Now that this second set of episodes has been launched to Western audiences, Fairy princess Minky Momo it feels prefer it’s actually getting going. At this level the method is nicely established: Momo, in her guise because the daughter of an Earth couple in an unnamed European nation, finds somebody in want of assist, usually by chance, and makes use of her magical powers to rework into the career of adults. that most closely fits their wants. Being snug with this setup, the story has room to be even crazier if it needs to, giving itself the wiggle room to capitalize on its premise. The result’s that these fifteen episodes are much more enjoyable than the primary batch Crispy roll issued.
The continuity can also be barely higher this time. The general thrust of the sequence stays episodic, however there are extra nods to earlier characters and storylines, with the horse from episode one as soon as once more changing into the main target of episode sixteen, and Momo’s Fenarinarsa father enjoying a a lot bigger function. That is fairly a blended bag, as a result of he is a fairly unlikeable character. Clearly he’s referred to to be humorous, however his daffy antics and verbal tics drastically decrease the humor. (There is a sense that he was most likely loads nicer in 1982, which is typical of older reveals.) Within the weird episode twenty-three, he involves Earth after feeling ignored by his spouse in favor of her pet. monster, Dossie (a knock-off of Nessie), so he decides that his daughter ought to interrupt her mission to fawn over him. That isn’t literal what he says, however his conduct makes it clear that that is what he needs, and this places Momo within the place of getting to restrict the harm as a substitute of inflicting the harm himself. It is attention-grabbing and works nicely as a storytelling approach, however the more and more weird plot and the king’s not-so-funny antics deliver issues down. The king additionally performs a extra vital function in episodes twenty-seven (the “Pomuda” triangle results in Fenarinarsa) and thirty, when Momo disguises himself as an astronaut and finally ends up on an area mission that lands on Fenarinarsa; Extra importantly, that is the place we see amassing the gems repay, as lots of the storybook characters that inhabit the land are awake and appearing out their tales.
As you’ll be able to see, the episodes vary between absurd and barely extra grounded. Episode thirty clearly refers back to the NASA missions of the Nineteen Eighties; Whereas most of us are likely to concentrate on the 1986 Challenger catastrophe, there have been missions in 1981 and 1982, though the episode misses the entire “first girl in house” factor by twenty years. Different episodes deal with sexism in baseball and African animal conservation… and are supported by lighter, sillier fare, like a spy caper with ‘James Giveme’, the Bermuda Triangle and inexplicable 18th century pirates, and attempting to assist a unicorn cross the border attain. Rainbow Valley, which seems like essentially the most 70s factor within the 80s. The intense and foolish episodes do not all the time sit nicely collectively, however Momo pulls it off, particularly her voice actress. Mami Koyamawho was just lately current Bang dream! It is MyGo!!!!! And The bride of the outdated magician. Koyama’s voice is impressively versatile, pulling off each little one and grownup Momo with panache.
The sequence additionally makes use of these episodes to additional set up a few of Momo’s powers. Beforehand we knew about her transformations and speaking animal spells. Now we add that she will remodel her magical camper/automobile Gourmand Popo into one other type (in episode sixteen it turns into a stagecoach) and select how far she needs to age. In episode twenty-three, Momo makes use of her wand to develop into ‘an abnormal woman’, which locations her at what seems to be fourteen. Considerably surprisingly, this can be Momo’s precise age; in episode nineteen, Momo says she is a young person, which implies she is no less than twelve or 13, despite the fact that she seems to be youthful. Her “common woman” transformation could give her the flexibility to look as an Earth woman is predicted to, which is an attention-grabbing assertion in itself. Momo turns right into a conservationist and Tarzan twice throughout the animal shelter episode. Nonetheless, it have to be mentioned that she comes throughout extra like Sheena, Queen of the Jungle.
Talking of Sheena, there’s a formidable quantity of popular culture references thrown round, which may make this an pleasing viewing expertise. Whereas the primary fifteen episodes had a kind of generic early ’80s look, this batch offers us that Star Trek statues, full with Kirk and Spock, the identify Marvel Lady, and we have now film posters for it Rocky IV And Star Wars. Apparently sufficient, each Marvel Lady and Star Wars are given their official names, whereas the opposite two are Smoky And Star trick. When it comes to future affect, it is price noting that within the unicorn episode, Momo turns into an grownup princess in an historic Greek-inspired gown and sits on a crescent moon, pictures that will probably be very acquainted to followers of Naoko Takeuchi‘S Sailor Moon.
Fairy princess Minky MomoThe second fifteen episodes of the sequence are much more entertaining than the primary, and we will see much more clearly the affect this sequence had on subsequent magical woman titles. Whereas it does have moments of ’80s-style racism – the western episode (which hilariously options the city of Bang Bang Metropolis, Texas) and one other through which characters watch a western within the theater have some disagreeable stereotypes , though the episode set in Africa largely would not – it additionally has the good-natured aptitude of a Saturday morning cartoon. It would not all the time really feel kid-friendly by right this moment’s requirements, like when Momo and her (earth) father find yourself in the midst of the “Screw the Cops” highway race, nevertheless it’s nonetheless a enjoyable option to spend a while collectively. the added pleasure of seeing the origins of a few of the tropes and themes of the magical woman style.
