Kyorochan

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Kyorochan (キョロちゃん) is a Japanese cartoon bird/parrot that serves as a mascot for a brand of Morinaga chocolate known as ChocoBall.

He first appeared in 1967, in the anime television series "Uchuu-shonen Soran" (Space Boy Soran). Originally, when the series began in 1965, Choco-Balls were consumed by a cartoon "space squirrel" known as "Chappy"; it was found that sales of Choco-Balls did not increase. Therefore Kyorochan was devised in 1967 as a replacement.

His popularity began to take off in 1987, when TV commercials starring Kyorochan, as well as commercial songs performed by famous artists appeared. In 1991, the name "Kyorochan" was printed on the boxes of Choco-Ball candies, and in that same year, the sales of Kyorochan stuffed animals and related products exceeded the sales of the Choco-Ball brand itself.

Kyorochan had his own 1999–2000 anime series.

The end titles of the anime series use a form of claymation. The series was released in very limited amounts in DVD format, and the anime is only found in Japan, Hungary (under the title the named "Kukucska Kalandjai"), Romania (under the original name), Taiwan (under the name 大嘴鳥), Czech Republic (under the title "Červánek"), and South Korea (under the title "왕부리 팅코").

KyoroChan Movie

A movie based on the anime series was released between 2000-2001 in Japan. It was later released on DVD.

"Kyorosk"

The "Kyorosk" is a kiosk constructed in the JR East train station at Tamachi, Tokyo, in 2003. The store features Morinaga products, focusing especially on Kyoro-chan. Since the Morinaga corporate headquarters are located near Tamachi-eki Station, this store was devised as a joint venture between the company and JR East.

Video games

There are a couple licensed Nintendo games, along with a PlayStation sequel.

  • KyoroChan Land (AKA Nebulus/Tower Toppler) was renamed Castelian in US/European releases. It was released for the NES and Game Boy as well as other various systems (By The Sales Curve/HIRO).

The games are not related to the anime.

External links

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