From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Corrector Yui (コレクターユイ, Korekutā Yui
?) is a magical girl anime series created by Kia Asamiya. The anime series was produced
by Nippon
Animation and broadcast on NHK
from 1999 to 2000. It was licensed for North American release by Viz Media. This series has
aired on Cartoon
Network outside of the United States.
Two manga series were also released: a two volume series by
Asamiya and published in Ciao from 1999 to 2000; and a nine
volume two-part series by Keiko Okamoto which was published by NHK Publishing. The second manga series
licensed in North America and translated into English by TOKYOPOP
beginning in 2002. However, there are rumors that in 2009 Tokyopop
may drop the rights to the English-language version of the manga.
If that occurs, Viz Media may pick up the property.
This series follows a basic magical-girl progression, and falls
into many of the magical girl tropes common in the late nineties.
The series is innovative amongst magical girl series in that Yui's
powers all derive from not just the technology she uses, but are
incorporated entirely into her on-line avatar, with no real powers
granted outside of the network.
Plot
It is the year 2020 and computers have become an integral part of
daily life for most people. However, the teenage girl Yui Kasuga is
one of the few who cannot use computers at all, despite the fact
that her father is a software developer. An evil computer
called Grosser wants to take over the ComNet (what the Internet is called in Yui's
time) and as the programs that have been developed to
stop it (called "correctors") need her help, she is sucked into the
ComNet where she is recruited by a corrector called I.R., who gives
her downloadable element suits that allow her to become the ComNet
Fairy Corrector Yui who can fight Grosser's computer viruses.
In the first season, the series revolves around the war against
Grosser, and reveals the mysteries that surround the correctors,
their seemingly missing creator, and the relationship that he seems
to have had with the corrupted computer. The key to the mysteries
seems to be a strange little girl who seems lost and may be related
with the devastating virus appearances.
In the second season, Yui and the correctors must fight with a
mysterious virus who menaces the ComNet, and also cope with the
mysterious Corrector Ai, a Corrector who tends to work on her own
and seems to have her own agenda.
Characters
Main
- Yui Kasuga
- Voiced by: Makiko
Ōmoto
- A high-school student of dubious academic skill, Yui has shown
skill and growth over the series as she assumes the secret on-line
identity of "Corrector Yui". While utterly incompetent when
physically interfacing with computers, Yui in the virtual world is
a tremendously powerful fighter, able to quickly undo damage and
easily battle the strongest of Grosser's henchmen. Her optimistic
view and her ability to cheer up others even at the worst moment
(though sometimes she can be quite perky) was one of her greatest
strengths, making her easily likeable by her peers and fellow
Corrector programs. She also has an empathetic personality that
helps her understand the nature of A.I. programs she meets on the
net. She also has a good singing voice. She has aspirations to
become a manga author and/or anime dubber.
- Haruna
Kisaragi / Dark Angel Haruna
- Voiced by: Yuko
Kagata
- Yui's best friend. She has a polite, calm, and caring
personality. Her intelligence and innate ability with computers
makes her a perfect candidate for Corrector, as expected by Dr.
Inukai. From the beginning she was supposed to be a Corrector, but
I.R. confused her with Yui, thanks to Grosser's intervention. When
Dr. Inukai was passing Corrector tasks and abilities to her, she
got manipulated by Grosser, who turned her into Dark Angel Haruna,
but she was eventually saved by Yui. In the 2nd season,she again
returns as a Corrector to assist Yui, first when Yui got petrified
by infected insects, and later, when she helps Yui until the end of
the 2nd season. Curiously, she can use Element Suits more
effectively than Yui.
- Mototsogu Inukai (犬養博士, Inukai-hakase
?) is the creator of Correctors and
Grosser. He attempts to stop Grosser by sending Correctors, but he
is left comatose after Grosser intercepts him. His mind, incomplete
and amnesiac, wanders the Net, seeing help and evading Grosser's
henchmen. He eventually recovers and passes on his Corrector
abilities to Yui. He helps her repair and build Element Suits, and
provides a base of operations for the Correctors. Voiced by: Mugihito
- Ai
Shinozaki
- Voiced by: Kae
Araki
- Shun's cousin. A dark and mysterious girl who becomes a
Corrector on her own in the 2nd season. Her bitter experience in
the past seems to be the reason for her cold, apathic demeanor as a
mask to protect herself. While at most times she does her job by
mostly cold,no-nonsense efficiency, Yui's action sometimes force
her to reconsider and help Yui. She became a Corrector to search
for the "little girl", believing that she might be connected with
her mother's coma. While at first she rather despised Yui, and
considered her little more than a nuisance, in the end she admires
her optimistic view of life, and her ability to cheer up
others.
Family
- Shun Tojo (東条 瞬, Tōjō
Shun
?)
- Voiced by: Hiroshi
Isobe
- Ai's cousin. An engineering/medical student, also Yui's love
interest (which he is unaware of). Very skillful with computers and
the ComNet, he is often helping Yui (albeit indirectly) in her task
as Corrector. Later in the end of season one, he was abducted by
Grosser, as bait to lure Yui and the other Correctors to battle him
in his lair.
- Shin'ichi Kasuga (春日 伸一, Kasuga
Shin'ichi
?)
- Voiced by: Kazuki
Yao
- Yui's father. A computer programmer. He loves Yui very much,
and is always distressed when he sees Yui with another
man(Shun).
- Sakura Kasuga (春日 さくら, Kasuga
Sakura
?)
- Voiced by: Yuri
Amano
- Yui's mother. An excellent cook, whose work is highly favored
by Yui and her father.
- Azusa Shinozaki (篠崎 あずさ, Shinozaki
Azusa
?)
- Voiced by: Naomi
Shindō
- Ai's mother. A motherly figure whom Ai loves very much. Now
she's comatose, thanks to an accident that severed the connection
between her mind and body. Her mind is imprisoned by Ryo Kurokawa
after she attempts to release the "missing little girl", thus
causing an accident that kills Ryo and releases the girl into the
ComNet.
- Shintaro Shinozaki (篠崎晋太郎, Shinozaki
Shintarō
?)
- Ai's father. Deceased 10 years ago. He and Ai's mother
originally belonged to the science team that created the ComNet.
His death triggered Ai's attempt to mask her heart, at first to
make her mother less worried.
Classmates and teachers
- Takashi Fuji (富士 タカシ, Fuji
Takashi
?)
- Voiced by: Hiroshi
Kamiya
- Haruna's love interest. His demeanor contrasts with Haruna,
often making him a joke target by Yui and her peers, though he is a
nice boy at heart.
- Akiko Yanagi (柳 アキコ, Yanagi
Akiko
?)
- Voiced by: Shiho
Kikuchi
- Yui's best friend.
- Reiko Kan'onzaki (観音崎 レイコ,
Kan'onzaki Reiko
?)
- Voiced by: Yuka
Nagayoshi
- Yui's best friend.
- Ichitaro Ishikawa (市川 一太郎, Ishikawa
Ichitarō
?)
- Voiced by: Ryō
Naitō
- Yui's friend.
- Hidetoshi Kobayashi (小林 ヒデト, Kobayashi
Hideto
?)
- Voiced by: Yoshirō
Matsumoto
- Yui's friend.
- Manami Sayama (佐山 まなみ, Sayama
Manami
?)
- Voiced by: Chieko
Honda
- Yui's teacher. Though she's actually a good, supportive
teacher, her childish personality can sometimes create
trouble.
Correctors
Corrector software was developed in order to maintain and police
the ComNet structure. As such,each piece of software concentrates
on a specific task, and Yui must learn to integrate their skillsets
in order to defeat Grosser's minions, and eventually,Grosser
himself.
- Control (コントロル,
Kontororu
?)
- Voiced by: Hiroki
Takahashi
- Corrector Software #1, The Regulator. Yui meets him in a space
adventure site (not unlike an MMORPG). He has the ability to
practically stop time for a limited time, enabling him to move at
light-speed velocity. His power in the Wind Element Suit makes Yui
able to stop time for about 15 seconds, and if other Correctors
(such as I.R.) borrow its power, the time can be strengthened to 30
seconds. He has a "hero-guy" type personality (treats Yui like a
damsel in distress, said he didn't need a woman's help, always
tries to go first without everyone's concern, tries to steal the
spotlight every time, has some narcisstic streak, etc), which at
first makes Yui tend to dislike him, and sometimes puts him at odds
with the other Correctors, though he is actually a nice guy.
- Synchro (シンクロ,
Shinkuro
?)
- Voiced by: Takashi
Matsuyama
- Corrector Software #2, The Synchronizer. Not much is known
about this Corrector, since he was lost at the beginning of the
series. At the end of the first season it is revealed that he was
corrupted and became the Corruptor program War Wolf. His ability is
similar to Wolf (using fire bursts as weapons), and one of the
Correctors that has excellent fighting abilities on his own. His
power of fire can be bestowed to other Correctors, to let them
access the Fire Element Suit. He has an emotional personality; he
is the one that opposes Dr. Inukai's decision to transfer Corrector
power from Yui to Haruna. Beagle infections force him to stay in
War Wolf form for most of the 2nd season, reminding him of his bad
deeds in the past, causing him to become rather explosive, and
Yui's attitude doesn't help either (she always call him "Doggy" out
of habit, which annoys him).
- Ante (アンティ,
Anti
?)
- Voiced by: Michiko
Neya
- Corrector Software #3, The Predictor. Yui meets her on a love
fortune-telling site. Has ability to foresee the future. Her
visions, though most of time accurate, can sometimes deviate,
especially when she doesn't have enough data/knowledge about the
subject (like when Yui hugged her, when her vision in which Yui
shakes her hand, when they first meet, and when she is trapped in
Rapunzel's tower on the fairytale simulation). Has wise, maternal
personality. Her power enables Yui to access the Wind Element Suit
and enables Yui to predict the enemies' movements and attacks. She
often becomes a subject for Control's flirting, but thanks to her
ability, she can evade most of it (leaving Control in
distress).
- Eco (エコ,
Eko
?)
- Voiced by: Kumiko
Watanabe
- Corrector Software #4, The System Maintainer. Yui meets him on
a rainforest like simulation. He has the ability to control nature,
like water and plants. His power helps Yui to access the Water
Element Suit, and she can control nature at will, using it as
defensive, recovering, or offensive tools. He has a rebellious,
childish personality, and dislikes anyone who desecrates nature, to
the point of kidnapping everyone who litters on the rainforest
simulation. When Yui meets him, he at first hates Dr. Inukai, whom
he believed had left him, but he finally learns that Dr. Inukai
actually loves him, just like the other Correctors, and left him
there for his own safety.
- Rescue (レスキュー,
Resukyū
?)
- Voiced by: Akiko
Kimura
- Corrector Software #5, The Repairer. She has the ability to
heal damage, including Element Suit damage, and when she lends her
power to Yui, Yui can perform a barrier in the Water Element Suit
that can knock back attacks. She has a sweet, rather naive (to the
point of perky), and polite personality. While she is not prone to
fighting, her fighting style includes applying non-lethal force as
much as possible (like using a "tickler machine" and bug spray),
and also using a vast array of traps and gadgets (she is
notoriously known among the other Correctors for this, she even
dubbed herself the "Trap Princess"). All her antics and naivety
especially disturbs Freeze (whom Rescue seems interested in). In
the 2nd season, she fights using bandages from her halo,
anti-Beagles spray, and can also detect virus sources by using a
radar on her halo.
- Peace (ピース,
Pīsu
?)
- Voiced by: Kazuhiko
Nishimatsu
- Corrector Software #6, The Archiver. A pacifist old man who
claims himself to be a "Peace Defender”, who ironically has a knack
for building destructive weapons. At first he disliked Yui for
destroying the solitude he gained at the remote area he inhabited,
but later he helped her drive away Grosser's Corruptors by lending
her his power. His power enables Yui to access the Fire Element
Suit, with the "Flame Bomber" projectile attack. A wise person, he
always speaks what he feels is right, even if it makes conflict
with the other Correctors. In the 2nd season, from his data, the
villain cloned him to wreak havoc on the ComNet, giving the
distraction they needed to carry out their plan.
- Follow (フォロー,
Forō
?)
- Voiced by: Shinobu
Satouchi
- Corrector Software #7, The Compiler. Yui first met him, along
with Peace, at a secluded area, separated from the main domain of
the marine adventure simulation created by her father's company. A
fat guy with a playful, sweet, almost childish demeanor. He likes
Yui at first sight, because "she is cute”. He has the ability to
mimic practically anyone, and copy some abilities from the one he
is mimicking. He is also the one with the biggest memory power out
of all of the Correctors, and when he lends his power to Yui, Yui's
power (and also her weight) in her Basic Element Suit changes
greatly, and can also activate her Earth Element Suit. He’s Peace's
good friend. His ability to mimic others can sometimes be quite a
nuisance for others, like when he teases Freeze by mimicking
Rescue.
- I.R. (アイアール, Ai
Āru
?)
- Voiced by: Tomohiro
Nishimura
- Corrector Software #8, The Installer. The first Corrector
Software Yui meets, I.R. always nags Yui about her duty as
Corrector, sometimes making Yui annoyed to the end. He has a
tendency to end his sentences with "Thank you". I.R. made a Basic
Element Suit for Yui from a princess costume stored in an amusement
park where her Dad works. I.R. can also access the Earth Element
Suit, giving Yui a large physical power boost, making her on par
with Jaggy.
Villains/Corruptors
- Grosser
- Voiced by:
Mugihito
- Leader of the Corruptors. At first, he is a "good" program,
created by Dr. Inukai to manage and maintain the vast-growing
ComNet. His contact with Yui made him want to "live", and later, to
create the world where he could "live". Dr. Inukai, who saw the
change in Grosser, decided to create the Correctors, to restore him
to his current status. When Dr. Inukai chooses Haruna as Corrector,
Grosser, who was fascinated with (arguably "loved") Yui from the
beginning, manipulated I.R. and set Dr. Inukai in accident, so that
Yui would be the Corrector instead of Haruna. He even went as far
as to turn Haruna into Dark Angel Haruna. In the last episode of
the 1st season, he finally meets Yui, and in the form of Shun, he
tries to convince Yui to let him use her body, in order to
experience "true life". Yui could see through the disguise, and
instead, she convinces him that he actually is a living being
himself, capable of feeling happiness, pain, and sadness, and also
others A.I. programs and Corruptors over the Net. She also stated
that for the sake of others who love her, she can't just quit to
become herself, though sometimes she is bitter and sad. Grosser,
who finally sees the error of his ways, deletes himself along with
the whole ComNet, sparing a pretty much-devastated Yui. But at
last, with moral support from Haruna, she could use her power and
reinitialize the whole ComNet again, along with all of the
Corrector programs, Grosser, and the Corruptors, who were grateful
to her. He has a weakness to sound with a specific frequency, a
trait that Yui, Haruna, and Fina (the baby whale on the marine
simulation) share that somehow could force him to return to his
"normal" state.
- Freeze (フリーズ,
Furīzu
?)
- Voiced by: Kotono
Mitsuishi
- The only female Software on Grosser's team (up until Evil
Haruna appears). She is probably the most ruthless and competent of
all of Grosser's henchmen, at least until the too-naive-to-be-true
Rescue appears. She has the ability to freeze anything. In the
second season, after failing in many side-jobs, she finally accepts
a job from a mysterious man to search for a little girl, who is
"always present everywhere she's near”. Later it was revealed that
she has the innate ability to detect virus presence (which she
didn't realize), and later was used by this mysterious man to
search for the "missing little girl”. It is noted that she got a
big personality change in the 2nd season, from the cold,
no-nonsense villain in the 1st season into a ditzy, much more
cheerful and girly attitude in the 2nd season. In the series
finale, she even got her own Corrector suit (dubbed "Corrector
Freeze" by some fans).
- Jaggy (ジャギー,
Jagī
?)
- Voiced by: Hiromi
Sugino
- Despite his bulk size and his strength, Jaggy is (arguably) the
most knowledgeable (though not the most talented) of all Grosser's
henchmen. Most of his tactics including manipulating the
environment to do his bidding (though most of it didn't do so
well). Loves to read books. In the 2nd season, he became the
library administrator, and seems to have some feelings for
Freeze.
- War Wolf (ウォーウルフ, Uō
Urufu
?)
- Voiced by: Takashi
Matsuyama
- Resembles a werewolf, he is one of Grosser's henchmen that
prefers actual combat. He fights by using a light saber, and he has
the ability to control fire. Yui called him "Doggy”, much to his
dismay. He has a somewhat honorable demeanor. He is, in fact, the
lost corrector program Synchro, but this is unknown to him until
near the end of the first season. Beagle infections in the
beginning of the 2nd season have forced Synchro to stay in this
form for the rest of the season.
- Virus (ウイルス,
Uirusu
?)
- Voiced by: Kazuhiro
Nakayama
- Armed with primarily a light saber and computer viruses, he
(arguably) has the most intelligence compared to his other
teammates. He isn't prone to actual combat, and prefers to use more
scheming methods. His computer viruses can be used to corrupt other
programs and make them do his bidding. In the 2nd season, he works
as a virus computer researcher, whom with Yui and Haruna's help
finally identifies the source of Beagles Virus.
Others
- Feena or Hoehoe-kun (ホエホエくん
?)
- Voiced by: Yuki
Kaida
- A baby whale from the Marine Adventure Net area of ComNet.
- Mysterious Man
- This mysterious man is working in the fairytale simulation, as
a performer for a "Sun, Wind and Traveler" story drama, as the
traveler. He asks Freeze to search for the "missing little girl”,
claiming he wanted to return her home, with one condition; that she
shouldn't talk about it with anyone. Behind his friendly demeanor,
he was not beneath using cruel and dirty tactics to ensure his job
was done (like cloning Peace at one point, or using a modified
version of Beagle Virus). He promised a large sum of reward money
for Freeze, stopping her from asking too much about the job. In the
end, it is revealed he is just a mere pawn, controlled by another
mastermind. At the end of the series, he helps Freeze to release
the "missing little girl”, and distracts Ryo, giving the Correctors
a chance to reinitialize her.
- Missing Little Girl (iちゃん,
Ai-chan
?)
- Voiced by: Makoto
Tsumura
- This red-haired little girl, with her teddy bear, is always
present when the Beagle Virus appears. While she seems innocent and
bears no harm, when emotionally pressured, and she sheds tears, her
tears become the core for the Beagles virus. She is always
searching for "sunflowers”. Her picture was found within a
storybook that belongs to Ai Shinozaki. Originally, she was created
by Shintaro Ishikawa as a messenger for his daughter. Ryo took her,
experimenting on her with lots of computer viruses (not unlike Lisa
Trevor), and thus the Beagles Virus was created with her as the
host. Her name is "Ai", same with Shinozaki Ai. The teddy bear she
carries acts as her protector and backup. He is the one who stole
Yui's newest ComCon and gave it to Ai instead. This little girl can
feel the emotions of others, which causes Ai to always lose her
track, due to her heart's closure to others (which at first, she
blamed on the ComCon, using logical deduction).
- Ryo Kurokawa (黒川 良, Kurokawa
Ryō
?)
- Voiced by: Shinpachi
Tsuji
- He has dubbed himself as "the most despised man by ComNet and
Shintaro Shinozaki". He is the true mastermind behind the Beagles
Virus creation, whom he planned to use to destroy ComNet, and to
form a new ComNet. He saw A.I. programs as tools, thus making him
at odds with Inukai and Shinozaki, causing him to retire from the
group. When Azusa Shinozaki attempted to release "Ai", she was
killed by an accident that happened in his place, but her mind was
keep intact in ComNet, interacting with the Beagles Virus. He
didn't realize it until Prof. Inukai showed him the truth. In the
end, Yui's finally able to reinitialize him in her Final Element
Suit, and his last word were "At least... I can leave my hatred to
humanity".
Miscellaneous
- ComCon
- This bracelet is used by every Corrector as access,
communication, transformation, radar, transmitter and receiver
device. Even without VR units, every Corrector can enter ComNet
easily with this. While entering ComNet, for people outside they
would be seen as sleeping, so others wouldn't notice.
- ComNet
- This virtual world is the form of Internet in Yui's
world.Everyone can access and experience worlds inside it, using VR
units. Time goes 256 times faster in ComNet than in the real world
(means, one second in the real word is approximately the same as
256 seconds (4 minutes, 16 seconds) in ComNet). However, being too
long in ComNet can cause problems, because of fatigued body,
causing symptoms which are dubbed as "ComNet Fever". That's why in
regular VR units, there are failsafe programs that eject people
automatically after 10 hours a day in ComNet. ComCon bracelets
didn't have this feature, once causing Ai to get "ComNet Fever"
when she stayed too long in the Net.
Media
Anime
Viz Media has only released 18 of the 52 episodes onto Region 1
DVD in the United States. Whether or not Viz will release the rest
of the series remains to be seen. The last DVD Viz released for the
show, the 4th volume, came out Feb 24, 2004.
Openings
and Endings
Openings:
Episodes 1-26: Eien to Iu Basho, by: Kyoko. Episodes
27-52: Tori ni Naru Toki, by : Satsuki.
Endings:
Episodes 1-26: Mirai, by : LEGOLGEL. Episodes
27-52: Requiem, by : Satsuki.
External
links
Viz Media
NHK
Wikis
Quiz
Map
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