Anpanman

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Anpanman
それいけ！アンパンマン (Go! Anpanman)
Genre	Comedy, Fantasy
TV anime
Directed by	Akinori Nagaoka & Shunji Ôga
Studio	Tokyo Movie Shinsha
Network	Nippon Television Network Corporation
Original run	October 3, 1988 –
No. of episodes

Anpanman, written by Takashi Yanase, a Japanese writer of children's stories, is one of the most popular anime cartoon series in Japan. It is produced by Nippon Television Network Corporation. 　Each animated cartoon is approximately 24 minutes long split into 2 episodes of approximately 12 minutes each.　　

Yanase has been writing Anpanman since 1968. The television series called Soreike! Anpanman (それいけ！アンパンマン, Go! Anpanman^?) has been on the air in Japan since 1988. In South Korean television, it is known as “Narara Hoppangmaen” (hangul: 날아라 호빵맨).

Yanase became inspired by the idea of Anpanman while struggling to survive as soldier in World War II. He many times became faced with the prospect of starvation which made him dream about eating a bean-jam filled pastry called Anpan.

1 Characters
2 Movies
- 2.1 Full-Length Movies
- 2.2 Movie Shorts
3 Notes of interest
4 External links

[edit] Characters

An Anpanman toy

Inflatable Anpanman toys

The "Anpanman Train", Matsuyama, April 2002

Anpanman (アンパンマン, voiced by Keiko Toda): The hero of the story, whose head is a bun made by Jam Ojisan. His name comes from the fact that he is a man with a head made of bread (Japanese: pan, a loanword from the Portuguese word meaning "bread") that is filled with bean jam (Japanese: an) called an anpan. His weakness is water or anything that makes his head dirty. He regains his health and strength when Jam Ojisan bakes him a new head and is placed on his shoulders. Anpanman's damaged head, with Xs in his eyes, flies off his shoulders once a new baked head lands. He was created when a shooting star landed in Jam Ojisan's oven while he was baking. He has two special attacks called: An-punch and An-kick. When Anpanman comes across a starving creature or person, he lets the unfortunate creature or person eat part of his head.

Jam Ojisan (ジャムおじさん, voiced by Hiroshi Masuoka): The father of Anpanman, and a very kind baker. His name means "Uncle Jam".

Batakosan (バタコさん, voiced by Rei Sakuma): Assistant to Jam Ojisan. She's dedicated and hard working, but sometimes forgetful. She also makes and mends the capes Anpanman and the other heroes use to fly with. Her name means "Butter Girl".

Baikinman (ばいきんまん, voiced by Ryusei Nakao): The villain in the story, coming from "Germ World" (ばいきん星), he is the leader of the Viruses. He and Anpanman were born at the same time and are polar opposites of good and evil. His name means "Germ Man". His ambition is to destroy Anpanman and turn the planet into another "Germ World", yet he is perfectly content to play tricks, steal, and bully those weaker than him.

Dokinchan (ドキンちゃん, voiced by Hiromi Tsuru): Baikinman's female partner in crime. She is selfish, childish, and greedy, but sometimes shows kindness. She has a crush on Shokupanman. Her name is a combination of the onomatopoeia for a quickly beating heart, "Doki", and the diminutive/affectionate suffix "-chan".

Kabirunrun (かびるんるん): These are Baikinman's little henchmen. Their main purpose is to rot Anpanman's head with mildew/mold (Japanese: kabi).

Cheese (チーズ, voiced by Koichi Yamadera): Jam Ojisan's dog. He became a loyal friend after Anpanman saved his life in the comics. In the cartoon series, a young Anpanman feeds Cheese, who is starving, a part of his head as a part of his very first patrol and became inseparable afterwards.

Shokupanman (しょくぱんまん, voiced by Sumi Shimamoto): A friend of Anpanman. His head is made from sliced white bread (Japanese: shoku pan). He is level-headed and kind, but narcissistic. His job when not helping Anpanman is serving lunch to the schoolchildren.

Currypanman (カレーパンマン, voiced by Michiyo Yanagisawa): Another of Anpanman's friends. His head is made from curry filled bread. He is quick tempered and hot-headed on the surface, but gives way to a kind and sentimental interior. He can use the hot curry concealed in his head as a weapon.

Melonpanna (メロンパンナ, voiced by Mika Kanai): Anpanman's friend. Her head is made from melon bread. Her special attack, the Melo-Melo Punch, makes bad guys woozy with affection.

Rollpanna (ロールパンナ, voiced by Miina Tominaga): Melonpanna's sister who has two hearts: A red one of goodness, and thanks to Baikinman, a black one of evil. The sight of Anpanman can trigger her evil heart while the sight of Melonpanna can trigger her good one. She started out in the series as a loner at Baikinman's beck and call, but she broke from his power and wanders the world doing good deeds, but staying away from others for fear of what she would do if her black heart is triggered. Her nickname is "The tragic heroine".

In each episode Anpanman fights with Baikinman and helps the people of the town. He always goes on patrol in the area around the house of Jam Ojisan. He is a symbol of justice, fighting for the cause of justice every day. Anpanman has a long history and new characters are frequently introduced, keeping the series fresh. According to the 2005 Anpanman Large Catalog (アンパンマン大図鑑), there have been 1500 characters that are either unique or a variation of an existing character introduced up to this point.

[edit] Movies

[edit] Full-Length Movies

Soreike! Anpanman: Shining Star's Tear (それいけ! アンパンマンキラキラ星の涙) 1989
Soreike! Anpanman: Baikinman's Counterattack (それいけ! アンパンマンばいきんまんの逆襲) 1990
Soreike! Anpanman: Fly! Fly! Chibigon! (それいけ! アンパンマンとべ! とべ! ちびごん) 1991
Soreike! Anpanman: The Secret of Tsumiki Castle (それいけ! アンパンマンつみき城のひみつ) 1992
Soreike! Anpanman: Nosshi the Dinosaur's Big Adventure (恐竜ノッシーの大冒険) 1993
Soreike! Anpanman: Ririkaru - Magical Witch's School (リリカル☆マジカルまほうの学校) 1994
Soreike! Anpanman: Let's Defeat the Ghost Ship! (それいけ! アンパンマンゆうれい船をやっつけろ!!) 1995
Soreike! Anpanman: The Flying Picture Book and the Glass Shoes (それいけ! アンパンマン空とぶ絵本とガラスの靴) 1996
Soreike! Anpanman: The Pyramid of the Rainbow (それいけ! アンパンマン虹のピラミッド) 1997
Soreike! Anpanman: Palm of the Hand to the Sun (それいけ! アンパンマンてのひらを太陽に) 1998
Soreike! Anpanman: When the Flower of Courage Opens (それいけ! アンパンマン勇気の花がひらくとき) 1999
Soreike! Anpanman: Tears of the Mermaid Princess (それいけ! アンパンマン人魚姫のなみだ) 2000
Soreike! Anpanman: Gomira's Star (それいけ! アンパンマンゴミラの星) 2001
Soreike! Anpanman: The Secret of Roll and Roura's Floating Castle (それいけ! アンパンマンロールとローラうきぐも城のひみつ) 2002
Soreike! Anpanman: Rubii's Wish (ルビーの願い) 2003
Soreike! Anpanman: Nyanii of the Country of Dream Cats (夢猫の国のニャニイ) 2004
Soreike! Anpanman: Hapii's Big Adventure (ハピーの大冒険) 2005
Soreike! Anpanman: Dorii of the Star of Life (それいけ! アンパンマンいのちの星のドーリィ) 2006

[edit] Movie Shorts

These shorts were shown with the above movies during its theatrical release respective to the release year with the exception of 1989 and 1993 when there was no pre-movie short.

Soreike! Anpanman: Omusubiman (それいけ! アンパンマンおむすびまん) 1990
Soreike! Anpanman: Dokinchan's Doki Doki Calendar (それいけ! アンパンマンドキンちゃんのドキドキカレンダー) 1991
Soreike! Anpanman: Anpanman and His Funny Friends (それいけ! アンパンマンアンパンマンとゆかいな仲間たち) 1992
Soreike! Anpanman: Everyone Get Together! Anpanman World (それいけ! アンパンマンみんな集まれ! アンパンマンワールド) 1994
Soreike! Anpanman: Anpanman and Hapii Birthday (それいけ! アンパンマンアンパンマンとハッピーおたんじょう日) 1995
Soreike! Anpanman: Baikinman and the San-"Bai" Punch (それいけ! アンパンマンばいきんまんと3ばいパンチ) 1996
Soreike! Anpanman: We're Heroes (それいけ! アンパンマンぼくらはヒーロー) 1997
Soreike! Anpanman: Anpanman and His Strange Friends (それいけ! アンパンマンアンパンマンとおかしな仲間) 1998
Soreike! Anpanman: Anpanman and His Fun Friends (それいけ! アンパンマンアンパンマンとたのしい仲間たち) 1999
Soreike! Anpanman: Yakisobapanman and Burakkusabotenman (それいけ! アンパンマンやきそばパンマンとブラックサボテンマン) 2000
Soreike! Anpanman: The Amazing Naganegiman and Yakisobapanman (それいけ! アンパンマン怪傑ナガネギマンとやきそばパンマン) 2001
Soreike! Anpanman: Tekkanomakichan and Gold Kamameshidon (それいけ! アンパンマン鉄火のマキちゃんと金のかまめしどん) 2002
Soreike! Anpanman: The Amazing Naganegiman and Princess Doremi (それいけ! アンパンマン怪傑ナガネギマンとドレミ姫) 2003
Soreike! Anpanman: Tsukiko and Shiratama - Heartracing Dancing (それいけ! アンパンマンつきことしらたま～ときめきダンシング～) 2004
Soreike! Anpanman: Snow Black and Motemote Baikinman (それいけ! アンパンマンくろゆき姫とモテモテばいきんまん) 2005
Soreike! Anpanman: Kokinchan and the Blue Tears (それいけ! アンパンマンコキンちゃんとあおいなみだ) 2006

[edit] Notes of interest

Koichi Yamadera and Mika Kanai, the voice actors for Cheese and Melonpanna respectively, are married. This is also translated in a way to the cartoon as Cheese spends most of his time in Melonpanna's company in the episodes she's in. Yamadera also does voices for recurring characters in the show, such as Kamameshidon.
Spawned a short lived spin-off show after one of the more popular recurring characters on the show, Omusubiman.
Outer Space in Anpanman episodes and movies are breatheable and hospitable environments.
Anpanman, unlike the other characters, does not need food or drink to sustain himself and has never been seen eating. It is believed the bean jam in his head sustains him.