is a mascot character, created by Japanese

manga artist A manga artist, also known as a mangaka (), is a Cartoonist, comic artist who writes and/or illustrates manga. Most manga artists study at an art college or manga school or take on an apprenticeship with another artist before entering the indus ...

and produced by game goods company

Alchemist Alchemy (from the Arabic word , ) is an ancient branch of natural philosophy, a philosophical and protoscientific tradition that was historically practised in China, India, the Muslim world, and Europe. In its Western form, alchemy is first ...

. The name is a play on words: is a kind of

charcoal Charcoal is a lightweight black carbon residue produced by strongly heating wood (or other animal and plant materials) in minimal oxygen to remove all water and volatile constituents. In the traditional version of this pyrolysis process, ca ...

, which is mainly used for cooking. However, ''-tan'' is a

suffix In linguistics, a suffix is an affix which is placed after the stem of a word. Common examples are case endings, which indicate the grammatical case of nouns and adjectives, and verb endings, which form the conjugation of verbs. Suffixes can ca ...

created by the mispronunciation by young children of ''-san'', that led to the suffix -chan. Relating to this ''

dajare is a kind of comic Japanese word play, similar in spirit to a pun that relies on similarities in the pronunciation of words to create a simple joke. ''Dajare'' are popular in advertising. ''Dajare'' are also associated with , ''oyaji'' meanin ...

'', the main cast is the moe anthropomorphic representations of different types of charcoal. An

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

began airing in February 2006 that was produced by

Studio Deen is a Japanese animation studio founded in 1975 by former Sunrise producer Hiroshi Hasegawa, along with a team of ex-Sunrise animators. The studio owns three subsidiaries: Danny Donghua (), a Chinese sub-contracting studio; Megumi (め組), a di ...

Animax , stylized as ANIMAX in all caps, is a Japanese animation satellite television network, dedicated to broadcasting anime programming. Launched on July 1, 1998, Animax is the first 24-hour network in the world dedicated to anime.The Anime Biz' - ...

, who have also broadcast all episodes within respective networks across Southeast Asia, South Asia, East Asia, translating and dubbing the series into English and other languages. The anime is set in

Minabe, Wakayama 270px, Minabe Town Hall is a small town located in Hidaka District, Wakayama Prefecture in the Kansai region of Japan. , the town had an estimated population of 12,137 in 4725 households and a population density of 100 persons per km². The tota ...

, a location that is the largest producer of binchōtan charcoal in Japan.

Characters

; : : The main character in the anime. Binchō-tan is a young girl who lives by herself in an old house far from town and is always barefoot. As her name suggests, she often wears a piece of charcoal on her head. Each episode depicts a day in the life of Binchō-tan who needs to work in order to buy food and necessities. She is assumed to be an orphan because she lives by herself, refuses to answer

shopkeeper A shopkeeper is a retail merchant or tradesman; one who owns or operates a small store or shop. Generally, shop employees are not shopkeepers, but are often incorrectly referred to as such. At larger companies, a shopkeeper is usually referred t ...

s who ask where her mother is and keeps to her habits of greeting and farewelling herself when traveling. Based on the story she's a hardworking child but willing to do all kinds of jobs given to her, for instance like deodorizing shoes. She is able to change her size, and may have other, unspecified abilities. She also treasures clothing made by her grandmother, which becomes a plot point in one episode. Binchō-tan is initially a very lonely person. Her birthday is on May 7. ; : : Kunugi-tan, who is seen many times in the anime before meeting any of the other characters directly, is a rich girl living in a mansion with many servants. Kunugi-tan is still very lonely despite being surrounded by many older people as well as her school peers. Unable to adventure outside her home and school due to her father's strict instructions carried out by her butler, Kunugi-tan often stares into the distance blankly, as if yearning for a bit of freedom. Kunugi-tan takes a great deal of interest in Bincho-tan and attempts to become better acquainted with her. She is terrified of bugs--although she is sometimes depicted with a

stag beetle Stag beetles comprise the family Lucanidae. It has about 1,200 species of beetles in four subfamilies.Smith, A.B.T. (2006). A review of the family-group names for the superfamily Scarabaeoidea (Coleoptera) with corrections to nomenclature and a c ...

stuck to her dress. Kunugi-tan wears two pieces of what appears to be charcoal in her hair. Her name comes from the charcoal made from the

sawtooth oak ''Quercus acutissima'', the sawtooth oak, is an Asian species of oak native to China, Tibet, Korea, Japan, Taiwan, Siberia, Mongolia, Bangladesh, Philippines, Indonesia, Malaysia, India, Pakistan, Sri Lanka, Brunei, Indochina (Vietnam, Thailand, ...

tree. Her birthday is on April 1. ; : : Chiku-tan is an enthusiastic person who enjoys inventing things and helping others. Her hair is held with a piece of bamboo charcoal and the end moves when she has ideas, usually during problems. The viewer sees that like Binchō-tan, Chiku-tan also lives far from town in an old house but lives with others, her younger sister, Chiku-rin and her grandfather. She is afraid of

ghost In folklore, a ghost is the soul or Spirit (supernatural entity), spirit of a dead Human, person or non-human animal that is believed by some people to be able to appear to the living. In ghostlore, descriptions of ghosts vary widely, from a ...

s. Chiku-tan often takes on jobs like Binchō-tan and after meeting, they quickly became friends. Chiku and Binchō also begin raising a dog together. She is named after takesumi; bamboo charcoal, as chikurin means 'bamboo grove'. Her birthday is on August 24. ; : : Chiku-tan's younger sister. Chiku-rin often mimics Chiku-tan, but is unable to talk fluently due to her age. Her birthday is on August 6. ; : : Aroe is a young girl whose hair is made of

Aloe ''Aloe'' (; also written ''Aloë'') is a genus containing over 650 species of flowering plant, flowering succulent plant, succulent plants.WFO (2022): Aloe L. Published on the Internet;http://www.worldfloraonline.org/taxon/wfo-4000001341. Acc ...

, which does not benefit her as she often requires water. Aroe does not often make direct contact with the other characters in the anime and her appearances are often a side story--although she encounters them at the festival, and at the final scene of the final episode. Aroe's aloe-made hair bursts many of her vinyl wading pools due to its sharpness. Aroe is often seen throughout the series in a dizzy state, sometimes due to needing water and on other occasions due to misfortune. Her birthday is on June 15. ; : : It is explained during the story that Ren-tan is a

miko A , or shrine maiden,Groemer, 28. is a young priestess who works at a Shinto shrine. were once likely seen as Shamanism, shamans,Picken, 140. but are understood in modern Japanese culture to be an institutionalized role in daily life, trained ...

and as such enjoys playing a mokugyo and communicating with spirits. When Ren-tan summons spirits, they often approach Chiku-tan, much to her dismay. She lives at a

Buddhist Buddhism, also known as Buddhadharma and Dharmavinaya, is an Indian religion and List of philosophies, philosophical tradition based on Pre-sectarian Buddhism, teachings attributed to the Buddha, a wandering teacher who lived in the 6th or ...

temple with her grandparents and enjoys eating

dango is a Japanese dumpling made with regular rice flour and glutinous rice flour. They are usually made in round shapes, and three to five pieces are served on a skewer, which is called . The pieces are eaten with sugar, syrup, red bean paste, a ...

. She has amazing luck and always wins raffles. On occasion she also wears a pair of glasses Chiku-tan gave to her after helping her with a raffle. Ren-tan means a charcoal

briquette A briquette (; also spelled briquet) is a compressed block of coal dust or other combustible biomass material (e.g. charcoal, sawdust, wood chips, peat, or paper) used for fuel and kindling to start a combustion, fire. The term is a diminutive der ...

, the use of which in several famous suicide pacts implies a connection with the netherworld. Her birthday is on February 10. ; : : Kunugi-tan's elder maternal cousin. Her birthday is on March 30. ; : : Kunugi-tan's household

butler A butler is a person who works in a house serving and is a domestic worker in a large household. In great houses, the household is sometimes divided into departments, with the butler in charge of the dining room, wine cellar, and pantries, pantr ...

. ; : : Kunugi-tan's father. He has

acrophobia Acrophobia, also known as hypsophobia, is an extreme or irrational fear or phobia of heights, especially when one is not particularly high up. It belongs to a category of specific phobias, called space and motion discomfort, that share similar ...

(a fear of heights). ; : : Binchō-tan's favorite character in a television show she watches. He appears on merchandise in one of the town's shops. ; : ; : : Aroe's mother. ; : Aroe's father. ; : A Japanese breed of

dog The dog (''Canis familiaris'' or ''Canis lupus familiaris'') is a domesticated descendant of the gray wolf. Also called the domestic dog, it was selectively bred from a population of wolves during the Late Pleistocene by hunter-gatherers. ...

called Kishu. He was adopted by Bincho-tan after he followed her to her house in the woods, after she gave him some food from a shop in the town. He was apparently a stray, as he had no collar when Bincho met him. He was given a collar made with one of the large nuts seen in the series. He was also given a kennel, made with one of Chiku-tan's inventions after it broke and failed to serve its intended purpose. After giving him a collar, Bincho decided to name him Saji, which, according to her means 'trifle'. Bincho explains to Kunugi, who was present with her at the time, that she chose 'Saji' because the dog had apparently been abandoned, as though it was just "a trifle". ; : Binchou-tan's mysterious benefactor. Sends her presents on her birthday and on New Year's Eve. His name comes from the oak tree which binchouzumi coal is made. ; :

Media

Manga

* ''Binchō-tan'' Vol.1 (Limited edition:) - February 26, 2006 * ''Binchō-tan'' Vol.2 (Limited edition:) - March 30, 2007

Anime

Nine episodes out of twelve episodes were aired without ending theme on TBS and

BS-i is a Japanese satellite broadcasting station headquartered in Akasaka Gochome, Minato, Tokyo. Its channel name is BS-TBS (formerly, BS-i). Channels *Television: BS-TBS is assigned BS161ch - 163ch. *Radio: BS-i had been assigned 461ch, 462c ...

MBS MBS may refer for: People * Mohammed Ben Sulayem (born 1961), president of the Fédération Internationale de l'Automobile * Mohammed bin Salman (born 1985), crown prince and prime minister of Saudi Arabia * Mohan Bikram Singh (born 1935), Nepales ...

Kansai The or the lies in the southern-central region of Japan's main island Honshū. The region includes the prefectures of Nara, Wakayama, Kyoto, Osaka, Hyōgo and Shiga, often also Mie, sometimes Fukui, Tokushima and Tottori. The metropoli ...

broadcast all episodes with ending theme. Incidentally,

Wakayama Wakayama may refer to: * Wakayama Prefecture, a prefecture of Japan * Wakayama (city), the capital city of Wakayama Prefecture, Japan * Wakayama Station, a train station in Wakayama, Wakayama * Wakayama University, a national university in Wakayama, ...

in Kansai is famous for the production of

binchōtan ''Binchō-tan'' (, ), also called white charcoal or ''binchō-zumi,'' is a type of high-quality charcoal traditionally used in Japanese cooking. Its use dates back to the Edo period when during the Genroku era, a craftsman named Bichū-ya Ch� ...

and Binchō-tan is the

mascot A mascot is any human, animal, or object thought to bring luck, or anything used to represent a group with a common public identity, such as a school, sports team, university society, society, military unit, or brand, brand name. Mascots are als ...

of operated by Minabegawa Forestry Society in

Music

The soundtrack of this animation includes the instrument

Ondes Martenot The ondes Martenot ( ; , ) or ondes musicales () is an early electronic musical instrument. It is played with a lateral-vibrato Keyboard instrument, keyboard or by moving a ring tied to a wire, creating "wavering" sounds similar to a theremin. D ...

. ;Opening theme * : Eps. 01 - 12 *: Lyrics and composition by: rino *: Arrangement by: Kaoru Okubo *: Performed by:

CooRie CooRie is a self-produced Japanese music unit by singer-songwriter Rino that performs songs for anime and games. CooRie used to be a two-person unit when it debuted in 2003, with Rino doing the lyrics and vocals and doing the music compositions ...

;Ending theme * "Bincho Ondo" (びんちょう音頭) : Eps. 01 - 12 *: Lyrics by: Takahito Ekusa *: Composition by: Seiya Imakawa(LOOPCUBE) *: Arrangement by: Yūjirō Okazaki *: Performed by:

Mai Kadowaki is a Japanese voice actress and singer from Tokyo, Japan. She was previously known as 門脇舞 (pronunciation identical). Biography She is popular as a radio actress who wears glasses. She is also known for portraying meganekko characters on ...

DVD Releases

* Bincho-tan Vol.1 - May 26, 2006 * Bincho-tan Vol.2 - June 23, 2006 * Bincho-tan Vol.3 - July 28, 2006

Audio CDs

* - February 8, 2006 * - February 24, 2006 * Soundtrack - March 24, 2006 * Characters' CD ** Bincho-tan Character CD Vol.1 - November 25, 2005 ** Bincho-tan Character CD Vol.2 - December 22, 2005 * Drama CD ** Bincho-tan Drama CD Vol.1 - January 25, 2006 ** Bincho-tan Drama CD Vol.2 - February 24, 2006 ** Bincho-tan Drama CD Vol.3 - March 24, 2006

Book

* Guide book () - January 26, 2006

Video game

The for

PlayStation 2 The PlayStation 2 (PS2) is a home video game console developed and marketed by Sony Interactive Entertainment, Sony Computer Entertainment. It was first released in Japan on 4 March 2000, in North America on 26 October, in Europe on 24 Novembe ...

and its limited edition were released by

Marvelous Interactive (MMV) was a multinational corporation that produced animation, music, video games and television series. MMV is known for its involvement in the ''Story of Seasons'' series. They merged with AQ Interactive in 2011 and became Marvelous AQL; ...

on April 26, 2007.

References

External links

Takahito Ekusa's website

Official website (Alchemist)

Anime official website

Official website for video game (Marvelous Interactive)
* {{DEFAULTSORT:Bincho-Tan (Manga) 2003 manga 2006 anime television series debuts 2007 video games IG Port franchises Japan-exclusive video games Mag Garden manga Mainichi Broadcasting System original programming Marvelous Entertainment Moe anthropomorphism PlayStation 2 games PlayStation 2-only games Seinen manga Studio Deen TBS Television (Japan) original programming Television shows set in Wakayama Prefecture Video games developed in Japan