Butterfairy Town (Japanese: 蝶仙女のまち "Chou Sen'nyo no Machi") is an children's animated series produced by Yui Ishida premiering on May 10th 2003 on TV Tokyo, just a month after Ishida first published the Lobri manga. It also aired on ETVKK in El Kadsre, TechEruo Kids in Eruowood and Kittenolivia, Pop in the UK, and in some countries (like South Korea and the Philippines), Cartoon Network. The show ran for 5 years, until September 24th 2008 when the show's series finale premiered, marking an end to the animated series.
History[]
Butterfairy Town was a concept Yui Ishida had in mind since 2001, where she came up with the idea of butterfly fairies, since the idea of a mix between the two species would mix very well. This led to the creation of Butterfairy Town, then known as "The Little Butterfly Fairies", after she started to work for SF Animation in 2002. Ishida originally pitched The Little Butterfly Fairies to NHK, but unfortunately they didn't accept it, but after a long while, the TV station TV Tokyo accepted her pilot episode on August 19th 2002, and work began on Butterfairy Town.
Eventually, the show made it's debut on TV Tokyo on May 10th 2003, and was a huge hit with young children, especially girls. This led to the creation of more episodes until 2008.
Premise and Plot[]
The series consists of the large titular town, home to Butterfairies (butterfly + fairy), an extra-terrestrial species. The 3 main Butterfairies in focus are Sky, Spirit and Sunny, who participate in activities, go on adventures and solve dilemmas in each episode. There are also many other characters that tag along behind Sky, Spirit and Sunny. The 3 fairies tend to come across many obstacles in the series, and try to stop them along the way.
Music[]
Butterfairy Town has had it's fair share of opening and closing themes over the course of it's existence, either original or existing songs have been heard in the series.
Opening Themes[]
Usage: Seasons 1-3 (2003-2006)
Composition/Lyrics: Tia Maie Chan
Vocals: Star and Hepta
"Tanoshii Chousen'nyo Friends"
Usage: Seasons 3-4 (2006-2007)
Composition/Lyrics: Macchi
Vocals: Star and Hepta
TBA
Closing Themes[]
Usage: Season 1 (2003)
Composition/Lyrics: Robert Uhlmann, Robin Rex
Vocals: SMiLE.dk
Usage: Season 3 (2004-2005)
Composition: Yasutaka Nakata
Lyrics: Emi Kinoko
Vocal: Perfume
TBA
Usage: Season 5 (2006-2007)
Composition/Lyrics: Macchi
Vocals: Star and Hepta
Characters[]
Main Characters[]
Sky Glittersong (Japanese name: そら "Sora")(voiced by Mei Tanaka): The leader of the gang and the most prominent Butterfairy in focus. She has a talent for wing athletics (a type of Butterfairy sport) and dreams to become the Wing Champion Athlete, ever since she was only a tiny Butterfairy. Sky is compassionate to her fellow Butterfairy friends, even if they get into a fight.
Spirit Stardream (Japanese name: ひかり "Hikari") (voiced by Hiroshi Nakamura): One of Sky's best friends. Spirit loves astrology, stargazing, and all things space, and has an entire study dedicated to astrology. Her favourite thing to do every night, is to pull out her beloved telescope and look out for planets and constellations.
Sunny Sweetdance (Japanese name: はるこ "Haruko") (voiced by Aya Suzuki): One of Sky's best friends. Sunny is a huge music fanatic, and loves to DJ every Saturday. She also has an appetite for ice-cream and gelato, due to her mother operating an ice-cream parlour in town.
Side Characters[]
TBA
Villains[]
TBA
Episodes[]
Butterfairy Town consist of 30 episodes each season, each episode running for 15 minutes. The show had 5 seasons, the final episode being the 30th episode of the 5th season.
| Episode Title | Episode Number | Description | |
|---|---|---|---|
| The Pilot | 0 (Pilot Episode) | An introduction to Butterfairy Town and it's people. This episode was not aired on television, as it is a pilot episode. The pilot episode didn't actually have a title. | |
| The Talent Show | 1 | Sky finds out about the annual talent show, seeing this as an opportunity to show off her wing athletics skills, she enters the talent show, however when Sky enters the talent show, much to her dismay the talent show was rigged, so with the help of Spirit and Sunny, they try to fix the talent show and make it enjoyable for all. | |
| Sleeping Butterfairy | 2 | A magical potion created by a mysterious witch was said to be somewhere hidden in Butterfairy Town's forest, and Sky wanted to be the first to give it a taste! But once she drinks the potion, and starts falling asleep... | |
Reception[]
Butterfairy Town was well-known for standing out amongst shows with mainly female demographics at the time.
Adaptations[]
Manga[]
A manga adaptation entitled "Chousennyo no Machi: Happiina Machi de Kurasou!" (literally "Butterfairy Town: Live in a Happy Town!") was released on January 27, 2005, expanding on the anime's plot and adding new elements. A small roster of new characters also made their debut in this manga, who would go on to appear in the anime.
Films[]
Butterfairy Town was successful enough, that it had received two feature-length films in it's lifespan.
At the Movies! Butterfairy Town: An Insect Adventure![]
At the Movies! Butterfairy Town: An Insect Adventure! (Japanese: 映画館で！蝶仙女のまち: 昆虫の冒険！"Eigakan de! Chousennyo no Machi: Konchuu no bouken!") was Butterfairy Town's first film, which released on October 23rd 2004 and was produced by Toho Pictures and SF Animation. The story consists of Sky, Spirit and Sunny going on an adventure to restore the land's happiness after an evil Butterfairy named Waruko (known as Lucretia in the English dub) emerges and steals the Joy Orb, a sought after item that brings the spirit of happiness to the land, for their own evil schemes, causing Butterfairy Town to become engulfed in darkness. This sets the fairies off on an adventure to stop this villain, and This movie was released in English-speaking countries as "Butterfairy Town: The Movie".
Once again, a movie! Butterfairy Town: A Thrilling City Story!?[]
Once again, a movie! Butterfairy Town: A Thrilling City Story!? (Japanese: もう一度映画だ！蝶仙女のまち: ドキドキな市の物語！？"Mouichido eigada! Chousennyo no Machi: Dokidokina ichi no monogatari!?") was the second and last film in the franchise, premiering on August 2nd 2008 and was again produced by Toho Pictures and SF Animation. This film was considered the pre-finale of the series by many fans. The story consists of Sky, Spirit and Sunny winning a free trip to Bug Bug City in a raffle, which then the trio set off to the city with their award. However, after their tour is interrupted by Gemmi and her misfit gang attempting to destroy the city, it is only up to them to save their city from being taken over by the villains. Unlike the last film, this film did not air in movie theatres internationally. However, on July 14th 2024, the movie was added to Netflix with English dubbing for the first time in 16 years.
Gallery[]
