Glass Mask (Japanese: ガラスの仮面, Hepburn: Garasu no Kamen) is a Japanese shōjo manga series created by Suzue Miuchi. The story was first published in the magazine Hana to Yume starting in January 1976. It has been collected into 49 tankōbon volumes as of October 2012. The series has also been adapted into an anime and a live-action television show. By 2006, the collected volumes had sold 50 million copies in Japan, making it the second most popular shōjo manga ever.
After more than two years without new chapters, Miuchi restarted Glass Mask in Hakusensha’s Bessatsu Hana to Yume magazine in July 2008. In 2009, Miuchi said she planned to end the series "soon." However, the series is currently on a long break, with the most recent chapter released in October 2012.
Plot
Glass Mask is a story about Maya Kitajima, a young actress who is very dedicated to her work on stage. She is in a competition with her talented rival, Ayumi Himekawa, both trying to earn the skills and success needed to play the lead role in the famous play "The Crimson Goddess" ("Kurenai Tennyo"). Maya is not considered beautiful or smart in school, but her love for acting is so strong that she risks her life several times to perform well. Her mother often tells her she is not valuable, so Maya wants to prove her worth to others and herself. Ayumi, on the other hand, is expected to succeed because she is naturally gifted and has talented parents, but she wants to achieve success on her own.
As the story continues, it shows the complicated relationships between many characters. Maya’s mentor, Chigusa Tsukikage, finds Maya’s acting talent and chooses her to take on the role of "The Crimson Goddess." Masumi Hayami, the young president of Daito, interacts with Maya as a strict business leader but secretly supports her as an anonymous fan who sends her purple roses, which Maya calls "The Purple Rose Person." Hajime Onodera, a director at Daito, wants the rights to "Kurenai Tennyo," which Chigusa Tsukikage owns. When Tsukikage refuses to sell the rights, Onodera tries to harm her acting school with bad plans. Since Onodera works for Hayami, Maya does not know that Hayami is "The Purple Rose Person" and dislikes Onodera. Although Masumi is eleven years older than Maya, he falls in love with her and encourages her in quiet ways.
Characters
Maya Kitajima is a young actress who was 13 years old at the start of the story. She worked as a waitress in a Chinese restaurant with her mother before her father passed away when she was very young. Her mother, Haru, has mental health challenges and believes Maya is not helpful because Maya often focuses on acting instead of working. Maya was discovered by a former famous actress named Chigusa Tsukikage, who helped her begin an acting career. Haru did not support Maya’s dreams, thinking she would fail. Haru even refused to watch Maya perform in a school play, where Maya gave a deeper, more emotional performance than expected. Later, Maya started making a living as an actress. Chigusa helped Maya cut ties with her mother to pursue acting. Maya received secret encouragement from an anonymous fan who sent her purple roses. This fan was Hayami Masumi, who Maya strongly disliked because he caused harm to Chigusa’s acting school. Years later, Haru died from tuberculosis and blindness, which deeply upset Maya.
Ayumi Himekawa is Maya’s main rival. She is the daughter of Utako Himekawa, a famous actress, and Mitsugu Himekawa, a successful director. Ayumi is determined to prove herself as an actress, not just because of her family background. She first noticed Maya’s talent during a practice session and saw her as a competitor. Ayumi wants to take over the role of the "Crimson Goddess," a famous character her mother once played. She works hard to gain experience, even taking on small roles. When Ayumi played a boy named Tom in The Prince and the Pauper, children were surprised by her performance because they expected her to look like a beautiful girl. Ayumi won their approval by acting in a way that made the children give her candy. Despite being praised by critics, Ayumi feels she cannot match Maya’s emotional depth during performances.
Chigusa Tsukikage is Maya’s mentor and a former street child. She was once a beloved actress, most famous for her role in the play Crimson Goddess. Her performance was so special that the play’s author gave her the rights to perform it. However, she was seriously injured during a stage accident when a lamp fell on her, burning part of her face. This led her to leave acting and open an acting school instead. She is often sick and hospitalized but is determined to keep the rights to Crimson Goddess because she believes no one else is ready to play its main role. After discovering Maya’s talent, she took her under her care, even protecting her from Haru’s anger.
Masumi Hayami is the stepson of the president of Daito Entertainments. His real father died when he was two years old. He tried to take control of Crimson Goddess from Chigusa, which led to her school being destroyed. He secretly supported Maya by sending her purple roses and money, but acted meanly in public to hide his identity. He was once a happy child, but his mother died when he was young, and his stepfather, who killed the author of Crimson Goddess, treated him poorly. As the story continues, Masumi becomes deeply in love with Maya but hides his feelings, partly because he believes Maya hates him for indirectly causing her mother’s death.
Anime
Since the manga began being published, several anime versions have been created. The first adaptation was a 22-episode TV series made by Eiken in 1984. It was directed by Gisaburō Sugii, with animation help from Shingo Araki and Michi Himeno (for the opening scene) and character designs by Makoto Kuniyasu. The main voice actors included Masako Katsuki as Maya Kitajima, Taeko Nakanishi as Chigusa Tsukikage, Minori Matsushima as Ayumi Himekawa, and Nachi Nozawa (and later Katsuji Mori from episode 19 onward) as Masumi Hayami. The opening and ending songs, "Garasu no Kamen" (Glass Mask) and "Pāpuru Raito" (Purple Light), were performed by Mariko Ashibe. This series was shown on Nippon TV.
In 1998, a three-episode OVA (original video animation) titled "Garasu no Kamen: Sen no Kamen wo Motsu Shōjo" (Glass Mask: The Girl Who Wears A Thousand Masks) was released by TMS Entertainment. It was a remake of the first three parts of the manga. The 1984 voice actors were not used in this version. Instead, Megumi Ogata voiced Maya Kitajima, Keiko Toda voiced Chigusa Tsukikage, Naoko Matsui voiced Ayumi Himekawa, and Jūrōta Kosugi voiced Masumi Hayami. The OVA was directed by Tsuneo Kobayashi, with scripts by Nobuaki Kishima, Tomoko Konparu, and Yoshiyuki Suga. Animation character designs were done by Satoshi Hirayama and Masako Gouto.
In 2005, TMS Entertainment, the company that made the OVA, began a new TV series. It was directed by Mamoru Hamatsu, with series composition by Toshimichi Saeki, animation character designs by Satoshi Hirayama, and music by Tamiya Terashima. This version was broadcast on TV Tokyo. It had two opening themes: "Promise," performed by Candy for episodes 1–26, and "zero," performed by Aiko Ikuta for episodes 27–51. Four ending themes were used: "Yasashii Sayonara" (A Kind Farewell) by Aina for episodes 1–13, "Step One" by Sister Q for episodes 14–24, "Sunao ni Narenakute" (I Couldn't Be Honest With You) by Splash Candy for episodes 27–39, and "Hello Hello" by Core of Soul for episodes 40–51. The voice actors from earlier versions were not used again. Maya Kitajima was voiced by Sanae Kobayashi, Chigusa Tsukikage by Toshiko Fujita, Ayumi Himekawa by Akiko Yajima, and Masumi Hayami by Toshiyuki Morikawa. The original voice actor for Maya Kitajima in the 1984 series returned to voice Utako Himekawa, Ayumi’s mother.
The 2005 adaptation was licensed in North America by Sentai Filmworks and distributed by Section23 Films. The first half of the series was released on DVD on January 19, 2010. However, the second half was not released, likely because of low sales.
In 2013, a 17-episode short flash series was created by DLE. This version reimagined Maya and Ayumi as rival delinquent girls competing to become the leader of the Crimson Goddess gang.
In 2016, a 13-episode parody version titled "3-Nen D-Gumi Glass no Kamen" (The Glass Mask Year 3 Class D) was released. This version used humor to make fun of modern society and was broadcast on Tokyo MX starting October 3. A film based on the anime, titled "3-Nen D-Gumi Glass no Kamen ~Tobidase Watashi-tachi no VR" (The Glass Mask Year 3 Class D ~Fly, Our VR), premiered on July 22, 2017. It was a "VR film," meaning characters were shown on a stage using live holographic technology.
Film
In 2013, an animated film titled It’s Glass Mask But… the Movie: Female Spy’s Love! The Purple Rose Has a Dangerous Scent!? was released. Similar to the flash series, the film was a parody that changed the story of Maya and Ayumi, who become junior spies after their mentor, Chigusa, is kidnapped.
Live-action
In 1997, a live-action version of the first 38 volumes of the series was made. It continued in 1998 as "Garasu no Kamen 2." Both productions featured Yumi Adachi as Maya Kitajima.
- Yumi Adachi as Maya Kitajima
- Seiichi Tanabe as Masumi Hayami
- Megumi Matsumoto (Aimi Nakamura in the special) as Ayumi Himekawa
- Kenji Kohashi as Yū Sakurakōji
- Kazuko Katō as Utako Himekawa
- Kenta Satoi as Hajime Onodera
- Kyōko Togawa as Saeko Mizuki
- Naomasa Musaka as Genzō Kobayashi
- Kaya Saeki as Shiori Takamiya
- Hinako Saeki as Suzuko Tashiro (Norie Otobe)
- Mariko Fuji as Haru Kitajima
- Yōko Nogiwa as Chigusa Tsukikage
- Yasutaka Tsutsui as Eisuke Hayami
- Yūichi Haba as Ryūzō Kuronuma
- Gamon Kaai as Takuya Kazama