Chibi Maruko-chan

Chibi Maruko-chan
Original Name	ちびまる子ちゃん
Translation Name	Chibi Maruko-chan
Region	Japan
Original run	August 1986 issue - June 1996 issue (Ribon) January 2002 issue - January 2016 issue (Ribon, irregular serialization) July 1, 2007 issue - December 31, 2011 (news serial version)
Written by	Momoko Sakura
Published by	(jp) Shueisha
Magazine	Ribon
State	On hiatus

Chibi Maruko-chan (Japanese: ちびまる子ちゃん) is a manga series created by Momoko Sakura, with derivative works such as anime and anime films. Its anime has ranked among the top three in Japanese anime ratings for more than 20 consecutive years, and by 2019, more than 1,200 episodes have been broadcast.

Introduction to the original work

Originally, it mainly told the daily stories of Maruko, a playful, innocent, intelligent, creative and flawed girl, who is a fictionalized version of the author, in kindergarten and lower grades of primary school. It was originally serialized in the Shueisha monthly shoujo manga magazine Ribon.

After Maruko entered third grade, the story still revolves around the interesting things that happened with her family, friends, teachers and classmates in her life and study. The scene unfolds, about family, love and friendship among classmates. Or some small things in life, but there are laughter and tears, which recall the childishness of childhood. Especially, when the characters in the story are embarrassed, black lines on their faces will suddenly appear, sometimes accompanied by a gust of cold wind blowing from behind their heads.

The author, Momoko Sakura, died of cancer on August 15, 2018, at the age of 53, so this work has become Sakura's best-selling but never-ending work. Recently, the Japanese side launched the final chapter to mark the final end of this work. The finale is not a coherent story, but five short stories.

Publication history

The manga was serialized in the magazine Ribon from August 1986 to June 1996. During the serialization period, it set a record for the highest sales volumes, and was occasionally published in the same magazine from January 2002 to January 2016. In addition, it was serialized in the "Tokyo Shimbun" from July 1, 2007 to December 31, 2011.

The manga has a total of 17 episodes in a single volume, and has sold more than 32 million copies in total.

One-liner

Number of volumes	Shueisha
	Release Date	ISBN
1	July 15, 1987	ISBN 4-08-853413-1
2	February 15, 1988	ISBN 4-08-853434-4
3	July 15, 1988	ISBN 4-08-853450-6
4	January 13, 1989	ISBN 4-08-853472-7
5	August 11, 1989	ISBN 4-08-853494-8
6	January 12, 1990	ISBN 4-08-853511-1
7	January 11, 1991	ISBN 4-08-853550-2
8	Oct 15, 1991	ISBN 4-08-853584-7
9	June 15, 1992	ISBN 4-08-853614-2
10	January 14, 1993	ISBN 4-08-853646-0
11	December 8, 1993	ISBN 4-08-853704-1
12	December 7, 1994	ISBN 4-08-853771-8
13	December 7, 1995	ISBN 4-08-853831-5
14	December 9, 1996	ISBN 4-08-853891-9
15	February 14, 2003	ISBN 4-08-856439-1
16	April 15, 2009	ISBN 978-4-08-856879-9
17	December 25, 2018	ISBN 978-4-08-867523-7

Library Edition

Number of episodes	Shueisha
	Release Date	ISBN
1	October 17, 2003	ISBN 4-08-618115-0
2		ISBN 4-08-618116-9
3	December 12, 2003	ISBN 4-08-618117-7
4		ISBN 4-08-618118-5
5	February 18, 2004	ISBN 4-08-618119-3
6		ISBN 4-08-618120-7
7	April 16, 2004	ISBN 4-08-618121-5
8		ISBN 4-08-618122-3
9	June 18, 2004	ISBN 4-08-618123-1

Movie comics

title	Shueisha
	Release Date	ISBN
Chibi Maruko-chan: My Favorite Song	July 15, 1993	ISBN 978-4-08-853675-0
Chibi Maruko-chan: Ohno-kun and Sugiyama-kun	June 13, 1997	ISBN 978-4-08-856023-6
Chibi Maruko-chan: I won't forget you	December 25, 2015	ISBN 978-4-08-867401-8

TV animation

The first Chibi Maruko-chan anime was broadcast by Fuji TV from January 7, 1990 to September 27, 1992, with a total of 142 episodes. On October 28, 1990, it reached a rating of 39.9%, and on September 26, 1991, it became the highest-rated anime in Japanese history on record.

The second anime began on January 8, 1995, and it celebrated its 15th anniversary on January 9, 2005. It is still playing, and the total number of episodes has exceeded 1200.

STAFF

• Production: Koichi Motohashi (-chapter 844) → Kazuko Ishikawa (SPECIAL16-)
• Original work: Momoko Sakura (Shueisha)
• Supervision: Shibayama Nu (Phase 1), Suda Yumiko → Takagi Jun
• Production management: Takasang Chong・Nakajima Junzo (started halfway through) → Honhashi Shouichi
• Music: Yoyuki Nakamura
• Character design: Yuji Shigekuni (Episodes 1-113) → Hiroo Hanoi (Episodes 114-142) [S1]; Funakoshi Hideyuki, Nakahara Jiuwen (Episodes 1-130, 132) [S2]
• Character design supplement: Kobayashi Tetsuya
• Art Supervisor: Konanko Nomura
• Art Supervisor Supplement: Naomi Sudo
• Audio supervision: Honda Baozai
• Sound effects: Akihiko Matsuda
• Producer:
  • Fuji TV: Tachikawa Yoshihisa → Wada Mio → Kaneda Koji → Suzuki Senya → Suzuki Yoshihiro → Ishii Koji → Harada Fuyuhiko → Kawakami Daisuke → Haruna Kasei → Matsuzaki Yoshiko → Mizuno Ayako → Takagi Akira Su → Kano Yuta → Kano Yuta・Bridge Claw Junhui→Jianghua Pine Tree
  • Japanese animation company: Sato Akio → Endo Shigeo → Tanaka Mazumi → Ochiai Chi → Togawa Jun・Haafune Kenichiro → Togawa Jun → Tanaka Nobuaki
• Color Design (S2): Rika Yotamata → Tomoko Komatsuhara → Makiko Nishikan → Yumi Asano
• Audio production: 音响映像システム→サンオンキョー
• Recording adjustment → Sounding: Sato Chiaki (S1), Aoki Masahiro → Ando Tokuya (S2)
• A.E - Shinohara Mari → Deta Miho → Kawamura Takahiko
• Recording studio: TAVAC (S1) → タクトスタジオ → STUDIO T&T → アバコスタジオ (S2)
• Editorial: Tsurubu Yunshou → Onodera Kasumi, Meguro Hiroshi, Terano Go, Hama Utsu Taeko → Nato Shinichi, Nakano Ichiho → Kanimura Junmi, Watanabe Tomoko → Miyake Keiki → Kiimura Junmi, Miyazaki Yurina → Miyazaki Yurina
• Video editing: Shigeru Murata, Yuto Komai → Yoshiaki Kanazawa, Kenichi Nomoto → Takaaki Matsue
• Animation production: Nippon Animation
• Production: Fuji TV, Nippon Animation, Yomiuri Advertising Agency

CAST

Characters	Voice actor
Momoko Skaura	TARAKO
Sakiko Sakura	Yuko Mizutani→Machiko Toyoshima
Hiroshi Sakura	Susumu Kawabe
Sumire Sakura	Teiyū Ichiryūsai
Tomozou Sakura	Kei Tomiyama→Takeshi Aono→Bin Shimada
Kotake Sakura	Yuko Sasaki
Tamae Honami	Nanako Watanabe
Mr. Togawa	Hirohiko Kakegawa
Sueo Maruo	Nobuo Tobita
Kazuhiko Hanawa	Masami Kikuchi
Narrator	Shunji Yamada

Episodes

Main article: Chibi Maruko-chan/Episodes

The title of each episode is basically composed of "The One Where Maruko ○○" ("Maruko, ○○" no maki, 「まる子、○○」の巻), which is read by Maruko. The BGM of the title is often changed.

Related Music

(to be completed)

Films

• 1992: Chibi Maruko-chan: My Favorite Song
• 2015: Chibi Maruko-chan: A Boy from Italy

Stage show

It will be staged in the winter of 2022 and tells the high school life of the 3rd and 4th grade children who become high school students.

External links

• (Japanese)Chibi Maruko-chan official website
• (Japanese)Chibi Maruko-chan on Fuji TV
• (Japanese)Animate DVD Official Site