MIMI AND THE VOLLEYBALL NATIONAL TEAM

Original title: Attack Number 1 Characters: Mimì Ayuhara (Kozue Ayuhara), Midori Hayakawa, Hongo, Sutomu Ichinose, Daigo Inokuma (Ichiro Hokawa), Jiro Yujima, Haruko Shimizu Author: Chikako Uranus Production: Shueisha, Tokyo Movie Shinsha Directed by: Eiji Okabe, Fumio Kurokawa, Yoshio Takeuchi Country: Japan Year: 7 December 1969 Broadcast in Italy: 1981 Gender: Sportsman Episodes: 104 Duration: 24 minutes Recommended age: Children from 6 to 12 years old

Who does not remember Mimì and the national volleyball team? Well, apart from the very young, I don't think anyone. In fact, Mimì's tenacity and dedication have conquered millions of girls and adolescents (and not only!). Mimì and the national volleyball team was produced in 1969 by Tokyo Movie Shinsha, directed by Okabe Eiji and Kurokawa Fumio. The series, consisting of 104 episodes lasting 25 minutes each from the manga comic Attack Number 1 of Uranus Chikako published between 1969 and 1971 by the Japanese publishing house Margaret. In Italy the cartoon series was broadcast for the first time in 1981 on various local senders with the title "Quella magnifica dozzina" and later in 1983 with the title "Mimì and the national volleyball team". To remember the nice initials.

It all begins when Mimì Ayuhara and her best friend Midori, who play for Fujimi (the school team), are chosen to become part of the Junior National Team, engaged in the World Championship which will take place in America. To inform the two young friends is their coach Ongo, who will not fail to encourage them in view of the tiring training period that they will have to face in the high school of another city. In the new school Mimì and Midori find two dear friends, Caterina and Maddalena, and they meet Sonia: a volleyball player as good as she is superb! But even worse they discover that their coach and Diego Nacchi (the Coach), feared for his very hard methods: in fact, he will put the players to the test, subjecting them to extremely tiring training, which absorb most of the girls' day.
One day Mimi and Midori receive a visit from coach Ongo, who will openly clash with Nacchi because of his training systems. Despite this, the Coach reveals to Mimi the great esteem for the young coach. The conversation between the two is spied on by Sonia, who, imagining she is the victim of a conspiracy, challenges Mimì: whoever would have scored the most points in the next friendly match would have earned the title of captain. Mimì accepts the challenge, but in the middle of the game she realizes that this clash is to the disadvantage of team play, so she decides to abandon Sonia's provocations (indeed, she helps her to score more points!), So as to bring the team to the victory. Since Mimì - unlike Sonia - has proven to understand the importance of collective play, Mister Nacchi designates her captain of the national team; choice that turns out to be the best, because Mimì and her companions will lead the Juniores to victory in the World Championship!
After returning from America, Mimì is now playing in Japan in the national tournament, where her team is preparing for the final match that promises to be very difficult, because Fujimi must compete with Gidoi. Gidoi is a team made very strong by the "triple attack" by the three Aghisawa sisters, who moving in unison hit the ball with such strength and unpredictability as to be impossible to defend. In fact, the Gidoi immediately takes the lead. However, the coach Ongo does not give up and suggests to Mimì to counterattack the fearsome opponents with the technique of the "invisible ball". At first Fujimi recovers the disadvantage: our players, supported by cheering cheering, feel they can do it, but unfortunately Mimì hurts her wrist, which prevents her from hitting the winning shot.

So Godoi, not without difficulty but deservingly, wins the victory.
After the cancellation due to the loss with Godoi, Mimì and her companions prepare to face another fearsome opponent: the Tohnan team, whose players are guided by a computer capable of predicting the game tactics of the rivals. The computer, in which the playing tactics of the opponents were previously recorded, suggests to the Tohnan players the moves to make to block the actions of the rival team (Fujimi). Clearly the exhaustion and the disconcerting feeling of competing against perfect robots make the fight exhausting for the Fujimi girls. But just when commitment and good will are about to give way to despair and defeat seems inevitable, coach Ongo understands the mechanism of the computer (that is, which has recorded the tactics and the usual moves of the team). So he suggests to Mimì and the others to implement unpredictable game patterns. This displaces the computer and puts the "robot" rivals in difficulty. Thus Fujimi recovers the disadvantage, until obtaining a brilliant victory, acclaimed by the delirious fans!
But that is not all! In fact, after the Japanese championship Mimì finds herself engaged in the final match of the intracurricular tournament, where Fujimi competes against Aoba, a team made very strong by the player Yoshimoto, whose powerful attack, "ball that grows larger", is impregnable. But the important aspect is that this match is decisive, as the best player in the field will become the holder of the national team. The outcome of the match is as follows: Fujimi, initially at a disadvantage, recovered and won the match, thanks to Mimì's counterattack and his formidable "elusive dunk". So Mimì enters the national team.
A long and tiring training awaits her, after which the World Championship begins, where Japan gets very important victories and reaches the final. The clash is with Russia, a strong and very competitive team, in which the player Andreievna stands out. The final match is played in the Sports Palace in Sofia, Bulgaria. At first the Japanese are ahead, but soon the very aggressive Russians, thanks also to the powerful dunks of the Andreievna, recover the disadvantage and even go to the head. This forces Mimì to carry out the "drop of cyclone" attack: a dunk so powerful as to leave her exhausted on the pitch. So the Coach makes the decision to temporarily remove Mimì from the field to recover his strength. Fatigue, Mimì's late return, tension are factors that make the team lose the hopes and strength to fight (especially since the Russians are very fierce!). Until Mimì, fighting against physical fatigue and once again showing the utmost dedication to volleyball and her teammates, returns to the field and leads the team towards a triumphal victory! So Mimì, incredulous and moved, is declared the best player in the world and receives, to the applause of all, the World Cup!

Later in Italy the cartoon Mimì and the volleyball girls (original title Ashita and Attack) was broadcast, but in reality it is a different series, consisting of 23 episodes and produced by Nippon Animation, which has nothing to do with it. see with the previous carton. While a cartoon that has something in common with Mimì and the national volleyball team is certainly Mila and Shiro, as Mimì is Mila's cousin.

by Gianluigi Piludu

All characters and images are copyright Tokyo Movie Shinsha, Uranus Chikako and the right holders. they are used here for cognitive and informative purposes.