Mame-tan

Mame-tan and his mother, from chapter 1

**Mame-tan** (まめたん) is a childrens' gag manga by Fujio Akatsuka and Fujio Pro, which ran in both Shogakukan's Elementary School 1st Grade and Elementary School 2nd Grade magazines.

## Overview

Mame-tan is a much smaller-than-average young boy who can encounter perils, but can use his tiny size to also aid him in situations that occur within these 7-page full-color stories. Mid-series, the formula changes up some as the character of Guzu is added to the cast and his own antics take over.

The basic settings are often changed and reset at each ensuing school year (the April issues of the magazine) for children to easily follow along. Such differences include the disappearance of Mame-tan's cat to be replaced by Guzu, and alterations in Miyo-chan's design.

There is some usage of the Star System in some chapters, though most stories feature Mame-tan with his own usual supporting cast. Some aspects of Mame-tan's design, such as his "onion bulb" hairstyle, can get the series mistaken with Tamanegi Tama-chan or seen as a loosely inspired remake, although the world view and tone of Mame-tan's work are widely different from that previous one.

## Characters

### Mame-tan

Our protagonist. Just how exactly small he is may not be consistent in artwork, as his height seems to evolve over the course of the series (though his debut showed him to be able to bathe in a sink and to ride a toy car).

### Mama

The large mother of Mame-tan, a big, strong woman who is still actually quite average when comparing her size against her own son.

### Papa

Mame-tan's father, who works hard but can still get involved in situations when the plot requires it.

### Miyo-chan

A young girl who lives next door to Mame-tan and acts in the role of a best friend and girlfriend-type character.

She is initially depicted only slightly taller than him, but after art evolution she has a more matured design (and eventually resembles Hanako of The Flower of Kikuchiyo, or the two may be the same star at that point).

### Guzu

Mame-tan's mischievous one-eyed dog, who can cause trouble for the boy and others but can also save the day if necessary. He was modeled after Akatsuka's entertainer friend Tamori, as Tamori had lost sight in his right eye.

## Serialization

* Elementary School 1st Grade: April 1978-March 1982
* Elementary School 2nd Grade: April to August 1979

In all, there should be at least 53 chapters between runs: 48 in the 1st Grade run, and 5 in the 2nd Grade run. As originally published, none of the chapters really have titles applied to them and are simply known by the "Mame-tan" branding.

There also exists the separate "Mame-tan's Funny Book" special supplement that was published in the September 1978 issue of 1st Grade, containing its own stories and activities.

## Reprints

Two scattered chapters of Mame-tan were reprinted in the "1970s" volume of the Fujio Akatsuka Complete Works DVD-ROM set, but there has yet to ever be a full reprint of the series.

There have been cases, however, where fans may produce a "handmade tankobon" compiled of original pages from the magazines, but these are independently sold and not mass-produced owing to copyright matters.

## External Links

* "Mame-tan" write-up at the Fujio Akatsuka Preservation Society (Japanese)