Omusubi-kun

**Omusubi-kun** (おむすびくん, "Rice Ball-kun") is a childrens' manga by Fujio Akatsuka and Fujio Pro, serialized in specials in Childrens' Light through 1987 to 1988.

## Overview

Omusubi-kun has short, child-geared gag stories, similar to its predecessors of Tamanegi Tama-chan and Kurikurikuri-chan. The protagonist, Omusubi, is a rice ball-headed boy living among other rice and food-themed characters in town.

In generating such content for the 1980s, Akatsuka and Fujio Pro would repurpose and redesign the *Tama-chan* characters of Tomato and Bokenasu to be starring as Omusubi's friends. Other characters from the Akatsuka Star System may also drop in, including Tama-chan himself in the first story.

## Characters

### Omusubi

The protagonist, an energetic but somewhat mischievous young boy. His mother looks like a standard human woman, but his rice ball-shaped head and nori seaweed-esque haircut make him stand out.

### Tomato

A friend of Omusubi, who is a pretty and taller girl with her hair patterned after the leaves to a tomato fruit. She is prominent in the first one-shot as well as in the "Fun Rice Exploration" booklet.

### Nasu

Another young girl, whose name is both a pun on nasu (eggplant) as well as "Nurse". She wears a nurse hat and carries around a first aid kit.

### Bokenasu

A foolish young boy that is another friend of Omusubi, appearing in "Fun Rice Exploration".

### The Vegetable Gang

Omusubi's nemeses who appear in the first one-shot. They are lead by Togarashi, and his sidekicks include Jaga (a *jagaimo*, potato), Ninjin (carrot), Niniku (garlic), Kyu (a cucumber), Kabo (a *kabocha*, pumpkin), Take (mushroom), and Cabbage. Tama-chan also appears in the gang, a little older since his days in his own series, and specifically fights Omusubi as a rival.

### Cream

A young girl appearing notably in the June 1988 story as Omusubi's girlfriend and princess of the Cake Kingdom. She is more humanoid in appearance, with a strawberries and cream-themed outfit. Her father doesn't approve of her seeing Omusubi, leading to the conflict of him sending out his bread henchmen to attack.

### Sushi Team

A group of young boys with rice and seafood for heads, who are rivals to Omusubi in baseball. Some members can later be seen to be his friends in the "Rice Club" in the Rice Exploration informational booklet.

Two members that differ from the rest are Mochi (a boy with a block of mochi for a head) and Senbei (a boy with a rice cracker for a head).

### Cake Kingdom Bad Guys

A trio of bread/pastry-themed men sent to attack Omusubi; **Kibou** **the Cookie**, **Pierre**, and **Black Bread Tyson**. Kibou has a sandwich cookie for a head/face, while Pierre has a baguette for his head.

Black Bread, the last and strongest, happens to be a parody of boxer Mike Tyson; his caricatured design also bears oversized lips and makes him visually controversial in being a black man made of "black" (dark wheat) bread.

## Serialization

* Childrens' Light: October 1987, June 1988, August 1988 (appendix story "Omusubi-kun's Fun Rice Exploration")

## Reprints

To date, the only portion of Omusubi-kun that has been reprinted would be its "Fun Rice Exploration" educational booklet. It was put as a special appendix feature in the May 2019 issue of Chagurin (formerly Childrens' Light), along with the announcement of the remade Tamanegi Tama-chan series by Katta Yoshi and Hiroki Kimura.