Chibi Maruko-chan

***Chibi Maruko-chan*** (Japanese: ちびまる子ちゃん, "Little Maruko-chan") is a manga series written and illustrated by Momoko Sakura. The series depicts the simple, everyday life of Momoko Sakura, a young girl everyone calls *Maruko*, and her family in suburban Japan in the year 1974. Maruko is a troublemaker, and every episode recounts Maruko's trouble and how she and her friends succeed in solving the situation. The series is set in the former of Irie District (入江町), Shimizu, now part of Shizuoka City, birthplace of its author.

The first story under the title "Chibi Maruko-chan" was published in the August 1986 edition of the manga magazine *Ribon*. Other semi-autobiographical stories by the author had appeared in *Ribon* and *Ribon Original* in 1984 and 1985, and were included in the first "Chibi Maruko-chan" *tankōbon* in 1987. The author first began writing and submitting strips in her final year of senior high school, although Shueisha (the publisher of *Ribon* and *Ribon Original*) did not decide to run them until over a year later. The author's intent was to write "essays in manga form"; many stories are inspired by incidents from her own life, and some characters are based on her family and friends. The nostalgic, honest and thoughtful tone of the strip led to its becoming popular among a wider audience.

*Chibi Maruko-chan* was adapted into an anime television series by Nippon Animation, which originally aired on Fuji Television and affiliated TV stations from January 7, 1990, to September 27, 1992. It has also spawned numerous games, animated films and merchandising, as well as a second TV series running from 1995 to the present. Maruko's style and themes are sometimes compared to the classic comic *Sazae-san*. In 1989, the manga tied to receive the Kodansha Manga Award for the *shōjo* category. As of 2006, the collected volumes of the manga had sold more than 31 million copies in Japan, making it one of the best-selling manga series.

## Why It Rocks

1. This show was popular in Japan.
2. Some likable characters such as:
	* Maruko Sakura
	* Sakiko Sakura
	* Tamae Honami
	* Kazuhiko Hanawa
	* Tomozo Sakura
	* Hiroshi Sakura
	* Kotake Sakura
	* Sumire Sakura
	* Kimio Nagasawa
3. Great voice acting in the Japanese and Hong Kong English Dubs.
4. Maruko and her sister Sakiko's modern design was extremely cute.
5. Some tearjerking and heartwarming moments like, Sakiko hugging Maruko when she cries or Nagasawa cares for his family so much.
6. Opening and ending themes are extremely nice and good.

## Bad Qualities

1. The Indian English Dubs was extremely bad and cringeworthy.
2. This anime was dubbed by Ocean Productions in Canada has been lost.
3. Maruko Sakura was very unlikable sometimes in another episodes, She became lazy and spoiled brat and she deserves to be punished by her mother.
4. Sakiko Sakura was also unlikable sometimes, She always huge jerk to Maruko when she's extremely angry in more episodes.
5. Sumire Sakura always angry at Maruko for getting in trouble at school.
6. Hanako Migiwa being creepy obsession with Hanawa in some episodes.

## Trivia

Creator of Chibi Maruko-chan Momoko Sakura has passed away on August 15 2018.

## Reception

The original *Chibi Maruko-chan* manga was serialized in the shōjo-oriented *Ribon Magazine*. 14 volumes were published from July 1987 to December 1996, with a 15th volume published in February 2003. In July 2007, a 4-frame version of *Chibi Maruko-chan* was published in every morning edition of several Japanese newspapers such as the Tokyo Shimbun and the Chunichi Shimbun.

The 16th volume of the manga was published on April 15, 2009, and 17th volume was issued on Dec 25, 2018.

The 18th volume was issued on Oct 25, 2022. The new manga was produced by Sakura's long-time assistant Botan Kohagi and other assistants at Sakura Production. The volume contains seven new chapters, and are based on stories that Sakura originally created for the *Chibi Maruko-chan* television anime.