Uta Kata

Uta∽Kata (うた∽かた (詩片), lit. "Poem Fragment") is a 2004 anime TV series. Written differently (泡沫), the title can also refer to bubbles, which is used as such in the ending theme.

The series can be loosely considered a magical girl story. However, this series deviates from more conventional magical girl themes in that it addresses topics that are for a more mature audience, such as child abuse,^[2] eating disorders,^[3] and possibly misanthropy.^[4] Nevertheless, it illustrates the main character's coming of age with each progressive episode, becoming more and more emotionally intense as the story goes on.

The story follows Ichika Tachibana's life over a summer holiday when she meets Manatsu Kuroki. The series then details their summer activities and the use of special creatures called Djinn (ジン jin), elemental creatures that lend their powers to Ichika to help her and her friends when they invariably find themselves in danger, and eventually for their own motives.

Plot

On the day before the summer holiday, Ichika Tachibana discovers that the charm attached to her cell phone has somehow wound up inside a mirror in the old school building. A girl named Manatsu Kuroki, inside the mirror, offers to return the charm and phone in exchange for a favor. When Ichika accepts, Manatsu emerges from the mirror, but Ichika finds to her chagrin that the charm's stones' have all taken on different colors. Her indignation soon turns to delight as she is transformed by the charm and given an incredibly moving experience in the skies above Kamakura.

After returning to the old classroom, Manatsu asks that Ichika use all the colored stones in the charm and record her experiences and thoughts. Starting with the facade of Manatsu as her text-message pal, Ichika begins to entangle herself in a web of small lies and deceptions.

When Ichika faces various dangers during the summer holiday, she at first uses the Djinn's power within the stones to resolve them supernaturally. But as the summer draws on, she begins to use the power even though there is no imminent danger. Through each experience with the Djinn she learns about the willfulness of herself and others. Slowly, the power of the Djinn erodes her emotional, physical, and mental strength, and she abuses the power to the point of attempting murder.

Meanwhile, Ichika's tutors, Sei and Kai, are tormented by Ichika's ordeal—Sei had gone through the very same thing six years ago. They very much want to prevent Ichika from experiencing the same trials, but are bound to the rules of the ritual; when Sei tried to interfere, he was turned into stone as a penalty. Although Ichika tries to abandon using the Djinn's power altogether, she finds herself losing control over her actions. Faced with fear, sadness, or anger, she finds that the Djinn grant her power against her will. Not only this, she finds that she cannot discard the charm, as it will fly back to her.

Ichika, in fact, had been subjected to a ritual judgment determined from the time she was conceived. Saya, the final Djinn, would take a young person of fourteen years—the age between the innocence of childhood and the hardness of adulthood—and show him or her the world through the eyes of the Djinn. The individual would experience seven trials that contrasted seven virtues and sins: affection and resentment, temperance and hubris, devotion and rebellion, honesty and treachery, reason and envy, passion and lust, wisdom and machination. When Ichika is thus led to despair in humanity and disgust of herself, Saya binds her to the mirror and asks her to decide whether to destroy humanity or herself.

In response, however, Ichika refuses to choose either. Saya declares that as a violation of the rules, and drives her scythe towards Ichika's body. Sei shatters his stone skin and tries to stop the scythe, but Ichika decides that it is better that she die rather than see him hurt. Manatsu, in defiance, drives herself into the scythe, saving Ichika's life. Kai returns the life energy that kept him in human form to Sei, and both he and Manatsu revert to their original forms: shards of the old mirror.

When school resumed in the fall, Ichika decided to remain at Kamakura rather than join her parents in Italy. Elsewhere, Saya determined to move on and judge the next teenager.

OVA

In the OVA Shotō no Futanatsu (初冬の双夏, Twin Summers of the First Winter), Ichika hears that Manatsu has been seen again, one week before her birthday. Not long after the fall term had begun, Sei had transferred to a German university in an exchange program. On Christmas Eve, both discover that Manatsu and Kai's shards had vanished, and they both reunite with Ichika and Sei, respectively. They had returned for one last night and to say goodbye. After an evening with Ichika and Sei, the shards return to Saya's old mirror during the night. The next spring, Ichika enters a new school year with her friends, while Saya's experiments continue with a new test subject.

Characters

From left to right: Michiru, Keiko, Satsuki, Manatsu and Ichika

Ichika Tachibana (橘 一夏, Tachibana Ichika)

Ichika is a 14-year-old Japanese middle school student living in Kamakura, who discovers on the day before summer holiday that a gift from her tutor is much more than a good-luck charm.

She is honest and polite to everyone, including her own parents, and always tries to do the right thing. She detests lying, especially if she finds herself doing it. As a result, her friends often playfully tease her for being straightlaced. Ichika is easily scared, and the thought of ghosts terrifies her, especially when she first sees Manatsu in a mirror they find in the school's oldest building.

Voiced by: Yōko Honda

Manatsu Kuroki (黒城 舞夏, Kuroki Manatsu)

Manatsu is a young girl that Ichika met in dreams and a mirror.

Manatsu seems to be the polar opposite of Ichika in terms of personality. When Ichika is hesitant, Manatsu is carefree and assertive; where the former is reserved, the latter is cheerfully outgoing. She also has striking similarities to Ichika, namely, she knows and loves many of the same things Ichika does, and she shares the same fear of ghosts.

Voiced by: Masumi Asano

Satsuki Takigawa (多岐川 皐月, Takigawa Satsuki)

Ichika introduces her friend Satsuki as "a very responsible and strong person. You can always count on her." She is a brash young girl who often takes the lead of Ichika and the other friends. A painful memory causes her to avoid most boys, despite her seemingly strong personality. Satsuki has an older brother, with whom she apparently gets along well, despite the fact that they bicker a fair bit.

Voiced by: Tomoko Kawakami

Keiko Takamura (篁 蛍子, Takamura Keiko)

Ichika describes her friend Keiko as "a proper young lady from a good family, gentle and kind." She is the type who is easily amused by simple things, such as shaking a duster in a sunbeam. Her parents appear to be rather controlling, however, which causes Keiko some distress with regards to a boy she liked.

Voiced by: Yurika Ochiai

Michiru Munakata (宗方 未知留, Munakata Michiru)

Ichika says of her friend Michiru, "She's really into literature, and her instincts are amazingly sharp." Due to being a miko and having the "power of vision", she can allegedly see ghosts and spirits, and is a quiet, if not shy, person. Michiru has a younger sister named Rui, of whose feelings she appears to be rather protective. Michiru is prone to making slightly odd comments and is unable to swim in the sea, claiming her skin is sensitive to saltwater. She tends to speak in a subdued tone of voice.

Voiced by: Yukari Tamura

Sei Tōdō (藤堂 誓唯, Tōdō Sei)

Sei is one of Ichika's tutors, and a high school student. He instructs her in grammar, literature, and social sciences. He is introduced as the twin brother of Kai. Of the two, Sei usually seems to be the calmer, gentler one. Ichika has developed romantic feelings for him.

Voiced by: Nobuo Tobita

Kai Tōdō (藤堂 繪委, Tōdō Kai)

Kai is Ichika's other tutor. He teaches her math and science. He is introduced as the twin brother of Sei. Of the two, Kai seems the more extroverted one and more physical in nature. He is also in love with his twin brother Sei.

Voiced by: Nobutoshi Kanna

Saya Kogure (小暮 沙耶, Kogure Saya)

Saya is an enigmatic woman who is, at times, hidden from view of most people. She is the Tachibanas' next door neighbor, and is in the fashion industry.

But this is only an illusion—she covertly pushes circumstances in Ichika's life to bring her to use the power of the Djinns. She can move anywhere at will, turn her scarf into a deadly scythe and other objects and keeps an eye on Ichika throughout the series. She strictly enforces rules concerning the activation of the stones: the current bearer must remain completely in the dark as to their true nature and purpose and no one may interfere with the bearer's decision to use the power.

Voiced by: Maria Kawamura

Episode list

Similar to gímik's earlier work, Kiddy Grade (where a different guest artist drew the eyecatches for each episode), each episode's main costume was designed by a guest artist who also created artwork for the ending sequence of that episode.

Each episode preview in the anime was narrated by Ichika in the style of a diary entry, and on the website, a corresponding entry narrated by Manatsu is available.

In a possible variation of the four-character yojijukugo, every title is composed of a pair of two-kanji words separated by a no particle. A literal, if rough, translation of most titles can be derived by assembling the phrase "[second word] of (the) [first word]".

The TV series and OVA has been licensed in North America by Sentai Filmworks, anime distributor Section23 Films released the complete collection set on November 2, 2010.^[5]

Staff Credits

• Planning: gímik, HAL FILM MAKER
• Original Story: gímik
• Director: Keiji Gotoh
• Screenplay: Hidefumi Kimura
• Character Design & Art Director: Megumi Kadonosono
• Background Art: Tokumitsu Kobayashi
• Art Director: Hisaharu Iijima
• Color Design: Yoshimi Kawakami
• CGI Director: Atsushi Takeyama
• Photography Director: Tomoyuki Sakurada
• Editing: Shigeru Nishiyama
• Sound Director: Hitoshi Aketagawa
• Sound Effects Production: Magic Capsule
• Music: Megumi Ōhashi
• Music Production: Victor Entertainment
• Production: Bandai Visual

Theme songs

• Opening Theme: Omoi wo Kanadete (想いを奏でて)
• Ending Theme: Itsuka Tokeru Namida (いつか溶ける涙)
  • Artist: savage genius
• Insert song (episode 3): Kono Natsu wo Kakaete
  • Artist: Sachiko & Chino
• Insert song (episode 3): Zutto Kono Machi de
  • Artist: emiko

Reaction

The Anime Encyclopedia: A Guide to Japanese Animation Since 1917 compares the series' underlying themes to those of Mahoromatic, noting that the story is "an allegory of the end of childhood and one last vacation before the responsibilities of the grown-up world start to impinge". It criticizes the OVA episode, calling it "a rather pointless rehash that to some minds betrays the elegiac quality of the original series—if everything can be reset and reprised à la Tenchi Muyo!, where's the drama?"^[7]

References

External links

• Uta∽Kata Official Website

TYO Animations
formerly Yumeta Company and Hal Film Maker
Television series	Saber Marionette J (1996–1997) Saber Marionette J to X (1998–1999) Boys Be... (2000) Strange Dawn (2000) Prétear (2001) Princess Tutu (2002–2003) Uta Kata (2004) Harukanaru Toki no Naka de Hachiyō Shō (2004–2005) Bludgeoning Angel Dokuro-Chan (2005) Aria the Animation (2005) Fushigiboshi no Futagohime (2005–2006) Fushigiboshi no Futagohime Gyu! (2006–2007) Aria the Natural (2006) The Good Witch of the West (2006) Ōban Star-Racers (2006) La Corda D'Oro - primo passo (2006–2007) Bludgeoning Angel Dokuro-chan 2 (2007) Night Wizard the Animation (2007) Sketchbook ~full color's~ (2007) Aria the Origination (2008) Neo Angelique Abyss (2008) Someday's Dreamers: Summer Skies (2008) Neo Angelique Abyss -Second Age- (2008) Kemeko Deluxe! (2008) Skip Beat! (2008–2009) La Corda D'Oro ~secondo passo~ (2009) Mainichi Kaasan (2009–2012) Miracle Train - Ōedo-sen e Yōkoso (2009) Anyamaru Tantei Kiruminzuu (2009–2010) B Gata H Kei (2010) Tamayura: Hitotose (2011) Ginga e Kickoff!! (2012–2013) Chōyaku Hyakunin isshu: Uta Koi (2012) Odoriko Clinoppe (2013) Tamayura: More Aggressive (2013) Sengoku Musou SP: Sanada no Shou (2014) La Corda d'Oro Blue Sky (2014) Wolf Girl and Black Prince (2014) Samurai Warriors (2015) YuruYuri Nachuyachumi! + (2015) YuruYuri San Hai! (2015) Terra Formars: Revenge (2016)
OVAs/ONAs	3×3 Eyes Seima Densetsu (1995–1996) Saber Marionette J Again (1997–1998) Macross Dynamite 7 (1997–1998) Angelique: Shiroi Tsubasa no Memoire (2000) Angel Sanctuary (2000) Angelique: Seichi yori Ai wo Komete (2001) Animation Runner Kuromi (2001) Angelique: Twin Collection (2002–2003) Harukanaru Toki no Naka de 2: Shiroki Ryuu no Miko (2003–2005) Heart Cocktail Again (2003) Animation Runner Kuromi 2 (2004) Angelique (2004–2005) Ghost Talker's Daydream (2004) Shotō no Futanatsu (2005) Harukanaru Toki no Naka de Hachiyō Shō (2005–2006) Aria the OVA: Arietta (2007) Harukanaru Toki no Naka de 3 ~Kurenai no Tsuki~ (2007) Yotsunoha (2008) Harukanaru Toki no Naka de 3 ~Owari Naki Unmei~ (2010) Mudazumo Naki Kaikaku: The Legend of Koizumi (2010) Tamayura (2010) +Tic Elder Sister (2011–2012) Tamayura: Hitotose (2012) One Off (2012) Tamayura: More Aggressive (2014) YuruYuri Nachuyachumi! (2014) Aria the Avvenire (2015–2016)
Films	Slayers Premium (2001) Harukanaru Toki no Naka de: Maihitoyo (2006) Tamayura: Sotsugyō Shashin (2015–2016)
Category (TYO) Category (Hal)