is a Japanese shōjo

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 ...

and

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 ...

series created and drawn by

Pink Hanamori is a Japanese manga artist known for illustrating the manga ''Mermaid Melody Pichi Pichi Pitch'' which was written by Michiko Yokote. Michiyo Kikuta (''Mamotte! Lollipop'') once worked under Hanamori as an assistant. Hanamori is a fan of Shōnen ...

. The manga is being published in the monthly shōjo manga anthology ''

Nakayoshi is a monthly ''shōjo'' manga magazine published by Kodansha in Japan. First issued in December 1954, it is a long-running magazine with over 60 years of manga publication history. Notable titles serialized in Nakayoshi include ''Princess Knight ...

''. There are more than ten chapters published and most of them are compiled into volumes issued by

Kodansha is a Japanese privately-held publishing company headquartered in Bunkyō, Tokyo. Kodansha is the largest Japanese publishing company, and it produces the manga magazines ''Nakayoshi'', ''Afternoon'', ''Evening'', ''Weekly Shōnen Magazine'' an ...

. It is licensed in German by Heyne. ''Yume Yume*Yu Yu'' is loosely based upon the Shinto

miko A , or shrine maiden,Groemer, 28. is a young priestess who works at a Shinto shrine. were once likely seen as shamans,Picken, 140. but are understood in modern Japanese culture to be an institutionalized role in daily life, trained to perform ...

and shrines, as well as four constellations in the

Chinese zodiac The Chinese zodiac is a traditional classification scheme based on the lunar calendar that assigns an animal and its reputed attributes to each year in a repeating twelve-year cycle. Originating from China, the zodiac and its variations remain ...

: Suzaku — The Vermilion Bird of the South (who represents the summer season and

Yin Yin may refer to: *the dark force in the yin and yang from traditional Chinese philosophy and medicine *Yīn (surname) (), a Chinese surname *Yǐn (surname) (), a Chinese surname *Shang dynasty, also known as the Yin dynasty **Yinxu or Yin, the S ...

,), Seiryuu — The Azure

Dragon A dragon is a reptilian legendary creature that appears in the folklore of many cultures worldwide. Beliefs about dragons vary considerably through regions, but dragons in western cultures since the High Middle Ages have often been depicted as ...

of the East (who represents the spring season as well as

Yang Yang may refer to: * Yang, in yin and yang, one half of the two symbolic polarities in Chinese philosophy * Korean yang, former unit of currency of Korea from 1892 to 1902 * YANG, a data modeling language for the NETCONF network configuration pr ...

), Genbu — The Black Tortoise of the North (who represents the winter season), and Byakko — The White

Tiger The tiger (''Panthera tigris'') is the largest living cat species and a member of the genus '' Panthera''. It is most recognisable for its dark vertical stripes on orange fur with a white underside. An apex predator, it primarily preys on u ...

of the West (who represents the fall season, Bai Hu in China). The story follows a young girl, Yume, who is clumsy and unpopular. While dozing in class, she has a vision of a young Miko, telling her that she must be the new Miko. She awakes with a mirror in her hands, and is confused by it. After school, the mirror reveals itself as a portal to a different world as a red-haired boy, named Rekka, appears chasing a

unicorn The unicorn is a legendary creature that has been described since antiquity as a beast with a single large, pointed, spiraling horn projecting from its forehead. In European literature and art, the unicorn has for the last thousand years o ...

, the peacekeeper of their world. The Azure

of the East, or Seiryuu, shares that he is not happy a human of the Light world has become Miko, and tries to destroy Yume. None of the Guardians from the other world, except Rekka, believes in Yume. Rekka destroys the mirror so that the Other world-ers can not come through to harm Yume. It is revealed that the world in which Rekka lives is suffering due to the Light world's exceptional development in such a short span of time. The Unicorn is the peacekeeper, and without the unicorn the world will become endangered. The goal of Yume and Rekka is to find the Unicorn and take it back to its home, as it is its own portal between worlds. After a time of Rekka living in the Light world, he becomes the Kagura's cousin. Aoi, a boy at Yume's school, is soon revealed to be the King of the Eastern Skies of the Light world. Discovering this, the team decides they must find all the Guardians of the light world to help the Unicorn.

Characters

Guardians of the Light World

;Yume Kagura :The main character and Miko of the story. Although a somewhat simple-minded girl who pales in comparison to her perfect and talented twin sister, Yume embodies the power to save two worlds. As the new Miko, she is to gather up the four guardians of her own world in order to save them both. From the beginning of the story it is laid down that she believes in magic and casts protection spells on herself while she sleeps- which is why she was probably more accepting of her newfound abilities compared to other girls. Yume has a crush on Aoi, a boy at her school who is a student council member along with her sister, and who is also one of her protectors from this world, though that crush has begun to fade when she falls in love with Rekka, the Emperor of the South Sky of both worlds. ;Unicorn (Female) :The girl that Kirin, the Other World Unicorn, has been searching for. She was hidden in a comma-shaped jewel, and the love between Rekka and Yume freed her. ;Mizuki Aoi :King of the East Sky. His mark is located on his right chest. He didn't know that he was the Light world's Seiryuu until the bus incident while being forced into photography. He is the only one who noticed Yume from the beginning of the story, and loves her. He is on the student council with Hime. His holy animal's name is DoraDora. He also has a cousin , Kurobe-Sensei ;Kurobe-sensei :The light world's King of the North Sky, Genbu. He discovered his destiny along with Mashiro 10 years previous when she found the mirror in her family's warehouse. The previous Miko told him to hurry and find the new Miko. The mark of Genbu is above his right eyebrow. Kurobe seems to dislike interactions between the opposite sex in teenagers, as he steals their gifts away or keeps couples apart. His cousin is Mizuki Aoi. ;Kaneshiro Mashiro :The Light world's Queen of the West Sky, Byakko. She knew her standing as she appeared to Yume in the attack of Hime, as she found the mirror in her family's warehouse 10 years prior. Her mark is on her right upper chest. She is in love with Kurobe, though he rejected her; when Hime walked in while Mashiro was on Kurobe's lap, she mentions that Hime has the wrong idea. She is sensible and resourceful, even though she is an

Idol Idol or Idols may refer to: Religion and philosophy * Cult image, a neutral term for a man-made object that is worshipped or venerated for the deity, spirit or demon that it embodies or represents * Murti, a point of focus for devotion or medit ...

Guardians of the Other World

;Miko-sama :The previous Miko before Yume. She was loved and all things were at peace until she gave up her power to Yume. She was like a mother figure to Rekka. ;Kirin, Unicorn (Male) :The keeper of peace in the Other world who escaped to the Light world to search for his other. He heals Yume and reveals he's always been searching for his loved one. ;Rekka Sariu :A boy found in Yume's dreams who must protect the new Miko. He is the Emperor of the South Sky, Suzaku in both worlds. His mark is by his navel on the right side. He knew of his abilities in the beginning, and comes out of the Mirror with Lee (Rii), and destroys the mirror. At first he dislikes Yume being the new Miko, but quickly begins to accept her and starts to like her. Hime likes him, giving him handmade chocolates on

Valentine's Day Valentine's Day, also called Saint Valentine's Day or the Feast of Saint Valentine, is celebrated annually on February 14. It originated as a Christian feast day honoring one or two early Christian martyrs named Saint Valentine and, throu ...

, though Rekka cannot return her feelings since his duty is to Yume, whom he loves. ;Yuu Hokyuu :Rekka's childhood friend, and the Other world's Emperor of the North Sky, Genbu. His mark is under his left eye. He is reckless and has a high sense of loyalty. ;Toufuu Nyan-Nyan :The Empress of the Eastern Sky, Seiryuu. Her Holy animal is Ryuu, a small dragon. She uses the male pronoun, 'boku', to refer to herself, making her a gruff person in speech, though she looks rather young and innocent. ;FuuChii :Emperor of the Western Sky, Byakko. He is an estranged male with a tiger's tail and pointy,

elf An elf () is a type of humanoid supernatural being in Germanic mythology and folklore. Elves appear especially in North Germanic mythology. They are subsequently mentioned in Snorri Sturluson's Icelandic Prose Edda. He distinguishes "ligh ...

-like ears.

Other major characters

;Hime Kagura :Yume's better twin, who gets good grades, is on the student council, and is well known at school. She has many friends and is technically perfect. She is in love with Rekka, whose feelings for her have not been returned, as he is in love with Yume. She goes in an angry frenzy, since she took the mirror and pieced it together. She then becomes the Miko for the Other World. She is jealous of Yume, for getting Rekka's attention. ;Rii :Rii acts as a little guardian to Rekka, following him everywhere. She resembles a butterfly. ;Yue :Yue is another 'little guardian', and is seen with the Other World's Seiryuu when he attacks Yume. She enters Hime's body in the story, and identifies her as the Other world's miko, and controls her.

Chapters printed

*Volume 1 - Chapters 1 - 5 *Volume 2 - Chapters 6 - 10 *Volume 3 - Chapters 11 - 13

External links

Official website of the manga artist, Pink Hanamori
* {{anime News Network, manga, 7883 Magical girl anime and manga Romance anime and manga Fiction about Shinto