Fancy Lala

Plot

One day, a 9-year-old elementary schoolgirl named Miho Shinohara is given two stuffed dinosaurs by an unnamed stranger. The stuffed dinosaurs come to life and they present her with a magic sketchbook and pen. Within limits, and subject to varying degrees of control, she can draw in the sketchbook and bring the drawings to life. Miho can also transform into a teenage girl, whom she names Fancy Lala. One day, Lala is scouted by Yumi Haneishi, the president of the talent agency Lyrical Productions, and begins the long road to stardom.

Characters

Main cast

;Miho Shinohara / Fancy Lala : :A 9-year-old elementary school girl, Miho dreams of one day drawing manga as a career. After Mystery Man gives her Pigu and Mogu, they in turn give her a magical pen and sketchbook, which allow her to transform into the body of a 15-year-old girl who she names Fancy Lala. Fancy Lala is scouted by Yumi Haneishi of Lyrical Productions, and gradually follows the path to stardom though her parents nor sister knows about this.

;Mog :Voiced by: Michiko Neya (Japanese), Chris Simms (English) :A small pink dinosaur who accompanies Miho Shinohara, Mog is a girl.

;Pog : :A small blue dinosaur who accompanies Miho Shinohara, Pog is a boy.

;Mystery Man : :A mysterious person who gave Miho Shinohara Pigu and Mogu, he often advises Miho/Fancy Lala; his name is never mentioned in the series.

;Hiroya Aikawa : :A popular idol who happens to be very attractive, Hiroya is Miho Shinohara's love-interest, and Fancy Lala's mentor at Lyrical Productions.

;Yumi Haneishi : :The president of Lyrical Productions, who represent Fancy Lala, she was once married to Kishi, the guitarist of Hiroya Aikawa's band but the two ended up getting divorced, and has a son named Tappei, who attends kindergarten.

;Ririka Kawaguchi : (Japanese) :An employee at Lyrical Productions, and Fancy Lala's manager.

;Taro Yoshida : :Miho's classmate and next door neighbor, they often fight (often like an old married couple), but he cares about her deeply. He is also the cousin of Miki Yumeno. He seems to have a romantic interest in Miho, however he doesn't know that Miho has a crush on Hiroya.

;Miki Yumeno : :A popular idol, Miki is Fancy Lala's main rival. She is also the cousin of Taro Yoshida, Miho's male classmate from school.

Supporting cast

;Katsunoshin Asaka : :Miho Shinohara's teacher.

;Emiko Kanno : :An employee at Lyrical Productions.

;Komiyama : :Komiyama is Fancy Lala's stylist. It is hinted in the last episode that he knows more about what is going on than meets the eye.

;Anna Nozaki : (Japanese) :A classmate of Miho Shinohara.

;Chisa Shinohara : :Miho Shinohara's older sister, she is also a freshman in high school and her uniform consists of a white sailor collared shirt with a green collar, a red ribbon and a grey pleated skirt.

;Mamiko Shinohara : :Miho Shinohara's mother, she works as a TV producer, and is often away from home.

;Yoichiro Shinohara : :Miho Shinohara's father, he works as a paleontologist, and mostly works at home.

;Yoshio : :An employee at Lyrical Productions.

;Akiru Yuki : :Miho Shinohara's classmate, and closest friend, she dreams of becoming an actress.

Production

Fancy Lala is a complete remake of an earlier Studio Pierrot OVA titled Harbor Light Story Fashion Lala Yori. It was also influenced by Creamy Mami, the Magic Angel, the story of a ten-year-old Japanese girl granted the power to transform who also became an idol.

''Harbor Light Story Fashion Lala Yori''

The original OVA was different than the final series, being a retelling of Cinderella. In it, the heroine, Miho, a little girl who dreams of being a fashion designer, lives with her aunt and three cousins while her father is away on business. The aunt, who runs a dress shop, exploits Miho's dependence and makes her perform deliveries on her bike, while spoiling her own daughters. Of the three, the two oldest are cruel and mock Miho's dreams, but the youngest is nice to her. A local disco is holding a contest to find the next "Disco Queen". Miho is too young to enter, but decides to design a dress for her cousin. When the aunt finds out, she rips up the dress. After everyone leaves, two fairies take pity on Miho and transform her into "Fashion Lala", a sixteen-year-old blonde, so she can enter the contest herself. While performing, Miho's outfit changes into her previous designs, and it seems that she wins. At the end, she returns to a happy life with her father and her two oldest cousins apologized to Miho for being cruel to her and mocking her dreams for no reason.

The heroine being named Miho and the two fairies, as well as the concept of an "evil cousin", were the only things retained for the final series.

Episode list

Internationalization

Fancy Lala was licensed by Bandai Entertainment for English release in 2001, and dubbed at Blue Water Studios. The series has been released on DVD, but is only distributed in region 1 outside Japan.

References

References

1. Dong, Bamboo. (November 7, 2002). "Fancy Lala DVD 1 - Review". [[Anime News Network]].
2. "Fancy Lala, the Magic Stage". [[Pierrot (company).
3. Rogers, Michelle. "Mahou no stage Fancy Lala".
4. (2001-07-02). "Bandai Interview". [[Anime News Network]].