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Chibi Maruko-chan
ちびまる子ちゃん (Chibi Maruko-chan)
Genre	Shōjo
Manga
Authored by	Momoko Sakura
Publisher	Shueisha
Serialized in	Ribon
Original run	August 1986 – June 1996
No. of volumes
TV anime
Directed by	Yumiko Suda Tsutomu Shibayama
Studio	Nippon Animation
Network	Fuji Television NTV7
Original run	July 1, 1990 – September 27, 1992
No. of episodes	142
Movie: Chibi Maruko-chan: My Favorite Song
さくらももこワールド ちびまる子ちゃん わたしの好きな歌 (')
Directed by
Studio
Released	December 19, 1992
Runtime	93 minutes
TV anime : Chibi Maruko-chan TV 2
Directed by
Studio	Nippon Animation
Network	Fuji TV
Original run	January 09, 2005 – February 26, 2006
No. of episodes	88
TV drama : Chibi Maruko-chan (live-action special)
Directed by
Studio
Network	Fuji TV
Original run	April 18, 2006 –
No. of episodes	3

Chibi Maruko-chan (ちびまる子ちゃん, Chibi Maruko-chan^?) is a shōjo manga series by Momoko Sakura, later adapted into an anime TV series by Nippon Animation, which originally aired on Fuji Television from July 1, 1990 to September 27, 1992. It depicts the simple, everyday life of a little girl nicknamed Maruko in suburban late-seventies Japan. Originally a shōjo manga series created to appeal to the childhood memories of young women, it has found a large audience among children who identified with the little heroine. Chibi Maruko-chan series has spawned numerous games, animated films and merchandising, as well as a second TV series running from 1995 to the present. Maruko's style and themes are sometimes compared to the classic comic Sazae-san.

Contents 1 Characters 2 Cast 3 Manga 4 First TV series 5 Second TV series 6 Live action series 7 Movies 8 Games 9 See also 10 External links

The title character, Maruko, is a nine-year-old third-grade student. She is lazy, disorganized and usually late for school, in strong contrast with her neat and tidy older sister who must share her room with her. Maruko, like many kids, tries to avoid homework and chores, takes advantage of her doting grandfather and squabbles with her sister. Nevertheless, she is a well-meaning child who tries to do good.

Maruko's real name is Momoko Sakura (さくらももこ Sakura Momoko), the same as the pen-name of her creator Miki Miura 三浦 美紀 (who used her own childhood experiences as inspiration). Her nickname "Maruko" is made of marui ("round", because of her round face) and -ko (girl child); the prefix chibi and the suffix -chan also refer to a cute child.

Maruko's trademark face fault in reaction to embarrassment is the sudden appearance of vertical lines on her face, sometimes with an unexplained gust of wind blowing behind her head. This is sometimes mimicked by female fans of the series who draw the fingers of one hand down across the face to show embarrassment. On the internet this is often used as emoticons, by speech marks. For example: -_-"

Other characters include Maruko's classmate and best friend Tama-chan. A fan favorite is Maruko's kind but absent-minded grandfather. Naive and easily tricked, he keeps a pet turtle and loves watching TV with Maruko. When feeling distressed or nostalgic, he spontaneously retreats to a surreal inner world for a few seconds to improvise a sad yet comical haiku about his state of mind.

• Tarako - Momoko "Maruko" Sakura
• Yūko Mizutani - Sakiko Sakura
• Teiyū Ichiryūsai - Sumire Sakura
• Yusaku Yara - Hiroshi Sakura
• Kei Tomiyama - Tomozō Sakura (1990-1995)
• Takeshi Aono - Tomozō Sakura (1995-present)
• Yūko Sasaki - Kume Sakura

The original Chibi Maruko-chan manga was serialized in the shōjo-oriented Ribon Magazine. 14 volumes were published from July 1987 to December 1996, with a 15th volume published in February 2003.

Chibi Maruko-chan originally aired on Fuji Television. 142 episodes were broadcast, from January 1990 to September 1992. Maruko was voiced by Tarako; other voice actors included Kappei Yamaguchi and Hideki Saijo. Original manga author Momoko Sakura wrote the teleplay for most episodes. The first season was directed by Yumiko Suda and animated by Masaaki Yuasa (who later directed Mind Game in 2004). The series attained a TV viewer rating of 39.9%, the highest rating ever attained by an animated TV series in Japan at the time [1]. The theme song Odoru Ponpokorin became a hit and was interpreted by several artists including the Kinki Kids and Captain Jack. The series was exported throughout Asia and was especially popular in Taiwan. In addition, 64 episodes were dubbed into Arabic (called maruko-alsaghera, which means Little Maruko), where it garnered attention from people of all ages. It also aired in Germany with the same title as the original.

A second series debuted in January 1995, in the 6pm time slot before Sazae-san on Sunday evenings. This series was also dubbed into German and broadcast by RTL II, Super RTL and Jetix in Germany.

A live action series is currently airing on Fuji Television in the 7pm slot; it had its first broadcast on April 18, 2006. The series is being created to commemorate Chibi Maruko-chan's 15th anniversary and will have a total of 3 episodes. The episodes will air weekly, for 2 hours each. All costumes and hairstyles are extremely faithful to the original manga settings.

• Chibi Maruko-chan (Toho, 1990)
• Chibi Maruko-chan: My Favorite Song (1992)

(Released in Japan only)

• Chibi Maruko-Chan: Okozukai Daisakusen (Game Boy, 1990)
• Chibi Maruko-Chan 4: Korega Nihon Dayo Ouji Sama (Game Boy, 1992)
• Chibi Maruko-Chan (TurboGrafx 16, 1992)
• Chibi Maruko-Chan: Waku Waku Shopping (Sega Mega Drive, 1992)
• Chibi Maruko Chan: Maruko Deluxe Quiz (Game Boy/Neo-Geo, 1995)
• Chibi Maruko-Chan: Mezase! Minami no Island (Super Famicom)
• Chibi Maruko-Chan: No Taisen Puzzle Dama (Sega Saturn, 1995)

• List of manga
• List of games based on anime and manga
• List of Game Boy games

• Official website on Fuji TV (Japanese only)
• Official website on Nippon Animation (Japanese only)
• Maruko on the Anime News Network
• Maruko on animenfo.com
• 2006 version on Fuji TV (Japanese only)