Who created it? As she turned in her first episode of Glass no Kamen (The glass mask) to Hakusensha publishing company, the unknown Suzue Miuchi surely didn't know she was about to give birth to one of the most famous and long-lasting editorial phenomena in the country of the Rising Sun. It was the year 1976, and since then, with a slowliness that earned her the nickname of Turtle, Miuchi keeps on telling the story of Maya and her extraordinary passion for theatre. A story that involved and moved millions of Japanese and, thanks to the success of the anime, Italians too. However, the original printed version was available in our country only in 2001, when it was printed for the first time by Orion.

What is Glass no Kamen? Maya Kitajima is just like many other girls, not particularly attractive nor brilliant; yet when she walks on stage she is capable of mesmerizing her audience, wearing the mask of the part she's acting. Maya's great dream is just this; acting at any cost, even if this means living away from her family, her friends and her town. Thus, when a day her talent is finally acknowledged, she decides to follow her dream, with all the consequences that this could have...

Who are Maya's friends? Maya is a sweet and lovely girl, surrounded by many affectionate friends and other, more ambiguous characters. Chigusa Tsukikage is one of the latter: an exceptional actress in her times, now she's looking for a girl capable of acting her most famous role, the Scarlet Goddess. She has a complex rapport with Maya, because she doesn't hesitate to revert to unorthodox and disagreeable methods in order to better teach her young pupil, in whom she reposes a great trust. Masumi Hayami is another complex figure: apparently, he's the icy owner of the Daito Art Production, and a rival for lady Tsukikage. In truth, he's Maya's mysterious admirer, and periodically sends her wonderful bouquets of red roses. Yu Sakurakoji is an actor and a great friend of Maya; he's in love with her, but Maya hasn't realized it yet. Rei Aoki is an actress in the Tsukikage company and she's very fond of Maya, towards which she has a maternal attitude.

Who are Maya's enemies? Ayumi Himekawa is Maya's great rival; a promise in the world of acting, she has immense talent and aspires too to the role of the Scarlet Goddess, and in several occasions the two girls find themselves fighting over the role of protagonist or prima donna. Hajime Onodera, the director of the Ondine company, is a sworn adversary of lady Tsukikage, and often this hostility is reflected on Maya.