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"Protective Charm Himari", also known as おまひま for short, is a Japanese manga series written and illustrated by Milan Matra. The story revolves around Yuto Amakawa, an orphan who, on his sixteenth birthday, meets Himari Noihara, a bakeneko samurai girl who has sworn an oath to protect Yuto from the various monsters and demons that are out to kill him.
Omamori Himari ran in Fujimi Shobo's Monthly Dragon Age from June 2006 to September 2013, and twelve tankōbon volumes were published between February 7, 2007, and November 9, 2013. A yonkoma spinoff also ran in Dragon Age from November 2009 to November 2010, and a light novel adaptation by Kougetsu Mikazuki was serialized in Dragon Magazine, with four volumes released from July 2008 to January 2010. A 12-episode anime adaptation by Zexcs aired in Japan between January and March 2010 on TV Saitama, Chiba TV, and other networks. The manga is licensed in North America by Yen Press, with the first volume published on October 26, 2010.
Later on, Yuto encounters various other girls who take a liking to him: Shizuku, a mizuchi or water deity in the form of a small child; Lizlet, a tsukumogami or artifact spirit in the form of a busty tea-serving french maid; and Kuesu, another Demon Slayer who is revealed to be Yuto's fiancée and a person from Yuto's forgotten past.
As the series progresses, Yuto and the group encounter some powerful ayakashi, with some of them being allies, and Yuto eventually makes a life-changing decision to fight for his belief of coexistence between human and ayakashi.
In North America, the manga is licensed by Yen Press, and released all thirteen volumes (twelve plus Volume 0) from October 26, 2010, to July 22, 2014. The manga is also licensed in Taiwan by one of Kadokawa Shoten's subsidiary companies, Kadokawa Media, and in Germany by Panini Comics (under the title of Talisman Himari).
A bonus two-part side story prologue, called Omamori Himari: Gaiden no Sho, also illustrated by Nikubanare, was released by Fujimi Shobo on September 9, 2011. The stories were serialized in the May 2011 and June 2011 issues of Dragon Age.
The opening theme for the anime is by AyaRuka, consisting of singers Aya Sakamoto and Ruka Kawada. The ending theme is "BEAM my BEAM" by ひまりんこ・L・しずくえす, consisting of the main female cast. From episodes seven through eleven, the seventh episode version was sung by Ami Koshimizu; the eighth episode version was sung by Iori Nomizu; the ninth episode version was sung by Kei Shindo; the tenth episode version was sung by Asuka Ōgame; and the eleventh episode version was sung by Yuki Matsuoka. The ending theme for episode 12 is "At the End of the Hill" by Yuto Amakawa (Daisuke Hirakawa). "Oshichau zo!!" and "BEAM my BEAM" were later released as by Columbia Music Entertainment on February 24, 2010.
It has also been featured on the Oricon charts, with Volume 6 reached No. 27 between January 11 and January 17, 2010, Volume 7 reaching No. 16 between August 2, 2010, and August 8, 2010, on its first week of sales and No. 22 between August 9 and August 15, 2010, on its second; Volume 8 reaching No. 19 on the Oricon charts between April 4 and April 10, 2011, on its first week of sales and No. 30 between April 11 and April 17, 2011, on its second week; and Volume 10 reaching No. 17 on the Oricon charts between August 6 and August 12, 2012, on its first week of sales, selling 35,729 copies, the highest ranking achieved on the charts and the second-highest in the series to date. However, Volume 10's ranking sharply declined to No. 44 on its second week, selling only 16,485 copies for a total of 52,194 copies. It is also the series' lowest ranking since Volume 8's second week.
In North America, Omamori Himari has been featured in The New York Times Manga Best Seller List, with the third volume reaching No. 7 between April 24 and April 30, 2011, Volume 5 at No. 8 between November 20 and November 26, 2011, Volume 7 at No. 9 between May 27 and June 2, 2012, Volume 8 at No. 5 between August 19 and August 25, 2012, Volume 0 at No. 4 between September 23 and September 29, 2012, and Volume 9 at No. 5 between November 18 and November 24, 2012, all on their first week of sales. Volume 0 has the highest ranking on the list to date in North America, beating out Volume 21 of Fairy Tail on its first week and Volume 64 of One Piece, which has been on the list for three weeks straight.
Omamori Himari has also been featured on Nielsen Company BookScan's Best-Selling Graphic Novels List, with Volume 7 debuting at No. 22 between May 14, 2012, and May 20, 2012, before the volume's official release, No. 14 between May 21, 2012, and May 27, 2012, on its first week of sales, and No. 21 between May 28, 2012, and June 3, 2012, on its second week of sales, selling a total of 1,270 copies.
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