Oh Ma-chan

Frontispiece featuring Ma-chan. Note the edit mark at top that was from Akebono scrubbing out the original "Rensai 7" caption.

### Original Run

January 15, 1960, August 1960-November 1961

**Oh Ma-chan** (あらマアちゃん) is a shojo manga by Fujio Akatsuka, serialized in Kodansha's *Nakayoshi* through 1960 to 1961.

Its title is a pun on the phrase "Oh well...!" (あらまぁ! *Ara ma!*)

## Overview

**Oh Ma-chan** centers around the little girl Ma-chan and her closeness to her mother or other assorted antics that go on in their daily lives.

Instead of the series being centered around Ma-chan going to school or other places a little girl would normally go, Ma-chan's escapades take place mostly at home, and some provide much frustration for her mother and other adults. The series is known for being of inconsistent length per chapter, with some only being 2 pages while others being somewhat longer.

Ma-chan can be said to be yet another "large ribbon heroine" of Akatsuka's, coming third after Matsuge-chan and Ohana-chan when it comes to the order of the serial heroines. Her design would seem to have also been re-used or provide the base for Mami-chan in Nakayoshi's short *Ganbare! Mami-chan*, which fell between Ma-chan's pilot chapter and serialization.

## Characters

### Ma-chan

A tiny girl who wears a large bow and braid. She is very curious and sweet, but a handful for her mother and full of questions.

### Mama

The hard-working but put-upon mother of Ma-chan. When confronted and frustrated by her daughter, she and other adults will characteristically yell "Oh well...!".

### Papa

The salaryman of the family, who is rarely at home.

## Serialization

* Nakayoshi New Year Special issue: January 15, 1960
* Nakayoshi: August 1960-November 1961
* Summer Vacation Special issue: September 15, 1960
* New Years' Special issue: January 15, 1961

In all, there should be 19 chapters in the series. However, in the case of the Akebono reprint and those based from it, some frontispieces and other content may be removed for space, sometimes cutting off the true start to a story (as with the June 1961 story).

1. **"A Very Lucky New Year"** (運が向いてるお正月, Nakayoshi New Years' special for January 15, 1960)- pilot chapter, *unreprinted*
2. (ともだちたべすぎおいしゃさん, August 1960)- Reprinted as seventh chapter in Akebono volume.
3. (すいかはいかが, September 1960)- Fifth chapter in Akebono volume.
4. **"Ma-chan's Fireworks Display"** (マァちゃんの花火大会, Summer Vacation special for September 15, 1960)- Sixth chapter in Akebono volume.
5. (だっこちゃんみたい, October 1960)- *unreprinted*
6. (ネズミにあげる胃のクスリ, November 1960)- Ninth chapter in Akebono volume.
7. (でんきストーブがやってきた, December 1960)- *unreprinted,* though its frontispiece is used to introduce the "Oh Ma-chan" extra content section in the "Ohana-chan" Akebono volume.
8. **"Papa and the New Year"** (パパとお正月, January 1961)- Thirteenth chapter in Akebono volume. The original issue also contains a full color Ma-chan Sugoroku-style comic in its appendix, as a special *furoku* feature for readers.
9. **"Ma-chan's Big Sister"** (マァちゃんのおねえさん, New Years' special for January 15, 1961)- Eleventh chapter in Akebono volume.
10. (ママのかわりにかぜひいてあげる, February 1961)- Twelfth chapter in Akebono volume.
11. (雪の子風の子元気な子, March 1961)- Fourteenth chapter in Akebono volume.
12. (ぼんやりママのわすれもの, April 1961)- First chapter in Akebono volume.
13. (ごちそう飛行機, May 1961)- *unreprinted*
14. (アリはみんなむし歯かしら, June 1961)- Second chapter in Akebono volume.
15. **"Ma-chan's Summer Vacation", part 1** (マァちゃんの夏休み, July 1961)- Fourth chapter in Akebono volume.
16. **"Ma-chan's Summer Vacation", part 2** (マァちゃんの夏休みその2, August 1961)- *unreprinted*
17. **"Mama and Moon-watching"** (ママとお月見, September 1961)- Eighth chapter in Akebono volume.
18. (あしたはえんそく, October 1961)- Third chapter in Akebono volume.
19. (おばあちゃんは十八だって, November 1961)- Tenth chapter in Akebono volume.

## Reprints

* Akebono: 14 chapters reprinted as extra content in the "Ohana-chan" volume.
* Shogakukan: The above volume is digitized for the 2002 DVD-ROM set

The series has yet to ever receive its own reprint or eBook release.

## External Links

* "Oh Ma-chan" write-up at the Fujio Akatsuka Preservation Society (Japanese)