Mamotte! Lollipop

Mamotte! Lollipop (まもって! ロリポップ) is a Japanese shōjo manga series written and illustrated by Michiyo Kikuta (菊田 みちよ). It was serialized in the magazine Nakayoshi and published by Kodansha in Japan between February 2003 and July 2005.

The story revolves around female protagonist Nina Yamada, a seventh grader who accidentally swallows the Crystal Pearl thinking it was candy. The pearl is the goal of a sorcery examination where the students must retrieve it to pass. But since Nina has swallowed the pearl, she is now the target. Fortunately for Nina, two of the examinees decide to protect her from the other students while they work on a potion to extract the pearl from Nina.

In 2006, ''Mamotte! Lollipop'' was adapted into a thirteen episode anime television series by Marvelous Entertainment and Sunshine Corporation under the direction of Noriyoshi Nakamura (中村憲由). The anime series aired between July 1, 2006 and September 2006 in Japan on KAB.

Plot
Nina Yamada is a junior high 7th grader who dreams about a boy who is strong, handsome, and kind enough to protect her. One day, Nina "accidentally" swallowed a Crystal Pearl that she assumed was candy. But the Crystal Pearl was the goal of a sorcery examination. Nina is the new Crystal Pearl which is targeted by many probationer sorcerers and goes on for half a year. During this whole mix up, she meets two wizard boys named Zero and Ichi and comes to a conclusion that they can protect her until a potion is made to remove the Crystal Pearl from her. However, this potion will take about 6 months to complete. Even at school and at home, Zero and Ichi protect Nina where ever she goes.

Main characters
Voiced by: Yui Shoji (Japanese), Brittany Karbowski (English)
 * Nina Yamada (山田二菜(ニナ))


 * Nina is a 7th grade girl with an aggressive character, though she is also a caring, child-like, sweet teenager most of the time. She doesn't take insults very well.  This is shown when she is often clashing with Zero, who usually calls her "stupid" or "idiot".


 * She is targeted by many sorcerer examinees as she accidentally swallowed the Crystal Pearl which they need in order to pass their professional wizard exam. Zero and Ichii are her guardians. Her hobby is to stretch, or do sit-ups. Nina is extremely bad at all forms of housework, but she does not seem to realize this.


 * In the end she decides that she loves Zero. In one of the chapters in the manga, Nina and Zero kiss when Heart attacked them (causing a smoke screen)but Nina was unaware until Zero confessed to it at the end of Volume 5. In volume 6 Nina realizes that Zero is her one true love. In volume seven of Mamotte! Lollipop, as an adult of twenty two years, she is depicted with shorter hair and lives in the magic world. She later on accepts Zero's proposal of marriage.


 * In the side-story of the sequel, Modotte! Mamotte! Lollipop!, she and Zero were married and have 2 kids, Rei (the second protagonist of the side-story), and Mina.


 * Zero (ゼロ)
 * Zero has aqua blue hair and seems to appear the same age as Nina.


 * Zero has a very rude and cocky personality, often shown clashing with Nina. He owns little tolerance and is highly rebellious towards those who get in his in way.  Zero is a particularly an impatient person and has an extremely short temper.


 * He is often shown making fun of Nina, therefore, always getting himself into arguments with her. But despite the way he treats Nina, it soon becomes clear that he is in love with her and truly wishes to protect her from any harm. Their relationship gradually becomes better throughout the series, and in the manga, he even admits his love to her.


 * In the sequel of Modotte! Mamotte! Lollipop!, in a side-story, he and Nina got married and have 2 children named Rei and Mina, the protagonist in the side-story's name is Itsuki


 * Ichii (イチイ)
 * Ichii is 3 years older than Nina and Zero. He is also depicted as a kind and gentle-natured boy. He is also exceedingly polite and mature, thus making him a gentleman.


 * He had a rough past, but opened up more ever since that day he met Zero, approximately three years ago. His specialty is "defense magic". It also show on the side story on the last volume, he married Rokka, who chased Ichii in the start of the magical exam in Mamotte! Lollipop and so forth, and have one child named Itsuki, who is the protagonist of the side story, who is in love with Rei, who is Nina's and Zero's son.

Manga
The pilot chapter of ''Mamotte! Lollipop first appear in the manga magazine Bessatsu Nakayoshi'' on October 2002. The series was then serialized in Nakayoshi beginning with the February 2003 edition and concluded two years later in the July 2005 edition. The individual chapters where republished into seven volume collections by Nakayoshi's publisher Kodansha.

At the 2006 Comic-Con, Del Rey announced that it had acquired the rights to ''Mamotte! Lollipop''. Del Rey released the first volume on February 27, 2007.

Anime
''Mamotte! Lollipop'' was adapted into a thirteen episode anime television series in 2006. Produced by Marvelous Entertainment and Sunshine Corporation under the direction of Noriyoshi Nakamura (中村憲由), the anime series was first broadcast on KAB in Japan between July 1, 2006 and September 2006. The episodes were rebroadcast by several other stations within a few days of the initial broadcast.

On May 12, 2008, Funimation Entertainment announced that it acquired ''Mamotte! Lollipop''. Under the title ''Save Me! Lollipop'', Funimation released the series as a single DVD box set on February 24, 2009.