Hime-chan no Ribbon: Episode List

1- "Mahou tsukai ni nachatta" ("I can do magic")
(魔法使いになっちゃった)

Airdate: October 02, 1992

A very cute girl, with long blonde hair and a red ribbon, is having fun flying on a broom, among the clouds high in the night sky. When she emerges from the clouds, a large city far below her comes to view. The girl says that the view from here is great, and she can't see that from the Land of Magic. Then she asks her broom, named Chappy, to fly down closer. Her broom retorts that it's no game and she, the Princess, should go back soon or her father the King will be very mad at her. But the girl says that she has two days to find her look-a-like. Soon they head down toward the city, and fly among the tall skyscrapers.

In a building that wasn't so tall, some people are still at work, taking shots for a movie. As they start shooting a scene, the director, a dark haired man wearing glasses, spots something flying outside, and as he turns back, is face to face with the blonde Princess on her broom, who was carelessly flying too close to the buildings and has come into view. She dashes away at full speed.

Screaming with surprise, the director rushes at a phone to give a call home. At home, his wife, with middle-long brown hair tied with a pink ribbon, is working on her computer and asks Aiko (one of her daughters) to answer. But she remembers she hasn't come back home yet, so goes to answer the phone herself. She manages to pick up the phone before her young daughter Yumeko does. At the other end of the line, her husband, still very excited, yells that he has just seen a girl flying outside, and it was Himeko without a doubt. To prove to him that he must have dreamt it, his wife calls Himeko. Then he hears his daughter rush down the stairs.. behind his wife. But says he thought that was Himeko for real. His wife says he must have gotten mixed up with the scenario of his movie, and hangs up. Himeko, who really looks like the Princess' twin but with short hair, is very surprised about her father's call.

The next day at school, the blonde Princess and her broom Chappy are hiding in a tree, looking carefully at the students on the playground. Then they happily spot Himeko, playing baseball and running after the ball to catch it. But as she catches it, looking backwards, she bumps into the fence and falls right into a puddle. But she hasn't dropped the ball, so her team congratulates her. Chappy complains that the Princess' look-alike is such a tomboy.

When the lesson is over, Himeko goes to class 1-A to get Manami, one of her friends, a red-haired girl with two ponytails, so they can go back home together, since Himeko's club has no meeting that day. Manami calls her Hime-chan and wonders why she's so dirty. As they go down the stairs, along with another friend of theirs, a taller girl wearing round glasses that Manami calls Icchan, Hime-chan tells them what happened during the baseball game.

Soon they hear the sound of roller skates getting closer at full speed. A boy with short brown hair is visibly trying to run away from a very mad teacher who calls him Kobayashi and is chasing him for skating in the hallway. When Kobayashi gets cornered in front of a closed door, he throws his school bag at a very surprised Hime-chan, takes a run at the teacher, and impressively jumps over him. Then he picks up his school bag and heads for the playground, with the teacher still after him, who swears he'll pay for it the next day.

Manami says that this boy was the very cool Kobayashi Daichi. Icchan teases her for finding just every boy very cool, but Manami retorts that it's true: Kobayashi is very good at sports and really good-looking. But Hime-chan says he's not her type as she prefers much quieter and intellectual boys.

"Just like Hasekura-senpai then?" Manami adds, startling Hime-chan. She wonders out loud if Hasekura-senpai, a member of Hime-chan's theater club, is Hime-chan's secret love. As Hime-chan retorts that he's not, Hasekura-senpai, a tall guy with short light brown hair, comes into view and asks her what she was saying about him, making her blush and look down. Then he realizes how dirty she is, and says she isn't changing a bit.

Hime-chan then spots a memo he's holding, to get ready for the coming exams sessions. She pats her trousers' pockets, inside which there is an amulet for passing exams, and wishes Hasekura-senpai good luck. As he leaves, she takes the amulet and wants to give it to him, but can't do it and cheers him up out loud instead. Icchan remarks that Hime-chan can't be in love with him, because if she was, she couldn't have said that much.

From where they are hiding, the blonde Princess says that the ribbon would nicely fit her.

At home, lying on her bed in her pajamas, Hime-chan remembers what Manami said about her being in love with Hasekura-senpai. She says to herself that the next day is his birthday. She bought the amulet three months ago to give it to him and wish him good luck for his exams, but was too shy to do it. Talking to her stuffed animal, a small and cute lion called Pokota, she complains she can't even say "I love you" to him.

Then her older sister Aiko, very cute and calm girl with long dark hair, knocks at the door and comes in. She brings some clothes she has just ironed for her. Staring at her, Hime-chan says that Aiko is the perfect image of a girl. "You are good at cooking and housework, very feminine, and so beautiful. If I were a boy, I would definitely want to marry you." Aiko, with a smile, says Hime-chan should go to bed instead of talking nonsense.

Lying back on her bed, Hime-chan thinks to herself that if she were like Aiko, she would be courageous enough [to give Hasekura the present she bought for him]. As she holds Pokota, she realizes he seems mad at her for being in such low spirits. Soon she gets up with a resolute look, yells, "Yes! That's my way! I won't give up! I'll give him my present tomorrow!" and makes a funny/silly jump in the air, yelling out, "Ike ike go go jump!!" startling everyone in the house [VERY funny ^_^].

The next day, bringing Pokota with her in her purse, she heads toward Hasekura's house with a resolute look. She is now standing in front of Hasekura's house, wondering what she should do. She takes a deep breath and almost puts her finger on the door bell, but can't press it. To cheer herself up, she takes Pokota and uses his paw to press the button.. but she can't, and leaves.

Flying in mid air on her broom Chappy, the blonde Princess has been watching Hime-chan. Chappy still doesn't understand why Hime-chan couldn't give the amulet, but the Princess tells Chappy that one day she will understand too.

Hime-chan, walking in the streets, enjoys the fresh air and passes in front of the broken fence around a very old, deserted house, and decides to sneak in. But when she pops out of the bushes, she runs into.. Kobayashi Daichi.

Spotting her, Daichi asks Hime-chan what she's doing here. She replies she's crawling on the grass, but that doesn't make him laugh. Then Hime-chan asks him if he's the owner of the old house. Daichi asks her why she thinks somebody is living here, and pushes her back out onto the street, saying there was a no trespassing sign that she should have read. But Hime-chan doesn't notice that the amulet has dropped out of her pocket while she was crawling on the grass.

When Hime-chan complains that Daichi has ignored this sign too, calling him by his family name, Daichi is surprised and asks her why she knows his name. He obviously doesn't remember that he threw his school bag to her the day before. She says, "We are in the same school!" and Daichi replied, "Oh! You are a GIRL!!".

Hime-chan becomes VERY furious and gives him her powerful Himeko kick right on his face [VERY funny !], while yelling at him for not having noticed that she was a girl. Then she spots, Hasekura-senpai behind Daichi, who is looking at her, and might even have seen her kicking Daichi (her typical boyish behavior she is afraid to show him).

Hime-chan becomes bright red, so while she is speaking to Hasekura, Daichi comes by and whispers, "Why has your face turned red?" She doesn't reply but kicks him again from behind. While he was leaving, Hasekura tells Hime-chan to try to stop acting too much like a tomboy. It makes her laugh, but to herself that's the worst.

At home, when Yumeko asks Aiko why Hime-chan skips dinner, Aiko replies that she said her head hurts. Their mother says not to worry about her though, because she'll eat even more the next day. In her room, looking at the night sky out of the window, Hime-chan can hear them quarreling over her dinner (Mother and Yumeko fighting for croquettes).

Hime-chan sadly remembers the past events: Kobayashi thinking she was a boy, Hasekura seeing her kicking Kobayashi, and more, she has lost the amulet somewhere. She says to herself, with her eyes closed, that she would die to become, or even be able to transform into, a very cute girl. At the same time, flying in the night sky, the blonde Princess is looking at her, smiling.

Then just when thinking such a thing could never happen, Hime-chan opens her eyes and sees the Princess in front of her. Hime-chan thinks that it was a kind of mirror she's looking at, but when she realizes her reflected image has long hair and wears a red ribbon, the Princess introduces herself as Erika, and asks very politely to Hime-chan to let her in. Hime-chan is about to yell out with fear, but Princess Erika shushes her, saying she's not a thief.

Hime-chan, yet a bit surprised, asks her in a rough voice if she is in the habit of entering people's rooms through the window, but Erika replies that there is nothing to be angry about because she has come to tell Hime-chan something very important.

Erika says she is the Princess from the Land of Magic. Hime-chan obviously doesn't believe her at all, and gets up to call her mother. But then she spots Erika's broom Chappy flying around her, so she sits down quietly. Erika continues to tell her story. In the Land of Magic, everybody's duty (such as her father the King) is to prepare/invent magical items. In fact, Chappy herself was invented by Erika's great-great-great-grandfather, and Erika has invented the ribbon she is now holding out to Hime-chan. She adds that it could transform Hime-chan into any other living person on Earth. Hime-chan, as expected, doesn't believe a word of what she said, and Chappy gets mad, yelling that it's the truth.

Erika would give the ribbon to Hime-chan for one year, in return for the permission to let her observe Hime-chan for her training. Hime-chan retorts with an angry look that she is NOT a guinea pig. Erika replies that she can't help it because she had to find her copy on Earth to make the experiment with.

Then Chappy angrily says to Hime-chan that if she uses this ribbon to do something stupid and if the examiners come to hear it, Erika won't be able to pass the exam. Hime-chan then gets up and said she wouldn't do that.

Hime-chan also says that she's not suited for this task. But Erika kindly replies that she is very suitable for it, and begs her to accept the ribbon, saying that turning into other people is really great. Then Hime-chan wonders if she could even turn into her older sister Aiko. Erika says that she could.

Erika gives her a bracelet that she should use the ribbon in combination with. Then to be able to transform, Hime-chan should stand in front of a mirror, or any reflecting surface. After that, Hime-chan had to do the following in order.


 * open the magical bracelet
 * put her left arm with the bracelet on her forehead
 * put her right arm to form a cross with her left arm before her face
 * say the magic words while opening her arms

But Hime-chan is somewhat scared to do so, until she hears a voice from behind saying, "Cheer up! Do it!"

She turns back and sees, much to her surprise, that her stuffed animal Pokota can now talk. Erika adds that another side effect of the ribbon is to bring one of its owner's belongings to life. In Hime-chan's case, it is Pokota. Now, taking Pokota in her hands, Hime-chan is convinced it was no joke and she can really transform into Aiko.

She looks back at her reflection in the mirror and says the magical words, parareru parareru Aiko-oneechan ni nare. In no time she gets transformed into Aiko, and can't believe it. But Erika isn't finished with her yet. She tells her that the transformation lasts only one hour, and to turn back to her own self she has to do the same magical gestures. Also while she is transformed, the bracelet and ribbon turn themselves into a pendant which will start beeping three minutes before time runs out.

She also advises Hime-chan to take great care of herself when using the ribbon, but Aiko/Hime-chan isn't listening to her any more. Hime-chan is looking for some earrings to show off. With a deep sigh, Erika sits on Hime-chan's bed and starts worrying about her. But Pokota tells her that it was Hime-chan's first transformation ever so Erika shouldn't worry about her strange typical Japanese girl behavior. He also says that from now on he will look after her. Erika feels a bit relieved then.

Finally, Hime-chan/Aiko jumps up and yells out, "That's GREAT!!"