Changes: Magical Chinese Girl Pai Pai!

Latest revision as of 13:24, 23 July 2023

This article is about a show in the Tokusatsu Super Hero subgenre.

Magical Chinese Girl Pai Pai!

Information

Number

09

Number of episodes

26

First episode

She Came To This Town

Last episode

Farewell, Chinese Witch

Original airing

January 15, 1989 - July 9, 1989

Production Order
Previous	Next
German Tanteidan Maringumi	Magical Chinese Girl Ipanema!

Magical Chinese Girl Pai Pai! (魔法少女ちゅうかなぱいぱい!, Mahō Shōjo Chūka na Pai Pai!) is the ninth series in the Toei Fushigi Comedy Series that aired on the Fuji Television network from January 15, 1989 to July 9 of the same year, created by Shotaro Ishinomori and produced by Toei, total 26 episodes. On April 6, 2020, the show premiered in the west on Youtube through the Toei Tokusatsu World channel.

Plot

"Urana Shaiopara Taiopara Kasaitabo."

―Paipai's Transformation Phrase

The Chinese Magic Realm, which is ruled by the selfish Emperor Gomoku, is a distant world that is close to the human world, but no human knows of its existence. The heroine Paipai, who lives in the Chinese Magic Realm, had a lover named Raymond. However, Emperor Gomoku magically transforms Raymond into ramen to make Paipai his bride. Raymond, who became a ramen, knocked Naruto out of the ramen bowl as he was running away. In this way, Paipai who came to the human world chasing Raymond in the form of ramen will live in the Takayama family as a Surrogate Mother.

Overview

It was the first series to switch from robot and detective stories to a 'magical girl' style live-action version, incorporating elements that were popular in the Sukeban Deka and Shoujo Commando IZUMI series.

Natsuki Ozawa, who was a rising idol at the time, was recruited. Ozawa was part of the cast of 'Hana no Asuka Gumi'. From then on, the series' heroines were all Japanese pop idols. The move to a heroine series made the franchise popular with girls, and the use of idols expanded the audience not only to children but the general public as well, and the series managed to attract a broad base of fans.

Toru Hirayama, who had been involved in the production of the series since its inception, left Toei, and Yoshiaki Kobayashi, who had been the producer for two years in a row, took over the series planning. Jun Hikasa was promoted to head producer for the first time. Tetsuji Mitsumura was also added to the directing team.

According to Yoshio Urasawa, the series' head writer, the title and Chinese-style idea were the brainchild producer Takashi Ishihara. Urasawa stated that he liked this mixture of shoujo and Chinese styles.

The series premiere was originally scheduled to begin airing on January 8, but due to a special program about Emperor Hirohito's death, it was postponed to the following week, starting on January 15.

Characters

Chinese Witch

Paipai

Allies

Akira Takayama (高山アキラ, Takayama Akira): He is the eldest of the three Takayama brothers and is in the sixth grade of elementary school. He is delusional and, like his father, has an outgoing and unreliable personality. All three of them have poor grades and are pranksters, and are called the "three idiot brothers" by those around them. He is the least intelligent of the three brothers, and cannot even do first-grade arithmetic.
Toru Takayama (高山トオル, Takayama Toru): He is the second son of three brothers and a fourth grader in elementary school. He is relatively strong among the three brothers, but on the other hand, he is good at clever pranks.
Shingo Takayama (高山シンゴ, Takayama Shingo): The youngest of the three brothers, he is in the first grade of elementary school. He lost his mother when he was one year old, so he has never known her, which is why he loves Paipai more than any of his siblings. He is good at telling lies.
Yukio Takayama (高山行男, Takayama Yukio): He is a self-proclaimed world-renowned archaeologist. At home, he is an unreliable father who, when his position deteriorates, runs away abroad in the name of excavation or retracts his statements. He is completely neglectful of his children and cares more about his research than his children's lives. At home, he wears a kimono, and when he goes on excavations, he dresses like Indiana Jones. His wife died when Shingo was one year old.
Sayuri Sangenjaya (三軒茶屋小百合, Sangendjaya Sayuri): She is Yukio's sister and aunt to the three brothers. She is determined to revive the Takayama family, which was once a prestigious family, and to educate the three brothers so that they will become decent human beings. She is always on the side of the three siblings and even tries to get rid of Pai Pai, whom she suspects is a witch, because she finds her presence in the house disturbing. Although she is kind at heart, her kindness does not come across, and she is disliked by Takayama brothers, who call her "Sangenjaya's hag" behind her back.
Nurhaci (ヌルハチ, Nuruhachi): A subordinate of Gomoku. He is a small man with round glasses and a short mustache. He has been ordered by Gomoku to bring Pai Pai back to the Chinese Magic Realm, but he is a loose character, and he is a little too sympathetic to Paipai's feelings for Raymond. He uses magic by spinning her eyeballs and tapping on a calculator. When he is in human form, he loses his round glasses and mustache.
Taklamakan (タクラマカン, Takuramakan): A subordinate of Gomoku and partner of Nurhaci. He is a large, tall, well-built man wearing a bandana and sunglasses. He is slow-witted, and his personality is dull and simple. He uses magic by twitching his nose. When he is in his human form, he wears date glasses. His name comes from the Taklamakan Desert.

Villains

Paikal (パイカル, Paikaru): Leader of the Gestapo of the Chinese Magic Realm. He was sent by Gomoku who was fed up with the successive failures of Nurhaci and Taklamakan. He rides a motorcycle and wears a military uniform like that of the old German army. Every time he appears, he tries to trap and capture Paipai, but fails. In episode 23, Paipai turns him into sand, a raw material, and destroys him.
Gomoku (五目殿下, Gomoku denka): The ruler of the Chinese Magic Realm. He forcibly asked Paipai to marry him, but when she refused, he became angry and turned her lover, Raymond, into ramen. He sends his subordinates Nurhaci, Taklamakan, and others to the human world to retrieve Paipai, who has fled. In the final episode, he is turned into a bowl of go-moku chuka-don (Chinese rice bowl) by the gods of the Chinese Magic Realm, who are angered by Paipai's summoning.

Episodes

She Came To This Town
The Secret of the Chinese Magic Realm
The Incorrigible Troublemakers
Pai Pai Kidnapped
The First Love
Get your Public Space Back!
The Rainbow Dinosaur
I Love You To The Bone
I'm not a Mother...
The Chairman's Misfortune
Shingo's Girlfriend
Raymond and Chahan
The Devil's Chair
I Stepped on a Cat
My Pai Pai Doll
Sorrowful Musical
Illusionary Land
The Great Man Biography
How are you, Shingo?
Playing House of Horror
Home Economics of the University of Tokyo
Daddy's Boyhood
The Hell's Hammer
Forgotten hide-and-seek
The Wedding of his Highness Gomoku
Farewell, Chinese Witch

Cast

Pai Pai: Natsuki Ozawa
Akira Takayama: Takanobu Yumoto
Toru Takayama: Kazuki Yamanaka
Shingo Takayama: Daisuke Ishigami
Yukio Takayama: Shigeru Saiki
Yukio Takayama (Child): Masashi Ebina
Sayuri Sangenjaya: Rie Shibata
Nurhaci: Shun Ueda
Taklamakan: Hidekazu Nagae
Sayaka: Kanako Kurotani
Raymond: Masakazu Arai
Paikal: Ren Osugi
Police Officer: Isamu Ichikawa
Oyabun: Hiroo Oikawa
Mori Sensei (Teacher Mori): Atsuo Mori
Principal: Torauemon Utazawa
Gomoku: Yosuke Ishii

Notes

This series has a sequel called "Magical Chinese Girl Ipanema" which is also a comedy series.
The series contains several elements that make reference to china, one of them is the game "Mahjong" from episode 4.
Takehisa Yamazawa, Shinsuke from "La Belle Fille Masquée Poitrine" participates in episode 7.
Episode 11 is the first to play "Private Panic!" one of Natsuki Ozawa songs.
Megumi Ueno, Yasuko from Hard Gumi appears in episode 12 playing the role of the character Chahan in the episode "Raymond and Chahan".
The famous character "Matenro" appears in episode 13 of the series, the same episode that marks the arrival of Paikal.
In one of the episodes, the character Sayaka appears playing the game from the previous series "Marin Gumi" released the year before.
Wakako Shimazaki appears in the last scene for episode 26, along with the takayama brothers.

@@ Line 2: / Line 2: @@
 {{ShowInfo
 |nr=09
-|start-ep=
+|start-ep= She Came To This Town
+|last-ep = Farewell, Chinese Witch
-|image=
+|image = Magical_Chinese_Girl_Paipai.jpeg
-|airdate=January 9, 1989 - July 9, 1989
+|airdate=January 15, 1989 - July 9, 1989
 |episodes=26
 |previous=German Tanteidan Maringumi
 |next=Magical Chinese Girl Ipanema!
 }}
-{{nihongo|'''''Magical Chinese Girl Pai Pai!'''''|魔法少女ちゅうかなぱいぱい!|Mahō Shōjo Chūka na Pai Pai!}} is the ninth entry in the [[Toei Fushigi Comedy Series]] created by [[Shotaro Ishinomori]] and produced by [[Toei]]. On April 6, 2020, the show premiered in the west on Youtube through the Toei Tokusatsu World channel.
+{{nihongo|'''''Magical Chinese Girl Pai Pai!'''''|魔法少女ちゅうかなぱいぱい!|Mahō Shōjo Chūka na Pai Pai!}} is the ninth series in the [[Toei Fushigi Comedy Series]] that aired on the Fuji Television network from January 15, 1989 to July 9 of the same year, created by [[Shotaro Ishinomori]] and produced by [[Toei]], total 26 episodes. On April 6, 2020, the show premiered in the west on Youtube through the Toei Tokusatsu World channel.
 ==Plot==
+{{Quote|Urana Shaiopara Taiopara Kasaitabo.|Paipai's Transformation Phrase}}
 The Chinese Magic Realm, which is ruled by the selfish Emperor Gomoku, is a distant world that is close to the human world, but no human knows of its existence.  The heroine Paipai, who lives in the Chinese Magic Realm, had a lover named Raymond.  However, Emperor Gomoku magically transforms Raymond into ramen to make Paipai his bride.  Raymond, who became a ramen, knocked Naruto out of the ramen bowl as he was running away.  In this way, Paipai who came to the human world chasing Raymond in the form of ramen will live in the Takayama family as a Surrogate Mother.
+==Overview==
+It was the first series to switch from robot and detective stories to a 'magical girl' style live-action version, incorporating elements that were popular in the Sukeban Deka and Shoujo Commando IZUMI series.
+Natsuki Ozawa, who was a rising idol at the time, was recruited.  Ozawa was part of the cast of 'Hana no Asuka Gumi'.  From then on, the series' heroines were all Japanese pop idols.  The move to a heroine series made the franchise popular with girls, and the use of idols expanded the audience not only to children but the general public as well, and the series managed to attract a broad base of fans.
+Toru Hirayama, who had been involved in the production of the series since its inception, left Toei, and Yoshiaki Kobayashi, who had been the producer for two years in a row, took over the series planning.  Jun Hikasa was promoted to head producer for the first time.  Tetsuji Mitsumura was also added to the directing team.
+According to Yoshio Urasawa, the series' head writer, the title and Chinese-style idea were the brainchild producer Takashi Ishihara.  Urasawa stated that he liked this mixture of shoujo and Chinese styles.
+The series premiere was originally scheduled to begin airing on January 8, but due to a special program about Emperor Hirohito's death, it was postponed to the following week, starting on January 15.
+==Characters==
+{|
+| style="background:green; color:red" |Chinese Witch
+|[[Paipai]]
+|}
+===Allies===
+*{{nihongo|'''Akira Takayama'''|高山アキラ|Takayama Akira}}: He is the eldest of the three Takayama brothers and is in the sixth grade of elementary school. He is delusional and, like his father, has an outgoing and unreliable personality. All three of them have poor grades and are pranksters, and are called the "three idiot brothers" by those around them. He is the least intelligent of the three brothers, and cannot even do first-grade arithmetic.
+*{{nihongo|'''Toru Takayama'''|高山トオル|Takayama Toru}}: He is the second son of three brothers and a fourth grader in elementary school. He is relatively strong among the three brothers, but on the other hand, he is good at clever pranks.
+*{{nihongo|'''Shingo Takayama'''|高山シンゴ|Takayama Shingo}}: The youngest of the three brothers, he is in the first grade of elementary school. He lost his mother when he was one year old, so he has never known her, which is why he loves Paipai more than any of his siblings. He is good at telling lies.
+*{{nihongo|'''Yukio Takayama'''|高山行男|Takayama Yukio}}: He is a self-proclaimed world-renowned archaeologist. At home, he is an unreliable father who, when his position deteriorates, runs away abroad in the name of excavation or retracts his statements. He is completely neglectful of his children and cares more about his research than his children's lives. At home, he wears a kimono, and when he goes on excavations, he dresses like Indiana Jones. His wife died when Shingo was one year old.
+*{{nihongo|'''Sayuri Sangenjaya'''|三軒茶屋小百合|Sangendjaya Sayuri}}: She is Yukio's sister and aunt to the three brothers. She is determined to revive the Takayama family, which was once a prestigious family, and to educate the three brothers so that they will become decent human beings. She is always on the side of the three siblings and even tries to get rid of Pai Pai, whom she suspects is a witch, because she finds her presence in the house disturbing. Although she is kind at heart, her kindness does not come across, and she is disliked by Takayama brothers, who call her "Sangenjaya's hag" behind her back.
+*{{nihongo|'''Nurhaci'''|ヌルハチ|Nuruhachi}}: A subordinate of Gomoku. He is a small man with round glasses and a short mustache. He has been ordered by Gomoku to bring Pai Pai back to the Chinese Magic Realm, but he is a loose character, and he is a little too sympathetic to Paipai's feelings for Raymond. He uses magic by spinning her eyeballs and tapping on a calculator. When he is in human form, he loses his round glasses and mustache.
+*{{nihongo|'''Taklamakan'''|タクラマカン|Takuramakan}}: A subordinate of Gomoku and partner of Nurhaci. He is a large, tall, well-built man wearing a bandana and sunglasses. He is slow-witted, and his personality is dull and simple. He uses magic by twitching his nose. When he is in his human form, he wears date glasses. His name comes from the Taklamakan Desert.
+===Villains===
+*{{nihongo|'''Paikal'''|パイカル|Paikaru}}: Leader of the Gestapo of the Chinese Magic Realm. He was sent by Gomoku who was fed up with the successive failures of Nurhaci and Taklamakan. He rides a motorcycle and wears a military uniform like that of the old German army. Every time he appears, he tries to trap and capture Paipai, but fails. In episode 23, Paipai turns him into sand, a raw material, and destroys him.
+*{{nihongo|'''Gomoku'''|五目殿下|Gomoku denka}}: The ruler of the Chinese Magic Realm. He forcibly asked Paipai to marry him, but when she refused, he became angry and turned her lover, Raymond, into ramen. He sends his subordinates Nurhaci, Taklamakan, and others to the human world to retrieve Paipai, who has fled. In the final episode, he is turned into a bowl of go-moku chuka-don (Chinese rice bowl) by the gods of the Chinese Magic Realm, who are angered by Paipai's summoning.
 ==Episodes==
+#She Came To This Town
-<p>#1 {{<b>She Came To This Town</b>}} </p><p>#2 {{<b>The Secret of the Chinese Magic Realm</b>}} </p><p>#3 {{<b>The Incorrigible Troublemakers</b>}} </p><p>#4 {{<b>Pai Pai Kidnapped</b>}} </p><p>#5 {{<b>The First Love</b>}} </p><p>#6 {{<b>Get your Public Space Back!</b>}} </p><p>#7 {{<b>The Rainbow Dinosaur</b>}} </p><p>#8 {{<b>I Love You To The Bone</b>}} </p><p>#9 {{<b>I'm not a Mother...</b>}} </p><p>#10 {{<b>The Chairman's Misfortune</b>}} </p><p>#11 {{<b>Shingo's Girlfriend</b>}} </p><p>#12 {{<b>Raymond &amp; Chahan</b>}} </p><p>#13 {{<b>The Devil's Chair</b>}} </p><p>#14 {{<b>I Stepped on a Cat</b>}} </p><p>#15 {{<b>My Pai Pai Doll</b>}} </p><p>#16 {{<b>Sorrowful Musical</b>}} </p><p>#17 {{<b>Illusionary Land</b>}} </p><p>#18 {{<b>The Great Man Biography</b>}} </p><p>#19 {{<b>How are you, Shingo?</b>}} </p><p>#20 {{<b>Playing House of Horror</b>}} </p><p>#21 {{<b>Home Economics of the University of Tokyo</b>}} </p><p>#22 {{<b>Daddy's Boyhood</b>}} </p><p>#23 {{<b>The Hell's Hammer</b>}} </p><p>#24 {{<b>Forgotten hide-and-seek</b>}} </p><p>#25 {{<b>The Wedding of his Highness Gomoku</b>}} </p><p>#26 {{<b>Farewell, Chinese Witch</b>}}</p>
+#The Secret of the Chinese Magic Realm
+#The Incorrigible Troublemakers
+#Pai Pai Kidnapped
+#The First Love
+#Get your Public Space Back!
+#The Rainbow Dinosaur
+#I Love You To The Bone
+#I'm not a Mother...
+#The Chairman's Misfortune
+#Shingo's Girlfriend
+#Raymond and Chahan
+#The Devil's Chair
+#I Stepped on a Cat
+#My Pai Pai Doll
+#Sorrowful Musical
+#Illusionary Land
+#The Great Man Biography
+#How are you, Shingo?
+#Playing House of Horror
+#Home Economics of the University of Tokyo
+#Daddy's Boyhood
+#The Hell's Hammer
+#Forgotten hide-and-seek
+#The Wedding of his Highness Gomoku
+#Farewell, Chinese Witch
 ==Cast==
-*Pai Pai: {{W|Natsuki Ozawa}}
+*Pai Pai: [[Natsuki Ozawa]]
-*Akira Takayama: {{W|Takanobu Yumoto}}
+*Akira Takayama: [[Takanobu Yumoto]]
-*Toru Takayama: {{W|Kazuki Yamanaka}}
+*Toru Takayama: [[Kazuki Yamanaka]]
-*Shingo Takayama: {{W|Daisuke Ishigami}}
+*Shingo Takayama: [[Daisuke Ishigami]]
-*Yukio Takayama: {{W|Shigeru Saiki}}
+*Yukio Takayama: [[Shigeru Saiki]]
+*Yukio Takayama (Child): [[Masashi Ebina]]
-*Sayuri Sangenjaya: {{W|Rie Shibata}}
+*Sayuri Sangenjaya: [[Rie Shibata]]
-*Nurhaci: {{W|Shun Ueda}}
+*Nurhaci: [[Shun Ueda]]
-*Taklamakan: {{W|Hidekazu Nagae}}
+*Taklamakan: [[Hidekazu Nagae]]
-*Raymond: {{W|Masakazu Arai}}
+*Sayaka: [[Kanako Kurotani]]
-*Paikal: {{W|Ren Osugi}}
+*Raymond: [[Masakazu Arai]]
-*Police Officer: {{W|Isamu Ichikawa}}
+*Paikal: [[Ren Osugi]]
-*Oyabun: {{W|Hiroo Oikawa}}
+*Police Officer: [[Isamu Ichikawa]]
-*Mori Sensei: {{W|Atsuo Mori}}
+*Oyabun: [[Hiroo Oikawa]]
-*Principal: {{W|Torauemon Utazawa}}
+*Mori Sensei (Teacher Mori): [[Atsuo Mori]]
-*Gomoku: {{W|Yosuke Ishii}}
+*Principal: [[Torauemon Utazawa]]
+*Gomoku: [[Yosuke Ishii]]
 ==Notes==
+*This series has a sequel called "Magical Chinese Girl Ipanema" which is also a comedy series.
-*To be added
+*The series contains several elements that make reference to china, one of them is the game "Mahjong" from episode 4.
+*Takehisa Yamazawa, Shinsuke from "La Belle Fille Masquée Poitrine" participates in episode 7.
+*Episode 11 is the first to play "Private Panic!" one of Natsuki Ozawa songs.
+*Megumi Ueno, Yasuko from Hard Gumi appears in episode 12 playing the role of the character Chahan in the episode "Raymond and Chahan".
+*The famous character "Matenro" appears in episode 13 of the series, the same episode that marks the arrival of Paikal.
+*In one of the episodes, the character Sayaka appears playing the game from the previous series "Marin Gumi" released the year before.
+*Wakako Shimazaki appears in the last scene for episode 26, along with the takayama brothers.
 {{Ref}}
 [[Category:Toei tokusatsu]]