▷Hello! Spank: Aiko and that bond written in destiny 🥇

Our journey into the memory of the legendary 80's cartoons continues with Hello! Spank. The manga, created by Shun'ichi Yukimuro and Shizue Takanashi, was shown on TV as anime in 1981. After Holly and Benji, Mila and Shiro, the Tiger Man, The Great Mazinger, Ninja Turtles to the rescue and Gigi La Trottola, let's venture into the story of the very nice Spank.

The plot of Hello! Spank

The story of the sweet, clumsy and sensitive Spank is a story of feelings and fidelity. It starts when Aiko Morimura (Aika in the Italian version), a fourteen-year-old girl, is forced to move to the seaside town where her uncle lives after her mother's departure for Paris. On the other hand, there is no news of his father, who apparently disappeared at sea with his yacht in the middle of a storm. Arriving in the quiet town, Aiko faces another nefarious event: her dog Papy dies in a car accident. The old sage from the port, whom the boys on the beach call Grandpa Jem, then decides to entrust Spank to her. It is a large white puppy dog with dark ears whose master had suffered the terrible fate of his father.

An inseparable couple

At first Aiko she is not convinced that she is adopting an awkward and clumsy animal. They will be the joy and tenderness of Spank to win her over and make her decide to keep him. Over the course of the series, Spank will befriend other anime characters - the cat Torakiki (Torakichi in the original version), wearing a red neck tie; the refined Cat, a beautiful and snobbish Siamese kitten, with a character very similar to her mistress Serino (Serina in the Italian edition), Aiko's classmate. Spank will lose his head for Micia: it is impossible not to remember her heart-shaped eyes every time they meet.

Aiko and the faded love for Rei

Also Aiko seems romantically linked to a boy named Rei who, however, immediately leaves for work reasons. His passion for classical music will take him to Europe where he will go to study piano in Vienna. The series does not reveal the truth about the relationship between the two on the contrary, once the young man has left for Europe, he almost seems to ignore him. Their possible relationship disappears, therefore, even before they are born.

Aika and Spank, a bond written in destiny

Along the way, new characters emerge, more or less secondary. In fact, throughout history we know the schoolmates of Aiko together with their pets whose lives and adventures will be told. Time goes by quickly with the sea always making a melancholy setting for both protagonists. It is from the sea, in fact, that Aika and Spank await the return of a fundamental affection for their life: the father and the owner. A not just detail that inevitably creates a bond almost written in destiny between the two protagonists who, in some way, almost depend on each other.

The return of Aiko's mother and the truth about her father

Among the stories of the various characters that intertwine, the laughter but also the veil of melancholy that accompanies the two protagonists, something unexpected happens: Aiko's mother finally returns from Paris. The woman, returned to Japan to go and live permanently in Tokyo with her daughter, decides to finally reveal the truth to Aiko about her father's fate. The man who disappeared at sea is actually dead. The disbelief of Aiko at the words of her mother they will lead her to run away from home, where she will return once she accepts the sad reality. Forced to face the tragic events, Aiko decides to leave with her mother and Spank for Tokyo, where all three will live together forever. An ending in front of which it is impossible not to shed at least a tear.

Hello! Spank: land differences with the manga

As often happens, the events of the Hello! Spank are totally different from the anime. The differences in the manda come immediately. Here Aiko she lives alone with her mother (and not with her uncle), she enjoys school with friends Ryo e Shinako every morning he runs on the beach with the little dog Papy next to him. Rei will be the one to run over the dog with his pickup truck by mistake. Despite this, the girl overcomes her anger at the accident and creates a solid bond with Rei. The meeting between Aiko and Spank then comes during the girl's mourning for her dog. Spank, in fact, is present as Papy's playmate. Her master is Fujinami who is not the girl's uncle.

The father is alive

In the manga Rei bought Aiko's father's yacht. The mother reveals to the girl that in reality her father is alive and has become a widower. In fact, the man was already married when he met Aiko's mother, who ran away as soon as she discovered she was pregnant. So if in the anime he mourns his death, in the manga Aiko he hugs his father again and they all live together until the man has to move to Paris for work. Aiko stays in Japan with Mr. Fujinami and meets in high school Seiya. Rei decides not to attend Aiko anymore due to the decision to leave abroad, after having enrolled at the navy university. The relationship between Aiko e Seiya it grows when the girl helps the boy in every way to realize his dream of hang gliding.

Spank and Aiko separate

A second part of the story then begins, where it is told that Aiko also moves to France. Same decision is made by Fujinami. Situation that gets Spank in trouble, as Ryo, Shinako, Serino and Seiya don't want to take care of him. The little dog then runs away, ending up in another city. This is where he is found and welcomed by Ai. The story then returns to retrace a path already trodden but with different characters. When Aiko then returns to Japan, Spank finds himself making an important choice: who to stay with permanently, with her or with Ai? After a first moment of uncertainty, the choice will turn out to be quite obvious: Spank will stay with Aiko forever.

The episodes of the series

In 1981 the manga Hello! Spank becomes an anime TV series produced by Tokyo Movie Shinsha for a total of more than 63 episodes. To these must be added a 95-minute OAV produced in 1982, entitled Spank's Pangs of Love. The manga won the 1981 Kodansha Manga Award in the shōnen and shōjo category.

The initials of Hello! Spank

The Italian abbreviation registered in 1981 is Hello! Spank di Luigi Albertelli e Vince Tempera it is attributed to “Aiko & Company” on the phonograph supports and to “I Cuccioli” in the credits of the video series of the series. In 1994 the Italian theme song was changed and replaced by a new one sung by Cristina D'Avena with the title Spank, tender heartthrob, with which the series itself was renamed.

The series, with this acronym, was also repeated in 1997, but in 2002 the first acronym was restored. In Germany and France the theme song from the Italian theme song from the animated series We are those of Beverly Hills was used.

The main characters of Hello Spank

Spank (スパンク Supanku?): A white dog that has lost its master at sea.
Aika (Aiko): she is a girl who at the beginning of the story becomes the new mistress of Spank.
Saki: she is an elderly lady who helps around the house as a maid.
Torakiki (Torakichi): is Oyama's cat and Spank's best friend.
Kyatto (Cat). With his master Oyama he studies karate and judo.
Puppy: it was Aiko's dog who died in an accident before Spank arrived.
Shinako: is Aiko's friend and classmate.
Seya: is Baron's master and Aiko's classmate.
Baron: is Seya's dog. Shy and curious, he is a great friend of Spank.
Oyama: he is a very funny character, he is the master of Torakichi.
Rei: is a sailor older than Aiko and was the first master of Spank.
Serina (Serino): she is Kyatto's mistress and daughter of an owner of the hotel chain.
Cat (Kyatto): is Serino's sweet and snobbish Siamese cat, with whom Spank is in love.
Fanfan: she is a very pretty, nice and curious dog, which appears approximately in the middle of the series.
Grandpa Jem: he is a wise old man, friend of all.
Nelson: he's a photographer, he's Oyama's best friend.
Futaiba: she is a nuisance girl, she is the younger sister of Rio.