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 ...

created by

Ken Akamatsu is a Japanese manga artist and politician who has served since 2022 as a member of the House of Councillors. He made his professional manga debut in 1993, and is best known as the author of ''Love Hina'' (1998–2001) and ''Negima! Magister Neg ...

. Originally a one-chapter production, it ran in Japan before Akamatsu's ''

Love Hina is a Japanese manga series written and illustrated by Ken Akamatsu. It was serialized in Kodansha's ''Weekly Shōnen Magazine'' from October 1998 to October 2001, with the chapters collected into 14 ''tankōbon'' volumes by Kodansha. The ...

'' was serialized. It ran in '' Shōnen Magazine'' in 1997, and was serialized in volumes 4 and 5. An

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 ...

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 ...

, with two episodes, was released on December 8, 2005, in Japan. The anime OVA was licensed in the United States by

Funimation Crunchyroll, LLC, previously known as Funimation from 1994 to 2022, is an American entertainment company owned by Japanese conglomerate Sony as a joint venture between Sony Pictures and Sony Music Entertainment Japan's Aniplex that specializes ...

, and was scheduled to be released in the USA on December 11, 2007. However, the video was recalled when it was discovered that, due to a misprint, the DVD was labeled

TV-PG The TV Parental Guidelines are a television content rating system in the United States that was first proposed on December 19, 1996, by the United States Congress, the television industry and the federal communication commission (FCC), and went ...

when it was intended to be

TV-MA The TV Parental Guidelines are a television content rating system in the United States that was first proposed on December 19, 1996, by the United States Congress, the television industry and the Federal Communications Commission, federal commun ...

Plot

In the story, a girl called Mai appears before a boy who happens to dislike

Christmas Christmas is an annual festival commemorating Nativity of Jesus, the birth of Jesus, Jesus Christ, observed primarily on December 25 as a religious and cultural celebration among billions of people Observance of Christmas by country, around t ...

. As it turns out he was born on December 24 and thus was named Santa, causing him to hate the holiday. Moreover, as a child, he never had any festive occasions, such as birthday parties. With the power of Christmas, Mai is given the mission to improve his luck and change his views for the better.

Characters

; : : A lonely boy who dislikes Christmas. He is often teased for his odd name. As he grew up, his parents were never there for him. His view of Christmas changes when he meets Mai. ; : : A student at the Santa Claus Academy that has problems using her magic. She can only conjure up things that start with "san" (サン) in the Japanese language. She was sent to San-chan to cheer him up as her mission but eventually falls in love with him in the process. Mai first appears to San-chan as a junior high school student. Later when San-chan starts to believe in Santa Claus, Mai gains enough Christmas powers to change into her grown-up form. In adult form, Mai oddly enough uses the hyper-masculine "Ore" (as opposed to the traditionally feminine "Atashi") when referring to herself, despite the feminine appeal that she gains with her transformation. ; (aka Shirley) ''(OVA anime only)'' : : Mai's best friend and rival. Unlike Mai, she is an

elite In political and sociological theory, the elite (french: élite, from la, eligere, to select or to sort out) are a small group of powerful people who hold a disproportionate amount of wealth, privilege, political power, or skill in a group. D ...

in Santa Claus Academy. She says "Gorgeous" whenever she uses her magic, which can make any objects present to her grow to very large proportions. She was sent back to retrieve Mai in order for her to finish up her studies at the academy. ; ''(OVA anime only)'' : : Mai's little sister who came to live with Mai. She has the tendency to tag along with her big sister (''onee-chan'') wherever she goes. She also slaps anyone that interferes with her spending some time with her ''onee-chan''. At the end of the OVA, it is revealed that Mai snuck away from the Santa Claus Academy and is, in fact, the one that Sharry was supposed to retrieve. ; (aka Miss Noel) ''(OVA anime only)'' : : A teacher from the Santa Claus Academy. She is the one that tells Mai that she has to say good-bye to San-chan because she has to go back home and continue her studies. Although, Mai might've misunderstood her when she told her this.

Release

Serialized in Shōnen Magazine in 1997 the manga has since been released in German by Egmont Manga & Anime and in French by

Pika A pika ( or ; archaically spelled pica) is a small, mountain-dwelling mammal found in Asia and North America. With short limbs, very round body, an even coat of fur, and no external tail, they resemble their close relative, the rabbit, but wi ...

References

External links

''Itsudatte My Santa'' section on Ken Akamatsu's homepage
* * * {{TNK 1997 manga 2005 anime OVAs Anime and manga controversies Christmas in anime and manga Funimation Ken Akamatsu Rating controversies in television Romantic comedy anime and manga Shōnen manga TNK (company)