Tamagotchi! (anime)

Tamagotchi! (たまごっち!) is a 2009 Japanese fantasy slice of life anime series produced by OLM's Team Kamei division, officially based on the Tamagotchi digital pet jointly created by Bandai and WiZ. It is directed by Jōji Shimura of Pokémon and written by Aya Matsui of Boys Over Flowers, with character designs done by Sayuri Ichiishi, Shouji Yasukazu and Miwa Sakai. It officially aired on TV Tokyo and other affiliate stations in Japan from 12 October 2009 to 3 September 2012, lasting for seven seasons.

The series is the third Tamagotchi anime produced since Saa Ikou! Tamagotchi and a follow-up to the movie Tamagotchi: Happiest Story in the Universe!. After the series's airing, it has gained three anime sequels, two manga adaptations and ten light novel adaptations by Kadokawa Shoten. The first series has been translated in a few countries, however there are currently no plans for a full English release in the United States. The series came to end as of March 2015 and became replaced with Kamisama Minarai Himitsu Cocotama.

Story arcs

The anime is divided into three official arcs, the Tamagotchi Town Chapter for the first series, the Dream Town Chapter for the 2nd and 3rd series and the Tamagottsun Chapter for the 4th series. Alongside the main story, several mini-segments were officially shown throughout the anime, with each segment differs from season to season.

Tamagotchi Town Chapter (たまごっちタウン編, Tamagotchi taun-hen) (Eps 1–143)

The first chapter of the series which consists of three official arcs, the Lovely Tama-Friends Arc (ラブリーたまとも編, Raburī tama-tomo-hen), focusing on Lovelitchi and her double life as Lovelin, the Happy Harmony Arc (ハッピーハーモニー編, Happī hāmonī-hen), which focuses on the friendship between Lovelitchi and Meloditchi and the Collecting Tama Hearts Arc (コレクトたまハート編, Korekuto tama hāto-hen) which focuses on the legend of the Tama Hearts.

Dream Town Chapter (ドリームタウン編, Dorīmu taun-hen) (Eps 144–221)

The second chapter of the series consisting of the Yume Kira Arc (Tamagotchi! Yume Kira Dream), focusing on Yumemitchi and Kiraritchi's dream on becoming idols and the Dreambakutchi Arc (Tamagotchi! Miracle Friends) which focuses on Miraitchi and Clulutchi's desire on returning to the future.

Tamagottsun Chapter (Eps 222-274)

The third chapter focusing on meeting and reunion of the characters from the past series, as well as two new characters, Neenetchi and Orenetchi. It focuses more on the interaction between friends of both towns.

Plot

Tamagotchi!

Set after the events of Tamagotchi: Happiest Story in the Universe!, Mametchi, Memetchi and Kuchipatchi are again normally living their lives, attending school and enjoying each other's friendship in Tamagotchi Town. However one day, a new idol named Lovelin finally came to Tamagotchi Town to host a race, however he and his friends are not aware on who she is. It is then the next day in school that they all met a new student named Lovelitchi, who is shy yet hesitant. However she is a kind girl to Mametchi and the other classmates, though unknown to them, she is indeed Lovelin. Despite she was welcomed with open arms from her classmates, Lovelitchi doesn't like to reveal her true identity as Lovelin due to the fact that they will reject her as a friend, however from all the hardship she endured, she revealed to them her true identity and was accepted by Mametchi and his friends through open arms. Later in the series, Melodytchi, a resident of Melody Land arrives at Tamagotchi town and befriends Lovelitchi and the two became true Tama-Friends. Along with their continuous adventures, they then learn something about the legendary Tama Hearts, hearts formed from the bond and friendship and love which are all found in Tamagotchi Planet. Along Mametchi and his friends search for them, a young Human girl named Tomomi joined in to help their search. After Tomomi left Tamagotchi Planet, Himespetchi came to continue their search.

Tamagotchi! Yume Kira Dream

After Ms. Perfect told the good news to Mametchi, Memetchi and Kuchipatchi, the trio must live their lives away from their hometown and go to Dream Town after enrolling in Dream School, an academy dedicated to fulfilling dreams. Meanwhile, Yumemitchi and Kiraritchi, two students from Dream School were dreaming to become idols one day and admires the idol group D2. As they went to the circus, they both met a mysterious old lady and read their fortunes, saying they must work hard in order for them to reach their dreams. The next day, they then met Mametchi and his friends during class. After then, both girls went to the Tama Star Circus to watch a show however Lionitchi went berserk as the Ringmaster tries to calm it down and remove a thorn on its paw. With courage, the two performed D2's song to calm Lionitchi down and the Ringmaster successfully removes the thorn. Due to their sheer courage, the mysterious old lady give them two magical bags that can grant them their wish, but they must master it in order for their wish on being idols to come true. With it, the duo must keep the bags and its powers a secret while helping everyone in Dream Town in their everyday problems.

Tamagotchi! Miracle Friends

Mametchi, Memetchi and Kuchipatchi continue their studies in Dream Town after Yumemitchi and Kiraritchi left. But in the midst of the good days, Miraritchi and Clulutchi, two siblings from the future have arrived in the present. After befriending the gang, they were assigned on a task on seeking the Dreambakutchis while on their way on becoming fashion designers and return to the future. Along their way, another girl from the future named Candy Paku Paku decides to join their search. However, Standing on their way is a mysterious Masked Tamagotchi named X-Mask alongside is partner X, who also want to capture the Dreambakutchis for an unknown reason.^[1]

GO-GO Tamagotchi!

A 1000-year event known as the Tamagottsun occurs in both continents in Tamagotchi Planet, which resulted to the fusion of both Dream Town and Tamagotchi Town into one new place called DoriTama Town. In all the commotion, Mametchi is reunited with his old friends from Tamagotchi Town and the friends from Dream Town met them at the same time while meeting two new friends, Neenetchi and Orenetchi. Also, several friends from both space and the future were also reunited into the new town, resulting into a big reunion in DoriTama Town. Now, Mametchi and his friends go on several adventures and discover things in a world full of friendship.

Development

The Takeshita street in Harajuku, Tokyo, where one of the anime's notable locations were based on.

The series was officially meant as a followup to the previous series Saa Ikou! Tamagotchi, uniting the staff from OLM's Team Kamei division, who produced the two movie adaptations. The official voice actors from the movies reprise their roles in the new series with the format of the anime has two stories per one episode, which became full episodes on the later years. The series ran from October 2009 to 3 September 2012 lasting up to 143 episodes.

One of the locations of the anime, the Tamagotchi Street, or Tama-Street for short is officially based on the real life Takeshita Street in Harajuku, Tokyo, where the Tamagotchi Department Store is found. Production staff do a location research of the place and transitioned it into the Anime during development.

Starting Episode 144 in 2012, Team Kamei went on to develop the second series Tamagotchi! Yume Kira Dream (たまごっち! ゆめキラドリーム, Tamagotchi! Yume Kira Dorīmu), focusing on the three main characters studying abroad in Dream Town and the lives of both Yumemitchi and Kiraritchi who dream on becoming idols one day. The second series aired from 10 September 2012 to 29 August 2013. Episodes of the second series were all dubbed in English as Webisodes for the Tamagotchi Friends Website. In 2013, Team Wasaki replaced Team Kamei on the anime's production to produce the third series Tamagotchi! Miracle Friends (たまごっち! みらくるフレンズ, Tamagotchi! Mirakuru Furenzu),^[2] that aired from 5 September 2013 to 27 March 2014 starting with Episode 193. It focuses on the twins Miraritchi and Clulutchi who must search for the Dreambakutchis for them to return to the future.

In 2014, the fourth and final series, GO-GO Tamagotchi! (GO-GO たまごっち!) is produced, revolving around the reunion between characters from Dream Town and Tamagotchi Town after the Tamagottsun event, fusing both towns into DoriTama Town. The series began airing on 3 April 2014 starting with Episode 222.^[3]

Media

Anime

The first anime series officially aired in all TX Network Stations, including TV Tokyo and TV Osaka from 12 October 2009 to 3 September 2012, replacing both the Japanese broadcast of Lilo & Stitch: The Series and Hikaru no Go on their respected timeslots. It also aired in the Japanese Pay-for-View channel Animax. The series gained its official English broadcast in Australia and aired in the TV network GO! and also aired in Hong Kong and Taiwan through TVB and YoYo TV. It also aired in the Philippines through GMA Network.

A second series titled Tamagotchi! Yume Kira Dream (たまごっち! ゆめキラドリーム, Tamagotchi! Yume Kira Dorīmu) first began its airing from 10 September 2012 to 29 August 2013. The series changed timeslot on 25 March 2013, being replaced with the show Why Did You Come to Japan? to its new timeslot on 4 April 2013 Thursday. Bandai licensed the second series to be released in the west, with parts of some episodes were split and redone as Webisodes for the Tamagotchi Friends website.

The third series, Tamagotchi! Miracle Friends (たまごっち! みらくるフレンズ, Tamagotchi! Mirakuru Furenzu) officially aired from 5 September 2013 to 27 March 2014 with a total of 29 episodes, making it the shortest Tamagotchi season ever released. The fourth and final series titled GO-GO Tamagotchi! (GO-GO たまごっち!) began airing on 3 April 2014 and ended on 26 March 2015. The fifth series, Tamagotchi! Tama Tomo Daishū GO! began airing on 2 April 2015 and ended on 29 September 2015, marking as the first and only series in the franchise to include a Live-Action Segment. The series featured rebroadcast episodes from the past series. After that, there was no new about any other upcoming series.^[4]

Each of the anime series were released in DVD by Bandai Visual in Japan. The first series is also released online through the streaming service Bandai Channel, focusing on each mini-arc.

Manga

A manga series based on the series titled GOGO♪ Tamagotchi! (GOGO♪ たまごっち!, Gōgō♪ Tamagotchi!) is serialized on Shogakukan's Shojo Magazine Pucchigumi from February 2010 to December 2011. The Manga is written and illustrated by Yasukon and three tankōbon volumes were collected. A second manga series titled GOGO Tamagotchi! Dream (GOGOたまごっち！ドリーム, Gōgō Tamagotchi! Dorīmu) is also done by Yasukon and serialized in Pucchigumi. Only one tankōbon volume is released.

Light novel

An ongoing Light Novel series based on the anime series is released as part of Kadokawa's Tsubasa Bunko label on 11 March 2011, written by both Aya Matsui and Anna Mari. The adaptation only adapts certain arcs and episodes of the anime series.

Music

The music of the anime is officially composed by the group Aozora, who composes songs on various Bandai Commercials.

The first anime had 4 opening and 7 ending songs. The first opening song is titled GO-GO Tamagotchi! (GO-GO たまごっち!), on which has 7 Versions: The first version is sung by Yuria Nara, the second version is done by Kei Shindo, Yuko Sanpei and Nanae Kato, the third version is done by Ryoka Yuzuki, Akemi Okamura and Asami Yaguchi, the fourth version is done by Yuko Gibu, Satomi Kōrogi and Rie Kugimiya, the fifth version is done by Tomoko Kaneda, Hinako Sasaki and Kei Shindo, the sixth version is done by Rie Kugimiya, Satomi Kōrogi, Kana Uetake and Yuko Sanpei and the seventh is done by the main cast of the series. The second opening song is titled Like & Peace!, the third opening is titled Kira Kira Every day (キラキラ Every day, Kirakira Every day, lit. "Glittering Every Day) and the fourth opening is titled I★my★me★mine, all performed by Dream5. The first ending song is titled Tama Tomo Forever (たまともフォーエバー, Tama Tomo fōebā, lit. "Tama Friends Forever) by Shōko Haida, the second ending is titled Moshimo☆Paradise (もしも☆パラダイス!, Moshimo ☆ paradaisu!) by mao, the third ending theme is titled Happy Happy Harmony (ハッピーハッピーハーモニー, Happī Happī Hāmonī) by both Kei Shindo and Yuko Sanpei, the fourth ending is titled Smiling! by Lay, the fifth ending is titled Kizuna (キズナ, lit. "Bond") by Shu-I, the sixth ending is titled Inori (いのり, lit. "Prayer") by Asian Engineer and the seventh ending is titled Janken PON! (じゃんけんPON!, lit. "Rock-Paper-Scissors!") by Dream5.

The second series only had two opening and two ending themes. The first opening song is titled Doremi Fasorairo (ドレミファソライロ, Doremi fasorairo) by Dream5 and the second opening theme is titled Rock 'N' Heart! (ロックン・ハート!, Rokkun hāto!) by both Misato Fukuen and Megumi Toyoguchi under the band name Kira Kira Girls (キラキラガールズ, Kira Kira Gāruzu). The first ending theme is titled Kitto Zutto Happy! (きっとずっとHappy!, Kitto zutto happī!, lit. "Surely Much Happy!") by Dream5 and the ending theme is Powerful Beat! (パワフル・ビート!, Pawafuru bīto!) by Rie Kugimiya, Asami Yaguchi, Yuko Sanpei and Mariya Ise under the band name Rainboys (レインボーイズ, Reinbōizu).

The third series only had two songs prior to its short run. The first opening is titled Miracle☆Travel (みらくる☆トラベル, Mirakuru ☆ Toraberu) by Emiri Katō and Chiwa Saitō and the ending theme is titled Itsuka Itsuka (いつかいつか, Itsuka itsuka, lit. "Someday, Someday) by Rie Kugimiya.

The fourth series also has two theme songs. The opening song is titled GO-GO Tamagotchi! (GO-GO たまごっち!) by hitomi for the first 25 episodes and by Rie Kugimiya for the rest of the season. The first ending theme is titled RAINBOW by Hitomi and the second ending is titled Baby I by Ariana Grande featuring Taro Hakase.

Video Games

Several Video Games based on the anime were all officially developed and released by Bandai Namco Games in Japan. The first game of the series, Tamagotchi no Narikiri Channel (たまごっちのなりきりチャンネル, Tamagotchi no Narikiri Chan'neru) is first released on November 5, 2009 for the Nintendo DS. The second game in the series, Tamagotchi no Pichi Pichi Omisecchi (たまごっちのピチピチおみせっち, Tamagotchi no Pichi Pichi Omisecchi, lit. "Tamagotchi Pichi Pichi Corner Shop") is released on July 17, 2010 as part of the Corner Shop series. The third game, Tamagotchi no Narikiri Challenge (たまごっちのなりきりチャレンジ, Tamagotchi no Narikiri Charenji) is released on November 11, 2010. The fourth, Tamagotchi Collection (たまごっちコレクション, Tamagotchi Korekushon) is released on November 10, 2011.

The series officially got extended to the Nintendo 3DS, starting with Cho~ricchi! Tamagotchi no Puchi Puchi Omisecchi (たちょ～りっち！たまごっちのプチプチおみせっち, Cho~ricchi! Tamagotchi no Puchi Puchi Omisecchi, lit. "Cho~ricchi! Tamagotchi Puchi Puchi Corner Shop") which is released on April 19, 2012. The game is a remake of the first Tamagotchi Corner Shop game with characters from the Anime version. The second game in the series, Ouchi Mainichi Tamagotchi (おうち まいにち たまごっち, Ouchi mainichi Tamagotchi, lit. "Everyday Home Tamagotchi") is released on November 22, 2012. It is the first game to include characters from the Yume Kira Dream series. The third game Tamagotchi no Doki Doki Dream Omisecchi (たまごっちのドキドキドリームおみせっち, Tamagotchi no Dokidoki dorīmu Omisecchi, lit. "Tamagotchi Exciting Dream Corner Shop") is released on May 23, 2013. The fourth game in the series, Tamagotchi! Session no Dream School (たまごっち！せーしゅんのドリームスクール, Tamagotchi! Seshun no dorīmusukūru, lit. "Tamagotchi! Dream School Session") is released on November 7, 2013. It is the first game to include characters from the Miracle Friends series. The current game of the series, Guru Guru Tamagotchi! (ぐるぐる たまごっち！, Guru Guru Tamagotchi!, lit. "Round and Round Tamagotchi!") is released on April 24, 2014.

References

General

• http://tamagotch.channel.or.jp/tama_anime/

Specific

External links

• (Japanese) Official Website
• (Japanese) Official TV Tokyo Website
• Tamagotchi! (anime) at Anime News Network's encyclopedia
• Tamagotchi! Yume Kira Dream (anime) at Anime News Network's encyclopedia
• Tamagotchi! Miracle Friends (anime) at Anime News Network's encyclopedia
• Go-Go Tamagotchi! (anime) at Anime News Network's encyclopedia
• Tamagotchi! Tama Tomo Daishū GO! (anime) at Anime News Network's encyclopedia