is a ''

yonkoma , a comic strip format, generally consists of gag comic strips within four panels of equal size ordered from top to bottom. They also sometimes run right-to-left horizontally or use a hybrid 2×2 style, depending on the layout requirements of ...

'' manga series by Takako Aonuma which ran in the Fujinseikatsusha child-raising magazine '' Petit Enfant''. The manga was adapted to a 52-episode

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 series which ran on the MBS and TBS networks (except for TV Yamaguchi) from September 2, 1995 through August 31, 1996. The series is sometimes called ''Mama Poyo''. The series follows the "adventures" of a young mother and father as they deal with the joys and challenges of raising small children. The "poyopoyo" in the title is an

onomatopoeia Onomatopoeia is the process of creating a word that phonetically imitates, resembles, or suggests the sound that it describes. Such a word itself is also called an onomatopoeia. Common onomatopoeias include animal noises such as ''oink'', '' ...

for the young children "toddling" around (or walking unsteadily).

Books

Manga, first release

*Volume 1: *Volume 2: *Volume 3: *Volume 4:

Manga, second release

*Volume 1: *Volume 2: *Volume 3:

Toilet training book

This book was written by Eiichi Hoashi, a well-known child psychologist in Japan. Aonuma wrote the accompanying manga used to illustrate the various ideas and techniques presented in the book. *''The Battle to Get Two-year-old Ann Out of Diapers: Mama Poyo Special: Going to Undies in Four Steps'',

Anime picture books

*Volume 1: *Volume 2: *Volume 3: *Volume 4: *Volume 5: ISBN *Volume 6: ISBN *Volume 7: ISBN *Volume 8: ISBN *Volume 9: *Volume 10: *Volume 11: *Volume 12:

Anime

Cast

In the manga, the names of the characters are the real names of the Aonuma family, but in the anime, they were given new names. Following are names used in the anime: *Hyōga Poyota:

Yuri Shiratori Yuri may refer to: People and fictional characters Given name *Yuri (Slavic name), the Slavic masculine form of the given name George, including a list of people with the given name Yuri, Yury, etc. * Yuri (Japanese name), also Yūri, feminine Ja ...

(5 years old, boy, in oldest class in pre-school) *Jura Poyota:

Satomi Kōrogi is a Japanese actress, voice actress, singer and narrator from Tokyo. She is affiliated with Production Baobab. She is best known for her roles as Chi in ''Chi's Sweet Home'', and as Himawari Nohara in '' Crayon Shin-chan'', Misty's Togepi and ...

(3 years old, girl, in youngest class in pre-school) *Miki Poyota:

Rica Matsumoto is a Japanese actress, voice actress and singer who was born in Yokohama, Japan. Her name is also sometimes romanized as Rica Matsumoto. She was one of the founders of the anison band JAM Project. After early stage work, she began both voice a ...

(Mom, housewife and picture book author) *Gendai Poyota:

Yūichi Nagashima Yūichi, Yuichi, or Yuuichi is a masculine Japanese given name. Possible writings Yūichi can be written using different combinations of kanji characters. Here are some examples: *勇一, "courage, 1" *祐一, "to help, 1" *祐市, "to help, cit ...

(Dad,

salaryman In Japan, a is a salaried worker. In Japanese popular culture, this is embodied by a white-collar worker who shows overriding loyalty and commitment to the corporation where he works. Salarymen are expected to work long hours, to put in addit ...

, called "Darling" by Miki) Other characters: *Emi Kunitachi:

Kumiko Nishihara is a Japanese voice actress from Chigasaki, Kanagawa affiliated with Aoni Production also known for her work on the stage. Biography While a student at Wako University, Nishihara attended voice acting classes run by Kaneta Kimotsuki. When Ki ...

*Reira Kunitachi: Hinako Kanamaru *Yū Kunitachi:

Fujiko Takimoto is a Japanese voice actress from Osaka Prefecture, Japan. On February 2, 2014, she married fellow voice actor and her '' Mahoromatic'' co-star Hideki Ogihara. Filmography Anime *'' Mahoujin Guru Guru'' (1994) (Nike) *''Captain Tsubasa J'' (19 ...

*Employee B:

Wakana Yamazaki is a Japanese actress, voice actress and narrator who works for Aoni Production. She was born in Yokohama and is best known for her roles as Ran Mouri in ''Detective Conan'', Atsuko "Akko" Kagami in the 1998 version of '' Himitsu no Akko-chan'', ...

Staff

*Original creator: Takako Aonuma *Director: Takayoshi Suzuki *Script: Mamiko Ikeda, Minori Ikeno, Tomoko Ishizuka *Producers:

Hiroshi Nishikiori is a Japanese anime director. He debuted in 1999 with '' I'm Gonna Be An Angel!'' Two years later, he directed '' Angelic Layer'', which won the Animation Kobe in the television category. Some of his other major works include ''Azumanga Daioh'', ...

, Fūta Morita, Jōhei Matsuura,

Shinya Hanai Shinya (Shin'ya) is a Japanese given name, usually for males. It is pronounced as "Shin-ya", not "Shi-nya". Notable people with the name include: *, Japanese curler and curling coach *, Japanese politician *Shinya Aoki (born 1983), professional mi ...

, Masahiro Hosoda, others *Character designs: Tatsuo Miura *Animation director: Tatsuo Miura, Hiroshi Oikawa, Shinichirō Kajiura, Hirokazu Ishino, others *Background artist: Gōichi Kudō *Art director:

Satoshi Suzuki is a Japanese screenwriter. Selected works Television * series head writer denoted in bold *'' Ultraman: Towards the Future'' (1992) * ''Kenkaya Ukon'' (1993) * ''Meibugyo Toyama no Kin-san'' (1993) * ''Ultraman Cosmos'' (2002) * ''Kinyu Fushoku ...

*Music:

Kazunori Maruyama Kazunori (written: 一慶, 一典, 一則, 一謙, 一徳, 一矩, 一紀, 和典, 和則, 和徳, 和行, 和範 or 和憲) is a masculine Japanese given name. Notable people with the name include: *, Japanese samurai *, Japanese footballer *, Ja ...

*Sound effects: Mitsuru Kageyama ( Fizz Sound Creation) *Audio production: San'onkyō *Production: MBS,

Nippon Animation is a Japanese animation studio. The company is headquartered in Tokyo, with chief offices in the Ginza district of Chūō and production facilities in Tama City. Nippon Animation is known for producing numerous anime series based on works of ...

*Writing: Takako Aonuma, MBS, Nippon Animation

Theme songs

Opening

;''Beeper Love'' :Vocals: Now :Lyrics: Umedy :Composer: Cake-K :Arrangement: Shige

Ending

; (acoustic version) :Vocals:

Masatoshi Ono , also known as Sho, is a Japanese rock/heavy metal singer-songwriter and vocal coach. Ono got his start in the 1980s as vocalist of the heavy metal band Fort Bragg. In 1992, he released his first solo single, "Pure ni Nare", on Sony Records. I ...

:Lyrics: Masatoshi Ono :Composer: Tsukasa :Arrangement: Yoshio Tsuru ; :Vocals: Rica Matsumoto :Lyrics: Rui Serizawa :Composer: Kazuyoshi Shina :Arrangement: Tatsuya Nishiwaki

External links

Official ''Mama Poyo'' page
* {{Nippon Animation 1995 anime television series debuts Mainichi Broadcasting System original programming Nippon Animation Anime series based on manga Books about parenting TBS Television (Japan) original programming Yonkoma