Alternative TitlesEnglish: Searching for the Full Moon Synonyms: Full Moon o Sagashite Japanese: 満月をさがして
Information
Type: TV
Episodes: 52
Status: Finished Airing
Aired: Apr 6, 2002 to Mar 29, 2003
Duration:
24 min. per episode Rating:
PG - Children
L represents licensing company
StatisticsScore: 8.231 (scored by 7208 users)
Ranked: #1942
Popularity: #326
Members: 14,166
Favorites: 548 1 indicates a weighted score
My Info
Popular Tags
comedy drama music romance shoujo |
SynopsisTwelve-year-old Kouyama Mitsuki was devastated when she was diagnosed with a malignant tumor of the throat. She had made a promise to the boy she loves that she would one day become a singer, but her illness made singing impossible. To make matters even worse, two angels of death, Takuto and Meroko, appeared to Mitsuki and informed her that she only had one year left to live. This news provides an even greater motivation for Mitsuki to fulfill her dreams, and with a little bit of divine intervention, she begins her quest to become a professional singer so she can be reunited with Eichi before time runs out. (Source: ANN) |
Related AnimeAdaptation: Full Moon wo Sagashite
Spin-off: Full Moon wo Sagashite: Cute Cute Adventure
Characters & Voice Actors
Staff
Reviews
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algelic
68 of 91 people found this review helpful
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52 of 52 episodes seen
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| Overall |
9 |
| Story |
10 |
| Animation |
8 |
| Sound |
9 |
| Character |
9 |
| Enjoyment |
10 |
Suitable for all audiences, young and new. Contains some bloodless violence.
Story - 10/10
At first, this looks like the typical shoujo series directed at young girls, thanks to all the bright colours and cute characters. From the synopsis, it looks like a sad and depressing anime about death. But it's so much more than that.
We meet the main character, Mitsuki, who is a young girl with throat cancer and whose biggest dream is to become a great singer and maybe one day meet the boy she loves, but who left for America two years ago. One day she is visited by two death gods (the Shinigami) - Takuto and Meroko, who tell her she only has one year to live. But instead of sulking and feeling sorry for herself, Mitsuki decides that since she only has one year, she'll make the best of it. Instead of being stuck at home, always worrying about her health, she'll give it all and try to achieve her dream of a singing career. When she goes to audition, the shinigami Takuto decides to help her a little bit, by transforming her body into a healthy 16-year-old. Against all odds, Mitsuki is chosen at the audition. In that moment, even going against the Shinigami rules, Takuto and Meroko decide to help her with her dream, in the time that she has left.
This series is slightly similar to the "magical girl" genre (examples: Fancy Lala, Kamikaze Kaitou Jeanne or Pretear), but not exactly. Takuto has the ability to transform Mitsuki's body into a healthy 16-year-old's, but she doesn't gain magical powers. Even though this is a show about a dying girl, it manages to be very positive and inspiring. There's a very good mixture of comedy and drama, with some scenes that will make you laugh hard and others that will make you cry like a baby.
In the first half of the series there are a lot of filler episodes. I guess they contribute to the development of the characters and to add realism to the story. As Mitsuki progresses in her career, she has to go through photoshoots, sound checks, clothes' design, interviews, autograph sessions, etc. If you're patient and watch that, you'll get to the good stuff.
In the later half, there are considerably less filler episodes. The plot gets much more complex and interesting. The mood changes to a darker tone. The last 13 episodes are really the best ones and will make you stick to the screen waiting to see what happens. There are a few plot twists.
At last, the ending. I'd say it's the BEST ending in anime that I've ever watched. There are no loose ends. Everything gets explained.
Visuals - 8/10
The light colours really make it look like an anime for young kids. I'd compare the overall visuals of this anime to those of Kamikaze Kaitou Jeanne. The characters were appealing and the shading was well done. Don't expect something 3D-like. There is little computer animation, only present in a few scenes. But although simple, I though it had good visuals.
Audio - 9/10
Full Moon wo Sagashite has one of the best anime soundtracks ever. Even though you'll hear many, many times songs like "Myself" or "Eternal Snow", you'll never grow tired of them. "Myself", "Eternal Snow", "New Future", "Smile" and "Love Chronicle", by the band Changin' My Life, are sang by Myco, who is Mitsuki's voice actress. So you don't have to worry about Mitsuki's 12-year-old voice being different from the 16-year-old... because they were done by the same person.
I absolutely hated the openings. "I Love You" and "Rock'n'Roll Princess" by The*Scanty. Why? First because they don't sound good. Second because they make the whole anime look so childish that only 4-year-olds would watch it. Ignore the openings! The anime isn't THAT childish!
And, best for last, the voice actor for Takuto, Yasuo Saitou. He has a really nice voice and can be very expressive. But best of all, there are scenes where he has to sing... and he does it perfectly.
Characters - 9/10
This anime has all kinds of characters. Some that you'll instantly fall in love with, others that you'll instantly hate. And you might even change your opinion on a few of them, once you get to know them better. I really like the character development in this anime. You'll progressively learn more about each character... it's motivations or even it's past. You'll be impressed! Each character is unique in it's own way and you can't apply a stereotype to it. They interact extremely well with each other and you'll definitely feel connected to them.
Overall - 9/10
I absolutely loved this anime. At first I thought it was really childish, but my friends ASSURED me it was worth watching... so I endured the more boring parts and kept watching... and it was totally worth it. It has become my favourite one. You'll want to re-watch it many times, even if it does have 52 episodes. I've watched the whole thing 3 times, in 6 months.
The anime is very different from the manga, but it's still faithful. And you'll find this intersting: when they made the ending for this anime, the manga still hadn't ended. But still, they made an extremely good ending.
Give it a try! It'll be worth it! No matter how old you are or even if you're a guy or a girl, it can be appreciated by anyone! read more
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Ria
43 of 58 people found this review helpful
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52 of 52 episodes seen
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| Overall |
10 |
| Story |
10 |
| Animation |
8 |
| Sound |
10 |
| Character |
10 |
| Enjoyment |
10 |
Full Moon wo Sagashite was one of those animes I started on a whim. I had already read the manga, and decided to give the anime a try to see how much I liked it in comparison. To my surprise, I <i>loved</i> it, possibly even more than the manga version. The changes it makes from the manga were actually ones I (for the most part) preferred.
---Story---
While Full Moon wo Sagashite may not see like much on the surface -- little girl has a life-threatening disease, wants to sing, and becomes sixteen years old with the help of two friendly shinigami -- it becomes so much more deeper as the series move on. This anime doesn't shrink away from the uncomfortable subjects of death and suicide, and that is wonderfully refreshing. While initially cutesy on the surface, Full Moon wo Sagashite has a deep, moving storyline that touches upon every human emotion. I don't think I've ever cried so much while watching an anime, and I doubt any other can truly touch me as much as Full Moon wo Sagashite did.
Many people complain that the first half of the series is comprised of filler episodes. While this may be true when first watching them, I don't think the second half would come off nearly as well without those "fillers". They developed the characters, showed you who they really were and what they were looking for, and prepared you for the emotional roller coaster that is the second half of Full Moon wo Sagashite. So, even if you're bored during the first half, I implore you to see the series to the end. You won't regret it.
---Animation---
I initially didn't like the character designs all that much, particularly that of Full Moon. After a while, however, the art smoothed out and became even pleasing. So, not the best, but not the worst either.
---Sound---
There's only one way to describe the music of Full Moon wo Sagashite: absolutely astounding. Every song (most of which were sung by myco, Mitsuki's seiyuu) was wonderful in its own way. While I didn't particularly like the two OPs, they grew on me after a while. Still, nothing can touch the four EDs this show has. My personal favorite is New Future, although Eternal Snow is heartbreakingly beautiful.
---Character---
Another plus of Full Moon wo Sagashite are the characters. Meroko and Izumi have become two of my favorite characters, although Izumi doesn't really come into his own in the anime. His soft side is only shown in the last episode, but that moment is definitely worth it.
The one quibble I have concerning the characters is that their back stories aren't as fully explained as they were in the manga. Meroko and Izumi's pasts are barely brushed upon, which is a real disappointment. Still, Meroko comes off as one of the best -- if not THE best -- characters in the entire series.
---Enjoyment---
I will never forget watching Full Moon wo Sagashite. It is certainly an experience, especially for the last fifteen or so episodes.
One thing that really struck me was the ending. I've never come across an anime with such a perfect ending. Everything was tied up, and the emotions that came across were just... mind-blowing. I think I actually sobbed the entire last episode.
So, as a parting note, I urge you to give Full Moon wo Sagashite a try. I did, and it became one of my top five anime.
Pros: Incredible story, characters, and music; best anime ending EVER
Cons: So-so character design at times, not enough back story read more
Recommendations
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In both anime the main character changes to older girl by magic and becomes singer/actress/photo model/..
They are both girls who transform into an adult.
These two shows are very similar. Both are about a young girl pursuing her dream of becoming a singer and doing it by transforming her body into an older version. The main difference is that Fancy Lala is very lighthearted compaired to Full Moon. In Full Moon wo Sagashite the plot is much more complex and deals with fighting against death and other things, while Fancy Lala just talks about becoming a singer. I'm not saying that Full Moon is depressing... it's incredibly interesting and if you can survive the filler episodes you'll find an awesome anime. Fancy Lala is the typical "little girl's dream of becoming a singer", while Full Moon is inspiring... it's about never giving up on your dreams or your life.
Both series have similar concepts- they both involve a girl who makes herself older to become a singer. They both also have cute 'mascots' that cheer them on, and both involve the girl becoming a model(at some point.)
Of course, there's a lot of differences between the two, but I'm nearly 100% positive that anyone who likes Fancy Lala will also like Full Moon, or vice versa. :)
When you watch this series you'll notice a lot of similarities besides they are of the Mahou Shoujo genre, in fact I have the idea the author of Full Moon based his own series in Fancy Lala the differences may be in the lenght of series that has more episodes to be told in Full Moon allowing more in depth development, and in Fancy Lala the story isn't ominous like Full Moon wo Sagashite with Mitsuki.
Similarities are the protagonists thansform in a teenage version of themselves, they get their magic transformation from a pair of magical mascots, and both become famous and popular idols.
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It's both about reaching out to your dreams/goals, though one is about singing and the other about ice dancing. Both involve death, but Full Moon Wo Sagashite develops a more serious tone in this aspect, which is quite logical considering that Ginban Kaleidoscope only covers 12 episodes, while full Moon Wo Sagashite has 52 episodes. Most important of all, both have great characters that won't give up!!
The atmosphere in these two great stories is very similar and so are the themes of love, death, pursuing your dreams and so on. The girls in both shows are trying to accomplish something big with the help of ghosts. You'll definitely love, laugh and cry with both shows.
Girl tries to achive dream of being figure skater, possesed by ghost, fall for eachother.
A romance between a human and a "once human"...Both heroines pursues her dreams with unexpected help from an unexpected entity. Of course, comedy is a given.
Both these anime's have really great drama with their unexpected turn of events and conflicts of the hearts.
The main characters both want to achieve a big goal that takes more then just words said alone to accomplish. Mitsuki, 14 year-old with a beautiful voice, wants to become a singer and Tazusa, skilled figure skater, wants to qualify in the olympics.
At the same time they both have a relationship with someone who isn't real (or once was). Mitsuki has her Shinigami and Tazusa has Pete Pumps. -These guys help out the main character by making sure they achieve their goal in life.
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Opening Theme#1: "I ♥ U" by THE*SCANTY (eps 1-26)
#2: "Rock'n Roll Princess" by THE*SCANTY (eps 27-52)
Ending Theme#1: "New Future" by Changin' My Life (eps 01-06,52)
#2: "My self" by Changin' My Life (eps 07-26)
#3: "Eternal Snow" by Changin' My Life (eps 27-42)
#4: "Love Chronicle" by Changin' My Life (eps 43-51)
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