is a Japanese

original net animation An original net animation (ONA), known in Japan as , is an anime that is directly released onto the Internet. ONAs may also have been aired on television if they were first directly released on the Internet. The name mirrors original video animati ...

directed by

Hiroki Hayashi is a Japanese animator and director associated with Anime International Company, AIC. He is best known as the director of the first ''Tenchi Muyo! Ryo-Ohki'' Original video animation, OVA series and co-creator of ''El-Hazard''. Biography Hayashi ...

featuring character designs by

Kiyohiko Azuma is a Japanese manga artist. From 1999 to 2002, he authored the ''yonkoma'' comedy manga series ''Azumanga Daioh'', which was later adapted as an anime series by J.C.Staff. In 2003, he began ''Yotsuba&!'', a slice-of-life manga series about th ...

. It was

webcast A webcast is a media presentation distributed over the Internet using streaming media technology to distribute a single content source to many simultaneous listeners/viewers. A webcast may either be distributed live or on demand. Essentially, web ...

from November 16, 2001 to May 3, 2002, totaling twenty-four episodes. The

magical girl is a subgenre of Japanese fantasy media (including anime, manga, light novels, and live-action media) centered around young girls who possess magical abilities, which they typically use through an ideal alter ego into which they can transfo ...

satire was later compiled into four half-hour episodes and released on four DVDs. A 3D

OVA , abbreviated as OVA and sometimes as OAV (original animation video), are Japanese animated films and series made specially for release in home video formats without prior showings on television or in theaters, though the first part of an OVA s ...

episode was released on December 29, 2001. There are two manga adaptions of this series. One is drawn by Yoshitaka Yoshino and the other is by

Yukimaru Katsura is a Japanese manga artist. Most of her works are based on stories from other media, notably video games. She usually draws girls round-faced, and tends to use warm color tones. Works *''Air'' *''Ark'' (based on the song of the same name by the J ...

ADV Films A.D. Vision Holdings, Inc. (known simply as ADV and also referred to as ADV Films) was an American multimedia entertainment distributor headquartered in Houston, Texas, and founded in 1992 by video game fan John Ledford and anime fans Matt Gre ...

announced the licensing of the show on April 7, 2003 and has released a two disc DVD complete set.

Plot

Padudu is a girl who travels to Sweetland from her own land, Sea Heaven. Once there, she competes with many others, in challenges ranging from simple contests to fights. These earn her Hanamaru, which are simple flower-shaped stamps. When enough are collected, the collector gets the right to become a

Magical Girl is a subgenre of Japanese fantasy media (including anime, manga, light novels, and live-action media) centered around young girls who possess magical abilities, which they typically use through an ideal alter ego into which they can transfo ...

earth Earth is the third planet from the Sun and the only astronomical object known to harbor life. While large volumes of water can be found throughout the Solar System, only Earth sustains liquid surface water. About 71% of Earth's surfa ...

Story

The story begins with Padudu, a girl from the aquatic land Sea Heaven, who has been traveling trying to collect Hanamaru. She accidentally interrupts a fight between Pipin and another combatant. Pipin defeats her opponent. As Pipin jumps up and down in celebration, Padudu suddenly falls on top of and incapacitates her. An elderly judge declares Padudu as the winner of the contest and awards Padudu with a Hanamaru. A frustrated Pipin accuses Padudu of stealing her Hanamaru and declares Padudu her lifelong rival. Although at first she seems to hate Padudu for 'stealing' her Hanamaru, over time, they develop a good relationship. As Padudu and Pipin travel together, they meet an older girl, who is also trying to become a Magical Girl and has already collected many Hanamaru. Her name is MyuMyu, and she eventually joins the duo. Every once in a while, they meet Nonononn, a criminal who is on the run, and it is revealed she is from Sea Heaven. They are usually intrigued by her presence, and Padudu wants to be friends with her. Unlike the others, she does not join the group and continues on her own. It's revealed she used to travel with Queen Purilun, and they both tried together to become Magical Girls but, at one point, they took separate paths. A running gag is that it is usually Nononnon's fault for getting Padudu arrested by Ketchup and Mustard.

Magical Play 3D

Magical Play 3D is an

that retells the Magical Play story. Magical Play 3D is noticeably more serious and violent than the original series. Padudu is captured and taken to jail by Ketchup and Mustard. Coincidentally, Nonononn is her cell mate. The keeper of the jail, Cofy, beckons them to fight her and her 'sister'

panther Panther may refer to: Large cats *Pantherinae, the cat subfamily that contains the genera ''Panthera'' and ''Neofelis'' **''Panthera'', the cat genus that contains tigers, lions, jaguars and leopards. ***Jaguar (''Panthera onca''), found in Sout ...

, Panpan. Nononnon and Padudu end up killing Panpan, and Cofy is shot dead. Afterwards, Purilun is shown looking over her city.

Major characters

; : : Padudu is a 12-year-old girl from Sea Heaven who is slightly dimwitted. She is on a quest to become a magical girl on Earth. Her companion, Uokichi, is a fish she wears as a cloak and uses as a food supply. ; : : MyuMyu is a manipulative girl who wants to use the status of magical girl as a stepping stone to becoming queen of Sweetland. She fools Padudu into believing she is sweet and innocent. Her companions are two flat cats — Lyka and Akyl — who she wears as a bathing suit. ; : : Pipin is Padudu's "lifelong rival". Pipin is an obsessive girl who is also trying to become Earth's next magical girl. She wears a bunny girl costume and her companion is a rabbit she wears as a backpack. ; : : Nonononn is Sweetland's most wanted criminal. She was betrayed by Queen Purilun while the two traveled together to become magical girls. Originally from Sea Heaven, her companion is a

hammerhead shark The hammerhead sharks are a group of sharks that form the family Sphyrnidae, so named for the unusual and distinctive structure of their heads, which are flattened and laterally extended into a "hammer" shape called a cephalofoil. Most hammerhe ...

who is rarely seen in the anime. She spent some time living in Japan with a middle-class family during the 1960s, yet only appears to be about ten or fifteen years older than she appeared then. ; : : Queen Purilun is the Queen of Sweetland. Much like MyuMyu, she acts nice and caring in the public eye but behind the scenes, she is manipulative and cruel. Like Nonononn, she spent time living in Japan during the 1960s, but in her case with a rich family. ; : : Zucchini is Queen Purilun's lackey. He is sent to spy on and dispose of MyuMyu and Nonononn. However, whenever he tries anything, he is invariably foiled by MyuMyu's breasts and his own incompetence. ; & : Mustard is : Ketchup is : Ketchup and Mustard are part of the Dance Valley police station, Sweetland's police force. They spend most of their time chasing Nonononn and falsely arresting Padudu. Ketchup is one rank higher than Mustard.

External links

AnimeonDVD Review
* {{Anime International Company 2001 anime ONAs 2001 anime OVAs ADV Films Anime International Company Comedy anime and manga Dengeki Comics Magical girl anime and manga Kiyohiko Azuma Sentai Filmworks