is a Japanese
manga
Manga (Japanese: 漫画 ) are comics or graphic novels originating from Japan. Most manga conform to a style developed in Japan in the late 19th century, and the form has a long prehistory in earlier Japanese art. The term ''manga'' is u ...
series written and illustrated by
Hiromu Shinozuka
is a Japanese manga artist. She debuted with ''Takkyu Shōjo'' in 1999, and writes for '' Ciao'' magazine. Her manga ''Mirmo!'' received the Kodansha Manga Award for children's manga in 2003 and the Shogakukan Manga Award for children's manga in ...
. It was serialized in
Shogakukan
is a Japanese publisher of dictionaries, literature, comics (manga), non-fiction, DVDs, and other media in Japan.
Shogakukan founded Shueisha, which also founded Hakusensha. These are three separate companies, but are together called the Hit ...
's
''shōjo'' manga magazine
''Ciao'' from May 2008 to November 2014, with its chapters collected in eleven ''
tankōbon
is the Japanese
Japanese may refer to:
* Something from or related to Japan, an island country in East Asia
* Japanese language, spoken mainly in Japan
* Japanese people, the ethnic group that identifies with Japan through ancestry or cultur ...
'' volumes. It is about a middle school girl who discovers a devil baby on her bed one day. The manga was adapted into a seventy-five episode
anime
is Traditional animation, hand-drawn and computer animation, computer-generated animation originating from Japan. Outside of Japan and in English, ''anime'' refers specifically to animation produced in Japan. However, in Japan and in Japane ...
television series by
SynergySP
is a Japanese animation studio founded on September 24, 1998, as ''Synergy Japan'' which originally split off from Studio Junio (which itself was founded by Toei Animation staff). In 2005, the company became associated with Shogakukan-Shueisha Pr ...
which aired in Japan from October 2011 to February 2014.
Plot
Honoka Sawada is a lonely girl who is often picked on by others. One night, a strange baby named Mao appears before her, and she soon learns that this baby is none other than a baby devil.
Characters
;
:
:Honoka is a 14-year-old girl in middle school who lost her parents at a young age and now lives with her aunt Rikako. She is a shy girl who lacks self-confidence and her classmates take advantage of her. The show begins with her wishing she wasn't so lonely and this wish is granted when she becomes Mao's substitute mother. As the series progresses she develops feelings for Shin.
;
:
:The baby devil that is given to be raised by Honoka. His main costume is based on a dinosaur and it gives him the ability to breathe fire. Overall Mao is a happy child, but he scares easily and often bursts into tears over the smallest of things – though he is always quick to recover. As the story progresses he becomes aware of this and often tries to overcome his fears and flaws in an attempt to impress Honoka. His favourite food is pancakes.
;
:
:Shin is a boy in his second year of high school and is Mao's substitute father. He was introduced to Honoka by Kyou and agreed to help Honoka raise Mao at his suggestion. It is revealed in Episode 28 that he has a fear of needles but overcomes this phobia to help the devil children get inoculated.
;
:
:A baby devil who goes to the same nursery as Mao. Her main costume is based on a penguin and it gives her the ability to project icy blasts from her mouth. She has a short temper and will quickly resort to violence. Likes to eat food, especially meats and
curry
A curry is a dish with a sauce seasoned with spices, mainly associated with South Asian cuisine. In southern India, leaves from the curry tree may be included.
There are many varieties of curry. The choice of spices for each dish in tradit ...
s. Since Itsuki taught her some childish jokes based on
aubergines
Eggplant ( US, Canada), aubergine ( UK, Ireland) or brinjal (Indian subcontinent, Singapore, Malaysia, South Africa) is a plant species in the nightshade family Solanaceae. ''Solanum melongena'' is grown worldwide for its edible fruit.
Mos ...
she's had an obsession with them.
;
:
:Natsuki is a girl in her second year of high school. She is Karin's substitute mother.
;
:
:Itsuki is Natsuki's younger brother and is in the same year and school as Honoka. He is Karin's substitute father.
;
:
:A baby devil who goes to the same nursery as Mao. His main costume consists of a pink wig with a small hat on it, and matching animal print shorts and this gives him the power to throw electricity. He is a well behaved child who usually acts mature for his age, although he can be quite mischievous at times. His favourite drink is Melon Soda. While learning to speak he spent a lot of time watching
Manzai
is a traditional style of comedy in Japanese culture comparable to double act comedy or stand-up comedy.
usually involves two performers ()—a straight man () and a double act, funny man ()—trading jokes at great speed. Most of the jokes ...
comedy with Shiori which is the reason he speaks with a
Kansai dialect
The is a group of Japanese dialects in the Kansai region (Kinki region) of Japan. In Japanese, is the common name and it is called in technical terms. The dialects of Kyoto and Osaka are known as , and were particularly referred to as suc ...
.
;
:
:Shiori is a girl in her first year of middle school and is Rai's substitute mother. She is quite outspoken and to begin with didn't get on well with the other parents. At one point she considered abandoning Rai but after an intervention by Honoka she became more approachable.
;
:
:The principal of the Chibi Devi Nursery. He is always seen wearing thick glasses and has a grey moustache, although it's unclear if these are false. He is an apparent expert on baby devils and has written an encyclopaedia on them which he gives a copy of to Honoka when Mao first starts at the nursery. The devil children love to practice their magic on him.
;
:
:The teacher at the nursery. She often berates the Principal for being as silly as the children.
;
:
:Pepe is an animal from the Devil World that came to be the nursery's pet. Mao gave him the name Pepe after the sound his tail makes as it beats the floor while he walks. However, it is later revealed that his real name is . He is able to understand the human language but only speaks in a series of squawks which are usually then translated by one of the human-language speaking characters present.
;
:
:A baby devil from a neighbouring nursery that comes to visit. She is the same age as Mao, Karin and Rai.
;
:
:A baby devil from a neighbouring nursery that comes to visit. He is Chiyo's younger brother.
;
:
:A young ghost who haunts the toilet at Pepe's house in the Devil World. She starts off as a very aggressive character until Mao learns to get along with her and gradually becomes very fond of her - although she doesn't return his affection.
;
:
:Kyou is a boy in his second year of high school and is in the same class as Shin. He is Honoka's childhood friend and was the person she always turned to before Mao arrived. He is an
anime otaku and on multiple occasions leaves abruptly to watch anime.
;
:
:Honoka's aunt and current guardian. Her work keeps her busy and is the reason she stays away from home for extended periods.
Media
Manga
Written and illustrated by
Hiromu Shinozuka
is a Japanese manga artist. She debuted with ''Takkyu Shōjo'' in 1999, and writes for '' Ciao'' magazine. Her manga ''Mirmo!'' received the Kodansha Manga Award for children's manga in 2003 and the Shogakukan Manga Award for children's manga in ...
, ''Chibi Devi!'' was serialized in
Shogakukan
is a Japanese publisher of dictionaries, literature, comics (manga), non-fiction, DVDs, and other media in Japan.
Shogakukan founded Shueisha, which also founded Hakusensha. These are three separate companies, but are together called the Hit ...
's
''shōjo'' manga magazine
''Ciao'' from May 1, 2008, to November 1, 2014. Shogakukan collected its chapters in eleven ''
tankōbon
is the Japanese
Japanese may refer to:
* Something from or related to Japan, an island country in East Asia
* Japanese language, spoken mainly in Japan
* Japanese people, the ethnic group that identifies with Japan through ancestry or cultur ...
'' volumes, released from October 30, 2008,
to January 30, 2015.
The manga has been licensed in Germany by
Egmont,
and in France by
Soleil
SOLEIL ("Sun" in French) is a synchrotron facility near Paris, France. It performed its first acceleration of electrons on May 14, 2006. The name ''SOLEIL'' is a backronym for ''Source optimisée de lumière d’énergie intermédiaire du LURE ...
.
Volume list
Anime
An anime television series based on the manga was announced in the October 2011 issue of ''Ciao''. The series began airing on Japan's NHK Educational TV,
NHK-E
, abbreviated on-screen as NHK E, is the second television service of NHK (Japan Broadcasting Corporation). It is a sister service of NHK General TV, showing programs of a more educational, cultural or intellectual nature, periodically also sh ...
, as part of the ''Dai! Tensai Terebi-kun'' program block, airing from October 10, 2011 to February 17, 2014. Each episode is exactly 5 minutes long. It began airing in Korea on November 19, 2013 on
Tooniverse
Tooniverse (; portmanteau short for ''Cartoon Universe'') is a cartoon and anime channel broadcast by CJ ENM E&M Division (formerly On-Media), in South Korea.
Tooniverse commenced airing in December 1995 and is currently one of the leading anima ...
as ''Baby Devil!'' ().
A costume design competition was announced on May 28, 2012 during the ''Dai! Tensai Terebi-kun'' program on NHK-E, immediately after episode 23 aired. This announcement was repeated again right after episode 25 (originally broadcast June 18, 2012) and a notification was put on the anime's homepage.
The winning designs were featured in episode 39 as part of a "Magic Testing Room" which was a room where the children could use the magic from costumes not made by their parents.
Episode list
Notes
References
External links
Official homepage at Shogakukan
Official homepage for the anime at Shopro
Official homepage for the first Chibi Devi game at Alchemist
Official homepage for the second Chibi Devi game at Alchemist
*
{{SynergySP
2008 manga
2011 anime television series debuts
Anime series based on manga
Comedy anime and manga
Fantasy anime and manga
Shogakukan manga
Shōjo manga
NHK original programming