Fuku-chan

Fuku-chan
Original title	フクちゃん
transcription	Fuku-chan
genre	Yonkoma , comedy
Manga
country	Japan Japan
author	Ryūichi Yokoyama
First publication	October 1936-1971
Anime television series
Country of production	Japan Japan
original language	Japanese
year	1982
Studio	Shin-egg animation
length	25 minutes
Episodes	71 in 3 seasons
Director	Mineo Fuji
music	Hiroshi Tsutsui
First broadcast	November 2nd, 1982 on TV Asahi
synchronization

Fuku-chan ( Japanese フクちゃん ) is a manga series by Ryūichi Yokoyama . The Yonkoma series appeared in Japanese newspapers from 1936 to 1971, making it one of the longest-running Japanese comic strip series. During the Second World War, three films about Fuku-chan were made for propaganda purposes and in 1982 they were converted into an anime television series. The character became the mascot of Waseda University .

content

The hero of the series is the five-year-old street boy Fukuo "Fuku-chan" Fuchida, who mostly plays tricks on people around him. Recurring characters are Fuku-chan's friend Kumi, playmate Namiko and her younger brother Kiyo, the cheeky twins Doshako and Garako and Ganchan, who always teases the other children in preschool.

publication

The character first appeared in Yokoyama's older series Edokko Ken-chan , where he appeared several times as a mischievous street boy and was soon more popular than the main character. Therefore, in October 1936, the Fuku-chan series started as an offshoot in the Asahi Shimbun . It was published throughout the war and not discontinued until 1971. During the war, some changes were made to match the propaganda, such as adding a "Forward!" To the title. In the post-war period, the draftsman was reprimanded by the censors for his portrayal of Americans with red noses.

Film adaptations

A first adaptation of the comic strip as a film was released in 1941 as Fuku-chan no Kishū . The film included a film role and was presumably a success, because the Navy Department then commissioned the production of two more films, which should revolve around life at sea. Both propaganda films were released in 1944. The one-role short film Uwanosora Hakase was based on a screenplay by Yokoyama and directed by Maeda Hajime with a team of 18 over a period of eight months. It was a co-production of the Department of the Navy with Asahi Eigasha. The short film has not been preserved.

The second of the two films from 1944 is Fuku-chan no Sensuikan (Eng. About "Fuku-chan's submarine"), a five-roll work that was directed by Mochinaga Tadahito . No other parties are known and there are contradicting information about Yokoyama's involvement. For the production, the team was allowed to visit a naval base and a submarine and observe their crew. Some of the observations were incorporated into the film, for example in a cooking scene. A multiplan camera was designed for production, but could only be used to a limited extent due to the general lack of material and employees.

An anime television series followed in 1982 , which was directed by Mineo Fuji at Shin-Ei Animation . The scripts were written by Masaki Tsuji, Toshiyuki Kashiwakura, Noboru Shiroyama and Hiroko Naka. The character design was created by Ryuichi Yokoyama. The 71 25-minute episodes were broadcast from November 2, 1982 to March 27, 1984 by TV Asahi .

synchronization

role	Japanese voice
Fuku-chan	Chika Sakamoto
Kiyo-chan	Reiko Katsura
Kumi-chan	Yōko Kuri

music

The music for the television series was composed by Hiroshi Tsutsui . The opening credits song is Boku, Fuku-chan dai! by Chika Sakamoto .

Web links

Entry on Manga and Animes on Anime News Network (English)

Individual evidence

↑ ^a ^b Frederik L. Schodt: Manga! Manga! The World of Japanese Comics . Kodansha America, 1983, ISBN 978-0-87011-752-7 , pp. 56, 58 .
↑ ^a ^b ^c ^d Jonathan Clements : Anime - A History . Palgrave Macmillan 2013. pp. 65f. ISBN 978-1-84457-390-5 .
↑ Paul Gravett: Manga - Sixty Years of Japanese Comics , p. 21. Egmont Manga and Anime, 2004.
↑ ^a ^b Jonathan Clements, Helen McCarthy: The Anime Encyclopedia. Revised & Expanded Edition . Stone Bridge Press, Berkeley 2006, ISBN 978-1-933330-10-5 , pp. 208 .
↑ Frederik L. Schodt: Manga! Manga! The World of Japanese Comics . Kodansha America, 1983, ISBN 978-0-87011-752-7 , pp. 128 .

[schodt1-1] Frederik L. Schodt: Manga! Manga! The World of Japanese Comics . Kodansha America, 1983, ISBN 978-0-87011-752-7 , pp. 56, 58 .

[clements-2] Jonathan Clements : Anime - A History . Palgrave Macmillan 2013. pp. 65f. ISBN 978-1-84457-390-5 .

[gravett-3] Paul Gravett: Manga - Sixty Years of Japanese Comics , p. 21. Egmont Manga and Anime, 2004.

[animeenc-4] Jonathan Clements, Helen McCarthy: The Anime Encyclopedia. Revised & Expanded Edition . Stone Bridge Press, Berkeley 2006, ISBN 978-1-933330-10-5 , pp. 208 .

[schodt2-5] Frederik L. Schodt: Manga! Manga! The World of Japanese Comics . Kodansha America, 1983, ISBN 978-0-87011-752-7 , pp. 128 .