Yet another of Fujiko Fujio's innumerable manga co-productions, Chinpui is basically Doraemon for girls. Most of the former's cast are replicated in some form or another, right down to a lumbering Big G lookalike. The main difference is that the "hero" is a girl and the Magical Helper is an extraterrestrial mouse (as opposed to a robotic cat).
Eri Kasuga is a high spirited Japanese Tomboy who — for totally inexplicable reasons — has been chosen to marry Prince Lulealv of the Planet Mal. In light of this momentous occasion, two envoys have been sent to Earth to announce the upcoming betrothal: Chinpui, an oversized, wish granting mouse; and Wandayuu, a lethally annoying talking dachshund. Like most of Mal's anthropomorphic population, they can perform miracles by simply shouting their names (with the usual disastrous results).
Needless to say, Eri is none too thrilled with the prospect of marrying an alien she's never even met, particularly since she's only eleven years old (in addition, she already has a "sort of boyfriend;" Uchiki-chan, the quiet smart kid who lives down the road).
Faced with this overt rejection, Wandayuu departs to discuss the situation with the Royal family, leaving Chinpui behind to serve and protect "their future princess." While Eri initially regards Chinpui as a nuisance, he soon proves himself a loyal and trustworthy friend, especially when it comes to solving the inevitable problems caused by Wandayuu's meddling schemes. Hilarity naturally ensues, as Eri is besieged by spacefaring freeloaders, bickering aliens, unexpected nudity, and at least one superhuman rival bent on eliminating the competition.
Tropes:
- Action Girl: Eri powers up on several occasions, usually with the usual consequences.
- Animated Adaptation: 56 episodes broadcast between 1989 and 1991, along with a 40 minute animated movie (Chinpui: Eri-sama Katsudō Daishashin, aired in 1990). Both were surprisingly faithful to the original manga.
- Bad Future: Inverted to some degree when a time traveling visitor informs Eri that she's destined to marry Lulealv within three years. Despite her initial misgivings, it appears that she will actually fall in love with the Prince at some point.
- Almost inevitably, the time traveler turns out to be her own son, who wanted to meet his mother when she was his age.
- The family resemblance suggests that Lulealv is not only human, but drop-dead gorgeous to the bargain.
- Barbie Doll Anatomy: Averted in the manga, especially when Eri receives a life-sized anatomically correct "boyfriend doll" from Prince Lulealv (which she promptly returns). The anime version wasn't quite as explicit (though it was pretty damned close all the same).
- Be Careful What You Wish For Wish Fulfillment. See last three examples for details.
- Bland-Name Product: The PARPY doll that is popular with the girls.
- Beware the Nice Ones:
- Eri when anyone threatens Uchiki-chan.
- Chinpui when anyone threatens Eri. We're talking Galactus mode here, folks.
- Book Dumb: Both Eri and Ooeyama are not too good in studies.
- The Bully: Ooeyama, the series' resident Big G clone. The difference is that, with the main character being a girl, he just plays pranks like lifting her skirt. He has no problem punching boys like Uchiki.
- Butt-Monkey: Eri's long-suffering Father, for some unknown reason. Whenever one of Wandayuu's Rube Goldberg contraptions malfunction, poor old Mr. Kasuga always seems to wind up with egg on his face.
- Cannot Spit It Out: Eri really likes Uchiki-chan, but just can't quite spit it out. For his part, Uchiki is just too darned thick to notice they're way past the friendship zone.
- Cool Shades: Majiro, the talking anteater referenced above. Beats the living crap out of Ooeyama after he teases Eri in the street.
- Cowardly Lion: Uchiki-chan. Despite his diminutive stature, Uchiki constantly stands up for smaller children being bullied by Ooeyama, (and frequently takes a beating for his trouble).
- Cute Clumsy Girl: Eri likes to return home by jumping the fence instead of using the front door, but she trips almost every time.
- Decomposite Character: Combine Sunemi and Kitsune and you get Suneo from Doraemon, with Sunemi being a Spoiled Brat and Kitsune The Bully's henchman.
- Dirty Kid: Ooeyama often lifts Eri's skirts.
- Distaff Counterpart: To Doraemon. Characters within are replicated to some degree and gender-flipped as well (a fox-faced girl named "Sunemi", for one but the bully is simply a Big G lookalike and is not friends with her).
- Dreaming of Things to Come: Eri sometimes has dreams where she has married Lulealv and moved to Mal.
- Expy: Few from Doraemon:
- Eri is a Distaff Counterpart of Nobita, but also shares Shizuka's headstrong personality.
- Uchiki is a Distaff Counterpart of Shizuka, but also shares Nobita's poor athleticism and tendency to be bullied.
- Chimpui of Doraemon.
- Ooeyama of Big G.
- Sunemi is a Distaff Counterpart of Sneech, who also shares similarities with Kitsune.
- Extreme Doormat: Eri's sweet-natured father is constantly henpecked by his domineering wife, who rules her domain with an iron fist.
- The Faceless: Prince Lulealv. Although never actually seen in person, Eri often dreams that he literally has no face.
- Famous Ancestor: Eri is the descendant of Kukuru from Doraemon: Nobita and the Birth of Japan.
- Hammerspace: Chinpui stores an infinite number of reality-warping devices in his ears (Yes, that's right - in his ears). This being a Fujio series, most of his gadgets cause more trouble than they're worth.
- Identical Stranger: All of the characters look like Doraemon, which makes it interesting when they finally crossover.
- Jerk Jock: The bully Ooeyama is weak in studies, but best at sports.
- Jerk with a Heart of Gold: Whenever Eri finds herself in a jam, Chinpui agrees to help out if she promises to marry Prince Lulealv. Eri adamantly refuses, but Chinpui helps her anyway.
- Laser-Guided Karma: Ooeyama when he gets beaten up by various aliens, the most famous being a badass talking anteater with the coolest shades in the cosmos.
- Love Triangle: Eri and Sunemi have both a crush for Uchiki.
- Nice Girl: Hotaru. She is sweet and careful girl in Eri-chan's class. She is good in studies and has many friends. She likes Chinpui as a pet and thinks that Wandayuu is a funny dog.
- No Sense of Personal Space: Alien visitors seem to have no concept of privacy, frequently turning up while Eri is taking a bath (like Sue in Doraemon).
- Relationship Sabotage: Wandayuu when trying to sabotage Eri's relationship with Uchiki, so she can marry the Prince.
- Reluctant Fanservice Girl: Any photograph taken of Eri will inevitably turn out to be a Panty Shot or a nude. This is because both the interstellar paparazzi and the universe in general are determined to embarrass her.
- The Rival: Darusa, a superpowered contender for the throne. Comes to Earth several times, planning to remove Eri from the equation, only to discover that Chinpui has a badass streak of his own.
- Robot Buddy: Chinpui. OK, while he's not technically a robot, he occupies precisely the same role as Doraemon, right down to Time Traveling excursions to the Jurassic era.
- Rube Goldberg Device: Many of Wandayuu's grandiose schemes involve ridiculously complicated doo-hickies, all of which backfire on the usual suspects.
- Running Gag: Running gags involve slapstick and domestic comedy, particularly the chaos wrought by Wadayuu's unwelcome visitations.
- Wandayuu always announces his arrival by shouting "congratulations!!" and showering Eri with confetti and streamers. The resulting mess requires a miniature black hole to remove it.
- Spell My Name With An S: Is it Chimpui or Chinpui?
- Spoiled Brat: Eri's neighbor, Sunemi. An insufferable blowhard, she spends most of her time bragging about her family's wealth. Frequently upstaged by Eri's down-to-earth modesty.
- Strong Family Resemblance: Eri is very similar to her mother.
- Tomboy: Eri-chan, without a doubt. In Japanese culture, jumping fences and storming in through the back door is
considered extremely unnatural for girls of any age.- Eri's mother's despairs that she'll ever find a husband, as she avoids housework like the plague and can't cook anything apart from ramen. Fortunately, this happens to be Chinpui's favorite dish.
- Tomboy and Girly Girl: Eri's friends, Sayaka and Hotaru.
- Trademark Favorite Food: Chinpui likes to eat ramen. He gains energy from it and uses it for his powers.
- Unwanted Spouse: Eri really doesn't want to marry the prince. Unfortunately for her, everything, from a glimpse of her future in a crystal ball to a visit from her Kid from the Future, seems to indicate that she WILL become the prince's bride one day.
- Weirdness Censor: Neither of Eri's parents seem to notice the stream of talking animals flowing through the household (although her father is initially freaked out by the "weird blue monkey" in the living room).
- It's also worth noting that Mrs. Kasuga absolutely hates door-to-door salesman, considering them less human than any of Eri's unearthly visitors.
- Why Did It Have to Be Snakes?: Chinpui fear anything that even vaguely resembles a cat - even one of Eri's stuffed animals.
