Mahoujin Guru Guru



""A long time ago, the evil Giri, who controlled devilish black magic, attempted to dominate the world and unleashed many monsters. Confronted by a formidable enemy, the Kodai Kingdom asked for the help of a Dark Magic User from a particular tribe and succeeded in sealing off Giri. However, after 300 years, the evil Giri is now freed from the seal and once again threatens the world. To rid the world of this terror, the chosen Hero and Magic User began their long and tough adventure." - Episode Prologue"

When the King of Kodai makes a proclamation demanding a hero come forward, a village man Bado sends his son Nike to see the local witch so he can take up the call. The witch tells Nike that to combat Giri he needs the power of the magic of "Guru Guru" which the Migu Migu tribe alone could use. Fortunately, it just so happens that the witch has been raising the last of the Migu Migu, Kukuri, in secret. Together, the reluctant Nike and naive Kukuri set out to face the evil Giri.

Mahoujin Guru Guru (Magical Circle Guru Guru) is a 45 episode anime series that follows Kukuri and Nike's adventures. There is also a 38 episode sequel series, Doki Doki Densetsu Mahoujin Guru Guru. Together, these two anime cover eleven volumes of a sixteen volume manga, which has just recently begun to see scanlation by "imangascans."

This series features examples of:

 * Accidental Pervert - Inverted and Lampshaded when Kukuri and another girl walk in on guys changing clothes.
 * Asskicking Pose - Parodied with Nike's "Cool Pose."
 * BFS - Nike pulls one out of a box (with branches) in the second episode. Though he buys a regular sword soon after.
 * Black Mage - Kukuri is this in ability, but a White Magician Girl in personality.
 * Blessed With Suck - Raid's magic is formidable, but casting requires he perform really stupid dances.
 * Breaking the Fourth Wall - When Nike and his party realize the weapons they brought with them are missing, they rewind through the last episode to try and locate them.
 * Butt Monkey - The Old Kita Kita Man, who tends to suffer when he inflicts his dancing on other characters.
 * Clingy MacGuffin - A hideous award statue Kukuri won keeps finding its way back to her and Nike, despite Nike's repeated attempts to get rid of it.
 * The Chew Toy - Gail & Ena.
 * Channel Hop - The first anime aired on TV Asahi, the second anime aired on TV Tokyo
 * Competence Zone - With the sole exception of Runrun, anybody older than the heroes is generally useless in a fight.
 * Cool Sword - Kira Kira
 * Cute Monster Girl - Chikuri
 * Dance Battler - The Old Kita Kita Man. (Well... he dances whenever fights are going on, anyway)
 * Dark Is Not Evil - Kukuri is a "Dark Elemental" type, her magic is considered black magic, and there's a whole society of Dark Magic practitioners who are allies of her and Nike.
 * The Ditz - Kukuri starts out as this.
 * Embarrassing First Name - Runrun, which is the sound one makes while singing, akin to "La-la".
 * Everyone Calls Him "Barkeep" - Nike (Hero), Udberg Eldol (Old Kita Kita Man), Runrun (Dark Magic Society Lady), and Sly (Boss)
 * Expressive Shirt - The Old Kita Kita Man's headdress.
 * Fluffy Tamer - Kukuri, most notably on Level 4 of her Training Tower.
 * Gadgeteer Genius - Toma is training as a magical version of this.
 * Geometric Magic - Guru Guru magic relies on Kukuri's tracing of magic circles to function.
 * The Hero - Nike.
 * Heroic Wannabe - Nike's father, who trained Nike to be a Hero because he himself couldn't do it. Also Gail.
 * I Shall Taunt You - Unbell
 * Idiot Crows
 * Improbable Weapon User - Juju and her combat altar.
 * Kleptomaniac Hero - Subverted as Nike turns out to be thief class.
 * Last Of Her Kind - Kukuri's the last known Migu Migu.
 * Leave Him to Me - Raid insists on this in episode 43. Nike does it because Raid did it.
 * Let's Get Dangerous - Nike and Kukuri are fairly capable when need be. Otherwise, they're very easily distracted to say the least.
 * Lethal Chef - Sly, Ookashira (boss) of the Gaba thieves
 * Magic Dance - Raid uses these and, to a lesser extent, so does Kukuri.
 * The Millstone - The Old Kita Kita Man is this more often than he's useful.
 * Moment Killer - Gipple
 * One-Winged Angel - Subverted by Gizaier, who transforms into a fire-form and is promptly eaten before he can even finish introducing himself.
 * Only Known By Their Nickname - The Gaba thieves deliberately only use codenames instead of their actual names.
 * Paper Fan of Doom - Seven at once are used on the Old Kita Kita Man in episode 43
 * Pixellation - When Kukuri forces herself to watch the Kita Kita Man dance, the images are censored for the viewers.
 * Rebellious Princess - Juju is a rebellious priestess.
 * Role Playing Game Verse - We're constantly shown the levels and stats of characters and equipment. The narration also incorporates lines like "Hero attacks" and "Nike is paralyzed"
 * Schmuck Bait - Prince Ron Ron of Jaba kingdom violated the kingdom's rule that you must not stand in front of the guardian statue Pura Pura and tell it "Take care of your health" while boxing with your left hand, picking your nose with your right hand, and having a loaf of bread wedged up your rear. Nike has to be prevented from doing this three separate times.
 * Sealed Evil in A Can - Demon Lord Giri
 * Shipper On Deck - Fairies love love, and love to help love, whether the potential couple likes it or not.
 * Spin-Off - Currently in the works: Buyuuden Kita Kita, starring the Old Kita Kita Man.
 * White Magician Girl - Kukuri is this in personality, but a Black Mage in ability.
 * Summon Magic - Guru Guru magic
 * Sweet Tooth - After Kukuri discovers chocolate
 * The Other Darrin - In the first anime (and the movie) Nike was voiced by Fujiko Takimoto, however in the second anime he was voiced by Omi Minami
 * Training From Hell - Nike's Heroic Wannabe father put Nike through this growing up.
 * With This Herring - The king loudly disavows any responsibility for Nike and Kukuri after providing a tiny amount of gold for them.