Mahô no stêji fanshî Rara

Fancy Lala is a children's magical girl series, but it can be enjoyed by the young at heart. Miho is a ten-year-old girl who encounters two dinosaur fairies who give her a magic pen and pad. By drawing clothes on the pad and reciting some magic words she transforms into an older version of herself whom she dubs Fancy Lala. She is then scouted by a modeling agency. Soon they have her auditioning as a singer as well. Along the way Miho learns about growing up, having a crush and how hard the entertainment industry is.

I got interested in the series after seeing the trailer (the opening credits) and digging the song. The song, I discovered, is titled "La La La...When You Wish Upon Your Lips". I mistakenly assumed that Lala was a long haired girl, but actually she has short hair and sometimes wears a wig.

The second DVD has a text interview with the creators, which is best read after watching the entire series (preferably in Japanese). Some of the creators previously worked on the series Magical Angel Creamy Mami. Thanks to a enterprising penpal who no longer writes to me, I have seen the fan-subtitled versions of the first four episodes of Creamy Mami. The two shows have a few things in common, such as the lead characters transforming into older versions of themselves and becoming pop stars. Creamy Mami is more of a slapstick comedy mixed with a huge dose of fantasy. Fancy Lala is a fantasy, but is more down to earth. I like both shows, and I hope Creamy Mami gets a legit U.S. release someday, but I think Fancy Lala is better.

In any case, I highly recommend Fancy Lala. Enjoy!