Idol × Warrior Miracle Tunes! facts for kids
Quick facts for kids Idol × Warrior Miracle Tunes! |
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Promotional visual for the second half of the series
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| Japanese | アイドルx戦士ミラクルちゅーんず！ |
| Genre | Tokusatsu, magical girl, children |
| Created by |
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| Written by |
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| Directed by |
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| Composer(s) | Koji Endo |
| Country of origin | Japan |
| Original language(s) | Japanese |
| No. of episodes | 51 |
| Production | |
| Executive producer(s) | Takashi Kounosu |
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| Running time | 30 minutes |
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| Release | |
| Original network | TV Tokyo |
| Original release | April 2, 2017 – March 25, 2018 |
| Chronology | |
| Followed by | Magical × Heroine Magimajo Pures! |
Idol × Warrior Miracle Tunes! (アイドル×戦士 ミラクルちゅーんず!, Aidoru Senshi Mirakuru Chūnzu!) is a Japanese TV show that aired from April 2, 2017, to March 25, 2018, on TV Tokyo. It's the first show in the Girls × Heroine Series. This series was created by Takara Tomy and OLM, Inc. with help from Shogakukan and EXPG Studio. It was made for young girls, especially those aged 2 to 6.
The main director of the show was Takashi Miike. The show stars Asaka Uchida, Suzuka Adachi, Yuzuha Oda, Rina Usukura, and Mio Nishiyama. The story is about a Japanese idol girl group called Miracle² (pronounced "miracle miracle"). These elementary and middle school girls turn into Idol Warriors. Their mission is to get back the Sound Jewels, which are special items from the Music Kingdom. They need to stop the Demon King from taking over the world.
Auditions for the show happened in December 2015. The main cast was announced in August 2016. Filming took place from September 2016 to July 2017. The show combined dancing, singing, and acting. Dance and vocal teachers from EXPG Studios helped the cast. The show also used special effects for transformation and battle scenes. The main cast, Miracle², also had a singing career in real life to promote the show.
Even though TV ratings were not very high, the show was a big hit with its target audience. It was seen as the start of a "new type of show" for elementary school girls. This was especially true because of Miracle²'s music and the show's toy line. The series was popular with girls because it was a live-action show about things girls like. Parents also enjoyed the dancing and music. Two manga comics and a video game were also released. The show was dubbed in Thailand, South Korea, and China. An Italian remake was also made in 2018. After the show ended in 2018, it was followed by Magical × Heroine Magimajo Pures!.
Story of the Miracle Tunes!
The Music Kingdom is a peaceful world that protects music. It has special note-shaped gems called Sound Jewels. These jewels together create the "Song of Blessings." This song can make people's hearts pure and calm. But the Demon King stole them and turned them into Negative Jewels. This made the Music Kingdom dark.
The Demon King's helpers, the Dokudoku-dan, use these Negative Jewels. They turn humans into Negative Jewelers. The bad energy from Negative Jewelers helps the Demon King create his "Song of Darkness." He wants to use this song to take over the human world. To get the Sound Jewels back, the Music Kingdom's goddess sends three fairy helpers. Their names are Poppun, Rockie, and Clanosuke. They come to the human world to find help.
In the human world, Kanon Ichinose and Fuka Tachibana try out for a new idol group called Miracle². Mai Kanzaki is already part of the group. The auditions were also a way to find Idol Warriors to help Mai get the Sound Jewels back. Later, sisters Akari and Hikari Shiratori join Miracle². They were from an American girl group called KariKari. The girls become Miracle Tunes. They fight to turn the Negative Jewels back into their good forms. This stops the Demon King. Magic uses up "Harmony Energy." So, Miracle² must get more energy by performing as idols every day.
Meet the Characters
Miracle Tunes Members
The main characters are in an idol group called Miracle². They are signed to a made-up music company called Raspberry Music. They change into Miracle Tunes using their Miracle Pods and Idol Jewels. These jewels are special Sound Jewels given to them by a fairy. Each girl gets a Miracle Takt. They can use Special Jewels to change music styles with their Miracle Pods to beat their enemies.
At first, the group had Kanon Ichinose, Mai Kanzaki, and Fuka Tachibana. Later, Akari and Hikari Shiratori joined. They transform with Miracle Braces and fight with Miracle Tambourines. Halfway through the show, each character finds a Crystal Jewel. They can use these to change into "Final Mode." At this time, Kanon's Miracle Takt changes into the Final Tune Takt.
- Kanon Ichinose (played by Asaka Uchida): Kanon is a 6th-grade student. She is a happy and bright girl, but sometimes she can be a bit clumsy.
- Mai Kanzaki (played by Suzuka Adachi): Mai is a second-year middle school student. She is the leader of Miracle² and a very popular idol.
- Fuka Tachibana (played by Yuzuha Oda): Fuka is a first-year middle school student. She is an amazing dancer and very serious about performing. This sometimes causes her to disagree with Kanon.
- Akari Shiratori (played by Rina Usukura): Akari is a first-year middle school student. She and her sister Hikari lived in the United States. They started a group called KariKari before joining Miracle². Akari is strong-willed and doesn't like to lose.
- Hikari Shiratori (played by Mio Nishiyama): Hikari is a first-year middle school student and Akari's sister. She is a perfectionist and always cares about how she looks.
Raspberry Music Staff
These are the people who help Miracle² with their idol activities.
- Mayumi Yuzuhara (played by Mayumi Ono): She is Miracle²'s manager. She knows the girls are also Idol Warriors. She used to be an idol and an Idol Warrior herself.
- Kojiro (played by Sasuke Otsuru): He is Miracle²'s make-up artist and stylist.
- Yukie Suzuhara (played by Akiko Hinagata): She is in charge of Miracle²'s dorm.
- Kazunari Sawanobori (played by Takumi): He is Miracle²'s music producer.
Music Kingdom Characters
These characters come from the magical Music Kingdom.
- Goddess of Music (played by Mai Hikimi): She is the queen of the Music Kingdom. She talks to Miracle² through a mirror. She is later revealed to be Mai's mother.
- Poppun (voiced by Mari Hino): This fairy is the partner of Kanon. Poppun is the pop music fairy. She loves to eat and sleep.
- Rocky (voiced by Makiko Hiraguchi): This fairy is the partner of Mai. Rocky is the rock music fairy. He acts cool but gets scared easily.
- Clanosuke (voiced by Yuko Mori): This fairy is the partner of Fuka. Clanosuke is the classical music fairy. He is very hardworking but also a crybaby.
- Alm (voiced by Reika Yoshimoto): This fairy is one of the Goddess's helpers. She later becomes Akari's partner. Alm is very confident.
- Sopra (voiced by Chitose Morinaga): This fairy is one of the Goddess's helpers and Alm's younger sister. She later becomes Hikari's partner. Sopra is gentle and loves cleaning.
Dark World Villains
These are the bad guys who want to spread darkness.
- Demon King (played by James Jirayu): He is the ruler of the Dark World. He stole the Sound Jewels and wants to cover the world in darkness.
- Uno and Sano (played by Baruto Kaito): These are twin demons created by the Demon King. After Miracle Tunes get their Final Mode, Uno and Sano are purified.
- Dokudoku-dan: These are three special Negative Jewelers who work for the Demon King. They use Negative Jewels to turn people into Negative Jewelers. These Negative Jewelers then spread bad energy for the Demon King.
- Sage Mizoochi (played by Motoki Fukami): He is the leader of the Dokudoku-dan.
- Madame Nechigae (played by Miyuki Torii): She is the only female member of the Dokudoku-dan.
- Dr. Komuragaeri (played by Satoshi Tomiura): He is the smart but strange member of the Dokudoku-dan.
Other Characters
- Tomoki Sakurai (played by Daijiro Kawaoka): He is Kanon's teacher at school.
- Yunta Serizawa (played by Naoki Sasahara): He is Kanon's classmate.
- Rudolph Rain (played by Andrew Knight): He is Kanon's classmate and is half-Japanese. He is a big fan of Akari.
- Erina Tamagawa (played by Kohaku Suda): She is Kanon's classmate and one of the best students.
- Ryo Kurihara (played by Tsubasa Nakagawa): He is a popular child actor.
How the Show Was Made
Idol × Warrior Miracle Tunes! was a team effort. It involved Takara Tomy, OLM, Inc., and Shogakukan. Shogakukan publishes the manga magazines Ciao and Pucchigumi. Takara Tomy also made a line of toys based on the magical items and weapons in the show. The show was mainly made for girls aged 2 to 6. Its catchphrase was: "Live start! We're Tuning your bad hearts!" (ライブスタート！悪いハートをチューニング！)
The idea for the story came from Masato Nakamura. Takashi Miike was the main director. Other directors and writers also worked on the show. The dances were created by EXPG Studio. Miike noted that many staff members were young and new to the industry. They had little experience writing dramas or working with new actors. However, everyone worked hard to make the show great.
Filming for Idol × Warrior Miracle Tunes! started in September 2016 and finished in July 2017. Transformation scenes and live performance endings were filmed in front of a green screen. Special computer graphics were added later. The staff focused on "dance," "song," and "drama." Teachers helped with dancing and singing. The filming aimed to show the "natural femininity" of young girls. Episode 38 was filmed at Takara Tomy's office.
Casting the Stars
Auditions were held by Ciao and Pucchigumi in December 2015. Five girls were chosen from 11 finalists. The winners were announced in August 2016. They were Asaka Uchida, Suzuka Adachi, and Yuzuha Oda. Rina Usukura and Mio Nishiyama were also cast at the same time. They were officially announced in June 2017.
To get ready for their roles, all five main cast members took many singing, dancing, and acting lessons. This happened in the summer of 2016. Most of the main cast already had dance experience. For example, Oda was part of an idol group called Amorecarina. Adachi was part of EXPG Studio's trainee team. Uchida was the only one without dance experience. She said the training was "difficult." Oda even created her own solo dance scenes with her teacher's help.
Where and When It Aired
The show first aired from April 2, 2017, to March 25, 2018, on TV Tokyo. Episodes were also put on Takara Tomy's official YouTube channel. Each new episode was available worldwide for one week. Idol × Warrior Miracle Tunes! was also shown in Thailand, South Korea, and China. These versions were dubbed into local languages. Episodes with English subtitles were shown at Chara Expo USA 2018.
A special documentary called Make a Miracle!: Until Miracle Tunes! is Made (メイク ア ミラクル！～ミラクルちゅーんず！ができるまで～) aired on September 1, 2017. This documentary showed behind-the-scenes footage. It included the main cast's auditions and dance practices.
Music from the Show
During the show's run, the idol group Miracle² released music in real life. The main cast members performed as their characters. They held concerts, live events, and appeared at music festivals. Their music was released under the name Miracle² from Miracle Tunes (miracle² from ミラクルちゅーんず!, Mirakuru Mirakuru furomu Mirakuru Chūnzu!). They also appeared regularly on the children's show Oha Suta. Miracle² performed all the opening and ending songs for Idol × Warrior Miracle Tunes!. They also sang other songs on the show's soundtrack.
The first opening song was "Catch Me!". It had different versions like hip hop, rock, and techno. These matched the special battle modes in the show. An updated version, "Catch Me! (Powered Up Version)", was used as the second opening song. It included vocals from Usukura and Nishiyama. The opening song for the second half of the show was "Ten Made Todoke". It had complex dance moves. The music video for this song was filmed in one day.
Music critics praised "Catch Me!". They called it a "happy pop tune with a bright pop EDM sound." They also said it was "high quality teen pop." "Ten Made Todoke" was also praised for its "mature EDM sound."
Other Media
Music Releases
Here are the albums and singles released by Miracle².
Albums
| Title | Year | Album details | Peak chart positions | Sales | |
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| JPN |
JPN Hot |
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| Miracle Best: Complete Miracle² Songs | 2018 |
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2 | 3 |
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| "—" means it didn't appear on the charts or wasn't released in that area. | |||||
Singles
| Title | Year | Peak chart positions | Sales | Album | |
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| JPN |
JPN Hot |
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| "Catch Me!" | 2017 | 14 | — |
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Miracle Best: Complete Miracle² Songs |
| "Jump!" | 7 | 92 |
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| "Ten Made Todoke" (天マデトドケ☆) | 8 | 28 |
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| "—" means it didn't appear on the charts or wasn't released in that area. | |||||
Manga Comics
Two manga comic adaptations were released at the same time the show aired.
- Idol × Warrior Miracle Tunes! Kirakira Fever Live (アイドル×戦士 ミラクルちゅーんず! 〜キラキラフィーバー☆LIVE〜) was drawn by Asuka Ogura. It appeared in Ciao magazine from April 3, 2017, to January 3, 2018.
- Idol × Warrior Miracle Tunes! Yume no Harmony (アイドル×戦士ミラクルちゅーんず！ゆめのハーモニー) was drawn by Yuuki Harami. It appeared in Pucchigumi magazine from May 2017 to April 2018.
Novel Book
A novel (book version) of the story was written by Kana Matsui. She was one of the show's writers. It was released on March 22, 2017. Asuka Ogura provided the pictures.
Video Game Fun
A video game called Miracle Tunes! Game de Tune Up! da Pun! (ミラクルちゅーんず！ ゲームでチューンアップ！だプン！) was made by FuRyu for the Nintendo 3DS. It was announced in August 2017 and released on November 9, 2017. You could buy it as a physical game or download it from the Nintendo 3DS eShop. Kanon's Idol Warrior outfit was also made available in the arcade game PriPara.
Italian Remake
An Italian version of the show was made for audiences in Europe. It started airing on October 13, 2018. The main cast includes Giulia Sara Salemi, Emily Shaqiri, and Jasmine Roberta Molinaro. Later, Lavinia Mantegazza and Giulia Izzo joined the cast. The show was filmed in English first. Then, it was dubbed into Italian and Spanish for other European countries. One of the filming locations was Manises, Spain.
