Toki*Meca

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Toki★Meca

Mimii and Meca
とき★めか
Genre Comedy, Romance, Sci-fi
Manga
Author Naoko Takeuchi
Publisher Flag of Japan Kodansha
Demographic Shōjo
Magazine Nakayoshi
Original run September 2001 – May 2006
Volumes 1

{{nihongo|Toki★Meca|とき★めか| is a Japanese manga by Naoko Takeuchi which ran in the September 2001 issue of Nakayoshi as a one-shot story under the title: Toki*Meka (とき★メカ). However the mangaka asked her readers to send her feedback if they would like more of the story. She didn't pick up the story until after Love Witch, where she resumed in the January 2005 issue of Nakayoshi, with a completely different story, and a slightly different title (Toki★Meca/とき★めか). The serialization ended in Nakayoshi May 2006.

The title is a series of puns. This is why the title is also not Toki*Mecha, as some might assume.

1. Meka, as the kanji (芽歌) which make up the character's name, and roughly means "budding song"

2. Mecha, (メカ)　As in short for "mechanical", or to indicate this character is a robot.

3. Tokimeki,　(ときめき) meaning "heartbeat"

4. Hiragana version of meka (めか)（which is used by the mini version of Meca)

The romanization of her name to Hanasaki Meca has been suggested as a way to best illustrate most of the Japanese and English puns for those who cannot read Japanese.

Contents

[edit] Yomikiri/One-Shot Story

The One-shot story, is about Hoshiko and how she invented Meka. Originally her name was Ikase Hoshiko. Meca's name was spelled Meka, and had a last name of Hanayori Meka. The storyline goes something like Hoshiko was always made fun of when she was little because of her name. But she currently has a crush on a guy in her class that once made fun of her. Takeda... but in the end she cannot forgive him after all.

There are a lot of cute little gimmicks in this, plus some odd references to manga she was doing at that time too. Every time Meka heard the word "baka" which means "idiot" she would go nuts and punch someone randomly and immediately forget she had done so. This is most likely a reference to the "Punch!!" series that Naoko Takeuchi was doing at that time. There is also a cameo of two stuffed animals that are a dog, and a rabbit, which is a reference to the author and her husband.

The other striking thing about the one-shot is that Meka builds her own robots. She is a genius at it, to the point that it causes trouble. She builds a TV, and a dog. It also has more gag type of humor than the series, but it is not short on humor in general.

[edit] Series Story

Unlike Pretty Soldier Sailor Moon, and many of the other stories by Naoko Takeuchi, this story takes place in the future. This story also welcomes back the editor from Sailor Moon, Osa-P.

When Mimii was young, she was friends with Hoshiko. Hoshiko had to go to the United States because she was studying abroad. Mimii makes Hoshiko promise that they will always be friends. And this is where the story starts.

Meca shows up in Mimii's life 7 years later to become her friend, and to help her. However, Meca isn't exactly all that Mimii thought she would be. Meca keeps getting into trouble, saving people's lives, and summoning various people/robots/objects with her cellphone.

This series is aimed for people from 12-13 just like Sailor Moon, or most of the other works that Naoko Takeuchi has done. It is also light-hearted, and does not take itself too seriously. For those familiar with Naoko Takeuchi's work, it is more like "Codename Sailor V" than it is "Pretty Soldier Sailor Moon" in terms of its seriousness.

[edit] Characters

  • Meca Hanasaki (花咲芽歌?) - The main character of the series, she is an energetic, often over enthusiastic robot.
  • Meka Hanasaki (花咲めか?)- A smaller version of the character. However, her characters are spelled slightly different.
  • Hoshiko Hana (花星子?) - The inventor of Meca. She is currently in America attending MIT.
  • Mimii Asada (朝田美々依?) - The other protagonist of this story.
  • Ruruu Asada (朝田留々宇?) - Mimii's exhuberant younger sister. She often scolds her older sister much to Mimii's consternation.
  • Ryusei Miki (竜正御木?) - The love interest in this story, and often mysterious figure. He carries a camera around with him. Does he like Mimii or is he just playing with her?
  • Yukitake Hayashi (林雪武?) - Ryusei's friend. He also seems to know about robots.
  • Erena Ishihara (石原えれな?)- Mimii's friend who is also a fashion designer.

[edit] External links

Languages