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Miracle Shojo Limit-chan is an early Magical Girl anime from 1973, also known as Cybernella in Italy. It is the sixth series in the Toei Animation/TV Asahi (then known as NET) Majokko (Witch Girl) pantheon, but also one of the more obscure, largely due to the fact that the same studio's (and same broadcaster's) Cutey Honey aired contemporaneously.
When 11-year-old Satomi Nishiyama is critically injured in an airplane crash, her scientist father saves her life by turning her into a cyborg. Now renamed Limit, she has a number of superpowers at her disposal, but she must also keep her robotic nature a secret from her peers.
Tropes used in Miracle Shoujo Limit-chan include:
- Action Girl: Actually gets averted most of the time. Limit has the powers, but she will usually find a non-violent solution to whatever problem is confronting her and very rarely ends up in a fight.
- Alpha Bitch: Mitsuko, although her Girl Posse is unusual in that they all suffer from some serious Gonk.
- By the Power of Greyskull: "Change Face!" "Change Back!"
- Calling Your Attacks: Although they're actions rather than attacks. For example, Limit cries "Miracle Jump" when she does a superhuman jump, "Miracle Run" when she uses her super-speed, and "Miracle Power" when she uses her super-strength. All in Gratuitous English, by the way.
- Crash Into Hello/Meet Cute: Subverted for laughs in the ice-skating episode when Nobuko crashes into a guy on the ice rink and looks up to discover that he's very handsome... and then his girlfriend immediately appears and pointedly pulls him away.
- Dub Name Change: Limit is renamed Cybernella in the Italian dub, although the Italian episode title card still features the English text "Limit, Miracle Girl."
- Flying Broomstick: Actually it's her book-bag, but it serves the same purpose.
- Germans Love David Hasselhoff: Limit-chan was overshadowed by fellow Toei Animation cyborg Cutey Honey during her broadcast run, and her show was canceled after only 25 episodes. But in Italy, where she and her show were renamed "Cybernella", she became very popular and is fondly remembered.
- Getting Smilies Painted on Your Soul: Limit's ring has this power.
- Girlish Pigtails: Nobuko. Also, Mitsuko the Alpha Bitch.
- Green-Eyed Monster: In one episode, Limit and Nobuko's friendship gets strained because Nobuko is jealous of Limit's talent at ice-skating.
- Hey, It's That Voice: Limit's voice actress, Youko Kuri, was likely better known at the time for voicing Kyoko on Dokonjo Gaeru.
- Hotblooded Sideburns: Limit
- I Just Want to Be Normal: Limit's reaction to becoming a cyborg.
- Meaningful Name: The original story was for Limit to have only a year to live after being resurrected (she was killed in the plane crash in the original proposal) as a cyborg, hence the name Limit. This idea was rejected by Toei and NET as being too dark.
- Meganekko: Nobuko.
- Missing Mom: Limit's mother is killed in the same plane crash that necessitated Limit's cyborg-ification. The original series proposal was to have Satomi (Limit) killed as well, rather than just critically injured.
- Muggle Best Friend: Nobuko
- Musical Pastiche: The theme song for the Italian version closely resembles the Beatles' "Ob-La-Di, Ob-La-Da".
- Names to Know in Anime: The character designs were done by Kazuo Komatsubara, also known for his work with Go Nagai (he would, in fact, also work on Limit's "competitor" show, Cutie Honey) and Hayao Miyazaki.
- Nerd Glasses: Nobuko
- Nice Hat: Limit's does double duty as a walkie-talkie.
- Non-Human Sidekick: Go, the robot-dog.
- Only Known by Their Nickname: Limit's birth name is Satomi.
- Replacement Goldfish: Averted - the only way to keep Limit alive after the plane crash that nearly took her life was to make her a cyborg. Limit is well aware that she is a cyborg and it is a major source of insecurity for her.
- Ring of Power: Limit's ring can emit a scent that calms people down.
- Super Speed: One of Limit's powers.
- Super Strength: Another of her powers.
- Together Umbrella: Limit and Nobuko share an umbrella in episode 18, though in this case it doesn't seem to have any romantic implications.
- Tomboy and Girly Girl: Nobuko and Limit, respectively.
- Transformation Sequence: A very short one whenever Limit uses her disguise power.
- Transformation Trinket: Limit's pendant, which she also uses to activate her other powers.
- We Can Rebuild Him