Kamikaze Kaito Jeanne

Kamikaze Kaitou Jeanne (神風怪盗ジャンヌ, Kamikaze Kaitō Jannu, also known as Phantom-Thief Jeanne,) is a fantasy shōjo manga series written and illustrated by Arina Tanemura. The story is about the adventures of a high school girl, Maron Kusakabe, who is the reincarnation of Jeanne D'Arc and transforms into a phantom thief-magical girl to collect the scattered pieces of God's power which are also coveted by demons hiding in beautiful art works.^[1]

The manga was published by Shueisha in Ribon between February 1998 and July 2000. The individual chapters were collected and published in seven tankōbon volumes. It was formerly licensed for English-language release by CMX Manga and now licensed by Viz Media. The series was adapted by Toei Animation as a 44-episode anime television series that was broadcast on TV Asahi from February 1999 to January 2000. The series was re-issued by Shueisha in 2007, with all chapters fitting into only 6 volumes, instead of the original 7; all volumes had new covers.

Plot

16-year-old high-school gymnast Maron Kusakabe is visited by the angel Finn Fish, who gives her a task. God's power is scattered across the Earth, and if He does not gather enough by the turn of the millennium, He will die. To block Him, The Devil had sent out agents to gather His power, which is the beauty in human hearts, in the form of chess pieces. With Finn's assistance, Maron transforms into the reincarnation of Jeanne D'Arc in order to hunt Demons hidden within works of art. When Maron defeats a Demon, the artwork disappears, and to the outside world it is as if she has stolen it, and she becomes known as a kaitō ("phantom-thief"). Maron's best friend is Miyako, the daughter of a police detective in charge of Jeanne's case.

As the series progresses, Maron and Miyako fall in love with new classmate Chiaki, who wants to stop Maron collecting the chess pieces, for he knew that Fin Fish is the Da-Tenshi (Fallen Angel), but apparently in the form of normal angel. Chiaki at first "fakes" falling in love to get closer to Maron, knowing Maron is Jeanne. Later he falls in love truthfully after realising that Maron is worth the effort, even if she does "hate" him. Maron, on the other hand, is confused and does not know what "love" means because her parents abandoned her when she was around ten years old because they were having problems getting along, so no one taught her. As a result, she does not know how to respond to Chiaki's advances.

The manga relates in detail Finn Fish's background, expounding on Fin's relationships with other angels and the events that led to her becoming Maron's partner. This backstory of the angels is not shown in the anime. Kamikaze Kaitou Jeanne has often drawn comparisons to Sailor Moon for the magical girl theme and similarity in appearance between Kaitou Jeanne and Sailor Moon.

Main characters

Maron Kusakabe (日下部 まろん, Kusakabe Maron)

Birthday: May 30

Horoscope sign: Gemini

The protagonist of the series, Maron is a 16-year-old (17-years-old from chapter 19) high school girl and rhythmic gymnast, who can also transform into the supernatural "Kaitou Jeanne" (怪盗 ジャンヌ, Kaitō Jannu). Maron lives in an apartment alone—having been left by her parents, work abroad but is really possessed by demons. She is well liked at school, especially in chapter 11, when lots of guys from her school offer to escort her home on Valentine’s Day, and request chocolate valentines from her. She is also very stubborn and head-strong. Even so, Maron is a lonely young woman who hides her feelings behind a warm smile. Even though she has her parent's phone number and address, she is afraid she would once again be "thrown away" by her parents, and thus refuses to contact them. The only time she is contacted by her parents is by her mother, in order to tell her they are divorcing. Maron is very close with her best friend Miyako, though she still holds her at a distance. In the beginning, she sees Chiaki as merely a playboy, and refuses to trust him as he had always seemed to be hitting on her. However, after the incident when Maron was told of her parents’ divorce, Chiaki found Maron alone in tears, and he encouraged her to believe in herself. This was a turning point for Maron: Chiaki’s kindness helped her trust others, and it also sparked romantic feelings toward Chiaki. Throughout the series, she tries to confess to him, but something always happens. Finally, in the second last chapter, she confesses to him that she loves him and they even sleep together. Seven years later, Maron is 24 years old, married to Chiaki, and has a daughter named Natsuki who is the reincarnation of Finn.

Before the series began, Maron had encountered a tiny female angel named Finn Fish, who gave her a mission from God to seal away demons. These demons attempt to steal the beauty in human hearts, in order to increase The Devil's powers. Maron was given a mystical rosary with a large crucifix, by which she could transform into Kaitou Jeanne, the reincarnation of Jeanne D'Arc, who then captures the demons. Jeanne has some different physical features from Maron, and also possesses certain supernatural powers. In the anime television series, Maron is voiced by Houko Kuwashima.

Chiaki Nagoya (名古屋 稚空, Nagoya Chiaki)

Chiaki is a male student at Maron's school, who can transform into "Kaitou Sinbad" (怪盗 シンドバッド, Kaitō Shindobaddo), Jeanne's rival, who also collects demons' powers. Maron doesn't realize Sinbad is really Chiaki, but he already knows of her double-identity. At the very beginning of the series, Chiaki moves into Maron's and Miyako's building and transfers to their class, in order to get close to Maron, to stop her from collecting the demons. At first, Chiaki is portrayed as a playboy, whom Maron despises. However, as time passes, he falls in love with her, and he's able to gain Maron's trust, and eventually love, by helping her out of tough situations, and helping her regain her courage--both as Chiaki and as Sinbad. After Chiaki catches Maron staring sadly at her empty mailbox, he begins dropping her "useless" notes, as one of Chiaki's many ways of trying to cheer her. Like Maron, Chiaki lives alone, having run away because he was tired of his father's continuing to marry new women after his mother's death. He later reconciles with his father, after introducing him to Maron.

Chiaki, too, is accompanied by a small male angel, Access Time, who gave him the power to become Kaitou Sinbad. It is eventually revealed that Chiaki had been attempting to stop Maron, because he knew of Finn's being an agent for The Devil, rather than for God, and was using Maron to help him. He had wanted to seduce her in order to make her stop, but he began to find himself blushing each time Maron smiled to him, which he tried to lie to himself by telling himself that it is just "false affection" (in the manga), or that he was being moody (in the anime). After Maron discovers he was also Kaitou Sinbad, and that he was just trying to seduce her to make her stop being a Kaitou, he realizes his affection for her, and fights to regain her trust. In the second last chapter, he is overjoyed when she confesses her love to him and confesses to her, and they sleep together. Seven years later, Chiaki is 24 years old, a doctor in training, married to Maron, and has a daughter named Natsuki who is Finn's reincarnation. In the anime television series, Chiaki is voiced by Susumu Chiba.

Miyako Todaiji (東大寺 都, Tōdaiji Miyako)

Miyako is Maron's classmate and best friend since childhood, who lives across the hall from Maron's apartment. Miyako's father is a police detective and, desiring to follow in his footsteps, Miyako frequently aids in trying to catch Jeanne. Stubborn and with a fierce temper, Miyako notes during the series that even with her Maron is sometimes distant and that it bothers her. Miyako is initially in love with Chiaki, and is jealous of Maron, but later accepts Maron's and Chiaki's growing relationship. When Yamato confesses to her, Miyako thinks he's only joking, as Yamato had long been in love with Maron. He eventually convinces her of his sincerity and at the end of the series Miyako and Yamato marry, and have a son named Shinji who is Access' reincarnation. Eventually, Miyako reveals that she knew that Maron was Jeanne the whole time, and that she only tried to catch Jeanne so she could release her if she were caught. In the anime adaptation, Miyako is unaware that Maron is Jeanne and is deeply hurt when Maron is forced to transform in front of her. The pain allows Finn to use Miyako to attack Maron, but Maron is eventually able to wake her up. In the anime television series, Miyako is voiced by Naoko Matsui.

Finn Fish (フィン·フィッシュ, Fin Fisshu)

Finn Fish is the small female semi-angel who helps Maron detect demons, and gave her the power to transform into Kaitou Jeanne. As the series progresses, it is revealed that Finn is a fallen angel who was banished from heaven and sentenced to death after killing a human. The Devil saved her from annihilation in return for her to become his servant, and so she manipulates Maron into gathering the chess pieces for The Devil. Later, Finn explains that she really wanted to live so she could see Access again, because she had always loved him. During the final battle with The Devil, Finn realizes her wrongs and sacrifices herself to save Maron. In the manga epilogue, years later, she is reincarnated as Natsuki, the daughter of Chiaki and Maron. Natsuki remembers Access and rejects Shinji's advances in hopes of reuniting with Access. However, when she learns that Shinji is Access' reincarnation, she returns his feelings. In the anime, Finn was kidnapped and brainwashed by The Devil, and did not realize she was working for him until all of the demons were collected. In the anime television series, Finn is voiced by Kumiko Nishihara.

Access Time (アクセス·タイム, Akusesu Taimu)

Access Time is the small male dark angel who helps Chiaki detect demons, and who gave Chiaki the power to transform into Kaitōu Sinbad. He is in love with Finn Fish, and worked hard to become a full angel so he could be with her. When Finn is killed by The Devil, Access gives Finn his black earring as a memento, so that the two would meet again when she reincarnated as a human. He himself becomes a semi-angel and also dies. He is reborn as Shinji, the son of Miyako and Yamato. When Shinji is four years old, he recognizes Natsuki as the reincarnation of Finn by the earring she was holding after she was born, and proposes to her on the spot. Shinji has remained in love with Natsuki ever since, even stealing her first kiss when she was 3 years old. He frequently professes his love to her, even though she continues rejecting him. However, when he confesses that he is Access' reincarnation, she confesses her love to him. In the anime television series, Access is voiced by Akiko Yajima.

Supporting characters

Yamato Minazuki (水無月 大和, Minazuki Yamato)

Yamato is a classmate of Maron, Chiaki, and Miyako, and is the class president. Because of his gentle, unassuming nature, he doesn't get much respect. He initially has a crush on Maron, but later gives up on her and comes to fall in love with Miyako while joining her in trying to catch Sinbad. When he confesses his feelings, Miyako angrily pushes him in a lake, thinking he is toying with her. Eventually he is able to convince her that his feelings are genuine, and at the end of the series they are married with a son named Shinji who is Access' reincarnation. In the anime adaptation, Yamato is depicted as being so innocent and pure of heart that he is particularly susceptible to demon possession. In the anime television series, Yamato is voiced by Naozumi Takahashi.

Noin Claude

Noin is a demon who disguises himself as history teacher Hijiri Shikaido at Maron's school. Five hundred years ago, he was a knight who assisted the original Jeanne d'Arc and was in love with her. Unable to protect Jeanne d'Arc from death, he gave his soul to The Devil, and vowed to fall in love with Jeanne's reincarnated form. After he confirms Maron is Jeanne's reincarnation, he does fall in love with her and tries to interfere with her collecting, culminating in his attempting to rape her as she can only transform while she is still a virgin. When Maron travels back in time to meet Jeanne d'Arc during her final hours, Noin goes with her and regrets what he had done. In the anime adaptation, he dies protecting Maron, and is reunited with Jeanne d'Arc. In the anime television series, Noin is voiced by Kappei Yamaguchi.

Media

Manga

Kamikaze Kaitou Jeanne was published in Japan by Shueisha in Ribon Magazine in 30 chapters between February 1998 and July 2000, and collected in seven tankōbon volumes. Starting in July 2007, the series was reprinted kanzenban format in six volumes. It was again reprinted by Shueisha in 2013, this time in 5 volumes.^[2] It is licensed in North America by CMX Manga, in South Korea by Haksan Publish, in Indonesia by M&C Comics, in Spain by Planeta DeAgostini, in Italy by Planet Manga, and in Germany, Sweden, Poland, and Finland by Egmont Publishing. In August 2013, Viz Media announced it had acquired the license for the 2013 5-volume reprint of the series, with the first volume slated to be released in March 2014.^[3]

Volume list

Artbook

In June 2000, Shueisha published an artbook for the series entitled Tanemura Arina Irasuto Shū Kamikaze Kaitō Jannu (種村有菜イラスト集　神風怪盗ジャンヌ^?) .^[4]

Light Novels

In December 2013, Shueisha began publishing a series of light novels based on the series. Tanemura provided the cover art.^[5]

Anime

Kamikaze Kaito Jeanne was adapted Toei Animation as a 44-episode anime television series that was broadcast on TV Asahi from February 13, 1999 to January 29, 2000. The series was directed by Atsunobu Umezawa with music by Michiaki Kato, and starred Houko Kuwashima as Maron Kusakabe/"Kaitou Jeanne". The opening themes are "Piece of Love" by Shazna for episodes 1–27 and "Dive into Shine" by Lastier for episodes 28–44, and the ending themes are "Haruka..." (ハルカ...) by Pierrot for episodes 1–27 and "Till The End" by Hibiki for episodes 28–44.^[6]

The anime series has been officially translated (dubbed) into the following languages: Italian, Turkish, German, Spanish and Catalan. The Catalan version was broadcast on the TV channel K3, while RTL 2 presented the series on the German market.

References

External links

• Official CMX manga site
• Official Toei Animation anime site (Japanese)
• Kamikaze Kaitō Jeanne (manga) at Anime News Network's Encyclopedia
• Kamikaze Kaitou Jeanne (anime) at Anime News Network's Encyclopedia