Ground Defense Force! Mao-chan

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"Mao-chan" redirects here. For the figure skater often referred to in the Japanese press by that nickname, see Mao Asada.

Earth Defender! Mao-chan
陸上防衛隊まおちゃん (Ground Defense Force! Mao-chan)
Genre	Comedy, Magical girl
TV anime
Director	Yoshiaki Iwasaki
Studio	XEBEC, Studio Galapagos
Licensor	Geneon
Network	TV Tokyo
Original run	3 July 2002 – 25 December 2002
Episodes	26

Ground Defense Force! Mao-chan (陸上防衛隊まおちゃん, Rikujō Bōetai Mao-chan^?), also known as Earth Defender! Mao-chan, is a 26-episode comedy anime, created by Ken Akamatsu, the author of Love Hina.

It stars three eight-year-old girls, Mao, Misora and Sylvia, as they try to defend the earth against invading aliens. The world's defense has fallen to unlikely straits because the aliens are excessively cute, of which combat engagements are televised: if the forces battling the aliens were not cute themselves, the general public would revolt, as it would be seen as "bullying". Consequently, three military leaders chose their granddaughters to be the defenders, fittingly, becoming a team even cuter than the aliens. They each have a clover-shaped badge that enables them to transform. (This transformation provides no apparent special ability.)

The series itself is rife with parodies and references, particularly to Akamatsu's earlier work Love Hina. The girls' commanding officer bears a resemblance to Naru Narusegawa from Love Hina, in addition to Naru Narusegawa herself making a cameo appearance in episode 20, at which point the girls have to defend a hot springs inn which is likely Love Hina's Hinata-sou.

The anime was licensed and distributed by Pioneer (later becoming Geneon halfway through the series). However Geneon recently halted all production work in the US and thus no more DVD of Mao-chan will be released until another company agrees to continue the distribution.

[edit] Characters

Mao Onigawara: Voiced by: Kimiko Koyama; Mao is the girl with pink hair who defends Japan from the ground by using a tank (the tank was officially named 'White Tiger,' but she refers to it as 'Mee-kun' for reasons unknown). As revealed in assorted Physical Education scenes, she is a very slow runner. Also, going by a statement she makes during the sports fest, she has no mother. Her clover pin is green.

Misora Tsukishima: Voiced by: Yūya Yoshikawa; Misora has blue hair and defends Japan from the air using an airplane. Her mother (and presumably her father, as well) is a diplomat, and thus is never home. As a result of this, she lives with her grandfather. Her clover pin is blue. Her transformed outfit features a pair of white-feathered wings on her back, which she can use to fly.

Silvia Maruyama: Voiced by: Yui Horie; Silvia, nicknamed "Sylvie", defends Japan from the sea using a submarine. Despite her occupation as a member of the Japanese Maritime Self-Defense Force (JMSDF), she cannot swim. She has a somewhat curious affection for tangerines, and is frequently depicted eating them. Her clover pin is grey. Her name in the English-language subtitles is alternately written Sylvia", though the opening credits show her name as "Silvia".

Kagome Mishima: Voiced by: Miki Nagasawa; A Colonel in the Ground Self-Defense Force. She is assigned to be Mao-chan's homeroom teacher in order to watch over her for her (Mao's) grandfather who she is madly in love with.

Yuriko Ōzora: Voiced by: Yukiko Minnaka; Yuriko, also known as Yuriko-senpai, is the student council president of her high school. She is actually half-alien (her father was a human, while her mother was an alien); as a result, she has a pair of cat ears that appear when she is nervous or upset. Due to her alien heritage, she attempts to further the Cute Alien's cause. Unfortunately, she seems to suffer from something of an inferiority complex, which frequently hinders her mission. Yuriko also seems to be a fan of Mao-chan and her friends, which often prevents her from hurting them.

Chinami Noki: Voiced by: Ai Iura; Chinami is the vice president of the student council; thus, she is technically lower in rank than Yuriko, but she behaves as if it were the other way around, giving Yuriko orders and formulating plans on her own. Chinami is presumably half-alien, as she has cat ears identical to Yuriko's (but Chinami's ears do not appear nearly as often as Yuriko's do).

Rikushiro Onigawara: Voiced by: Akio Nojima; Rikushiro is Mao's grandfather, and he gave her the green clover-shaped pin as a present for her eighth birthday. He is also the head of the Japanese Ground Self-Defense Force (JGSDF). Rikushiro is something of a doting grandfather (he had a weapon-free tank built especially for Mao, saying that his granddaughter deserved only the best toys), but he insists that Mao address him as 'Chief of Staff' instead of 'Grandpa.'

Sorajiro Tsukishima: Voiced by: Kiyonobu Suzuki; Sorajiro is Misora's grandfather and the head of the Japanese Air Self-Defense Force (JASDF). His daughter (Misora's mother) is constantly away from home, so Misora lives with Sorajiro. He is always depicted as carrying what appears to be a plush-doll version of Captain Juzo Okita from Space Battleship Yamato. Rikushiro and Sorajiro have been rivals since their college days. Sorajiro enlisted his granddaughter in the Air Defence Forces just to keep up with Rikushiro.

Adalbert Von Marayuma: Voiced by: Takashi Taniguchi; Adalbert is Sylvie's grandfather and the head of the Japanese Maritime Self-Defense Force (JMSDF). He is of German descent, and is almost always shown smoking a large cigar. Adalbert has a mischievous personality.

Emi Uehara: Voiced by: Machiko Toyoshima

Shoko Akasaka: Voiced by: Machiko Toyoshima

Mio Nanba: Voiced by: Chiaki Takahashi

Keinosuke Urashima: Voiced by: Yūji Ueda

Nanasegawa: Voiced by: Yui Horie; A parody of the Love Hina character.

Tokusaburo Tokugawa: Voiced by: Naoki Bandō

Kūko Tsukushima: Voiced by: Tomoe Hanba; Misora's mother and an ambassador. She carries a plush doll of Yuki Mori from Space Battleship Yamato.

Carol Cameron: Voiced by: Masayo Kurata; Carol is an 8 year old American Defense Force member who came to Japan to receive her support mecha armor developed by Toko. Upon meeting Mao-chan and company she shows admiration of them by kissing all three girls. Carol has a very outgoing personality. Her popularity with the chiefs of staff especially Rikushiro Onigawara made Kagome Mishima a bit jealous. Carol join Kagome Mishima's class as an observer which surprises Mishima mistaking her age as junior high or high school. Carol excels both in academics and athletics, particularly soccer. Her only flaw is that she swoons when she sees a cute alien. Getting her kidnapped and rescued by Mao-chan, subsequently learning the importance of the defense spirit. Carol Cameron's character design is based on Love Hina's Sara McDougal.

Rikukichi Onigawara: Voiced by: Kōji Haramaki; Mao's father.

Kuniko Onigawara: Voiced by: Satsuki Yukino; Mao's mother who passed away before the beginning of the series.

Prime Minister: Voiced by: Jun'ichi Sugawara

Kiku Ichimonji III: Voiced by: Yuri Shiratori; A small dog-like robot built for the purpose of detecting Cute Aliens. It barks if it detects a Cute Alien.

Galaxy the Great: Voiced by: Keiichi Sonobe; The leader of the Cute Aliens and a fanatical collector of Japanese culture and landmarks. Often takes a hot bath or an open hotspring bath. His headquarters is located on the moon.

Toko: Toko is the chief engineer of the Ground Defense Force. He and his staff of female mechanics pieced together Mee-kun initially codenamed Byakko (White Tiger). He also created Kiku Ichimonji III, Kagome Mishima's support mecha Seiryuu (Blue Dragon) and Carol Cameron's support mecha suit.

Mayumi A.: Mayumi is the only operator named among the three Love Hina Motoko look alike operators. She is a member of the Japanese Air Self-Defense Force (JASDF).

Little King: The little son of Galaxy the Great. Mao-chan gave her precious doll Kuniko to him to protect his smile. Despite the fact the Cute Aliens stole her doll.

Mee-kun: Mao-chan's toy-like support mecha. It is 1:1 scale German Tiger Tank. Initially codenamed by her grandfather as Byakko (White Tiger)

Hayate: Misora's toy-like support mecha. It is a 1:1 scale British Harrier jet.

Nah-chan: Sylvia's toy-like support mecha, a 1:1 scale deep sea submersible. Unlike the other two mecha it has a cockpit inside. The cockpit is a small living area where Sylvia lives.

Seiryuu: (Blue Dragon) is Colonel Kagome Mishima's tank support mecha which is only 30% complete due to budget restrictions.

Cosmic Tama-chan: The turtle like Cute Alien who two years prior taken and cared for by a group of female Japanese Defense officers. Before leaving Cosic Tama-chan laid four egg like capsules. Three of which inside are the alien technology badges that is given to Mao-chan, Misora and Sylvie. The fourth egg contained a warning that Earth is targeted by Cute Aliens.