recursal/Fanatic-Fandom huggingface dataset:
Ken-chan

Logo for the series, appearing at the top of each strip.

**Ken-chan** (ケンちゃん) was a newspaper-serialized comic strip by Fujio Akatsuka, running from November 1, 1964 to March 28, 1965 in the Sunday edition of the Asahi Shimbun.

## Overview

This series centers around the titular character, a small boy who gets into different situations with those around him. Each strip is done in four vertical panels in two rows (eight panels in all), read from right to left.

The presence of Akatsuka's Star System is prominent especially in the later strips, as some notable characters are added into Ken-chan's supporting cast.

The work proved to be a challenge for Akatsuka, who was restricted from depicting children committing bad acts that wouldn't be punished, or having them be rude or fight in general. As seen in some strips, characters like Ken and Osomatsu quickly become the butt of a joke if they attempt to fight or trick others, though Osomatsu manages to get away with making Chikako a fool in the final story.

## Characters

### Ken

A little boy of early grade school age. He resembles a smaller version of The Sextuplets, but with curled bangs. He is friends with Chikako and tags along with her often, but can wind up manipulated and outsmarted by her just the same. He is often unlucky with others due to his small size and vulnerability as well.

### Chikako

A little girl that Ken likes. However, she also likes Chibita, and instigates a fight between the two once when Chibita upsets her (only to be appeased by Chibita's oden).

### Osomatsu

The older boy that Ken looks up to, who acts as sort of trickster mentor to him.

In one strip, it's shown he has a crush on Ken's older sister, but his plan to get her to be his girlfriend is foiled when he sees she already is friendly with another boy.

### Older Sister

Ken's older sister, who's somewhere around Osomatsu's age. She resembles Sacchan from Opposite Address 3. She and Ken's mother were more prominent in earlier strips, but took a backseat to the later incorporation of the Star System.

### Mom

The mother figure of the series, who looks after her son.

## Serialization

* Asahi Shimbun Sunday Edition: November 1, 1964 to March 28, 1965 (21 strips)

## Reprints

* Shogakukan: Six of the strips (#11, 16, 18-21) are reprinted as part of the "1960s" DVD-ROM book in the "Fujio Akatsuka Complete Works" DVD-ROM set (2002)

A full individual reprint of this series has yet to happen, whether in print or eBook form.

## External Links

* "Ken-chan" write-up at the Akatsuka Preservation Society (Japanese)
Giant Mama

Image for chapter 2, the only story available in modern reprints.

**Giant Mama** (ジャイアントママ) was a double-shot gag feature by Fujio Akatsuka and Fujio Pro, serialized in Weekly Shonen Magazine.

## Overview

Stories about the titular Giant Mama, a big strong woman with the strength and ability of a pro-wrestler. She is contrasted by her skinny, weak son who she wishes would grow to be bigger and tougher.

Giant Mama's design notably recycles that of Gorilla the Housekeeper from Otasuke-kun, with a third tooth being added to her mouth. Her son also showed up as a guest character in Osomatsu-kun around this time, name-dropped as Hikaru in the chapter "Professor Togarashi's Genius Education".

## Serialization

* Weekly Shonen Magazine: #32, #36 for 1965
* Separate Edition Shonen Magazine: February 1968 (reprint of the first chapter)

The popularity of the first *Giant Mama* chapter lead to the request of its sequel story, but it did not become extended to a series format.

However, it is that very first chapter that has also disappeared over the years, rarely being reprinted in modern times while the second story has received the more notable reprints and attention. It is thus that second chapter that can be seen in the eBookJapan edition.

## Reprints

* Akebono: The second chapter was reprinted as part of the extra content in the Complete Works' collection edition of "We are 8 Pro".
* Shonen Sunday Comics: Both chapters were reprinted as extra content at the end of "Mom NO.1" volume 3
* Shogakukan: The "We are 8 Pro" Akebono volume was digitized for the Fujio Akatsuka Complete Works DVD-ROM set. However, while the Mom NO.1 volumes were also digitized, the "Giant Mama" chapters were excised due to the redundancy of the second one also appearing in "We are 8 Pro" (despite the first chapter winding up lost again in the process). A print-on-demand version of the collection exists via ComicPark
* eBookJapan: The second chapter was collected as part of "The 1960s" volume 3, however the first chapter still remains undigitized and missing.
Fujio Akatsuka's Gag Shop

**Fujio Akatsuka's Gag Shop** (赤塚不二夫のギャグ屋) is a gag anthology series by Fujio Akatsuka and Fujio Pro, serialized in Weekly Gendai through 1991.

## Overview

Each story covers a different gag-fueled societal issue or other scenario, with a changing cast of characters as well as those of Akatsuka's Star System involved.

It can be seen as a 1990s equivalent to Gag Guerrilla, although much shorter-lived in itself.

## Characters

Aside from episodic cast members, these Stars can be seen within stories:

### Representing The Genius Bakabon:

* Ryunoshin Hattori
* Rerere
* Kaoru-chan
* Non
* The Police Officer with the Connected Eyes
* Police Chief
* Bakabon's Papa
* Bakabon's Mama
* Bakabon
* Hajime

### Representing Extraordinary Ataro:

* Nyarome
* Boss Kokoro
* Kopun A and B
* Kemunpas
* Beshi

### Representing Osomatsu-kun:

* Iyami
* Hatabou
* The Sextuplets' Mother and Father

### Other series:

* Gon's Father (Let's La Gon, though depicted with a differently-shaped nose)
* Ichiro (Otasuke-kun)

There are also some unnamed common stars between some stories, who take on a different identity with each plot.

## Serialization

* Weekly Gendai: April 13-November 16, 1991

## Reprints

* Shogakukan: Digitized as part of the Fujio Akatsuka Complete Works DVD-ROM set. A print-on-demand edition is also available through ComicPark.
Rieko Akatsuka

**Rieko Akatsuka** (March 11, 1965-) is a contemporary artist and the current president of Fujio Pro, having succeeded her father Fujio Akatsuka as well as her stepmother Machiko.

## Life and Career

Rieko was born to Fujio Akatsuka and his first wife Tomoko in 1965, playing a mostly background role to her father's career in her youth other than appearing in some illustrations and being part of his inspiration to develop Tamanegi Tama-chan.

Her parents would separate in late 1970 due to growing distant and unfulfilled with one another (particularly with Fujio's nonsensical behavior and his tendency to flirt around), but would only make their divorce final in 1973. Although Tomoko would take Rieko with her and intend on starting a new life, she allowed her daughter to keep the Akatsuka surname.

Rieko would study visual arts in a vocational school in Shinjuku in her teens, but would drop out after a year and become interested in acting and comedy before that aspiration faded as well (having worked briefly for the gag troupe "Tokyo Gag Pump"). Her 20s were spent experiencing her father taking on a new wife, Machiko Suzuki, while her mother also remarried to a Nippon TV producer's son Kiyoto Emori. She herself also would marry, but found her marriage to be unsatisfactory and divorced her husband in 1992.

In 1994, Rieko decided to study abroad in England at the Leicester School, as she was passionate about British New Wave since the early 1980s and wished to learn the English language better. She took on studying art in Derby as well, before finally settling upon the University of London's Goldsmith College of Fine Arts.

She would find love again in 2002, when she would marry a local to London, and would acquire permanent residency in the UK three years later. However, in 2006, she hurried home to Japan after hearing of her stepmother's death. With her father having been formally diagnosed as being in a vegetative state since 2004, Rieko took over running Fujio Pro.

More sadness would follow in the summer of 2008, when on July 30th, her mother died of cervical cancer. Her father passed away three days later on August 2, having contracted pneumonia in his fragile state. Although Rieko was left distraught in wondering what to do, she would credit a dream she had of her father encouraging her to live and stay strong as being what made her decision to keep moving forward.

## Books

* **"The Daughter of Gegege, the Daughter of Rerere, and the Daughter of Lalala"**- Co-authored with Etsuko Mizuki (daughter of Shigeru Mizuki) and Rumiko Tezuka (daughter of Osamu Tezuka)
* **"My Papa is Stupider than Bakabon's Papa: Fujio Akatsuka and his Rerere Family"** (Tokuma Shoten, July 1, 2010). Adapted into a NHK drama starring Tetsuji Tamayama from June 30th to July 28, 2018.
Fujio Akatsuka's Animal Land

**Fujio Akatsuka's Animal Land** was a short-lived gag feature by Fujio Akatsuka and Fujio Pro, serialized in Manga Da No.1

## Overview

This short series revolves around many animal mascots of past Akatsuka series, as they interact with one another. Each story is approximately four pages long and in color.

As Manga Da No.1 was suspended after four issues, this series could not carry any further and marked another case of a new 1990s work ending fast.

## Characters

This listing of animals (and a few humans) all appear to some degree in the work, with characters hailing from different series.

### Representing "The Genius Bakabon"

* Unagi-Inu
* Norauma
* The Dog of Night

### Representing "Extraordinary Ataro"

* Nyarome
* Kemunpas
* Beshi
* Butamatsu's Pigs
* Boss Kokoro, along with Kopun A and B
* Ataro and Dekoppachi, being the only two humans around at the end

### Representing "Let's La Gon"

* Beramatcha
* Keroko
* Maseri

### Others

* Bakame (Boy Friday, Noragaki)
* Karappe (Karappe of the Wind)
* Unanbo (Noragaki)
* Kikuchiyo (The Flower of Kikuchiyo)

## Reprints

* Shogakukan: Digitized as part of the "Fujio Akatsuka Complete Works" DVD-ROM set, in the "1990s" volume. Also available via print-on-demand through ComicPark.
CR Osomatsu-kun (SanThree, 2012)

**CR Osomatsu-kun** (CR おそ松くん) is a pachinko machine game issued by the publisher SanThree (Sanyo Bussan). It was released in August 2012, serving to commemorate the 50th anniversary of the Osomatsu-kun manga.

## Overview

This game is notable for reuniting as much of the surviving voice cast as possible from the 1988 anime by Pierrot, while providing a contemporary look to the characters and stories.

In turn, the animated cut-scenes for the game and the character designs were produced by Pierrot and reference popular stories from the manga such as "Chibita the Safe-Cracker", "Iyami Alone in the Wind", and specific alternate-universe settings (Edo, Prehistoric, Wild West) for game stages.

### 99 Ver.

This special edition of the game features an increased chance at winning the jackpot (a 1 in 99 chance ratio).

## Staff

### Voice Cast

* Osomatsu and Brothers- Yui Shoji
* Iyami- Kaneta Kimotsuki
* Chibita- Mayumi Tanaka
* Totoko- Naoko Matsui
* Hatabō- Mari Mashiba
* Dekapan- Toru Ohira
* Dayōn, Father- Chafurin
* Mother- Mari Yokoo

It is figured that due to the reduced role of the sextuplets, only one actress was necessary to cover the others besides Osomatsu.
King of Gags

The cover to volume 1 of the Akebono reprints.

**King of Gags** ( ギャグの王様 ) is a gag anthology manga by Fujio Akatsuka and Fujio Pro, serialized in Weekly Shonen King through 1974.

## Overview

Each chapter of this series has a title and theme patterned after a "King" of a different subject and gag (such as the "King of Frogs" story). Characters from Akatsuka's Star System also appear throughout, whether in main roles or as guests throughout a plot.

In the original release, Akatsuka went by his short-lived penname of Ichiro Yamada, but this was reverted for the reprints.

## Characters

Aside from the protagonists and other assorted people exclusive to each chapter, these stars can be seen in the feature.

### Representing "Osomatsu-kun"

* Chibita
* Iyami
* Dekapan
* Dayon

### Representing "The Genius Bakabon"

* The Police Officer with the Connected Eyes
* Police Chief
* Ryunoshin Hattori: A similar-looking character named "Kaoru-kun" is also the star of another chapter.
* Bakabon's Papa (in a frontispiece and once as a panel detail)
* Bakabon (once as a panel detail)

### Representing "Extraordinary Ataro"

* Kemunpas
* Butamatsu
* Dekoppachi
* Nyarome
* Beshi
* Boss Kokoro

### Representing "Let's La Gon"

* Irako
* Gon
* Gen-chan

### Other Series and Stars:

* Dai-sensei (We are 8 Pro)
* Big-Mouthed Man

## Reprints

* Akebono: 2 volume tankobon edition
* Shogakukan: The Akebono volumes were digitized for the Fujio Akatsuka Complete Works DVD-ROM set. A print-on-demand edition was also made available through ComicPark.
Fujio Akatsuka Wiki

All Pages **•** Quality Articles **•** Wanted Pages **•** Categories **•** Administrators

*NOTE AS OF 11/14/2021: Fujio Productions strictly* *forbids the unauthorized usage of artwork from their websites on any other social media, be it for personal or commercial usage. Any character vectors or images exclusive to their social media posts will be removed from this wiki, and new contributors must please refrain from re-uploading such files.*

*As of 02/14/2022, Fujio Pro has also clarified* *that any scanlations and online uploads* *of their manga are against Japanese copyright policy and that any piracy is subject to having legal action against it. To avoid this wiki getting in trouble by extension, we ask kindly that you not link to the scanlations of works like "Jajako" or others that may have been done. Thank you very much.*

Fujio Akatsuka (赤塚不二夫 *Akatsuka Fujio,* September 14, 1935 – August 2, 2008) is one of Japan's well-known Showa manga artists, famously referred to as "The King of Gag Manga". He was one of the regulars at the Tokiwa-sō apartment complex that gave way to other famous artists, including those like Shotaro Ishinomori and the duo of Fujiko Fujio. Akatsuka's body of work spanned from the 1950s to the early turn of the millennium, and despite his gag reputation, had a wide range in comedy, drama, horror, and a mix of many themes.

Though Akatsuka has long since passed away, his works still receive attention and new anime series, tying back to the tremendous popularity certain creations like Osomatsu-kun and The Genius Bakabon had captured over the decades. Our aim is to bring information about his legacy to the Western hemisphere and other areas which he had not received the exposure, and be a great source. While this is a primarily English wiki, we welcome an international community to be built with Akatsuka fans and all to contribute their knowledge. Feel free to read our Rules page and look around to get started!

This wiki has been a years-long work, gradually being added to and improved, but with your help and a community being built, we can all share our knowledge and appreciation for Fujio Akatsuka and his contemporaries. While derivative works like *Osomatsu-san* are what is best known in the West, it has its own dedicated Wikia and its merchandising scale and spinoffs are much harder to keep track of.

We currently have **7,761** edits to **394 articles** and **440 images** on this wiki. You can help out by creating or editing any of these, or see what else should be expanded upon. Most of all, please have fun at this wiki and help others learn something along the way!

We welcome input from across the world; you do not need to know English, in fact any help from Japanese fans or anyone from any country is appreciated greatly. It would be a great privilege to be able to expand this wiki and database to have mirrors in other languages, in order to have the most accurate and up-to-date information across the board.
Osomatsu-kun News

**Osomatsu-kun News** was the first newsletter by Fujio Pro for their "Sextuplet Club" program. It was published from May 1965 to April 1966, and was succeeded by a renamed and revamped version, the Osomatsu-kun Book.

The newsletter served as a way to inform readers on updates at Fujio Pro and with Fujio Akatsuka's career. It would also contain activities, as well as small exclusive gag manga. As evident from its name, it spun out of the popularity of Akatsuka's Osomatsu-kun series after he had previously had "Sextuplet Club"/"Osomatsu-kun News" columns in Weekly Shonen Sunday.

## Overview

Only the contents of the first issue can be fully confirmed via its reprint in the Coredeiinoda! Fujio Akatsuka book set. Other issues may occasionally appear on used book sites or auctions, or some contents may have been republished in other contexts such as the "Hustle Communication" end pages in Takeshobo's Osomatsu-kun reprints.

Each issue consisted of a folded sheet composed of four "pages" of content, with news and special content for the readers. The first publication would announce the creation of Fujio Pro and their beginnings in the Ichikawa Building, along with the births of Akatsuka's daughter Rieko and Kunio Nagatani's son Hiroyuki.

At the time of the launch, Fujio Pro would list nine serializations that were ongoing:

* **Osomatsu-kun** (Shonen Sunday)
* **Leave it to Chota** (Shonen)
* **Akatsuka-kun Can Do Anything** (Shonen Book)
* **Akko-chan's Got a Secret!** (Ribon)
* **Otasuke and Chika-chan** (Elementary School 4th Grade)
* **The Numbness of Scatan** (Shonen Picture Report) - *Work by Kunio Nagatani, though Akatsuka came up with the original concept*
* **Songo-kun** (Elementary School 5th Grade)
* **Otasuke-kun** (Elementary School 6th Grade)
* **Nonsensical NO. 1** (Adventure King)

Nagatani's ***The Genius Pasuke*** and Takao Yokoyama's ***Travel to the Rainbow, Travel to the Stars*** were also advertised as new Fujio Pro-adjacent features for the year.

## Exclusive Works

These comics tended to be small, 7 to 9 panel spinoffs of Osomatsu-kun featuring specific characters from the cast. The below can be confirmed:

* **Chibita-kun** (May 1965)
* **Hatabou** (June 1965, reprinted in Takeshobo vol.11's "Hustle Communication" pages)
* **Mr. Iyami** (July 1965)
* **Dekapan** (August 1965, reprinted in Takeshobo vol.9's "Hustle Communication" pages)
* **Totoko-chan** (September 1965, reprinted in Takeshobo vol.13's "Hustle Communication" pages)
The Flower of Dekoppachi

**The Flower of Dekoppachi** ( (花のデコッ八 *Hana no Dekoppachi*), also titled in some editions as **Extraordinary Ataro Side-Story: Flower of Dekoppachi**, is a gag series by Fujio Akatsuka and Fujio Pro. It ran as a spinoff of Extraordinary Ataro through 1968 to 1969.

## Overview

The series was created as an extra feature of *Ataro*, to commemorate the Toei series that was due to air on NET soon. While the main *Ataro* series would usually focus on Ataro (at least at the time) or those around him that he'd get into situations with, this feature was meant to showcase Dekoppachi as its very lead.

While some stories could be seen to take place within the same world as the main series, the settings of the characters would be played with for other chapters; Ataro and Dekoppachi could be salarymen and adults, Ataro could be an inventor, and the world around them could also be quite different.

The third chapter of the series, "The Flower's Guardman", is notable for featuring the first time that Nyarome would be depicted as a bipedal, speaking cat. This would soon carry into the main series itself. Dekoppachi's girlfriend Kako (first seen in the fourth chapter "Mina is a Cute Robot") would also be imported over, but on a one-time basis. Some of these stories, such as the one with Mina, would find themselves loosely adapted into the anime format.

## Serialization

* Weekly Shonen Sunday: October 20, 1968 special edition, January 1969 New Year issue, and March 23, 1969 Spring Break special
* Deluxe Shonen Sunday: May to September 1969

1. **"Fight at the Marathon"** (マラソンのたたかい, Special Edition October 20, 1968)
2. **"A Salesman's Tears"** (セールスマンの涙, New Year 1969)
3. **"The Flower's Guardman"** (花のガードマン, Spring Break 1969)
4. **"Mina is a Cute Robot"** (ミーナはかわいいロボット, May 1969)
5. **"Mini Mini Dekoppachi"** (ミニミニデコッ八, June 1969)
6. **"Dekoppachi's Underground Workplace"** (デコッ八の地下鉄職場, July 1969)
7. **"The Eastern Sea's #1 Boss Kemunpas"** (東海一のケムンパス親分, August 1969)
8. **"The Case of the French Dog"** (フランスイーヌの場合は, September 1969)- Features Iyami as a French humanoid dog named Apoleon.

## Reprints

* Akebono (1970): The "Flower of Dekoppachi" chapters were bundled into the 7th "Complete Works" Ataro volume.
* Kodansha (1990): The chapters appear in this imprint's 7th volume of Ataro as well.
* Takeshobo (1994): The "Flower of Dekoppachi" chapters are all placed in volume 7.
* Shogakukan (2002): The Takeshobo volumes were digitized for the "Fujio Akatsuka Complete Works" DVD-ROM set, and a print-on-demand version is available via ComicPark.
* eBookJapan (2009): "Flower of Dekoppachi" and "Gag + Gag" were split into an "Extraordinary Ataro Side-Story" volume containing all the stories belonging to both.
Beshi

**Beshi** (べし) is a character appearing in Extraordinary Ataro, and as a member of Akatsuka's Star System.

He is notable for being one of various talking "funny animal"-type characters through Akatsuka's works; in this case, a frog.

## Overview

Beshi was another animal mascot character introduced in the *Ataro* series, to provide companionship for Nyarome as well as be another creature seen among town.

His name derived from the speech of the village elder in the film The ***Seven Samurai***, with the usage of the word "yarubeshi".

## Physical Appearance

Beshi is a small green frog, drawn with simplistic stick figure limbs and bearing a bit of a mustache. He tends to wink one eye or the other shut.

## Personality

Beshi is a calm, laid-back sort who tends to idly sit by and observe what is going on, contrasting against the louder Nyarome's behavior.

## Appearances in other works

*See also: Akatsuka's Star System*

* *Osomatsu-kun*
* *Gag + Gag*
* *The Genius Bakabon*
* *The Genius Bakabon's Old Man*
* *Oh! Great Jailbreak*
* *Introduction to Manga*
* *Nyarome's World Expo Surprise Surprise Surprise Guide*
* *Let's La Gon*
* *Inspector Oni*
* *Cat's Eye News*
* *Bukkare\*Dan*
* *Wanpei and Mo-chan*
* *The Great Stupid Detective Kogoro Hakuchi*
* *Kensaku the Architect*
* *King of Gags*
* *Nyarome*
* *Croquette-kun*
* *Nyan Nyan Nyanda*
* *Wonderful Fool*
* *The Mean Old Man*
* *The Flower of Kikuchiyo*
* *Nyarome's Fun Mathematics Classroom*
* *Nyarome's Fun Cosmology Classroom*
* *Nyarome's Fun Biology Classroom*
* *Nyarome's Fun Computer Exploration*
* *Nyarome's Fun Exploration of the Body's Mysteries*
* *Nyarome's Fun Sexual Education Classroom*
* *What Will Fujio Akatsuka Do!?*
* *Basho Matsuo*
* *Reading Dai-sensei*
* *Ramen Great Escape*
* *Sheeh! Comeback*
* *The Cat House Owner*
* *Gag Shop*
* *Collapse of the Sheeh! Religion*
* *Fujio Akatsuka's Animal Land*

## Appearances in Animation

### Osomatsu-kun (1988)

Beshi, much like Kemunpas and Nyarome, is relegated to giving off exposition about the locations or events going on in scenes.

There are times where more of his species can be shown, such as a band of Beshi playing in the Watermelon Planet movie or a Hawaiian-style tropical Beshi band in episode 78.

## Portrayals

### Voice Acting

* 1969 series- Kosei Tomita, Takuzo Kamiyama (understudy)
* Osomatsu-kun (1988)- Tetsuo Mizutori
* 1990 series- Kozo Shioya

## External Links

* Beshi profile at Koredeiinoda (Japanese)
Princess Pudding-chan

**Princess Pudding-chan** ( プリンセスプリンちゃん ) was a shojo and gag manga serial by Mitsutoshi Furuya, published in Nakayoshi through 1969.

## Overview

This work involves a world of wild slapstick, with a pretty young tomboyish princess named Pudding as the main character. However, as it was one of Furuya's early popular works before he would develop No-Good Father, the tone and style are more often confused with Fujio Akatsuka.

At the time of its serialization, the manga was produced as a tie-in to House Foods' "House Pudding mix", and had a special incentive where lucky readers of the magazine would be selected from a lottery to win the pudding, after posting in the reader corner.

The original credits had it listed as a "Mitsutoshi Furuya and Furuya Pro" work, but Akebono's reprint opted to lump it in with other non-AkatsukaFujio Pro titles.

## Characters

### Princess Pudding

The heroine of Harenchi Castle, a beautiful young princess with a wild tomboy personality. She is quite lazy and dry to her surroundings, and often causes turmoil. Later on in the series though, she is the one affected by the chaos going on around her.

### Prince Momokan

A kind, Chibita-esque boy always on the losing end of fights with his older sister Pudding.

### King Peanut

The king of Harenchi Castle, who acts more like an older brother than a father and often wants to have fun along with his kids. His wife, the queen, has already died prior to the start of the series.

### Candy-sensei

The maid and cook of the castle, who acts more like a parent than the King, and even has to keep up after his antics.

### Wanippe

Pudding's pet crocodile, while gets into mischief alongside her.

## Serialization

* Nakayoshi: January to December 1969, also available in the 1969 New Years' and spring extra issues

## Reprints

* Akebono "Fujio Pro Works Collection: Princess Pudding-chan" (1 volume, 1971)
Face Banking

**Face Banking** is a term used for a technique that Fujio Akatsuka utilized in some of his high-profile manga serializations, starting in the mid-1960s. It was most notably used with Osomatsu-kun, but also popped up with other titles during the height of its usage.

## Overview

A "face bank" was first devised for *Osomatsu-kun* as a way to provide ease on having to draw six identical characters every time; Akatsuka would draw heads with different expressions, and they would then be put through a copy machine to create several copies of sheets of these faces so he would have them at hand to use whenever needed.

This would mean that Akatsuka would only have to draw the bodies of the sextuplets and the assistants would only have to ink them. The faces could then be easily pasted on depending on the type of moods that were required in a scene. However, this would also result in the faces being of a different and thicker lineart quality than the body. Manuscripts and copies of such also show that the pasted heads would be on aged, browner paper than the same quality of paper that were used for the comics.

After some time, the face bank was discarded as Akatsuka found that it became too much of a hassle to keep up with despite having created it to ease such troubles. Some form of it did, however, get use within the 1987 Comic BomBom revival and the TV Magazine launch, with it even being used to copy and paste entire sextuplet bodies/poses for easy layout.

Even with it being infamously used for *-kun*, there are other series of note where such a technique was used to cut down on production time.

## Manga that Relied on Face Banks

* Osomatsu-kun- Despite Akatsuka's own admission that the practice was eventually discarded in the title, usage of the pasted heads could still be seen late into the irregular, longer chapters that were serialized in Weekly Shonen Sunday.
* Akko-chan's Got a Secret! (late Ribon run, revisions of Ribon chapters for Mushi Pro)- Akko and Moko tended to be face banked, along with Akatsuka using this as a way to paste on the redesigned face for Kankichi in the later revisions.
* Leave it to Chota - As Chota was of the same base design as the Sextuplets, save for some differences, Akatsuka seemed to utilize this for him as well. Telltale thicker lineart and poorer quality heads can be seen in later chapters of the title.
* Otasuke-kun- Chapters around 1964 (particularly "The Company President's Wife?") and on have evidence of face banking for Otasuke, as well as Ichiro and other characters.
* Nonsensical NO.1- Face banking can be seen to have been utilized for Bokeo and his parents later in the first run, as a way to save on having to draw certain expressions over and over.
Song and Gag Theatre

**Fujio Akatsuka's Song and Gag Theatre** ( 赤塚不二夫の 歌謡ギャグ劇場 ) is a gag series by Fujio Akatsuka and Fujio Pro, serialized in the Monthly Myojo magazine.

## Overview

The stars of Akatsuka get into various wacky situations, in gags based around a different type of song.

## Characters

These stars can be seen to appear through the feature:

### Representing "The Genius Bakabon":

* The Police Officer with the Connected Eyes
* Kaoru-chan
* Ryunoshin Hattori
* Camera Kid

### Representing "Osomatsu-kun":

* Iyami
* Chibita

### Other series:

* Nyarome (Extraordinary Ataro)
* Fly Man (Bukkare\*Dan)
* Ahonasu, Bakanasu, and Bokenasu (We Are No-Good High)

## Serialization

* Monthly Myojo: September 1973-December 1975

## Reprints

* Shogakukan: 24 of the 28 chapters were collected into a "Song and Gag Theatre" volume of the Fujio Akatsuka Complete Works DVD-ROM set. A print-on-demand edition is available via ComicPark.

However, other than this, there has been no current or completed reprinting of the series with all chapters intact.
List of chapters in Occhan

This listing contains chapters that were published in the series Occhan.

## Chapters

* 1. (わしオッチャンおれボッチャン)
* 2. (自力更生の脱出だ！)
* 3. (ドロボーがトリ目になったらおしまいだ)
* 4. (ボッチャンとケベ子ちゃん)
* 5. (ホンジャラウンジャラの親友です！)
* 6. (たいくつ師匠のお見合いでゲス)
* 7. (オッチャンのボケちゃん)
* 8. (不器用なライフル)
* 9. (恐怖のギンギラ人間)
* 10. (オッチャンボッチャン大親友)
* 11. ( ボッチャンの冬ごもり)
* 12. ( モク山さんのヤニだらけ)
* 13. ( あたっちゃいけない占いなのだ)
Junior High 1st Year Kosuke

**Junior High 1st Year Kosuke** (中1コースケ *Chuichi Kosuke*), its title later shortened to merely "**Kosuke**" in reprints, was a gag manga by Fujio Akatsuka and Fujio Pro. It was serialized in Gakken's Junior High 1st Year Course learning magazine through 1966 to 1967.

## Overview

The diminutive Kosuke is ready to be a junior high student, but finds that it's not as easy as it looks when it requires him to work hard and know a lot. The stories are 6 pages long, making for small plots revolving around his adventures with school and the people he meets.

## Characters

### Kosuke

The protagonist, a small boy with the recognizable junior high hat. He wishes to be taught by a teacher named Yamada-san in the first chapter, as he no longer wants to be an elementary student, but is shown to already be stressed by the grueling lessons. He is shown to not only live with both parents, but have a younger brother as well.

Through the series, he can be shown to have a girlfriend from his class known as "Kawai-san", who is popular and loved by other boys but who he can also get into awkward situations with if other girls happen to like him as well and make her jealous.

### Kawai-san

A cute, popular girl of Kosuke's junior high class and who happens to be significantly taller than him. She is recognizable by her black bead-like eyes and her unique short haircut with a curl coming out on either side. By the final chapter of the series, her design evolves so the curls are lower and her eyes are shinier like that of Moko.

### Imoko

A short, plump, buck-toothed girl in Kosuke's class, known for her love of potatoes (while her name itself means "Potato Child"). She also serves as another "girlfriend"-type character that Kosuke has troubles with.

## Serialization

* Junior High 1st Year Course: April 1966 to March 1967. The August 1966 chapter is credited to Tokuo Yokota, who likely had to fill in for Akatsuka being busy (while Akatsuka is credited to another feature that appeared in the same magazine issue for that month).

The successor to Kosuke was a gag series known as Crazy Junior High, which ran from April to September 1967.

## Reprints

* Mushi Pro: Three chapters (June 1966, July 1966, October 1966) were reprinted as extra content in this release of "You Love Me-kun".

The entire series has not received a reprint to date, and Fujio Pro only accounts for four chapters in its bibliography. The actual first chapter to the series involving Kosuke becoming a junior high schooler is also skipped out in the only available reprint; it appears Mushi Pro only opted to showcase three chapters involving Kosuke's interactions with Kawai-san (likely as a way to make it in fit in as extra content for a romance gag series like *You Love Me-kun*).
Tears of a Rainbow

**Tears of a Rainbow** (虹の涙 *Niji no namida*) is an insert song heard in episode 69 of the 1988 Osomatsu-kun anime. It is sung by Mari Yokoo as Matsuyo, in the character's de-aged idol self "Matsuko".

A full version of the song, if it was ever recorded, is unavailable, and there is no commercial release of the TV-size version due to a lack of original series soundtrack for the show. However, it was adapted in other foreign dubs.

## Castilian version

It was re-titled **Lágrimas Escarlata** (Scarlet Tears), with its lyrics considerably changed.

Matsuko: Con lágrimas escribí ♪

Lo que por tí yo sentí ♪

Yo se que con constaja hablábamos ♪

Pero se vuelve a repetir ♪

Coro (x2):

¡Pero si somos dos, no diremos adiós! ♪

Porque igual volvemos a vernos ♪

Porque el amor, lo ves, siempre puede volver ♪

¡Tú nunca digas que no! ♪

¡Así que somos dos, no diremos adiós! ♪

Porque igual volvemos a vernos ♪

Porque el amor, lo ves, siempre puede volver ♪

¡Tú nunca digas que no! ♪

¡Tú nunca digas que no~! ♪
Ojisan is a Persuman

Cover featuring Persuman and his son Ryunoshin.

**Ojisan is a Persuman** (おじさんはパースーマン) is a gag work by Fujio Akatsuka and Fujio Pro, serialized in Elementary School 5th Grade.

## Overview

The hero **"Persuman"** is not an ordinary superhero, in fact, he's just an ordinary man with a "P" on his shirt that'd like to think he's super when he puts on a cape. It would seem as if others are town are much more stranger than this man himself, which he and his son Ryunoshin come to experience in their exploits.

After a year and a half of publication, however, the Persuman series wrapped up and was replaced by that of Waru-chan.

## Characters

In addition to this cast, The Police Officer with the Connected Eyes shows up as the standard policeman character and Ai-chan from Bukkare\*Dan once shows up as a "Hanako" that Ryunoshin has a crush on.

### Papa/Persuman

A foolish father who runs about in his superhero cape. As with Bakabon's Papa, his ideas can lead to quite the chaos, such as the first chapter showing him dismembering a UFO enthusiast neighbor so an alien can put him back together.

### Ryunoshin

The young son of Persuman, who is at times left confused and flustered by some of his father's escapades. If Persuman himself is a Papa-like figure, Ryunoshin is his "Bakabon" and will sometimes also go along with his wild ideas.

He is drawn somewhat off model in the first chapter, with differently-shaped eyes than his usual look and a curly ahoge, but his design soon normalizes to the usual Ryunoshin appearance that had already been seen in the rest of Akatsuka's Star System.

### Mama

Persuman's wife, also left bewildered and at the mercy of the ridiculous events her husband can induce, but if it sounds good enough to her she'll go right along all the same.

## Serialization

* Elementary School 5th Grade: April 1979-March 1981

## Reprints

* Futabasha: 2 volumes in the "100 Tenland Comics" imprint. Volume 2 has six chapters of the Dokkan V feature "Chibimama" as extra content.
* Shogakukan: The 100 Tenland Comics volumes were digitized for the Fujio Akatsuka Complete Works DVD-ROM set, along with the print-on-demand versions from ComicPark.
* eBookJapan: 2 volumes
Astounding Books

**Astounding Books** ( ブックリぎょうてん *Bukkuri Gyouten*) is a gag newspaper strip series by Fujio Akatsuka and Fujio Pro, serialized in Parent and Child Reading.

## Overview

An anthology comic strip revolving around a different gag and character each time, with each featuring an unusual book bought from a bookstore. These books may either be helpful to their buyer's specific needs and wants, or may make for more trouble with their unpredictable ways. While some strips have dialogue, others are entirely silent.

There is no usage of the Star System in this feature, with the characters instead being various people made for each gag. Each strip is four panels long and set up in the vertical 4koma format.

## Serialization

* Parent and Child Reading: January 1979-August 1981

## Reprints

* Shogakukan: All strips reprinted as part of the "1970s" book in the Fujio Akatsuka Complete Works DVD-ROM set, and also in the print-on-demand volumes through ComicPark.
GC Nyarome!

**GC (Guts Cat) Nyarome!** (GC (ガッツキャット) ニャロメ! ) is a gag manga by Katta Yoshi, which ran in Comic BomBom from 2003 to 2004. It was the first major Fujio Pro work to be done without the presence of Fujio Akatsuka, due to his hospitalization in 2002.

## Overview

The series revolves around Nyarome, who gets into mischief and situations with his buddiesKemunpas and Beshi in modern day Tokyo. The three are joined by many newly-created characters, including the melon-cat hybrid Nyanmelo and a Lion.
As with previous Fujio Pro gag series, any chaos that may occur in chapters can be swept clean for the next story but there are some developments that can carry forth: Besides the additions of Nyanmelo and Lion to the cast, Nyarome's edgy rapper alter-ego "Waru-Nyaro" splits off from him to become his own entity by the end of the series.

## Characters

Aside from various one-shot characters that appear in the series, this can be said to be the notable cast that readers become acquainted with. Though Kaoru from The Genius Bakabon has a role in chapter 1, Akatsuka's Star System does not otherwise figure into plots.

The new human characters introduced by Katta Yoshi are also drawn in a much different style compared to the Fujio Pro classics, although human designs in his later works (*Hennako-chan: Private Akafuji High School*, Boy Bakabon) would rectify such an oddity.

## Serialization

* Comic BomBom: October 2003-September 2004
Occhan (series)

Cover to Akebono vol.1, featuring Occhan and Bocchan with Akatsuka.

**Occhan** (オッチャン) is a gag work by Fujio Akatsuka and Fujio Pro, serialized in Weekly Shonen King in two separate runs, from 1974 to 1976.

## Overview

A mysterious and bizarre man named **Occhan** teams up with the frog-like young boy **Bocchan**, with the two getting into all sorts of mischief and unusual situations around Tokyo.

The manga is known for its crude and outlandish subject matter and gags, starting from the very first chapter where the two try to take care of a baby but wind up ludicrously deforming him in the process. The "graphic novel style" (gekiga) art shift is employed a lot for dramatic faces through the series.

## Characters

### Occhan

A strange middle-aged man that likes to sleep in the ground like a mole. Though Bocchan is not his son and just a mere younger friend, the child will tag alongside him (thus Occhan will act as if he's his very own parent).

If Occhan is not causing chaos for someone, he will wind up reacting to the weird antics that others may get up to or situations that he becomes the punchline of (such as his face being surgically grafted to his butt in a plastic surgery gone wrong). He and Bocchan can also use manga physics to quite their advantage when necessary.

### Bocchan

Likes to sleep in lakes and try to catch flies, as if he were a frog. He follows behind Occhan very closely, and is a curious, energetic boy.

## Serialization

See *List of chapters in Occhan*

* Part 1: Weekly Shonen King #39-23, 1974-1975
* Part 2: Weekly Shonen King #27-19, 1975-1976

## Reprints

* Akebono: 5 volumes
* Shogakukan: The 5 Akebono volumes were digitized for the Fujio Akatsuka Complete Works DVD-ROM set.

Not all of the series is covered in reprints, however, as the collected editions stopped before the rest of Part 2 could be reprinted. No release since has underwent the effort to rectify this issue.
Tecchan is Back to Fighting

Frontispiece featuring Tecchan and Chikao.

**Tecchan is Back to Fighting** (テッちゃんただいまケンカ中 *Tecchan tadaima kenka-chu*) was a short-lived shojo and gag work by Fujio Akatsuka, serialized in Shojo Friend from #47-50 of 1967.

## Overview

After the tough Tecchan is beaten up and loses a fight, she's granted a special medicine by a scientist. This "Ultra Drop" will bestow super-strength onto the one that swallows it for a temporary amount of time, allowing her to fight well for a day.

This work combined the darker and more chaotic elements of shojo works like Jajako-chan and The Mean Family with the more simplistic shojo setting of works like Akko-chan's Got a Secret!, though it did not last long due to a lack of weekly popularity; a new feature, Hippie-chan, would soon be its replacement.

## Characters

### Tecchan

(テッちゃん)

A grade-school girl who casually gets into fights with her younger brother and causes mischief. When she's met her match however, or faces injustice, she can rely on the Ultra Drop to set things right.

She is essentially a re-use of Tetsuko from Kibimama-chan, though with only one younger brother as she'd had in the prototype "The Replacement Housekeeper" (in which her name was Keiko).

### Chikao

(チカオ)

Tecchan's younger brother. He is a redesign of the Ichiro character from "The Replacement Housekeeper".

### Mother

The serious mother of these children, who doesn't approve of her daughter's way.

## Serialization

The series ran for these four chapters in the magazine:

1. **"Tecchan and the Ultra Drop"** (テッちゃんのウルトラドロップ)
2. **"Tecchan and Boxing"** (テッちゃんのボクシング)
3. **"A Thief and a Drop"** (ドロちゃんとドロップ)
4. **"The Final Ultra Drop"** (さいごのウルトラドロップ)

## Reprints

* Akebono: All four chapters appear as extra content in the tankobon release of "I'm Kemugoro" (1976)
* Shogakukan: The "I'm Kemugoro" tankobon was digitized for the "Fujio Akatsuka Complete Works" DVD-ROM collection in 2002. A print-on-demand version exists courtesy of ComicPark, but is only available to residents within Japan.

There has been no current print or digital restoration that can be accessed easily.

## External Links

* "Tecchan is Back to Fighting" write-up at the Fujio Akatsuka Preservation Society (Japanese)
Chibidon (series)

eBook cover featuring Chibidon and his employees.

**Chibidon** (チビドン) is a 1980-1981 gag work by Fujio Akatsuka, serialized in Shogakukan's Monthly CoroCoro Comic.

## Overview

A group of grade-schoolers work as employees at their company within the school, "Anything Goes Ltd." which responds to issues and jobs raised by people in town, and will send out their boss Chibidon to go deal with each matter. However, Chibidon often winds up encountering chaos and much bad luck each time in the process of trying to carve out a success.

## Characters

### Chibidon

The president, not to mistaken for Chibita. He is the one to handle the cases and go directly to each house or business. He is often the butt of jokes and humiliation, down to being physically man-handled or beat up in some instances when he goes on the job.

### Katsudon

The manager. As his name suggests, he is named after the very dish involving pork cutlets.

### Tamadon

The accountant. She is named after the tamadon, a type of dish featuring egg on rice.

Her design is re-used at one point in TOKIO and Kakeru as "Midori", a girl Tokio likes.

### Tendon

A boy whose exact position is not specified. As with the other underlings, his name derives from the *tendon*, a dish with fried shrimp atop rice.

To illustrate such a name, Tendon appears to have a shrimp atop his head, but it is clarified that it is part of a special "shrimp cut" hairstyle given to him by his barbershop family.

### Rice Uncle

The company cleaning person, a strange man who resembles Rerere but with a headpiece designed to highlight his rice theming, as well as a round nose.

## Serialization

* Monthly CoroCoro Comic: February 1980 special issue, April 1980-March 1981

The series ran for these chapters:

1. **"The Story of the Old Brazilian Guy"** (ブラジルのおじいさんの巻)
2. **"The Story of Ijiwaru-sensei's Defeat"** (イジワル先生をやっつけろの巻)
3. **"The Story of Holding a Battle"** (決闘出前持ちの巻)
4. **"The Story of the Beggar President"** (コジキ社長の巻)
5. **"The Story of Chibidon Doll"** (チビドン人形の巻)
6. **"The Story of the Challenge to Climb the Seabed"** (海底登山に挑戦の巻)
7. **"The Story of CM Star Chibidon"** (ＣＭスターチビドンの巻)
8. **"The Story of Driving out the Study Disease"** (ガリ勉病を治せ!!の巻 )
9. **"The Story of the New Actor Volunteer Employee!!"** (新入社員は役者が上!!の巻)
10. **"The Story of Chibidon Becoming a Monkey"** (チビドンサルになるの巻)
11. **"The Story of Exterminating a Drunkard"** (酔っぱらい退治の巻)
12. **"The Story of the Pain and Hardships of Oni"** (オニはつらいよの巻)
13. **"The Story of the Chibidon Persuasion Incident"** (チビドン誘かい事件の巻)

## Reprints

* Futabasha: 1 volume in their "100 Tenland Comics" reprints
* Shogakukan: The above reprint was digitized as part of the "Fujio Akatsuka Complete Works" DVD-ROM set in 2002, and then put as part of ComicPark's print-on-demand version in 2006.
* eBookJapan: 1 volume, using the same sources as above

## External Links

* Read Chibidon at eBookJapan (Japanese)
* "Chibidon" write-up at the Akatsuka Preservation Society (Japanese)
Osomatsu-kun: We'll Do Anything in 6 Rounds!

**Osomatsu-kun: We'll Do Anything in 6 Rounds!** (なんでもやるよ6回戦) was a second sonosheet adaptation of the Osomatsu-kun manga, and was released in July 1965.

It adapted the manga chapter of the same title, with some changes. There were also some changes in the voice cast compared to the last audio drama, with Chibita now being voiced by Toshiko Fujita instead of Tetsuko Kuroyanagi.

## Plot

Totoko's brother Fighting Yowai has backed out of a boxing competition against the strong opponent King Punch, leaving the sextuplets to try to pose as her brother and take his place in the match.

## Staff

### Voice Cast

* Osomatsu- Minori Matsushima
* Chibita- Toshiko Fujita
* Iyami- Kyoji Kobayashi
* Dekapan, King Punch- Kazuo Kumakura
* Totoko- Junko Hori
* Other Sextuplets- Makiko Ito, Hiromi Yamagishi, Kazuko Yoshikawa

## Songs

**"Osomatsu-kun Song"** (おそ松くんのうた)

Lyrics- Hisashi Inoue, Takeshi Yamamoto/ Composer- Seiichiro Uno/Singers- Minori Matsushima, Makiko Ito, Hiromi Yamagishi, Kazuko Yoshikawa , Kyoji Kobayashi, Toshiko Fujita.

The melody is similar to the theme from the first sonosheet, but the lyrics were entirely rewritten to fit the fighting theme of the audio drama.

**"Osomatsu-kun Boxer March"** (おそ松くん ボクサー・マーチ)

Lyrics- Hisashi Inoue, Takeshi Yamamoto/ Composer- Seiichiro Uno/ Singers- Minori Matsushima, Makiko Ito, Hiromi Yamagishi, Kazuko Yoshikawa

**"Osomatsu-kun Counting Song"** (おそ松くんかぞえ歌)

Lyrics- Hisashi Inoue, Takeshi Yamamoto/ Composer- Seiichiro Uno/ Singers- Minori Matsushima, Makiko Ito, Hiromi Yamagishi, Kazuko Yoshikawa
Fujio Akatsuka's Gag + Gag

**Fujio Akatsuka's Gag + Gag** ( ギャグ+ギャグ ) was a short-lived replacement feature for Extraordinary Ataro by Fujio Akatsuka and Fujio Pro, that ran in Weekly Shonen Sunday after the series' wrap-up.

## Overview

Each chapter of the series would be 4 pages long, with short, rapid-fire gags centering around either the cast of Ataro or others in Akatsuka's Star System.

## Serialization

* Weekly Shonen Sunday: #28 to #37 for 1970

During this time, Akatsuka's Bukkare\*Dan would start up in #32, marking a transition into it being the main new Shonen Sunday feature by Akatsuka. Mitsutoshi Furuya's *No-Good Father* (which Akatsuka ghostwrote the early stories of) would then debut in #43, with it overtaking the popularity of *Dan.*

## Reprints

* Akebono (1971): Placed in volume 12 of Ataro
* Kodansha (1990): Last volume of the Ataro reprints
* Takeshobo (1994): Volume 9, as extra material at the end
* Shogakukan (2002): The Takeshobo volumes were digitized for the "Fujio Akatsuka Complete Works" DVD-ROM set, and a print-on-demand edition via ComicPark was later put out in 2005.
* eBookJapan (2009): Reprinted as part of the "Extraordinary Ataro Side-Story" eBook.