The battle for the salvation of the Earth from the aims of Nazi robots, experienced in last week's column with Kyashan, leaves room for a much lighter story than today. Flowers and magic are intertwined in Lulu, the angel among the flowers, title of the anime that we will discover this week. We are in 1981 when this television series produced by Toei Animation set (at least initially) in France. Subsequently it will be replicated on various channels - from Rete 4 to Italia 1 up to Boing - until 2018.
But what is Lulu talking about, the angel among the flowers?
Lulu, the angel among the flowers: the plot
Dundù, Nanà and the Flower of the Seven Colors
In a small French town, a dog and a talking kitten cause panic among the citizens. They are Where and Nanà and reveal that they are looking for a 'flower girl'. They find it in Lulù, a sweet blond-haired girl who lives with her two florist grandparents. Lulu is not frightened by these talking animals who, on the contrary, participate in her 15th birthday party, and this is where the existence of flower angels is explained. Many years earlier, men and flower angels lived peacefully on earth, but the former became overbearing and violent and the angels decided to leave the planet and populate another, which they called Star of Flowers. Some angels, however, remained on Earth and married humans. Lulu is their descendant. Dundù and Nanà have been commissioned by the queen of flower angels to find her because only Lulu is able, as a descendant, to find the rare Seven-colored Flower that blooms on Earth. Whoever finds it will have the power in his hands and will be able to give way to the succession to the throne on Stella dei Fiori.
Lulu's journey and meeting with Celi
Lulu accepts the assignment and, to succeed in her mission, Nana and Dundù give her a brooch in the shape of a flower, a gift from the queen of their planet. With this the protagonist will have the power to transform, put on the clothes and get the skills she needs according to the needs of the moment. Thus begins the journey that will lead Lulu around all of Europe in search of this mighty flower to deliver to the queen. During her adventure, the protagonist will always be accompanied by the two spirits in the guise of a dog and a cat and she will meet many people in difficulty that she will help. However, in doing so she will not be alone. Lulu will meet a young photographer who will decide to join his journey, Celi, kind boy and, of course, a lover of flowers. To each person the two will help, Celi will give you some flower seeds to plant, precisely in memory of the help received by him and Lulu. During the long journey, a strong feeling will arise between the boy and the protagonist it will turn into love.
Togenicia Vs Lulù
If Lulù finds Celi's support in this long journey, on the other side she will be strongly hampered by a crazy couple of bad guys: the fairy Togenicia and her servant Yavoque, a kind of raccoon-man. The first aims to take possession of the Flower of Seven Colors and reign on the planet Star of Flowers. On the other hand, she herself is an inhabitant, albeit of an 'adversary' tribe, that of the Thorny Flower. Togenicia therefore follows Lulu on her journey waiting for her to find the Flower in order to steal it from her. To thwart it, he will often use his power, the pollen wind, a kind of hurricane. The spiteful fairy will therefore be enraged when Lulu, in the middle of her research trip, decides to abandon him to return home after receiving bad news: his grandfather is sick.
Who is really Celi?
Lulu abandons her search and returns home to assist her grandfather but, once she arrives, she discovers something unexpected. Each person who helped on her journey sent her a part of the flower seeds given by Celi as a thank you. Lulu's grandparents planted them in their garden, creating a wonderful sight. To take revenge for the interruption of the search for the flower, Togenicia tries to destroy this garden but it is precisely here that suddenly the flower of seven colors blooms, born from the affection and esteem of those who donated those seeds to Lulu. The power of the Flower chases away the two rogues, then, soon after, Lulu sets out on a journey to bring him back to the King and Queen of Stella dei Fiori. Here come two unexpected revelations for her: the first is the King's proposal to become queen by marrying his son, the second is that the eldest son of the King is his beloved Celi.
The end
Lulu is upset: she did not believe that the charming and kind boy she fell in love with was actually the heir to the throne of Stella dei Fiori. The King reveals that he sent his son to Earth to study humans and learn how to be a good ruler. Despite wishing to stay on that planet and be with him, Lulu refuses why he does not want to abandon his grandparents. The King understands and Celi as well, for this reason an unexpected decision is reached: the throne will go to the younger son while Celi will be able to return to Earth and be with Lulu. However, the two will have a mission: to spread the love of flowers among humans. The two are over the moon and return to Earth together and happy. AND Togenicia? She abandons her aims to the throne of Stella dei Fiori and instead says she is ready to become queen of the Earth. Obviously, not without his servant Yavoque.
Lulu, the angel among the flowers: curiosity
Lulu as Sandy
We have now figured it out, the 80s anime world is populated by two types of protagonists: young orphaned boys destined to save the world with a super fighting robot and little magician girls helped by cute goblins. Lulu, of course, is part of this second and very large group. For her, no magic formulas but only a mirror in which to make any flower reflect and here the magic is done. The power of Lulu, as it happens with Sandy of a thousand colors, is therefore closely linked to flowers, albeit in different ways. And, like her, Lulù also has at her side two 'sprites' from another planet of Flowers who help her face various difficulties.
Japanese and 'green thumb'
But Lulu - as well as all of her fellow wizards - doesn't just want to entertain her audience with a thousand adventures. Basically, the anime, in the course of its 50 episodes, has a real pedagogical objective: teaching the viewer through its protagonist. If she, from time to time, learns to question herself, to be generous and, above all, to respect and love flowers and nature in general, the same thing is transmitted to small and large who are on the other. part of the screen. On the other hand, the 'green thumb' is a very important theme for the Japanese, which we will often find in the various anime (Kyashan even makes it his life mission!)
The abbreviation
The theme song of the anime "Lulu the angel among the flowers" was written by Lucio Macchiarella, with music and arrangement by Mike Fraser and Douglas Meakin. The title is 'Lulu' and is sung by Rocking Horse.
The characters
Lulù - Protagonist of the anime. Beautiful and with a pure soul, she lives with her grandparents and is a descendant of the spirits of the Flowers.
Celi - Mysterious photographer and charming boy who meets the protagonist during her journey and joins her. It turns out to be the heir to the throne of the flower kingdom.
Nana - Talking kitten who is actually a flower spirit sent to earth to search for the Flower of Seven Colors.
Where - Talking dog who, like Nana, is actually a flower spirit.
Togenicia - Enemy of Lulu, she is a spirit who is part of a tribe in the world of the Flower Stars and wants to appropriate the Seven Colored Flower to become queen.
Yaboki - Servant of Togenicia, funny and clumsy.
Lulu the angel among the flowers Volume 01 Episodes 01-05
- Hiroshi Shidara (Director) --Noboru Shiroyama (Author)
Ready to dive into the stories of others 80s anime? We took a blast into space with Daltanious, then in pre-revolutionary France with The Seine Star, between Sorgenti Maledette with Ranma 1 / 2, on a desert island with little Flo. We have lived through the dramas of Georgia and we are passionate about the sporting challenges of Jenny the tennis player, Lotti e Mila and Shiro. But also a lot, more!
Tagsanime lulu the angel among the flowers Lulu, the angel among the flowers: when altruism is the strongest of powers
