Mermaid Melody Pichi Pichi Pitch

Manga

Originally serialized under the title Pichi Pichi Pitch, the manga is written and illustrated by Pink Hanamori, based on an original scenario created by screenwriter Michiko Yokote.^[2] It was serialized in the monthly shōjo manga magazine Nakayoshi from the September 2002 issue released in August 2002, to the April 2005 issue released in March 2003. Totaling 32 chapters, they were later released in seven bound volumes by Kodansha under the Kodansha Comics imprint.

Del Rey Manga acquired the rights to publish the manga for the North American audience. It began releasing the manga in April 2006 under the title Pichi Pichi Pitch: Mermaid Melody.^[3] The English translations of the seven volumes were released from April 25, 2006, to October 30, 2007. The seventh volume, aside from the final two chapters, also contains two preview chapters from other manga.

A sequel manga written and illustrated by Hanamori, titled Mermaid Melody Pichi Pichi Pitch Aqua, began serialization in the September issue Nakayoshi on August 3, 2021.^[4] To promote the series, the original Pichi Pichi Pitch manga was reprinted into shinsōban editions in 2022.^[5]

Anime

An anime adaptation produced by TV Aichi, We've, and Tokyu Agency, animated by Actas and Synergy Japan, and directed by Yoshitaka Fujimoto aired in Japan in two seasons. The first season, simply named Mermaid Melody Pichi Pichi Pitch and covers manga chapters 1 to 20, aired between April 5, 2003, and March 27, 2004. They were compiled into 14 DVD volumes. The second season, Mermaid Melody Pichi Pichi Pitch Pure, which adapts events from chapters 21 to 30, was aired between April 3 and December 25, 2004. Unlike the first season, Pure was compiled into two DVD box sets containing a total of 11 discs.

ADV Films acquired the license to the anime in June 2004 for its North American release,^[18][19] but was eventually dropped due to difficulty in finding backers and securing a TV airing deal.^[20] While the acquisition of the license and the production of the English anime predated that of the manga, it is unknown if a release will occur. As of 2009, the anime has been completely dubbed but is being held by Kodansha. In addition, some foreign dubs such as Spanish and French dubbed versions were translated from the unreleased ADV Films' English-dubbed version as a reference when Elastic Rights acquired the licensing rights to Mermaid Melody Pichi Pichi Pitch from Kodansha in Spain, Portugal, Greece, Cyprus, Turkey and French-speaking Europe and Africa.^{[21][22][23][24][25][26][27][28][29][30][31]} Likewise, there is an alternative English dub version which was made in Malaysia by an unknown dubbing studio for Top-Insight International (which released the anime series in Asia outside Japan and Korea on behalf of Kodansha).^{[32][33][34][35]} It aired on TV3 Disney Channel (Spanish TV channel), Disney+, Clan (TV channel), La 1 (Spanish TV channel), RTVE, Telemundo, Telemundo Internacional, Telemundo Africa, Telemundo Kids, in 2006 and later moved its sister channel TV9 in English with or without Malay subtitles English Dub Networks The WB, FX,Disney Channel, Disney XD, ABC Family, and TBS.^[36] The Malaysian English dubbed version however became very hard to find than the ADV's dubbed version since it never officially released to home video neither in Malaysia nor in English-speaking Asian territories.^{[37][better source needed]}

A total of six theme songs were composed for the anime. The first opening theme, "Taiyō no Rakuen ~Promised Land~" (太陽の楽園 ~Promised Land~; lit. "Paradise of the Sun ~Promised Land~") by Miyuki Kanbe, and the first ending theme "Daiji na Takarabako" (大事な宝箱; lit. "Important Treasure Box") by Asumi Nakata, are used in the first 28 episodes. For 29th to the 52nd episodes, "Rainbow Notes♪" by Kanbe and "Sekai de Ichiban Hayaku Asa ga kuru Basho" (世界で一番早く朝が来る場所; lit. "The Place Where Morning Comes First") by Nakata, Hitomi Terakado, and Mayumi Asano, are the second opening and ending themes respectively. For Pure, the opening theme is "Before the Moment" by Eri Kitamura while "Ai no Ondo °C" (愛の温度°C; lit. "The Temperature of Love°C") by Nakata, Terakado, and Asano is the ending song.

Video games

Three video games (developed by Konami Computer Entertainment Japan) were released on Nintendo's Game Boy Advance console during the original run of the anime. All the games featured multiplayer capabilities, but required each player to have his or her own copy of the game in order to play.

• Mermaid Melody Pichi Pichi Pitch (October 9, 2003): Inspired by Dance Dance Revolution, this included eight songs from the anime.
• Mermaid Melody Pichi Pichi Pitch Pichi Pichi Party (December 18, 2003): A "virtual board game" similar to the Mario Party series.
• Mermaid Melody Pichi Pichi Pitch Pichi Pichitto Live Start! (March 18, 2004): Similar to the first Mermaid Melody game, this included fourteen songs from the anime, as well as several mini-games. Although this game (along with the first one) is a Konami-developed music video game, it is not considered part of the Bemani series.