television Television, sometimes shortened to TV, is a telecommunication medium for transmitting moving images and sound. The term can refer to a television set, or the medium of television transmission. Television is a mass medium for advertisin ...

series is a Japanese

crime drama Crime films, in the broadest sense, is a film genre inspired by and analogous to the crime fiction literary genre. Films of this genre generally involve various aspects of crime and its detection. Stylistically, the genre may overlap and combine ...

. Originally broadcast between April 2, 1979 and March 17, 1980, lasting 51 episodes, the series featured an all-female cast, not unlike the earlier series ''

Playgirl ''Playgirl'' was an American magazine that featured general interest articles, lifestyle and celebrity news, in addition to nude or semi-nude men. In the 1970s and 1980s, the magazine printed monthly and was marketed mainly to women, although i ...

''. ''Supergirl'', however, was primarily based upon the

American American(s) may refer to: * American, something of, from, or related to the United States of America, commonly known as the "United States" or "America" ** Americans, citizens and nationals of the United States of America ** American ancestry, pe ...

television series ''

Charlie's Angels ''Charlie's Angels'' is an American crime drama television series that aired on ABC from September 22, 1976, to June 24, 1981, producing five seasons and 115 episodes. The series was created by Ivan Goff and Ben Roberts and was produced by Aa ...

'' and the

softcore pornography Softcore pornography or softcore porn, is commercial still photography or film that has a pornographic or erotic component but is less sexually graphic and intrusive than hardcore pornography, defined by a lack of visual sexual penetration. Sof ...

films produced by

Nikkatsu is a Japanese entertainment company known for its film and television productions. It is Japan's oldest major movie studio, founded in 1912 during the silent film era. The name ''Nikkatsu'' amalgamates the words Nippon Katsudō Shashin, literally ...

Similarities

Despite the superficial similarities, ''Supergirl'' is vastly different from ''Playgirl''. Featuring far more serious plots and less

comic relief Comic relief is the inclusion of a humorous character, scene, or witty dialogue in an otherwise serious work, often to relieve tension. Definition Comic relief usually means a releasing of emotional or other tension resulting from a comic episo ...

, as well as highly eroticised situations wherein the characters wore a variety of revealing and fetish outfits, including

bikini A bikini is a two-piece swimsuit primarily worn by women that features two triangles of fabric on top that cover the breasts, and two triangles of fabric on the bottom: the front covering the pelvis but exposing the navel, and the back coveri ...

s and schoolgirl uniforms, these elements of the series were a deliberate attempt by its producer Toei to create a more "adult" series. This can even be seen in the episode titles, such as episode one, "Seven Sexy Cats Make Their Explosive Debut", or episode nineteen, "Nude Battle Against the Wolf Pack".

Characters and cast

The main characters of the series are members of "SG7" (short for Super Girl Seven), an all-female detective agency. Their leader was portrayed by

Yōko Nogiwa was a Japanese actress. Nogiwa was born in Toyama, Toyama, and grew up in Suginami, Tokyo from the age of three. She graduated from Rikkyo University. In 1973, she married Sonny Chiba, with whom she co-starred in the TV series ''Key Hunter''. ...

; the other primary actors in the series are

Janet Hatta is an actress. Biography Her mother is Japanese and her father is an American. After working as a stewardess for Japan Airlines, she entered acting. She briefly used the name . In 1981, she married Kōichi Tabuchi, who at that time played baseb ...

Linda Yamamoto , Chinese: 山本稲; pinyin: ''shan bendao'') is a Japanese singer and model whose latest hit song was in 1973. Biography Yamamoto was born March 4, 1951 in Kitakyushu to a Japanese mother and an American father. Her father was a U.S. servicem ...

, Rei Maki,

Reiko Itsuki Reiko (れいこ,　レイコ,　麗子, 怜子, 伶子, 玲子, 令子, 礼子, 禮子, 冷子) is a feminine Japanese given name. Notable people with the name include: *, Japanese women's basketball player * Reiko Aylesworth (born 1972), an Amer ...

, Jun Izumi, Naomi Tanaka, Emi Shindo, and

Akiko Hyuga Akiko can refer to: * ''Akiko'' (comic book), an American comic book * ''Akiko'' (film), a 1961 Italian comedy film * Akiko (Amiga), a custom chip used in the Amiga CD32 games console * Akiko (given name), a common Japanese female given nam ...

. *Yuko Hirose (Yoko Nogiwa) cool-headed leader *Ritsuko Emoto (Janet Hatta) field commander (episodes 1-25) *Mari Fujimura (Linda Yamamoto) intelligence gatherer and informant (episodes 1-24, 26, 32, 39) *Rie Hase (Rei Maki) wild cat *Kaoru Sakaki (Reiko Itsuki) cry baby *Mika Shiraishi (Jun Izumi) troublemaker *Etsuko Namiki (Naomi Tanaka) youngest *Noriko Hayakawa (Emi Shindo) undercover specialist (from episode 26) *Mayumi Mizuki (Akiko Hyuga) sukeban (juvenile) idol (from episode 26) *Chief Detective Komada (Kanichi Tani) Former boss of Yuko Hirose

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Super Girl 1970s Japanese television series 1980s Japanese television series 1979 Japanese television series debuts 1980 Japanese television series endings Japanese crime television series Japanese detective television drama series