# Magical Taruruto

Magical Taruruto (Japanese: まじかる☆タルるートくん, Hepburn: Majikaru Tarurūto-kun), also known as Magical Taluluto, is a Japanese manga series written and illustrated by Tatsuya Egawa. It was serialized in Shueisha's shōnen manga magazine Weekly Shōnen Jump from November 1988 to September 1992, with its chapters collected in 21 tankōbon volumes. The manga was published digitally in North America by Manga Planet in 2020.
An 87-episode anime television series adaptation animated by Toei Animation, was broadcast on TV Asahi from September 1990 to May 1992. Three feature anime films along with several video games based on the anime were released from 1991 to 1992.
By November 2020, the manga had over 12.6 million copies in circulation.

## Premise

In Tokyo, there lived an outcast fifth grader named Honmaru Edojo who is a naughty youngster and one of the most trodden-upon losers in his class. He is in love with a smart and pretty girl in his class named Iyona Kawai, but is frequently humiliated in front of her thanks to the school's bully, Jabao Jaba, his companion Korekiyo Ryouguchiya and Iyona's mean-spirited friend, Rui Ijigawa. After a bad day at school and since almost everyone in town hates him for who he is, his misery and negative emotions reach its peak and nearly took its toll on him until he accidentally summons the great wizard, Taruruto. Since becoming friends, Taruruto uses his magical powers to help Honmaru deal with all his hardships and other challenges. Later conflicts arise when new students like the narcissistic egotist Tsutomu Harako, and much later the troubled twins, Neeyo and Neezo Zakenja all transfer to Honmaru's school, all while the dark wizard Rivar attempts to eradicate Taruruto to divert the attention of fellow young wizard, Mimora, who is madly in love in Taruruto.

## Characters
### Main characters
#### Taruruto (タルるート, Tarurūto)

    Voiced by: Tarako
    A young self-proclaimed wizard accidentally summoned by Honmaru. He and Honmaru quickly become best friends and is often used by Honmaru to perform several deeds that allow him to get the upperhand in life. Despite the title he gives himself, his magic only lasts 10 minutes which often puts Honmaru in a bind, and that is assuming it does fall flat on their faces or produce some other unwarranted effect. He enjoys eating takoyaki above anything else.

#### Honmaru Edojo (江戸城 本丸, Edojō Honmaru)

    Voiced by: Minami Takayama
    A blue-haired 11 year old (later 12 years old) who is the perennial outcast of his town. He is often the target of bullying from his classmates, his academic and athletic skills are the worst in his school, and he has a tendency of being very perverted and being naughty. Because of this, the people in the city hate him for who he is and treat him as such. With the help of Taruruto's magic, he is able to be seen in a better light than he had been in the past, and gradually matures and finds his inner strength as hard trials and quests await him.

#### Iyona Kawai (河合 伊代菜, Kawai Iyona)

    Voiced by: Yumi Tōma
    An elegant and kindhearted daughter of a wealthy family who Honmaru is in love with. Though she has mature features for her age, she is around the same height as her peers, almost always dresses modestly, and has a pure, caring, and honest personality. Unlike Honmaru she is also very talented, getting the top grades in her class and being a skilled athlete. Like Honmaru, she sees Taruruto as a surrogate young brother and despite his flaws, she may have some secret feelings towards Honmaru.

### Supporting characters
#### Rui Ijigawa (伊知川 累, Ijigawa Rui)

    Voiced by: Kazuko Sugiyama
    Iyona's best friend, who is a cunning and mean-spirited prankster. Like Iyona, she has secret feelings for Honmaru, but hers are more overt. Despite that, she spends much of her time bullying and harassing Honmaru, the result of being rejected by him when they were younger.

#### Jabao Jaba (邪馬 じゃば夫)

    Voiced by: Yoku Shioya
    Honmaru's obese and ugly childhood bully whose grades are just as bad as his. Despite his weight, he is very muscular and has strong punches. He spends his time beating up Honmaru and often takes his anger out on him even when in the rare instances where he tries to help him. Over time, he becomes less dominant in power as new students keep overpowering him, which reveals his hidden cowardly nature. Despite his violent temper, he cares about his closest clasmates deep down.

#### Korekiyo Ryoguchiya (両口屋 是清, Ryōguchiya Korekiyo)

    Voiced by: Megumi Urawa
    A short-statured kid who acts as Jabao's sidekick. While Jabao has terrible grades, Korekiyo is a weakling with no money and is unpopular with girls. While he seems polite and proper at first glance, he is a smartmouth who often speaks in proverbs and idioms, often taking shots on Honmaru. In the anime, he always serves as the commentator for any sporting events.

#### Mari Oaya (大綾 真理, Ōaya Mari)

    Voiced by: Hiromi Tsuru
    A young and strong-willed teacher who is the homeroom teacher of the main cast. While presenting herself as strict during school hours, she is infamous for using corporal punishment to discipline her students (whenever they break the school rules, act naughty and violate policies) and protégés. Despite this knowledge, she is a passionate and tomboyish lady who has extensive knowledge on sports and jumps at the opportunity for her and her students to compete in some new game. At home, she is laid back and often seen cooking and exercising.

#### Tsutomu Harako (原子 力, Harako Tsutomu)

    Voiced by: Ryō Horikawa
    A wealthy transfer student who thinks highly of himself. He is very tall, and has such a mature and developed physique and face that he is often mistaken for an adult. He often boasts about being the junior champion of all sorts of challenges, whether they be genuine competitions or mundane and bizarre feats he clearly made up on the spot. He becomes Honmaru's main rival and bully throughout the series because of their mutual love for Iyona and because Harako is quick to challenge him to any competition.

#### Neyo Zakenja (座剣邪 寧代, Zakenja Nēyo)

    Voiced by: Mitsuko Horie
    A troubled delinquent girl who transfers to the main casts' classroom.

#### Nezo Zakenja (座剣邪 寧蔵, Zakenja Nēzō)

    Voiced by: Hirotaka Suzuoki
    Neyo's twin brother who also transferred to their school, but has a different homeroom. He eventually becomes Honmaru's ultimate rival and bully.

#### Shogunnosuke Edojo (江戸城 将軍之介, Edojō Shogunnosuke)

    Voiced by: Hideyuki Hori
    Honmaru's hot-blooded father who is a picture book artist.

#### Chizuru Edojo (江戸城 千鶴, Edojō Chizuru)

    Voiced by: Chieko Honda
    Honmaru's kind and friendly mother who married Shogunnosuke at a young age.

#### Matsugoro Naniwa (浪速 松五郎, Naniwa Matsugorō)

    Voiced by: Takeshi Aono
    A takoyaki chef from Osaka who is in love with Mari Oaya.

#### Tamamie (玉みえ)

    Voiced by: Hinako Yoshino [ja]
    The crystal ball that Taruruto wears around his neck.

#### Ria Kinakamo (りあ・キナカーモ, Ria Kinakāmo)

    Voiced by: Yuriko Yamamoto
    Taruruto's older sister who comes to Earth to search for Taruruto. She lets him stay and decides to hang around for herself.

#### Mimora (ミモラ)

    Voiced by: Kumiko Nishihara
    Taruruto's self-proclaimed love-interest who gets jealous of anyone who becomes close to him.

#### Niruru (にるる)

    Voiced by: Mayumi Seto [ja]
    A strange creature who is like a pet to Taruruto. It has the ability to shapeshift into an exact replica of any living being.

#### Rivar (ライバー, Raibā)

    Voiced by: Teiyū Ichiryūsai
    An evil dark wizard who views himself as Taruruto's rival. He once tried to take advantage of Honmaru's negative emotions and use them as his power source and to be exact, brainwash him, but this backfires as Honmaru resists the negative emotions himself.

## Media
### Manga

Written and illustrated by Tatsuya Egawa, Magical Taruruto was serialized in Shueisha's shōnen manga magazine Weekly Shōnen Jump from November 14, 1988, to September 21, 1992. Shueisha collected its chapters in 21 tankōbon volumes, released from July 15, 1989, to March 9, 1993.
In July 2020, Manga Planet announced that they had licensed the series for an English digital release on its platform, starting on August 7 of that same year.

### Anime

An 87-episode anime television series adaptation, produced by Asahi Broadcasting Corporation, Asatsu and Toei Animation, was broadcast on ABC, TV Asahi and other stations from September 2, 1990, to May 10, 1992.

#### Films

Three anime films were released. The first one premiered on March 9, 1991; the second one, Magical Taluluto: Magic Battle of the Friendship (まじかる★タルるートくん 燃えろ!友情の魔法大戦, Magical Taruruto-kun Moero! Yūjō no Mahō Taisen), premiered on July 20 of that same year; and the third one, Magical Taluluto: My Favorite Takoyaki (まじかる★タルるートくん すき・すき▼*タコ焼きっ!, Magical Taruruto-kun Suki Suki Hot Takoyaki) premiered on March 7, 1992.

### Video games

During the series' run, multiple video games based on the Magical Taruruto series were released in the early 1990s. These include games for the Famicom, Super Famicom, Game Boy, Mega Drive, and Game Gear.
The series was also represented in some cross-over games like Famicom Jump II: Saikyō no Shichinin, and Cult Jump.
| Title | Details |
| Magical Taruruto-kun: Fantastic World!! Original release date(s): JP: March 21, 1991 | Release years by system: 1991—Family Computer |
| Magical Taruruto-kun: Fantastic World!! Original release date(s): JP: March 21, 1991 | Notes: Published by Bandai. |
| Magical Taruruto-kun Original release date(s): JP: June 15, 1991 | Release years by system: 1991—Game Boy |
| Magical Taruruto-kun Original release date(s): JP: June 15, 1991 | Notes: Published by Bandai. |
| Magical Taruruto-kun Original release date(s): JP: July 5, 1991 | Release years by system: 1991—Game Gear |
| Magical Taruruto-kun Original release date(s): JP: July 5, 1991 | Notes: Published by Tsukuda Ideal. |
| Magical Taruruto-kun: Magic Adventure Original release date(s): JP: March 28, 1992 | Release years by system: 1992—Super Famicom |
| Magical Taruruto-kun: Magic Adventure Original release date(s): JP: March 28, 1992 | Notes: Published by Bandai. |
| Magical Taruruto-kun Original release date(s): JP: April 24, 1992 | Release years by system: 1992—Mega Drive |
| Magical Taruruto-kun Original release date(s): JP: April 24, 1992 | Notes: Developed by Game Freak. Published by Sega. Directed by Ken Sugimori; Produced by Satoshi Tajiri; Music and sounds by Junichi Masuda. |
| Magical Taruruto-kun 2: Mahō Daibouken Original release date(s): JP: June 19, 1992 | Release years by system: 1992—Family Computer |
| Magical Taruruto-kun 2: Mahō Daibouken Original release date(s): JP: June 19, 1992 | Notes: Published by Bandai. |
| Magical Taruruto-kun 2: Rivar Zone Panic!! Original release date(s): JP: July 10, 1992 | Release years by system: 1992—Game Boy |
| Magical Taruruto-kun 2: Rivar Zone Panic!! Original release date(s): JP: July 10, 1992 | Notes: Published by Bandai. |

## Reception

By November 2020, the manga had over 12.6 million copies in circulation.