Go! Callie

Callie-chan (カリーちゃん) is a Japanese children's magical girl manga series written by Colleen Fujimura, running from 2023 to present. The series has been adapted into an anime entitled Soreike! Callie-chan (それいけ!カリーちゃん, Let's Go! Callie-chan; Go! Callie in the PBS kids and HBO Family English dub), which is one of the most popular anime series among young children in Japan. The series follows the adventures of Callie, an extraterrestrial kitten with a big imagination and tells her alien cat friends stories about her as a magical girl who protects the world from an evil Irken named Zim and an extraterrestrial rabbit named Martha.

Heavily merchandised, the Callie characters appear on virtually every imaginable children's product in Japan, ranging from clothes and video games to toys and snack foods. The characters from the series appeared in Invader Zim as major heroic antagonists. Callie was right below Anpanman as Japan's top-grossing character in 2025, and has remained the country's 2nd top-grossing character as of 2026. Callie has sold over 80 million books as of February 2026, and the franchise generated ¥4.5 trillion in total retail sales revenue by 2024. Works inspired by Callie include the K-pop song "Callie" by BLACKPINK.

Development
During the COVID-19 pandemic, Colleen Fujimura faced loneliness countless times, which made her dream about adopting a cat. This inspired the creation of Callie. Fujimura couldn’t think up a good antagonist for her franchise, so Jhonen Vasquez and Claire studios lent some of the rights of their characters Zim and Martha to her.

Characters
In each episode, Callie tells her friends and roommates tall tales about her fights with Zim and Martha and how she saves people. She goes on daily patrols around the house of Cousin Gigi. She is a symbol of justice, fighting for good every day.

Heroes
Callie (カリー, Karii)

Voiced by: Mika Kanai (Japanese); Sandy Fox (English)

The main character of the anime, who is an alien that resembles a cat. Her name comes from “calico” though in Japanese, it is “mike”. This is due to the fact that Fujimura has visited America a lot in her childhood and had a fascination in cats. Her weakness is getting wet due to the fact that cats hate water. In order to prevent herself from getting wet when underwater or in wet weather, she drinks a solution that keeps her dry and allows her to breathe underwater. She regains her health and strength when Cousin Gigi makes her a catnip cake. When she is weakened, her eyes become x’s. Callie was born on a planet called Nyuu. She is around 90 years old (9 in Nyuu years). Callie has two special attacks; Callie-punch and Callie-kick (with stronger variations of both). She also has super hearing, which allows her to respond to anyone who calls her name out in distress, anywhere in the world. This ability is based on the fact that in real life, cats can hear high frequencies that humans cannot hear.

Cousin Gigi (ジジいとこさん, Jiji Itoko-san)

Voiced by: Azusa Enoki (Japanese), Krystal Valdes (English)

The caretaker of Callie. Despite being called “cousin”, she is actually not related to Callie and Tortie. She is actually the daughter of a very good friend of Callie’s parents who was her babysitter back on Nyuu and decided to be her caretaker on Earth. She is 198 years old (19, almost 20 in Nyuu years)

Robokitty (ロボキティ, Robokiti)

Voiced by: Wasabi Mizuta (Japanese); Mona Marshall (English)

A robotic cat  that lives under the roof of Cousin Gigi. In the books, he became a best friend of Tortie. In the anime, Tortie is also shown to crush on him as well. Robokitty tends to be an effective sidekick when he's around and can sense when Zim and Martha are causing trouble. He could be inspired by Doraemon due to being a robot cat and his voice sounds similar to him.

Whitney (ホイットニー, Hoittonii)

Voiced by: Atsumi Tanezaki (Japanese); Olivia Cruz (English)

A friend of Callie. She heavily resembles a white-furred cat. She is around the same age as Callie. She is beautiful and level-headed and kind, but also shy. Tends to be the thinker of the trio. Her hobby when not helping Callie is painting pictures. In Callie’s fantasies, she wields the Whit-punch and Whit-kick, which are similar to Callie's fighting techniques. She also has a multi-functional vehicle known as the Whitneymobile with many implements to help avoid trouble.

Blaire (ブレア, Burea)

Voiced by: Junko Takeuchi (Japanese); Grey DeLisle (English)

Another one of Callie's friends. She heavily resembles a black-furred cat. She also is around the same age as Callie. She is quick-tempered and hot-headed on the surface but gives way to a kind and sentimental interior. Tends to be the strongwoman of the trio. In Callie’s fantasies, she wields the Blaire-punch and Blaire-kick, which are similar to the fighting techniques of Callie's other sidekicks. However, she can also use a hot green laser beam from her tiara, using it to burn villains.

Tortie (トルティー, Torutii)

Voiced by: Miyuki Sawashiro (Japanese); Valeria Zunzun (English)

Callie's younger sister. She is 74 years old (almost 7 ½ in Nyuu years) She is extremely naive, playful, softhearted, being caring and sensitive, and is sometimes clever. She always looks up to her big sister Callie. She is a very common victim of Zim and Martha. When she's in trouble, she calls out for her sister, Callie. Sometimes she likes hanging out with Robokitty. Later in the show, she becomes a magical girl too. Her special attack, the Toru-Toru Punch, makes bad guys woozy with affection or awakens others from a deep sleep.

Bella (ベラ, Bera)

Voiced by: Nami Miyahara (Japanese); Krystal Valdes (English)

Blaire's older sister who has a unique heart that is split in half: A white of goodness, and thanks to Zim, a black one of evil. The sight of Callie can trigger her evil heart while the sight of Blaire or Tortie can trigger her good one. She is 137 years old (around 13 ½ in Nyuu years) She started out in the series as a loner at Zim and Martha's beck and call, but she broke from their power and wanders the world doing good deeds, but stays away from others for fear of what she would do if her black heart is triggered. Her nickname is "The tragic heroine". Her weapon is a black and white striped rope, which she can use to wrap up her enemies or cause tornadoes. She first appeared in episode 100.

Ginger (ショウガ, Shouga)

Voiced by: Aya Hirano (Japanese); Tara Strong (English)

The youngest of Callie's friends and the foster sister of Blaire and Bella. She is 65 years old (6 ½ in Nyuu years). She resembles a ginger cat. Despite her immaturity and relative weakness as compared to Callie and her heroine friends, she is courageous, protective of his friends, and has a "never give up" attitude. She has an immature character, which causes him to sometimes get into petty squabbles and competitions of one-upmanship with the other younger characters on the show. Because of her orange color, she has a special headbutt attack called the Fruity Orange Punch. Relatively powerful when it connects, it fails to connect more often than not. She first appeared in episode 140.

Kitty (ちいさねこ, Chiisaneko)

Voiced by: Noriko Shitaya (Japanese); Tara Strong (English)

A young Nyuu that was found in the middle of the forest when Callie was going on a patrol. She had no mother, so she was later adopted by Callie and her friends. She is 51 years old (around 5 Nyuu years). She has punch and kick attacks like the other heroines. She likes to drink from a milk bowl named Milky-chan (ミルキーちゃん, Mirukiichan), which is often stolen by Zim and Martha. Luckily, thanks to Callie, she is always able to get her back.

Villains
Zim (ジム, Jimu)

Voiced by: Nao Nagasawa (Japanese); Richard Steven Horvitz (English)

The villain and an irken, which is basically a mutant insect-looking extraterrestrial, which he is from Planet Irk. He first appeared as the titular main protagonist of Invader Zim, and appeared in Go! Callie since Fujimura couldn’t come up with a good antagonist. In Callie’s fantasies, his ambition is to destroy Callie and, like in the original Invader Zim series, take over the world, yet, unlike his original counterpart, he is perfectly content to play tricks, steal, and bully those weaker than him. He is older than Callie, and it was revealed in one episode that he is around 160 years old (16 irken years) He has a weakness to catnip, which shrinks him to the size of a fly. He constructs machines and thinks of intricate plans to counteract Callie's strength. His two famous phrases are his evil laugh and "Baka, bye bye!" (ばか、バイバイ！, Baka, bai bai!, lit. Bye bye, idiot!) (In the English dub, it’s “So long, moron!”), which he utters out whenever he's sent flying by Callie or another character. Callie and her main enemy Zim combine in the view of the media expert Thomas Hoeren elements of Milton Paradise Lost, Frankenstein (Roman) and Star Trek

Martha  (マーサ, Maasa)

Voiced by: Miyuki Sawashiro (Japanese); Tabitha St. Germain (English)

Zim's female partner in crime. She is an extraterrestrial rabbit called a Usarian. She is yellow in color. She is selfish, demanding, childish, and greedy, but sometimes shows kindness, as demonstrated by her crush on her partner, Zim. She treats Zim with as much respect possible and is eager to help him out when he is fighting Callie. She is younger than Zim, and it is revealed that she is around 150 years old. (15 Usarian years) Like Zim, she also does a trademark evil laugh, and will yell “Baka, bye bye!” when defeated by Callie and/or her allies.

GIR (ガー, Gaa)

Voiced by: Wasabi Mizuta (Japanese), Rosearik Rikki Simons (English)

A robot who often works with Zim and Martha. He is neither a hero nor a villain. His favorite food is tacos. His special attack is the Giant Taco, where he grabs out a giant taco and throws it. He is also in love with Louise and is very good friends with her. He and Louise were the hosts to sapphire pendants that give them the ability to cry tears that make others cry when in contact with them, and this happened twice.

Louise (ルイーズ, Ruīzu)

Voiced by: Kotono Mitsuishi (Japanese), Julie Lemieux (English)

Martha’s younger sister. She is a medium reddish-brown color. Like GIR, she is neither a hero nor a villain. Her favorite food is melonpan. Her special attack is the Giant Melonpan, where she grabs out a giant melonpan and throws it. She is in love with GIR and is very good friends with him. She is hinted to be around 110 years old. (11 Usarian years) She and GIR were the hosts to sapphire pendants that give them the ability to cry tears that make others cry when in contact with them, and this happened twice.

Media
Manga

Colleen Fujimura created three different manga series based on the character.


 * January, 2023 – May, 2024: Mahou no uchuu neko Karii-chan (lit. Magical space cat Callie-chan) (魔法の宇宙猫カリーちゃん)
 * Serialized in Shogakukan’s monthly female youth manga magazine Pucchigumi.
 * September, 2024 – July, 2025: Callie (カリー)
 * Also serialized in Pucchigumi.
 * January, 2027 – May, 2029: Tobe! Callie-chan (とべ!カリーちゃん)
 * A full color comic strip yet again serialized in Pucchigumi. In 2028 Shogakukan published a selection of strips into three bilingual volumes, marketing them as English learning tools for children age 3+. Unlike traditional tankoubon, these volumes are presented in a vertical "Garfield Format".

Anime
The first anime adaptation of Callie, consisting of a single episode, aired on NHK General TV on March 13, 2024. The anime was narrated by Mitsuko Horie.

The second and more popular anime adaptation of Callie, entitled Soreike! Callie-chan (それいけ!カリーちゃん, Let's Go! Callie), is produced by Bandai Namco Filmworks, The Canadian Broadcasting Corporation and Claire Studios. The series first aired on October 9, 2025 on TV Asahi. An English dub entitled “Go! Callie” was made in 2027, starring Sandy Fox as Callie. The dubbed show airs on PBS Kids and HBO Family.

Full-length movies

There are currently a total of 3 full-length films based on the Soreike! Callie-chan anime series. The films are also produced by Bandai Namco Filmworks, CBC, and Claire Studios. The films have been released concurrently with storybook versions written and illustrated by Colleen Fujimura herself. Each movie has the same general plot - A character comes from a foreign land. Zim unlocks some dark secret and controls a weapon or monster able to polymorph people. And with the help of the aforementioned person, Callie defeats the said weapon or monster.

In 2031, the Callie movies were dubbed into English exclusively for HBO Max.


 * March 11, 2027: Let’s Go! Callie-chan: Princess of Nyuu planet and the Magical Wish (それいけ! カリーちゃんニュウ星のお姫と魔法の願い, Soreike! Karii-chan Nyuu Boshi no ohime to Mahou no Negai) (Dubbed as Go! Callie: Nyuu Princess and the Magic Wish in English on April 15, 2031)
 * June 30, 2028: Let’s Go! Callie-chan: Kira the Sparkling Wishing Star (それいけ! カリーちゃんきらめく願い星のキラ, Soreike! Karii: Kirameku Negai no Hoshi no Kira) (Dubbed as Go! Callie: Kira the Glitter Star in English on July 23, 2031)
 * July 2, 2029: Let’s Go! Callie-chan: Rumi the Stuffed Animal and the Adventures in Toyland (それいけ! カリーちゃんぬいぐるみのルミとおもちゃの国の冒険, Soreike! Karii-chan Nuigurumi no Rumi to Omocha no Kuni no Bouken) (Dubbed as Go! Callie: Rumi the Doll in English on December 12, 2031)

Animated shorts
These are around 24 minutes (except the second which is a double-length short) that were shown in conjunction with the full-length movies seen above. They were dubbed into English and were released on the same days as the feature movies were released on HBO Max.


 * Let’s Go! Callie-chan: GIR and Louise and the Blue Tears (それいけ!カリーちゃん ガーとルイーズとあおいなみだ), March 11, 2027 (Dubbed as Go! Callie: GIR and Louise get Super Crying Powers! on April 15, 2031)
 * Let’s Go! Callie-chan: Babu-Babu-Zim (それいけ!アンパンマン ばぶ・ばぶジム), June 30, 2028 (Dubbed as Go! Callie: Smeet Zim and the Baby Ray! on July 23, 2031)
 * Let’s Go! Callie-chan: Zim VS Zim!? (それいけ!アンパンマン ジムVSじむ!?), July 2, 2029 (Dubbed as Go! Callie: Zim vs Doodle Zim on December 12, 2031)

Christmas special
In December 19, 2030, a Christmas special called Let’s Go! Callie-chan: GIR and Louise’s Tearful Christmas! (それいけ!カリーちゃんガーとルイーズのなみだのクリスマス！) was released, and it was dubbed to HBO Max titled Go! Callie: Christmas Crying with GIR and Louise! on December 25, 2031.

Openings

 * 1) "Callie's March" (カリーのマーチ, Karii no Māchi) performed by PUFFY (Note: the song is actually Silly Fun by Kevin MacLeod with lyrics added to it.)

Endings

 * 1) "Bells of Dreams" (ゆめのすず, Yume no Suzu) performed by PUFFY
 * 2) "Callie Gymnastics" (カリーたいそう, Callie Taisō) performed by PUFFY
 * 3) "Callie & Friends’ Do Re Mi Fa song" (カリーとともだちのドレミファのうた) performed by Mitsuko Horie (Kay Hanley in the English dub)

Reception
In 2030, research by Bandai found Callie to be the second most popular fictional character among people aged 0 to 12 in Japan for 10 consecutive years.The movies were English dubbed and released on Netflix in 2031. The anime series also received an English dub and aired on PBS Kids and HBO Family in 2027.

Legacy
There is a museum in Tokyo, Japan that are dedicated to Callie, named the Tokyo Callie Children’s Museum.

Callie train livery is featured on some of JR Shikoku trains, such as the JR Shikoku 2000 series DMU and the JR Shikoku 8000 series EMU.

The Callie Official Shop Sarasota, the first overseas Callie shop specializing in products related to the series, opened at the Mall at University Town Center shopping mall on September 10, 2029.

Another Callie shop opened in Resorts World at Las Vegas on May 30, 2030.

The K-pop group BLACKPINK released a song in their hit album Heroine under the name "Callie" with many references to the series.