is a Japanese

comedy Comedy is a genre of fiction that consists of discourses or works intended to be humorous or amusing by inducing laughter, especially in theatre, film, stand-up comedy, television, radio, books, or any other entertainment medium. The term o ...

manga series written by Fujio Akatsuka. It was serialized from 1967 to 1970 in ''

Weekly Shōnen Sunday is a weekly ''shōnen'' manga magazine published in Japan by Shogakukan since March 1959. Contrary to its title, ''Weekly Shōnen Sunday'' issues are released on Wednesdays. ''Weekly Shōnen Sunday'' has sold over 1.8billion copies since 1986, ...

''. Two

anime is hand-drawn and computer-generated animation originating from Japan. Outside of Japan and in English, ''anime'' refers specifically to animation produced in Japan. However, in Japan and in Japanese, (a term derived from a shortening of ...

television adaptations were produced by Toei Doga (now known as Toei Animation), and aired

TV Asahi JOEX-DTV (channel 5), branded as (also known as EX and and stylized as TV asahi), is a television station that is owned and operated by the subsidiary of certified broadcasting holding company , itself controlled by The Asahi Shimbun Comp ...

(then called ''NET TV''). Manga has 90 episodes.

Plot

The plot revolves around a young

edokko is a Japanese term referring to a person born and raised in Edo (renamed Tokyo in 1868). The term is believed to have been coined in the late 18th century in Edo. Being an Edokko also implied that the person had certain personality traits differe ...

named Atarō who lives with his father X-gorō (read as ''Batsu''-gorō) in downtown

Tokyo Tokyo (; ja, 東京, , ), officially the Tokyo Metropolis ( ja, 東京都, label=none, ), is the capital and List of cities in Japan, largest city of Japan. Formerly known as Edo, its metropolitan area () is the most populous in the world, ...

running the family store. After his father's sudden death, Atarō must take care of the store himself and, along with the help of his father's ghost, his friend Dekoppachi, former

yakuza , also known as , are members of transnational organized crime syndicates originating in Japan. The Japanese police and media, by request of the police, call them , while the ''yakuza'' call themselves . The English equivalent for the ter ...

leader Butamatsu, and a nutty alley cat named Nyarome, he protects it from the tanuki-faced gang leader Kokoro Boss.

Cast

Atarō (ア太郎) (Voice:

Keiko Yamamoto , born August 7, 1943, is a Japanese voice actress from Osaka Prefecture. Many of her roles have been older women, young boys, or tomboyish young girls. Filmography Anime television series * Akado Suzunosuke – Akadō Suzunosuke * Andersen ...

(1st);

Tomoko Maruo is a Japanese voice actress who is affiliated with Aoni Production. On December 24, 2012, she started using the stage name Chiko. Filmography Television animation *''Dragon Ball Z'' (Hatch) *'' Mooretsu Atarou'' (Atarou) *''Romeo's Blue Skies'' ...

(2nd)) The initial main character of the series, Ataro is a 10 year old boy who runs a vegetable store in

with his father. He is serious and hard working but also sensitive. X-gorō (×五郎) (Voice:

Ichirō Nagai was a Japanese actor, voice actor and narrator from Ikeda, Osaka. He was previously affiliated with Tokyo Actor's Consumer's Cooperative Society, and was affiliated with Aoni Production at the time of his death. Career Nagai played '' GeGeGe no ...

(1st); Sanji Hase (2nd)) Ataro's father. He is killed when he falls out of a tree while trying to retrieve a young kids balloon. Because of the way his name is spelt, he could not enter heaven and was allowed back down to earth. However, since his body was cremated, he is stuck on earth as a ghost that only Ataro can see. Nyarome (ニャロメ) (Voice:

Hiroshi Ōtake was a Japanese actor and voice actor, represented by 81 Produce. He was best known for his roles as Nyarome in '' Mōretsu Atarō'', Daisho in ''Himitsu no Akko-chan'', Boss in ''Mazinger Z'', Pāman 2 (Booby) in '' Pāman'', King Nikochan in ...

(1st); Akira Kamiya (2nd)) An alley cat who walks on two legs and can speak like a human. He is stubborn and mischievous, and often hits on human women. Dekoppachi (デコッ八) (Voice:

Midori Katō is a Japanese actress, voice actress, and narrator who is most famous for the role of Sazae Fuguta from the long-running family anime ''Sazae-san''. She is also known for voicing Yoshiko in ''Sally the Witch'' and Osomatsu Matsuno in '' Osomats ...

(1st); Kyōko Tongū (2nd)) A 10 year old boy and Ataro's best friend. Dekoppachi has a short temper and a strong sense of justice. He was named by a reader. Butamatsu (ブタ松) (Voice: Kōsei Tomita (1st); Yō Yoshimura (2nd)) A former Yakuza leader who leads a gang of pigs. Kokoro Boss (ココロのボス) (Voice:

Jōji Yanami was a Japanese actor, voice actor and narrator who was affiliated with Aoni Production. Some of his major voice roles included the '' Dragon Ball'' anime series, which he narrated and voiced Dr. Briefs, Kaiō-sama ( King Kai or North Kaio), a ...

(both series)) An unusual man. Whether he is a tanuki or a human is unknown. Kopun A (コプンA) (Voice:

Keiichi Noda is a Japanese actor, voice actor and narrator from Yamaguchi Prefecture. He is affiliated with Aoni Production. His real name is . He is most known for the roles of Tetsuya Tsurugi in ''Great Mazinger'', Gantsu Sensei in '' Ganbare!! Robocon'' ...

(1st); Toshio Kobayashi (2nd)) One of Kokoro Boss's henchmen. He is the taller one of the two. Kopun B (コプンB) (Voice:

Isamu Tanonaka was a Japanese actor, voice actor and narrator from Taitō, Tokyo. He was best known for voicing Medama Oyaji in nearly every adaptation of Shigeru Mizuki's '' GeGeGe no Kitarō'' made during his lifetime. Career During his life he had been atta ...

(1st); Shinobu Satōchi (2nd)) One of Kokoro Boss's henchmen. He is the shorter one of the two God (神様) (Voice: Takuzō Kamiyama (1st); Isamu Tanonaka (2nd)) God's Pupil (Voice:

Masako Nozawa is a Japanese actress, voice actress and narrator. Throughout her life, she has been affiliated with Production Baobab, 81 Produce and self-owned Office Nozawa; she is also affiliated with Aoni Production. Her late husband, Masaaki Tsukada, wa ...

(1st);

Mie Suzuki Mie may refer to: Places * Mie, Ōita (), a former town in Ōita Prefecture, Japan * Mie District, Mie (), a district in Mie Prefecture, Japan * Mie Prefecture (), a prefecture of Japan * Mie University (), a national university in Tsu, Mie Prefec ...

(2nd)) Kumagorō (Voice:

Yonehiko Kitagawa is a Japanese voice actor represented by Aoni Production. He was formerly credited as . He is a graduate of Hosei University. Filmography Television animation ;1966 *''Sally the Witch'' (Mephisto, Dump Driver, Charlatan) ;1968 *''Akane-chan'' ...

(1st);

Masaharu Satō is a Japanese actor, voice actor and narrator currently working for Aoni Production. He was born in Ōta, Tokyo. Satō is best known for the roles of Buffaloman, Sunshine (''Kinnikuman''), Miyamoto Musashi ('' Yaiba''), Adah ('' Mushiking: King ...

(2nd)) Kumagorō's wife (Voice: Mariko Tsuda (1st); Noriko Uemura (2nd)) Kemunpas (ケムンパス) (Voice:

(1st);

Keiichi Nanba is a Japanese actor, voice actor and narrator currently affiliated with Fujiga Office Inc. He is married to fellow voice actress Mayumi Shō. Filmography Anime * ''Persia, the Magic Fairy'' (1984) (Gaku Muroi) * ''Alpen Rose'' (1985) (Lundi Co ...

(2nd)) A young caterpillar who is friends with Nyarome and Beshi. He is often used where a caterpillar may be needed, to dispense some commentary or advice or just crawl about. Beshi (べし) (Voice: Kōsei Tomita (1st);

Kōzō Shioya is a Japanese actor, voice actor and narrator from Kagoshima Prefecture. He is represented by Aoni Production. His younger brother Yoku Shioya is also an actor and voice actor. Biography Filmography Television animation ;1980s *''Mobile Suit ...

(2nd)) A frog offering exposition or hanging out with Nyarome and Kemunpas. Doctor

Fukuwarai is a Japanese children's game popular at the Lunar New Year. Players are led to a table which has a paper drawing of a human face with no features depicted, and cutouts of several facial features (such as the eyes, eyebrows, nose and mouth). Wh ...

(Voice:

Kiyoshi Kobayashi Kiyoshi, (きよし or キヨシ), is a Japanese given name, also spelled Kyoshi. Possible meanings *'' Kyōshi'', a form of Japanese poetry *Kyōshi, a Japanese honorific Possible writings *清, "cleanse" *淳, "pure" *潔, "undefiled" *清志, ...

(2nd only)) A doctor with an unusual face consisting of a wrinkled mouth and sagging eyes. He uses saws and other heavy tools in his surgery and considers his work to be artistic, as he can expertly re-arrange faces and bodies to mind-boggling results. Momoko (Voice:

Aya Hisakawa is a Japanese voice actress and singer. In addition to releasing various solo CDs, Hisakawa is well known for her voice roles in anime and video games. Some of her major roles are Retsu Unohana in ''Bleach'', Sailor Mercury in ''Sailor Moon'', ...

(2nd only)) *

Kōban A is a small neighborhood police station found in Japan. The term also refers to the smallest organizational unit in a modern Japanese Prefectural police department. Small kōban buildings, staffed by uniformed officers at around 6,000 locatio ...

Officer (Voice: Kazumi Tanaka (2nd only))

Cameos

The first anime featured cameo appearances by several characters from other Akatsuka works. *Iyami (''

Osomatsu-kun is a comedy manga series by Fujio Akatsuka which ran in Shogakukan's ''Weekly Shōnen Sunday'' magazine from 1962 to 1969. The series revolves around a group of sextuplet brothers who cause all sorts of mischief. It has been adapted into ...

'') (Voice: Yonehiko Kitagawa) *Chibita (''Osomatsu-kun'') (Voice: Kazue Tagami, Masako Nozawa) *Totoko (''Osomatsu-kun'') (Voice:

Kazuko Sugiyama , known by her stage name , is a Japanese actress and voice actress who was born in Nagoya and works for Aoni Production. In February 2010, she received a "Merit Award" from the 4th Seiyu Awards. Filmography Anime *Hanako Mori in '' Inakappe ...

) *Dekapan (''Osomatsu-kun'') *Hatabo (''Osomatsu-kun'') *Matsuzo (''Osomatsu-kun'') *Matsuyo (''Osomatsu-kun'') *Hagechibi (''Osomatsu-kun'') *Honkan-san (''

Tensai Bakabon is a Japanese manga series written and illustrated by Fujio Akatsuka, which began publication on April 9, 1967, in ''Weekly Shōnen Magazine''. It is about the misadventures of a dim-witted boy (Bakabon) and his idiotic father, the latte ...

'') (Voice: Isamu Tanonaka, Keiichi Noda, and others) *Bakabon no Papa (''Tensai Bakabon'') (Voice: Jōji Yanami) *Rerere (''Tensai Bakabon'')

External links

''Mōretsu Atarō''
at Kore de ii noda ( Fujio Akatsuka database) * * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Moretsu Ataro 1967 manga 1970 comics endings 1969 anime television series debuts 1970 Japanese television series endings 1990 anime television series debuts 1990 Japanese television series endings Comedy anime and manga Fujio Akatsuka Shōnen manga Toei Animation television TV Asahi original programming Toei Animation films