is a Japanese
manga
Manga (Japanese: 漫画 ) are comics or graphic novels originating from Japan. Most manga conform to a style developed in Japan in the late 19th century, and the form has a long prehistory in earlier Japanese art. The term ''manga'' is u ...
series created by
Suihō Tagawa, originally published by
Kodansha
is a Japanese privately-held publishing company headquartered in Bunkyō, Tokyo. Kodansha is the largest Japanese publishing company, and it produces the manga magazines ''Nakayoshi'', ''Afternoon'', ''Evening'', ''Weekly Shōnen Magazine'' an ...
in ''
Shōnen Kurabu'', and one of the first series' to be reprinted in
tankōbon
is the Japanese
Japanese may refer to:
* Something from or related to Japan, an island country in East Asia
* Japanese language, spoken mainly in Japan
* Japanese people, the ethnic group that identifies with Japan through ancestry or cultur ...
format. The titular protagonist, Norakuro, or Norakuro-''
kun'', is an
anthropomorphic
Anthropomorphism is the attribution of human traits, emotions, or intentions to non-human entities. It is considered to be an innate tendency of human psychology.
Personification is the related attribution of human form and characteristics t ...
black and white dog inspired by
Felix the Cat.
The name ''Norakuro'' is an abbreviation of and .
History
In the original story, the central character Norakuro was a soldier serving in an army of dogs called the . The strip's publication began in
Kodansha
is a Japanese privately-held publishing company headquartered in Bunkyō, Tokyo. Kodansha is the largest Japanese publishing company, and it produces the manga magazines ''Nakayoshi'', ''Afternoon'', ''Evening'', ''Weekly Shōnen Magazine'' an ...
's ''Shōnen Kurabu'' in 1931, and was based on the
Imperial Japanese Army
The was the official ground-based armed force of the Empire of Japan from 1868 to 1945. It was controlled by the Imperial Japanese Army General Staff Office and the Ministry of the Army, both of which were nominally subordinate to the Emperor o ...
of the time;
the
manga artist
A is a comic artist who writes and/or illustrates manga. As of 2006, about 3,000 professional manga artists were working in Japan.
Most manga artists study at an art college or manga school or take on an apprenticeship with another artist be ...
,
Suihō Tagawa, had served in the Imperial Army from 1919 to 1922. Norakuro was gradually promoted from private to
captain
Captain is a title, an appellative for the commanding officer of a military unit; the supreme leader of a navy ship, merchant ship, aeroplane, spacecraft, or other vessel; or the commander of a port, fire or police department, election precinct, e ...
in the stories, which began as humorous episodes, but eventually developed into propaganda tales of military exploits against the "pigs army" on the "continent" - a thinly-veiled reference to the
Second Sino-Japanese War
The Second Sino-Japanese War (1937–1945) or War of Resistance (Chinese term) was a military conflict that was primarily waged between the Republic of China and the Empire of Japan. The war made up the Chinese theater of the wider Pacific Th ...
.
Serialization of ''Norakuro'' stopped in 1941 for wartime austerity reason. After the war, due to the popularity of the strip, the character returned in various guises, including a
sumo
is a form of competitive full-contact wrestling where a ''rikishi'' (wrestler) attempts to force his opponent out of a circular ring (''dohyō'') or into touching the ground with any body part other than the soles of his feet (usually by thr ...
wrestler and a botanist.
Pre-war
animated films based on the military ''Norakuro'', and two post-war animated series of ''Norakuro'', in 1970 and 1987, have also been produced. In the 1970 series, the voice of Norakuro was played by
Nobuyo Ōyama
, born , is a former Japanese actress, voice actress and singer affiliated with Actors Seven. She is best known for playing the title character in the long-running ''Doraemon'' anime series. She is also well known as the voice of Monokuma, the m ...
, also known as the voice of
Doraemon
''Doraemon'' ( ja, ドラえもん ) is a Japanese manga series written and illustrated by Fujiko F. Fujio. The manga was first serialized in December 1969, with List of Doraemon chapters, its 1,345 individual chapters compiled into 45 ' ...
. During the 1980s and early 1990s, Norakuro was the mascot of the Physical Training School (Tai-Iku Gakko) of the
Japan Self-Defense Forces
The Japan Self-Defense Forces ( ja, 自衛隊, Jieitai; abbreviated JSDF), also informally known as the Japanese Armed Forces, are the unified ''de facto''Since Article 9 of the Japanese Constitution outlaws the formation of armed forces, the ...
.
There is an excerpt that appears in the sixth ''
Kramer's Ergot
''Kramers Ergot'' is a series of anthology-style books of comic art edited by Sammy Harkham.
Publication history
''Kramers Ergot'' started as a mini-comic self-published by Sammy Harkham under the imprint Avodah Books. Issues 4 and 5 were publishe ...
''
comics anthology which is the only example of Tagawa's work published in English.
References
External links
''Norakuro-kun''at
Studio Pierrot
is a Japanese animation studio established in May 1979 by former employees of both Tatsunoko Production and Mushi Production. Its headquarters are located in Mitaka, Tokyo. Pierrot is renowned for several worldwide popular anime series, such as ...
''Norakuro-kun''at Studio Pierrot
*
*
*
{{Pierrot (company)
1930s animated short films
1931 manga
1981 comics endings
1933 anime films
1933 films
1934 anime films
1934 films
1935 anime films
1935 films
1938 anime films
1938 films
1970 anime television series debuts
1971 Japanese television series endings
1987 anime television series debuts
1988 Japanese television series endings
Animated television series about dogs
Anime series based on manga
Anime short films
Comics characters introduced in 1931
Eiken (studio)
Fuji TV original programming
Kodansha manga
Manga adapted into films
Pierrot (company)
Shōnen manga