Midori Days is a Japanese manga series by Kazurou Inoue. It was published by Shogakukan in the magazine Weekly Shōnen Sunday from September 2002 to July 2004 and has been collected in eight tankōbon volumes. It is licensed in English in North America by Viz Media and in Singapore by Chuang Yi. The series follows Seiji Sawamura who one day finds his right hand replaced with a girl named Midori Kasugano and his attempts to return her to her real body. The series was adapted as a 13-episode anime series produced by Pierrot. It aired in Japan from April to June 2004 on the animetelevision networkAnimax, who has also broadcast the series across its networks worldwide, including Southeast Asia, East Asia, South Asia and other regions. It was licensed in North America by Media Blasters.
Plot
Seiji Sawamura is the toughest student in his high school. His grades aren't very good because he fights more than he studies, but he tends to protect the weaker students from bullies. A few classmates idolize him; one shyly loves him from afar; but most are just afraid of him, which has made it impossible for him to find a girlfriend. In desperation, he says to himself that he wants a girlfriend no matter who it is. He then notices a miniature Midori attached to where his right hand used to be. Because of this, the pair must learn how to adapt to this sudden and forced closeness.
Characters
Main characters
; The titular heroine of the series, a 16-year-old girl who ends up as Seiji's right hand. She has had a crush on him for three years. One day, she wishes to be with him, so much so that she finds herself in the place of his right hand. This causes problems for him, since it is his "Devil's Right Hand" that he punches with. Midori's real body is in a coma, and her mother tries everything to bring her back. ; The main protagonist of the series, he is a 17-year-old delinquent student who is feared for his fighting skills. Seiji fights to protect the weak using his powerful "Devil's Right Hand", and is nicknamed "Mad Dog" Sawamura. Fighting people has a price, however: everyone, including girls, fear him. He has goneseventeen years without a girlfriend and wants one badly.
Secondary characters
; Takako Ayase The class representative for Seiji's class. She originally detested him, but after Seiji saves her from a gang, she begins to harbor a secret attraction to him. Unfortunately for her, all of her plans to confess her feelings to him fail, either through Seiji's obliviousness or outside circumstances. ;Rin Sawamura Seiji's violent older sister. She is the former leader of a powerful street gang, and her favorite hobbies are drinking, beating up Seiji, and taking his allowance. She was the one who taught him how to fight when he was younger. ; Kouta Shingyoji A childhood friend of Midori's who is also a fellow first year at Ogurabashi High School. He was always in love with Midori, but over the course of the series, he manages to develop feelings for Seiji that make the miniature Midori extremely nervous. ; Osamu Miyahara A year-younger student at Seiji's school and kōhai or underclassman of Seiji. He idolizes Seiji for his fighting skills and is arguably the closest thing to a friend Seiji had before Midori. However, he seemingly can not keep himself out of trouble as he constantly gets caught by rival gangs. ;Shuichi Takamizawa A classmate of Seiji's who is a dollotaku. He always carries around a doll of a fictional anime character named Ultra-Marin, and seems to have a creepy obsession with the character. He is also good at making clothes for dolls, a talent which means an expanded wardrobe for the miniature Midori when he finds out Seiji's secret. ; Shiori Tsukishima A 10-year-old neighbor of Seiji's who has a crush on him. She tries a variety of ways to gain his attention, even going as far as asking Rin what kind of woman Seiji likes. However, he never takes her advances seriously as he still treats her like a child. ; Haruka Kasugano Midori's mother who is worried about her. Haruka is willing to do anything to cure Midori of her illness. She is very sad about Midori's coma and tries several times to bring her back.
Midori Days is written and illustrated by Kazurou Inoue and was serialized in the weekly shōnen manga magazine Weekly Shōnen Sunday by Shogakukan from September 2002 to July 2004. The series been collected in eight tankōbon volumes. The first volume was released on January 18, 2003, while the eighth and final volume was released on October 18, 2004. The series has been released in English in North America by Viz Media, in Singapore by Chuang Yi, and in Australia by Madman Entertainment.
Anime
An anime television series adaptation by Pierrot aired from April 3 to June 26, 2004. The series was directed by Tsuneo Kobayashi, with Yuko Kusumoto providing the character designs and Yoshihisa Hirano composing the music. CooRie performed the opening theme "Sentimental", while Saori Atsumi performed the ending theme "A Little More... A Little More...". The series was licensed in North America by Media Blasters.
