is a Japanese manga series by

Fujiko Fujio was a manga writing duo formed by Japanese manga artists and . They formed their partnership in 1951, and used the Fujiko Fujio name from 1954 until dissolution of the partnership in 1987, upon Fujimoto's illness. The pair was best known f ...

and later

Fujiko F. Fujio was a manga writing duo formed by Japanese manga artists and . They formed their partnership in 1951, and used the Fujiko Fujio name from 1954 until dissolution of the partnership in 1987, upon Fujimoto's illness. The pair was best known f ...

The series was written under "Fujiko Fujio" initially. When Fujiko F. Fujio and Fujiko A. Fujio decided to separate, Fujiko F. Fujio took over this series. about the titular ''

obake and are a class of '' yōkai'', preternatural creatures in Japanese folklore. Literally, the terms mean ''a thing that changes'', referring to a state of transformation or shapeshifting. These words are often translated as "ghost", but prima ...

'', Q-Taro, who lives with the Ōhara family. Q-Tarō, also known as "Q-chan" or "Oba-Q", is a mischief-maker who likes to fly around scaring people and stealing food, though he is deathly afraid of dogs. The story is usually focused on the antics of Q-Tarō and his friends. The manga was drawn in 1964–1966 by the duo

(Hiroshi Fujimoto and Motoo Abiko) and in 1971–1974 by just Hiroshi Fujimoto (as Fujiko F. Fujio). An English manga volume was published in Japan as ''Q the Spook''. There are three

anime is hand-drawn and 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 Japanese, (a term derived from a shortening of ...

series adaptations of ''Obake no Q-Tarō''. The first was shown on the

Tokyo Broadcasting System formerly is a Japanese media and licensed broadcasting holding company. It is the parent company of the television network and radio network . It has a 28-affiliate television network called JNN (Japan News Network), as well as a 34-affili ...

(TBS) in black and white, and ran from 1965 to 1967. The second series, produced in color, ran from 1971 to 1972 on

Nippon TV JOAX-DTV (channel 4), branded as , is the flagship station of the Nippon News Network and the Nippon Television Network System, owned-and-operated by the which is a subsidiary of the certified broadcasting holding company , itself a listed su ...

. The third series ran from 1985 to 1987 on

TV Asahi JOEX-DTV (channel 5), branded as (also known as EX and and stylized as TV asahi), is a television station that is owned and operated by the subsidiary of certified broadcasting holding company , itself controlled by The Asahi Shimbun Comp ...

. The series was broadcast in the United States in the 1970s as Little Ghost Q-Taro, making it one of only two works by Fujiko F. Fujio to be localized in English.

Characters

* :Voiced by:

Machiko Soga was a Japanese actress and voice actress. She also performed by the stage name Stella Soga. Life and career Early life and family Machiko was born on March 18, 1938, in Hachioji, Tokyo, Japan. She had a humble upbringing and was raised to ...

(1965),

Junko Hori is a Japanese actress and voice actress represented by Production Baobab. She is known as the voice of the protagonists in 3 Fujiko Fujio works, ''Obake no Q-tarō'', ''Ninja Hattori-kun'', and '' Chimpui''. As a dub artist she is known for the ...

(1971), Fusako Amachi (1985) :The protagonist of the manga, Q-Tarō has a fear of dogs and cannot transform although he is an

. * :Voiced by: Kazue Tagami (1965), Yoshiko Ōta (1971), Katsue Miwa (1985) :A human friend of Q-tarō, Shōta Ōhara is an elementary school student. Q-Tarō calls him and Shota calls Q-Tarō . * :Voiced by:

Masako Nozawa is a Japanese actress, voice actress and narrator. Throughout her life, she has been affiliated with Production Baobab, 81 Produce and self-owned Office Nozawa; she is also affiliated with Aoni Production. Her late husband, Masaaki Tsukada, wa ...

(1965),

Sumiko Shirakawa was a Japanese actress and voice actress from Shibuya, Tokyo. She was best known for her roles in Sazae-san (as Hiroshi Nakajima), Doraemon (as Hidetoshi Dekisugi from 1980 to 2005) and Space Ace (as Ace). On November 26, 2015, Shirakawa faile ...

(1971),

Yū Mizushima is a Japanese actor, voice actor and narrator. He is the Japanese voice-over for Sammo Hung, and is the Japanese voice of Wakko. In the 1980s, He proved to be a popular choice for many Japanese animation studios for the roles of male heart-thro ...

(1985) :Shota's older brother. He is a middle school student. * :Voiced by: Hiroko Maruyama (1971),

Eiko Masuyama is a Japanese actress and narrator. She works for Aoni Production. She is most known for originating the roles of Fujiko Mine ('' Lupin III''), Honey Kisaragi ('' Cutie Honey''), and Bakabon's Mama ('' Tensai Bakabon''). Early life Eiko Masuya ...

(1985) :U-ko, a judoka, is Q-Tarō's girlfriend obake. * :Voiced by: Misae Kita (1965), Yoshiko Yamamoto (1971),

Fuyumi Shiraishi was a Japanese actress, voice actress and narrator. Career Fuyumi was previously affiliated with Aoni Production and after she left Aoni and joined Ken Production founded by the late Kenji Utsumi until the time of her death. Death Shiraishi di ...

(1985) :Doronpa is an American obake. Q-Tarō tends to have a rivalry towards him due to the fact that U-ko idolizes Doronpa's intelligence and he likes to annoy Q-Tarō because he is ''Japanese''. * :Voiced by: Yōko Mizugaki (1965), Kazuko Sawada (1971),

Yūko Mita is a Japanese actress and voice actress from Setagaya, Tokyo. She is known for playing gentle, sexy ''bishōjo'' (such as Akemi Roppongi in ''Maison Ikkoku'') as well as many roles of young boys. Her hobbies include tennis and skiing. She is em ...

(1985) :P-ko is Q-Tarō's younger sister. * :Voiced by: Makoto Kōsaka→

Reiko Katsura Voice acting in Japan is an industry where actors provide voice-overs as characters or narrators in media including anime, video games, audio dramas, commercials, and dubbing for non-Japanese films and television programs. In Japan, and ...

(1971),

Keiko Yokozawa , better known by the stage name , is a Japanese voice actress. She is most known for the roles of Dorami (''Doraemon''), Mami Sakura ('' Esper Mami''), Benio Hanamura ('' Haikara-san ga Tōru''), and Sheeta ('' Castle in the Sky''). Filmography ...

(1985) : O-jirō is Q-Tarō's younger brother. Although he can understand others' speech, he can only say "bakeratta." Only Q-Tarō understands what O-jirō says. * : Father of Q-Tarō, P-ko, and O-jirō. * : Mother of Q-Tarō, P-ko, and O-jirō. * :Voiced by:

Kaneta Kimotsuki was a Japanese actor and voice actor who was most known for the roles of Takeshi Goda before Suneo Honekawa in Fujiko F. Fujio's Doraemon. Career During his life he had been attached to TBS broadcast theater company and then Aoni Production ...

(1965/1971),

Hiroshi Takemura is a Japanese voice actor. He is an alumnus of the theatrical troupe Gekidan Baraza, which was directed by Nachi Nozawa. His hobbies include billiards, skiing, fishing and tennis. Takemura is employed by a talent management firm. Anime TV *''Aft ...

(1985) :Nickname:

Godzilla is a fictional monster, or '' kaiju'', originating from a series of Japanese films. The character first appeared in the 1954 film '' Godzilla'' and became a worldwide pop culture icon, appearing in various media, including 32 films prod ...

. A bully in Shota's class and neighborhood. * :Voiced by: ''Mitsuko Aso'' (1965),

(1971),

(1985),

Naoki Tatsuta is a Japanese voice actor affiliated with Aoni Production. He is most known for the roles of Buta Gorilla (Kiteretsu Daihyakka), Daima Jin (High School! Kimengumi), Oolong (Dragon Ball), Dr. Escargon ( Kirby: Right Back at Ya!), Ashibe's Fath ...

(1985, stand-in) :Shota's smart classmate. * :Voiced by: ''Unknown'' (1965), Kazuko Sawada (1971),

(1985) :Shota's rich classmate who kisses up to Godzilla. His name is also similar to the rich boy in Kaibutsu-kun * :Voiced by: Mariko Tsukai (1965),

Michiko Nomura is a Japanese actress and voice actress. Career Nomura was previously affiliated with Tokyo Actor's Consumer's Cooperative Society, then Aoni Production and now she is affiliated with Ken Production, an agency founded by the late Kenji Utsumi ...

(1971),

Sanae Miyuki is a Japanese voice actress known for voicing Botan of YuYu Hakusho. Her previous stage name was . Anime roles * ''Akuma-kun'' (Hyakume) * ''Bubblegum Crash'' (Street Kid (episode 2)) * '' Chimpui'' (Hotaru Fujino) * '' Crayon Shin-chan: Hender ...

(1985) :Shota's female classmate, always referred to as and U-ko lives with her * :Voiced by: ''Unknown'' (1965), ''Unknown'' (1971), Yoko Asagami (1985) :Shin'ichi's girlfriend. She is a middle school student, and P-ko lives with her * :Voiced by: Hiroshi Ōtake (1965), ''Akira Shimada'' (1971),

Shingo Hiromori Shingo can refer to: Religion *Shingon Buddhism Locations *Shingō, Okayama (神郷町), a town located in Atetsu District, Okayama Prefecture, Japan *Shingō, Aomori is a village located in Aomori Prefecture, Japan. , the village has an estima ...

(1985) :Ramen chief character, he also appears too as a ramen chief in

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 its 1,345 individual chapters compiled into 45 ''tankōbon'' volumes and ...

, he appears as a teacher in

Ninja Hattori-kun is a Japanese manga series written and illustrated by the Fujiko Fujio duo (and later by Fujiko A. Fujio) which was serialized between 1964 and 1988. It was later adapted into a television drama that aired on TV Asahi from 1966 ...

, he appears as a Michio's father in Ultra B * :Voiced by: Reizo Nomoto (1965) and (1971),

Shingo Kanemoto was a Japanese actor and voice actor originally from Fukuoka Prefecture. On February 24, 1991, he died of intra-axial hematoma at the age of 58. After his death, his ongoing roles went to Takeshi Watabe. Filmography *'' Space Battleship Yamato ...

(1985) :Ohara's neighbor and Doronpa lives with him. And he resembles from

Reception and impact

The popularity of the 1965 anime adaptation caused a cultural phenomenon called "Oba-Q boom" (オバQブーム ''Oba-Kyū būmu''), which made the series have an 30% audience rating, high popularity with children and spawn a variety of Toys, songs and clothes, as well a host of imitators. The reason of Q-Tarō's popularity was that the series was grounded in everyday Japanese life, with Q-Tarō questioning the structure of Japanese society and the comedic situations that occurred because of Q-Tarō misinterpreting it. '' Pac-Man'' creator

Toru Iwatani is a Japanese video game designer who spent much of his career working for Namco. He is best known as the creator of the arcade game ''Pac-Man'' (1980). Early life Iwatani was born in the Meguro ward of Tokyo, Japan on January 25, 1955. While ...

cited the series as inspiration for the designs of the Ghosts in the ''Pac-Man'' video game series. In the manga series ''

To Love Ru is a Japanese manga series written by Saki Hasemi and illustrated by Kentaro Yabuki. The manga was serialized in Shueisha's ''Weekly Shōnen Jump'' magazine from April 2006 to August 2009, and the chapters collected into 18 ''tank ...

'', the ghost character Shizu Murasame has a fear of dogs as an homage to ''Little Ghost Q-Taro''.

Notes

References

External links

*60s *70s *80s {{Shin-Ei Animation 1960s Japanese television series 1964 manga 1965 anime television series debuts 1971 anime television series debuts 1985 anime television series debuts Anime series based on manga Children's manga Comedy anime and manga CoroCoro Comic Fictional ghosts Fujiko Fujio Japanese comedy television series Nippon TV original programming Shin-Ei Animation Shogakukan manga Shogakukan franchises Shōnen manga Shunsuke Kikuchi TMS Entertainment TBS Television (Japan) original programming TV Asahi original programming