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Nijū Mensō no Musume

type	tv series
title	CHIKO, Heiress of the Phantom Thief
director	Nobuo Tomisawa
producer	Kōji Yamamoto Yūki Mori Yoshihiro Iwasaki Kyōtarō Kimura Noritomo Yoneuchi Osamu Taniguchi
writer	Michihiro Tsuchiya
music	Kazunori Miyake
studio	Bones Telecom Animation Film
network	Fuji TV, KTV, THK
first	April 12, 2008
last	September 27, 2008
episodes	22
episode list	List of Nijū Mensō no Musume episodes

Nijū Mensō no Musume (二十面相の娘) is a Japanese manga series written and illustrated by manga author Shinji Ohara.[1] The manga was serialized in the seinen manga magazine Comic Flapper between 2003 and 2007, but continued serialization in the same magazine with the title Nijū Mensō no Musume Utsushiyo no Yoru since October 5, 2007.[2] An anime adaptation aired in Japan from April 12, 2008, to September 27, 2008, and was co-produced by Bones and Telecom Animation Film.[3]

The characters in this series have been used with permission from surviving members of the family of Edogawa Rampo, the Japanese detective fiction author who had originally created the fictional characters of Kaijin Nijū Mensō and Kogoro Akechi.

The series is set in the Shōwa period, starting around 1953 in the anime.

Story

Characters

Main characters

Chizuko Mikamo (美甘千津子) aka Chiko (チコ)

Twenty Faces (二十面相)

First introduced as the 11-year-old heiress to the Anastasia Ruby, Chiko lived with her aunt and uncle after her parents died. However, she acted coldly towards her relatives because she knew they were slowly poisoning her in order to inherit her parents’ fortune. Luckily, she was saved by Nijū-Mensō, who gave her the choice to leave with him, when he had coincidentally been there to steal the Anastasia Ruby. She admires Nijū-Mensō a great deal, and he becomes a very important role model for her. Chiko learns many tricks from everyone on the team, and has the making to become a great thief. One of her aliases is Lilly, the high rope walker. At the age of thirteen, Chiko appears to be the last survivor of the Phantom Thief team aside from the young knife thrower, Ken. The assumption comes into question when the detective Akechi visits Chiko's house and presents the Anastasia Ruby to Chiko, which Nijū-Mensō had last held in safe keeping. After hearing that Nijū-Mensō may still be alive, Chiko vows to find him by becoming a detective herself. Her affection toward Nijū-Mensō led her to call him "Oji-san" (lit. uncle) rather than Boss like the rest of the gang.

A mysterious man that is the main face behind the famous thief known as Nijū-Mensō. He is the chief of the team and the mastermind behind everything. Not much is known about his past, but it can be inferred that he was somehow deeply affected by the Great War; he mentions having lost all hope in the world during that period and a knowledge that there are still evildoers at large despite the war being over. Thus, he is greatly against killing, and makes sure that his team does not kill anyone unless there is no other option. Though he is a thief, he appears to have a high moral code and a very kind and understanding nature. He teaches Chiko and the rest of his team that the most important abilities one must have in life are to be able to listen, observe one's surroundings, and to be able to think for one's self. Most of the team calls him Boss, but Chiko prefers to refer to him as Oji-san, lit. Uncle. Before the train incident, he seemed to be indirectly training Chiko to be his heir, since she is one of the most clever, eager, and willing members of the team. This way, she would be able to continue where he left off in the case of his death. He appeared to have disappeared the night of the train incident when the car he was on exploded, but returned later when Chiko was in terrible danger, disguised at first as Akechi. He disappears again soon after, saying that he had recently discovered that the Great War was still ongoing beneath the surface. It is revealed that during the Great War, he had been a researcher whose work could revolutionize warfare with his discovery of how to induce the fourth state of water. However, when he realized how dangerous his discovery would be, he destroyed the laboratory before abandoning his colleagues, who would pursue him to learn the information that he never disclosed, and made it his life's mission to try to stop another great war from happening.

Supporting characters

Shunka Koito (小糸春華)

Tome (トメ)

Ken (ケン)

Detective Akine (空根太作)

Akechi (明智)

Nozomi Kayama (香山望)

Sayuri (サユリ)

Mika (ミカ)

Shunka is the granddaughter of the founder of Chiko's school. She uses this to her advantage amongst her peers, so her initial reaction to Chiko's cleverness is hostility. She changes her tune, however, after finding out how much "fun" it is to be around Chiko and her Nijū-Mensō-related adventures. Her goal is to have as much fun as possible until she turns 16 and is of age for her arranged marriage. She often doesn't seem to care about how much trouble she causes, so long as she has fun. This means she has a habit of adding oil to the fire in dangerous situations because it would be more entertaining that way. In the eleventh episode of the anime it is revealed that Shunka had a twin sister who drowned at age 5. Because she was unable to do anything to help, Shunka blames herself for her sister's death.

Chiko's new maid, after the first turned out to be Nijū-Mensō, and as of late her caretaker. She cares very deeply for Chiko, and did her best to revive her spirits after she came back refusing to speak or eat after the train explosion. Thanks to Tome's constant attempts to be accommodating, Chiko is able to avoid eating her aunt's poisoned meals. At first, Chiko was dispirited and ignored Tome's attempts to cheer her up, but after meeting Akechi she livened up and accepted Tome's hospitality. When Tome learns that Chiko's aunt has been poisoning Chiko's meals, Tome manages to successfully blackmail and deceive Chiko's aunt into allowing them to live in their own separate home. Tome is devoted to Chiko and determined to protect Chiko as best she can until Chiko can assume her rightful fortune.

Nijū Mensō's Thieves

Skipper (船長)

Hans (ハンス)

Muta (ムタ)

One of the most trusted and senior members of Nijū Mensō's group, referred to as "Skipper". He is initially reluctant to allow her to participate in their activities because he feels that she is still a child and should be leading a more normal life. As a result, he dislikes how the other thieves train Chiko to fight and live like a thief, but comes to accept her and her abilities when she asks to take part in a mission when Ken cannot. He dies during Tiger's attack on the train after the gang steals the Clock of the Magi while defending Chiko from one of Tiger's men. During the war, Skipper was a sergeant-major in the army, but as a colleague of Nijū Mensō, he escaped with Nijū Mensō when the latter destroyed the laboratory where he worked and became a fugitive.

A member of Nijū Mensō's group, a young man who readily accepts Chiko as one of their own. A native of Germany, he teaches and practices speaking German with Chiko. Because of his somewhat effemininate features, he is asked to impersonate a woman when the group poses as a travelling circus. He is killed during Tiger's attack on the train. Hans originally joined Nijū Mensō and Skipper when they were stealing from a casino some time after Japan's surrender.

A member of Nijū Mensō's group, an older man who appears to disapprove of Chiko joining Nijū Mensō's group because she is still a child and a possible liability. However, Chiko's sincerity, resourcefulness, and ability to adapt and learn the life of the thieves eventually gains his open acceptance of her. Muta teaches her to fight, reminding her not to let her guard down in a fight, take advantage of openings (particularly of weaknesses, such as striking a man's groin), and to use an opponent's weight and strength to throw them rather than her own. He is severely wounded during Tiger's attack on the train, but manages to survive the initial attack and escape with Ken and Skipper. However, he sacrifices himself to save Chiko from being shot.

Antagonists

Yoshie Mikamo (美甘淑恵)

Shoji Mikamo (美甘正次)

Tiger (虎)

Seiji Tamiya (田宮清次) aka White Haired Devil (白髪の魔人)

Kohei Kakihara (柿島耕平)

Kurosaki (黒崎)

Chizuko's aunt is actually the wife of Shoji Mikamo, the younger brother of Chiko's father, so she and Chiko are not related by blood. She is responsible for slowly poisoning Chiko with food containing lead in order to take control of Chiko's fortune. While her husband initially supported her plan, she poisons him while Chiko is with Nijū Mensō's group and he dies of lead poisoning. When Chiko returns, she continues to try to eliminate her niece in various ways, though Chiko always manages to elude her. When Tome learns the truth behind her actions, Tome successfully blackmails her into giving Tome full guardianship of Chiko and a mansion for them to live in. Chiko's aunt gives up trying to kill her niece after Akine threatens to reveal the truth to the media following a failed assassination attempt on Chiko; when she asks if Chiko still hates her, Akine replies only that Chiko likely pities her aunt. Yoshie is aided by a lawyer named Kurosaki in her attempt to take Chiko's fortune.

Chizuko's uncle, the younger brother of Chiko's father. He and his wife put on the pretense of caring for Chiko in place of her deceased parents, but are actually after Chiko's fortune instead. He goes along with his wife's plan to slowly poison his niece and is worried about the consequences of Chiko leaving with Nijū Mensō. However, he realizes too late that his wife intends to take the entire Mikamo fortune for herself and he dies of lead poisoning.

Nijū Mensō no Musume

Story

Characters

Main characters

Supporting characters

Nijū Mensō's Thieves

Antagonists

Episodes

Theme songs

External links

References