is a Japanese manga series written and illustrated by Arina Tanemura. It was serialized in Shueisha's manga magazine Ribon from January 2002 to June 2004 and collected in seven volumes.
The series was adapted into an anime television series produced by Nihon Ad Systems, which ended before the manga was completed, as well as an original video animation distributed through Ribon. The anime series was broadcast on TV Tokyo.
Viz Media acquired English distribution rights to both the manga and the anime, with the first 28 episodes of the anime released. AnimEigo acquired the North American home video rights for the anime, and is releasing the complete series in two Blu-ray sets. The previously unreleased English dubbed episodes will also be included.
Plot Twelve-year-old Mitsuki Koyama dreams of becoming a singer to reunite with her first love, Eichi Sakurai, who she met in an orphanage when they were younger. However, she is afflicted with throat sarcoma, which affects her ability to breathe well and sing loudly. Her tumor can be cured only through a surgery that could damage her vocal cords. At the same time, her grandmother is completely against Mitsuki's wish to audition. Mitsuki's dreams seem impossible to achieve until she is visited by two , Takuto and Meroko, whom only she could see. Takuto and Meroko reveal that Mitsuki has only one year left to live, and, realizing she cannot wait any longer to fulfill her dream, Mitsuki moves Takuto to agree to a compromise: if he helps her become a singer, she will allow him to take her soul once the year is over. Takuto gives her the ability to transform into a 16-year-old, so that she could meet the age requirements of the audition and sing. Mitsuki wins over the judges, sealing a contract with Seed Records. To conceal her true identity, she chooses the stage name "Full Moon".
As Mitsuki gains a presence in the music industry, she runs away from home. Over time, Mitsuki begins to become more acquainted with Takuto and Meroko, as well as Izumi, Meroko's former partner. However, Mitsuki's career causes Takuto to regain his memories as a singer who was previously part of her father's band, and that he had attempted to die by suicide after a surgery to remove his throat sarcoma left him unable to sing. Through this, Mitsuki learns that all had been humans in their previous life who had died by suicide. Later, the discover that Eichi had died shortly after leaving the orphanage, and Mitsuki had kept secret about his death out of regret for not being able to confess to him. Takuto, realizing he is in love with Mitsuki, helps her come to terms over his death.
Soon after, Mitsuki admits to Takuto that she wants to return home and decides to undergo surgery to remove her tumor. Izumi discovers Jonathan's true identity is Sheldan, the head of the pediatrics ward, who has decided to forcefully take Mitsuki's soul. Takuto and Meroko travel to the underworld; however, Mitsuki is able to free Izumi and confronts Sheldan and the Death Master. Sheldan and the Death Master reveal that ever since Mitsuki met the , she was no longer fated to die, and Eichi's soul had protected her from them. After returning, Mitsuki attends her final concert as Full Moon and retires. Four years later, Mitsuki has resumed her singing career under her true identity and holds a concert that is viewed by her friends and family. During the concert, she reunites with Takuto, who has awoken from his coma and his throat healed by Sheldan, and confesses her feelings to him. Realizing Mitsuki no longer needs him, Eichi's soul finally ascends to heaven.
Characters Main characters
Mitsuki is a 12-year-old girl who dreams of becoming a pop singer, but she has a tumor in her vocal cords which restricts her ability to sing. With Takuto's help, she transforms into , a 16-year-old idol, completely cancer-free and able to sing. Mitsuki eventually learns that Eichi died after leaving to move to America, and despite being distraught at first, Takuto helps her cope and realize that she must live her life to the fullest. Through the series, Mitsuki realizes that she loves Takuto, but feels guilty for it because she is afraid of forgetting Eichi. Mitsuki decides that she loves both of them and confesses to Takuto, as well as accept that Eichi would like her to be happy. Near the end, her illness is cured with her being able to pursue a singing career and relationship with Takuto, but keeps Eichi in a special place in her heart.
Takuto is a trainee partnered with Meroko in the team Negi Ramen. Takuto is capable of transforming into an anthropomorphic cat stuffed toy. Despite being assigned to take Mitsuki's soul, he is moved by her plight and transforms her into Full Moon. Takuto falls in love with Mitsuki as the series progresses, and he remembers his past as , the lead singer of Route:L, the band that both Mitsuki's father and her doctor were in. After a malignant tumor in his throat took his voice, he attempted suicide and remained in a coma for the next two years. At the end of the series, Takuto saves Mitsuki's life, violating fate and his duty as a . At the end of the manga, he is seen as a human again in the hospital, having lost three months of memories. Three years later, he reunites with Mitsuki during her concert. In the anime, he dies from a motorcycle accident, and after being given a second chance at life, Takuto is reborn as a human with no memories of his former lives, but still carries the cat charm Mitsuki gave him.
Meroko is a and Takuto's partner who is capable of transforming into an anthropomorphic bunny stuffed toy. She pines for Takuto one-sidedly, sometimes antagonizing Mitsuki due to his protectiveness over her. As a human, Meroko was named and the best friend of Mitsuki's grandmother, Fuzuki; both fell in love with Seijuro Koga. However, Seijuro returned only Fuzuki's affections and arranged things so the two could be engaged. Fuzuki's loutish ex-fiancé was passed on to Moe, who attempted to rape her. Feeling betrayed by her friend, Moe committed suicide. Meroko eventually makes amends with Fuzuki. In the manga, Meroko and Izumi reconcile their relationship and become partners again. In the anime, Meroko is exiled from the and resolves to become a ghost to save Takuto; in reward for this kindness, she is made into an angel and given Takuto's soul to deliver a second chance.
Izumi is the main antagonist of the series and he is a cold and distant assigned to the Pediatrics Ward and is part of the team Yami Nabe with Jonathan. He can transform into an anthropomorphic dog stuffed toy, but rarely does so. Izumi and Meroko originally worked together, but dissolved their partnership and reassigned her to train Takuto. Later, Izumi realizes he is in love with her and wants to reunite. In his human life, he was a boy named whose mother was abusive. In an attempt to see his mother smile again, he ran onto the train tracks and was killed, later awakening as a with all of his memories. Mitsuki helps him understand his mother's feelings and he makes peace with his past. At the end of the manga, Izumi becomes Meroko's partner again and watches over Mitsuki and Takuto.
Recurring characters
Eichi is Mitsuki's childhood friend and her first love. He is a kind and gentle boy, but resents the moon after being reminded about the death of his grandfather. However, after meeting Mitsuki at the orphanage, Eichi grows to love the moon again and dreams of becoming an astronomer. Before moving to America, Eichi tells Mitsuki that he loves her, but she cannot reply by the time he leaves. Shortly after leaving, he dies in a fatal accident. At the end of the manga, Mitsuki learns that Takuto's first assignment was taking Eichi's soul, but Eichi refused to depart the world because of her. He becomes a ghost and watches over her, which gives her the power to see . He stays with her until the end, when he sees that Mitsuki is happy with her career and with Takuto.
Fuzuki is Mitsuki's maternal grandmother who adopted Mitsuki when she was 10 years old. She hates music because she believes that it has stolen everyone she has loved. After Mitsuki runs away from home, disappearing from her life, Fuzuki gradually accepts the fact that she cannot keep Mitsuki from music, and the two reconcile. In the manga, Fuzuki was best friends with Moe Rikyo, and they both fell in love with Seijuro Koga. He chose Fuzuki as his fiancée, but Fuzuki refused the engagement out of loyalty to Moe. She later married another man. At the end, Fuzuki reunites with a widowed Seijuro. In the anime, Fuzuki was engaged to a man who wanted to become a famous pianist. He became obsessed with practicing the piano. When Fuzuki suggested he should rest, he ended their relationship.
Tanaka is Fuzuki's maid. She also has a crush on Wakaoji and is jealous of Oshige, mistaking her to be Wakaōji's fiancée, but concedes when she believes the two are in love.
Wakaōji is Mitsuki's doctor. He had played the keyboard in her father's band, Route:L, where he was also nicknamed the "Prince of Route:L" by his fans. Due to his connection with Mitsuki's parents, as well as witnessing Takuto committing suicide after removing the tumor in his vocal cords, Wakaōji becomes protective of her. Mitsuki learns that Wakaoji loved her mother because of a letter he thought she had written him, but Wakaōji falls in love with Ōshige when he discovers the letter was from her. In a side story, he asks Ōshige to marry him and she accepts.
Ōshige is Fullmoon's 28-year-old manager and a former singer under the stage name . Ōshige is in love with Wakaōji, having been smitten with him since his days in Route:L, but she feels she is too old and unworthy of true love with a man. To cope with this despair as well as with the pressures of her job, she often loses herself in a bottle of sake and also sleeps with her boss out of loneliness despite his being married. At the end of the manga, Wakaōji discovers Ōshige had written an encouraging letter to him in the past, and they begin a relationship, eventually getting engaged. "Ōshige" is a combination of Tanemura's editors names. She created Ōshige as a heavy drinker because her editors like to drink.
Madoka Wakamatsu, whose real name is , is Fullmoon's rival in the music industry and befriends 12-year-old Mitsuki at the same time. Despite being talented, Madoka is constantly upstaged by Fullmoon because she initially lacks the heart Mitsuki gives her songs. Additionally, Madoka is insecure because she had plastic surgery to make herself beautiful as a celebrity, and thus was disowned by her family. Madoka has a small pig called who worships her. Although Madoka sometimes takes out her anger on Gu-chan, she really loves him.
Aoi is Mitsuki's deceased father who was also the guitarist and songwriter for the band Route:L. He acted as a father figure for the orphaned Takuto. Tanemura states that he loves wearing Buddhist priest work clothes.
Hazuki is Mitsuki's deceased mother. Like Mitsuki, she was physically weak and often fell ill. Hazuki had loved Aoi for a long time against the wishes of her strict mother, and married him after becoming pregnant with Mitsuki. She died giving birth to her.
Nachi is the lead singer of the duo OZ, who befriends Full Moon because she was the first person in the music industry to smile as she talked to him. He cherishes her friendship and takes it upon himself to find a stalker hurting people close to her. Nachi and Madoka fall in love, but when Madoka finds he has an old photo of her with her unattractive childhood fiancé, , she assumes Nachi is Soichiro's friend, pretending to love her to get revenge for rejecting of Soichiro. After having plastic surgery to become an idol and make her love him, Nachi reveals that he is Sōichirō. At the end, they remain engaged and a happy couple.