is a children's

anime is Traditional animation, hand-drawn and computer animation, computer-generated animation originating from Japan. Outside of Japan and in English, ''anime'' refers specifically to animation produced in Japan. However, in Japan and in Japane ...

series that ran from April 4, 1991, to March 26, 1992. 51 episodes have been aired.

Story

There is a small village called Janken Town. Jankenman protects the village from all the enemies. Meanwhile, the villain Masked Osodashi, always try to eliminate Jankenman and take over the Janken Town by deceiving people.

Characters

Heroes

* Jankenman (ジャンケンマン ''Jankenman'') – (Voiced by Ai Orikasa) - The main character of the anime. Jankenman is the eldest son of the Jankenman Family who has been protecting Janken Town for generations. Using the energy power of peace and justice, called Janken Power which emerges whenever someone is doing the game of janken (rock, paper, scissors), Jankenman is a community-based hero who protects peace and safety for Janken Town. He lives in the Janken Base, a different spacial demension that resides inside of the jungle gym of the town's park. He enjoys playing with Aikko and his other close friends whenever there are no incidents. Jankenman has a strong sense of justice and is favorited by everyone, but has a clumsy side and is good-natured. He once has been deceived by Osodashi and his Janken Stick was stolen before because of this. In the CD album released by Nippon Columbia, ''Janken Village Hit Variety of Songs!'', he served as a presenter, but he's still struggled to speak with others. His catchphrase when appears is “JankenPotatoHokkaido! Jankenman at Rock, Paper, Scissors!”. His victory phrase is “Parsley, Celery, Cucumber, Victory!”. Jankenman has made cameos in few episodes of ''

Flower Witch Mary Bell , or known as ''Mary Bell'' in some countries, is a Japanese magical girl anime series by Ashi Productions, aired from 1992 until 1993. The series was adapted as a theatrical film and two educational films and the DVD version was released o ...

''. * Aikko (アイコ ''Aiko'') – (Voiced by

Yuko Mizutani Yuko may refer to: * Yuko (judo) (''yūkō''), a score in judo competition * Yuko (Ukrainian band), a Ukrainian band * Yūko, a Japanese female given name (including a list of persons with the name) * Yuko, a Belgian band * Yuko people Yukpa is ...

) - Jankenman's close friend and the Janken Hermit's granddaughter. She is Janken Town's child idol who is kind to plants and animals. She only cares about Coinder and Prince Trump. However, there are occasional scenes which makes her seem like Jankenman's love interest. She has a Wishing Baton, which will give her the power to grant wishes by magic. Her catchphrase/chant when using the Wishing Baton is “Aikko’s wish, it’s a tie~”. Starting in episode 17, Aikko is able to fly on her Wishing Baton like a magical broom. * Gūyan (グーヤン ''Gūyan'') – (Voiced by

Akiko Yajima is a Japanese voice actress from Kashiwazaki, Niigata. Her best-known role is as the title character Shinnosuke Nohara in the long-running anime series '' Crayon Shin-chan''. She also voices Mipple in the original '' Futari wa Pretty Cure'', ...

) - A rock-themed boy who is the one of Jankenman's close friends. Gūyan is strong-willed, but takes kindness and friendship seriously. His personality is like a true Tokyoite. He is worried that he can only play rock in rock, paper, scissors. He is named Rocky in the English dub. * Chokkin (チョッキン ''Chokkin'') – (Voiced by

Kotono Mitsuishi is a Japanese voice actress, actress, singer, and narrator. She was affiliated with Arts Vision and Lasley Arrow, but is now freelance. Mitsuishi lived in Nagareyama, Chiba. She graduated from high school and entered the Katsuta Voice Actor's Ac ...

) - A scissors-themed boy who is the one of Jankenman's close friends. He has a personality like a model student and is the first to own new goods. He is good at hitting menkos while doing a flamenco-like dance and has won competitions. He is named Caesar in the English dub. * Pājan (パージャン ''Pājan'') – (Voiced by

Chie Satō , also stylized as Chie Satou, is a Japanese voice actress who has been featured in a number of anime shows. She is most known for portraying various characters on a number of '' Pokémon'' television shows and as Bo-chan in '' Crayon Shin-chan'' ...

) - A paper-themed boy who is the one of Jankenman's close friends. He is an easygoing person who is a glutton. He also likes animals. His parents run a bakery store. He is named Javer in the English dub. * Janken Hermit (ジャンケン仙人 ''Jankensennin'') – (Voiced by

Ikuya Sawaki , better known by his stage name , is a Japanese voice actor who is affiliated with Arts Vision. Filmography Anime television series *''Dirty Pair'' (1985) (Goolley) *''Kyatto Ninden Teyandee'' (1990) (Kitsunezuka Ko'on-no-Kami) *'' Berserk'' (1 ...

) - Janken Mama's master and Aikko's grandfather. He exists as Janken Town's fount of knowledge. * Janken Mama (ジャンケンママ ''Jankenmama'') – (Voiced by

Sakiko Tamagawa is a Japanese actress, voice actress and singer from Tokyo. She is affiliated with Sigma Seven. She voices Rei Kuki in '' Genji Tsuushin Agedama'', Natsumi Tsujimoto in '' You're Under Arrest'', Kazama's mother in '' Crayon Shin-chan'', and Toy ...

) - Jankenman's mother who wore a nurse's outfit and works for peace activities with Janken Papa. * Janken Papa (ジャンケンパパ ''Jankenpapa'') – (Voiced by

Shinya Ōtaki , previously known as , is a Japanese voice actor. Anime TV *''Combat Mecha Xabungle'' (Jiron Amos) *'' Crayon Shin-chan'' (Kantamu Robo, Nene's father) *''Dancouga – Super Beast Machine God'' (Francis) *'' Detective Academy Q'' (Detective Ikema ...

) - Jankenman's father and a predecessor of Jankenman. He travels with Janken Mama to different countries while working for peace activities and voluntary social services. He is scatterbrained, but has a strong sense of justice just like Janken Mama and his son Jankenman.

Villains

* Masked Osodashi (オソダシ仮面 ''Osodashi Kamen'') – (Voiced by

Kazuki Yao Kazuki (written: , , , , , , , , or in hiragana) is a masculine Japanese given name. Notable people with the name include: *, Japanese wrestler *, Japanese anime director *, Japanese footballer *, Japanese footballer *, Japanese footballer *, J ...

) - The villain who dreams of defeating Jankenman, turning Janken Town into "Osodashi Town" and taking over the world. He wore a blue suit and a blue mask with black visor that hides his eyes. The star-headed Osodashi family was originally an evil family lineage and rivals with the Jankenman family. However, his parents are pacifists and are anything outside of taking over the world as they use their wealth to establish all sorts of public facilities. Masked Osodashi is also an inventor who create all sorts of tools for evil. He always wear a mask in the anime, but initial settings were that he only wore the mask during his acts of evil. His true face is never shown in the anime. Masked Osodashi has a signature power of "oso dashi" janken. According to himself, it is "oso dashi" (delayed janken), not "ato dashi" (waiting to see the opponent's move before doing anything). He can not use the power inside the one Jankenman's Paper-Powered Janken Dome, because Janken Dome is a dome where one cannot cheat and rock-paper-scissors is played fair and square. In some episodes, Osodashi can use the black badge, which was shaped like a

narutomaki or is a type of ''kamaboko'', or cured fish ''surimi'' produced in Japan. Each cloud-shaped slice of ''naruto'' has a pink or red spiral pattern, which is meant to resemble the Naruto whirlpools in the Naruto Strait between Awaji Island ...

, to mind-control people who wore the badge. He lives in a luxurious mansion with his parents. He is named Tricky in the English dub. * Ururun (ウルルン ''Ururun'') – (Voiced by Chisa Yokoyama) - A maid who works for the Osodashi family. She is forced to participate in Masked Osodashi's acts of evil, but in reality she is kind and a crybaby. She is seen to develop a crush on Masked Osodashi in episode 45 and has been kicked out of the house before for fightning with him in episode 23. Ururun also made cameos in certain episodes of ''

''. * Pecchakucha (ペッチャクチャ ''Pechakucha'') – (Voiced by Kouji Kurose) - A

myna bird The myna (; also spelled mynah) is a bird of the starling family (Sturnidae). This is a group of passerine birds which are native to southern Asia, especially India, Pakistan and Bangladesh. Several species have been introduced to areas like ...

who served as Masked Osodashi's partner-in-crime. He is as devious as Osodashi himself. He has a habit of saying things out loud. He is also a coward, as seen in episode 33.

Japanese Voice Cast

* Ai Orikasa as Jankenman *

as Aikko *

as Masked Osodashi * Akiko Yazima as Guuyan *

as Chokkin *

Chie Sato is a Japanese feminine given name. Possible writings The name Chie can be written multiple ways depending on the kanji used. It can also be written using hiragana or katakana. Some possible ways to write Chie include: *智恵, "wisdom, blessing ...

as Parjan * Chisa Yokoyama as Ururun * Koji Kurose as Pechakucha * Shinya Otaki as Janken Papa *

as Janken Mama *

as Janken Senin

Video game

*''Jankenman'', a Game Boy action game released in 1991 by

Masaya Masaya () is the capital city of Masaya Department in Nicaragua. It is situated approximately 14 km west of Granada and 31 km southeast of Managua. It is located just east of the Masaya Volcano, an active volcano from which the ...

. In the game, Masked Osodashi has kidnapped Jankenman's friends and it's up to Jankenman to save them. The gameplay is similar to ''

Super Mario Bros. is a platform game developed and published by Nintendo for the Nintendo Entertainment System (NES). The successor to the 1983 arcade game '' Mario Bros.'' and the first game in the ''Super Mario'' series, it was first released in 1985 for ...

''. The goal is to make Jankenman reach Osodashi and fights him in a janken minigame within a time limit. The time limit also serves as the player's health; when Jankenman is hit by an enemy, the time takes away a little. If the timer ran out, the game is over.

External links

*
''Jankenman''
at

Ashi Productions is a Japanese anime studio, located in Suginami, Tokyo, Japan, known for its four magical-girl anime, especially ''Magical Princess Minky Momo''. It was established by Toshihiko Sato and other artists on December 20, 1975, as ''Ashi Productions ...

References

1991 anime television series debuts Superhero comedy television series 1992 anime OVAs 1991 video games Action video games Ashi Productions Game Boy-only games Japan-exclusive video games Masaya Games games Video games based on anime and manga Video games developed in Japan Game Boy games TV Tokyo original programming {{Anime-television-series-stub