Onigiri

Onigiri (Also known as Riceballs in the US) is a Japanese Entertainment, Merchandising and Media Franchise based on the 1951-2001 Manga series created by Waku Yaniko and published by Takara (later Onigiri Productions). The first anime series based on Onigirl, Nao and Toro (Nao to Toro) aired on Tokyo Channel 12 from 1977-1989 alongside 2 American show The Nao and Toro Show and Riceballs. The Onigiri and Riceballs names are rarely seen in any promotional markets due to Waku hating the names, considering them "the worst name for a franchise".
==Plot==
This anime centers around 14 9 year old children and Toro, Pino, Nekī and Nobaya, Nao, Zuro, Taka, Tingo, Tongo, Mike, Kanto, Tarako, Yuna, Maruko, Tama, Hata, Kana and Wanda as they go through their daily lives with no adults to be seen or heard.
== Cast==
=== Nao and Toro ===
Junko Hori: Nao
Noriko Ohara: Zuro
Masako Nozawa: Taka
Michie Tomizawa: Tingo
Taeko Kawata: Tongo
Haco: Mike
Keiko Toda: Kanto
Tarako: Tarako
Sakiko Tamagawa: Yuna
Sanae Kobiyashi: Maruko
Masako Katsuki: Tama
Yūko Mita: Hata
Fumi Hirano: Kana
Reiko Hayama: Wanda
Kaneta Kimotsuki: Toro
Kazue Takahashi: Nekī
Sumiko Shirakawa: Nobaya
Katsuji Mori: Pino
== Trivia ==
* United Media (then US owner of the Onigiri (known as Riceballs) franchise) originally intended to do a crossover series with Charles Schulz's Peanuts titled Charlie Brown and Young Nao. While Waku and Charles were both pleased with this concept, they both chose not to greenlit this series.
Category:TV Tokyo