Love, jealousy and a lot of rock and roll, these are the fundamental foundations of one of the most loved 80s anime ever. Kiss me Lygia arrived in Italy in 1984, aired on Italia 1 and immediately received an extraordinary success. On the other hand, to thrill the viewers is yes the love story that develops in 42 episodes of the Japanese cartoon, between jealousies and betrayals, but also the Bee Hive career, the band whose songs serve as soundtracks for various plot moments.
Kiss me Licia, not just kisses: the plot
As the title suggests, the protagonist of the anime is Lycia, a high school student who works at Mambo, a small and typical Japanese restaurant run by Father Marrabbio. A name that is all a program and that anticipates the gruff character of the man, always ready to drive away his daughter's eligible suitors. However, it will be of little use because two bold young men with flowing hair will start buzzing around his Licia: Mirko e Satomi. But let's take a step back: a series of causal encounters and, in some way, desired by destiny, the path of Lycia is intertwined with that of a child and his cat, Andrea and Giuliano. The little one has run away from home, cries embracing his affectionate animal and that's why Licia decides to help him. Shortly after, returning home, Licia collides with a boy, Mirko, who then tries with her and gets a loud slap. The protagonist still does not know that the boy is Andrea's elder brother, as well as leader and singer of the Bee Hive group, a band Licia knows well because she is in love with keyboardist Satomi.
Licia, Mirko and Satomi: a love triangle to the rhythm of rock and roll
It goes without saying that it is the beginning of a loving intertwining that triggers jealousies and quarrels but which at the same time leads to the flowering of beautiful friendships. Indeed, little Andrea will be the fulcrum from which the story between Licia and Mirko will come to life, initially just a friendship. However, when Satomi discovers that his best friend has fallen in love and approached the girl he has loved for a long time, there will be a strong quarrel between the two that will cause the crisis of the Bee Hive band with the farewell of one of the two. As if that weren't enough, to further complicate things, Licia's best friend Manuela arrives, and Marika, band manager. The first is in fact in love with Mirko, the second with Satomi. Both one and the other will put Licia on the spot, forcing her to make an important choice that will cause the protagonist's decision to close with both and move away from the world of Bee Hive and also from little Andrea.
With the passing of the days and the arrival of some clarifications, things will begin to settle down, especially thanks to the intervention of little Andrea, who sees in Lycia the maternal figure that he never had. The girl realizes that her heart really loves Mirko, so she finally closes with Satomi who yields to Marika's court. Manuela, instead, she realizes she gets engaged and shortly after marries another member of the band. At the end of the series, the Bee Hive, now riding the wave of success, leave for a tour in the United States of America.
Italian and Japanese programming: a success and a flop
Kiss me Licia is taken from the manga Love me knight (Ai shite Naito, or Amami cavaliere), by the mangaka Kaoru Tada, published in Japan since 1982 and in Italy since 2002 by Star Comics. But if in Italy the story of Mirko and Licia had an unprecedented success, in Japan things went differently, so much so that the broadcast of the episodes was abruptly interrupted. Instead in our country four Italian television series have been drawn and conceived as sequels to the anime. In fact, in 1986 comes the show with Cristina D'Avena, first live action, "Love me Licia", followed by three series: "Licia dolce Licia" (1987), "Teneramente Licia" (1987) and "We dance and sing with Licia" (1988). This time too it is a real success.
Main characters of Kiss me Licia
LICIA (voice actor: Donatella Fanfani) - Protagonist of the story. She is 18, attends university, lives in Tokyo with her father and runs a restaurant, the Mambo.
MIRKO (voice actors: Ivo De Palma (vocals), Vincenzo Draghi (singing) - He is the lead singer of Bee Hive as well as a university student. He lives with his younger brother Andrea and his cat Giuliano. He falls in love with Licia and dreams of becoming a rock star established.
ANDREA (voice actor: Paolo Torrisi) - Mirko's little brother, forced to live alone following the death of his parents. In reality, the two are half-brothers because he is the son of Mirko's father and his mistress.
GIULIANO (voice actor: Pietro Ubaldi) - is Andrea's pet cat.
SATOMI (voice actor: Gabriele Calindri) - Best friend of Mirko, keyboardist of Bee Hive, coming from a rich family. He is in love with Licia, then he will be Marika's boyfriend.
ANACLETO MARRABBIO (voice actor: Pietro Ubaldi) - Licia's father, owner of a restaurant called Mambo, famous for its meatballs. Widower since Licia was a child.
MANUELA (voice actor: Alessandra Karpoff) - is Licia's best friend and fellow student.
MARIKA (voice actor: Elisabetta Cucci) - Bee Hive admirer and manager, madly in love with Satomi.
Bee Hive: songs from the anime and the band
The Bee Hive songs featured in Kiss me Licia are of Japanese origin, adapted into Italian by Alessandra Valeri Manera. Both in the anime and in the live action series with Cristina D'Avena the male lead voice (of Mirko) is that of Enzo Draghi.
In the anime the band consists of:
Mirko - male soloist
Satomi - keyboard
Steve - bass
Tony - guitar
Matt - battery
The songs sung by the band in the Italian anime are:
- Freeway
- Fire
- Lonely boy
- Baby i love you
- Love again
Kiss me Licia: differences between anime and manga
There are many differences between the anime and the manga. Let's find out some of the nicest.
- In the manga Licia (who is Yakko in the manga) attends the first year of university while in the anime she goes to high school and attends classes in the afternoon.
- Mirko (in the manga is Go) is instead in the third year but is a repeater because he does little effort (in the anime instead it is the reverse and it is Satomi the one with study problems).
- In the manga Licia already knows Satomi (as in the anime) but she is convinced that he is homosexual and that he works in a gay-bar.
- In the manga Marika is in high school and was once part of the Beehive's personal guard. She is madly in love with Satomi, who gives her keyboard lessons. He will give up on him because he is too busy with Licia but, unlike the anime (where they eventually get engaged), Marika gets together with another guy, who is also a singer and a Beehive fan.
- When Mirko and Licia are happy together, Ryotaro appears in the manga, a boy who starts working at the restaurant in Marrabbio. He falls in love with Licia and tries them all to steal her from Mirko.
Have you already read the first issue of our column dedicated to the anime of the 80s? Here she is!
Discount
Love me knight. Kiss me Licia (Vol. 1)
- Tada, Kaoru (Author)
