Mahou Shoujo – Sarutobi Ecchan

Sarutobi Ecchan is a ‘magical girl’ series originally published in popular girls magazine Margaret in the early 1960s (under the title Okashina Okashina Okashina Ano Ko, literally Funny Funny Funny That Child) and was later adapted into a anime under the title Sarutobi Ecchan. The story revolves around the character Ecchan, who despite seeming like an ordinarily little girl actually descends from a great ninja and possesses ninja powers of her own. Despite technically not being a ‘magical girl’ Ecchan displays various traits and powers that put her firmly into this category and despite her ninja lineage there are various questions regarding the source of her powers, she is able to communicate with animals, hypnotise people at will and has amazing strength for a girl her age but the mystery of these powers is never really revealed other than that she is descended from ninja.

The story begins when Ecchan looses her memory and is taken in by a family who look after her, not much is known about Ecchan’s past or the source of her powers but usually she is portrayed as a normal girl with various gifts, making mistakes and trying to deal with life and growing up like the rest of us.
Sarutobi Ecchan has mixed success, the manga style was quite simplified for the time and though the story was full of humour girls felt it was a little young for the audience it was aimed at, although Ecchan’s character does look incredibly cute and also quite endearing when put alongside other manga of that era the art style does seem very childlike . The anime also recieved mixed views (thought it did get an Italian dub) and only had a short run of 26 before getting cancelled without any real ending to the story.

Watch the incredibly whimsical opening for the original anime below, don’t you just wish you could float on bubbles?