Mama wa Shōgaku 4 Nensei

Mama wa Shōgaku Yonensei
Cover of the first DVD box
ママは小学４年生
Genre	Science fiction
Created by	Hajime Yatate
Anime television series
Directed by	Shuji Iuchi
Produced by	Shinichirō Maeda (NTV) Yūko Sagawa (Asatsu) Eiji Sashida (Sunrise)
Music by	Akira Senju Hayato Kanbayashi Michiaki Katō
Studio	Sunrise
Original network	NNS (NTV)
Original run	January 10, 1992 – December 25, 1992
Episodes	51
Manga
Written by	Ito Nakamori
Published by	Shogakukan
Original run	August 1993 – October 1993
Volumes	2

Mama wa Shōgaku Yonensei (Japanese: ママは小学4年生, "Mama is a 4th Grader") is a Japanese anime television series directed by Shuji Iuchi and produced by Sunrise, Nippon Television and Asatsu. The 51-episode series was first aired from January 10, 1992, through December 25, 1992.

In 1993, Mama wa Shōgaku Yonensei won the 24th Seiun Award in the Best Media category, and was ranked at number fifth in the 15th Anime Grand Prix award for Best Anime category.

This is a series about time travel. A baby mysteriously time travels from the year 2007 to the year 1992, where it is left in the care of Natsumi Mizuki, a past version of the baby's mother. Natsumi has to take care of her daughter, despite only being a 4th grader. Natsumi's own caretaker, her aunt Izumi Shimamura, is less than enthusiastic about the situation.

Plot

In the year 2007, a woman is preparing for a party, while her husband is tinkering with a communication device for their new baby. A sudden lightning bolt affects the television, causing the baby to levitate and vanish. In the year 1992, a 4th grader named Natsumi Mizuki (水木 なつみ Mizuki Natsumi) is separated from her parents for a day, because her father's company only bought two tickets for their move to England, so they had to buy her a ticket for the following day. She is upset because her parents gave away her pet dog. Her aunt Izumi Shimamura (島村 いづみ Shimamura Izumi) (her mother's younger sister), an aspiring manga writer who hates dogs and babies, comes to live with Natsumi. They do not get along very well, with Natsumi calling her 'Oba-san' (Auntie) instead of 'Onee-san' (Big sis) as she would prefer.

While watching a movie, the baby appears in front of Natsumi. She becomes determined to raise the baby, not wanting to trust her with the clumsy policeman. Through the strange heart-shaped device, Natsumi and Izumi learn that the baby's mother is Natsumi Mizuki from the year 2007! She is a married 24-year-old, and pleads with her past self to take care of the baby until they can determine how to return her. The device is also linked with a clasp around the baby's neck that notifies Izumi when the baby needs her, through transmitting her emotional state.

Natsumi and Izumi continue to quarrel over how to raise the baby, and worry about time paradoxes that could occur. Natsumi must now try to raise her future daughter, attend school, and foil her aunt's attempts to foist the baby onto other caregivers. Izumi is pressured into watching the baby while Natsumi is at school, in exchange for free board, since she lost her apartment. During this time, she tries to focus on creating her manga without distractions.

Episode List & Summary

Episode 1 (Mirai's Appearance)

A few years into the 21st century when USA is supposedly making a 2nd satellite station in space, a woman is waiting on her husband to get ready to go to a party regarding her writer aunt with her baby who's only a few years old. But then suddenly a lightning strike somehow producing a time slip transports her baby to the same place 1&1/2 decades before as she watches it with a horrifying glance. Back at that time, a 4th grader named Mizuki is home alone at night after expecting to leave Japan following her dad's transfer to England, but because of criminal negligence they couldn't arrange a ticket for her. Right at that moment the baby appears, shortly followed by Aunt Izumi who dislikes babies and dogs. She can't stand the baby's crying after drudgery of three nights, so she demands the baby be out. So, Mizuki shoots out with the baby angrily, but quickly loses it. The baby is then found by the family dog Bobby, who brings it to them and the aunt decides for the time being to keep the baby.

Episode 2 (Am I a Mother?)

A conflict of interest has arisen between Aunt Izumi and Mizuki, Aunt Izumi wants to ditch the baby to the police and Mizuki wants to take care of the baby. They then argue and scuffle about it, and then the compact disc that came with the baby started to sound. Mizuki picks it up and through it gets to know the baby is actually her own, 15 years into the future. Her future version tells her to take care of the baby until the baby can return. Also, because of time paradoxes and stuff, she can't know more than that from her future version, not even the baby's name. In the end, Mizuki decides to stay in Japan, raising her future baby until she can return to her timeline and names her Mirai(Hope).

Episode 3 (Hide, Mirai!)

This episode is all about hiding Mirai from Mizuki's friends, the thoughtful and sweet Eriko and tomboyish Tamae, also Daisuke and the neighborhood kid Hanada, all of whom came in to see what's wrong with Mirai being all sleepy and tired in class and recess. Aunt Izumi also has to worry about the noisy neighbor Ms. Hanada. All around it becomes a hectic episode.

Episode 4 (Mama, a baby thief!)

Mizuki thinks Mirai has hurt herself, so she is taken to a baby clinic. There after diagnosing that she's fine, she sees her friend Daisuke coming in with his sick brother. She then has to leave immediately, but forgets to pick her child up from the daycare. So, going home, she urges the aunt to go pick her up. She goes begrudgingly. But she picks up the wrong baby from that clinic because of her being sleep-deprived in her manga assistant job and Mirai crying at home. Coming home with Mirai, Mizuki realizes that there has been a baby mix-up and as a result, the police are onto them. So, they could then have to reveal Mirai's presence to the outside world, producing dangerous time paradoxes. Therefore, Mizuki hatches up a plan to put the baby back at the daycare, making no one any wiser.

Episode 5 (Who is Mirai's Papa?)

Mizuki really wants to go see Ryuchi, her childhood crush's football game tomorrow with the nearby town's school, but she can't, as at the last moment her aunt Izumi got out to be at a luncheon date of convenience. With a few moments left for the game to begin, Mizuki gets a call from her friend duo, Tamae & Eriko, urging to visit the sports place. So she goes with her dog, Bobby & her baby, Mirai. As she wants to enjoy the game with her friends, she puts Mirai in a worn-out apple cart and appoints Bobby to guard duty. But he abandons it and starts chasing another dog, which results in Mirai meeting the nervous and timid Daihike, Daisuke's little brother. They have a scuffle, both fall down to the soccer field and both start to cry, resulting in the game getting paused and Mizuki making up an excuse as to who this baby is. When the game restarts, Mizuki breaks the tie of the game and with, Daisuke's help wins the game at the last moment. Coming home, Mizuki, after seeing a saddened aunt Izumi and a lost Bobby, who would be found three days later, starts wondering as to why Mirai seemed particularly attached to Daisuke.

Episode 6 (The soothing flute)

Mizuki has been chosen to be a flute player along with her friend Eriko, to take part in the school's music festival, but she doesn't know how and when to work out the flute to produce a most perfect performance. She later figures out that Mirai's crying is the factor that produces her future flute's magnificent tone. So, she coaxes her superstitious aunt Izumi with several days of laundry service to being Mirai to school for a memorable musical performance.

Episode 7 (Get out now!)

Mizuki's aunt Izumi has been really taking care of household lately, the reason being specified later, is the possibility of her finally scoring a big prize and thus finally being able to make her big break in the manga world. But she doesn't get the good news later in the evening, so angrily she storms out of the house. So, Mizuki must venture outside at night with Mirai & Bobby to get her back.

Episode 8 (Grandma's home)

Mizuki's grandmother from her dad's side comes home, gets told everything about Mirai and then gives Mizuki some pointers about how to raise babies.

Episode 9 (The little prankster)

There this toddler prankster who's going around town pranking everyone and ruining people's normal lives. After one of his pranks, Mizuki and her friends decide to finally catch the little blight, but he relentlessly gives them the slip. So, daisuke finally catches him and through him the girls get to know that the kid is acting up because of a lack of attention from her mum, who's recently given birth to a baby girl.

Episode 10 (Mirai's in danger!)

Mizuki is gradually getting exhausted with her mama duty and just leaves her home to cool off. Returning home, she finds out her child is missing. Searching for her child frantically, she finally finds her with Daisuke and gets scolded for abandoning a baby like that. Later at night, she wonders what'll Daisuke do with this info now.

P.S. There are instances when Mizuki wears her mother's wig and dress to take her baby outside for some sun.

Episode 11 (Cooking lesson)

After getting notified about a cooking event Mizuki decides to make a dish for her crush Ryuchi's mother to stand at better odds of becoming his wife. After much practice and much hectic activity in the classroom next day, she finally does serve the dish, but the person turns out to be Daisuke's mother.

Episode 12 (Time machine)

After hearing the rumour about a scary mansion, Daisuke, Mizuki, Tamae, Eriko and Hanada decide to explore it. Going there they find it is actually a crazed scientist that wants to build a steam locomotive and to go to a specific date in the past, Back to the Future Part III style. But the train time machine obviously doesn't work, and Mizuki has another wonderful event to write about in her journal.

Episode 13 (The circus has arrived)

In this episode, it falls to Mizuki to train Yurika and her pet elephant cub of the local circus troupe in the height defying stunt, which if not mastered in a short amount of time, the elephant cub named Jasmine will be sold to a zoo.

Episode 14 (Compact disc secret)

After a late night call from her future self in the compact disc, Mizuki couldn't make it to her school trip. But again after a morning call from the same person, she is informed about the urgency to save ryuchi, else he might die. She goes there hurriedly, but in this altered timeline she saves daisuke from the rockfall. But in the momentary confusion, Mirai slips away to some high hilly place and Mizuki's locator compact disc gets lost. To find Mirai, Mizuki and aunt Izumi must borrow help from Daisuke and inform him about who Mirai actually is.

P.S. The future communicator function in the compact disc only seems to work whenever there's simultaneous lightning storm happening.

Episode 15 (My dream)

It centers around Mizuki's obsession of wanting Ryuchi as her husband.

Epsiode16 (Mama's return)

Mizuki's mom has returned. To hide Mirai, Mizuki decides to take Daisuke's help, who hides her in his estate's enormous miso soup containers. After returning, Mizuki's mom presses Mizuki about her bad grades and skipping school due to taking care of Mirai, which her mom can't know. At that moment, the compact compass starts ringing, making Mizuki rush towards Daisuke's place, where the workers have started to move the old miso soup containers to handle increased order from customers, including the makeshift hidden base where Mirai was sleeping.

Episode 17 (Sorry, dear Mirai!)

After Daisuke saved Mirai at the last moment, Mizuki comes back home to tell her mother the truth about Mirai, but she doesn't trust her. Even aunt Izumi refuses to attest to that, as with this she can finally get rid of Mirai and the dog, Bobby, to prioritize her manga/artistic career, as that's later explained to Mizuki. Then even Mizuki relents after seeing her mom crying and tells Daisuke, which Daisuke finds hard to accept, even more so after getting to his home, where Mirai is still crying. She doesn't stop crying, even with the compact disc lullaby. Faking her sleep, she then sneaks to her mother's place in the rain. Daisuke and a guit-ridden aunt Izumi decide to get Mizuki back from the airport. Mizuki sees her daughter supposedly for one last time and then leaves, but she just can't let go of her ticket. Tearfully, she reunites with her crying baby, and Aunt Izumi.

Episode 18 (Chiro, the bear)

After getting the chance of spending two nights in a mountainous luxurious hotel free of cost, the three of them Mizuki, Mirai and Aunt Izumi leave for it via train. But they catch wrong bus and take shelter in the home of a kind local lady. From her they hear the tale of a bear cub who used to be in care of her and her granddaughter, but after some time, the bear had to let go, which now according to others grows hostile day by day. The day after, Mirai gets lost trying pick some vegetables and she takes refuge with Mirai in a hole in the tree trunk when it starts to rain. For an entire night she with Mirai stayed there, while a devastated aunt Izumi waited for the night to end to start search for them. Waking up, Mizuki finds her baby gone and then hearing bear and baby laughing sounds, she sees Mirai with the bear, which at that moment has taken a liking to her. Mizuki then decides to use the flute to pacify the bear's aggression, which works. Now, it is just up to Mizuki to stop the searching party from killing the bear.

Episode 19 (The compact disc revealed!)

After the compact disc's object petrifying function, which was observed two times beforehand, is revealed to a film crew who were shooting a scene near mizuki's house, it is up to Daisuke, aunt Izumi and Mizuki to find that tape and destroy it.

Episode 20 (Mizuki's diet)

Mizuki decides to adopt a diet schedule to better her chances of having ryuchi as a husband. But without proper planning her and her friends just get frail without food, necessitating the school doctors scolding them about the dire consequences of over diet or unplanned diet.

Episode 21 (Mystery of the bag)

Mizuki and the others are just now wondering about the extra bag that came with Mirai, which also makes sure that she stays happy. But to uncover what it is actually, they take the help of daisuke's laptop of the 90's. He couldn't crack with it much. So, started pushing some buttons, which as it happens just opens some little compartments in the bag, which contain baby knick knacks. But still they're not sure how it can be opened.

Episode 22 (Future people)

Mirai has been mistaken as someone of same name, by a big shot rich person who wants to take Mirai from Mizuki and name her as his heir. It is up to Mizuki and aunt Izumi to put an end to this confusion and solve this pickle.

Episode 23 (Leave school!)

In this episode Mizuki ponders about what kind of mom she needs to be or should be. The stay at home mom or daycare mom. For that she takes the help of aunt Izumi who tells her about mizuki's own mother experiences.

Episode 24(Slumber party)

With her aunt Izumi out, Mizuki tells her baby's secret to Tamae and Eriko during a slumber party. and makes them promise not to tell about her to anyone else.

Episode 25(Transfer student)

A new transfer student named Mario has arrived from Italy, who has taken the house next to mizuki's as their residence. He seems to be really winning the hearts of all the girls, pissing off the all the boys, always throwing flying kisses to Mizuki creeping her out and even winning the chance of being in the local school boys' soccer team by beating Daisuke in a one-on-one football match. Even worse, he and his little sister Julietta has seen Mirai's face. Mizuki wonders what's to come next.

Episode 26(Next door party)

Mario's family have invited Mizuki and aunt Izumi to a next door neighbor party. Mizuki initially doesn't want to go, but to maintain a normal presence she has to go with her aunt and make sure that they Mirai doesn't get found out by those neighbors.

Episode 27(Maternal grandma)

Mizuki's maternal grandma comes home and after a some time of bickering she and aunt Izumi mend their bond.

P.S. She was told about Mirai, but it differed in it that, Izumi was the mother in that briefing.

Episode 28(Babies' day out)

It is a Baby's Day Out like plot, where Mirai, Daisuke's timid brother Daihike & the neighbour's little toddler child Julietta all roll around withiut anyone taking notice amid a hectic parade preparation going on for the town's 20th anniversary. The episode ends with the newly refurbished town clock ringing on, cooling off everyone from the heat in a rain.

Episode 29(Pool party kiss)

In summer vacation, Mirai, Tamae, Eriko, Daisuke, Daihike all head for Mario & Julietta's pool to have a pool party. There Daisuke again challenges him to a competition of breath holding in the deepest part of the pool, which he wins, but then his swim trunks get entangled in something deep there, so Mario has to go save him and up there Mizuki gives him CPR to resuscitate him, thus making it her first kiss.

Episode 30(The mischievous war)

It is the summer vacation and incidentally, Mizuki and Daisuke has got themselves involved in a "petty war" between two rival child gangs of two villages near Mizuki's grandma's village home.

Episode 31(Final battle at Torinoko village)

After an argument about how daihike got roped in this trip and why is Mario here with his sister, Mizuki and Daisuke intentionally decide to pick sides in the village battle, the resolving of which is a tradition happening for a quite a number of generations back. But this time the inclusion outsider kids adds an intensity and outcome to it.

Episode 32(Aunt Izumi's debut!)

Aunt Izumi finally gets a call to deliver a 19-page manuscript by tomorrow. Her assistants are not there to help, so Mizuki gets her friends Tamae, Eriko and Daisuke to help her with proper manuscript production. The whole night they work, she gets frustrated. Even after they barely finish the manuscript, she gets from that publisher about not needing her edition as a replacement. She does disheartened, but after looking at Mirai's face, she decides to be thankful the Mizuki and her friends for her helping her out and as a reward takes them to the amusement park.

Episode 33(A surprising feature)

It is the last week of summer vacation and Mizuki has to yet to finish a major portion of her homework, but again and again Mirai spoils her work. So, she gets to school, to get another home notebook from the teacher, but the teacher isn't there. So, she waits there with Daisuke and Daihike. While there she has a thought about how the version isn't seeing her baby growing up all this time, so makes a chalk drawn charm on the board of the classroom, and then prays to the compact disc. It works, when the future Mizuki does appear in a 3d version, talks with Mizuki about how her baby has grown and does get to see her for a moment. Then they take their notebook upon the teacher's arrival and head back home hopefully this time to complete their homework fully undeterred.

Episode 34(Memorable moments)

It is a recap episode, where Mizuki remembers all the things that happened to her from the baby's arrival till now, through all the pictures she had drawn to in her picture diary.

Episode 35(Onizoru sensei)

With the new semester, comes a new vice principal, returning from retirement, whose really strict, has already learnt the names of all the students attending there. She has already clashed with the students about keeping an injured raccoon cub in the classroom. Back from school, Mizuki finds her aunt heavily ankle strained while trying to stop Mirai from having a Pet Sematary like incident, which pust Mizuki in a bit of a pickle. She can't get any of the neighbor's help. Her both grandmother's are unavailable. So, upon Daisuke's suggestion she decides to take Mirai to her school until Aunt Izumi fully heals from her injury.

Episode 36(Mirai in school)

Mirai is brought to school under the cover of mist. With the help of Mizuki, Daisuke, Tamae & Eriko, the baby is hidden for some class hours either in the class and during recess in the animal shelter. But still the homeroom teacher finds her out and then everyone thinks that baby as Aunt Izumi's baby and they all decide to take care of it till recovers un the hospital.

Episode 37(Mirai is found out)

Even if the class and teacher accepts Mirai being in the class, it doesn't change the fact that she still causes disturbances in the class and the vice principal will probably not accept a baby in the class. In the end, she finds out including the principal, who calls for a teacher's meeting to resolve the matter.

Episode 38(Aunt Izumi & Vice principal dialogue)

Before the teacher's meeting, Vice principal ma'am goes to meet aunt Izumi at the date of her discharge who had to be brought back to the hospital from overspending in the arcade places. There she fiercely defends Mizuki for doing all the work & chores, taking care of the baby and visiting aunt Izumi in the hospital, even though she's only 10. After that, in the meeting, it was decided that Mirai would be staying at the school, because all of her friends of Mizuki's class took a sign petition from all the students in the school for Mizuki.

Episode 39(Mizuki, a superstar)

Mizuki and her class has been chosen to participate in a schoolwide competition to send a video message to a school far away in London in a sister school connection program. Confronted by a haughty sixth grader's intense performability, Mizuki decides to really give her best and with Daisuke as her director, helps to produce a video worth awe. Then at the date of submission, after much storyboarding & editing, Daisuke finally submits a video, titled, "Mama's a fourth grader" which other than aunt Izumi's manga and his own miso shop's ad mainly features how Mirai sees her mother Mizuki in all her tribulations to raise her, with a voiceover by director Daisuke himself. And that video goes on to win the prize.

Episode 40(Return of the mad scientist)

Eji-san the mad scientist has returned with a plan to again restart his time machine project. But for that he needs aluminum, So, with his tracking bot and scheming technique, he proceeds to steal all the available aluminum stuff from the residents of the town. But once he steals the compact disc from Mizuki, he becomes intrigued with it and decides to just straight up kidnap Mizuki, along with Mirai, to inquire to her about it. Seeing it, Daisuke gives chase with his bicycle, but getting close to the scientists' lair, he gets captured by his sentry bots. There, the scientist makes Mizuki spill the beans about the real nature of the compact disc and Mirai's true nature. Then he explains why needed all those aluminum and why he has stripped the disc of its power source. Knowing the that the scientist is the future inventor of this power source, Mizuki decides to use the scientist's time machine to return Mirai to her timeline, which would take two months. Hearing that, Daisuke takes the power unit and after leaving the site with Mizuki decides to test it out, But that results in depleting the unit's reserve, and now it is gonna take more than two months to get the machine to send Mirai back to future.

Episode 41(Mirai, an idol)

Aunt Izumi has healed from her injuries, so Mizuki won't be bringing her baby in the school anymore. But they miss her. So, to make Mirai stay in the school permanently, they steal Eji-san's holographic image generator from his lair and then after scanning Mirai with it, they create numerous holographic images around the vice principal, with which they try to convince the VP that it is because she's missing her. But then the holographic machine breaks down, ruining their plan. And after everyone in the class accept their part in the plan, the principle forgives them after making them understand that disrupting one's own study is bad for the future and also accepting the baby again would giving this single class preferential treatment, which is a no-no.

Episode 42(Double date)

Mizuki has decided to go to a future expo, with Mirai. But the supposed company of Tamae and Eriko became unavailable, so he has to go with Mario. After reaching the fair, she sees Daisuke with a girl, becoming jealous, just like Daisuke does also. Then both couple spend some time trying to embarrass and make the other party more & more jealous. But after Mirai gets lost to some place, like so many other times, Mizuki and Daisuke find her in an abandoned section of the expo, where a guy posing as future man gives them a preachy message about resource overexploitation and the ethics of sustainable development for future generations. After getting that, Mizuki decide to leave a clean earth for Mirai.

Episode 43(Mizuki in school play)

After being emotionally manipulated by the film daughter, sixth grader Chigure, who's tempered her behavior since before, Mizuki and the others has been dragged to be in a school play of Chigure's direction. But on the date of the play, the prop for the baby was lost, so Daisuke just took Mirai to be used in the play, as he's original plan wasn't for the play wasn't heed to. And then when the curtain rose, the play proceeded not exactly as the script demanded it. The baby wasn't ready, the cast weren't into it. And when the baby was supposed to be given to the angel character, played by Chigure herself, Mizuki saw it as not something she can get prepared for so she doesn't. At that moment, Daisuke with his original character, drove away the stuck up angel character making the play a hit. but it makes Mizuki could she really give away her child to her future version when the time comes.

Episode 44(Mizuki's husband)

After the occurrence of a lightning storm, again Mizuki is able to contact with her future self, and tell her of device that has been already bee made to transfer Mirai to the future. But future Mirai seems hesitant that it is made by Eiji, the old scientist. Next day, Eiji-san comes to make sure how the contact from the future took place and how to use that future bound travel for Mirai. But then he seemed to have brought the wrong machine so he leaves to get the right one, never to come back for the remainder of the day. The machine present at the Mizuki's house is something that can bring the most focused memory of someone related to someone else if they're near them. For Daisuke who tagged along the scientist, is when he lost to Mario is the one-to-one soccer match. For Mario, who came to see what's up, it is Mizuki giving Daisuke mouth to mouth to resuscitate him. At the end, they try to apply this machine to Mirai, but then the machine breaks down after a few tries on her, so they have to put out the fire and get her to safety. At night, Mizuki thinks to herself, how to know who Mirai chan's real father is from the messy picture and what will Mario do now that he fully suspects Mirai's parentage.

Episode 45(Mirai the thief)

This centers around Mizuki and Aunt Izumi trying to find the compact disc, but for different reason. Mizuki needs it to as it is essential for Mirai's upbringing. Aunt Izumi was hiding in it a 10,000 yen(70 dollars, 40 cents, according to 2024) amount of currency that was supposedly hidden in a corner by her elder sister Ruriko, Mizuki's mother. They did find the disc, which was in the tissue box. It was put there by Mirai when the two were out shopping. But not the note itself, which got blown by win to faraway lands.

Episode 46(Mother's Poem)

Daisuke's father has come back from Osaka and that makes his mindset disturbed. As he thinks, his father is responsible for his mother abandoning him when he was just 4. So, he takes this out on his current mother and lil' brother Daihike. Scolding him whenever he tries to get close & avoiding his mother. That makes his dad angry and he beats Daisuke up. Daisuke runs away, with Daihike, Mirai & Mizuki going after him. There, Daihike tearfully utters his first word, ''Nii-san'' meaning "Brother" which softens Daisuke's temperament and they hug it out & cry. Then Daisuke tells Mizuki the reason of his anger, after which his father comes to him and carries him on his back just like Daisuke used to do for Daihike and they apologize to each other and they go home happily.

Episode 47(Aunt Izumi's big change)

Aunt Izumi has to win this big award for her proper debut as a young manga artist. But Mizuki doesn't think her style isn't very girlish. So, to change her style, she charges the barging scientist Eji san, who comes in every once in a while about the progress of the time machine that will send Mirai to the future she belong in, with the acquiring of a device that can change someone's personality in exchange for free food.. But little does she know, she was overheard while making this deal and after Mizuki places the device under Aunt Izumi's pillow, she then throws it away. And then she pretends to act girly, womanly and not like herself at all, to the point that Mizuki begs to be normal like before. At that moment, she reveals it was just bit of trolling, a bit of a ruse which makes Mizuki angry and they scuffle. She then discloses the reason why wanted Aunt Izumi to change her manga style is because Mirai must have a parting gift like this before she eventually goes away.

Episode 48(Inside scoop)

A shady guy belonging to a vulgar magazine decides to interview Mizuki and Mirai and then use this story to spin it as a terrible and preposterous deal, of a fourth grader birthing an actual baby. At the same time, the scientist has told Mirai and Mizuki just about then that, because of Mirai's unexpected intrusion to their timeline, naturally an indiscriminate time shifting is going to happen to all the things in their house and if Mirai isn't returned in due time, then Mizuki, Aunt Izumi and anything inside their house may age drastically by different margin.

Episode 49(I am the mother!)

With all the terrible press coverage and the proof the unethical journalist cooked up to prove that Aunt Izumi isn't Mirai worked to completely devastate Mirai and her school life. The teacher parent council has decided to transfer Mizuki, unless Aunt Izumi can provide proof of her motherhood to Mirai, which she doesn't have. Everyone started spreading rumors around her, even though Daisuke was helping her the most. Amidst all the infighting in the class, Mirai finally decides to tell everyone the truth, then everyone decides to help her out for the sake of Mirai.

Episode 50(Time Travel)

With the journalists and police noe trying to get in their house, believing that Eji-san who has been wanted for charges of vandalism(destroying his own home) is in the house, as spotted by the journalists, Mizuki thinks now she must get out of here with Mirai. Though she initially wanted to stay for her parents' sake, Aunt Izumi gave her a slap and told her that she'd be the one handling them. With the help of their friends Christmas Santa clause parade diversion and holographic image generator diversion they get their car and machine to Daisuke's place, where they await the date of time travel, 25 December.

Episode 51(Farewell, Dear Mirai!!)

The site of the time travel has changed multiple times, fixating on Mt. Yamanaka where Eiji-san's underground lair is. Everyone goes there, the journalists, the cops, Aunt Izumi & the usual crew. Aunt Izumi finds the unethical columnist there and beats him to an inch of his life, who was there because of listening device attached to the Mizuki household, with the vice principal, who had been supporting the Mizuki family all this time, for causing all this pain to Mizuki and Mirai's happy life. After fortunately the cops and journalists' car parade get clogged in mountainside snowy road, Mizuki and her classmates use this chance to set the time machine in the suggested place after Eji-san takes them to his secret underground lair, assigning himself as the one way pilot toward the route to take Mirai back to the future. Everyone bids their farewell and Mirai finally utters ''Mama''-her first word while saying goodbye to her mother after almost staying 1 whole year of blissful and memorable stay.

Back to the future, 15 years after, Mizuki gets back her baby as soon as she lost her, with the scientist Eji-san returning the baby to the rightful parents.

Epilogue: Mizuki is going back to London with her parents, after all is said and done. The columnist deemed a fraud and everything written about her to garner more paper records, she bids goodbye to her close friends Tamae, Eriko & Daisuke. Aunt Izumi couldn't be here as she's receiving the prize for her ''little mama'' manga in the mentioned contest for young mangakas. While the plane was departing, Mizuki's mother Ruriko just informs her that they are going to get another member to their family, making Mizuki absolutely burst with glee for she's going to have another baby to care for, another chance to be a mother.

Themes

Opening Theme

"Ai o PURASU WAN" (Love is for the Plus One) By Hiromi Iwasaki

Ending Theme

"Kono Ai o Mirai e" (This Love is for the Future) by Hiromi Iwasaki

Reception

Mama wa Shōgaku Yonensei received the 24th Seiun Award in the Best Media category. The series was ranked at number fifth in the 15th Anime Grand Prix award for Best Anime in 1993.

External links

• Mama wa Shōgaku 4 Nensei at Sunrise's official site. (in Japanese)
• Mama wa Shōgaku 4 Nensei (anime) at Anime News Network's encyclopedia
• Entry in The Encyclopedia of Science Fiction