to right)
An elite group of 5 magical girls that are also highschool students in the same city the main girls reside. They are both loyal to the witches ideals, and they serve The Chief Sorceress directly. They are considered among the most powerful magical girls. With the exception of Misao, and Sasami's unique light magic spells, they are all portrayed as being more experienced, and powerful than the main girls being capable of easily defeating them and force them to flee.
- Ayane - She is the de-facto leader of the "Shining Star" magic girl team. Misao looks up to Ayane as a mentor. Voiced by: Saeko Chiba (Japanese), Trina Nishimura (English).
- Chinako Tasaki-Her clothes, and magic, have a "cat" motif (pictured here in the middle).
- Sonoko Umezu-She has a red hair and a long ponytail (Pictured here).
- Eimi Mori- Her magical girl clothes resemble stereotypical noblewomen medieval fashion . She wears a silk veil and a dress (pictured here),
- Yuri Aikawa- She has short blue hair.Her magic speciality is air magic, She has a greater mastery than Tsukasa over it (pictured here).
