is a Japanese

comedy Comedy is a genre of dramatic works intended to be humorous or amusing by inducing laughter, especially in theatre, film, stand-up comedy, television, radio, books, or any other entertainment medium. Origins Comedy originated in ancient Greec ...

manga 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 history in earlier Japanese art. The term is used in Japan to refer to both comics ...

series written by

Fujio Akatsuka was a Japanese manga artist. Known as the Master of Gag Manga, he created many popular manga such as ''Osomatsu-kun'', ''Himitsu no Akko-chan'', and ''Tensai Bakabon''. Biography He was born in Rehe Province, Rehe, Manchuria, the son of a Ke ...

. It was serialized from 1967 to 1970 in ''

Weekly Shōnen Sunday is a weekly manga magazine published in Japan by Shogakukan since March 1959. Contrary to its title, ''Weekly Shōnen Sunday'' issues are released on Wednesdays. ''Weekly Shōnen Sunday'' has sold over 1.8billion copies since 1986, making it ...

''. Two

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 ...

television adaptations were produced by Toei Doga (now known as Toei Animation), and aired by

TV Asahi JOEX-DTV (channel 5), branded as , and better known as , is a Japanese television station serving the Kanto region as the flagship station of the All-Nippon News Network. It is owned-and-operated by the a subsidiary of , itself controlled by ...

(then called ''NET TV''). Anime has 90 and 34 episodes.

Plot

The plot revolves around a young edokko named Atarō who lives with his father X-gorō (read as ''Batsu''-gorō) in downtown

Tokyo Tokyo, officially the Tokyo Metropolis, is the capital of Japan, capital and List of cities in Japan, most populous city in Japan. With a population of over 14 million in the city proper in 2023, it is List of largest cities, one of the most ...

running the family store. After his father's sudden death, Atarō must take care of the store himself and, along with the help of his father's ghost, his friend Dekoppachi, former

yakuza , also known as , are members of transnational organized crime syndicates originating in Japan. The Japanese police and media (by request of the police) call them , while the yakuza call themselves . The English equivalent for the term ''yak ...

leader Butamatsu, and a nutty alley cat named Nyarome, he protects it from the tanuki-faced gang leader Kokoro Boss.

Cast

Atarō (ア太郎) (Voice: Keiko Yamamoto (1st); Tomoko Maruo (2nd)) The initial main character of the series, Ataro is a 10 year old boy who runs a vegetable store in

with his father. He is serious and hard working but also sensitive. X-gorō (×五郎) (Voice: Ichirō Nagai (1st); Sanji Hase (2nd)) Ataro's father. He is killed when he falls out of a tree while trying to retrieve a young kids balloon. Because of the way his name is spelt, he could not enter heaven and was allowed back down to earth. However, since his body was cremated, he is stuck on earth as a ghost that only Ataro can see. Nyarome (ニャロメ) (Voice: Hiroshi Ōtake (1st); Akira Kamiya (2nd)) An alley cat who walks on two legs and can speak like a human. He is stubborn and mischievous, and often hits on human women. Dekoppachi (デコッ八) (Voice: Midori Katō (1st); Kyōko Tongū (2nd)) A 10 year old boy and Ataro's best friend. Dekoppachi has a short temper and a strong sense of justice. He was named by a reader. Butamatsu (ブタ松) (Voice: Kōsei Tomita (1st); Yō Yoshimura (2nd)) A former Yakuza leader who leads a gang of pigs. Kokoro Boss (ココロのボス) (Voice:

Jōji Yanami was a Japanese actor, Voice acting in Japan, voice actor and narrator who was affiliated with Aoni Production. Some of his major voice roles included the ''Dragon Ball'' anime series, which he narrated and voiced Dr. Briefs, Kaiō-sama ( King ...

(both series)) An unusual man. Whether he is a tanuki or a human is unknown. Kopun A (コプンA) (Voice: Keiichi Noda (1st); Toshio Kobayashi (2nd)) One of Kokoro Boss's henchmen. He is the taller one of the two. Kopun B (コプンB) (Voice: Isamu Tanonaka (1st); Shinobu Satōchi (2nd)) One of Kokoro Boss's henchmen. He is the shorter one of the two God (神様) (Voice: Takuzō Kamiyama (1st); Isamu Tanonaka (2nd)) God's Pupil (Voice: Masako Nozawa (1st); Mie Suzuki (2nd)) Kumagorō (Voice: Yonehiko Kitagawa (1st); Masaharu Satō (2nd)) Kumagorō's wife (Voice: Mariko Tsuda (1st); Noriko Uemura (2nd)) Kemunpas (ケムンパス) (Voice: Keiichi Noda (1st);

Keiichi Nanba is a Japanese actor, voice actor, and narrator currently affiliated with Fujiga Office Inc. He is married to fellow voice actress Mayumi Shō. Filmography Anime * '' Persia, the Magic Fairy'' (1984) (Gaku Muroi) * '' Alpen Rose'' (1985) (Lundi ...

(2nd)) A young caterpillar who is friends with Nyarome and Beshi. He is often used where a caterpillar may be needed, to dispense some commentary or advice or just crawl about. Beshi (べし) (Voice: Kōsei Tomita (1st); Kōzō Shioya (2nd)) A frog offering exposition or hanging out with Nyarome and Kemunpas. Doctor Fukuwarai (Voice: Kiyoshi Kobayashi (2nd only)) A doctor with an unusual face consisting of a wrinkled mouth and sagging eyes. He uses saws and other heavy tools in his surgery and considers his work to be artistic, as he can expertly re-arrange faces and bodies to mind-boggling results. Momoko (Voice: Aya Hisakawa (2nd only)) *

Kōban A is a small neighborhood police station found in Japan. The term also refers to the smallest organizational unit in a modern Law enforcement in Japan, Japanese prefectural police force. Small kōban buildings, staffed by uniformed officers at ...

Officer (Voice: Kazumi Tanaka (2nd only))

Cameos

The first anime featured cameo appearances by several characters from other Akatsuka works. *Iyami (''

Osomatsu-kun is a comedy manga series by Fujio Akatsuka which ran in Shogakukan's ''Weekly Shōnen Sunday'' magazine from 1962 to 1969. The series revolves around a group of sextuplet brothers who cause all sorts of mischief. It has been adapted in ...

'') (Voice: Yonehiko Kitagawa) *Chibita (''Osomatsu-kun'') (Voice: Kazue Tagami, Masako Nozawa) *Totoko (''Osomatsu-kun'') (Voice:

Kazuko Sugiyama , known by her stage name , is a Japanese actress and Voice acting in Japan, voice actress who was born in Nagoya and works for Aoni Production. In February 2010, she received a "Merit Award" from the 4th Seiyu Awards. Filmography Anime *Hanak ...

) *Dekapan (''Osomatsu-kun'') *Hatabo (''Osomatsu-kun'') *Matsuzo (''Osomatsu-kun'') *Matsuyo (''Osomatsu-kun'') *Hagechibi (''Osomatsu-kun'') *Honkan-san ('' Tensai Bakabon'') (Voice: Isamu Tanonaka, Keiichi Noda, and others) *Bakabon no Papa (''Tensai Bakabon'') (Voice: Jōji Yanami) *Rerere (''Tensai Bakabon'')

References

External links

''Mōretsu Atarō''
at Kore de ii noda (

database) * * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Moretsu Ataro 1967 manga 1970 comics endings 1969 anime television series debuts 1970 Japanese television series endings 1990 anime television series debuts 1990 Japanese television series endings Comedy anime and manga Fujio Akatsuka Shōnen manga Toei Animation television TV Asahi original programming Toei Animation films