WHO IS MAMI?

Creamy Mami (a.k.a. Yuu Morisawa) is a fictional idol and magical girl! She debuted in 1983 by Studio Pierrot, in Magical Angel Creamy Mami. Designed by the illustrious shoujo/josei illustrator Akemi Takada, she is packed full of visual charm to match her big personality.

WHY DO I LOVE MAMI?

With Mami, it was love at first sight! She hits a lot of the right design buttons for me, and I love her dual persona of Elegant Stage Performer and Feral Creature (the latter is most evident in the anime and less so in the illustrations). She has such a buckwild backstory as well, which is really fun to me. Plus, her voice actress sounds so unique, especially compared to the standard Anime Girl Voice -- it's deeper, a little raspier, but also has these distinctively squeaky voice cracks that are just adorable. (Not to mention, she has the singing skill to suit an idol!) My love for her visual aesthetic was compounded when I discovered the seemingly neverending gallery of mostly-watercolor illustrations Takada has been creating since the 80s. They're all absolutely gorgeous and ethereal and I'm obsessed with them. They showcase really pleasing, mostly frilly, sometimes fantastical fashions as well as simply depicting Mami as the angelic creature she is.

I've included a handful of outstanding illustrations below, but if you want more, you can find hundreds of scans at Majokko Club and OnlyShojo! Those two sites were the source for most of the images in this shrine.