Full Moon o Sagashite is a Japanese shōjo manga by Arina Tanemura. The manga was serialized in Shueisha's shojo manga magazine Ribon from January 2002 to June 2004 and collected in seven tankōbon volumes. The series was adapted into an anime television series produced by Nihon Ad Systems, which ended before the manga was completed, as well as an original video animation distributed through Ribon. The anime series was broadcast on TV Tokyo. Viz Media acquired English distribution rights to both the manga and the anime, with the first 28 episodes of the anime released.
Plot
Twelve-year-old Mitsuki Koyama dreams of becoming a singer to reunite with her first love, Eichi Sakurai. However, she is afflicted with sarcoma, which affects her ability to breathe well and sing loudly. Her tumor is curable only through a surgery that could damage her vocal cords. At the same time, her grandmother hates music and is completely opposed to Mitsuki's wish to audition. Mitsuki's dreams seem impossible to achieve, until one day she is visited by two shinigami, Takuto and Meroko, whom only she could see. Takuto and Meroko, inadvertently tip Mitsuki off that she has only one year left to live. Mitsuki then realizes she cannot wait any longer to fulfill her dream, so she runs away from home and the shinigami, to try to audition for a singing competition. She moves Takuto to agree to a compromise: if Mitsuki promises to go quietly when her year is up, he would help her become a singer, so she could leave the world with no regrets. Takuto gives her the ability to transform into a completely healthy 16-year-old, so that she could meet the age requirements of the audition and sing without hindrance. Mitsuki wins over the judges with her excellent voice and her enthusiasm for singing, sealing a contract with Seed Records. To conceal her true identity, she chooses the stage name "Fullmoon."
Characters
Main characters
;Mitsuki Kōyama ;Takuto Kira ;Meroko Yui ;Izumi Rio
Recurring characters
;Eichi Sakurai ;Fuzuki Kōyama ;Yone Tanaka ;Keiichi Wakaōji ;Masami Ōshige ;Madoka Wakamatsu ;Aoi Koga ;Hazuki Koga ;Nachi ;Hikari Hayashi
''Shinigami''
The shinigami are the spirits of humans that committed suicide, who are then punished with the task of collecting souls. If a shinigami fully remembers his or her past life before becoming a full shinigami, he or she disappears and becomes a ghost to wander about. ;Jonathan ;Death Master
As a fan of idol singers, Tanemura created the series out of desire to write lyrics. Her previous series, Time Stranger Kyoko, was cut short due to the main protagonist, Kyoko, having a strong personality, which failed to appeal to her editors and reader demographic. As a result of this, Tanemura decided to give Mitsuki a more subdued personality and later had the idea of making her sickly to explain her shy behavior. Mitsuki's corkscrew hairstyle was inspired by Morning Musume member Ai Kago, while her character was modeled on one of Tanemura's assistants, Airi Teito.
Media
Manga
Full Moon o Sagashite was published by Shueisha in the magazine Ribon from January 2002 to June 2004 and collected in seven tankōbon volumes under the Ribon Mascot Comics imprint. Contributing assistants to the manga were Ai Minase, Airi Teito, Akoko Asakura, Kanan Kiseki, Kayoru Asano, Konako, Kyakya Asano, Megumi Nakamura, Miwa Sawakami, Niki Seisou, Noriko Funaki, Rina Asuka, Ruka Kaduki, and Saori Hinano. Volume 2 also included an unrelated short story titled Gin-yu Meika, which originally appeared in the November 2001 issue of Ribon. Starting in January 2012, Full Moon o Sagashite was reprinted in four bunkoban volumes with new covers. The manga is licensed in North America in English by Viz Media as Full Moon, although the full Japanese title is given on the front cover.
''Tankōbon'' editions
''Bunkoban'' editions
''Dōjinshi''
Under the pseudonym "Meguro Teikoku", Tanemura has also self-published unofficial dōjinshi of the series and sold limited copies exclusively at Comiket in August 2015.
Anime
The series was adapted as a 52-episode anime television series by Studio Deen, directed by Toshiyuki Kato. It was broadcast on TV Tokyo from April 6, 2002 to March 29, 2003. Because the anime adaptation was broadcast while the manga was still ongoing, several characters have different backgrounds and personalities, and the story ended with a different resolution. The television series is licensed by Viz Media, which released seven DVDs, under the title Full Moon before putting further releases on indefinite hold, citing low sales potential. The songs are subtitled only, resulting in a dub that switches between English dialogue and Japanese singing. Full Moon o Sagashite has two opening themes and four ending themes. "I Love U" by the Scanty is used as the opening theme for the first 26 episodes, while the group's song "Rock 'n' Roll Princess" is used for the rest. Changin' My Life performs all four ending themes: "New Future" used for the first six episodes and the fifty-second and final episode, "Myself" is used for episodes 7–26, "Eternal Snow" is used for episodes 27–42, and "Love Chronicle" is used for episodes 43–51.
Full Moon O Sagashite: Cute Cute Adventure is a ten-minute anime OVA that was distributed with the November 2002 issue of Ribon, the magazine in which the manga was serialized. It was produced by Studio Deen. Myco and Chieko Honda reprise their respective roles of Mitsuki and Meroko from the anime, and Hiromi Ōtsuda voices Takuto. Set before the series ends, it features Takuto and Meroko trying to make their way to the studio in stuffed animal forms after Mitsuki accidentally leaves them at home while rushing to work.
Art book
On April 15, 2004, Shueisha published a seventy-page art book for the series entitled The Arina Tanemura Collection: The Art of Full Moon. Viz Media published an English language edition in North America on October 21, 2008.
