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Please Save My Earth

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Please Save My Earth
Cover of Please Save My Earth first volume as published by Hakusensha
ぼくの地球を守って
(Boku no Chikyū o Mamotte)
GenreScience fiction
Manga
Written bySaki Hiwatari
Published byHakusensha
English publisher
MagazineHana to Yume
DemographicShōjo
Original run1987 – 1994
Volumes21 (List of volumes)
Original video animation
Directed byKazuo Yamazaki
StudioProduction I.G
Licensed byVIZ Media
Released December 17, 1993 – September 23, 1994
Runtime30 minutes each
Episodes6
Original video animation
Music Image Video ~ The Passing of the Golden Age
Directed byKazuo Yamazaki
StudioProduction I.G
ReleasedFebruary 1995
Runtime27 minutes
Episodes1 x 8 music videos
Anime film
Please Save My Earth Movie: From Alice to Rin-kun
Directed byKazuo Yamazaki
StudioProduction I.G
Released1995
Runtime100 minutes

Please Save My Earth (ぼくの地球を守って, Boku no Chikyū o Mamotte), sometimes abbreviated Bokutama, is a shōjo science fiction manga by Saki Hiwatari. It was published by Hakusensha from 1987 to 1994 in the magazine Hana to Yume and collected in 21 volumes (tankōbon). The series was adapted as a six-part original video animation (OVA) in 1993. It is about six teenagers and a seven-year-old boy who share common dreams about their past lives as alien scientists who observed the Earth from the Moon. Both the anime OVA and manga are licensed for distribution in North America by Viz Media.

A sequel manga, Boku o Tsutsumu Tsuki no Hikari (The Moonlight That Embraces Me), is currently being serialized in the bimonthly Hana to Yume as well as the special edition magazine, Hana to Yume Plus.

Plot

See also: List of Please Save My Earth characters

The story centers around high school student Alice Sakaguchi, her seven-year old neighbor Rin Kobayashi, and five other teenage students who have recurring collective dreams about a group of alien scientists stationed on the moon observing and collecting data about the Earth.

Initially, when Alice learns that classmates Jinpachi and Issei have been having common recurring dreams since middle school, she thinks nothing of it until she has one of these "moon dreams" herself. Because of the nature of these dreams, the way Issei always dreams as the same person, and Jinpachi as well, now that Alice has provided a third perspective, they start to believe that people who dream as the other four scientists in their "moon dreams" can each be found.

Almost like it's a game, the three make plans to seek these other people out in the hopes of making sense of these dreams. After a suggestion from Issei, and a little bit of time and luck, they are finally able to make contact with the other four people. But as the six teenagers and one child start to piece together the timeline and content of their dreams, they began to realize that their "dreams" are not simply dreams, but rather suppressed memories of their past incarnations (as those same moon scientists) that ended tragically. And now, as their "game" begins to unravel, the kids must strive to come to terms with what happened in their past lives, as they struggle to prevent their past incarnations' rivalries, jealousies, and dubious actions from taking over their new ones.

Development

File:Psme alice v01v21.png
On the left: Alice Sakaguchi, manga volume 1. On the right: Alice Sakaguchi, manga volume 21.

Please Save My Earth, like early manga series that suddenly become popular for many different manga artists careers', is an illustration of the development and transition of Hiwatari Saki from a novice to an experienced manga artist. The difference in art style between the volume 1 and volume 21 of the manga is quite drastic, as illustrated in the image to the right.

The series features a number of homages to anime and manga throughout the manga.[1]

Manga volume 5[2]
Issei's sister Kyoko's character design is noted here as being influenced by Osamu Tezuka and is a homage to classic style shōjo manga artists such as Miyako Maki, Makoto Takahashi, Hideko Mizuno, and Shotaro Ishinomori (a guy).

From volume 16 and on, the "Editor's Comments" section was omitted from the English-language adaptation by Viz Media, as P. Duffield, the editor and one responsible for them, was no longer working on the project, as mentioned in the final segment of the "Editor's Comments" in volume 15.[3]

Media

Manga

Main article: List of Please Save My Earth volumes

Please Save My Earth was written and drawn by Saki Hiwatari. The series was serialized by Hakusensha in the monthly shōjo (aimed at teenage girls) manga magazine Hana to Yume from 1987 to 1994. The serial installments were collected, without chapter divisions, in 21 tankōbon volumes. The series was later reissued in 12 bunkoban volumes in 1998. It is licensed in English in North America by Viz Media, with all volumes translated.

OVA

Please Save My Earth was adapted as an original video animation (OVA) directed by Kazuo Yamazaki and produced by Production I.G. The six-episode OVA anime covers roughly the first half of the manga storyline.

The OVA is licensed in English by Viz Media. As of September 2007, it is out of print.[4]

Movie

Please Save My Earth Movie: From Alice to Rin-kun is a two-hour movie narrated by Alice, reminiscing on the events of the OVA as she is on her way to meet with Rin in a park. The "present day" scenes of Alice and Rin from the movie add scenes that were not present in the manga.

Image videos

Please Save My Earth Music Image Video: The Passing of the Golden Age contains six music videos with footage not seen in the OVA and scenes taken from the manga, as well as a slightly different version of the OVA ending sequence, and the ending credits for the image videos.

These image videos were released with the movie on a single DVD in Japan entitled "Boku no Chikyuu wo Mamotte Vol.4" (Victor Entertainment, VIBF-77).

Reception

As of 2006, over 15 million copies of Please Save My Earth volumes had sold in Japan, making it one of the best-selling shōjo manga ever.[5]

Starting in volume 8 of the manga, a disclaimer appeared at the bottom of the first page of every compilation volume, stating that the story was entirely fictional. This was due to disturbing letters to Hiwatari received from people who were convinced that they had been part of the moon scientist's society (or even one of the moon scientists themselves) and had been reborn on Earth.[6] These disclaimers have since appeared in her others works, most notably on the first pages of each volume of Global Garden.

Several manga artists have cited Please Save My Earth as an influence on them, including Naoko Takeuchi[citation needed] and Bisco Hatori.[7]

See also

References

  1. ^ Hiwatari, Saki (2004). Please Save My Earth. Volume 3. Viz Media. pp. 44–45. ISBN 1-59116-142-8.
  2. ^ "Editor's Comments" in Hiwatari, Saki (2004). Please Save My Earth. Volume 6. Viz Media. pp. 203–204. ISBN 1-59116-269-6.
  3. ^ "Editor's Comments" in Hiwatari, Saki (2006). Please Save My Earth. Volume 15. Viz Media. p. 185. ISBN 1-4215-0326-3.
  4. ^ "Please Save My Earth Video (Out of Print September 2007)". Viz Media. Retrieved 2007-10-26.
  5. ^ "Historic Shoujo Manga Circulation Numbers". ComiPress. 2006-05-24. Retrieved 2008-06-29.
  6. ^ "1/4 Column Nonsense" (author notes) in Hiwatari, Saki (2004). Please Save My Earth. Volume 8. Viz. ISBN 1-59116-271-8.
  7. ^ "Bisco Hatori: author, artist". Viz Media. Retrieved 2008-06-29. She enjoys reading all kinds of manga, but she's especially fond of the sci-fi drama Please Save My Earth and Slam Dunk, a basketball classic.
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