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| Earth Defender! Mao-chan | |
| 陸上防衛隊まおちゃん (Ground Defense Force! Mao-chan) | |
|---|---|
| Created by | Ken Akamatsu |
| Anime television series | |
| Directed by | Yoshiaki Iwasaki |
| Produced by | Atsushi Moriyama Kiyonori Hiramatsu |
| Written by | Yōsuke Kuroda |
| Music by | Takayuki Hattori |
| Studio | Xebec |
| Licensed by | |
| Original network | TV Tokyo |
| Original run | 3 July 2002 – 25 December 2002 |
| Episodes | 26 |
| Manga | |
| Mao-chan | |
| Written by | Ken Akamatsu |
| Published by | Kodansha |
| English publisher | |
| Magazine | Magazine Special |
| Demographic | Shōnen |
| Original run | July 2003 – October 2004 |
| Volumes | 2 |
Ground Defense Force! Mao-chan (陸上防衛隊まおちゃん, Rikujō Bōeitai Mao-chan), also known as Earth Defender! Mao-chan, is a Japanese anime television series created by Xebec.
It stars three eight-year-old girls, Mao, Misora and Sylvia, as they try to defend Earth against invading aliens. The world's defense has fallen into unlikely straits because the aliens are excessively cute, of which combat engagements are televised: if the forces battling the aliens were not cute themselves, the general public would revolt, as it would be seen as "bullying". Consequently, three military leaders chose their granddaughters to be the defenders, fittingly, becoming a team even cuter than the aliens. They each have a clover-shaped badge that enables them to transform. (This transformation provides no apparent special ability.)
The series itself is rife with parodies and references, particularly to Akamatsu's earlier work Love Hina. The girls' commanding officer bears a resemblance to Naru Narusegawa from Love Hina. See also below in the characters, as well as anime episode 20 and manga chapters 17 and 25.
It was one of Tony Pope's last voice acting roles before his death in 2004.