Talk:Sally the Witch

Changes

I’m not sure if this is the right place to ask, but it’s a start.

I’d like to suggest some changes to the entry on “Sally, the Witch.” But I do *not* want to just put them in without getting responses from other folks, especially the people who wrote this entry. (Consensus is better than fighting and vandalizing.)

The issues center on the early history of Yokoyama’s manga and of the anime. First, the entry says that Yokoyama “… obtained the concept of it directly from an American sitcom: “Bewitched” (known in Japan as “Oku-sama wa majo” …” These conclusions are common enough on the Internet (see the two website cited below for examples). But even so, the Japanese television show “Oku-sama wa majo” is dated to 2004 in Wikipedia’s own entry for “Bewitched,” and this version of the show is still available on amazon.co.jp. So the entry needs a reference to a better example to prove that the American (1964 and later) sitcom provided the “concept” for the original manga.

Second, about Yokoyama obtaining the concept *directly* from the original US sitcom. In the US sitcom, Samantha is a grown woman, married and with a child. The central heroine of “Mahou Tsukai Sally” is a pre-teen (at most, early teen) girl who confronts problems of coming-of-age. That is a large change indeed, and undermines, I think, the idea of a *direct* conceptual influence of the US show on the manga or on the anime. Instead, it might be much more accurate to say only that Yokoyama was “indirectly influenced” by “Bewitched.”

Is this important? Yes, if you think (as I do) that it’s doubtful to imply that American cultural icons are of course and unquestionably the source of anime and manga plots and characters. There are certainly US cartoon influences on “Mahou Tsukai Sally” – “Tom and Jerry” is one example (see the opening scene on the awesome-engine site below) – but I think we need to ponder how much of “Mahou Tsukai Sally” is original to Yokoyama and how much is native to Japan and comes from 20th century Japanese cultural and aesthetic redefinitions of the “girl,” that is, “shojo.”

http://www.awesome-engine.com/?p=78

http://forums.comicbookresources.com/showthread.php?t=68483

Timothy Perper 12:46, 21 July 2007 (UTC)

The 2004 series of "Oku-sama wa majo" is a remake which is made in Japan. The original American series had already been aired in Japan in 1966 (see the Japanese article).

And, Yoshinori Watanabe, a Toei Company's director who planned the anime series of Sally, gave the evidence that Yokoyama was directly inspired from "Bewitched".

東映テレビ部長・渡邊亮徳によれば、同誌（※引用者注：集英社の少女漫画雑誌『りぼん』のこと）6月号に掲載された都合三ページにわたる新連載予告を見て、即座に「魔法使いサリー」のテレビ化を思いついたという。なぜなら、当時『奥様は魔女』や『かわいい魔女ジェニー』といった米国のホームコメディドラマが国内でも放映され、女の子たちから高い支持を集めていたからである。

「これからは国内でもこうした魔法ものが受けるんじゃないか……」

そう考えた渡邊は、すぐさま横山のもとへ電話を入れ、テレビ化の承認を要請した。話し合いは即決。実は横山自身も、『奥様は魔女』にインスパイアされる形で「サリー」の物語を描いていたのだそうだ。横山にすれば、子供の頃に読んだ英国の少年小説『魔法の杖』に感銘を受け、いずれは自らも魔法ものを手掛けてみたいという願望が、図らずも『奥様は魔女』の国内的ヒットによって叶っていたわけである。

from Dogao vol.2 Super Majokko Taisen (1997) p26

(Yes, I think I should translate all paragraphs above, but I have no time for the translation) The emphasised sentence says "Also Yokoyama was drawing the story of Sally under the inspiration of Bewitched". --Kasuga (talk) 16:08, 10 September 2008 (UTC)

Yes, I think you have to translate it, because I don't see in the bolded sentence what you're translating as Bewitched. Just copy the Japanese below and say "This part means Bewitched = the US television show." Until then, I am politely not convinced. Timothy Perper (talk) 16:35, 2 October 2008 (UTC)

See this. Oda Mari (talk) 17:03, 2 October 2008 (UTC)

[Edit Conflict so I'm posting what I had written.] Aha. I see the problem. 奥様は魔女 = "okusama wa majo" does not translate as "Bewitched" but into the Japanese name for the show = "My wife, the witch," the name of the Japanese television show, both the original show and the remake. Now that that's settled, I'm going to dig up some references I have about this so-called "influence." The conclusion is that Bewitched was only a marketing influence ( = witch shows are popular) and not an influence on the plot or the characters. So, off to the archives. I'll be back in a while. Timothy Perper (talk) 17:21, 2 October 2008 (UTC)

TP again. I found some of the references. Here's one.

http://www.toei-anim.co.jp/lineup/tv/sally/

アメリカのTVシリーズ「奥様は魔女」のヒットがきっかけとなって企画された、日本初の少女向けアニメ番組。魔女っ子シリーズの先駆けでギャグ、人情、ファンタジーとバラエティに富んだ内容で何度となく再放送された。1話から17話が白黒、18話よりカラーにて製作。

As far as I can see, this talks about opportunity for the first magical girl show. It doesn't say that Yokoyama took the plot or the characters of 奥様は魔女 = "okusama wa majo" from Bewitched. I'll keep looking. Timothy Perper (talk) 17:45, 2 October 2008 (UTC)

TP again. I think that someone has to find a website that says that Yokoyama took the character Sarii and the plot of Mahoutsukai Sarii from Okusama wa Majo. Otherwise I am not convinced, especially not by vague statements about "influence." Find a website about Mahoutsukai Sarii that says, in so many words, that Sarii is a copy of Samantha ( = in romaji, Samansa = サマンサ ; that spelling of her name is from the website given above by Oda Mari). Otherwise I do not believe that the so-called "influence" of Bewitched (= Okusama wa Majo = 奥様は魔女) and Samantha (= Samansa = サマンサ) was direct or even very important to Yokoyama.

If you can't find that website or websites, then the article needs to be changed.

Timothy Perper (talk) 18:26, 2 October 2008 (UTC)

Here's a complete translation of the excerpt posted by Kasuga:

According to Tōei Television Division Chief Yoshinori Watanabe, when he saw the three-page introduction to the new serial in the June issue [of Ribon], he immediately got the idea to adapt it for television. The reason was that the American home comedy dramas Bewitched and I Dream of Jeannie were being broadcast domestically, and were very popular among girls.

"Maybe this sort of magic-themed stuff will take off here in Japan as well."

Thinking this, Watanabe immediately telephoned Yokoyama, and requested his approval for a television adaptation. It was decided on the spot. As it turns out, Yokoyama himself was inspired by Bewitched when he created Sally. From Yokoyama's point of view, the desire he had held ever since reading the British children's novel The Magic Wand as a child to create his own story involving magic was unexpectedly made possible by the domestic popularity of Bewitched.

The connection with Bewitched is clear, but the current phrasing ("He obtained the concept of it directly from an American sitcom: Bewitched") is misleading, because it implies that he basically stole the concept. There is a big difference between being "inspired" and "obtaining a concept directly from" something. I am taking the liberty to rephrase the passage accordingly. Matt Thorn (talk) 01:36, 3 October 2008 (UTC)

BTW, I have no idea what British novel is referred to. It sounds like a case of Chinese whispers, since I can't find any old translations that have the Japanese title given in this passage. Since Tolkien and C.S. Lewis were not translated into Japanese until Yokoyama was an adult, that narrows the possibilities quite a bit. He might have been referring to something written by George MacDonald ("The Golden Key"? The Princess and the Goblin?), but I haven't been able to locate any prewar translations. Matt Thorn (talk) 02:14, 3 October 2008 (UTC)

The book is John Buchan's The Magic Walking Stick (1932). It was published in 1941 in Japan. See this. Oda Mari (talk) 04:41, 3 October 2008 (UTC)

The book seems to be very popular among children in the '40s. 藤子・F・不二雄 of Fujiko Fujio mentioned about the book too. See the スーパーマンとパーマン section in this. Oda Mari (talk) 04:52, 3 October 2008 (UTC)

The story was published serially in a monthly magazine called ja:少年倶楽部 in 1937. See this. The magazine carried manga like Norakuro and ja:冒険ダン吉 too. Oda Mari (talk) 06:23, 3 October 2008 (UTC)

Thanks, Matt and Oda Mari, for your detective work. I think the change Matt put into the article settles the issue nicely. I never read The Magic Walking Stick although I have read other of Buchan's novels and stories. I will try to find a copy. Timothy Perper (talk) 12:38, 3 October 2008 (UTC)

I don't oppose this change, because what I wanted to say is "Bewitched inspired Sally" exactly. I had no idea that the difference of nuance between "obtain concept" and "be inspired". And, I am using the word "directly" as the meaning of "nothing interposes". I am sorry if my poor English confused the article. Thank Matt and Oda for supplementing my poor explanation. --Kasuga (talk) 22:01, 3 October 2008 (UTC)

No problem, Kasuga. 気にしない、気にしない。 Mari, thanks for identifying the book! It was driving me crazy, and you can imagine how useless it is to do a search for 魔法の杖. I had never even heard of Buchan. I have never heard him mentioned as an early writer of fantasy. The novel was serialized in Shōnen Club from January to December, 1937, and was then published in book form by Kodansha in 1941. It was translated by Katsuhiko Ōtaguro (using the pen-name Kurō Ōta in the serial). It was illustrated by the well-known children's story illustrator Yoshisuke Kurosaki. Since Yokoyama was born in 1934, he almost certainly read the 1941 book edition. Matt Thorn (talk) 03:50, 4 October 2008 (UTC)

Note from Naomitwin

OKAY, This is an Anime and Manga series. This was a Black & White Anime series. Then color. There are about a lot of Eps. c: --Naomitwin (talk) 13:55, 18 January 2014 (UTC) Naomitwin

actually, about that.

The object of preposition comes after the particle "no" so "yume no" wouldn't mean "dream of" but "of the dreams", like how "hoshi no" means of the stars. Masterball2 (talk) 05:30, 6 May 2023 (UTC)