Persia, the Magic Fairy

Persia, the Magic Fairy (魔法の妖精 ペルシャ) is a 48 episode magical girl anime series by Studio Pierrot which aired on NTV from July 1984 to May 1985. In addition to the TV series, two OVAs were released, and the main character, Persia, also appeared in two other Studio Pierrot special presentations. A manga adaptation by Takako Aonuma titled Persia ga Suki! was released at the same time as the anime series. This was the second of five magical girl anime to be created by Studio Pierrot, and featured the character designs of Akemi Takada.

Plot summary
11-year old Persia is an energetic young girl who has grown up alongside the animals on the Serengeti plains of Africa wearing only a leopard skin. Twins Riki and Gaku Muroi and their grandfather, Gōken, bring Persia to Japan with them in Minato-machi (lit. Port Town), where she lives with a couple who own a grocery store. During an incident during the return flight to Japan, Persia finds herself in the "Lovely Dream", the land where dreams are born and grow. It is a wintry place, and dreams cannot get out. The Fairy Queen appears before Persia in the form of a butterfly, and explains that the Lovely Dream is in danger, requesting Persia's help. She gives Persia a magical golden headband with a star which reacts to the word "Papurikko". With it, Persia can conjure a magic baton which bridges her world and Lovely Dream, as well as transform into an older self by saying "Perukko Raburin Kurukuru Rinkuru". She is sent with three kappa back into the regular world with the mission of collecting love energy to thaw the frozen Lovely Dream.

Characters

 * Akanuma-sensei (赤沼先生)


 * Bon Bon (ボンボン)


 * Fairy (妖精)


 * Fairy (フェアリ)
 * and Yuriko Yamamoto


 * Gera Gera (ゲラゲラ)
 * One of the kappa from the Lovely Dream who accompany Persia. He wears an orange shirt and often scolds Persia when she does something irresponsible. His name means "guffawing".
 * One of the kappa from the Lovely Dream who accompany Persia. He wears an orange shirt and often scolds Persia when she does something irresponsible. His name means "guffawing".


 * Hideki Hayami (速水英樹)
 * Husband of Kumi and adopted father of Persia, Hideki runs a grocery store with his wife.
 * Husband of Kumi and adopted father of Persia, Hideki runs a grocery store with his wife.


 * Kumi Hayami (速水久美)
 * Wife of Hideki and adopted mother of Persia, Kumi runs a grocery store with her husband.
 * Wife of Hideki and adopted mother of Persia, Kumi runs a grocery store with her husband.


 * Persia Hayami (速水ペルシャ)
 * After visiting the Lovely Dream, Persia gains a magical headband with which she can summon a magical batton to transform into a teenager and perform magic. She is in love with both Riki and Gaku Muroi. She can be irresponsible with her magic, for example using it to bring her pet lion Simba to Japan. However, if she misuses her magic too much, Gaku and Riki lose their masculinity, turning into girls.
 * After visiting the Lovely Dream, Persia gains a magical headband with which she can summon a magical batton to transform into a teenager and perform magic. She is in love with both Riki and Gaku Muroi. She can be irresponsible with her magic, for example using it to bring her pet lion Simba to Japan. However, if she misuses her magic too much, Gaku and Riki lose their masculinity, turning into girls.


 * Yoyoko Manabe (真鍋よよ子)
 * A girl in Persia's class. She has a huge crush on Gaku and dreams of being with him. She is jealous of Persia because she gets to spend time with Gaku.
 * A girl in Persia's class. She has a huge crush on Gaku and dreams of being with him. She is jealous of Persia because she gets to spend time with Gaku.


 * Meso Meso (メソメソ)
 * One of the kappa from the Lovely Dream who accompany Persia. He's something of a coward and wears a red bow tie. His name comes from a Japanese psychomime for the sound of whimpering, possibly due to his cowardly nature.
 * One of the kappa from the Lovely Dream who accompany Persia. He's something of a coward and wears a red bow tie. His name comes from a Japanese psychomime for the sound of whimpering, possibly due to his cowardly nature.


 * Sayo Mitomo (御友小夜)
 * Girlfriend of Riki Muroi.
 * Girlfriend of Riki Muroi.


 * Gaku Muroi (室井学)
 * Twin brother of Riki and grandson of Gōken, he cares for Persia Hayami as if she were his little sister.
 * Twin brother of Riki and grandson of Gōken, he cares for Persia Hayami as if she were his little sister.


 * Gōken Muroi (室井剛健)
 * Grandfather of Gaku and Riki, Gōken brought Persia to Japan and helps her to settle into Japanese life.
 * Grandfather of Gaku and Riki, Gōken brought Persia to Japan and helps her to settle into Japanese life.


 * Riki Muroi (室井力)
 * Twin brother of Gaku and grandson of Gōken, he cares for Persia Hayami as if she were his little sister. He is dating Sayo Mitomo.
 * Twin brother of Gaku and grandson of Gōken, he cares for Persia Hayami as if she were his little sister. He is dating Sayo Mitomo.


 * Puri Puri (プリプリ)
 * One of the kappa from the Lovely Dream who accompany Persia. Puri Puri is a girl kappa. She wears a pink purse over her shoulder. Her name comes from an onomatopoeia meaning "huffing", probably due to her habit of scolding Persia.
 * One of the kappa from the Lovely Dream who accompany Persia. Puri Puri is a girl kappa. She wears a pink purse over her shoulder. Her name comes from an onomatopoeia meaning "huffing", probably due to her habit of scolding Persia.


 * Kenji Sawaki (沢木研二)


 * School Principal (校長先生)


 * Kishin Shinokawa (篠川紀信)


 * Simba (シンバ)
 * A lion from Africa, Simba is Persia's best friend. She used her magic to bring him to Japan, then to transform him into a cat so that he could stay with her.  Her magic also allows him to speak in the human language.
 * A lion from Africa, Simba is Persia's best friend. She used her magic to bring him to Japan, then to transform him into a cat so that he could stay with her.  Her magic also allows him to speak in the human language.


 * Tōta Fuyuki (冬木 冬太)

Manga
The manga, I Love Persia! (ペルシャがすき!), was serialized in Weekly Margaret magazine from 1984 through October 1985, and released as nine tankōbon published by Shueisha. It was republished in 2000 and 2001 in bunkoban format as six volumes.

Original release

 * Volume 1: ISBN 4-08-850851-3
 * Volume 2: ISBN 4-08-850867-X
 * Volume 3: ISBN
 * Volume 4: ISBN 4-08-850879-3
 * Volume 5: ISBN 4-08-850888-2
 * Volume 6: ISBN 4-08-850889-0
 * Volume 7: ISBN 4-08-850892-0
 * Volume 8: ISBN 4-08-850893-9
 * Volume 9: ISBN 4-08-850894-7

Bunkoban

 * Volume 1: ISBN 4-08-617638-6
 * Volume 2: ISBN 4-08-617639-4
 * Volume 3: ISBN 4-08-617640-8
 * Volume 4: ISBN 4-08-617641-6
 * Volume 5: ISBN 4-08-617667-X
 * Volume 6: ISBN 4-08-617668-8

Impact and influence
Persia stars in Adesugata Mahō no Sannin Musume, along with Creamy Mami and Magical Emi. She is also in Majokko Club Yoningumi A Kūkan Kara no Alien X, with Creamy Mami, Magical Emi and Pastel Yumi. The series was parodied in the 1985 hentai OVA Mahou no Rouge Lipstick.

Internationalization
Magical Fairy Persia was released in and dubbed into Italian as Evelyn e la magia di un sogno d'amore by Studio PV. Was first broadcast on Italia 1 from September 1985, and was first broadcast on Italia Teen Television from July 8, 2004. It was also released in French as Vanessa et la Magie des Rêves from February 13, 1988.