ChocoMimi is a shōjo4-panelmanga series written and illustrated by Konami Sonoda. It was first serialized in the magazine Ribon Original in 2003, and later the main Ribon magazine in March 2004. 11 volumes of the manga have been published by Shueisha under the Ribon Mascot Comics imprint, and Viz Media published the first five volumes in English under the Viz Kids imprint. In Japan, the series was popular among elementary and junior high school students, with critics citing the fashion focus and emphasis on friendship as its strong points. The popularity of the series led to a live-action television adaptation in 2007. Beginning with the September 2019 issue of Ribon, Sonoda put the manga on hiatus due to poor health. She later died from breast cancer on August 4, 2019.
Plot
ChocoMimi follows the daily lives of best friends Choco and Mimi, two fashionable junior high girls, as well as their own social circle and family. While Choco is serious and diligent, spoiled sweet Mimi is imaginative and spacey. Together, they experience and explore everyday problems at home, with their friends, and at school. Each chapter ends with a fashion tip from both Choco and Mimi.
Characters
Main characters
;Chiyoko Sakurai / Choco ;Mimi Nekota ;Ryūnosuke Andō / Andrew ;Mumu Momoyama ;Kōmei Mikami / Mikachin ;Kojika Mori / Bambi
;Mimi's father ;Jin Sakurai ;Rai Sakurai ;Aoi Mikami
Animals
;Chiffon ;Huckleberry ;Picho ;Anko
Media
Manga
ChocoMimi debuted on Ribon Original in 2003. After the magazine became defunct in 2004, it was moved to Ribon. The chapters were later released in bound volumes by Shueisha for a total of 11 volumes under the Ribon Mascot Comics imprint. Sonoda put the series on hiatus beginning the September 2019 issue due to health issues and later died from breast cancer on August 4, 2019. Viz Media licensed the series in English and released the first five volumes under their Viz Kids imprint. The first volume was released with a sticker set.
Drama CD
A drama CD adaptation featuring ChocoMimi, along with Love-Berrish! and Animal Yokochō, was released as a mail-order gift with the December 2005 issue of Ribon, featuring the voices of Ami Koshimizu as Choco, Ai Nonaka as Mimi, Takayuki Sasada as Ando, and Motoki Takagi as Mumu.
Television drama
The manga was adapted into a live-action television drama series. The series was directed by Yoka Kusano and aired weekly for 26 episodes on TV Tokyo from October 1, 2007 to March 31, 2008 at 5:30 PM. Each episode was divided into two parts and used flash animation for effects and animated segments. ChocoMimi starred a number of child and teen newcomer actors, with its main cast composed ofYukika Teramoto as Choco, AKB48 member Kayano Masuyama as Mimi, Yuya Kido as Andrew, Toko Miura as Mumu, and Masahiro Usui as Mikachin. The opening theme, "Happy Happy!", was performed by Teramoto and Masuyama under the name Choco & Mimi, which charted #175 on the Oricon Weekly Singles Chart upon release. The ending themes are "I Can't!!" by Mystic for episodes 1-13; and "Rocket" by Teramoto, Masuyama, Yuya Kido, Toko Miura, and Masahiro Usui under the name Choco & Mimi with Andrew, Mumu, and Mikachin for episodes 14-26.
Episodes
Reception
In Japan, ChocoMimi was popular among its target demographic of elementary and junior high students. The fashion focus of the series has been compared to , while Choco and Mimi's friendship was compared to Nana and Hachi's from Nana. Lori Henderson from School Library Journal reviewed the series favorably, approving of its "short and sweet" stories and emphasis on friendship, while recommending the series to children in the 9-12 age group. On the other hand, Katherine Dacey from School Library Journal criticized Choco and Mimi's characterization for enforcing negative stereotypes of teen girls as "materialistic, ditzy, and uninterested in school" and felt "bothered" about the stories where Choco and Mimi were concerned about their weight. Publishers Weekly recommended the series specifically to preteen girls, especially ones interested in Japanese culture.
