Full Moon o Sagashite
Full Moon o Sagashite is a Japanese manga series written and illustrated by Arina Tanemura. It was serialized in the manga magazine Ribon from January 2002 to June 2004 and collected in seven tankōbon volumes.
The series was adapted into an anime television series produced by Nihon Ad Systems, which ended before the manga was completed, as well as an original video animation distributed through Ribon. The anime series was broadcast on TV Tokyo.
Viz Media acquired English distribution rights to both the manga and the anime, with the first 28 episodes of the anime released.
AnimEigo acquired the North American home video rights for the anime, and is releasing the complete series in two Blu-ray sets. The previously unreleased English dubbed episodes will also be included.
Plot
Twelve-year-old Mitsuki Koyama dreams of becoming a singer to reunite with her first love, Eichi Sakurai, who she met in an orphanage when they were younger. However, she is afflicted with throat sarcoma, which affects her ability to breathe well and sing loudly. Her tumor can be cured only through a surgery that could damage her vocal cords. At the same time, her grandmother is completely against Mitsuki's wish to audition. Mitsuki's dreams seem impossible to achieve until she is visited by two, Takuto and Meroko, whom only she could see. Takuto and Meroko reveal that Mitsuki has only one year left to live, and, realizing she cannot wait any longer to fulfill her dream, Mitsuki moves Takuto to agree to a compromise: if he helps her become a singer, she will allow him to take her soul once the year is over. Takuto gives her the ability to transform into a 16-year-old, so that she could meet the age requirements of the audition and sing. Mitsuki wins over the judges, sealing a contract with Seed Records. To conceal her true identity, she chooses the stage name "Full Moon".As Mitsuki gains a presence in the music industry, she runs away from home. Over time, Mitsuki begins to become more acquainted with Takuto and Meroko, as well as Izumi, Meroko's former partner. However, Mitsuki's career causes Takuto to regain his memories as a singer who was previously part of her father's band, and that he had attempted to die by suicide after a surgery to remove his throat sarcoma left him unable to sing. Through this, Mitsuki learns that all had been humans in their previous life who had died by suicide. Later, the discover that Eichi had died shortly after leaving the orphanage, and Mitsuki had kept secret about his death out of regret for not being able to confess to him. Takuto, realizing he is in love with Mitsuki, helps her come to terms over his death.
Soon after, Mitsuki admits to Takuto that she wants to return home and decides to undergo surgery to remove her tumor. Izumi discovers Jonathan's true identity is Sheldan, the head of the pediatrics ward, who has decided to forcefully take Mitsuki's soul. Takuto and Meroko travel to the underworld; however, Mitsuki is able to free Izumi and confronts Sheldan and the Death Master. Sheldan and the Death Master reveal that ever since Mitsuki met the, she was no longer fated to die, and Eichi's soul had protected her from them. After returning, Mitsuki attends her final concert as Full Moon and retires. Four years later, Mitsuki has resumed her singing career under her true identity and holds a concert that is viewed by her friends and family. During the concert, she reunites with Takuto, who has awoken from his coma and his throat healed by Sheldan, and confesses her feelings to him. Realizing Mitsuki no longer needs him, Eichi's soul finally ascends to heaven.
Characters
Main characters
;Mitsuki Kōyama;Takuto Kira
;Meroko Yui
;Izumi Rio
Recurring characters
;Eichi Sakurai;Fuzuki Kōyama
;Yone Tanaka
;Keiichi Wakaōji
;Masami Ōshige
;Madoka Wakamatsu
;Aoi Koga
;Hazuki Koga
;Nachi
;Hikari Hayashi
''Shinigami''
The shinigami are the spirits of humans that committed suicide, who are then punished with the task of collecting souls. If a shinigami fully remembers his or her past life before becoming a full shinigami, he or she disappears and becomes a ghost to wander about.;Jonathan
;Death Master
Minor characters
;Tomoe Maejima;Kumi Sagimiya
;Wakana Kimura, Emi Yamano, and Mayumi Hashimoto
;Hasegawa and Mochida
;Taiki
;Sora
;Mr. Yamane
Production
As a fan of idol singers, Tanemura created the series out of desire to write lyrics. Her previous series, Time Stranger Kyoko, was cut short due to the main protagonist, Kyoko, having a strong personality, which failed to appeal to her editors and reader demographic. As a result of this, Tanemura decided to give Mitsuki a more subdued personality and later had the idea of making her sickly to explain her shy behavior. Mitsuki is modeled after one of Tanemura's assistants, Airi Teito, and her corkscrew hairstyle was inspired by then-Morning Musume member Ai Kago.Media
Manga
Full Moon o Sagashite was published by Shueisha in the magazine Ribon from January 2002 to June 2004 and collected in seven tankōbon volumes under the Ribon Mascot Comics imprint. Contributing assistants to the manga were Ai Minase, Airi Teito, Akoko Asakura, Kanan Kiseki, Kayoru Asano, Konako, Kyakya Asano, Megumi Nakamura, Miwa Sawakami, Niki Seisou, Noriko Funaki, Rina Asuka, Ruka Kaduki, and Saori Hinano. Volume 2 also included an unrelated short story titled Gin-yu Meika, which originally appeared in the November 2001 issue of Ribon. First-print editions of each volume came with a collectible card.Starting in January 2012, Full Moon o Sagashite was reprinted in four bunkoban volumes with new covers. The manga is licensed in North America in English by Viz Media as Full Moon, although the full Japanese title is given on the front cover.
''Dōjinshi''
Under the pseudonym "Meguro Teikoku", Tanemura has also self-published unofficial dōjinshi of the series and sold limited copies exclusively at Comiket in August 2015.Anime
The series was adapted as a 52-episode anime television series by Studio Deen, directed by Toshiyuki Kato. It was broadcast on TV Tokyo from April 6, 2002, to March 29, 2003. Because the anime adaptation was broadcast while the manga was still ongoing, several characters have different backgrounds and personalities, and the story ended with a different resolution.The television series was licensed by Viz Media, who released seven DVDs, under the title Full Moon before putting further releases on indefinite hold, citing low sales potential. The English dub was provided by Blue Water Studios. The songs are subtitled only, resulting in a dub that switches between English dialogue and Japanese singing. On August 3, 2024, AnimEigo announced their license to the anime and will re-release the series on Blu-ray in 2025. They later announced that the complete Viz English dub had been recovered and would be on the Blu-ray release.
Full Moon o Sagashite has two opening themes and four ending themes. "I Love U" by The Scanty is used as the opening theme for the first 26 episodes, while the group's song "Rock 'n' Roll Princess" is used for the rest. Changin' My Life performs all four ending themes: "New Future" used for the first six episodes, episode 52, and final episode; "Myself" is used for episodes 7–26; "Eternal Snow" is used for episodes 27–42; "Love Chronicle" is used for episodes 43–51.