Line #24 Manga/NurseAngelRirikaSOS


1	[[quoteright:1000:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/nurse_angel_ririka_sos_5.jpg]]
2	[[caption-width-right:1000:This is where ''Manga/AkazukinChacha'''s CerebusSyndrome went.]]
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4	-> ''With courage to despise evil and a loving heart, I can save everyone!''
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6	Fourth-grader Ririka Moriya's life gets turned upside down when [[SchoolIdol super-cool]] [[NewTransferStudent transfer student]] Nozomu Kanou, out of the blue, gives her a present for her 10th birthday. The gift is a [[TransformationTrinket magical Nurse cap]] that gives Ririka the ability to transform into the heavenly guardian known as "Nurse Angel". Ririka soon learns that Kanou-senpai is [[AlienAmongUs actually an alien]] whose home world, Queen Earth, has been [[AlienInvasion taken over]] by the evil organization known as "Dark Joker". With the help of both Kanou-senpai and Ririka's childhood friend and next-door neighbor, Seiya Uzaki, she quickly takes charge as Nurse Angel to keep Earth from sharing Queen Earth's misfortune.
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8	''Nurse Angel Ririka SOS'' (ナースエンジェルりりかＳＯＳ) started out as a collaborative manga series by ''Manga/TokimekiTonight'' creator Koi Ikeno and television writer Yasushi Akimoto, published in Shueisha's ''Magazine/{{Ribon}}'' magazine from 1995-96. This was followed by a 35-episode anime adaptation by Nihon Ad Systems (NAS) and Creator/StudioGallop which started airing on Creator/TVTokyo about six months after the manga began and ran concurrently with it. The series was directed by the original 2001 ''Manga/FruitsBasket'' director Akitaro Daichi, one of his earliest projects under the director's chair.
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10	This was a full-on [[MagicalGirlWarrior fighting magical girl]] series that [[FollowTheLeader debuted in the height]] of the mid-Nineties ''Franchise/SailorMoon'' craze, unlike its televised predecessor, ''Manga/AkazukinChacha'', which was more or less a GagSeries with its magical girl warrior aspect shoehorned in to take advantage of the trend. Despite the [[KidHero young age]] of the lead character in contrast to others within the genre, Ririka courted the [[PeripheryDemographic cross-demographic appeal]] of the genre through a down-to-earth atmosphere, a focus on drama, and a sense of [[DarkerAndEdgier dark-and-edginess]] that steadily built over its run. While great for audiences interested in a harder-hitting magical girl than even ''Sailor Moon'', it turned out to be not so great for the corporate sponsors or the show's longevity.
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12	----
13	!!Tropes used in this series:
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15	* AdaptedOut: Some manga characters, such as the Queen Earth couple posing as Kanon's parents and Buros's little brother Regi, are not shown in the anime.
16	* AllLoveIsUnrequited: Perhaps it's better this way - [[spoiler: Seiya never confesses his feelings to Ririka. None of the many [[PrecociousCrush precocious crushes]] amount to anything. While the manga settled the relationships in a DenouementEpisode, the anime is left vague]].
17	* AlternateContinuity: The anime seems to use the manga as a springboard more than a model.
18	* AnimatedArmor: The first MonsterOfTheWeek is a possessed suit of armor.
19	* AnnoyingYoungerSibling: Shou, Ririka's precocious, kindergarten-age brother.
20	* {{Arcadia}}: Queen Earth is depicted as an idyllic land of green fields and [[BrightCastle fairytale castles]]. The core classic set of WoodlandCreatures even puts in an appearance.
21	* BattleBaton: When your weapon is a baton, twirling is inevitable.
22	* BelligerentSexualTension: Despite being childhood friends, Ririka and Seiya argue a lot, but it's clear that a stronger chemistry between the two other than friendship.
23	* BigFancyHouse: Ririka and Seiya live near a pretty ritzy neighborhood, and mansions regularly figure into the story.
24	** Ririka's friend Anna seems to come from money; she lives in a gated house with with a big yard and her parents have a mansion-caliber summer house in the mountains as well.
25	** Kanou-senpai's mansion is a major location. [[spoiler:Occupancy there shifts from him, to Buros, and finally to Mimina so there's continuously reasons to set action here.]]
26	* BirthdayEpisode: [[{{Bookends}} The first episode and especially the final episode]] focus on Ririka's birthday. In the final episode they sing HappyBirthdayToYou and everything [[spoiler:just to twist the knife a bit more]].
27	* BrainwashedAndCrazy: [[spoiler: Courtesy of the Black Vaccine, Kanou/Kanon goes from mentor to [[ManipulativeBastard tormentor]].]]
28	* ByThePowerOfGreyskull: Ririka transforms into Nurse Angel with the incantation, "Holy Power, Holy Prayer, be here!" The transformation sequence concludes (about a minute and a half later) with a TransformationNameAnnouncement: "Nurse Angel! Messenger from heaven!"
29	* CallMyName: This is one of those shows where names tend to double as sentences.
30	* ChekhovsGift: "Happy Birthday, Ririka Moriya. Here is my present to you."
31	* CouldHaveBeenMessy: The characters frequently get roughed up, but blood is very rare. In a few episodes where the heroes sustain what are clearly meant to be grievous wounds, this can become somewhat jarring.
32	* CrashIntoHello: In Ririka's first encounter with Kanon, she runs into him while she is chasing Seiya. Naturally, she is [[LoveAtFirstSight smitten]].
33	* CrucifiedHeroShot: Kanon features in one in episode 14. [[spoiler:The episode where he dies.]]
34	* ADayInTheLimelight: The show has a few episodes that center on secondary characters which count among its most memorable. The episode where Ririka's dad bonds with Herb and befriends Miyuki is funny and unexpectedly touching, and the Valentines Day episode is a cute and bittersweet story about Karin with some nice flourishes in the animation.
35	* DiedOnTheirBirthday: The story begins with Ririka turning ten and [[spoiler: ends with her HeroicSacrifice on her eleventh birthday. However, the very end implies that [[SubvertedTrope she somehow survived]]]].
36	* DistressCall: Occurs at the start of every episode from 1 to 26.
37	-->'''Helena:''' "Ririka... Ririka... Save us, Ririka!"
38	* ElaborateUniversityHigh: White Dove Academy, the school the main characters attend, is purportedly very elite. It certainly ''looks'' like it's elite -- that tree-lined drive, the fountain, the picturesque bell tower...
39	* ElementalRockPaperScissors: In episode 10, Keto and Dewey attack Ririka and Kanon at the same time with an electric monster and a water monster. Once Ririka escapes and goes to help Kanon, Dewey follows her and inadvertently lures the water monster there, where it touches the electric monster and destroys them both.
40	* EnemyCivilWar: Bad blood develops between Dark Joker {{mook lieutenant}}s Keto and Dewey. They're in competition for their EvilOverlord's favor, and eventually they come to blows.
41	* ExpositoryThemeTune: Unusually, instead of the opening song, the first ending song is this, talking about how Ririka is an ordinary, nice, friendly girl who becomes a hero of love and justice.
42	* {{Fauxreigner}}: Aliens who interact with [[{{Muggle}} normals]] consistently claim to be from another country rather than another planet. Kanou claims to be a ForeignExchangeStudent from London, and later Princess Mimina poses as Kanou's younger sister. She runs into some trouble when people ask her what London is like -- she knows nothing about the place.
43	** After [[HeelFaceTurn turning good]] [[spoiler:Dewey]] is described by Ririka as being from a nondescript foreign country.
44	* FillItWithFlowers: This is effectively the final goal of Ririka and her friends. It does happen in the end, triggering a WorldHealingWave, [[spoiler:but Ririka has to pay dearly for it.]]
45	* FirstNameBasis: [[spoiler:Dewey]] flat out ignores Ririka's request for this when they team up, and persists in calling her "Nurse Angel" for the entire show...until the finale.
46	* FisherKingdom: As Queen Earth {{Mordor}}-ifies, it becomes this for Princess Helena. Her health reflects the planet's health.
47	* FlashyProtagonistsBlandExtras: Subverted. Most of the human characters have mundane designs. Ririka is the exception, being a [[ImplausibleHairColor blonde Japanese girl]]. This is actually {{foreshadowing}} to Ririka [[spoiler:being the {{reincarnation}} of the original Nurse Angel.]]
48	* AFoggyDayInLondonTown: Miyuki ''thinks'' that London is like this in her {{imagine spot}}s.
49	* FriendOrIdolDecision: Is saving the lives of loved ones worth expending some of Nurse Angel's limited power source? Ririka herself always emphatically answers 'yes,' but sometimes the people she wants to save question her judgement.
50	* FusionDance: As depicted in the second opening sequence, Ririka and Helena merge [[spoiler:to form an alternate Nurse Angel...who dies in their place to save both of their worlds.]]
51	* GoodParents: The main characters' parents in the TV series are very supportive and often provide useful advice. Ririka's dad is [[BumblingDad kind of awkward]] but well-meaning.
52	* GrowingUpSucks: As the show opens, Ririka's life is great. Her family and friends are all wonderful and she lacks for nothing. Then she becomes a magical girl, and the contrast between her civilian life and the struggles and duties of her secret life get steadily wider...[[spoiler:until finally she has to make the ultimate sacrifice.]]
53	* HairColorSpoiler: Ririka has bright blonde hair despite all of her family members, and almost all of her peers, having brown or black hair. This seems like a typical case of the protagonist having abnormal hair to distinguish them as important, however her hair color is more than symbolic. [[spoiler:Ririka is the reincarnation of the original Nurse Angel, who was also blonde, and is actually the Flower of Life she has been looking for the entire series]].
54	* HeroesLoveDogs: ''Ririka SOS'' depicts dogs more positively than cats. After all, Ririka loves her pet dog.
55	* HeroicBSOD: Ririka, after [[spoiler: Kanon's death]]. Ririka decides to [[TenMinuteRetirement give up on saving the world]]; that only lasts until the next time Seiya gets attacked.
56	* HiddenHeartOfGold: [[spoiler:Dewey.]] He wants to help Ririka as much as Seiya does, but he's reluctant to show it when other people are watching.
57	* HumanAliens: People from Queen Earth and members of Dark Joker are more likely to have unnatural hair colors, but otherwise look just like everybody else.
58	* TheJeeves: Shion, Kanou-senpai's faultlessly loyal butler.
59	* LaserGuidedAmnesia: Kanon has the ability to erase the memories of [[{{Muggles}} normals]] to spare them the burden of involvement in the secret conflict. This is not shown to have any harmful effects, is inferred to work on groups, and probably gets more use than is shown on screen.
60	* LikeBrotherAndSister: Ririka and Seiya.
61	** Quite subverted. Seiya's feelings towards Ririka are anything but "brotherly". He's already planning to marry her.
62	* LivingBattery: The Flower of Life is used to make both the Green Vaccine (Ririka's power source) and the Black Vaccine (Dark Joker's power source). The flowers are supposed to grow wherever living things exist, but the protagonists spend the whole show searching for the ones on Earth.
63	* MagicalGirlGenreDeconstruction: A precursor to the genre, [[UnbuiltTrope with most of the elements]] but over a decade older than when the genre took off. It starts off standard MagicalGirlWarrior but the fights are hard-won, the supply of Green Vaccine is limited - but not Black Vaccine used by the bad guys - and then it takes a darker twist when Ririka begins doubting her resolve mid-series and [[IJustWantToBeNormal craving to be a normal kid again]]. The anime also ends on a BittersweetEnding. Arguably, ''Nurse Angel Ririka SOS'' is the UrExample of the trope.
64	* MagicEnhancement: Nurse Angel has a move called Angel Shine Scroll which she always invokes before using her coup de grace. Its purpose is never explained, but it seems to be a power-up move.
65	* MonsterOfTheWeek: Played with. Buros has a tendency to either send Dewey and Keto out to fight themselves, send a monster or MookLieutenant to do it, or both.
66	* MummyWrap: The mummy monster in episode 21 wraps itself up as its reveal, and then [[DistressedDude restrains Seiya this way]].
67	* TheMusical: Unlike fellow magical girl musical series ''Theatre/SeraMyu'', though, this musical is obscure. Footage from this production was cobbled into episodes that filled the show's time slot for three weeks, but no one has bothered to subtitle them.
68	* NewPowersAsThePlotDemands: The scope of the main characters' abilities is not clearly defined; everyone is as StrongAsTheyNeedToBe. This is especially true of Ririka, who pulls out one-time-only named attacks every so often.
69	* NiceJobBreakingItHero: The crux of a big turning point in episode 26. [[spoiler:Ririka defeats Buros once and for all! However, he was the personification of the Black Vaccine, and his last act was to disperse the Black Vaccine worldwide. Ririka can't fight Dark Joker ''everywhere''.]]
70	* NinjaPirateZombieRobot: Angel-ballerina-nurse! That's gotta be a winning combination for appealing to little girls, right?
71	* OfficialCosplayGear: Merchandise for the series includes [[TransformationTrinket Angel Caps]], Angel Batons, Angel Rings, and a full Nurse Angel dress. Only the baton has any chance actually working in cosplay.
72	* OncePerEpisode: Certain reliable bits of StockFootage appear in every episode. For example, Ririka's TransformationSequence, Angel Shine Scroll (the [[SummonToHand baton-summoning]] move,) and [[HolyHandGrenade Angel Aid Bomb Beam]] (the monster-destroying move.)
73	* PrecociousCrush: There are many, but the main plot-driving example is Ririka's initial motivation for being Nurse Angel. She just wants praise from her idol, Kanou-senpai.
74	* ParentalObliviousness: Neither Ririka's parents nor Seiya's suspect that their kids are up to anything dangerous, no matter what weird incidents go on around them.
75	* PicnicEpisode: In episode 18 the main characters are their families go on a hiking day-trip, but their picnic gets rained out on account of villainy. Ririka goes on to have an epic fight while everyone else is running back to the car.
76	* PleaseDontLeaveMe: Ririka to Kanou-senpai in episode 14.
77	** [[spoiler:Seiya and Dewey to Ririka in the last episode.]]
78	* PostVictoryCollapse: In Eps. 18, Nurse Angel and Seiya both drop to the ground after fighting a super-powered Dewey to a draw.
79	* PowerSource: The Green Vaccine, which Nurse Angel slowly depletes as she uses attacks. She doesn't have a reserve of it, either, so obtaining more of it is a major plot point.
80	* PrankDate: Ririka is so excited! Kanou-senpai asked her out on a date! [[spoiler:Too bad she can't see that he's BrainwashedAndCrazy and this is a setup intended to put her in danger.]]
81	* PutOnABus: [[spoiler: Kanon,]] though it might not seem like it at the time. [[spoiler:First he is killed, then [[TheBusCameBack he is revived as a minion by Buros]], and when he is finally himself again he returns to Queen Earth, but returns to Earth for the finale.]]
82	* RightHandCat: A sinister-looking black cat appears in a few episodes spying for or being petted by {{the chessmaster}} villain Keto. [[spoiler:Later, Kanou seems to take up ownership of the cat while he's BrainwashedAndCrazy, but after his HeelFaceTurn it's never seen again.]]
83	* RedRightHand: Dark Joker members have spade marks on the right hands that give them away...to the audience. The heroes never seem to catch on to this. One member actually has his on his forehead, but this is never explained either. [[spoiler:After Dewey cements his HeelFaceTurn, the spade on his hand can actually be seen disappearing, though it's out of focus.]]
84	* ReincarnationIdentifyingTrait: Ririka is blonde despite everyone in her family having dark hair; this winds up being an indication that [[spoiler: she's the reincarnation of the original Nurse Angel]].
85	* RopeBridge: Episode 18 involves a rope bridge that can only support one person at a time. Inevitably, it collapses. [[ShockAndAwe Due to a lightning strike]].
86	* SecretIdentity: [[ZigZaggingTrope Zig-zagged]]. Ririka keeps her hero identity secret from her friends and family, but her enemies clearly know who her friends and family are. They just don't exploit it very effectively. They don't really seem to care.
87	* ShoutOut:
88	** Chacha of ''Manga/AkazukinChacha'' and Himeko Nonohara of ''Manga/HimechansRibbon'' show up in the background in episode 31. Doubles as a production reference since all three shows were not only based on manga series published in the same magazine, but also made by the same animation studio, with those two shows being the last two shows they worked on.
89	** Earlier in episode 17, Shou gives Ririka an issue of ''Magazine/{{Ribon}}'' with Chacha, Riiya, and Shiine on the cover.
90	** Episode 16 reveals that Ririka's favorite manga is "Meki Meki Tonight", a homage to manga creator Koi Ikeno's previous ''Ribon'' series ''Manga/TokimekiTonight''.
91	** Ririka's grandmother remarks about a Creator/GaryCooper movie that she and her late husband went to see once in their youth.
92	* SickEpisode: Ririka catches a cold and gets put on bedrest for a while during episode 17. Later, Seiya has a serious [[AllergicToEvil allergic reaction to evil]] in episode 34 that only Nurse Angel can cure.
93	* SkywardScream: Dewey does ones of these; it is an expression of his feelings of powerlessness [[spoiler:when he is afraid that Ririka has suffered fatal injuries. She saved his life at an earlier point when he was similarly injured, yet now he is powerless to save her.]] Or so he thinks. The show downplays it, but it seems like he actually did help Ririka to recover.
94	* SlobsVersusSnobs: More specifically, ordinary Ririka vs. rich Miyuki. A minor theme that pops up from time to time is how Miyuki has more advantages, but Ririka has more heart.
95	* SnarkToSnarkCombat: Seiya and Dewey are accomplished [[DeadpanSnarker snarkers]] separately, and have some highly entertaining back-and-forth when they get together.
96	* [[spoiler:SomeoneHasToDie: No one was able to find the Flower of Life because [[ItWasWithYouAllAlong they are sealed in Ririka]], and the only way to release them is for her to sacrifice herself. After a HesitantSacrifice moment, Ririka resolves GoOutWithASmile in the knowledge that her loved ones will be safe.]]
97	* SpaceBase: Dark Joker operates out of a weird starfish-asteroid-thing in Earth's orbit. [[spoiler:Until Dewey breaks it in a fortunate accident. Buros then moves into Kanou-senpai's mansion.]]
98	* SurprisinglyHappyEnding: [[spoiler:After trying so hard to get the audience to [[TearJerker break down in tears]] from all the tragedy and noble sacrifice, the ending is pretty happy. Ririka succeeds ''and'' survives. The only question is if her friends remember her.]]
99	* TalkingIsAFreeAction: Villains often stand around very patiently while the protagonists reassure each other.
100	* TheThreeFacesOfAdam: Ririka (people-oriented), Seiya (emotion-oriented), Kanou-senpai (goal-oriented). [[spoiler:Substitute Dewey for Kanou as required.]]
101	* TokyoIsTheCenterOfTheUniverse: Ririka is not a globe-trotting heroine; the villains come to her in her Greater Tokyo Area hometown (Yokohama, to be precise.) [[VillainBall Dark Joker seems to be a]] ''[[VillainBall little]]'' [[VillainBall too focused on dealing with Queen Earth remnants early on]] when they could win by default by keeping a low profile.
102	* TomboyAndGirlyGirl: Ririka's friends Anna and Karin. Karin is outspoken and Anna is demure.
103	* TotalEclipseOfThePlot: Features in a couple of episodes, but most significantly the complete solar eclipse in ep. 16 used symbolize Ririka's [[HeroicBSOD mental state]]. Incidentally, an partial solar eclipse occurred in Japan not long before the episode first aired.
104	* TrapIsTheOnlyOption: The heroes are invited to a NastyParty at the {{Big Bad}}'s house...which they elect to attend, despite the danger. They want to take the fight to ''him''.
105	* {{Unobtainium}}: The Flower of Life. It can be refined into Green Vaccine, [[GreenRocks the essence of life and well-being,]] ''[[GreenRocks as well as]]'' [[GreenRocks Nurse Angel's power source]], and without a stock of it the heroes can't overcome Dark Joker. When the show begins, Dark Joker already has all the flowers from Queen Earth, and mysteriously, the ones that should be on Earth are missing.
106	* {{Valentines Day Episode\|s}}: Episode 31, "Karin's Gift of Chocolate", is the show's only holiday themed episode.
107	* VisionsOfAnotherSelf: Mimina accidentally uncovers some dormant [[GeneticMemory past-life memories]] in Ririka's mind that reveal the fate of a previous incarnation of Nurse Angel -- who looks like a PaletteSwap of Ririka.
108	* WakeUpGoToSchoolSaveTheWorld: There's every indication that Ririka and Seiya have a good time at school. Of course, they're both huge [[WeirdnessMagnet targets of weirdness]] and it disrupts classes kind of a lot, but no one links the incidents to them. The dissonance between normal-school-life and secret-warrior-life gets pretty dramatic toward the end with bouts of HeroicFatigue and NothingIsTheSameAnymore depression, but the kids do have a good support network.
109	* WrapItUp: Despite a strong viewership, [[WhatDoYouMeanItsForKids the show seems to have missed its target audience]], and thus displeased its main sponsor, toy-maker Takara. The BittersweetEnding was always part of the plan, though.
110	* YinYangClash: The Green Vaccine and the Black Vaccine are antithetical to each other; one represents vitality and the other represents death and decay. However, both of them are made from the Flower of Life.
111	* YoureJustJealous: Ririka levels this charge against Seiya more than once in regards to Seiya's suspicions about Kanon.

Context Manga / NurseAngelRirikaSOS