fiction manga by Saki Hiwatari. It was published by Hakusensha from 1986 to

1994 in the magazine Hana to Yume and collected in 21 volumes. The series was

adapted as a six-part original video animation in 1993. It is about six

teenagers and a seven-year-old boy who share common dreams about their past

lives as alien scientists who observed the Earth from the Moon. Both the anime

OVA and manga are licensed for distribution in North America by Viz

Media. A sequel manga, Embraced by the

Moonlight, was serialized in the bimonthly Hana to Yume as well as the

special edition magazine, Hana to Yume Plus. It has since been followed by I

Sing with the Earth. Plot

The story centers around high-school student Alice Sakaguchi, her

seven-year-old neighbor Rin Kobayashi, and five other teenage students who have

recurring collective dreams about a group of alien scientists stationed on

the moon observing and collecting data about the Earth.

Initially, when Alice learns that classmates Jinpachi and Issei have been

having common recurring dreams since middle school, she thinks nothing of it

until she has one of these "moon dreams" herself. Because of the nature of these

dreams, the way Issei always dreams as the same person, and Jinpachi as well,

now that Alice has provided a third perspective, they start to believe that

people who dream as the other four scientists in their "moon dreams" can

each be found. Almost like it's a game, the three make

plans to seek these other people out in the hopes of making sense of these

dreams. After a suggestion from Issei, and a little bit of time and luck, they

are finally able to make contact with the other four people. But as the six

teenagers and one child start to piece together the timeline and content of

their dreams, they began to realize that their "dreams" are not simply dreams,

but rather suppressed memories of their past incarnations that ended tragically.

And now, as their "game" begins to unravel, the kids must strive to come to

terms with what happened in their past lives, as they struggle to prevent their

past incarnations' rivalries, jealousies, and dubious actions from

taking over their new ones. Development

Please Save My Earth, like early manga series that suddenly become popular for

many different manga artists careers', is an illustration of the development

and transition of Hiwatari Saki from a novice to an experienced manga artist.

The difference in art style between the volume 1 and volume 21 of the manga is

quite drastic, as illustrated in the image to the right.

The series features a number of homages to anime and manga throughout the manga.

Manga volume 5 Issei's sister Kyoko's character design

is noted here as being influenced by Osamu Tezuka and is a homage to classic

style shōjo manga artists such as Miyako Maki, Makoto Takahashi, Hideko Mizuno,

and Shotaro Ishinomori. From volume 16 and on, the "Editor's

Comments" section was omitted from the English-language adaptation by Viz

Media, as P. Duffield, the editor and one responsible for them, was no longer

working on the project, as mentioned in the final segment of the "Editor's

Comments" in volume 15. Media

= Manga = Please Save My Earth was written and

drawn by Saki Hiwatari. The series was serialized by Hakusensha in the monthly

shōjo manga magazine Hana to Yume from 1987 to 1994. The serial installments

were collected, without chapter divisions, in 21 tankōbon volumes. The

series was later reissued in 12 bunkoban volumes in 1998. It is licensed in

English in North America by Viz Media, with all volumes translated.

= OVA = Please Save My Earth was adapted as an

original video animation directed by Kazuo Yamazaki and produced by

Production I.G. The six-episode OVA anime covers roughly the first half of

the manga storyline. It is licensed in English by Viz Media. As of September

2007, it is out of print. Please Save My Earth Sōshūhen Kanzenban:

Alice kara, Rin Kun e is a 99 minute compilation OVA narrated by Alice,

reminiscing on the events of the main OVA as she is on her way to meet with

Rin in a park. The "present day" scenes of Alice and Rin from the movie add

scenes that were not present in the manga.

Please Save My Earth Music Image Video: Kin'iro no Toki Nagarete contains six

music videos with footage not seen in the main OVA and scenes taken from the

manga, as well as a slightly different version of the OVA ending sequence, and

the ending credits for the image videos. Reception

As of 2006, over 15 million copies of Please Save My Earth volumes had sold in

Japan, making it one of the best-selling shōjo manga ever.

Starting in volume 8 of the manga, a disclaimer appeared at the bottom of the

first page of every compilation volume, stating that the story was entirely

fictional. This was due to disturbing letters to Hiwatari received from people

who were convinced that they had been part of the moon scientist's society and

had been reborn on Earth. These disclaimers have since appeared in her

others works, most notably on the first pages of each volume of Global Garden.

Several manga artists have cited Please Save My Earth as an influence on them,

including Naoko Takeuchi and Bisco Hatori.

See also The Tale of the Bamboo Cutter - Japanese

folktale with elements similar to Please Save My Earth

References External links

Official Viz Media manga website Please Save My Earth at Anime News

Network's encyclopedia Please Save My Earth at Anime-Online

Plot summaries of OVA episodes "Shojo Manga Pick of the Month"