Ai Shite Knight

Yakko, Go, Hashizo and Juliano!

Ai Shite Night (愛してナイト, Aishite Naito, wordplay for "Love me, Knight" and "Night for Loving") is a shōjo manga created in the early 1980s by Kaoru Tada, better known as the author of Itazura na Kiss. An anime version of the story in 42 episodes was also produced in 1983-84 by Toei Animation and aired on TV Asahi.

"Ai Shite Night" is set in Osaka (Tokyo in the anime version), and tells the story of Yaeko "Yakko" Mitamura (known as Licia or Lucile in European versions), an 18 year old Girl Next Door who divides her time in between her father Shige's Okonomiyaki restaurant and her evening college classes. One day Yakko casually meets a little boy, Hideki aka "Hashizo", and his odd cat Juliano. Hashizo lost both of his parents when he was still a baby and has been brought up by his elder brother Go Kato, who is the lead singer of the emerging rock band "Bee Hive". When Yakko meets Go and his friend and "Bee Hive" member Satomi Okawa, an unexpected series of events and a tangled romance unfolds.

Whereas the main narrative of "Ai Shite Night" is essentially based on a love story, interesting and innovative elements were introduced by Kaoru Tada, most notably the portrayal of the Japanese music scene in the early '80s. In creating characters such as Go, Satomi and their band "Bee Hive", Tada was inspired by successful bands of the time such as "The Stalin", "Novela", "Primadonna" and "44 Magnum". Tada also plays with sexual provocation and ambiguity, mainly embodied by the character of "Kiss Relish" vocalist Kazuma Kataoka/Sheila, although these elements were considerably toned down in the anime version of the story.

The anime was a multimedia sensation, perhaps most notably in Europe and especially Italy, where the Alternative Foreign Theme Song by Cristina D'Avena topped the charts and the anime itself was so popular it stayed on the air in reruns for decades, even spawning a live-action remake.

Tropes used in Ai Shite Knight include:

• Adaptation Dye Job: Yakko is blonde in the manga, but has brown hair in the anime except for the OP.
• Anime Hair and You Gotta Have Blue Hair: And HOW. This is a manga of The Eighties, after all. Particularly noticeble are Go's blond and red hair as well as Satomi's lilac long hair.
• Armor-Piercing Slap: Yakko slaps Go when he tries to flirt with her after they crash into each other. She then apologizes.
• Bishonen: Hashizo, a pint-sized edition.
• Bowdlerize: As mentioned, the anime toned down the sexual themes.
• Cats Are Mean: Juliano, but only towards ladies.
• Crash Into Hello: How Yakko and Go meet.
• Dub Name Change: To name just two examples of many: Yakko is Licia in the Italian and Spanish dubs and Lucile in the French version. Go is Mirko in Italian and Mathias in French.
• Fan Girl: Meiko and Isuzu
• First Boy Wins: Toyed with. Storyline-wise Yakko has known Satomi from before Go comes into the picture, but doesn't end up with him. OTOH, one the first guy that we viewers get to see is actually Go, since the second scene of the TV series has him and Hashizo getting ready for their daily routine and Satomi doesn't appear until a little later.
• Girl Next Door: Yakko
• He-Man Woman Hater: Juliano.. the cat. Played for Laughs, of course.
• Intergenerational Friendship: Hashizo and Yakko. Also Hashizo and Yakko's dad, in quite the contrast with Shige's more skittish treatment of Go.
• Ladykiller in Love: Go has a Casanova fame, but when he falls for Yakko... he falls HARD.
• Long-Distance Relationship: By the end of the anime, this trope is discussed when Go has to leave to the USA for a 6-month-long tour with Bee Hive. They agree on it, and Go promises to marry Yakko as soon as he returns for her and Hashizo.
• Names to Know in Anime: Mitsuko Horie (Yakko), Katsuji Mori (Satomi), Isao Sasaki (Go). And the music is by Joe Hisaishi!
  • On the production side, Shingo Araki, later of Saint Seiya fame, was animation director on a few episodes.
• Non-Singing Voice: While Isao Sasaki (Go) can sing and is in fact known for many Japanese TV theme songs, his voice was thought incompatible with rock and roll, so his singing voice was dubbed by an actual rock vocalist.
• Overprotective Dad: Shige Mitamura, though it's kinda understandable since he's raised Yakko alone after his wife died.
  • Parental Marriage Veto
• Promotion to Parent: Go, for Hashizo.
  • Heroic Bastard: Actually, Hashizo's mom was Mr. Katou's mistress. (Go's mom, Yoko, still lives but they're very distanced.) Go still took him in and they live together in a tiny apartment.
• Rich Suitor, Poor Suitor: Go is middle class, Satomi is rich. They both love Yakko. Yakko picks Go.
• Sensitive Guy and Manly Man: Go and Satomi.
• Shorttank: Yakko is a slightly older version.
• "Take That!" Kiss: Sorta. Go once kisses Meiko when he's sure Yakko is watching.
  • Wasnt Satomi instead of Yakko?
• The White Prince: Satomi, also Spoiled Sweet. Offers quite a contrast with Go, who is more middle class.
• Wholesome Crossdresser: Kazuma aka Sheila. Also Camp Straight, since he's Happily Married to Relish's manager Marino and they have a daughter together.