History Anime / MagicalPrincessMinkyMomo

Momo manifests on Earth as the daughter of a young childless couple who run a pet store and care center. Momo brings along her dog Shindobook, her monkey Mocha and her bird Pipiru. The Minky Stick in her pendant gives her the power to [[OlderAlterEgo transform into an adult version of herself]], complete with whichever skill set and outfit are appropriate for the situation at hand (nurse, police officer, etc.). The skill level she recieves is equal to the best human alive at whatever skillset her transformation requires.

''Magical Princess Minky Momo'' is a classic MagicalGirl franchise that began with a 1982 anime and includes a manga series, several OVA specials, a feature film, a follow-up anime series in 1991, and a 30th anniversary stage musical. Known internationally as ''Gigi'', the anime became popular in France, Italy, Latin America and Australia (where the American-produced English dub of the '80s series aired), but had never gotten an official American release outside of a heavily altered version of the film until 2015, when William Winckler Productions acquired Harmony Gold's Minky Momo series and made it into several Amazon Instant Video-exclusive compilation movies. [[note]]The first 52 episodes of the original series had been translated by Harmony Gold under the title "The Magical World of Gigi", but [[http://www.dmagazine.com/Home/1986/03/01/Play_it_again_Sam.aspx did not manage to net a TV deal in the US]] and were instead used as the basis for several international adaptations bearing the Gigi name. The English dub did briefly air in Australia through [[http://www.televisionau.com/tv311286.htm 1986]]-1988, but never saw home video release. It's been reported the English version aired in other countries as well, such as Israel and The Bahamas.[[/note]]

Though often overlooked outside of Japan (and Europe), ''Minky Momo'' is among the most influential anime in its genre. It was also one of the earliest magical girl series not made by Creator/ToeiAnimation, which had heretofore virtually owned the genre since the late 1960s [[note]] the other magical girl series not animated by Toei during this period was ''Manga/MarvelousMelmo'' which was handled by Tezuka Productions and aired on Creator/TBSTelevision [[/note]], and one of the earliest to air on a channel that wasn't Creator/TVAsahi (the '80s series aired on Creator/TVTokyo, the '90s series on Creator/NipponTV). It's had some retroactive recognition in the West for being the second team-up between director Kunihiko Yuyama and head writer/creator Creator/TakeshiShudo [[note]] the first being ''Anime/{{GoShogun}}'', which also has Creator/MamiKoyama voicing a main character [[/note]], who would go on to make ''[[Anime/PokemonTheSeries Pokémon]]'' together.

** Strangely, the second series has Momo [[spoiler:[[BlackComedy almost die in traffic]] [[SelfParody like in the first series]]. [[CrossesTheLineTwice Several times]]. You can thank the human Momo (the one from Fenarinarsa) for rescuing her from this in the last episode, but the first time she rescued Momo from danger was when a satellite of Fenarinarsa exploded, possibly due to the fact that the Marinarsa Momo used her magic to save the Fenarinarsa Momo from being hit by a truck during the first time the two met.]]

** Momo is called "Gigi" in most international adaptations, with their scripts based from the failed TV dub by Harmony Gold (who only managed to commercially release "La Ronde in my Dream" in the US).

* FormulaBreakingEpisode: The highly popular episode 31, where Momo's disguise of the day fails to save the day (being a female soldier in military gear pitted against ''[[ThereIsNOKillLikeOverkill two fighter jets and a submarine]]''), and instead it's SuperweaponSurprise that does the job.

** One of the late episodes of the second season is an internal homage to the series itself, with both Momo apparently going on an adventure with numerous CallBack moments.

* InconsistentDub: Somewhat zig-zagged with the William Winckler ''Minky Momo'' movies: Although the movies are called "Minky Momo", the footage used actually refers to the character as Gigi, which each description mentions in parentheses.
** A boy in the Harmony Gold English dub of episode 41 is referred to as both Billy and Paul.

* ShoutOut: The series is full of references to the ancient Japanese folktale of Momotaro ([[MeaningfulName hence Momo's name]]), particularly Momo becoming a surrogate daughter to a childless couple and having several animal companions, to name just a few.
** Momo's outfit when she transforms into Literature/SnowWhite is a shout out to the classic [[WesternAnimation/SnowWhiteAndTheSevenDwarfs 1937 Disney film]].

Though often overlooked outside of Japan (and Europe), ''Minky Momo'' is among the most influential anime in its genre. It was also one of the earliest magical girl series not made by Creator/ToeiAnimation, which had heretofore virtually owned the genre since the late 1960s [[note]] the other magical girl series not animated by Toei during this period was ''Manga/MarvelousMelmo'' which was handled by Tezuka Productions and aired on Creator/TBSTelevision [[/note]], and one of the earliest to air on a channel that wasn't Creator/TVAsahi (the '80s series aired on Creator/TVTokyo, the '90s series on Creator/NipponTV). It's had some retroactive recognition in the West for being an early team-up between director Kunihiko Yuyama and head writer/creator Creator/TakeshiShudo, who would go on to make ''[[Anime/PokemonTheSeries Pokémon]]'' together.

Though often overlooked outside of Japan, ''Minky Momo'' is among the most influential anime in its genre. It was also one of the first magical girl series not made by Creator/ToeiAnimation, which had heretofore virtually owned the genre since the late 1960s, and one of the first to air on a channel that wasn't Creator/TVAsahi (the '80s series aired on Creator/TVTokyo, the '90s series on Creator/NipponTV). It's had some retroactive recognition in the West for being an early team-up between director Kunihiko Yuyama and head writer/creator Creator/TakeshiShudo, who would go on to make ''[[Anime/PokemonTheSeries Pokémon]]'' together.

* FracturedFairyTale: seen in several episodes

* UglyGuyHotWife: Both Momo's real parents.

The last Minky Momo anime were the 1993 OVA ''The Bridge Over Dreams'' and the 1994 OVA ''The Station of Your Memories'', both of which take place after the end of the second series and have a decidedly wistful tone.

* SlidingScaleOfIdealismVersusCynicism: Often surprisingly cynical for its supposed "follow your dreams" message.

* BittersweetEnding: To the franchise as a whole. Throughout the ''entire'' of both series, it's implied that people's dreams and fantasies are moving on from what allowed people to see and interact with Fenarinarsa and Marinarsa. At the very end of the series, the Marinarsa Momo gives up ''everything'' to become her foster family's true daughter, much like her predecessor was forced to do.

* {{Homage}}: Several throughout the series. Many characters are based on classic fairy tales, though episodes will often contain pop culture references to anime and movies. The series as a whole is loosely based on the legend of ''Momotaro''.

* ActionGirl: Momo engages in a surprising amount of combat for a MagicalGirl.

''Magical Princess Minky Momo'' is a classic MagicalGirl franchise that began with a 1982 anime and includes a manga series, several OVA specials, a feature film, a follow-up anime series in 1991, and a 30th anniversary stage musical. Known internationally as ''Gigi'', the anime became popular in France, Italy and Latin America, but had never gotten an official American release outside of a heavily altered version of the film until 2015, when William Winckler Productions acquired Harmony Gold's Minky Momo series and made it into several Amazon Instant Video-exclusive compilation movies. [[note]]The first 52 episodes of the original series had been translated by Harmony Gold under the title "The Magical World of Gigi", but [[http://www.dmagazine.com/Home/1986/03/01/Play_it_again_Sam.aspx did not manage to net a TV deal in the US]] and were instead used as the basis for several international adaptations bearing the Gigi name. The English dub did briefly air in Australia through [[http://www.televisionau.com/tv311286.htm 1986]]-1988, but never saw home video release. It's been reported the English version aired in other countries as well, such as Israel and The Bahamas.[[/note]]

* FracturedFairyTale: seemn in seversl episodes

* PantyShot: Very frequent, likely contributing to the show's strong otaku PeripheryDemographic.

** Sindbook, Mocha, and Pipil had their names respectively changed to "Bonkers", "Coco", and "Yum-Yum" as well in some of the dubs [[note]]while the French dub keeps Sindbook and Pipil's names, but changes Mocha to "Chacha"[[/note]]. In the ''La Ronde in My Dream'' English dub, Mocha keeps her name, Sindbook became "Bonkers", and Pipil became "Tweety". Pipil is Pattycake in the English dub of the '80s TV series.

* SantasExistenceClause: Episode 41 of the '80s series. Momo sets out to prove Santa's existence to an orphan boy[[note]]named Billy in the English dub[[/note]] who doesn't believe in Santa because he's never gotten a single Christmas gift in his life. Of course, Momo knows Santa is real because she knows him from Fenarinarsa.

* {{Tuckerization}}: In the Harmony Gold dub and overseas adaptations based on their scripts, Momo was given the name "Gigi", after the nickname for Jehan Agrama (one of the producers, who had also worked on ''Anime/{{Robotech}}''; she also wrote the lyrics for, and sang, the English theme song).

* MagicalIncantation: Several, in Japanese and the international adaptations. They're often gibberish, especially in the English dub.
** In Japanese: ''Pipiruma Pipiruma Puririnpa Papareho Papareho Doriminpa! Minky touch de (...) ni nare!''

Though often overlooked outside of Japan, ''Minky Momo'' is among the most influential anime in its genre. It was also one of the first magical girl series not made by Creator/ToeiAnimation, which had heretofore virtually owned the genre since the late 1960s, and one of the first to air on a channel that wasn't Creator/TVAsahi. It's had some retroactive recognition in the West for being an early team-up between director Kunihiko Yuyama and head writer/creator Creator/TakeshiShudo, who would go on to make ''[[Anime/PokemonTheSeries Pokémon]]'' together.

''Magical Princess Minky Momo'' is a classic MagicalGirl franchise that began with a 1982 anime and includes a manga series, several OVA specials, a feature film, a follow-up anime series in 1991, and a 30th anniversary stage musical. Known internationally as ''Gigi'', the anime became popular in France, Italy and Latin America, but had never gotten an official American release outside of a heavily altered version of the film until 2015, when William Winckler Productions acquired Harmony Gold's Minky Momo series and made it into several Amazon Instant Video-exclusive compilation movies. [[note]]The first 52 episodes of the original series had been translated by Harmony Gold under the title "The Magical World of Gigi", but [[http://www.dmagazine.com/Home/1986/03/01/Play_it_again_Sam.aspx did not manage to net a TV deal in the US]] and were instead used as the basis for several international adaptations bearing the Gigi name. The English dub did briefly air in Australia through [[http://www.televisionau.com/tv311286.htm 1986]]-1988, but never saw home video release.[[/note]]

* SantasExistenceClause: Episode 41 of the '80s series. Momo sets out to prove Santa's existence to an orphan boy[[note]]named Billy in the English dub[[/note]] who doesn't believe in Santa because he's never gotten a single Christmas gift in his life.

* {{Tuckerization}}: In the Harmony Gold dub and overseas adaptations based on their scripts, Momo was given the name "Gigi", after the nickname for Jehan Agrama (one of the producers, who had also worked on ''Anime/{{Robotech}}'').

** Sindbook, Mocha, and Pipil had their names respectively changed to "Bonkers", "Coco", and "Yum-Yum" as well in some of the dubs [[note]]while the French dub keeps Sindbook and Pipil's names, but changes Mocha to "Chacha"[[/note]]. In the ''La Ronde in My Dream'' English dub, Mocha keeps her name, Sindbook became "Bonkers", and Pipil became "Tweety".