陸上防衛隊まおちゃん
Ground Defense Force Mao-chan
⚡ Polarizing
Mao Onigawara is a happy 8-year-old grade-schooler and the granddaughter of Chief of Staff of Ground Defense Force. Equipped with her cloverleaf-shaped badge which enables her to transform (but gives her no special power whatsoever), Mao and her best friends (granddaughters of Chief of Staff of Air and Marine Defense Force, respectively) will defend Japan against the invasion from "cute aliens," who are way too cute to be dealt with regular armed forces. (Source: Anime News Network)
Names
| Original | 陸上防衛隊まおちゃん (japanese) |
|---|---|
| Romaji | Rikujou Boueitai Mao-chan |
| English | Ground Defense Force Mao-chan |
| Chinese | 陆上防卫队 (simplified · via wikidata) |
| Also known as | Rikujou Bouei-tai Mao-chan |
Facts
| Format | TV short · 26 ep · 12 min · 5h total |
|---|---|
| Aired | 2002-07-03 → 2002-12-25 (Summer 2002) |
| Status | FINISHED |
| Studio | Xebec |
| Source | Original work |
| Origin | Japan (Anime) |
| Demographic | Kids |
| Genres | ComedyMahou ShoujoSci-Fi |
| Themes | KidsMilitaryPrimarily Child CastPrimarily Female CastAliensParodyHenshinEpisodicCute Girls Doing Cute Things |
Reception
| Community score | 6.61 / 10 |
|---|---|
| Bayesian score | 7.37 / 10 |
| Composite | 46.5 |
| On lists | 2,096 |
| Favourited | 12 (0.6%) |
| Completion | 66.1% |
| Drop rate | 13.8% |
| In backlog | 54.4% |
| Score spread σ | 2.22 |
Score distribution
1132123154275656877748779301060
Where it places
| Cohort | Value | Tier | Rank |
|---|---|---|---|
| Broadcast season | Summer 2002 | — | 17 of 24 |
| Studio | Xebec | D | 75 of 112 |
| Year | 2002 | D | 96 of 142 |
| Format | TV short | B | 101 of 417 |
| Genre | Mahou Shoujo | D | 178 of 255 |
| Demographic | Kids | D | 268 of 363 |
| Era | Early 2000s | D | 456 of 687 |
| Length | Two-cour | D | 542 of 699 |
| Genre | Sci-Fi | D | 903 of 1,409 |
| Season (all years) | Summer | D | 1,045 of 1,662 |
| Source material | Original work | D | 1,053 of 1,732 |
| Genre | Comedy | D | 2,228 of 3,488 |
| Origin | Japan | D | 4,523 of 7,157 |
Key staff
| Director | Yoshiaki Iwasaki, Hiromi Kikuta |
|---|---|
| Series composition | Yousuke Kuroda |
| Character design | Masahide Yanagisawa |
| Music | Takayuki Hattori |
| Original creator | Ken Akamatsu |
AniList id 980 · MAL id 980 · record updated 2026-08-25