Ohana-chan

Cover to the Akebono "Complete Works" volume.

**Ohana-chan** (おハナちゃん) was a shōjo manga serial by Fujio Akatsuka, that ran in Kodansha's *Shōjo Club* magazine.

## Overview

In January 1959, after the success of Nama-chan in Akita Shoten's *Manga King*, the *Shōjo Club* editor Akira Maruyama requested a feature from Fujio Akatsuka for his magazine. As with Nama-chan, Shotaro Ishimori proved helpful to Akatsuka in suggesting the title and the heroine's name.

Through a short series of one-shots featuring Ohana and her adventures, the setting for the series began to be formed: Ohana would be a wild, creative little girl to contrast her serious mother, and the two would experience various situations in and outside their home.

The main feature itself would contain comedic and surreal elements that would carry over into further works for children, and provide a level of inspiration for Chibita as well from its young protagonist (though Kantaro already formed the prototype and a visual basis for the boy). Ohana would also gain an even more mischievous friend named Chikako.

As a "ribbon heroine", her series falls after that of Matsuge-chan, making her the second, and then followed closely by Oh Ma-chan and then Happy-chan.

## Characters

Some early prototypes of other Akatsuka characters can be seen in the series, including the children Ijiko and Ijitaro of The Mean Family.

Gomi-ojisan from the short-lived Tunnel Team also shows up in a cameo, being re-used for a similar purpose as a beggar salesman.

### Ohana

A sweet but lazy and gluttonous child who's up for getting into mischief. She is very fashionable and wishes to be just like her mother when grown up. In the first story, she has short hair with no hair decorations, making her practically unrecognizable to her settled design.

In the second story and on, she has long hair and wears an oversized bow similar to that of her cousin from the pilot. Mid-way through the first year of serialization, Ohana's hair shortens and gets wilder compared to how it was seen within the later one-shots and those first few chapters. Her style of bow was also changed between the original one-shots and series.

### Mama

Ohana's wise, responsible mother who takes care of her and has to sort out the trouble that her daughter may cause.

### Papa

Ohana's father, who only appears in the original pilot one-shot and did not make the cut to any of the later stories. He and Ohana-chan's relatives are that example of early installment weirdness, to where their very initial existence is surprising when comparing to the series itself.

### Chikako

Ohana's friend and rival. She is recognizable by her blunt bob-cut and her large glasses. She tags along with Ohana, but winds up the butt of a joke sometimes and especially around her strict mother.

After this feature ceased, Chikako would wind up recycled for Akatsuka's next major work Akko-chan's Got a Secret!, making a cameo in the first chapter and appearing in a sporadic supporting role afterwards. She would become an indispensable part of his Star System in the 1960s, making guest or recurring appearances in Osomatsu-kun, Otasuke-kun, and other titles. Although Ohana herself may not be as remembered, her co-star has managed to be an active character.

### Yacchan

Ohana-chan's older cousin, a key figure in the pilot one-shot. She has long hair and an oversized hairbow, and looks rather similar to a much younger Iko-chan of Mimi and Iko-chan, which was released in the same interval (or of course, a younger recycling of Misuzu from Mother's Song).

## Serialization

The *Ohana-chan* feature would first appear as a series of periodical one-shots in the magazine, in January, April, July, and November 1959. The first chapter would be part of the "New Years'" special issue, while the others were relegated to appearing in the separate appendix booklets.

After these were finished, the feature wound up popular enough to be extended to a monthly serial that ran through January 1960 to March 1962. For this reason (and the lack of reprints for the 1959 stories), it is often considered to be a 1960s work of Akatsuka, than being counted as part of the late 1950s. It was succeeded in the magazine by the three-part story of Yuki's Blue Eyes.

During its time, the one-shots Mama Knows the Whole Story After All and Gathered in the Living Room were published in special New Years' editions of *Shojo Club* for 1961 and 1962, making it possible to see other Akatsuka works within the magazine besides *Ohana-chan*.

Counting the early one-shots and the January 15, 1960 extra number issue of *Shojo Club*, there are at least 32 chapters of the series in existence. In reprints, the frontispieces are often removed and smaller illustrations are instead substituted, and the final "next issue" teasers or readers' corner pieces are also absent.

These are the stories, one-shots included, that comprise the run:

1. **"Ohana-chan Has Come"** (おハナちゃんがやってきた, New Years' extra number for January 1959)- *unreprinted*
2. **"The Story of the Magic Ink"** (マジックインキの話, April 1959)- *unreprinted*
3. **"Handbag Story**" and **"Ohana-chan and a Flower"** (ハンドバッグのまき・おハナちゃんとお花, July 1959)- *unreprinted*
4. **"Autumn"** and **"Leaves"** (秋・かれ葉, November 1959)- *unreprinted*
5. **"New Years' Eve and Moonwatching"** (お年玉と月の裏側, January 1960)- *unreprinted, debut as series*
6. **"Gum and an Indian"** (ガムとインド人, New Years' extra number for January 1960)- *unreprinted*
7. **"I Drank Soap"** (せっけんを飲んじゃった, February 1960) - *unreprinted*
8. **"A Plum Tree and Pickled Plums"** (梅の木と梅干し, March 1960)- *unreprinted*
9. **"A Birthday on April Fools' Day"** (エイプリルフールは誕生日, April 1960)- Appears in the "Shojo Manga-ka Fujio Akatsuka" anthology for the first time since its original publication.
10. **"See You Again, Burglars!!"** (どろぼうさんまたどうぞ！！, May 1960)- Twelfth chapter in Akebono volume.
11. **"Let's Go Hiking"** (ハイキングへ行こう, June 1960)- *unreprinted*
12. **"Beauty is Good"** (美人はつらいね, July 1960)- Nineteenth chapter in Akebono volume.
13. **"A Maid Thief"** (おてつだいどろぼうさん, August 1960)- Sixteenth chapter in Akebono volume.
14. **"I am a Transistor Girl"** (わたしはトランジスタガール, September 1960)- Fifteenth chapter in Akebono volume.
15. **"A Silent Part-Time Job"** (なき声アルバイト, October 1960)- First chapter in Akebono volume.
16. **"The Olympics and Ohana-chan"** (オリンピックとおハナちゃん, November 1960) - *unreprinted*
17. **"Christmas Eve"** (クルスマシイブ, December 1960)- *unreprinted*
18. **"I Can Translate English!"** (英語の通訳ができるのよ！, January 1961)- Sixth chapter in Akebono volume.
19. **"Mom's Nostalgia for Karate"** (ママのはカラテのもうれんしゅう, February 1961)- Seventh chapter in Akebono volume.
20. **"Who Made this Doll"** (だれがつくったおひなさま, March 1961)- Tenth chapter in Akebono volume.
21. **"Full of Perfume"** (香水がいっぱい, April 1961)- Eleventh chapter in Akebono volume.
22. **"A Baby That's Like Kashiwamochi"** (かしわもちになった赤ちゃん, May 1961)- Thirteenth chapter in Akebono volume.
23. **"Showing Off Our Teeth"** (むし歯のむしぼし, June 1961)- Fourteenth chapter in Akebono volume.
24. **"The Greediness of Chika-chan"** (いやしんぼのチカちゃん, July 1961)- Seventeenth chapter in Akebono volume.
25. **"A Fireworks Display at Home"** (うちでも花火大会, August 1961)- *unreprinted*
26. "**A Ghost and a Good Friend"** (おばけとなかよし, September 1961)- Eighteenth chapter in Akebono volume.
27. **"Please Take Care of Yourself"** (あかいはっぱをどうぞ, October 1961)- Second chapter in Akebono volume.
28. **"How About a Beggar?"** (こじきはいかが？, November 1961)- Third chapter in Akebono volume.
29. **"A Wonderful Kimono"** (すてきな着物でしょ, December 1961)- Fourth chapter in Akebono volume.
30. **"Chika-chan Drank the Otoso"** (おトソをのんだおチカちゃん, January 1962)- Fifth chapter in Akebono volume.
31. **"Don't Bully Oni-san"** (オニさんをいじめないで, February 1962)- Eighth chapter in Akebono volume.
32. **"I Don't Have to Speak!"** (くちをきいてはいけません！, March 1962)- Ninth chapter in Akebono volume.

## Reprints

* Akebono: 1 volume (1968), 19 chapters reprinted. Oh Ma-chan and Okazu-chan are reprinted as extra content.
* Shogakukan: Akebono volume digitized for the Fujio Akatsuka DVD-ROM set (2002)

The series has yet to receive a full release or eBook edition.

## External Links

* "Ohana-chan" write-up at the Akatsuka Preservation Society (Japanese)