is a Japanese

yonkoma is a comic strip format that 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 requiremen ...

manga are comics or graphic novels originating from Japan. Most manga conform to a style developed in Japan in the late 19th century, and the form has a long history in earlier Japanese art. The term is used in Japan to refer to both comics ...

series written and illustrated by

Mikio Igarashi is a Japanese manga artist born 13 January 1955 in the town of Nakaniida (now Kami), Kami District, Miyagi Prefecture, Japan, though he lives in the city of Sendai. He is best known for his manga series '' Bonobono'' and '' Ninpen Manmaru''. In ...

. From March 1986 to March 1987, the series ran in the

Takeshobo is a major publisher in Japan. Takeshobo was founded in 1972 by Kyōichirō Noguchi, starting Japan's first Mahjong magazine . Other magazines, such as a magazine dedicated to mahjong-themed manga, as well as a magazine dedicated to yonkoma ma ...

manga magazine ''Tensai Club'' before the magazine was replaced with ''Manga Club'', where it had been serialized from April 1987 to April 2020. It had also been serialized in ''

Manga Life was a manga magazine published monthly by Takeshobo in Japan since the November 1984 issue (published in October 1984). Its original title was , and the change to ''Manga Life'' was made to better compete with '' Manga Time'', a rival magazine p ...

'' from April 1986 to July 2022. In July 2022, the series moved to ''Manga Life Original'' after Manga Life folded. It has been adapted into an

anime is a Traditional animation, hand-drawn and computer animation, computer-generated animation originating from Japan. Outside Japan and in English, ''anime'' refers specifically to animation produced in Japan. However, , in Japan and in Ja ...

television series, as well as two anime

film A film, also known as a movie or motion picture, is a work of visual art that simulates experiences and otherwise communicates ideas, stories, perceptions, emotions, or atmosphere through the use of moving images that are generally, sinc ...

s and two

video game A video game or computer game is an electronic game that involves interaction with a user interface or input device (such as a joystick, game controller, controller, computer keyboard, keyboard, or motion sensing device) to generate visual fe ...

s. While the series is considered a

manga, most of the "stories" use eight panels. The series follows the main character, a young

sea otter The sea otter (''Enhydra lutris'') is a marine mammal native to the coasts of the northern and eastern Pacific Ocean, North Pacific Ocean. Adult sea otters typically weigh between , making them the heaviest members of ...

after whom the manga is titled, and his daily adventures with his friends from the nearby forest. ''Bonobono'' combines gag comic and philosophical questions, bringing up comparisons to other manga such as ''

Azumanga Daioh is a Japanese ''yonkoma'' comedy manga series written and illustrated by Kiyohiko Azuma. It was serialized from February 1999 to May 2002 in the monthly magazine ''Dengeki Daioh'' by MediaWorks (publisher), MediaWorks; three additional c ...

'', and to films such as ''

Forrest Gump ''Forrest Gump'' is a 1994 American comedy-drama film directed by Robert Zemeckis. An adaptation of the Forrest Gump (novel), 1986 novel by Winston Groom, the screenplay of the film is written by Eric Roth. It stars Tom Hanks in the title rol ...

''. In 1988, ''Bonobono'' won the

Kodansha Manga Award is one of Japan's major manga awards. The event is sponsored by publisher Kodansha. It has been awarded annually for serialized manga in its third iteration since 1977. Categories The award was originally called the until 1968. In 1970, it was ...

in the General category. An anime film was released in theaters on November 13, 1993, and an anime television series was broadcast on

TV Tokyo JOTX-DTV (channel 7), branded as is a Japanese television station that serves as the flagship of the TX Network.simulation game Simulation video games are a diverse super-category of video games, generally designed to closely simulate real world activities. A simulation game attempts to copy various activities from real life in the form of a game for various purposes such ...

was released on the

3DO 3DO is a video gaming hardware format developed by The 3DO Company and conceived by Electronic Arts founder Trip Hawkins. The specifications were originally designed by Dave Needle and RJ Mical of New Technology Group, and were licensed by third ...

system. The following June, an

adventure game An adventure game is a video game genre in which the player assumes the role of a protagonist in an interactive story, driven by exploration and/or puzzle-solving. The genre's focus on story allows it to draw heavily from other narrative-based m ...

was released on the

PlayStation is a video gaming brand owned and produced by Sony Interactive Entertainment (SIE), a division of Japanese conglomerate Sony. Its flagship products consists of a series of home video game consoles produced under the brand; it also consists ...

. Several ''

ehon is the Japanese term for picture books. It may be applied in the general sense, or may refer specifically to a type of woodblock printed illustrated volume published in the Edo period (1603–1867). The first were religious items with images ...

''—or "picture books"—have been released since the manga series was first introduced over 30 years ago.

Characters

* Bonobono (ぼのぼの): A mellow sea otter that lives with his father by the ocean near the forest. His mother died in childbirth. He is a bit naïve in the ways of the world, and is curious in general. Never seen without a shellfish in his hand, in case he gets hungry. * Shimarisu-kun/

Chipmunk Chipmunks are small, striped rodents of subtribe Tamiina. Chipmunks are found in North America, with the exception of the Siberian chipmunk which is found primarily in Asia. Taxonomy and systematics Chipmunks are classified as four genera: '' ...

(シマリスくん): A young chipmunk who is friends with Bonobono. He has a habit of asking if people are going to bully him (いじめる? ''Ijimeru?'') and is regularly tormented by Araiguma and his older sister Shō. However, he does bring some of it on himself; depending on the day, he can unintentionally or even intentionally say things to rile them up. Like Bonobono, he always carries something with him, in his case a walnut. * Araiguma-kun/

Raccoon The raccoon ( or , ''Procyon lotor''), sometimes called the North American, northern or common raccoon (also spelled racoon) to distinguish it from Procyonina, other species of raccoon, is a mammal native to North America. It is the largest ...

(アライグマくん): A young raccoon who is friends with Bonobono. He has a very short fuse and often plays the ''tsukkomi'' for his other two friends. He likes to bully Shimarisu, and often gets into trouble with his father. * Sunadori Neko-san/

Fishing Cat The fishing cat (''Prionailurus viverrinus'') is a medium-sized wild cat of South and Southeast Asia. It has a deep yellowish-grey fur with black lines and spots. Adults have a head-to-body length of , with a long tail. Males are larger than f ...

(スナドリネコさん): An animal who is not native to the Forest, but is the currently named strongest animal there after defeating Higuma no Taishō. Bonobono and friends often ask him questions about certain subjects. In general, he's often portrayed as one of the more sensible residents of the Forest. * Bonobono's Father (ぼのぼののおとうさん): The father of Bonobono. He is a somewhat bumbling man who tries to bond with his son in silly ways. He speaks with pauses in between phrases. Likes to go on long journeys. His wife died in childbirth. * Araiguma-kun's Father (アライグマくんのおとうさん): The father of Araiguma-kun. A very ornery animal, he gets set off at the slightest annoyance or indiscretion. Takes out his anger constantly on Araiguma-kun. * Kuzuri-kun/

Wolverine The wolverine ( , ; ''Gulo gulo''), also called the carcajou or quickhatch (from East Cree, ''kwiihkwahaacheew''), is the largest land-dwelling species, member of the family Mustelidae. It is a muscular carnivore and a solitary animal. The w ...

(クズリくん): A young wolverine that walks on all fours. He has a bad habit of pooping all over the forest. * Kuzuri-kun's Father (クズリくんのおとうさん): The father of Kuzuri-kun. The closest thing the Forest has to a medicine man, Kuzuri-kun's Father has plenty of plants and herbs in his home that are relevant to the topic at hand. Resourceful, but somewhat eccentric. He is very proud of his son. * Fenegi-kun/Fennec Kitsune/Fenny (フェネギくん): A young

fennec fox The fennec fox (''Vulpes zerda'') is a small fox native to the deserts of North Africa, ranging from Western Sahara and Mauritania to the Sinai Peninsula. Its most distinctive feature is its unusually large ears, which serve to dissipate hea ...

who is friends with Bonobono and company. Self conscious. * Shō Nee-chan (しょうねえちゃん): One of Shimarisu-kun's elder sisters. She loves to pick on him and always wins their fights, but has a soft spot for him underneath her bullying nature. * Dai Nee-chan (だいねえちゃん): One of Shimarisu-kun's elder sisters. Acts very proper and elegant, but often embellishes information she gets. She desires for Shimarisu-kun to become independent. * Anaguma/

Badger Badgers are medium-sized short-legged omnivores in the superfamily Musteloidea. Badgers are a polyphyletic rather than a natural taxonomic grouping, being united by their squat bodies and adaptions for fossorial activity rather than by the ...

(アナグマくん): A stoic young badger whose acquaintances are Bonobono and friends. No one can tell what is on his mind, since he does not emote. * Higuma no Taishō/Boss

Bear Bears are carnivoran mammals of the family (biology), family Ursidae (). They are classified as caniforms, or doglike carnivorans. Although only eight species of bears are extant, they are widespread, appearing in a wide variety of habitats ...

(ヒグマの大将): The former strongest of the Forest before being defeated by Sunadori Neko. While he is benevolent and wishes to protect the Forest, he does not wish for Sunadori Neko to be there since he is an outsider. Lives away from his wife and child. Immense in size. * Shimacchau Ojisan/The Putaway Man (しまっちゃうおじさん): A tall animal that seems to exist only in Bonobono's imagination as a bogeyman. If Bonobono does something wrong, Shimacchau Ojisan will hypothetically come and lock him away in a cave.

Books

In addition to the original

tankōbon A is a standard publishing format for books in Japan, alongside other formats such as ''shinsho'' (17x11 cm paperback books) and ''bunkobon''. Used as a loanword in English, the term specifically refers to a printed collection of a manga that w ...

releases, the first twenty tankōbon volumes have been rereleased in bunkoban format as 15 volumes. Several stand-alone picture books have been released as well. For the first film, an ''ekonte''—or

storyboard A storyboard is a graphic organizer that consists of simple illustrations or images displayed in sequence for the purpose of pre-visualizing a motion picture, animation, motion graphic or interactive media sequence. The storyboarding proce ...

—volume and a set of four film comics have been released.

Manga

Tankōbon

Takeshobo released all the volumes of manga listed below. *Volume 1, , March 1987 *Volume 2, , December 1987 *Volume 3, , September 1988 *Volume 4, , August 1989 *Volume 5, , September 1990 *Volume 6, , June 1991 *Volume 7, , November 1991 *Volume 8, , May 1993 *Volume 9, , October 1993 *Volume 10, , November 1994 *Volume 11, , August 1995 *Volume 12, , January 1996 *Volume 13, , September 1996 *Volume 14, , March 1997 *Volume 15, , December 1997 *Volume 16, , September 1998 *Volume 17, , August 1999 *Volume 18, , December 1999 *Volume 19, , August 2000 *Volume 20, , January 2001 *Volume 21, , May 2002 *Volume 22, , February 2003 *Volume 23, , July 2003 *Volume 24, , January 2004 *Volume 25, , July 2005 *Volume 26, , January 2005 *Volume 27, , October 2005 *Volume 28, , July 2006 *Volume 29, , April 2007 *Volume 30, , March 2008 *Volume 31, , July 2009 *Volume 32, , August 2009 *Volume 33, , December 2009 *Volume 34, , August 2010 *Volume 35, , July 2011 *Volume 36, , May 2012 *Volume 37, , July 2013 *Volume 38, , February 2014 *Volume 39, , July 2014 *Volume 40, , June 2015 *Volume 41, , March 2016 *Volume 42, , March 2017 *Volume 43, . March 2018 *Volume 44, . March 2019 *Volume 45, . March 2020 *Volume 46, . March 2021 *Volume 47, . March 2022 *Volume 48, . July 2023 *Volume 49, . September 2024

Bunkoban

Takeshobo released all the volumes of manga listed below. *Volume 1, , July 2002 *Volume 2, , July 2002 *Volume 3, , July 2002 *Volume 4, , July 2002 *Volume 5, , July 2002 *Volume 6, , January 2003 *Volume 7, , January 2003 *Volume 8, , January 2003 *Volume 9, , January 2003 *Volume 10, , January 2003 *Volume 11, , January 2015 *Volume 12, , March 2015 *Volume 13, , May 2015 *Volume 14, , July 2015 *Volume 15, , March 2016

Film comics

These books contain scenes from the first ''Bonobono'' film laid out in comic book format. All were released by Takeshobo. *Volume 1, , December 1993 *Volume 2, , December 1993 *Volume 3, , January 1994 *Volume 4, , January 1994

Storyboards

This book contains the

s for the first ''Bonobono'' film. *, , November 1993, Takeshobo

Picture books

Various ''Bonobono'' picture books have been released, including the following. Titles are listed chronologically. *, , December 1987, Takeshobo *, , December 1987, Takeshobo *, , June 1988, Takeshobo *, , May 1989, Takeshobo *, , November 1998, Takeshobo *, , November 1993, Takeshobo *, , December 1993, Takeshobo *, , July 2006, Takeshobo

Anime

1993 film

The first theatrical release, titled ''Bonobono'', opened in theaters on 1993-11-13. The film has since been broadcast on domestic television in Japan, including on

broadcast satellite A communications satellite is an artificial satellite that relays and amplifies radio telecommunication signals via a transponder; it creates a communication channel between a source transmitter and a receiver at different locations on Earth. ...

channels such as NHK BS-2. The film has been released on

VHS VHS (Video Home System) is a discontinued standard for consumer-level analog video recording on tape cassettes, introduced in 1976 by JVC. It was the dominant home video format throughout the tape media period of the 1980s and 1990s. Ma ...

and

DVD The DVD (common abbreviation for digital video disc or digital versatile disc) is a digital optical disc data storage format. It was invented and developed in 1995 and first released on November 1, 1996, in Japan. The medium can store any ki ...

in Japan, including in a "no cut" edition.

Staff

*Director:

*Screenplay: Mikio Igarashi *Animation directors: Yūji Mutō, Tameo Kohanawa *Producer: Atsushi Tashiro *Planning: Ippei Takahashi, Masayuki Miyashita,

Shin Unosawa Shin may refer to: Biology * The front part of the leg below the knee * Shinbone, the tibia, the larger of the two bones in the leg below the knee in vertebrates Names * Shin (given name) (Katakana: シン, Hiragana: しん), a Japanese giv ...

, Atsushi Tashiro, Naomasa Tsuruta *Art director: Atsushi Ioki *Music: Gontiti *Distribution: Gaga Communications *Theme song: ''Hatsukoi'' **Lyrics: Kanata Asamizu **Composition, Vocals: Yoshiyuki Ōsawa

Cast

*Bonobono:

Toshiko Fujita was a Japanese actress, singer and narrator. She was affiliated with Aoni Production at the time of her death. Biography At the age of eight, Fujita worked in radio and television as an actress, singer and comedian. She also sang theme son ...

* Shimarisu-kun:

Sumie Baba is a Japanese voice actress affiliated with 81 Produce. Filmography *Shimarisu-kun in '' Bonobono'' (first film) *Chisa Tsukamoto in Comic Party (TV), Comic Party Revolution (TV & OAV) *Hiroshi in Hamtaro (TV) *Kirei in Cool Devices (OAV) *Nami ...

* Araiguma-kun:

Yūsaku Yara is a Japanese actor, voice actor and narrator from Tokyo, Japan. His real name is , and his former stage name was . Previously, he was the representative director of the voice actor office vi-vo, but it was dissolved due to old age. He is best k ...

*Araiguma-kun's father:

Chikao Ōtsuka was a Japanese actor, voice actor and narrator. He was most known for the roles of Captain Hook ('' Peter Pan: The Animated Series'' and '' Disney's Peter Pan''), Dick Dastardly (''Wacky Races'' and ''Dastardly and Muttley in Their Flying Machine ...

*Kuzuri-kun's father:

Kazuo Kumakura was a Japanese actor, voice actor, and theatre director. He was the head of the Theatre Echo agency at the time of his death. Biography Kazuo Kumakura was born in the Azabu district of Minato, Tokyo on January 30, 1927. In 1956, he joined the T ...

* Kuzuri-kun: Sakiko Uran * Higuma-san: Yūko Sasaki *Kohiguma-kun: Mayumi Kumagai *Bonobono's father: Mikio Igarashi *Shō Nee-chan:

Mayumi Tanaka (born January 15, 1955) is a Japanese actress, voice actress and narrator. She voiced Monkey D. Luffy in '' One Piece''; Krillin, Yajirobe and Uranai Baba in '' Dragon Ball; Ryunosuke Fujinami in '' Urusei Yatsura; Koenma in '' Yu Yu Hakus ...

*Dai Nee-chan: Manami Sasaki *Higuma no Taishō:

Tesshō Genda (sometimes credited as Tessyou Genda, Tetsuaki Genda, or Tetsusyo Genda) is a Japanese actor, voice actor and narrator. He is employed by the talent management firm 81 Produce. When he debuted, he used his real name, as artist name. Because h ...

* Sunadorineko-san:

Hōchū Ōtsuka is a Japanese voice actor and narrator affiliated with the talent management firm Crazy Box. He is best known for his roles as the voices of Kyao Mirao in ''Heavy Metal L-Gaim''; Mont Blanc Noland in ''One Piece''; Yazan Gable in ''Mobile Suit ...

*Shimarisu-kun's father:

Kazuyuki Sekiguchi is a Japanese musician, best known for playing the bass guitar for Southern All Stars.Riantrisnanto, Rully.Band Lawas Southern All Stars Kembali Ramaikan Permusikan Jepang (in Indonesian), June 26, 2013. As a solo artist, he has played ukulele. ...

*Shimarisu-kun's mother: Yukiko Shibata * Fennec Kitsune-kun: Kanako Tanaka *Fennec Kitsune-kun's father: Takahiro Fujita Sources:

1995 TV series

The ''Bonobono'' anime television series ran from April 20, 1995 through March 28, 1996 as part of the series on Tuesday evenings from 7:00 pm to 7:30 pm on

TV Tokyo JOTX-DTV (channel 7), branded as is a Japanese television station that serves as the flagship of the TX Network.Bit the Cupid'' to fill out the 30-minute timeslot. The series has been rebroadcast on several different channels and networks, including

Animax , stylized as ANIMAX in all caps, is a Japanese animation satellite television network, dedicated to broadcasting anime programming. Launched on July 1, 1998, Animax is the first 24-hour network in the world dedicated to anime.The Anime Biz' - ...

and the on-demand

internet streaming Streaming media refers to multimedia delivered through a network for playback using a media player. Media is transferred in a ''stream'' of packets from a server to a client and is rendered in real-time; this contrasts with file downl ...

service

GyaO is a Japanese web portal. It was the most-visited website in Japan, nearing monopolistic status. According to ''The Japan Times'', as of 2012, Yahoo! Japan had a footprint on the internet market in Japan. In terms of use as a search engine, ...

. The entire TV series was released as two

box sets on April 20, 2007.

Staff

*Planning: Takashi Sakurai, Atsushi Tashiro *Director:

Hitoshi Nanba , also known by his pseudonym Namimi Sanjo, is a Japanese anime director. Nanba started working in the anime industry in 1982 and directed his first full series in 1989. Since then, some of the series he has directed include ''Heroman'', '' Gosick ...

*Series Director: Tetsuo Yasumi *Character Design: Yūka Hotani *Chief Animation Director: Yūka Hotani *Writers: Tetsuo Yasumi, Yasuhiro Komatsuzaki,

Satoru Nishizono is a Japanese anime and tokusatsu screenwriter. Works Anime television series *'' Obocchama-kun'' (1989–1992) - Screenplay *'' Wrestler Gundan Seisenshi Robin Jr.'' (1989–1990) - Screenplay *'' Matchless Raijin-Oh'' (1991–1992) - Screenpl ...

Shōji Yonemura is a Japanese writer from Fukuoka Prefecture. He is known mainly for his work in anime and tokusatsu. After having graduated from Tokyo Zokei University, he worked as a freelance writer in Arakawa, Tokyo, Arakawa and would attend various film ...

Kazuhiko Gōdo Kazuhiko ( or ) is a masculine Japanese given name. Notable people with the name include: * , politician * , a video game producer * Kazuhiko Chiba, Japanese footballer * Kazuhiko Hasegawa, film director * Kazuhiko Hosokawa, professional golfer ...

, Chinatsu Hōjō *Episode Directors:

Kiyotaka Ōhata Kiyotaka (written: 清隆, 清孝, 清高, 聖王 or キヨタカ in katakana) is a masculine Japanese given name. Notable people with the name include: *, Japanese diplomat *, Japanese illustrator *, Japanese handball player *, Japanese botanist ...

, Takashi Ikebata,

Shinichi Watanabe is a Japanese anime director and voice actor. He is best known for his over-the-top adaptation of Rikdo Koshi's ''Excel Saga'', in which he appears as the character Nabeshin. Watanabe stated that the nickname Nabeshin (a name blending of ...

Takashi Yamazaki is a Japanese filmmaker and visual effects supervisor. Known for his blockbusters featuring advanced visual effects, he is considered a leading figure in the Cinema of Japan, Japanese film industry. Yamazaki is the recipient of multiple accolade ...

, Daiji Suzuki, Kiyoshi Fukumoto,

Kiyoko Sayama is a Japanese animator and director. She was born in Saitama Prefecture. Her name is sometimes misromanized as Seiko Sayama. Works TV Anime *'' Nintama Rantarou'' (1993–1994) - Storyboard, Episode Director *'' Tama & Friends'' (1994) - Storybo ...

, Tetsuya Watanabe, Takashi Asami, Kazunari Kume, others *Music:

Kazunori Miyake 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 ...

*Audio Director: Susumu Aketagawa *Music Producer: Sumio Matsuzaki *Art Director:

Kō Watanabe Kou or KOU may refer to *Kou, Burkina Faso, a village in Burkina Faso * Kou, Laiwu (口镇), town in Laicheng District, Laiwu, Shandong, China * Kou language * Kou (name) includes lists of people with the given name and surname *Kou (surname) (� ...

*Editor: Masashi Furukawa *Director of Photography: Mitsunobu Yoshida *Producers: Keisuke Iwata (TV Tokyo), Masatoshi Kanesaka *Animation Producer:

Kenjirō Kawato Kenjirō, Kenjiro, Kenjirou or Kenjiroh (written: 健二郎, 健次郎, 健治郎, 健滋朗, 謙二郎, 謙次郎, 建次郎, 賢二郎 or 乾二郎) is a masculine Japanese given name. Notable people with the name include: *, Japanese shogi play ...

*Animation Production:

Group Tac was a Japanese animation and computer graphics studio located in Shibuya, Tokyo, and founded in 1968 from former Mushi Pro staff. They worked on movies, videos, TV shows, and commercials, and contributed to all stages of the process, including ...

*Production: TV Tokyo,

Amuse, Inc. is a Japanese entertainment company that provides artist management services. The artists include idols, musicians, and more. Amuse produces TV and radio programs, commercial films, and movies. Other interests are in publication, music softwar ...

Theme songs

; :Lyrics, Vocals: Kyōko Suga :Composition, Arrangement: Etsuko Yamakawa :Ending theme for episodes 1-23 and 48 ;''Love, Two Love'' :Lyrics, Composition, Vocals: Kyōko Suga :Arrangement: Ryō Yonemitsu :Ending theme for episodes 24-47

Cast

*Bonobono:

Kumiko Watanabe is a Japanese voice actress. Her most notable roles include the eponymous protagonist of the Klonoa series, Sergeant Keroro in ''Sgt. Frog'', Shippō in '' InuYasha'', Mother in '' Atashin'chi'', and Regina in '' DokiDoki! PreCure''. She marr ...

*Shimarisu-kun:

Konami Yoshida Konami Yoshida (, formerly ; born June 6, 1967) is a Japanese voice actress from Tokyo, Japan. Filmography Television animation *Woman (A) in Armored Police Metal Jack (1991) *Maria Shiratori, Hidenori Kondo in Matchless Raijin-Oh (1991) *Taeko ...

*Araiguma-kun:

Keiji Fujiwara was a Japanese actor and voice actor. His best known works are voicing Shinnosuke's father Hiroshi Nohara in the long-running anime series ''Crayon Shin-chan'', Maes Hughes in ''Fullmetal Alchemist'', Holland Novak in '' Eureka Seven'', Axel ...

*Sunadorineko-san:

Jūrōta Kosugi is a Japanese voice actor. His major roles include Arlong in ''One Piece'', Asuma Sarutobi in ''Naruto'', Akio Ohtori in ''Revolutionary Girl Utena'', Isamu Kenmochi in ''Kindaichi Case Files'', Big Zenki in '' Zenki,'' and Jotaro Kujo in '' ...

*Araiguma-kun's father:

Hideyuki Umezu was a Japanese actor who specialized in voice acting. Biography Graduated from Tokyo Medical and Dental University, he said that if he hadn't become an actor, he would have become a dentist. The catalyst for starting acting was when a friend ...

*Araiguma-kun's mother:

Keiko Han is a Japanese actress and voice actress. She sang the theme songs in productions, such as '' Story of the Alps: My Annette'' and '' The Swiss Family Robinson: Flone of the Mysterious Island''. She is a fortune teller of western horoscopes. She ...

*Bonobono's father:

Takashi Nagasako is a Japanese voice actor who is currently affiliated with Arts Vision. He has voiced in a number of video games with roles such as Ganondorf in ''The Legend of Zelda'', Big the Cat in the ''Sonic the Hedgehog'' series, Cervantes de Leon and ...

*Dai Nee-chan:

Miki Narahashi , professionally using the Hiragana , is a Japanese voice actress who works for Arts Vision. She was born in Tokyo. Notable voice roles *Masao Tachibana in Captain Tsubasa (1983) *Misae Nohara in Crayon Shin-chan (1992–present) *Sailor Moon ...

*Shō Nee-chan:

*Shimarisu-kun's father:

Chafurin , better known by his stage name is a Japanese actor and narrator who is affiliated with Office Osawa. He graduated from Toyo University, and he often plays middle-aged or older characters in anime. Filmography Television Original net animati ...

*Shimarisu-kun's mother:

*Kuzuri-kun: Sakiko Uran *Tamago no Kimi-kun: Sakiko Uran *Kuzuri-kun's father: Sakiko Uran *Fennec Kitsune-kun: Michiyo Yanagisawa *Fennec Kitsune-kun's father:

Keaton Yamada is a Japanese former actor, voice actor and narrator from Mikasa, Hokkaidō. He switched from going by his real name, Shunji Yamada, to going by Keaton Yamada in the 1980s. He is currently represented by Remax. On December 5, 2020, it was ann ...

*Bōzu-kun: Midori Nakazawa *Beaver-san:

Masahiro Anzai Masahiro Anzai (; ''Anzai Masahiro'') (26 November 1954 – 15 March 2021) was a Japanese voice actor and actor. Biography Anzai graduated from the . He retired from acting in 1997 due to his treatment for diabetes, which caused his lower left l ...

*Bōzu-kun's mother:

Rin Mizuhara , also known as Ako Mayama (真山亜子), is a Japanese voice actress who is known for playing young boys or scruffy old ladies. She is best known for playing Sugiyama-kun in the TV series Chibi Maruko-chan. Life Ako Mayama is a native of Gifu ...

*Kohiguma-kun: Aya Ishizu *Kokujira-kun: Aya Ishizu *Higuma no Taishō:

Kiyoyuki Yanada was a Japanese freelance voice actor who was formerly affiliated with Kyu Production, 81 Produce, and D-COLOR.「人気声優にがぶりより! 第32回梁田清之さん」, Animedia February 1990, Gakken, February 1, 1990, magazine 01579-2 ...

*Higuma-san: Junko Hagimori *Hae: Kōji Tobe *Shimatchū Oji-san, others:

Nobuo Tobita is a Japanese voice actor and narrator from Ibaraki Prefecture. He is represented by Arts Vision. He is most known for the roles of Kamille Bidan ('' Mobile Suit Zeta Gundam''), Albert Heinrich/004 ('' Cyborg 009'' (2001)), and Sueo Maruo ('' Ch ...

*Yama-Ō, others:

Yūji Ueda is a Japanese actor, voice actor and singer from Fukuoka Prefecture, Japan. He is best known for voicing the roles of Sagara Sanosuke in ''Rurouni Kenshin'', Akito Tenkawa in '' Martian Successor Nadesico'', Valerino in the 1992 series of '' C ...

*Ki no Obake:

Chie Satō , also stylized as Chie Satou, is a Japanese voice actress who has been featured in a number of anime shows. She is most known for portraying various characters on a number of ''Pokémon'' television shows and as Bo-chan in ''Crayon Shin-chan''. ...

*Min Min:

Akiko Yajima is a Japanese voice actress from Kashiwazaki, Niigata. Her best-known role is as the title character Shinnosuke Nohara in the long-running anime series '' Crayon Shin-chan''. She also voices Mipple in the original '' Futari wa Pretty Cure' ...

*Nan Nan:

Kōji Yusa is a freelance Japanese voice actor and narrator, born and raised in Fushimi-ku, Kyoto. He is best known for his roles in ''Bleach'' (as Gin Ichimaru), ''Choja Raideen'' (as Raideen Owl), the ''Sonic'' series (as Shadow the Hedgehog), '' Batt ...

*Ōsanshōuo-san:

Toshiya Ueda was a Japanese voice actor who worked for 81 Produce. He died on February 8, 2022, at the age of 88. Filmography Television animation *''Jungle Emperor'' (1965) (Lion A) *''Sabu to Ichi Torimono Hikae'' (1968) (Rihei) *'' Andersen Stories'' (1 ...

*Kaeru-kun: Toshiya Ueda *Kokujira-kun's mother: Mari Mashiba *Nagareboshi-kun:

Hiromi Ishikawa is a Japanese actress and voice actress from Tokyo. She is represented by two talent agencies: 81 Produce and Caramel Box, and was formerly represented as a stage actor by Theatre Echo. Filmography Television animation *'' Bonobono'' - Nagar ...

*Rabi Nii-chan:

Nobuyuki Hiyama is a Japanese voice actor, narrator, and radio personality currently affiliated with Arts Vision. His vocal register is described as a metallic lyric tenor suitable to voice a mature variation of coming of age young men. Combined with an ...

*Chirabi-chan:

Kae Araki is a Japanese voice actress from Osaka, Japan. After standing in for Kotono Mitsuishi, the voice of Usagi Tsukino in the series '' Sailor Moon'', when she was undergoing surgery for an ovarian cyst, Araki was given the role of Chibiusa in the ...

*Chibisuke to Okera-kun:

Fujiko Takimoto is a Japanese voice actress. She has been married to her '' Mahoromatic'' co-star Hideki Ogihara on February 2, 2014. Filmography Anime *'' Mahoujin Guru Guru'' (1994) (Nike) *'' Captain Tsubasa J'' (1994) (Sanae Nakazawa) *'' Kiko-chan Smil ...

*Kashira to Gonzo:

Kōji Ishii is a Japanese voice actor. His major roles include: Koutaro Taiga in ''The King of Braves GaoGaiGar'', Giovanni Bertuccio in '' Gankutsuou: The Count of Monte Cristo'', Shigematsu in '' Toriko'', and Prime Minister Honest in '' Akame ga Kill!' ...

Sources:

TV specials

Following the anime television series, nine specials were aired on

TV Tokyo JOTX-DTV (channel 7), branded as is a Japanese television station that serves as the flagship of the TX Network.voice actors Voice acting is the art of Acting, performing a character or providing information to an audience with one's voice. Performers are often called voice actors/actresses in addition to other names. Examples of voice work include animation, animated, ...

from the TV series were used for the specials. * ''Oshōgatsu Da yo: Bonobono no World'' (January 2, 1997) * ''Kodomo no Hi Da yo: Bonobono no World'' (May 5, 1997) * ''Natsu Yasumi Da yo: Bonobono no World'' (July 21, 1997) * ''Taiiku no Hi Da yo: Bonobono no World!'' (October 10, 1997) * ''Oshōgatsu Da yo: Bonobono no World!'' (January 1, 1998) * ''Kodomo wa Kaze no Ko: Bonobono no World!'' (February 1, 1998) * ''Kodomo no Hi Da yo: Bonobono no World'' (May 5, 1998) * ''Shokuyoku no Aki Da yo: Bonobono no World!'' (September 23, 1998) * ''Oyako Anime Gekijō Bonobono: Jōji Namahage'' (December 23, 1998)

2002 film

was the second theatrical ''Bonobono'' movie, released by Amuse Pictures in theaters in Japan on August 10, 2002. It was done completely in 3D.

Staff

*Original Story:

*Director: Kōki Kumagai *Producer : Akihiro Itō *Screenplay Supervisor: Mikio Igarashi *Screenplay: Mikio Igarashi, Kōki Kumagai *Planning: Kiyoshi Tsuji, Akihiro Itō *Music: Gontiti *Storyboards: Mikio Igarashi, Kōki Kumagai *Executive Producers: Ippei Takahashi, Yasumasa Makimura

Cast

*Bonobono:

Yūto Uemura is a Japanese actor, voice actor and singer. He is affiliated with Himawari Theatre Group. Personal life On March 16, 2024, Yūto announced that he had gotten married. Filmography Television drama *'' Bakuryū Sentai Abaranger'' (2003), Lad * ...

*Shimarisu-kun:

*Araiguma-kun:

Kappei Yamaguchi , better known by his stage name , is a Japanese actor, voice actor, and '' rakugoka'' affiliated with Gokū and 21st Century Fox.Doi, Hitoshi"Yamaguchi Kappei" ''Seiyuu Database''. January 11, 2011. Retrieved January 10, 2011. After making his ...

*Bobo-kun:

Etsuko Kozakura , better known by her stage name , is a Japanese voice actress from Mizuho. She was formerly with Ohsawa Jimusho, but now heads her own agency called Little Portal with husband Jin Domon. Some of her major roles are Daizu Noyama in Azuki-chan, ...

*Bobo-kun's father:

Masashi Sugawara is a Japanese voice actor who voiced Vigoro in '' Skies of Arcadia'', Jean Valjean in '' Les Misérables: Shōjo Cosette'' and George Joestar in ''JoJo's Bizarre Adventure''. Filmography Television animation *'' Aoki Densetsu Shoot!'' (1993) (T ...

*Bobo-kun's mother:

Sumi Shimamoto , known professionally as , is a Japanese actress, voice actress and narrator of film, anime and video games. She has voice acted in Hayao Miyazaki's movies '' Nausicaä of the Valley of the Wind'', '' The Castle of Cagliostro'', '' My Neighbor ...

*Kuzuri-kun: Yōko Michihira *Kuzuri-kun's father:

Yūichi Nagashima Yūichi, Yuichi, or Yuuichi is a masculine Japanese given name. Written forms 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, city ...

*Sunadorineko-san: Reo Morimoto *Araiguma-kun's father: Danshi Tatekawa Sources:

2016 TV series

A recent anime television adaption started airing on April 2, 2016. Unlike the previous television series, the episode runtime has been cut from 15 minutes to 5 minutes per episode. A

Planetarium A planetarium (: planetariums or planetaria) is a theatre built primarily for presenting educational and entertaining shows about astronomy and the night sky, or for training in celestial navigation. A dominant feature of most planetariums is ...

special ''Bono Bono - Uchū kara Kita Tomodachi'' (Bono Bono - The Friend That Came From Space) was shown at the

Gotanda Cultural Center is a district in the Shinagawa, Tokyo, Shinagawa Special wards of Tokyo, ward of Tokyo, Japan. The district straddles the Meguro River, and is located between the Meguro Station, Meguro and Ōsaki Station, Ōsaki stations on the JR Yamanote Line ...

from September 16 to October 9, 2017.

Crunchyroll Crunchyroll is an American Video on demand#Subscription models, subscription video on-demand Over-the-top media service, over-the-top Streaming media, streaming service owned by Sony, Sony Group Corporation. The service primarily distributes fi ...

only simulcasted the first three seasons of the series and is no longer available. On December 21, 2019, the series had a crossover with

Gachapin is a TV character who appeared in the children's program ' and its succeeding series, ' on Fuji TV. He is a green, bucktoothed dinosaur and is usually accompanied by his friend , a red Yeti. Summary Jōji Katakiri (President, Japan Software V ...

. The anime was on hiatus due to the

COVID-19 pandemic The COVID-19 pandemic (also known as the coronavirus pandemic and COVID pandemic), caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2), began with an disease outbreak, outbreak of COVID-19 in Wuhan, China, in December ...

from May to June 2020. It resumed on June 20, 2020. As of May 18, 2025, it has aired 462 episodes.

Staff

*Director: Hidenori Yamaguchi

Theme song

; :Lyrics, Vocals: Monobright

Cast

*Bonobono: Fukuko Yukimiyama *Shimarisu-kun: Aya Ogata *Araiguma-kun: Shinpei Takano *Sunadorineko-san: Yūki Kurofuji

Games

Two games based on the ''Bonobono'' series have been released. The first was , a

simulation game Simulation video games are a diverse super-category of video games, generally designed to closely simulate real world activities. A simulation game attempts to copy various activities from real life in the form of a game for various purposes such ...

released on 1995-04-21 for the

3DO Interactive Multiplayer 3DO is a video gaming hardware format developed by The 3DO Company and conceived by Electronic Arts founder Trip Hawkins. The specifications were originally designed by Dave Needle and RJ Mical of New Technology Group, and were licensed by third ...

system by Amuse and

Bandai Visual was a Japanese anime, film production, and distribution company, established by Bandai and a subsidiary of Bandai Namco Holdings. They focused mainly in international distribution of anime properties in North America. Most of the anime and ...

. The second game was titled , an

released by Amuse for the

system on 1996-06-07.

References

External links

Official site

Official 2016 anime site
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