Having a daughter who enjoys Japanese culture, I’m often asked by pals why are today’s’ youth so into anime. Why aren’t they satisfied with the various American superhero, Star Wars and Disney films anymore? The answer is pretty simple: anime offers a lot more than kiddie stories. Disney gave us Hannah Montana about Miley Cyrus living a double life as a normal kid and a superstar pop singer in 2006. Earlier in 2002, the anime series Looking For the Full Moon aired on Tokyo television. This show was also about a young girl who lives a double life as a schoolgirl and a superstar pop singer. Except there’s one serious difference: the little girl in the anime is also battling throat cancer. You think Disney would be willing to go that deep? Looking For The Full Moon Volume 2 contains the final 26 episodes of the series.
Mitsuki Koyama is a 12-year-old girl who is part of a major TV singing competition although not many people know it. She has made a deal with the spirits Takuto and Meroko so that she will be transformed into a 16-year-old in perfect health. This allows her to perform perfectly for the judges. She promises them her soul by not getting the lifesaving surgery. What she doesn’t get is that her guardians are really Harbingers of Death (shinigami) and not her spiritual guardians. If she gets the surgery, there’s a major chance she will lose her voice or die anyway. She’d rather be in the contestant than take a chance at surviving. When she transforms, she uses the name Full Moon so even her relatives don’t know. While Takuto and Meroko originally thought Mitsuki would get eliminated early on, the singer defies the odds and keeps surviving week after week. She grows a steady following. Mitsuki has problems balancing her schoolgirl life with her pop princess adventures in the second half of the series. She also ponders if she can really allow herself to die. Should she have the risky surgery? Can Takuto and Meroko afford to let her live? Other afterlife characters arrive on the scene as Mitsuki’s expiration date nears. Is she really giving it all up for this taste of singing fame?
Looking For The Full Moon Volume 2 wraps up the series with an emotional wallop for all the major characters. Takuto and Meroko discover how they ended up as shinigami. Mitsuki’s dealing with everything hitting her as she closes in on her dream feels a bit real for an animated show. This is definitely stuff that Hannah Montana never had to emotionally absorb. The songs in the show are rather good and come with subtitles to figure out the lyrics. You feel how the music really does uplift Mitsuki. The lines reflect her dual identity situation. This is an anime series for viewers who want a show that digs into a character so obsessed with a desire that they’ll risk everything. Looking For The Full Moon Volume 2 has more depth than a mere pop confection.
The Video is 1.33:1 full frame. The 1080p transfers bring out the colors in the various locations including the recording studios. The Audio is DTS-HD MA 2.0 Stereo in both English and Japanese. The music sounds pop lush through the speakers. The shows are subtitled in English. There is an option to only have subtitles for the songs and signs.
Clean Opening – “Rock’n Roll Princess” (1:32) let you enjoy the visuals and the rocking opening song.
Clean Endings – “Eternal Snow” (5:09) eliminates the crawl on the side of the screen for two different endings.
Clean Ending – “Love Chronicle” (1:30) let you see the glistening beach walk.
Episode 52 Clean Ending (1:17) is how the series wrapped up.
Animeigo presents Looking For the Moon: Volume 2. Directed by Toshiyuki Kato. Screenplay by Hiro Masaki. Starring the voices of Myco, Katie Rowan, Yakkun Sakurazuka, Jeffrey Watson, Chieko Honda and Leda Davies. Boxset Contents: 26 episodes on 2 Blu-ray discs. Rating: Unrated. Release Date: November 11, 2025.
